Troubled by leadership – civil or ecclesiastical? Pray. It is not an idle exercise like complaining is. Go to where something can actually be done. Pray.
I fear that many Christians in our day, think of prayer more as a formality than practical. We know we should do it. Scripture both commands and models it. But how many of us truly believe God is hearing and answering? How many of us truly believe that there are practical, tangible results from our prayers? And especially as regards matters like either ecclesiastical or civil leadership?
Sadly, many in our day imagine the greatest changes in society must be produced by activism and the voting booth. Our prayers are more akin to wishful thinking. We do them but we do not consider them true agents of change. We disregard the reality that in prayer, we have been granted an audience with the only One who can truly effect righteous and lasting change.
Beloved, do not relegate prayer to the mere performance of religious exercise. Pray as though God hears. For He does! Pray as though God cares. For He does! Pray for the ends you believe are best, committing the concern into His hands for the wisest and best disposal – and believe that He will answer accordingly. For He does!
“He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” Rom. 8:32 It is true that He might not answer in the precise manner we would have preferred. But He can be trusted to answer more wisely, lovingly and carefully that we can pray. He is about more things than only those which we perceive by our narrow understanding. But He is never deaf to our petitions.
That said – pray. No leader’s heart is any less in the Father’s hand than any other. In the Church or in the World. No person or institution is outside of His watchful eye. “The eyes of the LORD are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good.” (Prov. 15:3)
It takes no skill to get into arguments. Any idiot can bicker, fight argue and quarrel. This is the domain of fools. To avoid these or end them once they’ve begun, this takes wisdom, courage, self-control and uprightness. It is sad to see how many who bear the name of Christian are noted almost exclusively for their ability to enter into one conflict after another. They seem to be on endless crusades against others. Oh that we would expend the same energy fighting our own sinfulness.
Heavenly Father, make it so in my life.
Seeking debate is not an honorable pursuit. Preach the Gospel? Yes. Whenever and wherever we can. But deliberately go seeking debate? No. Jesus went about preaching, not looking for debates. When issues were brought to Him, He did not dodge them. But He didn’t try to be an agitator either.
The weapons of our war are spiritual, not carnal. And it is in preaching the truth and the Gospel of Christ that we best “destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God.” Logic is good and right. God is rational and rational thought is honoring to Him. But the soul is not argued into Christ’s Kingdom – it is instead the power of the Gospel in producing faith by the Spirit that does so.
I fear many today have given up on the simple Gospel as though it is not sufficient to meet the need of the day. Preaching Christ and Him crucified, proclaiming the Gospel – this is God’s appointed means. We cannot improve upon it.
Yes, we are to give an answer to everyone who asks for the reason behind the hope in which we live. Rationally and soundly. But our best tactic is not to curse the darkness. You cannot end darkness by denouncing it as dark. You can only bring light instead. And Christ alone is the Light of the World. Preach Christ!
Fear can be a terrible and tormenting thing. It can also be very liberating. If, that is, we fear the right things. Right fears keep us from other fears. That is the point of this text. If one fears the God who gives and rules life, one need not fear what life may bring. Such fear brings peace and satisfaction.
When I was a young man, I feared the jeers and rejection of my peers. When one is young and unsure, fear of not fitting in can be a tremendous burden. Fear of certain groups like those I labored to make my friends, soon brought with it pressures to participate in their activities. Activities that were certain not to be approved of by my parents, and in some cases by the police either. In fact, fear of being excluded, laughed at, rejected, etc. even allowed me to overcome fear (in some circumstances) of getting caught and/or punished.
The day came, when yielding to such pressures and fears found me entering into actions that soon brought me face to face with the police and the courts. Even the threat of those things was not as great as the fear of not participating in what I knew was dead wrong. Then, up to my neck in trouble, I finally had to break down and tell my Dad what I had done. He did not respond with rage, or threats or punishments or anything else of the like. But Oh! The hurt and disappointment that filled his eyes that day. I would rather had gone to jail and suffered physical harm than to see what that produced in him. In his crushing, I was crushed. And, I never did the like again. I feared ever to be responsible for doing such a thing to him again.
