November 2006
● Vol. 1 No.
9
Editorial
4
Russ Atmore
Labors More
Abundant
6
Russ Atmore
The Communion
Papers: (1) The Passover
9
Russ
Atmore
Everlasting
Righteousness (2)
13
Horatius Bonar
Applying Holy
Scripture
19
Russ Atmore
The Death of
Thomas Bilney
21
J. H. Merle
d'Aubigné
The Power
Behind Jesus’ Preaching
24
(Mark 1:35 –
39)
Russ Atmore
Bible Quiz
27
Kaitlin Atmore
Editorial
Following hard
on the heels of Halloween are the Elections and then Thanksgiving.
All of these require some kind of mental and spiritual fortitude.
Halloween continues to present itself in ever increasing darkness.
Even Christians feel the power of this pagan observance. The
upcoming Elections only reveal the depravity of man as candidates
from both sides leave the Christian wondering whether they can vote
for anyone without violating their obligation to do right before
God. Perhaps Thanksgiving will be more sedate and we can with
profound gratitude to God return our thanks to him for this
country’s heritage, a heritage that seems to be all but gone.
In this issue
of Bread & Wine, we remind ourselves of the selfless labor of others
in their service for Jesus. Mission endeavor continues to be
necessary in a world that is lost. The cry of who will go and how
shall we stay and live among the lost is desperately needed today.
The examples provided from Australia in its early days of mission
work will stir us all up to think seriously of the cost in
missionary enterprise.
We provide the
conclusion to Horatius Bonar’s powerful exposition on Christ’s
Righteousness. This work has been said to be the very best on the
imputation of Jesus’ righteousness to us. I have begun a new, and
Lord willing, extended study into the Lord’s Supper called “The
Communion Papers.” In this first installment, we consider the
Passover for it was in the context of the Passover that Jesus
instituted the Lord’s Supper. How we apply Scripture will be related
to how we interpret Scripture, and this is something all Christians
must learn to do.
We have
included the startling account of the death of Thomas Bilney, who
read, and was impacted by one of Tyndale’s New Testaments. Those
kinds of days may happen again. Are we prepared to be like Thomas
Bilney? Our commentary on Mark’s Gospel continues with a look at the
power of prayer in Jesus’ life as that which sustained him
throughout his life and death. As usual, we have provided a quiz
which is creatively designed by Kaitlin Atmore. Look carefully, and
always be on the look out for a few surprises.
Russ Atmore
Soli Deo
Gloria
“The end of
study is information, and the end of meditation is practice.”
Thomas Manton
Labors More
Abundant[1]
Samuel Leigh
went out to Australia in the early 1800’s as a missionary. His
mission field was a 150 mile circuit that he rode every 10 days. In
those 10 days he would preach at 14 stations, and on Sunday he would
ride out to preach at 10 o’clock in the morning. He would then take
in some food, travel another seven miles and preach at 2 o’clock.
After this he would ride another six miles and preach at 5 o’clock,
and then he would ride another seven miles and preach at 7 o’clock
in the evening. He said that he feared his constitution would not
last long under this regimen, but “what can I do?” were his words.
While he wept and prayed for the salvation of those who heard him in
those remote places he would forget his fatigues and troubles. He
said, “with regard to myself, I desire to live every moment to God,
and to die in the missionary field.” On one occasion as he was
riding he had to work his way through a forest for thirty miles with
the sun shining through the trees as his guide. He could say, “I
sometimes travel 20 miles, preach to 20 persons, retire to rest with
twenty thousand blessings, and go off again in the morning, singing
for joy. Pray that I may be filled with faith in Christ, and with a
burning zeal for the spread of His gospel.” His life was a life
occupied with labors abundant.
