Leaving Beyond – Grounded In Scripture

Written by: April J. Buchanan

Has the order of man dried the bones and constrained the work of the Spirit? Have the excesses and abuses of what is said to be allowing the Spirit to work as He will, bringing right and proper rebuke within the church and grievous mockery of the world and confusion of all kinds, led to feet like lead, steel spines, and cold hearts, called order by some?

One rolls on the floor and falsely attributes that to the Spirit. Another fears any appearance at all of strong affection.

Has the prayer closet been forsaken? Have men feared closing their eyes because it may very well lead to excesses and abuses whereby men are led by emotion and not by the Spirit? Have men found the way to restrain their emotions is to suppress any true holy affection that may be the result of the Spirit’s work?

Order is pleasing to God. Let it be so!

But if order becomes merely a response to disorder, and fails to also reveal the beauty of the work of the Spirit in the heart and right and proper worship to God, then it can become a cold response, known only by what it restrains and rebukes. Order has both a positive and a negative function. It does not merely expose and rebuke abuses and excesses. Order that is pleasing to God also reveals right and holy worship that is pleasing to Him.

The work of the Spirit is always in order. He is not responsible for the things attributed to Him by foolish, ignorant, and unstable men. However, one who will never lift his hands, never kneel, never close his eyes, never cry, lest he be out of order or identified with the foolishness of many who misrepresent the Holy Spirit, may well find himself struggling with prayer or repeating right doctrine in prayer from lips seized by the cold of his heart.

Tears are not out of order. Kneeling is not out of order. Raising hands is not out of order.

In a congregation there must be order. There are those so governed by their emotions that they would disrupt the service with wailing and the sudden impulse to rush to the front and “pray.” It is often common sense what is in order and what is not, what pleases God and what draws attention to the flesh and one’s own perceived spirituality.

Our prayers and singing to God may be governed by emotions, as is with many in the church today who call such things the moving of the Spirit when they clearly are not. Or they may be governed by strict doctrine that calls for an order that is not itself of the Spirit, whereby men’s hearts become cold and they fear any outward display of affection, thereby restraining not emotions only, but the outward expression of what the Spirit may truly be working inwardly. Or finally, we may recognize our weaknesses and men’s abuses and men’s attempts at control, and rather desire those holy doctrines and those beautiful truths in the heart and mind that, as we hear them, sing them, meditate upon them, and as is in order and appropriate, we may lift our hands, kneel, cry, or whatever is appropriate.

For some, these things are so abused that they lose their beauty. For others, fear of being identified with such men has led them away from those things that are not intended to attract or stir something up, but are outwardly to God what is being wrought by the Spirit inwardly.

A man may not raise his hands as he sings but once, and how precious then is that? It wasn’t performance. It wasn’t to try and attract God to himself. It wasn’t something that he must do, and so it was merely a duty. In that moment, the truth of what he was singing moved his heart, and he raised his hands in worship to God at the appropriate time. Not drawing attention to himself. And he may or may not do so again. He knows not. For the Spirit works as He wills.

And man is not governed by a cold formalism or by men so led by their feelings and emotions that they know not the true work and power of the Spirit, both to restrain a man in keeping order and to free a man to worship and pray in such a way as glorifies God.

Dear saint, God is a God of order. All things must be done decently and in order. Let us keep this order and flee the excesses and abuses of many in the church today. But be careful that we go not too far that we restrict freedoms that are in order and are truly the outward expression of what the Spirit is working inwardly.

Let us not mistake emotional excess for the work of the Spirit, nor mistake emotional restraint for spiritual maturity. Let us desire those holy doctrines and beautiful truths to fill the heart and mind, trusting the Spirit to work through the truth, producing in us those holy affections that turn our hearts toward God. And when those affections find appropriate outward expression, let us not be ashamed of them.

Written by: April J. Buchanan

He who leads with conviction and confidence, having established himself as a man well learned in the Scriptures and one willing to refute error, may find himself in a difficult position when he himself is corrected. This is especially true when he has not honestly dealt with the historical teachings of the church concerning convictions he holds that are not compatible with that history, yet presents his own beliefs as settled truth and treats dissent from those beliefs as foolishness. He may not be abusive in his manner, but he is not leading the saints to think biblically. He is leading them to submit to his conclusions rather than teaching them how to search the Scriptures, examine his claims, and understand where his convictions stand in relation to the historic teaching of the church.

The man who leads the saints to think biblically is not afraid to have his beliefs challenged. He is willing to show where his convictions stand in alignment with church history and where they depart from it. He opens the text and lets it speak. He does not ask the saints to accept his conclusions because he is more learned, more confident, or more accomplished. He teaches them to open the Scriptures, to examine what he says, and to think biblically for themselves. He does not lead by domineering over those entrusted to his care, nor does he make his knowledge a weight that silences the questions of the saints.