Time and maturity work together to make us more afraid of things like the law and the dangers we once risked so carelessly in our youth. But The Cross, brings us face to face with the horrors of our betrayal against our holy, perfect, Heavenly Father. Metaphorically, if we could have seen the eyes of God in our fall in Eden, and glimpsed the hurt and disappointment that we His image-bearers brought to Him – I dare say we would fear to bring such reproach upon Him once more. And such fear, that fear borne of true love, would keep us from a host of evils, culminating in a rest and satisfaction that the world cannot disturb by its parade of worthless enticements.
Many wish for an impossibility – to be fully known by some other human being. The term usually applied here is “soul mate.” Someone you connect with and resonate with so deeply, that you almost think, feel and function as one. And there is an analog of that between some people, rare as it might be. But in truth, that domain does not belong to another human – only God can and DOES know us that way. Do not demand from men or women what only God can give. If you do, you will live forever dissatisfied and longing. And longing for the impossible is a fool’s game.
If we would be known that way – truly and absolutely known – we must find our satisfaction in our God knowing us so. He truly knows our individual sorrows and bitterness. Every doubt, fear, troubling thought and desire. He alone truly knows our most inward joys. He knows our deepest, unspoken feelings.
In truth, and perhaps this is even more to the real longing of our souls – He not only knows us better than we know ourselves – He loves us! And nothing He knows of us or in us diminishes His love for us in any way. Every foible, quirk and eccentricity. Every failing, wicked bent and sinful impulse. Everything. We need never put on airs. We cannot fool Him, we cannot dress ourselves up and make ourselves more attractive to Him. For He loves us out of Himself. He has set His love upon His redeemed ones. And nothing in us can scare Him off or repulse Him. He knows us – REALLY knows us. And loves us with a love that Ephesians (3:14-19) says requires supernatural strengthening in order to begin to comprehend.
Yeah, I re-wrote the sub-title. But it’s OK. I know Moe. And he won’t ding me for it.
A wonderful thing has been happening in Reformed/Calvinistic circles. In the past few years there has been a resurgence of interest in a nearly lost segment of Puritan writing and studies. There has been a realization that many of us in the R/C camps have actually earned the moniker “Frozen Chosen.” That, much like what Jesus addresses in the Church in Ephesus (Rev. 2:1-7), there is the realization that doctrinal precision and orthodoxy in faith and practice (alone) are no replacement for a heart bound up in vibrant love for and robustly experiential – communion with Christ. That sanctification can easily morph into mere behavior modification rather than actually taking on the character of Christ by the presence and power of The Holy Spirit. That orthodoxy and walking in constant, conscious deliberate dependence upon the indwelling Spirit are two inseparable faces of the same coin. Or at least they are supposd to be.
Enter books like Mathew Bingham’s A Heart Aflame for God – and now, Moe Bergeron’s Beholding Christ: Transformation Through Abiding.
Desperately needed. Timely. And soul nourishing.
THANK YOU MOE!
Beholding Christ is not voluminous. But do not let its slender profile fool you. It is packed full of rich, rich counsel. It will lead you to good places. It will make you set your eyes on Christ afresh. It will bid you to take up its title over and over. And what can be better for the Believer than to fill our vision with the crown Jewel of Heaven? If the words of old John Flavel are true – and they are – how can we do ourselves more good than to Behold Christ more fully, accurately and all-encompassingly. So Flavel wrote: “It is a special consideration to enhance the love of God in giving Christ, that in giving him he gave the richest jewel in his cabinet; a mercy of the greatest worth, and most inestimable value, Heaven itself is not so valuable and precious as Christ is: He is the better half of heaven; and so the saints account him, Psal. 73:25. “Whom have I in heaven but thee?” Ten thousand thousand worlds, saith one,* as many worlds as angels can number, and then as a new world of angels can multiply, would not all be the bulk of a balance, to weigh Christ’s excellency, love, and sweetness. O what a fair One! what an only One! what an excellent, lovely, ravishing One, is Christ! Put the beauty of ten thousand paradises, like the garden of Eden, into one; put all trees, all flowers, all smells, all colours, all tastes, all joys, all sweetness, all loveliness in one; O what a fair and excellent thing would that be? And yet it should be less to that fair and dearest well-beloved Christ, than one drop of rain to the whole seas, rivers, lakes, and fountains of ten thousand earths. Christ is heaven’s wonder, and earth’s wonder.” John Flavel, The Whole Works of the Reverend John Flavel (London; Edinburgh; Dublin: W. Baynes and Son; Waugh and Innes; M. Keene, 1820), 67–68.
