by Doug Nichols
On a free Sunday during the Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization in Cape Town, South Africa. I attended the Evangelical Lutheran Church located in downtown Cape Town. The building itself was built in the late 1700s and it considered the oldest church in Southern Hemisphere.
There were about 200 attending the Sunday morning service – many from the Lausanne Congress. They had beautiful, majestic music including a pipe organ imported from England in the 1800s and an excellent 15-minute message.
I asked the pastor why there was such a short message. He said that the old benches were so hard that people could not sit in the church for more than an hour. That was also the reason that congregation stood and sat often to keep one’s blood circulating. I told him that he should get cushions for the pews and he could preach longer. I don’t think he liked that idea.
After the service they held a reception in the church fellowship hall. They were not prepared for the extra visitors and there was quite the line for tea. It did not seem that there was anyone in charge of serving. Since no one knew anyone, I slipped up front and gathered some cups, saucers, and began to serve the tea and cake with the help of several Africans. Many of the guests took their tea and thanked me for the wonderful service thinking that I was a member of the church staff. One influential lady of the church came to me quite upset that I was serving tea. She said, “It is not your place to do this.”
I responded, “Would you help me?”
She replied, “On, no, I would not serve tea,” and move off visibly upset.
“…in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others” (Philippians 2:3-4, esv).
Monday, April 16, 2012
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
What People Spend Money On!
While traveling recently (2010), I noticed a magazine on the plane and was quite shocked at the prices people pay for various items and accommodations.
For example: Watches
1 The Carnet de Bal watch from Audemars Piguet is a unique timepiece that transforms beautiful garden flowers into sparkling diamonds. $943,000
2. The C1 Chronograph Pure from Concord is a thick [16.7mm] block of stainless steel metal topped off with white rubber. $11,900
3. The Instrumentino S10 from de Grisogono is a white watch through and through. From its 18K white gold case set with 405 white diamonds to the white gold dial covered in another 312 white diamonds, this is a watch of pure beauty. $87,200
4. The whirlwind of white diamonds swirling around the mother-of-pearl dial and white gold bezel of Boucheron's Crazy Ma Jolie make for a stunning and unexpected timepiece. $77,000
One Night of Accommodations:
5. Los Cabos Three Bedroom Penthouse (Mexico)
Key selling points -- Enjoy spectacular bay views with large furnished terraces and private open-air Jacuzzis. Situated on the top level of the resort, all 13 spectacular Penthouses boast unobstructed, awe-inspiring vistas of the Sea of Cortez, Land's End and the vibrant Medano Beach. Amenities: Three 32-inch flatscreen and one 42-inch flatscreen satellite TVs, 2,000 to 4,500 sq. ft, 7 rooms, and 4 bathrooms. Nightly rates: $900 to $3500.
6. San Jose Del Cabo Villa Cortez (Mexico)
Private screening theater, 12-person staff in addition to 24-hour live-in staff, editing/production media studio and outdoor fire pits. 8,500 sq. foot; 113 rooms; and five and one half-bathrooms. Nightly rates from $7,000.
7. Puerto Vallarta Grand Velas (Mexico)
This suite features a master bedroom with king bed, plasma TV, walk-in closet and an interior bathroom with wall-to-wall marble, steam room, interior chromotherapy Jacuzzi and Aquatower shower with six jets, goose down comforters and pillows, 42-inch LCD flatscreen with digital cable, Nespresso coffee maker, and DVD/CD/ MP3 player, 5059 sq. ft., 5 rooms in a suite, and two and a half baths. Nightly rates $10,000.
8. Ixtapa/Zihuatenejo Penthouse Suite (Mexico)
The Penthouse Suite is a private and indulgent sanctuary with space to spare. The outdoor living room affords breathtaking and unobstructed views of the Pacific Ocean, as well as a private plunge pool, built-in seating area, dining space and lounge. Bedside "touch" panel for all main room functions lights, fan, air conditioning, two LCD-TVs, WiFi, 1150 sq. ft., two rooms in the suite, and three and a half baths. Nightly rates from $1095.