Far too many are afraid to think biblically. They suppress concerns because they assume that they know too little to question what sounds wrong to them. They reason that surely what they cannot reconcile must be true because the man teaching it has studied more, knows more, has more degrees, or speaks with greater confidence.

But the saint is not called to believe something because the man speaking is learned. He is called to test what is taught by the Word of God.

We have seen this same error in those who claim to hear directly from God. Their words become difficult to challenge because they claim a source of authority that cannot be questioned. Yet something similar can happen when a man’s learning, reputation, credentials, or knowledge of scripture and church history is placed beyond the reach of examination. The saint may technically be told that he is free to challenge what is being taught, while the weight of the man’s reputation makes him afraid to do so.

Knowledge is a gift, learning is valuable, and the church should honor faithful teachers. But no man’s learning places him beyond the Berean standard. The more confidently a man teaches, the more carefully his teaching should be brought to the light of Scripture. The more learned he is, the more willing he should be to open the Scriptures and show the saints why he believes what he believes.

Dear saint, do not be intimidated into silence. Think biblically. Test everything biblically. Search the Scriptures. And do not believe something merely because the man who teaches it knows more than you do.

Written by: April J. Buchanan

I am often saddened for the man who preaches strong and convicting sermons that raise the standard and yet offers no grace, no mercy. He sets his message against the weakened pulpit of the day, and his words reveal a man well learned and so lofty in his understanding of divine truths that he may argue against heresy, against error, against the world. And yet when he takes to the pulpit and shepherds the sheep, he continues his abrasive tongue, arguing against such men, never leaving the arena of controversy. He leaves behind neither the debate nor the lecture, but shows that much of what he teaches has never reached his own heart. While it may be doctrinally precise, it is only in part.

Coming out of bad theology, I needed to hear those doctrines that confronted my errors and false beliefs. I am grateful for those who preached with conviction. I also learned to be careful of those who had gone to greater extremes, having swung too far in the other direction. However, what I have come to find is that there are men who are qualified to write books, teach as professors, defend the faith, and perhaps serve well in other fields of academia, but who are not necessarily called or equipped to shepherd a flock. They are able to teach. They are able to defend against error. They may be truly regenerate. They may possess great theological knowledge. But the ability to teach and defend the truth is not, by itself, the whole qualification for shepherding real people. The pastor must know the truth, but he must also know the people entrusted to his care and bring that truth to bear upon their actual souls. He must love them. Truly love them.

His words reach the minds of those who delight in such knowledge, but as the pulpit goes, so goes the pew. Some are puffed up in mind. Some are destroyed under the weight of lofty speech and words that expose but never heal, tear down but never build up. They are given truth without grace. Their words may well be enjoyed if they were not so lofty, but brought to bear upon the heart by the grace of God. Such men would agree that truth cannot merely be in the mind and not the heart, and yet their words speak to the mind and ravish the heart. They speak imperatives, but they do not speak of the real and powerful grace of God. They do not strengthen the weak or refresh the soul. Such things are too weak for them. In an effort to uphold truth amid many weak pulpits, they preach with conviction, but their words are not shepherding. They are the words of a lecturer to a student.

A man may well guard the sheep from error and proclaim holy doctrines that declare with conviction the glories of God, and yet the sheep may recognize the dangers without and glory in the high and holy doctrines of God. But if those truths are not realized in the heart of the shepherd, it will be evident in his care of the sheep and in their love for one another.

It is not the pastor who preaches the most truth or the most love that the saint needs. The saint needs the whole counsel of God. He needs neither a lecturer in the pulpit nor a man who offers nothing but love without truth. He needs a biblically qualified man who is able to teach and who is a man of proven character. That is a man in whom the Word is continually working upon his own heart.

Such a man cannot merely lecture. Nor can he preach the world’s message of love. He is called to shepherd the sheep according to God’s Word, not merely with it on his tongue, or possessing it in his mind, but with that Word working in his own heart.

Far too many in the pulpit do not sound like David, do not sound like Paul, do not sound like men with the Word wrought in their hearts. They sound like the tongues of skilled men exposing a text that has not worked in their own hearts, or like men who have taken up the world’s favorite isolated verses, or like dead men who preach to dead men. Few and faithful are those men who are both able to teach and in whose hearts the Scriptures work deeply. Thereby they shepherd not only to the minds of men, but to their hearts, as men who have themselves had their minds and hearts exposed to the text.

Likewise, the saints in the pew. Some of the most faithful saints are those who are not able to argue or debate deep things, but who have been so searched by the Scriptures and have found God faithful in those divine truths that the love they share and the truth they proclaim is genuine. It has the power to humble the most wise man. It is that which they truly know and can testify to.

