The Apostles' Doctrine
And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save
yourselves from this untoward generation. Then they that gladly received
his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about
three thousand souls. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles?
doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
?Acts 2:40-42
We have seen that essentially a Christian is one who has been entirely
changed, and we are now considering the ways in which this new life, this
new nature that Christians have received, manifests itself. Let me remind
you again that I am holding this before you not out of a theoretical or
academic interest, but because I trust we shall all examine ourselves in
the light this gives. The world needs Christian people today. Not only
that, we are all moving forward in time. Our lives are advancing, and life
is uncertain. We do not know how long we have left in this world, any one
of us, even apart from war and bombs. Are we ready to meet death and
eternity? That is why this subject is so vital. We may say we are
Christians. Very well, let us test ourselves in the light of what we are
told about these people in Acts. Are we like them? Here are the first
Christians. Do we conform to the pattern they set?
We have seen that these first believers showed their new life in certain
ways. We saw, first, that they left the world and that, positively, they
joined the apostles and the company of 120 people. In other words, they
became members of the Christian church, which immediately became the
biggest thing in their lives.
The next question we must consider is this: What did they come together
for? Here were these people who had come out of the world to join the
group of people called disciples, and they formed the first church, but
what is the Christian church for? What does she do? What does she provide?
Do Christian people come together for socials, dances, raffles, dramatic
performances, lectures on politics, literature, and sociology? You see the
importance of a negative, do you not? There was nothing like that in the
early church. It is not my object to denounce these things. But I do want
to show how far removed they are from the Christian church. You can get
all that in the world, and you can get it very much better there. The
Christian church makes a fool of herself when she attempts these
things?she does them so badly. If you want activities like that, then go
and get them organized professionally.
But that is not the Christian church. It is a travesty. I do not want to
defend Christendom or advocate any particular section of the church or any
particular local church. I want to hold before you the pictures of the New
Testament church. That is the only church I recognize. Those people did
not come to the church to do things like that. And when true revival takes
place, those are the first things to go; people lose interest in them. A
church that can only exist by resorting to things like that is utterly
different from the New Testament church. ?They continued steadfastly in
the apostles? doctrine [teaching] and fellowship, and in breaking of
bread, and in prayers??purely spiritual activities. And that is the
pattern for the church at all times.
So let us look at this. First, doctrine. The apostles? teaching is put
first in this list?that is why we must start with it, and it is very
important that we should, because today there is real opposition to what
we read here. The first thing these Christians desired was further
teaching from the apostles. They coveted this with the whole of their
being. Before we go any farther, let us ask ourselves a simple question:
Do we desire ?the apostles? doctrine?? God grant that we may.
This longing for ?the apostles? doctrine? tells us something tremendously
important. It is that Christianity is not only an experience. Now I have
been emphasizing that it is an experience and not merely an intellectual
point of view. When men and women become Christians, they undergo the most
profound change they can ever know; it is indeed a profound experience.
But it is not only that, and I must emphasize this because there are other
agencies in the world that can give people experiences.
How do you tell the difference between becoming a Christian and some other
experience, an emotional experience or a change as the result of
psychotherapy or something like that? The teaching put out by the cults
can produce a change. Adherents of a cult talk about their lives being
transformed. How, then, do you tell the difference between an experience
that is Christian and one that is not? There is only one answer, and that
is the cause of the experience. Christians experience change as the result
of believing the truth about Jesus Christ. Two people may say, ?I?m very
happy.? They may both say, ?I used to do such and such, but not any
longer. I?ve been delivered from it all.? But it does not follow that they
are both Christians. How, then, do we know who is? The only test, I
repeat, is the source of the experience.
As we have seen, the people in Acts came together because they had had the
same experience. But the thing that strikes us at once about them is that
they had had the same experience because they had believed the same
teaching, the same message. ?Then they that gladly received his word were
baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand
souls.? There would never have been an early church but for a particular
teaching. So we are bound to emphasize that the teaching must come first
because it was that which led to the conversions, the change. It was
Peter?s preaching, his teaching, his doctrine, that brought these people
together. They ?gladly received his word? and were baptized. And we are
told in verse 44, ?And all that believed were together.? What did they
believe? The same teaching.
But let us ask a second question: Why did these people want this teaching?
Why did they gather together every day in the part of the temple that was
allowed to them and there listen to the exposition of truth from the lips
of the apostles? This, too, is very important. We are living in an age
when people are trying to say that we must scrap preaching and teaching
and replace it by?here is the word?dialogue. That just means two people
talking together, but it sounds so much better as dialogue, does it not?