Jane Reid went
to Tasmania as a 7 year old girl with her parents in 1821. Her
mother would teach her the Westminster Shorter Catechism as they sat
alone on their tract of land that her father had purchased. At the
age of 14 she had attained maturity both spiritual and physical for
she was happily married to Lieutenant William Williams of the 57th
regiment. His new orders took them to India in 1830. In January 1831
their first child died and in November 1834 her husband died of a
fever. The morning after his death, Jane, who was pregnant at the
time suffered the loss of their second child due to premature
delivery. To her mother in Tasmania she could write as she
sought to return there, “I trust that we have the same hope…I trust
that He who has smoothed my path, and who, while He has afflicted me
has also given me a heart to bear those afflictions….of my own
feelings I might write to you forever without being able to express
the half of what I have felt….but, my dear Mamma, He who has seen
all and knows them all, who having formed me, understands them all,
is ever ready to listen to all which we find it impossible to
express to any human being…” In 1837, back home in Tasmania on
January 1 she wrote, “all are gone to church, but I have remained at
home to commune with my own thoughts and to retrace the steps I have
taken this past year, to look back and think of all that forever is
past to me in this life; to pray for grace to improve by my
afflictions and losses – for support on my entrance into the new
year; to thank thee, my righteous God and Savior, for the blessings
still spared me, and for the protection and quiet of the past year.
I do thank thee for the love still so undeservedly given me. Have
mercy on me. O God of my salvation! Keep me near thee. Make me Thine
and increase my love to thee. O Lord, take my heart and keep it, for
I cannot; it will go astray if thou hast it not – keep it this year.
Jane Williams died in 1897 after a long life in labors more abundant
for Christ in Tasmania.
We must
confess that when we read of these men and women who burned with
conviction for Christ, that we ourselves are far from these
experiences. The Church today would have you believe that all
affliction, all sickness, all suffering is wrong, and yet for nearly
2000 years this has been precisely the experience of God’s people.
It is the Church, with her new fangled doctrine, that God owes you
only the best of everything, that has contributed to an impoverished
Christianity, if indeed a Christianity at all. We now have easy
salvation, and a salvation that we are told will make you
financially secure. God, we are told, because He is a God of love
would never visit His children with affliction and loss. Indeed,
such a thought comes from the devil we are told. But this is not
true. The people of God, the prophets of God certainly had no life
of ease. It was a life of hardship. I am reminded whenever I desire
to complain that it is only through much tribulation that I must
enter the Kingdom of God. It is significant that our weak theology
has left us bereft of any stronghold to lay hold of. It has made the
majority of professing Christians miserable and complaining, a never
satisfied kind of people. The reason is because they now focus on
themselves and not on Christ. As 2007 approaches at a rapid rate, we
must learn to walk daily in fellowship with the Living Christ. Only
then will we begin to know the meaning of being in labors more
abundant.
“Meditation
will keep your hearts and souls from sinful thoughts.”
William Bridge
The Communion
Papers: (1) The Passover
There can be
no doubt that our Lord instituted the Lord’s Supper within the
context of the Old Testament sacrificial feast, which we know as the
Passover. The Gospel accounts record for us the initial preparation
done by the disciples as they sought to prepare the Passover feast
according to Jesus’ instructions (Matt. 26:17; Mark 14:12; Luke
22:7, 8; John 13:1). Three significant and eye-opening events took
place between this preparation by the disciples and the actual
institution of the Lord’s Supper. The first was the actual Passover
itself. This was celebrated and out of this, flows the instituting
of the Lord’s Supper. The second major event was the washing of the
disciples’ feet in John 13:1 -20. Conversations about who was the
greatest had been circulating among the disciples, and Jesus
squelches these with his dramatic statements and then with his
humble selfless act of washing their feet, even though he was their
recognized Lord and Master. The third dramatic event was the
betrayal of Judas Iscariot. What is significant about Judas’
betrayal is that it is believed to have occurred prior to the Lord’s
Supper being instituted. This is very significant and casts a holy
shadow over the celebration of Jesus’ impending death. The disciples
were very familiar with the Passover Feast. It was a memorial
pointing back to an event in their history when God intervened and
delivered them from Pharaoh and redeemed them out of Egypt. What is
the Passover and what is its connection to the Lord’s Supper, if
any?
Background
Abraham was
called of God to be a great nation, but in Genesis 15, God told
Abraham that his descendants would be strangers in a foreign land
and would suffer and dwell there for four hundred years. God also
promised that the nation that afflicted them would be judged, and
that Abraham’s descendents would leave their bondage with great
possessions. Genesis records the life of Joseph in Egypt along
with Jacob, but in Exodus 1, a new Pharaoh rose up in Egypt who did
not know Joseph, and who looked with alarm on the vast group of
people called Hebrews. This group he subsequently placed into
slavery with severe bondage. Subsequently, God called Moses to
deliver his people from their bondage, and God brings upon the land
of Egypt, the 10 plagues of his judgment. In the context of the last
plague, the death of the firstborn, the Passover Feast is instituted
(Exodus 11, 12).