May we humble ourselves under the Word. May we truly know Him, and may our love be the outworking of His continual and abiding work in us. May we sit in the company of faithful saints and under faithful exposition, not cold academics, not false fire, or mysticism, but truth spoken by a shepherd who knows the Lord. Not scholars dressed in shepherds’ clothes, nor wolves dressed as shepherds devouring the flock.

Come, O saint, and hear the glories of God revealed in Christ among His saints. Set your mind and heart upon divine truths, and let those realities be known among the saints.

“I have thought as I have listened to our eloquent friends, that they imagined that our Lord had said, ‘Feed my camelopards.’ None but giraffes could reach the food when placed in so lofty a rack. Christ says, ‘Feed my sheep,’ place the food among them, put it close to them.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon, “Feed My Sheep”

Where we sit matters.

Writers don’t typically one day think, “I think I may write something.” They usually have been writing all their lives, and once they discover a subject of meaning to them, they are compelled to write about it. Every writer is different. It would be rather boring if it were not so. Every man his own style. But each man’s love, whether he means for it to or not, is revealed in his writing.

It’s well been said that a writer doesn’t know what they are thinking until they write. That can be good and bad. Whatever he has stored up in his heart comes out in his writing. If a writing is good, it has well been said, it cannot be separated from the one who wrote it. If our doctrine is sound, it will be revealed in our writing. If it is unsound, it will be known as well. But it’s not just our doctrine. Our hearts are revealed as well.

Ought every man who thinks he has something to say do so? No! While that ought to examine us all, and not just once but continually, let it not discourage the one who ought to write. The most prideful will assume the latter is about him and not examine himself. They are many. Few are those who are far more careful before taking up their pen, even if they have much knowledge about God. Let every man examine his doctrine and his own heart as well.

There are no shortcuts. There are useful tools and helpful techniques, but there are no shortcuts. If we are to develop a theology of writing, then it is as any other ministry where words are conveyed. It must first be wrought in us before it is conveyed to another.

I come from a theological background where anyone is encouraged to write and to share their testimony, as it is considered so uniquely anointed that it carries a power of its own to rescue those who can only be reached through that testimony. What is seriously lacking or non-existent in those testimonies and in the writings of those who take up their pen is a knowledge of who God is, who Christ is, what He has done, good hermeneutics, and it shows in their handling of Scripture and sound doctrine. The main problem is not with their misuse of commas or other poor grammatical errors. If that was all, then let them write to the glory of God and grow in those areas. But that’s not the problem.

They have learned that their testimony is needed and that souls are depending on it, and if they don’t write it, then those who need it may perish without it. That’s not trust in the sovereignty of God in salvation or the Gospel. It’s also making more of one’s testimony than is theologically sound. It doesn’t matter if they can write or if they have sound theology. They are released and encouraged to write because they have a “powerful testimony.”

The reality is that these souls are not going to stop writing. And it may even get worse. If a man seeks sound theology in a “Christian bookstore” or in the Christian section of the religion aisle in a bookstore, he is almost guaranteed that he will pick up a book that will profit him nothing and lead him into grievous error or heresy.

Not every man should write. But if a man has sound doctrine, that alone is not enough that he should write. It is vitally important to his writing, but it alone is not enough.

If our hearts are not being transformed by sound doctrine and we are not growing and maturing, then our writing, no matter how theologically precise, will suffer. If we write because it’s what we do but we find no pleasure in the One of whom we write about and no genuine love for the saints or the lost, that will be evident no matter how we seek to hide it. You cannot separate sound doctrine and genuine love.

Do we love the God of whom we write? Do we love the saints? Do we love those of whom we warn of their falsehood? Do we love the lost? Do we love the truth? Do we love, or have our hearts been hardened while our heads are still filled with much knowledge about God? We can lie to ourselves, but if we write, it will always ultimately reveal not only the truth we intend to convey but the truth of our own hearts.

Below are some notes from a video by Michael Reeves on A Theology of Writing. I recommend that anyone who loves to write and loves God listen to it.

And dear one, don’t compare your writing to others in the sense that you find yourself weaker than another. If you learn from another who is more mature, more disciplined, or more faithful, then let that help you in your writing. But don’t throw off writing because you have a different style or your writing is different. Different is not bad, so long as that is not an excuse for laziness in study, in growing and maturing, or in writing what departs from all of church history because you feel you have something new or “different” to say.

Someone wisely said, “There’s nothing new in theology except that which is false.”