Discussions?questions and answers for about twenty-five minutes or so?as
if that in itself could ever lead to anything!
But it was not like that in the early church. The people ?continued
steadfastly? every single day. Why did they want this doctrine? There are
many answers, but let me give you some of them. The apostle Peter later
wrote a letter to a number of Christian people, and this is what he said
to them: ?As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye
may grow thereby? (1 Pet. 2:2). In other words, wanting to listen to the
Word is inevitable if men and women are born again and have become
Christians. A babe does not understand, but he has an instinct for milk.
He wants it! Of course, this is proof of the fact that he is a child and
not an adult. He is alive and wants the mother?s milk, and rightly so. It
is exactly the same with the Christian. One simply cannot be a Christian
and have no desire for a knowledge of this truth?it is impossible.
Let me put this another way. Here were people who had suddenly heard
something marvelous that they had not known before. This was the most
astounding thing they had ever heard, and the preachers had said, ?There?s
more. I cannot tell it all to you now.? So the people came together; they
were afraid of missing something. I do not understand some Christian
people?they seem to want the minimum of teaching. But are you not
sometimes afraid that something tremendous may happen in the house of God
when you are not there? It is a wonderful thing to be in the house of God.
It is a wonderful thing to be listening to the preaching of the Gospel,
because it is God?s truth. Because the Holy Spirit is there, you never
know what may happen. What if He should suddenly come in the glory of His
power and you were not there? These people in Acts were taking no
risks?they wanted all they could get. They were afraid of missing
something very precious. This is all instinctive in the Christian.
But, further, why did they want more and more of this teaching? Another
answer is that they had become aware of their ignorance. I have already
dealt with that, but let me put it in another way. Here were the people
who had shouted, ?Away with Him! Crucify Him!? They had thought they knew
all about Jesus of Nazareth. ?Who is this fellow?? they had said. ?This
carpenter, this Nazarene?who is He to claim to be the Son of God and
Savior? Away with Him! Crucify Him! Let?s get rid of Him.? They had
thought they were clever, just as people still think it is clever to deny
Christianity and make fun of the message of the Christian church.
But suddenly they were awakened; they were pricked in their hearts; they
were convicted. And what they discovered was their appalling
ignorance?that though they had thought they knew so much, they knew
nothing. They had made the most tragic blunder that men and women can ever
make. They had been blind, but suddenly their eyes were opened.
You cannot become a Christian without being made humble. Our Lord Himself
said, ?Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not
enter into the kingdom of heaven? (Matt. 18:3). ?Let no man deceive
himself,? says the apostle Paul. ?If any man among you seemeth to be wise
in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise? (1 Cor. 3:18).
The first thing that happens to those who become Christians is that they
are convicted of their ignorance, their darkness. And once they have been
shown that, then they are terrified lest they should still be ignorant of
certain things that are vital. So they say, ?I must listen to that. I want
more and more and more. I don?t want to be held in ignorance any longer. I
want life.? So they long for the teaching.
Have you realized your ignorance about yourself? Any man or woman who
thinks highly of himself or herself is just plain ignorant. How difficult
it is for us to know ourselves! It is only this Gospel that can dispel our
ignorance. What do we know about God? What do we know about life? We talk
so grandly and so glibly, but what do we know? The Gospel convicts us of
ignorance, and those who know they are ignorant thirst and hunger for
knowledge. They do not want to be held any longer in the thralldom, the
darkness, of ignorance. So the Jerusalem Christians came together daily.
Then, third, they wanted to understand more and more about this tremendous
thing that had happened to them. The natural question to ask was, ?What is
this? What has happened to me?? They were newborn babes, and they wanted
to understand, to have some explanation. They had come into this new
realm, this wonderful life, and it was quite natural and instinctive, was
it not, to want to know more and more. When you have something really
good, you want more of it. They said, ?This is only the beginning. Let?s
hear more.? Like newborn babes, they wanted to grow and to develop.