A New
Beginning
Exodus 12:1, 2
begins with God instituting a new calendar for Israel. The first
month of this new year was to be the month Abib (our March/April).
It was a new beginning for Israel, and associated with this is the
Passover Feast. Israel’s new calendar begins with the Exodus
shrouded in the observance of the Passover. The book of Exodus is
about redemption. It is about God’s deliverance of Israel out of
their bondage in Egypt.
The Passover
Established
Ex. 12:3, 4
tells us that on the tenth day of the month Abib, every household
was to obtain a lamb. It was a family act or a communal act. The
entire nation was bound to this – not one person was to be excluded.
The observance of the Passover was done among the family unit. The
altar and priests who would later officiate is revealed in Deut.
16:5 – 7. The words, a “lamb for a household,” (Ex. 12:3)
carries with it the implication of representation. We shall see that
the idea of substitution is also prevalent in the Passover
observance.
A Perfect Lamb
The lamb to be
chosen was to be spotless and unblemished. It was to be a male and
was to be one year old, and could come from the sheep flock or the
goat herd (Ex. 12:5).
Identification
& Relationship
The time
indicated in Ex. 12:6 points to the fact that for four days, Israel
was to keep this lamb in their homes. They would thus develop a
relationship with the lamb and identification with it would occur.
The loss of the lamb through sacrifice would be sharply felt. It
would mean something to the observers.
Sacrifice
The lamb was
to be killed at “twilight,” (lit. between the evenings) on
the fourteenth day of Abib. Every household was to slay their lambs
during the late afternoon or early evening. For four days, the
congregation of Israel would have pondered this lamb and what it
would signify, and then the magnitude of it would dawn on them when
they realized that thousands of lambs were being slain in order to
protect them (Ex. 12:7 – 13). Blood was placed on the two pillars of
the doors and the lintel above them (vs. 7), and that blood would be
a sign to the avenging angel of death and destruction as he moved
through the land of Egypt (vs. 13). When the angel of death (cf. vs.
23, the Lord) saw the blood, he would “pass over” them and
they would be spared (vs. 13). No-one was to leave the protection of
the blood (vs. 22). The Passover is declared by Scripture to be a
sacrifice (vs. 27; Ex. 34:25; Deut. 16:2; cf. also 1 Cor. 5:7).
A Communal
Feast
Not only were
they to shed blood and apply the blood to their homes, but they also
were to eat the flesh of the lamb (vs. 8). They were to eat the lamb
with unleavened bread and bitter herbs (reminding them of being
ready and the bitterness of their bondage). None was to remain left
over. They were to eat in readiness with their belts fastened,
sandals on their feet, and their staffs in their hands – ready to
leave when Moses instructed them. The eating of the Passover would
have been a solemn occasion, yet also an anticipatory one.
Deliverance from their bondage was associated with the Passover.
God instructs Israel that the Passover was a memorial feast, and
they were to observe it regularly in the years ahead. Every
subsequent generation forever, was to keep the feast (vs. 14, 24).
Conclusion
What does the
Passover teach the believer? We see that it was first of all, a
communal feast. All families were involved in preparation and
participation. Secondly, the blood provided protection, but at a
cost. The life of the lamb was sacrificed in order that Israel might
be kept safe and delivered from death. The blood of the lamb
distinguished Israel from all other nations in terms of a covenant
relationship with God (they were to observe it always). Thirdly, the
lamb should properly be viewed as a sacrifice slain for the
redemption of the people. Without the lamb slain, death would come
to the house. Fourthly, any partaking of the lamb (they were to eat
all of it) involved Israel in a corporate act of participation. They
were linked to the sacrifice. They were not outside of it, but
intimately acquainted with it. Fifthly, by observing the Passover in
the years ahead, Israel would remind themselves of the great issues
of redemption and substitution. They were not to forget ever what
God had done for them. In this perpetual remembrance, God wanted
Israel to think in terms of an ongoing present redemption, and not
just simply an historical occasion. Every slain lamb pointed forward
to the Lamb of God who would be slain for sinners.
