This week we talked in Nehemiah 7 (after running all over on a mystery chase) that our first step in "playing our part" is to examine to see if we are in fact genuine, if we can trace our existence as heirs to the Kingdom back to the work of Christ on the cross and a repentance unto faith, without any works of our own to pretend to add to it.
I found this quote tonight in Wiersbe's 50 People Every Christian Should Know, in chapter 11 (pgs 65-66) on John Henry Newman (1801-1890).
It is unfortunate that Newman did not known the better evangelical men of that day. He saw only (or perhaps only wanted to see) a ministry that emphasized correct doctrine and dedicated zeal, but lacked Christian character and true spiritual power. R.W. Church described evangelicals as people with "an exhausted teaching and a spent enthusiasm." The evangelical churches were "respectable" and popular with men of position, but (added church) "they were on very easy terms with the world." If there was one thing Newman hated with a holy zeal, it was a religion of words without reality, words that described an experience but failed to effect it in the lives of people...It strikes me to ask privately and openly about my part in our fellowship or any fellowship for that matter, whether preacher, teacher, encourager, worker, or witness of His goodness. If I am genuine, wonderful. If I am zealous for the right reasons for the right purposes in our time together, great. If I am genuine but not of the most use by our Master, then I must more faithfully render my role or more honestly understand it. I challenge each of us, in the fellowship of the class, in the local body, in the body of Christ, and to the world around us to "know whom I have believed..."
One final observation: When I read Newman's sermons, I find myself examining not only my own heart but also my preaching. I find myself asking: Am I a faithful physician of the soul? Am I preaching to the conscience? Am I faithful to declare truth, not simply my "clever ideas" about truth? Do I offer Christ as the only Redeemer? Do I get beneath the surface and help my hearers where they need it most?
Are you genuine?
What is your role?
Where is your zeal placed?
Are you a conveyor of the love of truth?