And what is Moe after? He is advocating the transformative nature of beholding the Christ whose portrait Flavel articulates. A call to fill ourselves up with constant visions of what Flavel calls: “O what a fair One! what an only One! what an excellent, lovely, ravishing One, is Christ!” This, Moe argues, over and over to great effect – is the only way to be conformed to His image. The very thing Paul tells us in Rom. 8:29 Believers were foreknown and predestined for.
In what I hope is not an over-reductionistic summary – I would describe this book as an extended exposition, exhortation and application of but one seminal passage: “And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into His image with intensifying glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” 2 Co 3:18.
You see, “because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” 1 Co 1:30–31. (ESV)
Christ Himself IS our sanctification, not only the sum of God’s wisdom, our righteousness and our redemption. And how does He set us apart more and more and more for Himself? Only as we immerse ourselves in His glories.
We cannot truly love someone we do not know, and not just know about. We must become preoccupied with Him. Enamored with Him. Transfixed by Him. And this, is the Gospel mechanism by which we are then transformed into His image. This, is the very foundation of true spiritual growth. Not by gritting our teeth. Not by striving after obeying the Law in mere behavior. But being found in and knowing – Him.
We were never led to Mount Calvary only to look back at Mount Sinai.
As the blessed Ryle once wrote: ““It would be well if professing Christians in modern days studied the four Gospels more than they do. No doubt all Scripture is profitable. It is not wise to exalt one part of the Bible at the expense of another. But I think it would be good for some who are very familiar with the Epistles, if they knew a little more about Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John…I say it because I want professing Christians to know more about Christ. It is well to be acquainted with all the doctrines and principles of Christianity. It is better to be acquainted with Christ Himself. It is well to be familiar with faith, and grace, and justification, and sanctification…” But it is far better to be familiar with Jesus Himself, to see the King’s own face, and to behold His beauty…the Gospels were written to make us acquainted with Christ. The Holy Ghost has told us the story of His life and death,—His sayings and His doings, four times over. Four different inspired hands have drawn the picture of the Saviour. His ways, His manners, His feelings, His wisdom, His grace, His patience, His love, His power, are graciously unfolded to us by four different witnesses…The Gospels were written to make men familiar with Christ.” Ryle, J. C. Holiness: Its Nature, Hindrances, Difficulties and Roots. William Hunt and Company, 1889, pp. 278–79.
This is the vital principle this sweet and encouraging book lays bare before us with passion, compassion and clarity. It is a love letter to Moe’s brothers and sisters in Christ
If you would grow in grace. If you would find ever increasing power to live in joy, holiness, contentment, peace and love – it is to be found in Beholding Christ.
This is the missing element that in its absence, finds so many genuine Believers living in spiritual poverty, frustration and coolness. And this, is what blessed Moe Bergeron strives so carefully to bring back to the fore.
Buy it. Read it. Set your heart to be about its central massage. You’ll be blessed. Again and again.
I heard a wag say one time that God gave us only one mouth, but two ears. That we need more equipping to listen than to speak. I know in my case, I’ve need to hear that admonition more than once; needing to grasp the dynamic of Prov. 18:13 more fully and regularly.
How very often I have been just this foolish, just this shameful. Help me to Listen, listen, LISTEN! Father forgive me.
How we need to observe this in our evangelism.
First, we must really listen to where the people are – those with whom we are speaking. Know something of their fears, doubts, cares, woes, hopes, understanding of spiritual things etc. If we make assumptions about who and where they are, we may well just speak past them rather than to them in Christ’s name. In listening, asking questions and then carefully listening again – they will reveal to us the best place to begin the conversation. Even Jesus didn’t presume to know what the two blind men wanted when they called out to Him. He stopped and asked what it was they really wanted. (Matt. 20:32)
Even in the natural this is an important factor. When we meet those of opposing views – on virtually any subject – do we really know what they are concerned about? Or do we imagine we just already know the nuances of their opinions and what brought them to their conclusions. (see v-15)
How even in our homes, hearing this proverb would be of keen importance in dealing with our spouses, children, parents and extended family. Sometimes we need to probe even beyond what someone says, to what they mean by it. They might not have been able to express their own thoughts well without some explanation. Same with you and me.
