Leaving Beyond – Grounded In Scripture

Written by: April J. Buchanan

“Behold the terror of the Lord, and let His holiness make your soul tremble; grace alone delivers from wrath.” ~ John Owen

If I never tremble, I have never feared such holiness that intrinsically is so pure that there’s no other appropriate action than to put me away, and under just punishment for all eternity.

Why eternity? I’ll never be able to enter such beauty, such perfection, such holiness, such righteousness on my own. Even my best efforts are self-motivated and stained. If God lets me into His presence, as I am on my own, then He cannot be holy, righteous, or just. The only way to enter in is by stripping Him of His Divine Attributes— which so many are willing to do—or to be stripped of any hope in oneself, agree with God that we deserve His wrath and enter in the only way possible, through Christ.

Many love a Jesus today. He’s their BFF, their life-coach, the one stripped of His Divine Nature and merely a man like us: He gets us. In any attribute of divinity that He is allowed to maintain it is equally ascribed to man as well. He has taken the hand of these and raised them to be just like Him—equal in authority, power, position, honor and favor. He saw them as victims of their sins, raised them up, and has given them the call to be savior of the world and to go out with authority and power that cannot be distinguished from Christ Himself.

We don’t tremble anymore. We don’t stand in awe. God has been made to be so like us that we feel we are doing God a favor, that He needs us, that He is trying His best but unless He finds someone to partner with He can’t accomplish His will. We’ve never studied the Perfections—Attributes—of God. We don’t know Him. If we did, we might fear that our next breath would not be a gift and we could face His Holy Righteous Undiluted Wrath that we justly deserve. We don’t tremble. We don’t know Him.

God has been so demoted and stripped of His uniqueness that He is just like us. He must save us because if He doesn’t, He’s not loving. We put demands on God. We don’t even need Him. We have authority and power to speak what we desire and to command sickness to obey us, Satan to fear us and obey us, finances to obey us. We have become our own god.

We speak of God but He is not the God of the Bible. He has similarities but He exists for our good and to give us the desires of our hearts that we baptize in Biblical language and call good and claim is pleasing to God.

We have no fear of putting words in His mouth and claiming He speaks to us with such regularity that sometimes we are annoyed with Him for interrupting our sleep, our meal, our message. We are special because we hear God speak to us outside of Scripture and we need not fear that we could be the false prophets Scripture warned about. We are above the Scriptures; those warnings simply don’t apply to us.

We don’t need the Gospel or Christ. We may give Him appearances in what we speak but He really just gets in the way of our anointing, our power, our authority, our greater miracles than His. It is our time to shine.

Are you grieved? My heart despises writing such words and yet they are realities that plague the church. Such pride reeks in our pulpits and pews, prayer meetings and Bible studies. Many do not fear God because they do not know God. They have a Jesus, a gospel and another spirit.

Grace and Peace, y’all.
Soli Deo Gloria

Written by: April J. Buchanan

“The soul that knows its own misery will glory only in the mercy of God, and in nothing else.” ~ Thomas Watson

The fool says, “I need no such grace to change this heart of stone and seek God for my own—for if it be my will to do so, I freely trust that I can as I will when I so desire”. The wicked heart is deceitful, such as even to convince the wretch he has in himself such a desire for God that can be pleasing to such holiness. The man of whom has come to know his own wretchedness cries out against his wicked heart and rejoices only in such grace that could move his heart to know such love and such joy in another that once his sinful heart despised.

The wicked boast in their ability and their autonomy, their willingness to choose righteousness. They know not the depths of their own depravity or the beauty of such holiness that, if not now, will soon cause such horror to their mind that they lash out for all eternity against it. They do not later come to love God; they continue in their hatred toward Him. They neither love God now nor will they love Him then.

We know not how sinful we really are. His commands are plain to all, for He has revealed them to us. We know not how bound our will is and how evil our hearts toward Him. We are free, yes—free to the slavery of our will bound in sin. The fool says, “Let me choose when I will”; whereas the one who has come to know the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit cries out against his heart and cries out only: Grace! Grace! Amazing Grace!

Grace and Peace, y’all
Soli Deo Gloria

Written by: April J. Buchanan

“Faithful men finishing well is a demonstration of God’s sustaining grace, not the merit of the man.” ~ R. C. Sproul

Earlier this week, I heard Tom Pennington’s tribute to John MacArthur. While truly beautiful, I was profoundly encouraged when he said, “We needed to see one who finished well.”