But let me give you a still better reason. They wanted to learn more about
truth so they could help others. These were ordinary men and women like
ourselves, and they had fathers or mothers or husbands or wives or
children. Their eyes had been opened. They had seen the peril of their
position, the darkness of their existence, and they were in this new realm
with all its wonder and glory. But their loved ones were still outside;
and they were worried and troubled about that. They wanted to help them,
but how could they? What did they have to say? It was no use saying, ?I?ve
had a wonderful experience.? That would not help the other person who
might well reply, ?What has happened to you? How did you get the
experience?? Just like newborn babes, they were not in a position to
answer. So they desired the teaching, the instruction, the information
that the apostles were giving in order that they might be able to help
others.
This same Peter, writing in his first epistle, says, ?Be ready always to
give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is
in you? (1 Pet. 3:15). For instance, if somebody says to you, ?What were
you doing last Sunday?? you might say, ?I went to church.
?Ah,? comes the response, ?why do you do that?
?Because,? you reply, ?I was brought up to go.
?But I was not,? says the other.
?Well,? you say, ?I?ve not really thought much about this, but I?ve always
gone, and there?s something about it I like.
?But,? continues the questioner, ?what is it that draws you? What do you
do there? Why do you go? What?s it all about?
And if you cannot answer, what a poor Christian you are! What an
opportunity you are missing! You see, Christians are men and women who
know. They are taught why they are what they are, and they can tell others
what they must do. These people in Acts cried out as Peter was preaching,
?Men and brethren, what shall we do?? What would have been their position
if Peter had turned to them and said, ?Well, I really don?t know. I?ve had
a wonderful experience myself, but I don?t quite know what it is. Or I've
been brought up in this way, and this happens to be my temperament, and I
happen to like this sort of thing.? It would all have been useless. But
Peter could give specific answers, and we must be able to do the same.
Your next-door neighbors may be in great trouble?their marriage may be
breaking down, or they may be going through some sadness, bereavement,
sorrow, or disappointment. Their lives may have been shattered, and they
do not know what to do or where to find help. The world laughs at them,
the music keeps playing, the television continues, and they are left with
their own misery. Oh, they are waiting for a word. The people in Jerusalem
wanted to understand in order to help others by showing them the way of
salvation and deliverance. These are the reasons that made them continue
?steadfastly in the apostles? doctrine.
But let me take you to another aspect of this matter. There is definite
teaching here??they continued steadfastly in the apostles? doctrine.?
There is such a thing as apostolic doctrine. I am a preacher for one
reason only, and it is that I have believed the apostolic doctrine and
teaching. I have no other teaching. I do not stand here to say what I
think. I am simply repeating what I find in the Gospel. I am expounding
the Scriptures, the apostolic doctrine. But the importance of doing this
is seriously questioned today. Indeed, it is not only controverted but
ridiculed and dismissed, and I must of necessity deal with this criticism.
Recently I was sent a copy of a little book called Not So Much a Creed,
More a Way of Life,?1? and this is what it says in the Introduction:
Jesus taught very little theology. The four records of his life and
message say nothing about the fall of man or of God?s plan of salvation.
He did not require from his disciples the acceptance of any creed. There
is no hint of the need for any atonement for sin. He says plainly that
forgiveness depends on repentance and on showing a forgiving spirit in
one?s dealings with others. He proclaims a new way of life, the way of
righteousness, a righteousness that exceeds the righteousness of the
scribes and Pharisees.? As a way of life it has tremendous value and can
contribute a great deal to the welfare of the world and the happiness of
its people.
I hope to deal with that, God willing, in the next chapter of this book.
The writer continues:
Modern education in geology, in astronomy, in history and in simple logic
has made the old beliefs incredible to most people today. It has created
an attitude of mind which just cannot accept them as true. Does this mean
the end of Christianity? Are we about to enter the post-Christian age?
And the author?s answer to that question is that Christianity will ?die as
a theology and rise again as a way of life.
Now it would be very difficult to find summarized in smaller compass such
a complete denial of what we are taught, not only in the second chapter of
Acts, but in the whole of the New Testament. But some of you may agree
with it. You may say, ?We don?t want doctrine. We don?t want teaching. We
don?t want theology. All we want is something to help us to get along.?
But the answer to that is that nothing will help you to get along except
this apostolic teaching! So it is my duty to disabuse your mind and to
open your understanding.
First of all, the apostles are full of doctrine. Now according to this
writer there should be no doctrine, so the apostles were wrong and
contradicted the Lord Jesus Christ. There is only one answer to that: It
was the Lord Jesus Christ who called these apostles. It was He who taught
them, it was He who gave them the message, and it was He who sent the Holy
Spirit down upon them to enable them to preach. We see that in John 16,
which seems to me to have been written almost deliberately to meet this
very kind of objection. People say?and it sounds so wonderful!??Do not
listen to that man Paul, do not listen to these apostles; listen to Jesus
with His simple Gospel. No theology there.? But listen to John 16:12: ?I
have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.
