The Church and the Bible (Part 2)
“What particularly threatens us as members of the Church of England is the very serious danger of the official acceptance by our Church of doctrines and practices which are additional and contrary to the Scriptural witness – and all in the supposed interest of larger and truer unity among Christians.
As each Lambeth Conference makes more obvious, there is the growing pressure of the Anglican Communion, and of a striving after a comprehensive ‘wholeness‘ whose governing principle is not uncompromising loyalty to the Scriptures, as the one supreme rule of faith and conduct, but the holding together in one family of churches which have come to believe and worship differently …”
– Alan Stibbs wasn’t writing yesterday, but in the January 1960 issue of The Australian Church Record.
What is the gospel? — An appeal for clarity
“I remember, more than twenty years ago now, an international visitor to Sydney being asked this question. Throughout the week that he had been here, the speaker had appealed to the gospel many times.
Clearly in a part of the world well-known for the strength of its evangelical witness, such an appeal was essential if he was to get a hearing. But the appeal had not been convincing and it had become increasingly obvious that at this most basic level our guest had a very different idea of what exactly it was that he was appealing to repeatedly throughout the week. So some brave soul — someone braver than me — publicly asked him the question. What is the gospel?…”
– Dr. Mark Thompson, Principal of Moore College, tackles a crucial question in a new essay.
Take the time to read it all here. [This is a re-post from 2015.]
You can also download it as a 240kb PDF file.
Standing on the Authority of God’s Word
“The absolute necessity of what Gafcon rightly contends for is becoming a very personal experience for me. My wife, Gillian, and I have been married for 37 years and I write (with her agreement) on our last wedding anniversary. …
For the suffering and the dying, the pick ’n mix optional orthodoxy of the new Canterbury Anglicanism simply will not do. If my understanding of God’s grace in the gospel and my hope in Christ are just that – my understanding – where is my assurance and confidence in the face of the ‘last enemy’?…”
– In a deeply personal note GAFCON’s Membership Development Secretary, Charles Raven, shares the hope he and his wife Gillian cling to – the sure promises of Gods Word. And do pray for them both.
The Church and the Bible (Part 1)
“On this issue of the relation of the Church to the Bible, the declared position of the Church of England is explicit and unmistakable. The canonical Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are avowedly acknowledged as supreme and sufficient in authority.
They provide the Church as well as every individual Christian with a decisive God-given rule of faith and conduct. Everything which is either believed or done, with the accompanying claim that it possesses proper Christian sanction and authority, must be capable of being tested and vindicated by this standard. …”
– Alan Stibbs’ words in The Australian Church Record of 1960 are every bit as relevant now as they were then.
Expecting to repent
“It is a humbling experience to be faced with your sin –many of us don’t cope well with it.
We may respond with defensiveness, bewilderment, and denial. …“
– Food for sober reflection, from James Chen at GoThereFor.com.
Also see: A Soul-Refreshed Life (David Brainerd) – Reformation21.
The confidence and hope of our calling
He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it. (1 Thess 5:24)
“These few simple words sum up some of the essential fundamentals of Christianity. They tell us three things about God: that he has called us, that he is faithful, that he will do. …”
– Biblical encouragement from The Rev. Alan Stubbs, via The Australian Church Record.
Jonathan Edwards: Safe beneath his Sovereign God
“In the spring of 1750, the central discussion at Northampton Church in southern Massachusetts was not how to honor their faithful pastor for almost a quarter century of diligent labors among them. Rather, it was how to most expeditiously get rid of him.
In late June, the church held a series of meetings, and they summarily fired their pastor by a vote of 10 to 1 – of the 253 voting members, 230 voted for him to be dismissed, and 23 for him to stay.
Why were the people pointing fingers instead of offering warm handshakes to their pastor, Jonathan Edwards?…”
– At Desiring God, Dane Ortlund brings godly encouragement from the life of Jonathan Edwards.
Related: Johnathan Edwards’ The Religious Affections is the free Audiobook from Christian Audio for August 2018.
How I talk to people about the Trinity
“It was the first evangelistic course that I had ever run. I had just finished my presentation on the authority of Jesus in Mark 1-2 and opened up for question time. The first question, right off the bat, was…
‘So, what’s the deal with the Trinity?’
Since then I have found that of all the questions I get asked, this is the most common one. …”
– Maybe you’ve had similar experiences to Tom Habib, who writes at The Australian Church Record.
Torn Between Two Cultures? Revoice, LGBT Identity, and Biblical Christianity
“The chaos and confusion which are the inevitable products of the Sexual Revolution continue to expand and the challenges constantly proliferate.
The LGBTQ+ revolution has long been the leading edge of the expanding chaos, and by now the genuinely revolutionary nature of the movement is fully apparent. The normalisation of the behaviours and relationships and identities included (for now) in the LGBTQ+ spectrum will require nothing less than turning the world upside down. …”
– Albert Mohler looks at how the recent ‘Revoice’ conference in the US adds confusion and an attempted rewriting of the meta-narrative of Scripture. Worth taking the time to read.
Wonderful salvation: A study in 1 Peter 1:1-12
“Peter opens his letter by contemplating the amazing character of Christian salvation. The very thought of it immediately calls forth worship and doxology. Blessed by God the giver!
Let us make what Peter wrote the subject of our own adoring meditation. Let us see what we can here learn about our wonderful salvation. …”
– The Australian Church Record has republished this encouragement from Alan Stibbs from sixty years ago.
Australian Church Record — Winter 2018 — now online
The Winter 2018 issue of The Australian Church Record (number 1919) is now available on their website.
It’s a must-read. Be sure to download your copy – and let others know.
From this issue:
“The work that only Christians can do should have first priority for most of us.”
– Dean of Sydney, Kanishka Raffel.
The promises of God (2 Corinthians 1:20)
“For how many so ever be the promises of God, in Him is the yea: wherefore also through Him is the Amen, unto the glory of God through us” (2 Cor 1:20, R.V.)
Let us see how much we can learn from this one verse about the promises of God. …
– Encouragement from the Rev. Alan Stibbs in The Australian Church Record.
The worst sermon on the Internet?
Tim Challies has been exploring “great sermons that have made a widespread impact and stuck around for the long haul”.
In this final entry in his series, he turns to a sermon which is not so great.
Why the Catholic Church is anti-Catholic
It’s like a company where the boss says to his employees, “There is a ‘no smoking indoors’ policy at this workplace”, and then the shift manager tells the employees, “What the boss really means is that you can’t smoke indoors while he’s around”…
– At GoThereFor.com, Mark Gilbert highlights the division at the heart of Roman Catholic teaching.
Undivided – An Open Letter to Vicky Beeching
“Vicky Beeching is a relatively well-known Christian singer songwriter who is now better known for being gay and an advocate of the LGBT agenda within the church.
When she came out as gay she knew that her career on the American Christian music scene was over, but she now has a new career as a darling of the regressive establishment, as they continue their ‘redefinition’ of the Christian faith.
Her new career has resulted in numerous media appearances, an award from the Archbishop of Canterbury and a new book. ‘Undivided’ has just been published to a mixed reception. This is my review in the form of an open letter.”
– At his blog, The Wee Flea, David Robertson has published a very thoughtful open letter. Do take the time to read.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…