Many men have fallen in various theological camps in recent years. Many of those were not surprising, as their theology proved them false long before their secret, sinful private lives were publicly revealed. Others it did come as a surprise, as their theology was sound, but in private they were living in unrepentant sin. We pray that among these are those who are truly regenerate, as few among them—made known publicly—have submitted themselves to church discipline and stepped out of the pulpit.

Praise God for the encouragement to the saints to see men who submit to church discipline and are truly repentant. Far too many don’t and further victimize victims, while portraying themselves as the victim. Wolves often have a very loyal support system in place among other pastors who minimize their sins, exalt them such as the kingdom of God “needs them,” silence anyone who warns of them and silence the voices of any possible victims. They also have very loyal, deceived followers.

Often, it is evident, to the Biblically discerning, that these men are not called of God—as their false teachings make it plain. They are also often recognized as supporting others who teach falsehood, blaspheme God, and are caught in sin. They give their support of restoring these men to the pulpit as if the church cannot survive without them. They are wolves protecting one another.

Then there are those that their theology was sound. We tested their teachings. They were otherwise doctrinally solid. But in their private lives, they were living in unrepentant sin.

God is gracious, and if they do not repent, He exposes them—for their sake and the sake of the purity of His bride. He removes them from their position and puts another in their place.

Among wolves this does not happen. They are exposed, but they play the victim. Other wolves restore them. Their concern is not for the purity of the bride, faithful exposition of the Word, or the glory of God. Their concern is for their position, their influence, their supposed anointing, their power, and their authority. They convince their followers that the church “needs them.” God does not need them! They are replaceable. They are wolves!

So many in the church have been so influenced by false Word-Faith, Prosperity Gospel, and NAR teachings that they truly believe that the church will fail in her mission without these men. They excuse their false teachings, behavior, and sin that brings reproach on the name of Christ to a watching world and that blasphemes God, exalts man, demotes God, preaches a different gospel, and leads many astray. Why? They believe that without these men the mission of the church will fail and they promise all their sinful hearts desire NOW!

While God permits these wolves to continue in their work that is contrary to the truth, it is not because He needs them, but rather, they are part of God’s judgment against those who reject the truth. He does make use of them, but not as many have wrongly believed. The church has long stood against their false teachings, and it has served to strengthen the church in the truth as she stands against error and heresy. They are not the hero’s the church is looking for. We have one hero—Christ Jesus our Lord.

We may be encouraged that He is sovereign and every Word He has spoken is true. We have His Word by which to test every other word said in His name. His promises are true, and His children find assurance and confidence in them.

We can trust that God has gifted the church with Biblically qualified men and that He has given to His bride the ability to test all things to see if what is taught is true. He has not elevated the man in the pulpit such as the church cannot survive without him—by which all his sins and false teachings can be excused. It is a humble calling and a beautiful gift of God, sustained by God’s grace and one of which will bring glory to God as these men submit themselves to the Word in their own lives and to faithfully expositing the Word in the pulpit, trusting God with the results. A reward awaits these few and faithful men.

Be encouraged, dear saint, when we see them finish well, as it is to the glory and praise of God who has kept them to the end. It is all the Grace of God and no man has room for boasting. And let us likewise praise God for His grace even in revealing wolves that were in our midst.

It is all of grace and all for the glory of God.

Grace and Peace, y’all
Soli Deo Gloria

Written by: April J. Buchanan

“We do not pray to change God’s mind, but to be conformed to His eternal, perfect purpose.” ~ John Owen

Some would foolishly say that they cannot pray that God’s will be done, because to do so, they believe, is a lack of faith. Is it ignorance of who God is, or is it something worse that would lead to such a foolish statement?

Have we no understanding of the Sovereign, Efficacious Will of God—that will by which He decrees all things according to His good pleasure and His wise counsel, which cannot be thwarted or frustrated by man?

Have we no understanding of the comfort to the children of God, that we can trust that God is sovereign, and that He is not reacting to circumstances but He governs all things according to His will? Have we no understanding that our faith is not in a god that is irrational, capricious, or whose decisions are contingent upon what man will do?

To strip God of His sovereignty, or of governing all things after the counsel of His will, proves the ignorance, arrogance, and foolishness of man. It is to deny that God is God.

God is not a god of disorder; rather, He is a God of order. He didn’t just wind things up and leave it up to man to keep it going by taking up our supposed authority and power over all things. God is still God.