You don’t have to have something new to say. Your testimony is not so uniquely anointed and powerful that souls will perish without it. If God has given you a desire to write, then be careful how you use that. It’s been said that a pastor who has a desire to preach and not to study has a desire to perform. Likewise, a person who desires to write but does not desire to study, grow, and mature in the faith does not have a desire to faithfully write, but a desire to be heard. Not every man should preach. Not every person should write.

Excerpts from A Theology of Writing by Michael Reeves:

“And so I suggest if we are to be godly sub writers writing in God’s image, our writing must involve, One, knowing God as the Son knows God. Two, making God and his ways known as the Son makes him known. And three, aiming as the Spirit does to see hearts affected by the power of the gospel, the sword of the Spirit, so that our readers love God. All of this with the ultimate goal that God is truly glorified, meaning that believers will increasingly be filled with all the fullness of God.”

“So Christian writing involves one knowing God, two making him and his ways known, three affecting hearts and all for the glory of God. So with those three points, it all means Christian writing is built on a non-negotiable foundation, knowing God.”

“The Son can make the Father known because he knows him. And we can only make God and his ways known to the extent that we know him. That is why friends, your growth as a Christian is the most important part of your growth as a writer.”

“You can hone your skills to a razor’s edge, but you are not likely to bring your readers to know and delight in God more than you do. You can know the truth. God ought to be enjoyed and you understand that truth, but you are not likely to bring people to enjoy God more than you actually do.”

“If you are to communicate the beauty of God or the foulness of sin, you must appreciate those things deeply yourself.”

“And so communication skill is good and we will come to that. But all the communication talent in the world can only convey as much knowledge or delight as you have.”

“A theologically thin Christian, however talented, will be a theologically thin writer.”

“And therefore, before anything else, Christian writers must constantly seek to grow in their knowledge of God and of his ways. It means we must be soaked in Scripture, full of God’s truth. It means we need to stretch our minds theologically, not be content with where we are at.”

“And you know that constant mental stretching does something to you. It does something not just to the weight of your content. It does something to your very tone. You know, we all know the slightly patronizing voice some pastors and theologians can have, right? And it’s as if they seem to have arrived at their level of maturity years ago, and now they’re spoon-feeding us with stuff that’s gone stale for them. It doesn’t really seem to excite them, and so it doesn’t excite us. But those who are still growing have an air of wonder and excitement about them, because they’re pushing, pushing to see fresh insights into His glory.”

Reeves also speaks about the weaknesses God uses in the writer:

“The very point where you are weak is probably where God will use you most. And where you can be most helpful to others.”

And finally:

“And therefore, friends, press in to behold the glory of the Lord. Because by so doing, you will not only add a weight of glory to your content, you will be transformed from one degree of glory to another. The more you glory in him as the Son glories in the Father, the more you and your writing will carry the aroma of Christ. You’re going to give away your heart. So shape your hearts by the glory of Christ.”

Written by: April J. Buchanan

If a saint cannot disagree with a brother, even strongly, and still acknowledge him as a fellow saint when they hold different theological convictions, then we have gone too far.

We may even go so far as to say we cannot endorse or support someone because of their doctrines and yet still say that we believe them to be a fellow saint.

However, those who persistently oppose correction, sincere calls for repentance, and show themselves obstinate to the truth, while using Scripture wrongly to shield themselves from correction and to categorize fellow saints as critical, divisive, pharisaical, or creating controversies, are guilty of something very different. When a brother exposes their public error and calls them to repentance when biblically warranted, and they respond by calling that brother divisive and accusing him of attacking them, they have turned the charge of division against the very brother who is seeking to address the error. In doing so, they are the ones acting divisively and making a false accusation.

We can disagree, even strongly, and even expose the errant doctrines of others and still acknowledge those whom we believe to be fellow saints. This is not being divisive or having a critical spirit.

False teachers are in an entirely different category. They are not to be regarded as fellow saints. Their teaching and conduct may give biblical grounds to regard them as unregenerate, and they may be both deceived and deceiving. They make the same accusations, and they use the same Scriptures to shield themselves from being exposed for what they really are.

There is in the heart of every man that which he would do well to lay daily before God and set his mind and heart to the Scriptures, praying that the truth may correct him before it corrects his brother, and that when he goes to his brother, he does so in humility and genuine love, boldly and humbly proclaiming the truth.

Correction has a way of exposing our hearts. But not correction only. Sometimes, when we speak and claim to be discerning and loving truth, our own hearts may be exposed. We may find ourselves speaking many words and, as such, going beyond the Scriptures and judging our brother harshly. Not all discernment is biblical. Not all correction is genuine love.

No matter how well known we are for love, discernment, good deeds, or sound doctrine, pride is never far from our door. Examine ourselves first. Daily!