The Passover
forms the background for the development of a sound biblical
doctrine of the Lord’s Supper, and in this first, of what I call the
Communion Papers, I hope to discover with you the meaning of the
Lord’s Supper for us in our day and age.
“All in the
Church may hear the Word of Christ, but few hear Christ in the
Word.”
George Swinnock
Everlasting
Righteousness (2)[2]
Man, in his
natural spirit of self-justifying legalism, has tried to get away
from the cross of Christ and its perfection, or to erect another
cross instead, or to set up a screen of ornaments between himself
and it, or to alter its true meaning into something more congenial
to his tastes, or to transfer the virtue of it to some act or
performance or feeling of its own. Thus the simplicity of the cross
is nullified, and its saving power is denied. For the cross saves
completely, or not at all. Our faith does not divide the work of
salvation between itself and the cross. It is the acknowledgment
that the cross alone saves, and that it saves alone. Faith adds
nothing to the cross, nor to its healing virtue. It owns the
fullness, and sufficiency, and suitableness of the work done there,
and bids the toiling spirit cease from its labors and enter into
rest. Faith does not come to Calvary to do anything. It comes to see
the glorious spectacle of all things done, and to accept this
completion without a misgiving as to its efficacy. It listens to the
"It is finished!" of the Sin-bearer, and says, "Amen." Where faith
begins, there labor ends,-labor, I mean, "for" life and pardon.
Faith is rest, not toil. It is the giving up all the former weary
efforts to do or feel something good, in order to induce God to love
and pardon; and the calm reception of the truth so long rejected,
that God is not waiting for any such inducements, but loves and
pardons of His own goodwill, and is showing that good will to any
sinner who will come to Him on such a footing, casting away his own
performances or goodnesses, and relying implicitly upon the free
love of Him who so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten
Son.
Faith is the
acknowledgment of the entire absence of all goodness in us, and the
recognition of the cross as the substitute for all the want on our
part. Faith saves, because it owns the complete salvation of
another, and not because it contributes anything to that salvation.
There is no dividing or sharing the work between our own belief and
Him in whom we believe. The whole work is His, not ours, from the
first to last. Faith does not believe in itself, but in the Son of
God. Like the beggar, it receives everything, but gives nothing. It
consents to be a debtor for ever to the free love of God. Its
resting-place is the foundation laid in Zion. It rejoices in
another, not in itself. Its song is, "Not by works of righteousness
which we have done, but by His mercy He saved us."
Christ
crucified is to be the burden of our preaching, and the substance of
our belief, from first to last. At no time in the saint's life does
he cease to need the cross; though at times he may feel that his
special need, in spiritual perplexity or the exigency of conflict
with evil, may be the incarnation, or the agony in the garden, or
the resurrection, or the hope of the promised advent, to be
glorified in His saints, and admired in all them that believe. But
the question is not, "What truths are we to believe?" but, What
truths are we to believe FOR JUSTIFICATION?
That Christ is
to come again in glory and in majesty, as Judge and King, is an
article of the Christian faith, the disbelief of which would almost
lead us to doubt the Christianity of him who disbelieves it. Yet we
are not in any sense justified by the second advent of our Lord, but
solely by His first. We believe in His ascension, yet our
justification is not connected with it. So we believe His
resurrection, yet we are not justified by faith in it, but by faith
in His death,-that death which made Him at once our propitiation and
our righteousness. "He was raised again on account of our having
been justified" (Rom 4:25) is the clear statement of the word. The
resurrection was the visible pledge of a justification already
accomplished. "The power of His resurrection" (Phil 3:10) does not
refer to atonement, or pardon, or reconciliation; but to our being
renewed in the spirit of our minds, to our being "begotten again
unto a living hope, by the resurrection from the dead" (1 Pet 1:3).
That which is internal, such as our quickening, our strengthening,
our renewing, may be connected with resurrection and resurrection
power; but that which is external, such as God's pardoning, and
justifying, and accepting, must be connected with the cross alone.
The doctrine
of our being justified by an infused resurrection-righteousness, or,
as it is called, justification in a risen Christ, (1) is a clear
subversion of the Surety's work when "He died for our sins,
according to the Scriptures," or when "He washed us from our sins in
His own blood," or when He gave us the robes "washed white in the
blood of the Lamb."