While it may seem unsettling to some that God is even sovereign over the weather, over sickness, and all things, to the child of God that ought to encourage our faith. God is sovereign. If He were not, then what reason would we have at all to pray?

When we learn more of who God is, our faith is greatly encouraged. We do not have a blind faith or wishful thinking, for our God has revealed Himself in Scripture and in creation. He has made Himself known to us.

The ignorant cling to beliefs that demand of them a faith that leads them after counterfeits and to practices that dishonor God and blaspheme His name, His character, who He is, and what He has done. What they think they do to honor Him, in reality strips Him of the glory He is due and of who He is. But even this is not outside His will. He allows such things, and all according to His will, and ultimately for His own glory.

Those who hate the God of Scripture will create many counterfeits and lead men after them. Their god is ascribed many of the Attributes of God, but none are perfect, and all are corrupted by man. They have a gospel much like the gospel in Scripture, but it is corrupted. No man has ever been able to recreate a god of their own that is like the God of Scripture. Man always creates an imperfect counterfeit that, when compared to Scripture, proves false. Many come close, as they adopt so much of the language, beliefs, and practices of the true, but the imperfect will never compare to what is holy and will always be nothing more than a cheap counterfeit.

God, in His perfect will, ordains all things. What we understand as the Attributes of God, are best known as His Perfections. God’s will is not something we can bend or manipulate. It is perfect. We pray, and we are changed and conformed to His will. The more we learn of who God is, we do not want to change Him, and the more we want to be changed by Him.

Grace and Peace, y’all
Soli Deo Gloria

Written by: April J. Buchanan

“True religion is not a fanciful zeal, but a heart turned to God in truth and obedience.” ~ Richard Sibbes

Do I hate what sins my own betray my Lord, or do I merely hate their hindrances to my desires I think myself now to deserve, and to give me would please my Lord? Do I feign examination that I may find what may be a sacrifice in order to win the favor of my Lord, that my humble examination and sacrifice may curry His favor and He may be pleased to bless my sacrifice? Do I despise my sin, or do I sacrifice what hinders my greater desire that I may grow in favor to gain what I truly love and desire? Do I love God?

What if my beliefs are the very thing that are the vile, putrid meditations of my sinful heart that I delight in day and night, convincing myself that the pollution that reigns in me is a pleasing aroma to my Lord? Does my faith honor Him, or is my faith part of the vain imaginations of my own mind? Is my faith genuine and pleasing to God, or is it corrupted by my sinful heart and what assures me each day that I shall have what I desire and it pleases God for me to have it? Is my faith pure and undefiled? I have faith. I may have great faith. But is my faith born of God?

Am I worse than my neighbor who has no faith of which he ascribes at all? Does my worship, praise, and sacrifices repulse God? Do I offer them in His name, having found what works to give me what I desire? Do I ascribe to Him praise and sing truth to Him, offering what is otherwise good to Him but my sinful heart rests solely in rebellion, convincing me that God is pleased with me because of all I do for Him and how I give, worship, and sing to Him? How could He not give me what I desire?

But for His mercy, would my worship offered to Him, rather than bring upon myself the favor I think I have earned, now justly cost me my life? Do I know and love the God I claim to know? Has my own heart deceived me? How do I love it so?

Do I pray, sing, worship, and give with zeal, passion, and sincerity, yet my faith is not born of God but rather earns me no favor with God and only adds to His just wrath against me? Do I boast of my faith—that my own heart has deceived me is pleasing to God—and yet does violence to His name? Do I love God? Does it please Him when I call Him my Lord?

The man with a counterfeit is often full of pride, self-deceived, and lacks introspection. He takes personally any objective correction and denies himself the truth that would humble him and command him to repent. He thinks himself of great importance to the mission of God. He thinks that God needs him and the mission would fail without him. He has made himself of such importance that he’s convinced others that he is irreplaceable. He bears all the marks of a lost man with religion and not a man who has been born of the Spirit—truly regenerate—and is becoming conformed more to the image of Christ.

The counterfeit walks as parallel to the holy as possible. Many are deceived and follow after what is false, and worse, doing so in God’s name, offering Him false worship, false praise, and offering to Him false obedience and false sacrifices.

Lest God be gracious, he be damned. Oh, may God be gracious and merciful toward sinners such as ourselves, and above all, may He receive the worship and praise He is rightly due. May our praise bring Him glory.