Second: Let us be sure those we speak to on behalf of Christ, understand as fully as we can make it – just what exactly is being discussed. Let us tell them:
a. The reality of their condition in light of creation and the Fall.
b. God’s just judgment upon mankind.
c. The nature of grace and mercy being extended in this call to pardon: Reconciliation, regeneration, sanctification and glorification.
d. Jesus’ substitutionary atonement.
e. Justification by faith.
f. The implications of following Christ Jesus.
g. The coming Kingdom in contrast to this present world.
If they “believe” too quickly – without knowing the facts, it will end in shame.
As someone once said: “Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your ears.”
In the early 1990’s I went through an extended time of both trial and blessing. I will leave the details of that season to another day.
During that season, I was graciously led to the book pictured above: Thomas Watson’s “The Art of Divine Contentment.” It proved to be a treasure of inestimable value.
So it is in the spirit of Paul’s opening to 2 Cor. which reads in part: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer” (ESV) – That I commend this blessed volume to you afresh today.
Watson’s volume is slim. Do not let its diminutive size fool you into thinking Watson is doling out trite platitudes. It is rich in Biblical consolation. It will point you back to Christ in all of His beauties and provisions. It is a study in applying Biblical truth to re-orient the heart and mind away from self, away from the passing and deceptive comforts of this life and world, away from self-pity and to the reality in which the true Christian lives – even in the hardest and most confusing of circumstances. It is strong meat and strong medicine for the weary and wounded soul. And it will not coddle you.
When I married by beloved Sky, we gave a copy of this little book to everyone in our wedding party. And though I have often recommended it to others, it had been a long time since I had cracked it back open myself – until this week. In going back over its pages my heart was wondrously refreshed and fed. Even though I am not going through any particular trials at the moment – I simply could not just revel in it alone. I needed to recommend it to you all once again. And in a more leisurely reading, its truths so sweetly ministered to me afresh that I nearly read it all again in one sitting. Though in honesty – I took two days this time.
If you – my dear brother or sister are in need of something to brace your own soul in a time of heaviness, sorrow or pain, I cannot encourage you enough to secure a copy today – and devour it.
Take your time in it. Take his short divisions one at a time and meditate upon them. Read slowly. Drink it in. Savor it. Let your eyes be lifted up to Heaven and Heaven’s Christ. Gain the glorious perspective that belongs as a heritage to the sons and daughters of Christ Jesus our Lord by faith. For it is a rich, a glorious, and inestimable inheritance which is ours in Jesus.
If you know of someone enduring a time of trial or tribulation, gift them a copy. And perhaps read it and discuss it with them together. Pour the oil and wine of God’s gracious consolations into their wounds. And bind them up in prayer.
The book stands on its own and is easily accessible. It is less than 200 pages. But if the older English is in any way an impediment, seek out Jason Roth’s version done in modern English. Both the original and Roth’s are available at Amazon, and either for around $10.00.
Refresh your soul in the wisdom, charm and depth of solid Puritan writing, designed to do the highest good for your inner man.
Immeasurable oceans of ink have been spilled over the topic of spiritual warfare. And much of it, if not the majority of it, has been drawn from Ephesians 6:13-18 “Therefore take up the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you will be able to stand your ground, and having done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness arrayed, and with your feet fitted with the readiness of the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Pray in the Spirit at all times, with every kind of prayer and petition. To this end, stay alert with all perseverance in your prayers for all the saints.”
When we take one snippet of Scripture and use it as though it is the whole story – we can atomize it. For instance, we read Mal. 2:16 (in most translations) recording “I hate divorce, says the Lord God of Israel.” And indeed He does! But is that ALL He says about divorce? Far from it. In Jer. 3:8 God Himself sends faithless Israel away with “a decree of divorce.” So did God sin? Of course not. But what we do learn from this is that we need to examine more of Scripture on any given topic than plucking out just one verse and making it bear the weight of all interpretation. We cannot atomize verses in the Bible. Reducing them to little independent droplets of truth.
So it is, many have sought to tease out the implications of a passage like this one in Ephesians , without framing it in the context in which it was written. At the risk of being accused of simplemindedness, let me note that chapter 6 comes after chapters 1-5.
I know. Remarkable observation isn’t it?
In all seriousness, if we are to rightly understand why we need the armor of God, and what it is we are being challenged about by the Enemy of our souls – we cannot take advantage of these armaments rightly.
The armor portion must be understood especially in light of the section that began in 4:1.
Here is the essential concept: The Enemy will use every tactic to keep us from living out the kind of life and relationships we read about from 4:1 until here. It is in this context above all that we need this armor in order to wage a goodly war, to walk with Christ and with one another.