It is the
blood that justifies (Rom 5:9). It is the blood that pacifies the
conscience, purging it from dead works to serve the living God (Heb
9:14). It is the blood that emboldens us to enter through the veil
into the holiest, and go up to the sprinkled mercy-seat. It is the
blood that we are to drink for the quenching of our thirst (John
6:55). It is the blood by which we have peace with God (Col 1:20).
It is the blood through which we have redemption (Eph 1:7), and by
which we are brought nigh (Eph 2:13), by which we are sanctified
(Heb 13:12). It is the blood which is the seal of the everlasting
covenant (Heb 13:20). It is the blood which cleanses (1 John 1:7),
which gives us victory (Rev 12:11), and with which we have communion
in the Supper of the Lord (1 Cor 10:16). It is the blood which is
the purchase-money or ransom of the church of God (Acts 20:28).
The blood and
the resurrection are very different things; for the blood is death,
and the resurrection is life. It is remarkable that in the book of
Leviticus there is no reference to resurrection in any of the
sacrifices. It is death throughout. All that is needed for a
sinner's pardon, and justification, and cleansing, and peace, is
there fully set forth in symbol,-and that symbol is death upon the
altar. Justification by any kind of infused or inherent
righteousness is wholly inconsistent with the services of the
tabernacle, most of all justification by an infused,
resurrection-righteousness.
The sacrifices
are God's symbolical exposition of the way of a sinner's approach
and acceptance; and in none of these does resurrection hold any
place. If justification be in a risen Christ, then assuredly that
way was not revealed to Israel; and the manifold offerings so
minutely detailed, did not answer the question: How may man be just
with God? nor give to the worshippers of old one hint as to the way
by which God was to justify the ungodly. "Christ in us, the
hope of glory" (Col 1:27), is a well-known and blessed truth; but
Christ IN US, our justification, is a ruinous error, leading man
away from a crucified Christ-a Christ crucified FOR US. Christ for
us is one truth; Christ in us is quite another. The mingling of
these two together, or the transposition of them, is the nullifying
of the one finished work of the Substitute. Let it be granted that
Christ in us is the source of holiness and fruitfulness (John 15:4);
but let it never be overlooked that first of all there be Christ FOR
US, as our propitiation, our justification, our righteousness. The
risen Christ in us, our justification, is a modern theory which
subverts the cross. Washing, pardoning, reconciling, justifying, all
come from the one work of the cross, not from resurrection. The
dying Christ completed the work for us from which all the above
benefits flow. The risen Christ but sealed and applied what, three
days before, He had done once for all.
It is somewhat
remarkable that in the Lord's Supper (as in the passover) there is
no reference to resurrection. The broken body and the shed blood are
the Alpha and Omega of that ordinance. In it we have communion (not
with Christ as risen and glorified, but) with the body of Christ and
the blood of Christ (1 Cor 10:16), that is, Christ upon the cross.
"This do in remembrance of me." "As oft as ye eat this bread, and
drink this cup, ye do show the Lord's death till He come." If, after
we have been at the cross, we are to pass on and leave it behind us,
as no longer needed, seeing we are justified by the risen Christ in
us, let those who hold that deadly error say why all reference to
resurrection should be excluded from the great feast; and why the
death of the Lord should be the one object presented to us at the
table. "Life in a risen Christ" is another way of expressing the
same error. If by this were only meant that resurrection has been
made the channel or instrument through which the life and
justification are secured for us on and by the cross, as when the
apostle speaks of our being begotten again unto a lively hope by the
"resurrection of Christ from the dead," or when we are said to be
"risen with Christ,"-one would not object to the phraseology. But
when we find it used as expressive of dissociation of these benefits
from the cross, and derivation of them from resurrection solely,
then do we condemn it as untrue and antiscriptural. For concerning
this "life" let us hear the words of the Lord: "The bread that I
will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world"
(John 6:51). "Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink
His blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and
drinketh my blood, hath eternal life, and I will raise him up at the
last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.
He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and
I in him" (John 6:53-56). This assuredly is not the doctrine of
"life in a risen Christ," or "a risen Christ in us, our
justification and life." I do not enter on the exposition of these
verses. I simply cite them. They bear witness to the cross. They
point to the broken body and shed blood as our daily and hourly
food, our life-long feast, from which there comes into us the life
which the Son of man, by His death, has obtained for us. That flesh
is life-imparting, that blood is life-imparting; and this not once,
but for evermore.