Sanctify us in the truth, Oh Lord; Your Word is truth.

Grace and Peace, y’all
Soli Deo Gloria

Written by: April J. Buchanan

“The Word is the field in which Christ, the pearl of price, is hidden. Oh, then, search this field! Study the Scriptures. There is no danger of digging too deep here.” ~ Thomas Watson

Do yourself a favor. Pull up one of your pastors sermons. This may prove especially challenging if your pastor is neither an expository preacher nor a topical preacher. Far too often, many today, cannot truly be identified with either.

Open Your Bible! When he says where you will be in the passage, pause him! Go to that passage. Read it in its entirety. Do not listen to his sermon. Study the passage yourself. If that means putting days between you and your Bible and the remainder of his sermon, do it!

Ask questions of the passage. Who wrote it? Who did they write it to? What was going on at the time it was written? Where does it fit within redemptive history? What kind of book is it—Epistle, History? This truly matters! If you have time, read the entire book to get the flow, especially if this is an epistle. Take your time and don’t be in a rush.

Pray and ask God to help you understand what the text says and what it truly means. You’re not looking for something mystical to jump off the page at you. You’re not looking to see what it means to you. You’re not looking for new revelation. You’re going into the text to see what it meant when it was written so you can understand what it means now and how it correctly applies to your life. You’re asking if this text is simply describing something or if it is a command and prescribing something that you are to obey as well.

Read multiple commentaries. Go back and read the passage again. Then, when you believe you have a good grasp on what the original author meant when they wrote it, hit play.

Is your pastor claiming new revelation? Is he honoring the original authors intended meaning and bringing the correct meaning of that passage to bear on the mind of his audience or is he claiming something foreign to the original authors intended meaning? Is he opening that text up as you just did and going into it to bring out of it it’s correct meaning, or is he coming to the text with his own ideas and using that text to say what he wants it to say?

Is he working more diligently than you just did to be faithful to the meaning and exposition of that text or is he treating God’s Word with irreverence and making his approach sound mystical and super-spiritual but what he is really doing is using Scripture to preach his own message and leading you and others astray?

How are you learning to treat God’s Word from the example set before you in the pulpit? Are you learning a high view of Scripture and as a result you have a high view of God or are you hearing messages that are good for a sound-byte to make the pastor more popular but are insufficient for helping you grow and mature in your faith?

Test his teaching against the text. What is he preaching—himself, his imaginations, claims of extra-biblical revelation, or the Word?

Grace and Peace, y’all
Soli Deo Gloria

Written by: April J. Buchanan

“The main trouble in the church today is that people are not interested in the truth. They are only interested in experiences.” ~ Martyn Lloyd-Jones

You can’t deny that she has a way with words. She grabbed you and drew you in less than a full sentence. As you read her post, you almost forgot where you were. It read so well you began to see yourself sitting with her, and no longer were you reading, but you were in her home, sitting at the table over coffee and fresh baked bread, an aroma so strong you could almost smell it. She was now talking to you. She was speaking right to your broken places. She was ministering to the depths of your soul, and her words felt like she understood you in a way that you hadn’t felt seen or understood in a long time.

Compare this dear sister with the woman who has felt unseen by her husband, and another man comes along and he knows exactly what to say. She never imagined she could be someone who would commit adultery. She despised the very thought of it. But she never saw it coming. He may not have even come to her with such evil intentions, but in a short time she lifted her head ashamed and realized that she had been swayed by his charm—his words that seemed to minister to the broken and lonely places in her soul.

We may more readily guard ourselves against the second illustration, recognizing our sinful hearts and God’s warnings against such temptations. But we are so quick to drop our guard against the first. We are swayed by words that speak to our hearts. We read her words and sit at her table. We satisfy our soul drinking deeply from what promises to quench our thirst.

We test her words by how they make us feel. We meditate on her words, certain that there’s just no way she could have known exactly what we needed. We foolishly convince ourselves that our circumstances, problems, and personal feelings that we struggle with are so incredibly unique that if someone speaks to those places, then it must be from God, and it must be for us, and they must be truly from God.

As much as this may sound unloving, it’s said with genuine love: your situation, hardship, loss, struggle, personal struggles are not unique. If you fail to see that, then you are easy prey for those with bad theology and those with bad intentions. The truth is, we all struggle, and we can comfort one another, but it must be in the truth. Just because she shares Scripture and “gets you” doesn’t mean her words are true. Before you sit at her table, test the food.