9. Waldorf Astoria Penthouse Suite (Rome, Italy)
This lavish suite is adorned with important works of art [including an Andy Warhol series], furnished in palatial style with a magnificent Karl Lagerfeld sofa, and features a private panoramic roof terrace with a gazebo, a solarium and a memorable view over the Eternal City. Fiber-optic star-lit ceilings, private wine cellar, 43- and 61-inch plasma TVs, a 2,300-square-foot private roof garden, 2115 sq. ft., two rooms in suite, one and a half bathroom. Nightly rate $12,341.
10. St. Regis Royal Suite (Rome, Italy)
Enjoy a piano in the living room and a private wine cellar to yourself. This jewel of a suite offers a combination of restored Piedmontese, Louis XVI and other fine furnishings, dating back to the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. 4320 sq. ft., two and a half bathrooms. Nightly rate $19,000.
Rather than you or I desiring riches of watches and soft beds, let us follow the teaching of the God’s Word to gain godly insight and wisdom. “For the LORD gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding. He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk in integrity’ (Proverbs 2:6-7, nasb).
If the Lord has given us wealth, let us use it for God’s glory. “One who is gracious to a poor man lends to the LORD, and He will repay him for his good deed” (Proverbs 19: 17, nasb).
Monday, April 2, 2012
Pastor Hsi (One of China's Christians)
Have you read the book, Pastor Hsi (One of China's Christians), first published in 1900 by Mrs. Howard Taylor? My wife Margaret and I recently read a copy owned by her 98-year-old father which was printed in 1905, making it 107 years old! Reprinted editions are still available.
The book is possibly one of the most practical, spiritually encouraging, inspiring, challenging and ministry instructive biographies ever written. It is a book, which would greatly help missionaries, Christian workers and pastors in life and ministry today.
This very practical book will help readers learn from godly men and women from the past so as not to reinvent the wheel of life and ministry or make mistakes which could be avoided by simply reading and then applying godly principles such as the following:
1. Pastor Hsi (pronounced "she") prayed about everything.
2. He prayed and fasted for days at a time; especially during difficult times.
3. He was a man of great trust in God.
4. The book gives excellent illustrations on how to deal with difficult relationships.
5. Guidelines for growing in grace.
6. Encouragement for persevering under trials.
7. How to shepherd and train leaders.
8. Pastor Hsi was very practical in ministry.
9. He developed a very successful income generating ministry which completely supported the work and many full-time Christian workers.
10. Pastor and Mrs. Hsi worked very hard and lived sacrificial lives.
11. The young Chinese church was exceptional in hospitality.
12. The Chinese leaders and church had a great vision for the lost and worked well with the China Inland Mission (CIM) and constantly asked and prayed for more CIM missionaries for inland China.
13. The church prayed and pleaded for single women missionaries to work with women.
14. Pastor Hsi and his many disciples had a burning passion for the millions of Chinese without Christ and were continually praying and planning for advancement of the gospel!
In reading this excellent book, I was especially challenged to grow in grace and godliness and to renew my "passion for expansion," not to expand just for growth but for the sake of people without Christ!
For example, in my beloved adopted country the Philippines, even with the growth of the church, there is still an estimated 95% of the population of 100 million without Christ. This is 95 million people! Throughout the world there are 145 million orphans and 160 million street children most never having heard the gospel or receiving any type of compassionate care.
Therefore, should we not all pray that our ministry, mission and organization will grow to reach more for Christ and discipled? To pray that our teams will expand throughout the area, the country, and the regions of the world we are serving?
To pray, "Oh Lord, please be gracious to us Your people, Your church and raise up many more men and women like Pastor and Mrs. Hsi of China. Please do it Lord for Your glory and the salvation of many!"
“ . . . Christ in you, the hope of glory. We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ. For this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me” (Colossians 1:27-29).
Let’s pray for one another and a great advancement of the gospel!
The book is possibly one of the most practical, spiritually encouraging, inspiring, challenging and ministry instructive biographies ever written. It is a book, which would greatly help missionaries, Christian workers and pastors in life and ministry today.