It is, of course, perfectly right and true to say that there is less
doctrinal teaching in the Gospels than in the epistles. But the Gospels
themselves tell you that, and they tell you why. If you read the four
Gospels, you will find that our Lord kept on referring to His death and
resurrection, and the disciples could never accept it. They stumbled over
this teaching. Peter remonstrated with our Lord and said in essence, ?Why
are you talking about dying? This is impossible for you!? The disciples
never grasped the truth about the Resurrection. So when our Lord was
crucified on the cross, they were cast into the depths of despair.
What was the matter? The trouble was, as our Lord said, ?? ye cannot bear
them now.? As our Lord talked about His death and resurrection, the
disciples were blind; they were stunned; they could not receive it. But He
continued, ?Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide
you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself [from Himself]; but
whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things
to come. He shall glorify me? (vv. 13?14).
Not only that?we have still more powerful evidence. If you read the last
chapter of Luke?s Gospel, you will find that after His resurrection, our
Lord gave instruction to His followers and disciples. They were utterly
disconsolate, and He said, ?O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that
the prophets have spoken: ought not Christ to have suffered these things,
and to enter into his glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets,
he expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the things concerning
himself? (24:25?27). After His death and resurrection, He expounded the
truth to them. He explained it, and they were now able to receive it. And
when the Spirit came upon them, they were able to understand still more.
So the statement in the booklet Not So Much a Creed, More a Way of Life is
altogether wrong. It says that our Lord taught us nothing about the fall
of man. But did not He Himself teach, ?Ye must be born again? (John 3:7)?
Why must someone be born again? Because ?That which is born of the flesh
is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit? (John 3:6). Our
Lord said, ?Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father
ye will do? (John 8:44). He said, ?The Son of man is come to seek and to
save that which was lost? (Luke 19:10). ?Lost??that is it! All of this
teaches the fall of man.
And then the author of that booklet said that our Lord did not teach us
anything about the plan of salvation. Did He not? Read the twelfth chapter
of John?s Gospel: ?The hour is come, that the Son of man should be
glorified ? what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour??no!??but for
this cause came I unto this hour.? And I, if I be lifted up from the
earth, will draw all men unto me? (vv. 23, 27, 32). That is His teaching.
He said, ?As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must
the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in him should not
perish, but have eternal life? (John 3:14?15). Listen to Him: ?For even
the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to
give his life a ransom for many? (Mark 10:45). What is this? God?s plan of
salvation, God?s atonement. ?No creed,? says this writer, and many with
him. But in Christ?s words is pure creed, sheer doctrine.
And on one occasion when certain people had believed in Him, Jesus said,
?If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; and ye shall
know the truth, and the truth shall make you free? (John 8:31?32). Read
His high-priestly prayer in John 17: ?I have given unto them the words
which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely
that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me?
(v. 8).
In other words, even in the Gospels we are given teaching on all the most
essential doctrines. But as our Lord said, He could not give it fully
because the disciples were not yet in a position to receive it. As He told
them about His coming death, they staggered; but as they looked back upon
it in the light of the Resurrection, they began to understand. The
Resurrection proves that He is the Son of God. And the Spirit made the
meaning of His life and death yet clearer and gave His followers power to
preach it and to proclaim it. That is the simple answer to this monstrous
suggestion that twentieth-century man with his knowledge of geology and
science and so on does not need doctrine. My dear friend, there is nothing
new about rejection of the Gospel. It was rejected in the first century.
Modern knowledge has nothing to do with it. It is the blindness of sin
that makes people write and say such things.
But there is infinitely more that I could put before you. ?They continued
steadfastly in the apostles? doctrine??and these apostles all preached the
same doctrine, every one of them. Read the book of Acts right through:
They continued to preach it. At times they seemed to differ, but then they
would have a conference and they would agree. Read about that in Acts
chapters 11 and 15. They were all of one mind and one accord, and whatever
the differences, they settled them. They all believed the same truth.