Be careful in our weakness. Be daily in God’s Word, learning the truth so when we are weak, we remember the truth and when those who come to minister to us in our weakness with false words, we may not fall prey to them but stand firm in the truth.

There’s a lot of well-written false theology in your newsfeed—many who write about how great you are, how unique your testimony is, and how you are special. They pull you up out of your pit, but they do so by appealing to your sinful heart that wants to hear how great you are, how special you are, and how you are going to do big things, and how the world needs your testimony.

Dear friend, their message is not Good News! It is contrary to it. It makes you the hero. You don’t need to be your own hero. We make terrible gods. We need to hear the Gospel. We need to hear Scripture opened and exposited from faithful expositors of God’s Word. We need to pray and ask God to help us in our weakness. We need the truth. And we need to hear that Christ is enough, Scripture is enough, the Gospel is enough. We don’t need another “you are enough” false gospel.

Grace and Peace, y’all
Soli Deo Gloria

Written by: April J. Buchanan

“Our hope is not in our ability to persuade, but in the power of God to regenerate.” ~ Martyn Lloyd-Jones

If I look to my family for the hope of their salvation, I will grieve and torment my own soul day and night.

If I look to myself—my intellect, my wisdom, my cunning—in order to find some way to win them to Christ, I show myself to be opposed to the Lord I claim to belong, love, and trust.

But if I look to Christ, my heart may not be unburdened of desire, yet I have hope—hope held in tension with sorrow—for what remains in them and what is ahead of them lest they repent.

Yet looking unto Christ, I have hope: hope for my own soul and hope that He alone is able to save them.

When my words seem wasted upon them and they cast them aside, my Lord hears me and is never troubled by my desperate cry. I seek not to manipulate the will of perfection, but I pray to the God of salvation, that He may take out their hearts of stone, change their will, and grant them faith and repentance.

Late Evening Meditations.

Grace and Peace, y’all
Soli Deo Gloria

Written by: April J. Buchanan

“God spoke into nothing and there was something. We cannot, by our speaking, bring anything into existence. We are creatures, not the Creator.” ~ R. C. Sproul

Why is it almost daily in my newsfeed the subtle, deceptive teaching of the power of your words and speaking life or death?

When will you be free from the evil lie that your words are so powerful that you have to be careful what you say because your words have the power of life and death—translated, your words are so powerful that when you speak them you literally have the power to create “life” (e.g. whatever it is that you believe is good and you are trying to speak into existence) or your words have the power to bring forth “death” (e.g. whatever you consider negative or against what you desire)?

The emphasis on being careful is not as noble as it seems, it is actually selfishly motivated. You believe your words are powerful to create life or death to what you desire, therefore you speak as accords with your desires.

Do you not see the bondage you are in? You are bound to only speak what you desire. If the truth contradicts your desire, you sacrifice truth.

Please bear with me when I say this for your sake though it may feel like an attack, but these teachings you have adopted are delusional. They promise what you desire but bind you to lies. You become a liar. Bear with me. You speak what you desire trying to manifest it. You rebuke any word against it even if it’s true. You have convinced yourself it’s not lies and it’s not delusional, that it’s faith. That’s the opposite of faith! Your faith is in your words, not God!

Your words are not that powerful! That should be such freeing words for you to hear.

Sadly, because of these false teachings, you cannot speak the truth if it is considered “death” or “negative”. You can’t make “negative declarations” which means you can only speak what confirms your desires and delusion.

This does not honor God. You do not have the same creative power as God. You are not God. You have bought into the little gods and Word-Faith false doctrines and maybe you don’t realize it. I would venture to say you are probably unfamiliar with church history and the history of your own movement/denomination.

I’m not saying you believe you are a little god. I am saying that perhaps you don’t know the history of what you are adopting beliefs and practices from. You are NOT getting this from a correct exegesis of Scripture. You are getting this from heretics.

If you haven’t subscribed to these beliefs but you hear someone teaching you to “be careful what you say because your words have the power of life and death” and they are saying this as a warning against speaking something that is true and you are made to suppress the truth so that you can speak what you desire, you are listening to someone who is misleading you, whether intentionally or not.

Yes, Scripture says a lot about what we should and should not speak. It is not because our words have creative power but because what we speak comes out of our hearts and reveals either that our hearts are being sanctified in the truth or controlled by our sinful desires.