This very practical book will help readers learn from godly men and women from the past so as not to reinvent the wheel of life and ministry or make mistakes which could be avoided by simply reading and then applying godly principles such as the following:
1. Pastor Hsi (pronounced "she") prayed about everything.
2. He prayed and fasted for days at a time; especially during difficult times.
3. He was a man of great trust in God.
4. The book gives excellent illustrations on how to deal with difficult relationships.
5. Guidelines for growing in grace.
6. Encouragement for persevering under trials.
7. How to shepherd and train leaders.
8. Pastor Hsi was very practical in ministry.
9. He developed a very successful income generating ministry which completely supported the work and many full-time Christian workers.
10. Pastor and Mrs. Hsi worked very hard and lived sacrificial lives.
11. The young Chinese church was exceptional in hospitality.
12. The Chinese leaders and church had a great vision for the lost and worked well with the China Inland Mission (CIM) and constantly asked and prayed for more CIM missionaries for inland China.
13. The church prayed and pleaded for single women missionaries to work with women.
14. Pastor Hsi and his many disciples had a burning passion for the millions of Chinese without Christ and were continually praying and planning for advancement of the gospel!
In reading this excellent book, I was especially challenged to grow in grace and godliness and to renew my "passion for expansion," not to expand just for growth but for the sake of people without Christ!
For example, in my beloved adopted country the Philippines, even with the growth of the church, there is still an estimated 95% of the population of 100 million without Christ. This is 95 million people! Throughout the world there are 145 million orphans and 160 million street children most never having heard the gospel or receiving any type of compassionate care.
Therefore, should we not all pray that our ministry, mission and organization will grow to reach more for Christ and discipled? To pray that our teams will expand throughout the area, the country, and the regions of the world we are serving?
To pray, "Oh Lord, please be gracious to us Your people, Your church and raise up many more men and women like Pastor and Mrs. Hsi of China. Please do it Lord for Your glory and the salvation of many!"
“ . . . Christ in you, the hope of glory. We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ. For this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me” (Colossians 1:27-29).
Let’s pray for one another and a great advancement of the gospel!
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Sadness in Calcutta
In the late 70’s, ACTION had a missionary couple serving in Calcutta, India, and I would visit them from time to time from Manila. On one occasion we visited the ministry of Mother Teresa and were saddened greatly knowing again that there was no gospel-centered message or activities. It is wonderful that the patients were being cared for, but there was no ministry to the soul from the Bible in preparation for dying.
While the nuns were taking a siesta one day, several Indian believers, missionaries and I were able to visit the patients. We went from bed to bed praying, sharing the gospel and giving them a gospel booklet of the Word of God. We were received with much appreciation. The patients begged us not to leave, but to stay because their souls were so dark, they lived in fear and they all knew they were dying and they were not prepared.
Mother Teresa’s approach was simply to take care of anyone, but to allow them to die in their own faith: Muslim, Hindu, Confucius, Atheists, Christian, Catholic and so forth.
Recently I read the biography written about Pastor John MacArthur. In the book, the author, Ian Murray, shares a similar experience to the one just described:
“Two of the most frequently visited tourist spots were within walking distance from the Mission House, and, with misgivings, they scrambled along sidewalks, between dogs, people, and filthy oozing drains to these locations. Naked children, pleading for money, were on all sides:
Patricia, with her tender heart for the little ones, found it especially difficult to give them nothing. They sensed her sympathy and so clung to her in clumps. We resisted giving them anything on account of urgent advice given to us on how to act in urban centres.
Their first stop was at Mother Teresa's convent where they spent some time with the aged lady whose care for the sick and dying had made her famous. They were impressed with her success in recruiting helpers, with the abundance of medical supplies, but sad at the vacuum where gospel truth was needed. Conversation with Mother Teresa revealed a very vague understanding of Christianity. ‘All my people die beautiful deaths', she assured them. 'I love and respect all religions, but I love m Jesus.' But in a city where Hindus believe Jesus was the seven incarnation of Shiva, and Krishna the eighth, the 'Jesus' was not presented as the only Lord, Savior, and Mediator. Nor had Roman Catholic teaching helped Mother Teresa in that regard. ‘May you enter the heart of Jesus through Mary', she wrote in Bible of one visitor.