Examine our doctrine. Examine our hearts. Examine our lives. If we don’t, it will be exposed.

Written by: April J. Buchanan

Take up truth as a faithful friend. Let the Word examine and change us so that we may know how weak and susceptible to error and falsehood we really are, and how powerful, gracious, and glorious the Word of God is in the hearts of men.

If God’s Word is not changing me by revealing every false way in me, then to what purpose have I taken it up? If it is merely a weapon, I will certainly use it wrongly. If it is merely a guide, then I shall find myself as lost as I already am. If it is merely a tool to help me be successful, then I may adopt its beneficial principles to my own ultimate demise.

It reveals God. And the more I see Him, the more I see myself rightly, and the more I see Christ. It always leads to Christ. It doesn’t begin with me. It doesn’t end with me. It’s not about me. It’s about God! And only when I take up His Word desiring truth can I see Christ. And as I see Him rightly, I may be led by His Spirit and changed by His Word and empowered by His grace, being all the more conformed to His image.

I don’t know my every error, my every sin, what is before me that would overthrow me, or what would be greater than my greatest resolve. God knows. And I’d be a fool to think I’m so spiritual or well learned that I could not fall.

It is the grace of God to equip us today lest tomorrow we fall. It is the grace of God, sufficient today, to keep my foolish heart from error and temptation. It is the grace of God to give me the love and desire for holiness, righteousness, truth, and those most glorious things for which I once had no such desire. It is the grace of God to make known to me the things in my heart and mind that I know not or think good, and to reveal them as they really are, that I may find them repulsive in the light of truth and find grace powerful to change my mind and heart concerning them.

If truth is only for the taking up and using as an offensive weapon, then I’ll never know its power in my own heart and mind. Let truth be a faithful friend.

Written by: April J. Buchanan

I’ve never met a saint whose sanctification has become so perfect as to have no regrets over sin, not merely prior to their conversion but since it. The saint does not merely speak of grace but grows accordingly. His heart is changed and being changed. Be careful if there’s no continual changing. No man has mastered his own flesh to the degree that he has no ongoing changes to be made. His mind is renewed and being renewed. No man has mastered the Scriptures, and no man has been entirely mastered yet by them.

Only the fool thinks he needs something more. There’s enough in the text that a man may live as long as Methuselah and still never master all the Scriptures have to teach men. There’s no new thing of which men must take up in addition to the text. It is enough. And that is both a comfort and a truth that reveals that we will never entirely master it.

The saint who loves God loves His Word and desires to be changed all the more by it and for His glory. To think lightly of the text and much of ourselves is the cry for something more. “It is good, but I need more” is the foolish cry of men who do not see God rightly, themselves rightly, and think they have so mastered the Scriptures that now they may go on to something more, or that it is so insufficient that it has failed to give them something just for them. Only the foolish heart would bring such a charge against God. He has not failed to give us all we need in His Word.

Once a man learns how to rightly study the Scriptures, he has begun to put away the foolish thoughts that he could ever master them or that he could need something more. For no man has ever looked into the Scriptures rightly and thought, “I need more than this. I need a word just for me.”

I recently heard the words a pastor, who has gone to glory, once explain that his problem was not that he needed more revelation, his problem was with himself and obeying the revelation already given. He was not excusing sin. He was demonstrating that God has given us enough revelation. We don’t need more. The problem is with us. We ought rather to pray that God help us not merely to take up more knowledge, which is good, but to be sanctified by it and that we would obey the revelation He has already given. The more we learn and grow, it is humbling because the more we see that we have to still learn and grow. The man who would think he needs more revelation has already shown that he does not understand the revelation already given, he may be unregenerate, and he has a very wrong view of God, himself, and the Scriptures.

We don’t need more revelation as if Scripture were insufficient. We need more sanctification because we still wrestle against our remaining sin.

The man far removed from good hermeneutics will skim the surfaces of the Scriptures and never look into them and be truly humbled and changed by them, coming up again and again with a renewed heart, renewed mind, changed life, and worshipping God as He is worthy. A shallow view of Scripture is evident in the man with a low view of God, a high view of himself, and the demand for something more. The text may be sufficient for other men, but for him it’s not enough. He needs more.

Written by: April J. Buchanan

The gospel that begins with man and minimizes his sin has already diminished the glory and holiness of God. When men begin with themselves, they inevitably make their own condition the starting point rather than God Himself. The Gospel begins with God, and that is already an offense to men because it takes the focus off of self and puts it where it belongs: upon the holiness, righteousness, and glory of God. It begins with a high view of God, and the more rightly we see Him, the more rightly we see ourselves. A high view of God does not diminish our sin; it reveals how sinful we are and how great our need truly is.