What proponents of these false teachings fail to realize is that their desires—good or bad—are controlling what they say, even silencing the truth because it may be seen as “negative” or “death” to what they really desire. This is why you will not hear them expose false doctrine or false teachers. And it’s why you will only ever hear them speak what is “positive”. It appears good but it’s actually rooted in sinful desires and heretical doctrines that promise them what they desire.

Friend, Scripture commands us to speak the truth in love as it glorifies God. You can’t possibly share the Gospel or share the truth of who God is and who man really is before a holy God if your tongue is bound only to speak what sounds “positive”. That is why so many who have adopted these beliefs will only share a “Jesus loves you and has great plans for your life” version of the Gospel.

The Gospel is powerful, speak it! God’s Word is powerful, speak it. It is not powerful because you said it, it is powerful because God said it!

Grace and Peace, y’all
Soli Deo Gloria

Written by: April J. Buchanan

“You have not been called to succeed, you have been called to obey.” ~ J. I. Packer

I once shared the Gospel—or more often than not a seeker-sensitive version of it, and on the rare occasion a faithful proclamation of it—with great hope that the hearer would be convinced and be saved. When that didn’t happen, I often felt that in some way I had failed. I’d replay the words in my mind, and rather than engaging in a healthy self-examination, I’d often feel like it was partly my fault.

Our understanding of the sovereignty of God in salvation either encourages us in our responsibility in proclaiming the Gospel with confidence in God for the results, or discourage us if we think God is merely trying to save man but He must somehow work around his free will. Likewise, our understanding of man’s depravity will either drive us to trust in the Gospel alone and the Holy Spirit’s work, or it will lead us to look for something in man to appeal to and devise a message he will receive.

Many are robbed of assurance of salvation, joy in sanctification, and confidence in the proclamation of the Gospel. Why? We have a wrong view of God and of man in salvation.

If God is merely “trying His best” to save man and to keep him, then we really do look to man’s will as greater than God’s. We lose confidence in who Christ is and what He has accomplished, treating His atoning sacrifice as merely potentially effective. Scripture knows nothing of the power of the Gospel resting upon the free will of man but it is declared to be powerful and effective. We are commanded to proclaim the Gospel with the promise that it is powerful and effective. We do not have a God that is “trying His best”. We have a God who is Lord and King and commands every man everywhere to repent! We serve a God that has sent us not with a powerless message to declare a king and kingdom that is trying to appeal to man to ask Him into their heart but of a King who commands man to repent. We proclaim a message of a Savior who died not merely to offer Himself as a sacrifice so we may potentially be saved but who accomplished redemption for all of whom the Father chose. We do not proclaim a Gospel that depends on our clever ability to appeal to some perceived goodness in man but is powerful to save, that is sufficient and whereby the Holy Spirit applies salvation for all of whom the Father elects and the Son accomplished redemption.

A healthy self-examination after sharing the Gospel is always whether we correctly proclaimed the Gospel, not whether we got the results we wanted. If we focus on results, then we will adjust the message to get the results we desire, rather than trusting God’s sovereignty in salvation and its effects.

Though we may fail in obedience to proclaim the Gospel, God will never fail to bring to salvation all for whom He has chosen, all the Son has secured redemption, and all to whom the Holy Spirit applies that redemption.

No man enters heaven because we are so persuasive in our delivery, and no man enters hell because we failed to find the most effective way to deliver the message such as he would have received it. The message needs no adjustment. It is perfect. Gods plan cannot fail.

This ought to give us confidence. We are not called or burdened with the task of seeking a better method but simply to obey His command to proclaim the Gospel. We can fully trust that He will save all who come to Him in repentance and faith, such faith being evidence of the Spirit’s work.

If men reject the Gospel and we have been faithful to proclaim it, we did not fail—we have obeyed. And we must continue to obey this command, trusting that God is saving.

Friend, hang not your head in shame when men reject the Gospel, and lift not your head in pride when they believe. We are mere messengers. More often, we will see hearts hardened than hearts renewed—but this should remind us that God is sovereign. We cannot thwart His plan but we can find ourselves in opposition to His message.

Be careful not to lose faith in the God of salvation, or in His Gospel, which is sufficient for salvation. Look to Him in faith, trusting that He is saving today. We are still here. He is still saving.

Grace and Peace, y’all
Soli Deo Gloria