Indeed, we have specific statements to this effect. When the apostle Paul
was being questioned in Corinth as to whether he was an apostle at all,
this is how he answered: ?Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the
gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein
ye stand; by which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached
unto you, unless ye have believed in vain? (1 Cor. 15:1?2). And then Paul
reminds his readers of the content of the Gospel and goes on to make this
claim: ?I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an
apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I
am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain;
but I labored more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of
God which was with me? (vv. 9?10). They all preached the same message.
Paul explicitly says the same thing again in Galatians 1 and 2, and we
find the apostle Peter paying him tribute by referring to his writings as
?Scriptures? (2 Pet. 3:16).
Again, the apostle Paul says that the church is ?built upon the foundation
of the apostles and prophets? (Eph. 2:20)?it has no other foundation. This
is not a shifting foundation, ?Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner
stone? (v. 20). There is such a thing, I emphasize again, as an apostolic
message, as ?the apostles? doctrine,? the apostles? teaching, the
apostles? instruction.
Then in the first centuries of the Christian church, the Fathers of the
church met together in conferences, in great councils. False teaching had
come in, and how did they evaluate it? They assessed it in the light of
apostolic doctrine and teaching. And so they formed their creeds?the
Apostles? Creed (which was not actually written by the apostles but
represented their teaching), the Nicene Creed, the Athanasian Creed. All
these great creeds of the church are expressive of the unity of the
doctrine. And when we come to the great confessions of the Reformation
period, we find exactly the same thing, whether it be the Church of
England?s Thirty-Nine Articles or the Westminster Confession of Faith. In
all the great essentials of Christian teaching they are unanimous.
So the point I am establishing is that the first believers in Jerusalem
came together to listen to a particular teaching. Not speculations; not
one man getting up and saying, ?I maintain this,? and another saying, ?No,
I think it is that. Modern knowledge has taught me this!? No; they
listened to a positive message given by the risen Lord to the apostles.
Did He not meet Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus? Did He not then
reveal Himself to Saul? Did He not say, ?I have appeared unto thee ? to
make thee a minister and a witness? (Acts 26:16)? Did He not tell Saul
what to say?the same message He had given to all the others?
What is this message, this teaching? Here is the vital question. ?They
continued steadfastly in the apostles? doctrine.? What did the apostles
teach? Do you know the apostolic teaching? Have you believed it? Have you
received it? Do you want to know more about it? Is it possible for me to
tell you what Christian teaching is? Is it something vague and nebulous?
Is it something that must change because we now know geology and other
sciences? Is it different from what it was in the first century? No! The
message is still the same. There is no other message.
And this message is summarized in many places in the New Testament. Peter
had already given a summary of it by saying, ?Repent, and be baptized
every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins?
(Acts 2:38). He had already explained the death on the cross to them:
Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders
and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also
know: him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of
God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: whom God
hath raised up.
?vv. 22-24
This apostolic teaching is summarized again in 1 Corinthians 15 and in 1
Thessalonians 1:9?10: ?? how ye turned to God from idols to serve the
living and true God; and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised
from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.?
That is apostolic preaching. That is Christian teaching. It starts with
God. It does not start with modern man or with the latest knowledge. It
does not start with biology or geology. It starts by saying, ?In the
beginning God??the Creator of the whole universe and the sustainer of the
cosmos, God in His holy being, God in His righteousness, His glory, His
everlasting light. God! And the world that He made and the men and women
that He made. People made in the image of God! Not sniveling creatures
going through life just eating and drinking and indulging in sex as if
they were animals in the farmyard. No, no; man made upright and righteous,
a reflection of something of the divine glory itself. God! Man! The
universe! And then the Fall. Adam and Eve?s rebellion against God, and
consequently sin and shame and havoc and misery and unhappiness, and men
and women in need of salvation, and the judgment of God upon it all. This
is apostolic teaching.
But modern men and women do not like it ?No, no,? they say, ?not so much a
doctrine, more a way of life.? But you cannot have it! This is truth. This
is God?s message. And the Son of God is the proof of it. Why did He come
into the world? Here is the answer, let me quote that verse again: ?God so
loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever
believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life? (John
3:16). If people do not believe in God?s Son, they will ?perish.? There is
the judgment of God. John 3:16, they say, is the most wonderful verse in
the Bible. Very well; if you say so, believe it! In this message is God
and man, and the Fall and condemnation! And the only way of escape is
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, this blessed person who was born as a babe
in Bethlehem?the Incarnation. It is nothing but sheer doctrine that ?God
sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them
that were under the law? (Gal. 4:4?5). God was visiting and redeeming His
people, and the Son came. What for? To save us! How? By taking our sins
upon Himself, by bearing our punishment, by being smitten by the stripes
we deserve, by dying in our stead. He ?bare our sins in his own body on
the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness? (1
Pet. 2:24). This is apostolic teaching.