We don’t need mere help or a fresh start, thinking we will be able to maintain it this time. No. The Gospel shows us the perfection of God and the command of God that we be perfect. When men rightly see that perfection and then recognize that they cannot attain it, they are beginning to see how far from God they really are. They say things like, “no one is perfect,” or “that’s impossible.” They may think themselves finding something wrong with God. How can He command what is impossible? How can they be perfect? They begin to see the truth and it is a fearful reality of every man before a holy God. Now they may see Christ. This is not so with those who begin with man and seek to help him work himself toward God. It’s not possible. The only way to God is Christ, and men only come to understand this when we begin with God, so that we may all see ourselves rightly and our only hope then is Christ.

Regeneration is not that I once was an offense to God but now He has given me a fresh start and I’ll do better this time. Grace is not that I have made some mistakes since salvation and that grace gets me back on the right path again. No! That’s a false gospel. Regeneration is the work of God whereby those who were dead in sin He has made alive in Christ. Justification is whereby the wrath of God has been satisfied in Christ and His perfect righteousness has been imputed to all who are united to Christ by faith. Regeneration is not giving us a fresh start so we can try again. That’s works. Regeneration is new life in Christ whereby we are given a new heart and brought to faith in Him, trusting in the One with whom God is well pleased because of who He is and what He has done. It is because of His perfect life and sacrifice for all who come to Him in faith. Grace is not dusting ourselves off when we make mistakes and trying harder next time. No! Grace is the undeserved favor of God, and it is by His grace that He gives us life, justifies us through faith in Christ, and sanctifies us by His Spirit. It is the power of God at work in all who are His.

Many come to Christ seeking a fresh start, “a new life,” but what they mean by new life is not what Christianity truly is. Many want a second chance, a fresh start, and to make it on their own with a little help. They do not come to Christ laying down their life and being raised up to new life in Him. They want to lay down their old life as far as it is a burden to them, but they want to be raised to a clean slate, a fresh start, and with a desire to do better, but not to be raised to new life in Christ. They do not see themselves as slaves of sin or enemies of God. They see themselves as victims of circumstances and having made some mistakes that got them off track. They want a do-over. They don’t want to come and die. They don’t want to be raised to new life in Christ. They may go down to the altar, down in the water, and they may rise up with a renewed sense of purpose and hope for a fresh start, but they did not die to the old man, neither were they raised to new life in Christ. Neither have they been born again, nor is their outwardly identifying with Christ and His body through baptism anything more than one more step of ritual to feel better about a newness of life that they have not received nor shall they walk in it. They want the benefits, but they do not want Christ.

The Gospel of Christ is not a gospel of self-improvement, self-discovery, self-fulfillment, or merely finding purpose for one’s life. It is not a gospel of self. It calls men to die to self and to be raised to new life in Christ, being identified with Him. It begins with God, and as such, men see themselves rightly before God. They are no longer convinced of their inherent goodness or merely of their need for a fresh start so they can get it right this time. They see themselves as sinners before a holy God and their need for new life in Christ, so that they may be reconciled to God and, by His grace, live in fellowship with Him, growing and walking according to grace.

When a man hears the truth, he may be offended and reject it, but it is the power of God to save a man, and He does so by the offense of the Gospel. Let every man be offended by the truth, that the power of God may be known to all who are being saved. We take no pleasure in offending men, and we do not go out of our way to be an offense. The truth is an offense to those dead in sin. We know this well if we are in Christ. For there was a time when we found the Gospel offensive, and it was grace that made it beautiful.

Written by: April J. Buchanan

Lift high the name of Jesus. Oh, but pilgrims, come and hear, come and see, and come and rejoice together. For the world has no such pleasure in holy things. The man of dead men’s bones, inwardly dead though outwardly dressed in wealthy robed garments of the finest of all the world, declaring himself righteous, shares not your joy and knows not your contentment, your joy, your peace. Go and see. Go and hear. Let those heavenly words made manifest to your soul be life and joy and peace evermore. Oh, what your soul has come to know of life and peace, no man of temporal delights and delusions of heaven’s gates opened wide has any understanding of your hope and joy. He is your joy. He is your peace. He is your waking joy and restful delight.

Delude yourself not as other men with heavenly fantasies while pursuing earthly pleasures a stench and offense to the Majesty on High. Sit not in delight among the enemies of the Master and delight yourself in their base and wicked entertainments. For your Master is aware of all such things as would be a snare to you and has made your way of escape. To sit among the sinners is a necessary thing. Do so and in honor to your King. Take every opportunity to well represent him and know your weakness and be faithful.