If this convent visit was disturbing, still more so was their second stop that afternoon. 'Crushed between the dilapidated buildings of the crowded city, and down an obscure alley next to Mother Teresa's home', they found the temple of Kali, the wife of Shiva, a member of the Hindu trinity of gods (Brama, Vishnu, and Shiva). This appeared to be the religious focal point of Calcutta, and the place where animal sacrifice was carried on every afternoon at 3 pm. Amid noise and incense, demon worship was busily in progress, including the disgusting worship of a male phallus:
Staring Satan's worship cold in the face was a chilling experience-my inside felt icy though I was dripping with the sweat of heat and sickness. To think that Mother Teresa was there and helping people physically but not confronting Satan's hellish domain was sad. It all looks so hopeless and so dishonoring to Christ. I felt I had really seen the kind of idolatry the Old Testament speaks of and there was a form of Christianity tolerating it. Truly these are a people in bondage to fear all their lives.
MacArthur's feelings in the temple of Kali were akin to those of the psalmist when he wrote, 'Indignation has taken hold of me, because of the wicked who forsake your law'” (Psa. 119:53).
John MacArthur (Servant of the Word and Flock) by Iain H. Murray
Published by The Banner of Truth Trust, 2011 (Pages 100-101)
While the nuns were taking a siesta one day, several Indian believers, missionaries and I were able to visit the patients. We went from bed to bed praying, sharing the gospel and giving them a gospel booklet of the Word of God. We were received with much appreciation. The patients begged us not to leave, but to stay because their souls were so dark, they lived in fear and they all knew they were dying and they were not prepared.
Mother Teresa’s approach was simply to take care of anyone, but to allow them to die in their own faith: Muslim, Hindu, Confucius, Atheists, Christian, Catholic and so forth.
Recently I read the biography written about Pastor John MacArthur. In the book, the author, Ian Murray, shares a similar experience to the one just described:
“Two of the most frequently visited tourist spots were within walking distance from the Mission House, and, with misgivings, they scrambled along sidewalks, between dogs, people, and filthy oozing drains to these locations. Naked children, pleading for money, were on all sides:
Patricia, with her tender heart for the little ones, found it especially difficult to give them nothing. They sensed her sympathy and so clung to her in clumps. We resisted giving them anything on account of urgent advice given to us on how to act in urban centres.
Their first stop was at Mother Teresa's convent where they spent some time with the aged lady whose care for the sick and dying had made her famous. They were impressed with her success in recruiting helpers, with the abundance of medical supplies, but sad at the vacuum where gospel truth was needed. Conversation with Mother Teresa revealed a very vague understanding of Christianity. ‘All my people die beautiful deaths', she assured them. 'I love and respect all religions, but I love m Jesus.' But in a city where Hindus believe Jesus was the seven incarnation of Shiva, and Krishna the eighth, the 'Jesus' was not presented as the only Lord, Savior, and Mediator. Nor had Roman Catholic teaching helped Mother Teresa in that regard. ‘May you enter the heart of Jesus through Mary', she wrote in Bible of one visitor.
If this convent visit was disturbing, still more so was their second stop that afternoon. 'Crushed between the dilapidated buildings of the crowded city, and down an obscure alley next to Mother Teresa's home', they found the temple of Kali, the wife of Shiva, a member of the Hindu trinity of gods (Brama, Vishnu, and Shiva). This appeared to be the religious focal point of Calcutta, and the place where animal sacrifice was carried on every afternoon at 3 pm. Amid noise and incense, demon worship was busily in progress, including the disgusting worship of a male phallus:
Staring Satan's worship cold in the face was a chilling experience-my inside felt icy though I was dripping with the sweat of heat and sickness. To think that Mother Teresa was there and helping people physically but not confronting Satan's hellish domain was sad. It all looks so hopeless and so dishonoring to Christ. I felt I had really seen the kind of idolatry the Old Testament speaks of and there was a form of Christianity tolerating it. Truly these are a people in bondage to fear all their lives.
