Owning a Bible is not sufficient.
Reading a Bible is not sufficient.The preaching of the Bible is insufficient.... But...When the Triune God ministers the Word of God to the heart,When the Law is used lawfully,When the Gospel is preached with clarity,When the Holy Spirit illumines the heart and mind,
The Gospel is the power of God unto salvation,
The love of God in Christ is made known,The orientation of the heart and mind are redirected and affected,And we begin to love God and neighbor.
Apart from the work of our Triune God, all the marvelous, devastating, healing Bible truths are font on a page and wind from the mouth. So, we pray that He will do His work as His Word goes forth.
Tomorrow is the Lord's Day.Come Lord and bear your fruit. Gift your ministers, that their hearts are renewed in the Gospel. And may their Gospel message make deep roots in the hearts of the hearers.
Given current events, I really have to wonder what is going on...
ReplyDeleteNot just "out there" but in here. What is going on when those who profess Christ, begin to turn aside to movements, events, politics, systems, and ideologies rather than acknowledging the sufficiency of Scripture to move and change the heart? In the past couple of days, I have heard voices of people who profess Christ, so discouraged that they are looking elsewhere for remedies. It will not work. Even common grace means, which are healthy and helpful cannot produce heart change.
I have to wonder if the majority of people who consider themselves Christian are actually hearing the Gospel. It is only the Gospel that is the power of God unto salvation. The Gospel saves and keeps on saving. If it is being heard and received by the power and working of the Holy Spirit, the orientation and affections of the heart change. Movements cannot produce that. Events cannot produce that. Remember men like John Newton and William Wilberforce. The Gospel does effect change. It is true.