The Enemy’s chief aim is: To keep us from living out a Christlike life with our spouses, children, parents, employers, employees, the government, the world and the Church in the power of The Spirit – so that Christ is hidden from view. To hinder us from growing up into Christ (Eph. 4:15) To keep us from living out the life of Christ which has been implanted in us by the indwelling of The Spirit. To misrepresent Him to the world through us. To obscure His glory by deceiving and distracting us as Christ’s representatives from walking in love (5:2), walking in the light of His revealed truth (5:8), and walking in wisdom (5:15). To live like those still unregenerate and in darkness.
In practical terms, one of the key realities of the Christian life is that sinful and troubling thoughts and impulses must be fought against, not merely lamented or relief sought for.
It does us no good to simply complain of the woe, nor to seek an emotional anesthetic.
It is under these circumstances that the Believer must begin to tackle the offensives launched against us. Panic, doubt, unbelief, fear, gloom, discouragement, despair, lust, greed, sloth, suspicion of God and man, etc. – these are enemies to be fought, not conditions to be treated or corrected.
If we do not appropriate the fitting response, we will remain under the influence of these things – in effect running from them rather than gaining victory over them. But make no mistake, they can attack again at any time. And attacks may be shorter or more sustained, weaker or more violent.
Heavenly Father, give us courage, wisdom and insight.
The remaining inhabitants of Canaan (the remnants of indwelling sin) have to be challenged, not hidden from, nor plugging our ears to their taunts nor closing our eyes to pretend they are not there. We must gird ourselves like men and fight.
So, knowing what the demonic forces are after – we come to: How to fight a Demon.
1 – Be as conversant with the truth of God’s Word as you can – in all of its facets and in all it addresses. Know reality as God has revealed it in His Word.
2 – Pursue and walk in righteousness, forsaking sin. Only walking in righteousness will protect the heart. When we compromise, we sear our own consciences, and become sitting ducks for the enemy’s temptations.
3 – Be as clear as possible on the Gospel. Don’t budge from it. Christ’s substitutionary sacrifice as your only means of reconciliation to the Father. Christ’s righteousness imputed to you by faith. Saved by grace alone through alone, in and by Christ alone. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.
4 – Trusting the Character and Word of God. That in Him is no darkness, nor any shadow of turning. That He can be trusted at all times and in all places and under all circumstances, and that all of His promises will be fulfilled without fail.
5 – Learn to think with a Christian, a Biblical worldview, sifting everything through it. Where we came from. How we got where we are. Why we are here. Where everything is going. Why suffering and death are a part of our reality – and what Christ has done in response.
6 – Know and employ the Word of God skillfully. Read it. Pray over it. Understand it. Study it with all the helps you can find. Obey it.
7 – Look to God in everything in prayer. Leave nothing else. Face nothing in your own strength. Pray. Pray. Pray. Stay alert to the things your brothers and sisters face, and petition God on their behalf. In your prayers for them, you will find intercession meted out to you as well. Pray for the success of the Gospel and for His ministers.
This is how we protect and keep the ground Christ has already won for us in His defeat of the demonic forces at Calvary. “And having disarmed the powers and authorities, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.” (Col. 2:15)
He’s already won this victory for us. Now we just need to stand our ground.
Very few books can honestly be labeled “paradigm shifting”, but Maurice Vellacott’s “The Earliest View of New Testament Tongues” is such a book. And whether one agrees with Vellacott’s thesis and proofs or not – this volume is weighty and requires an equally thorough and weighty response. I have no doubt there will be responses. But I seriously doubt if one worthy of being a true rejoinder will be forthcoming.
Bear with me, this will be necessarily a bit long.
What is this book all about? It is about the phenomenon we call “speaking in tongues.” As one raised in a Pentecostal context, “speaking in tongues” was normative in the Church. And, it was assumed tongues ought to be normative in the individual Christian’s prayer life.
I will not treat here how this has raised many a doubt and discouragement among those seeking but apparently never receiving “the gift” as expected. Such a situation can lead to cognitive dissonance, self-deception, guilt, mimicry and all sorts of other ills. Something for a later post.
What IS “speaking in tongues” you ask?