MacArthur's feelings in the temple of Kali were akin to those of the psalmist when he wrote, 'Indignation has taken hold of me, because of the wicked who forsake your law'” (Psa. 119:53).
John MacArthur (Servant of the Word and Flock) by Iain H. Murray
Published by The Banner of Truth Trust, 2011 (Pages 100-101)
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Rules of the House
If you open it -- close it.
If you get it out -- put it up.
If you sleep in it -- make it up.
If you drink out of it -- wash it.
If you take it off -- hang it up.
If you turn it on -- turn it off.
If you drop it -- pick it up.
If it hurts -- comfort it.
If it cries -- love it.
If it needs you -- help it.
If you get it out -- put it up.
If you sleep in it -- make it up.
If you drink out of it -- wash it.
If you take it off -- hang it up.
If you turn it on -- turn it off.
If you drop it -- pick it up.
If it hurts -- comfort it.
If it cries -- love it.
If it needs you -- help it.
Monday, March 26, 2012
Tell Me the Story One More Time
by Tim Challies
Reading Michael Wittmer’s excellent new book The Last Enemy, I came across a powerful little story that I wanted to share with you. I trust you will enjoy it as I did.
My friend Jeff stopped by the hospital to visit one of his dearest senior saints. Charlotte was in her eighties, but she had been young enough in heart to blossom under Jeff’s ministry. She had paid close attention as Jeff proclaimed the story of God—how the world began with God’s good creation, suffered a cataclysmic fall that ruined us and everything else, is being redeemed by Jesus’ cross and resurrection, and will be consummated when Jesus returns and delivers this world to His Father.
Charlotte said learning God’s story had changed her life. “I get it now,” she told anyone who would listen. “The parts of the Bible make sense when you read them in light of the whole. For the first time in my life, I understand how my salvation fits into the larger picture.”
Now Charlotte was dying. She chatted with her pastor about family, church, and the general quality of hospital food, and then Jeff said a prayer and promised to come see her again.
Jeff was minutes from home when his cell phone rang. It was the floor nurse calling from the hospital.
“Charlotte told me to contact you,” she began. “She said that it’s time for her to die. She told me to tell you not to hurry; she’ll wait until you get here.”
Jeff turned his car around and drove slightly faster than Charlotte had recommended. He feared she would die before he returned, and he prayed God would grant her sufficient stamina to hold on. He need not have worried. When he entered her room, panting from his swift jog from the parking garage, Charlotte called him over to her bed. She took his hand, looked into his eyes, and said, “Pastor, tell me the story one more time.”
For the next twenty minutes, with a heavy but grateful heart, Jeff reviewed the story that had saved their lives. He told Charlotte about their gracious, triune God who created our world from love and for His glory. He reminded her that God put us here as His “image bearers” to take care of this world on His behalf (see Genesis 1:26-28). God intended us to flourish in all of our relationships—with Him, one another, and creation—and we would as long as we rested in His care and obeyed His loving will.
Jeff then described the destruction of the fall and how our rebellion against the one, true, and living God had shat- tered everything we were meant to be. We rejected God’s love, fought with each other, and brought a curse upon the entire creation. We were doomed, unwilling and unable to take the first step toward reconciliation. We were “without hope and without God in the world” (Ephesians 2:12).
Jeff and Charlotte remembered how God refused to let the world end this way, and He sent His Son to rescue us from sin and death. Jesus offered His sinless life in our place, absorbing the wrath of God that we deserved so we could be adopted as the righteous children of God. Our loving Lord was crucified, dead, and buried, but three days later He shocked the world by rising from the dead.
Jesus ascended to heaven where He rules the world and intercedes for us before our merciful Father. He will soon return to make all things new. He will restore our humanity, repairing our relationships with God, each other, and creation. And He will bring joy to the world, far as the curse is found, by abolishing sin, disease, and death. No more tearful goodbyes! Because Jesus lives, we too shall live—with Him, here, glorifying God and enjoying Him forever!
