Cross Angle

“It is true  that outward religion is worth nothing without the religion of the heart. “God is a Spirit: and they that  worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24 KJV) Therefore, external worship is lost labor without a heart devoted to God. The outward ordinance of God profit much when they advance inward holiness. But when they do not advance it, they are unprofitable and void. And when they are used in the place of inward religion, they are an utter abomination to the Lord.

All outward means whatever, if separate from the Spirit of God , cannot profit at all, cannot lead in any degree either to the knowledge of the love of God. Without controversy, the help that is done upon earth, He doeth it Himself. It is He alone who by His own almighty power, works in us what is pleasing in His sight.

All outward things, unless He works in them and by them, are mere weak and beggarly elements. We know there is no inherit power in the words spoken in prayer, in the letter or the sound of the scripture read, or in the bread and wine received in the Lord’s Supper. It is God alone who is the giver of every good gift, the author of all grace. The whole power is of Him, whereby, through any of these, there is any blessing conveyed to our souls.”

Underline is mine.

Some thoughts from my good friend Brent,

Dear friends and family,

I have been reading a book called the Kingdom of God by John Bright.  He was the professor of Hebrew and the Interpretation of the Old Testament at Union Theological Seminary around World War II.  It is interesting reading.  I found a few quotes that I thought were relevant to our day.

In referring to the monarchy in Israel under David and Soloman, he says, “So it is that the question before us is not unlike that which the monarchy posed for Israel…it is a question which cannot be evaded, and it matters greatly how we answer it.  Will our destiny as a nation which calls itself Christian be satisfied in terms of the economic prosperity and the national might which we have created?  Will we seek no higher salvation than the present order can provide in terms of increased incomes(security), automobiles(mobility), and television sets(entertainment)?  What is worse, will we, because we have churches and because our political forms are hospitable to their growth, assume that the present order is the God-ordained order which God–if He be just–may be called upon to defend always?  The people that answers the question so, will see it as the sole function of religion to support and to hallow in the name of God its own material best interests.  But it will never begin to understand the meaning of the Kingdom of God.” (italics mine)

When talking of bad and good times, he writes, “But may we not also be led to reflect that times that seem evil to us may serve a better purpose than time that are good?  This may seem a strange thing to say, but there is much truth in it.  The good times that we desire are time of freedom from disturbing bother–in which a man can read his paper without worrying, can get on with his business, can have gas for his car and the pleasures and luxuries which we all enjoy.  Those, we would say, are good time.  But perhaps from the divine point of view they are not.  For the purpose of God for us is not the comfort of our bodies or the preservation of our interests, but the discipline of our spirits that we may become truly his people.”

In reference of the effort to legislate morality, he states, “Jeremiah saw that it would take more than Josiah’s reform to make Judah the people of God.  How strange their delusion, yet how familiar!  We yearn for a Christian society and know no way to gain it save by organizing meetings, financing programs, enacting laws, and padlocking the more nauseous resorts of ill fame.  And Israel yearned tor covenant peace with God–and padlocked the false shrines and became very busy at the temple.  We shall not decry reform measures are called for.  But Jeremiah tells us that if we have no more than reform measures, we are chopping Hydra’s heads, lopping at the leaves and branches of mortal frailty and touching the trunk of it not at all.  Jeremiah told his people that the covenant bond is simply not to be restored externally.  He wheeled upon their busy observance of the cultic law and appealed from the external of the law to th heart of it.  Said he:  God does not care how fussily you regulate public worship.  Offer your sacrifices this way or that–it’s all one to God! For the heart of God’s demand is not busy religion, but obedience.  Only an obedient people can remain in covenant with God; only over an obedient people will he rule.  As for this people, it must repent from the heart…The people of God are a people of clean heart.” (italics mine)

I found these quotes to be very relative to our day in both the political and spiritual climates in which we are living.  The lines between political and spiritual are being so blurred by our political activism.  We live in a church world that believes if we can outlaw this or outlaw that, that somehow that is going to turn around how God may view our country.  I think that Bright points out very aptly that only clear obedience to God will change anything.

We are also convinced that the survival of the American church as we see it is necessary for the kingdom of God to advance or continue.  Bright points out that the political Israel collapsed, but it is the spiritual circumcision that keeps the kingdom of God advancing.

I just wanted to pass along some of these quotes.  Enjoy!

Brent