In the Pentecostal and Charismatic framework, it is believed the that Holy Spirit gives Believers the ability to speak in a language that they have never learned, as part and parcel of prayer and/or worship. Sometimes this ability may include speaking in a known, human language that one has never learned. This would be typical of how the Pentecost event in Acts 2 is understood. But most often (at least in my experience and how I have seen it practiced) the language is not a human language at all. Rather, it is something spiritual, unearthly, heavenly and supernatural. Indecipherable by normal means. Requiring an equally supernaturally endowed interpreter to bring to light what is being said. What is being said is ostensibly something the Holy Spirit is impressing on the speaker to express. And while this experience may (and often does) occur in gathered worship – especially in times of praise – it finds its primary exercise in private prayer. So it is “tongues” is often (perhaps most often) considered a special prayer language energized by The Holy Spirit.
Now the entire discussion of speaking in tongues and the interpretation of tongues is often debated between two camps: Continuationists and Cessationists.
Continuationists (all Charismatics and Pentecostals generally) believe the New Testament teaches that there are a number of supernatural gifts God has given to His Church which are to remain normative in every generation. Among these gifts would be speaking in tongues, the interpretation of tongues, words of wisdom, words of knowledge, prophecy, discerning of spirits, healing, working of miracles etc. These are taken from various passages of Scripture but especially 1 Corinthians 12:7-11 “Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in various tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, who apportions them to each one as He determines.” (BSB)
Cessationists by and large argue that while these supernatural gifts and abilities did exist in the early days of Christianity – once the canon of Scripture was completed, we no longer needed such aids and the era of their usefulness passed. As such we are not to look for their presence or exercise any longer.
The debate can run pretty hot and heavy at times.
To be fair, each camp has a spectrum of how all of this works. Some Continuationists are more reserved seeing how these matters can lead to all kinds of foolishness, excess and abuse. And some Cessationists allow for limited and qualified examples of one or more of those gifts appearing now and then.
So it is Pentecostal theologian Gordon Fee can say: “in general the Pentecostal’s experience has preceded their hermeneutics.” Fee, G.D. 1976. Hermeneutics and historical precedent. (In Spittler, R., ed. Perspectives on the new Pentecostalism. Grand Rapids: Baker. p. 118–132).
And at the same time, a Cessationist like Al Mohler can argue strongly for a subjective call to the ministry. An extra-Biblical, life-defining, Holy Spirit impetus. (See his contributions to “The Call to Ministry” – SBTS Press.)
Back to speaking in tongues.
As briefly as I can state it, Vellacott, taking a cue from the 4th-5th Century Bishop of Salamis, Epiphanius (310-403 A.D.) argues that neither the Acts 2 Pentecost event, nor the issue of speaking in tongues in the Corinthian congregation had anything to with ecstatic or supernatural speech. Instead, the issue always was one of speaking known languages by the speakers and easily understood by those who also knew the same languages.
As to the unique circumstances and contexts of Acts 2 and then the Church in Corinth, Vellacott goes on to extensive socio and religious contexts. He then dives into some very heavy exegetical Scriptural analysis in the original. It is NOT light reading. But it is in my opinion, careful, thorough, reasonable and ultimately – convincing.
As to why Epiphanius is so important in this regard, we are introduced to his background and qualifications.
The good Bishop was born in Judea, to Jewish parents. His knowledge both of Hebrew and the Jewish context of early Christianity enable him to analyze the Acts 2 event and the Corinthian problem from a unique and massively helpful perspective. In the process, he cogently demystifies how many of us have read and interpreted those passages. And it is, as I stated at the outset – paradigm shifting. Theological tectonic plates move to form new planes of understanding.
In the shortest possible way here, let me quote Vellacott’s summary of Epiphanius’ position on the real problem in Corinth Paul had to address: “Epiphanius implies that the γλῶσσαι/glṓssai conflict in Corinth was a problem of pompous people using the inscripturated Hebrew and the aforementioned Greek dialects in elevated manner to pridefully posture as superior to others in the assembly.” Maurice E. Vellacott, The Earliest View of New Testament Tongues: Understood as Non-Supernatural, Learned Earthly Languages (Eugene, Oregon: Resource Publications, 2024).
Let that idea sink in. And you’ll begin to read the entire section through a new (to us, not to Epiphanius) set of lenses.
I hear your “but…but”. Read the book and then raise the questions.