Jeff’s voice cracked and Charlotte’s eyes filled with tears. “It’s true,” she whispered. “I know it’s true.” She smiled, and then cleared her throat and asked, “Pastor, will you call for the nurse?”
When the nurse entered the room, Charlotte said with resolute voice, “Nurse, I’d like a clean robe and I’d like my teeth.” She turned to Jeff and patted his arm, “It’s time. It’s going to be okay.”
Jeff left the room while the nurse dressed Charlotte in a white robe and put her teeth in, and when she was ready, Jeff returned, took her hand, and kissed her on the forehead. As Jeff prayed beside her, Charlotte raised her eyes toward heaven, and with a serenity that comes from knowing how the story ends, she repeated the words “thank you, thank you, thank you.” By the third “thank you” she had fallen asleep, and on the fourth she was waking up in heaven.
Taken from The Last Enemy: Preparing to Win the Fight of Your Life, 2012 by Michael E. Wittmer. Used by permission of Discovery House Publishers, Box 3566, Grand Rapids MI 49501. All rights reserved.
Reading Michael Wittmer’s excellent new book The Last Enemy, I came across a powerful little story that I wanted to share with you. I trust you will enjoy it as I did.
My friend Jeff stopped by the hospital to visit one of his dearest senior saints. Charlotte was in her eighties, but she had been young enough in heart to blossom under Jeff’s ministry. She had paid close attention as Jeff proclaimed the story of God—how the world began with God’s good creation, suffered a cataclysmic fall that ruined us and everything else, is being redeemed by Jesus’ cross and resurrection, and will be consummated when Jesus returns and delivers this world to His Father.
Charlotte said learning God’s story had changed her life. “I get it now,” she told anyone who would listen. “The parts of the Bible make sense when you read them in light of the whole. For the first time in my life, I understand how my salvation fits into the larger picture.”
Now Charlotte was dying. She chatted with her pastor about family, church, and the general quality of hospital food, and then Jeff said a prayer and promised to come see her again.
Jeff was minutes from home when his cell phone rang. It was the floor nurse calling from the hospital.
“Charlotte told me to contact you,” she began. “She said that it’s time for her to die. She told me to tell you not to hurry; she’ll wait until you get here.”
Jeff turned his car around and drove slightly faster than Charlotte had recommended. He feared she would die before he returned, and he prayed God would grant her sufficient stamina to hold on. He need not have worried. When he entered her room, panting from his swift jog from the parking garage, Charlotte called him over to her bed. She took his hand, looked into his eyes, and said, “Pastor, tell me the story one more time.”
For the next twenty minutes, with a heavy but grateful heart, Jeff reviewed the story that had saved their lives. He told Charlotte about their gracious, triune God who created our world from love and for His glory. He reminded her that God put us here as His “image bearers” to take care of this world on His behalf (see Genesis 1:26-28). God intended us to flourish in all of our relationships—with Him, one another, and creation—and we would as long as we rested in His care and obeyed His loving will.
Jeff then described the destruction of the fall and how our rebellion against the one, true, and living God had shat- tered everything we were meant to be. We rejected God’s love, fought with each other, and brought a curse upon the entire creation. We were doomed, unwilling and unable to take the first step toward reconciliation. We were “without hope and without God in the world” (Ephesians 2:12).
Jeff and Charlotte remembered how God refused to let the world end this way, and He sent His Son to rescue us from sin and death. Jesus offered His sinless life in our place, absorbing the wrath of God that we deserved so we could be adopted as the righteous children of God. Our loving Lord was crucified, dead, and buried, but three days later He shocked the world by rising from the dead.
Jesus ascended to heaven where He rules the world and intercedes for us before our merciful Father. He will soon return to make all things new. He will restore our humanity, repairing our relationships with God, each other, and creation. And He will bring joy to the world, far as the curse is found, by abolishing sin, disease, and death. No more tearful goodbyes! Because Jesus lives, we too shall live—with Him, here, glorifying God and enjoying Him forever!