For enemies, in their own minds, are dressed in the finest of all men have to offer. Thinking themselves to at some time to sit in the presence of the King. They take no pleasure in hearing truth and so they have no mirror of which reveals how filthy their rags. They will have no part in being clothed in the righteousness of Another and they clean themselves making their appearance worse than before. An offense to holiness.

The robes of yours surpass them, they are the robes of the King, the Master, the Lord. By grace you have heard and seen yourself rightly before such holiness and by grace you have been bought and clothed in the righteousness of Another. Whatever meager wages you are sustained in this world, or if the benefits of vast wealth, you know that which exceeds it all. The beggar satisfied and content, the wealthy acknowledging that to amass it all cannot compare to Him.

Oh, to such riches men seek to bring down from heaven, of which their delusions and wicked hearts claim for themselves now as their testimony, their own unregenerate hearts knowing in some part that they shall never enjoy those true riches in Christ either here nor there. They love Him not, and they rob souls while robbing widows’ houses. That their joy and delight, for it is all they shall ever know of it.

Oh, most miserable is that soul which thinks himself to someday dwell in the presence of the Lord who took no pleasure in Him and had no desire for Him or His precious saints. Oh, what poor wretches are they who boast of their blessings and intimacy with the God in whom they think delights much in them, and of which they know not, worse, that He knows them not. Oh, what wicked souls who think themselves humble, showing no confidence in the mercy and grace of God to save, but to cast doubt upon His sovereign grace by thinking they must contribute in some way to perfection.

His Word, a better Word. Oh, to that saint, no other word can compare. He has no ear for the man who will flatter him or sell him poison dressed as honey, claiming all he would desire now and that it is the desire of Christ for him to have it. He has no such delusions of himself, and he has no such low visions of God. He has heard the voice of his Lord, and no other shall he entertain.

Christ! Christ! For no other Name surpasses that of the Incarnate, the Holy, the Preeminent, the Second Person of the Trinity, the Savior, Redeemer, Lord, Sustainer, the Faithful and True, the Prince of Peace. Oh, come and see. Oh, come and hear.

Gather with the saints. Together make a joyful noise unto the Lord. For you have been bought. You have been redeemed. You have been adopted. Heirs. Co-heirs with Christ. You who were dead, alive. You who once loved darkness, walk in the light. You who were once enemies, now reconciled to God in Christ.

Rejoice!

He who has purchased you, redeemed you, clothed you in His righteousness, paid the penalty for your debt that you could not afford, is risen, alive, and He will return to consummate His kingdom.

Sing, oh you saints. Rejoice! Let your praise be heard throughout all the earth. Prepare yourself for Him. He is returning! We know not when, for if we knew, we could only be so foolish as others until the last. The not knowing sets the heart with anticipation, readiness, and longing. Oh, faint-hearted saint, revive your longing and remember your Lord. Go now. Prepare yourself. Walk worthy. Live as one whose Master may return at any hour. For He shall. Let peace be a sweet companion in all your doing, for He has reconciled you and He is faithful to preserve you.

Go now, saint, and be faithful in whatever He has set you to do. Set your mind aright, for it is prone to drift. Set your heart faithful, for it is prone to wander. Don’t you know it? Be careful you do, for how else may you not be led astray by it but rather discipline it. Oh, saint, hear the words of life. Sing with exceeding joy, for those words are true. Praise Him. He is worthy! And dear saint, every Word He has spoken is true. Rejoice. Be at peace. For someday soon your faith shall become sight. What a day that shall be, and all the more for he to whom it is not a sudden shock, having not made himself ready, but to him who has ever trained his heart and mind in the truth and rejoiced in them, to him it shall be inexpressible joy.

Come, oh saint, and hear. Go forth in obedience. Go forth in grace and truth. Worship Him in Spirit and in Truth. Many are they who worship another. Be found faithful.

Wait not for mass revival. Go now and worship your Lord. Be content to be found faithful. Be ever in His Word, that it may do its work in you so that you may persevere unto the end.

Faithful!

Written by: April J. Buchanan

The Sovereign has spoken! Hear Him!

Consider the command of that voice. The thundering command. This is the God of Scripture.

When God speaks, it is authoritative and powerful. He is not merely a sovereign, but the Sovereign God. The Creator and Sustainer of all things.

The god speaking to so many today is so weak, effeminate, and needy. He is not Lord. He is not Master. He is not King. He is not Sovereign. The god who speaks so commonly in churches today and in the hearts of professing believers is not the God of Scripture.

Hear Him speak. Hear who He reveals Himself to be. No man then may hear the whisperings of his own heart or the claims of so many unqualified men in the pulpit, their claims of what God spoke to them, and continue to think that is God once he has truly heard God in Scripture. That’s not God. It’s their own hearts, at best.

The man who sets his heart to the text of Scripture and truly hears God will not be swayed by his own thoughts of Him.