I am well aware that the average reader is not going to wade through 380+ pages of historical analysis and detailed New Testament Greek exegesis. What we desperately need from Dr. Vellacott is a popular version of this groundbreaking work for those like me – Joe and Jane Average Christian. But it is a start. A powerfully executed and most needful start. And if you have any vested interest in settling some of the most difficult questions of wading through the speaking in tongues issue, I implore you to dig in. Take your time. Read slowly. And digest. Vellacott’s treatment will bring clarity, sense and help in untangling what has become a gnarled theological mess in our generation since the days of Azusa Street.
I cannot adequately express my personal thanks for this volume. It is truly exceptional.
In closing, let me quote from the author’s own closing remarks.
“To reiterate and conclude this chapter on a practical basis, for the maximum edification of the congregants, Paul’s basic guidelines were: 1. Those whose first language is different from the majority language of the congregation, may, with competent translation by oneself or another, make valued speaking contributions in the assembly of believers (1 Cor 14:5). 2. Speaking in a foreign language, with translation, may be the offering of a song, a teaching, or a disclosure of truth (1 Cor 14:26). 3. Foreign language speaking should be restricted to two or three persons maximally (1 Cor 14:27). 4. If no translator is known to be available, in advance of speaking, then the person should quietly express himself to God in his thoughts, right there in the assembly (1 Cor 14:28).” Maurice E. Vellacott, The Earliest View of New Testament Tongues: Understood as Non-Supernatural, Learned Earthly Languages (Eugene, Oregon: Resource Publications, 2024).
If Epiphanius and Vellacott (and a host of others) are correct in this debate – the Continuationist vs Cessationist dynamic virtually disappears. Yes, in light of some movements like the NAR (preceeded by the Latter Rain Movement) have other issues, like modern day apostles and prophets and the like. But this study will impact those as well as its implications are teased out thoughtfully.
If I can borrow from Augustine’s famous conversion account “tolle lege”; take up and read. Don’t be afraid of doing the heavy lifting this volume will require. It will pay off whether you end up agreeing or not. It will make you think though how you understand certain passages of the Bible, and why you think that way. Such reflection is never without benefit.
As unfitting as it is to expect true eloquence from fools, that is how unseemly and unfitting it is for rulers, those in authority, to be given to lies.
Yet in our day, falsehood, spin, prevarications of every kind are not just the norm. They are virtually all we have come to expect. On all sides of “the aisle.”
This, is the revealing of godlessness.
Every political system must inevitably be as corrupt as those who comprise it. We must not imagine any form of human government can rise above or preserve the moral and spiritual character of its people.
This, is the sole domain of the Gospel in transforming hearts and minds by the power of The Spirit.
No nation had so clear a societal structure as did ancient Israel. It was divinely given and instituted. It was painstakingly communicated through God’s prophets. And yet, time after time, these very people, with God’s commandments inscribed by His own finger, fell into rank idolatry and every form of sin.
How then is it that today – many in America imagine that a human document like our own Constitution – as wonderful as it is in capturing the highest of moral direction and wise government, has any power to act in the souls of men? It cannot. It too can only function at the level of the spiritual character of those who administrate it.
We cannot save America, or any other nation – except by the preaching of the Gospel. Nations are but collections of people. And it is people who need to be changed by the Spirit of God. Changed people will enact better laws and adopt better forms of government. It is never the other way around.
Caging a wild animal cannot change its nature. Once loose, it will inevitably return to serve its natural bents.
Governing unredeemed people by even the best of governments, cannot change our natures either. In fact, we will always seek to be unrestrained by anything or anyone but our own passions. We will always, in the end, either undermine or simply rebel against all restraints. Until we are willfully submitted to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, ourselves and our societies (because societies are us) will deteriorate. It is but by the intervening grace of God that we have not destroyed ourselves already.
Even our best politicians lie to us. If not in the direct prevarication of facts – then by holding out to us the hope that if some govern well, we will all be well. But none can govern above their own sinfulness. None. Not in the world. Not even in the Church.
This then is our response:
1 – To live ourselves, individually under the Lordship of Jesus Christ in accordance with His Word under the power of the Holy Spirit. And this, in every sphere of life. Home. Work. Church. Government. Wherever we find ourselves. Under any and all conditions.
2 – To cry out to God for revival, true revival that more and more of our society be influenced by truly regenerate people.
3 – Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 1:13).
This alone can be our true hope. No election. No Supreme Court. No new governmental structure. No President, Senator, Congressman or political party.
Jesus Christ. Ruling and reigning in righteousness.