Jeff’s voice cracked and Charlotte’s eyes filled with tears. “It’s true,” she whispered. “I know it’s true.” She smiled, and then cleared her throat and asked, “Pastor, will you call for the nurse?”
When the nurse entered the room, Charlotte said with resolute voice, “Nurse, I’d like a clean robe and I’d like my teeth.” She turned to Jeff and patted his arm, “It’s time. It’s going to be okay.”
Jeff left the room while the nurse dressed Charlotte in a white robe and put her teeth in, and when she was ready, Jeff returned, took her hand, and kissed her on the forehead. As Jeff prayed beside her, Charlotte raised her eyes toward heaven, and with a serenity that comes from knowing how the story ends, she repeated the words “thank you, thank you, thank you.” By the third “thank you” she had fallen asleep, and on the fourth she was waking up in heaven.
Taken from The Last Enemy: Preparing to Win the Fight of Your Life, 2012 by Michael E. Wittmer. Used by permission of Discovery House Publishers, Box 3566, Grand Rapids MI 49501. All rights reserved.
Thursday, March 22, 2012
The Bible Vindicated from the Charge of Sustaining Slavery
By G. Buckingham 1837
If Christ sanctioned slavery, by remaining silent upon the subject, he sanctioned the laws, regulating the system, for there is not in the new testament, a word of condemnation for them. What were those laws? Two or three, were as follows. A slave was struck out of the list of moral agents, and consigned to that of brutes. A slave might, at any time, be killed by his master, without punishment. A slave might be sold twice, by the same master, before he could claim his freedom.
The fact that a practice is not condemned by name, is no reason at all that it is right. Under the argument of our opponents, the midnight gambler, and the Sabbath breaker, may escape rebuke. The owners of theaters, the performers themselves, and those who waste their time and money in nightly attendance upon these demoralizing representations, may still drink the "shed blood" and eat the "broken body" of the crucified Redeemer worthily!! Burglary, counterfeiting, forgery, horse racing and polygamy, are likewise passed by the Saviour and his apostles, without condemnation, except by implication. No christian, can justify any of these practices, on the ground that silence is preserved respecting them. The iniquitous features of every leading vice are condemned, and among others, SLAVERY does not escape the fiery ordeal of the new testament morality. The main characteristics of American slavery, are all made criminal by the new testament.
1. Slave laws allow the separation of man and wife, by the order of the master.
N. T. "What God hath joined together, let not man put asunder," Matthew xix.6.
“So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate" (Matthew 19:6, nasb).
2. Slave laws forbid the slaves from worshiping God by themselves.
N. T. "Forsake not the assembling of yourselves together," Heb. x. 25.
“Not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near” (Hebrews 10:25, nasb).
3. Slave laws exact labor without wages, in millions of instances.
N. T. "The hire of the laborers which have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth," &c. James, v. 1 to 6.
“Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries which are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted and your garments have become moth-eaten. Your gold and your silver have rusted; and their rust will be a witness against you and will consume your flesh like fire. It is in the last days that you have stored up your treasure! Behold, the pay of the laborers who mowed your fields, and which has been withheld by you, cries out against you; and the outcry of those who did the harvesting has reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. You have lived luxuriously on the earth and led a life of wanton pleasure; you have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. You have condemned and put to death the righteous man; he does not resist you” (James 5:1-6, nasb).
4. Slave laws shut out the knowledge of letters from the mind of the slave.
N. T. Search the scriptures.
5. Southern slavery encourages the stealing of men on the coast of Africa; for though prohibited by the laws of the land, they are still smuggled in.
N. T. "The law was made for murderers, men-slayers, men-stealers," &c. (alluding to Ex. xxi. 16.) classing them among the vilest criminals of the earth.
"He who kidnaps a man, whether he sells him or he is found in his possession, shall surely be put to death” (Exodus 21:16, nasb).
6. Slave laws in North Carolina, make it penal, to give or sell a slave any book, even the bible! In Georgia and Louisiana, a free black may be fined, whipped, imprisoned, and in the latter State, even put to death, for instructing his own children to read the pathway to eternal life!!