It is not
incarnation on the one hand, nor is it resurrection on the other, on
which we are thus to feed, and out of which this life comes forth;
it is that which lies between these two,-death,-the sacrificial
death of the Son of God. It is not the personality nor the
life-history of the Christ of God which is the special quickener and
nourishment of our souls, but the blood-shedding. Not that we are to
separate the former from the latter, but still it is on the latter
that we are specially to feed, and this all the days of our lives.
"Christ, our passover, has been sacrificed for us." Hence we rest,
protected by the paschal blood, and feeding on the paschal Iamb,
with its unleavened bread and bitter herbs, from day to day. "Let us
keep the feast" (1 Cor 5:8). Wherever we are, let us keep it. For we
carry our passover with us, always ready, always fresh. With girded
loins and staff in hand, as wayfarers, we move along, through the
rough or the smooth of the wilderness, our face toward the land of
promise.
That paschal
lamb is CHRIST CRUCIFIED. As such He is our protection, our pardon,
our righteousness, our food, our strength, our peace. Fellowship
with Him upon the cross is the secret of a blessed and holy life. We
feed on that which has passed through the fire; on that which has
come from the altar. No other food can quicken or sustain the
spiritual life of a believing man. The unbroken body will not
suffice; nor will the risen or glorified body avail. The broken body
and shed blood of the Son of God form the viands on which we feast;
and it is under the shadow of the cross that we sit down to partake
of these, and find refreshment for our daily journey, strength for
our hourly warfare. His flesh is meat indeed; His blood is drink
indeed.
“God
sanctifies the Lord’s Day by consecration, we sanctify it by
devotion.”
Ezekiel Hopkins
Applying Holy
Scripture
Every preacher
knows instinctively that the aim of preaching is to effect change,
and that the Holy Spirit is the person who brings about change. The
art of applying Scripture is no easy task. This is because 2000
years separate us from the original audience. This also means in the
majority of cases that the preacher and the congregation must bridge
the gap between themselves. The preacher is often clear in his mind
as to the issue(s) at hand, yet the congregation is often still in
the dark. Christians will find as they read their Bibles that there
are different periods of time dealt with in the Bible, different
genres (Gospels, Acts, Epistles) and within these various genres you
must contend with such things as hyperbole, exaggeration, parables,
metaphors, etc. Historical and literary questions are important, and
it takes time and effort to put all of these into the right
perspective. It is, nevertheless, the responsibility of each one of
us to seek to apply Scripture to our own lives. To read the Bible,
and then say, it doesn’t apply to me, is just plain foolishness. Of
course it applies – it is the eternal Word of God, relevant for all
ages and applicable to all situations.
Application is
derived from interpretation. If you have the wrong interpretation
you will probably end up with the wrong application. The difficulty,
however, is that you might have the right interpretation, but come
up with the wrong application. We live in an age where there is a
proliferation of biblical material available to us. This was not the
case in time past. The Dark Ages were indeed very dark. Even the
clergy lived in ignorance of the Bible. The Reformation saw the
light shine once again. The powerful Martin Luther blazed the way
forward out of darkness into the day. His translation of the Bible
into German for every German ensured a remarkable transformation in
the country and ultimately in Europe. Philip Melancthon was Luther’s
right hand man. He was the better scholar and rendered valuable
service in understanding the Bible through his interpretative
skills. It was John Calvin though, who was the pre-eminent exegete.
He expounded nearly every book in the Bible, and the superiority of
his skill as an expositor still remains. Calvin believed that the
“chief excellency” of an interpreter lay in “lucid brevity”. In
other words, let the Apostle Paul say what he does say, and don’t
make him say what you think he ought to say.
This is what
it means to apply Scripture. Let Scripture speak for itself. Do not
force any interpretation on Scripture. Where there is uncertainty,
let the Bible interpret itself, and should there still be
uncertainty, make no decision until you have more light. Never read
anything into Scripture. Above all things, we should seek the Lord
as we read the Scriptures. We must ask the Divine Interpreter to
give us wisdom and understanding. We need humility in reading the
Bible and even more, when we seek to apply it to our own lives and
the lives of others. We should not be afraid to apply the Bible to
our own hearts, for if we can learn the lessons that God would have
us know, only then we can be used by the Lord to teach others. We
need much prayer in approaching the Bible. Let us never be casual
about the Bible, but rather let us submit our consciences to the
Lord and His Word, so that we may be thoroughly equipped for every
good work (2 Tim. 3:14 – 17).