Be careful of your low view of such a high and holy God that you would be so foolish as to hear your own heart and ascribe those words to Him. Understand your own sinful heart and its desire to reign. Submit it to God. For many foolish men teach that God is leading you through whispers and impressions. This is to the delight of your sinful heart. It is not submitted to God, showing rebellion against His revealed Word and authority by seeking its own rule, following the voice that reveals what is in agreement with its own heart, and obeying the voice of another. Rebellion is not merely casting aside the name of God, but taking up His name and following the voice of one’s own rebellious heart and doing so in His name.

Be careful is not a gentle suggestion. It is a warning of very real threat to your own soul, and that threat is your own heart’s desire to reign and be its own god. Such men heap up teachers who promise they can hear God speak to them personally and be led by that voice because it says what they love.

When the beauty of God is revealed, it is not some superficial, soft, sentimental, or ornamental beauty. It is perfection. It is holiness. It is perfect power. It is all His glory on display. It is the commands of the Sovereign sent forth to His subjects. It is the rule and power and authority of God on perfect display. And as many are His foes, thinking themselves autonomous and reigning over their own lives, rebelling against Him or seeking to overthrow Him, He laughs. He has ordained all things. He is sovereign over all things. They are no threat to His reign, His power, His majesty, or His kingdom. His beauty is more than our eyes can behold as creatures. For even men fall in awe before His created heavenly host. What shall we think but that men who claim such unique intimacy with God have made trips to heaven, or have had the King of glory sit on their beds and chat with them, or lie down with them in the afternoon and whisper to them, or give them new revelation just for them or for their church each week? Is that the Sovereign God reigning and ruling over all things, who has established all things and worked all things from beginning to end? Has He failed to give us a completed Canon that rules every man, everywhere, perfectly and in order, according to His sovereign will, and by which we are all led by the same power, the same authority, the same commands, and led by the same Spirit to obey and enabled to do so?

Rogue and rebellious are many pulpits. Dissatisfied with the Sovereign’s, the King’s, the Master’s commands. For to seek something new, something fresh, is to throw off the perfect and complete Word of God and claim the Spirit of God is leading a rebellion with new words, new revelations.

The Sovereign has spoken. The King has issued His orders. The Master has given His commands. And every precious saint, near and far, past and present and future, are alike ruled and commanded and are alike empowered by the Spirit to obey His commands, finding comfort and strength in that perfect, immutable, authoritative, complete Word of God.

He has spoken. Yet many will not be satisfied with what He has spoken. They love not His commands and love not His voice. Another voice they follow, for He has said that they will do so. They will heap up men who tell them what they want to hear. Many are such men. And many are they who love their new words, new revelations, the freedom and power promised to them that sets them apart from church history and from those Christians with their Bibles, doctrine, theology, and discernment today. They claim that they ought to be hearing God speak to their own hearts and to obey what they hear in their heart as the command of God. They follow their Master. Their heart is their Master. They obey. And they call it by the Name of God.

Blasphemous are the prayers and praises of many men who know not the voice of the Shepherd, the Master, for their hearts follow another and they believe they follow Him. They love the voice of their master and they follow him, for he speaks their own desires. They corrupt the Master’s Word to their own benefit, twisting it and distorting its beauty to have it say what they want it to say and to claim the Master is speaking something new through His Word just for them. They show their contempt for the holy and Sovereign God and the Master of the house, the King, by throwing off His commands and giving new meaning to His Word just for them. They don’t love Him. They don’t obey Him. They obey the voice of their own heart.

The one who has come to set his heart and mind under the Master’s Word finds there His Word authoritative, sufficient, powerful, immutable. His heart rejoices in that perfect Word. He is enabled by the Spirit to follow the voice of His Master and obey His commands. The Master’s voice he does not despise. And the more he looks into His Word, the more he is changed and being changed more to the image of the Son by the powerful and effective work of God in him. He is cared for and secure in the truth and in the commands and instruction of the Sovereign and his Redeemer. He seeks not a new word but finds the Master’s Word sufficient and powerful. There is assurance and peace in the finality of the Word and that the same Word spoken to the early church is authoritative and sufficient for the bride today.

Many today know Him not. They follow another master. They are ruled by their own hearts that have been baptized in spiritual language, and having powerful experiences, have validated their delusions. They increasingly set their hearts and minds against the Master and hate even the language of such. They know Him not. They are led by another.

There is one Lord! One Master. He has spoken. In His Word. Will we obey Him or the voice of our own hearts that unqualified men and rebellious women lead many to follow and claim it is God? The same men lead by claiming He speaks to them, giving them new words. That itself should send men fleeing. For the Master has spoken! Who will we follow?