N. T. "Woe unto you lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge," Luke, xi. 52
“Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge; you yourselves did not enter, and you hindered those who were entering” (Luke 11:52, nasb).
"Ye fathers bring up your children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord," Ephesians, vi. 4.
“Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord” (Ephesian 6:4, nasb).
7. The New Testament condemns the selling of one's self into slavery, much more, one man selling another. "Ye are not your own: ye are bought."
8. It is the testimony of all candid slave-holders, and we positively know from the very nature of things, that slavery encourages general licentiousness.
N. T. In many places condemns adultery and fornication.
[page 19-21]
If Christ sanctioned slavery, by remaining silent upon the subject, he sanctioned the laws, regulating the system, for there is not in the new testament, a word of condemnation for them. What were those laws? Two or three, were as follows. A slave was struck out of the list of moral agents, and consigned to that of brutes. A slave might, at any time, be killed by his master, without punishment. A slave might be sold twice, by the same master, before he could claim his freedom.
The fact that a practice is not condemned by name, is no reason at all that it is right. Under the argument of our opponents, the midnight gambler, and the Sabbath breaker, may escape rebuke. The owners of theaters, the performers themselves, and those who waste their time and money in nightly attendance upon these demoralizing representations, may still drink the "shed blood" and eat the "broken body" of the crucified Redeemer worthily!! Burglary, counterfeiting, forgery, horse racing and polygamy, are likewise passed by the Saviour and his apostles, without condemnation, except by implication. No christian, can justify any of these practices, on the ground that silence is preserved respecting them. The iniquitous features of every leading vice are condemned, and among others, SLAVERY does not escape the fiery ordeal of the new testament morality. The main characteristics of American slavery, are all made criminal by the new testament.
1. Slave laws allow the separation of man and wife, by the order of the master.
N. T. "What God hath joined together, let not man put asunder," Matthew xix.6.
“So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate" (Matthew 19:6, nasb).
2. Slave laws forbid the slaves from worshiping God by themselves.
N. T. "Forsake not the assembling of yourselves together," Heb. x. 25.
“Not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near” (Hebrews 10:25, nasb).
3. Slave laws exact labor without wages, in millions of instances.
N. T. "The hire of the laborers which have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth," &c. James, v. 1 to 6.
“Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries which are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted and your garments have become moth-eaten. Your gold and your silver have rusted; and their rust will be a witness against you and will consume your flesh like fire. It is in the last days that you have stored up your treasure! Behold, the pay of the laborers who mowed your fields, and which has been withheld by you, cries out against you; and the outcry of those who did the harvesting has reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. You have lived luxuriously on the earth and led a life of wanton pleasure; you have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. You have condemned and put to death the righteous man; he does not resist you” (James 5:1-6, nasb).
4. Slave laws shut out the knowledge of letters from the mind of the slave.
N. T. Search the scriptures.
5. Southern slavery encourages the stealing of men on the coast of Africa; for though prohibited by the laws of the land, they are still smuggled in.
N. T. "The law was made for murderers, men-slayers, men-stealers," &c. (alluding to Ex. xxi. 16.) classing them among the vilest criminals of the earth.
"He who kidnaps a man, whether he sells him or he is found in his possession, shall surely be put to death” (Exodus 21:16, nasb).
6. Slave laws in North Carolina, make it penal, to give or sell a slave any book, even the bible! In Georgia and Louisiana, a free black may be fined, whipped, imprisoned, and in the latter State, even put to death, for instructing his own children to read the pathway to eternal life!!
N. T. "Woe unto you lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge," Luke, xi. 52
“Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge; you yourselves did not enter, and you hindered those who were entering” (Luke 11:52, nasb).
"Ye fathers bring up your children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord," Ephesians, vi. 4.
“Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord” (Ephesian 6:4, nasb).
7. The New Testament condemns the selling of one's self into slavery, much more, one man selling another. "Ye are not your own: ye are bought."
8. It is the testimony of all candid slave-holders, and we positively know from the very nature of things, that slavery encourages general licentiousness.
N. T. In many places condemns adultery and fornication.
[page 19-21]
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