Then came the gift of new life in the Spirit, the possibility of a new
start. Not only are my sins forgiven?I am made a child of God. I have a
new nature. I am born again. I am a new person. The Spirit of God is in
me, enabling me and strengthening me, progressively sanctifying me. What
for? To prepare me for the everlasting glory that is awaiting me in
Christ. That is the apostolic message. And that is what these people
longed to hear more and more of. They knew they had new life, but they
said, ?We need more of it. We?re in the world still, and the world and the
flesh and the devil are powerful, and we are weak. Tell us more of the
teaching.? They wanted to know what it means to be ?in Christ? and ?Christ
in you, the hope of glory? (Col. 1:27). They wanted to know more about
this blessed Spirit who can change people and give them power. They wanted
to know about the world that is to come?not this passing evil world, but
that future world and its pleasures and its joys. And who could teach them
all that but the apostles? And how did they know? Because Christ had
revealed it unto them. So ?They continued steadfastly in the apostles?
doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
These are the only things that matter. I am not an expert in politics. I
do not know the future of this world. I do not know what is happening
behind the scenes; so I do not waste your time by preaching politics to
you. I am not here to get you to organize campaigns against this or that.
I am here to tell you what has been delivered to me through these
apostles, the only authority I have, and their message is that you and I
and all humanity will have to stand before God in the judgment, and that
all of us, as we are by nature, cannot do this. ?The ungodly shall not
stand in the judgment? (Psa. 1:5). You would be swept away like the chaff,
as the psalmist puts it in Psalm 1, and this is what matters, whatever the
political future may be. Whatever governments may come or go, we are
living souls, and we are facing God and eternity.
This is a passing world at best. We all have to die, and our time is
short. Life is but a breath, a vapor, and the supreme question is, ?How
should man be just with God?? (Job 9:2). How can I get forgiveness for my
sins? How can I get new life and start living in a worthy manner? How can
I lose the fear of death and the grave? How can I prepare for that
eternity that is coming? Thank God, the apostolic doctrine deals with
those questions, and it answers them. It is the only teaching that does
so. The philosophers do not know. They can talk cleverly, but they cannot
live so well. There is nothing under the sun that deals with our
fundamental and essential problems and questions save this apostolic
doctrine.
Oh, thank God for it! Thank God that it is plain. Thank God that it is
clear. Thank God that it has been preached through the centuries. Thank
God that it is as true today as it was 2,000 years ago. Thank God it is
the everlasting Gospel. There will never be another because this is about
what God Himself has done in His only begotten Son for our salvation.
My dear friend, have you believed? Have you received this apostolic
doctrine? I can test you simply. If you have believed this and received
it, you have new life, spiritual life, and that will show itself in this
way: You will be hungering and thirsting for more. It will become the
greatest interest of your life. You will still be interested in other
books, but you will find, as I find?and I say this to the glory of
God?that there are many books I would like to read, but I just do not have
the time. I am too busy reading the Bible and books that help me
understand it.
Now I am not criticizing the others. I like to read books on history. I
like reading biographies. I like reading about music. I like reading about
medicine, aspects of science, psychology, philosophy, and so on. But my
problem is to find the time. I find life here in this Book. It moves my
heart. It melts me. It fills me with righteousness. It strengthens my
feeble will. I want this. And men and women who have spiritual life in
them, the life of God in their souls, will be like newborn babes, desiring
?the sincere milk of the word? that they might grow (1 Pet. 2:2). If you
do not have that desire, you are dead. Whether you are a church member or
not, if the Bible is still boring, if you find prayer difficult and a
task, you are dead, and therefore you have one thing to do: Go to God,
repent, confess your sin, tell Him you realize you are dead, and ask Him
to give you life anew, to breathe His Spirit upon you and give you new
life from among the dead.
He will not refuse you. I have His authority for saying this: ?Him that
cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out? (John 6:37). Get ahold of the
water of life that He alone can give, ?a well of water springing up into
everlasting life? (John 4:14). Thank God, this is Christianity; this is
God's way of salvation.
Lloyd-Jones, D. M. (2000). Authentic Christianity (1st U.S. ed.) (103).
Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Books.
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