“Malice is mental murder”
Thomas Watson
The Death of
Thomas Bilney[3]
J. H. Merle
d'Aubigné
A few of
Bilney's friends went to Norwich to bid him farewell: among them was
Matthew Parker, later archbishop of Canterbury. It was in the
evening, and Bilney was taking his last meal. On the table stood
some frugal fare [ale brew], and on his countenance beamed the joy
that filled his soul. 'I am surprised', said one of his friends,
'that you can eat so cheerfully'. — 'I only follow the example of
the husbandmen of the country', answered Bilney, 'who having a
ruinous house to dwell in, yet bestow cost so long as they may hold
it up and so do I now with this ruinous house of my body'. With
these words he rose from the table, and sat down near his friends,
one of whom said to him, 'To-morrow the fire will make you feel its
devouring fierceness, but the comfort of God's Holy Spirit will cool
it for your everlasting refreshing.'
Bilney,
appearing to reflect upon what had been said, stretched out his hand
towards the lamp that was burning on the table and placed his finger
in the flame. 'What are you doing?' they exclaimed. — 'Nothing', he
replied; 'I am only trying my flesh; to-morrow God's rods shall burn
my whole body in the fire.' And still keeping his finger in the
flame, as if he were making a curious experiment, he continued: 'I
feel that fire by God's ordinance is naturally hot; but yet I am
persuaded, by God's Holy Word and the experience of the martyrs,
that when the flames consume me, I shall not feel them. Howsoever
this stubble of my body shall be wasted by it, a pain for the time
is followed by joy unspeakable.' He then withdrew his finger, the
first joint of which was burnt. He added, 'When thou walkest through
the fire, thou shalt not be burned.' These words remained imprinted
on the hearts of some who heard them, until the day of their death,
says a chronicler.
Beyond the
city gate — known as the Bishop's gate — was a low valley, called
the Lollards' Pit: it was surrounded by rising ground, forming a
sort of amphitheatre. On Saturday, the 19th of August, a body of
javelin-men came to fetch Bilney, who met them at the prison gate.
One of his friends approaching and exhorting him to be firm, Bilney
replied: 'When the sailor goes on board his ship and launches out
into the stormy sea, he is tossed to and fro by the waves; but the
hope of reaching a peaceful haven makes him bear the danger. My
voyage is beginning, but whatever storms I shall feel, my ship will
soon reach the port.'
Bilney passed
through the streets of Norwich in the midst of a dense crowd: his
demeanor was grave, his features calm. His head had been shaved, and
he wore a layman's gown. Dr Warner, one of his friends, accompanied
him; another distributed alms all along the route. The procession
descended into the Lollards' Pit, while the spectators covered the
surrounding slopes. On arriving at the place of punishment, Bilney
fell on his knees and prayed, and then rising up, warmly embraced
the stake and kissed it. Turning his eyes towards heaven, he next
repeated the Apostles' Creed, and when he confessed the incarnation
and crucifixion of the Savior his emotion was such that even the
spectators were moved. Recovering himself, he took off his gown, and
ascended the pile, reciting the hundred and forty-third psalm.
Thrice he repeated the second verse: 'Enter not into judgment with
thy servant, for in thy sight shall no man living be justified.' And
then he added: 'I stretch forth my hands unto thee; my soul
thirsteth after thee.' Turning towards the officers, he said: 'Are
you ready?' — 'Yes', was their reply.
Bilney placed
himself against the post, and held up the chain which bound him to
it. His friend Warner, with eyes filled with tears, took a last
farewell. Bilney smiled kindly at him and said: 'Doctor, pasce
gregem tuum (feed your flock), that when the Lord cometh He may find
you so doing.' Several monks who had given evidence against him,
perceiving the emotion of the spectators, began to tremble, and
whispered to the martyr: 'These people will believe that we are the
cause of your death, and will withhold their alms.' Upon which
Bilney said to them: 'Good folks, be not angry against these men for
my sake; as though they be the authors of my death, it is not they.'
He knew that his death proceeded from the will of God. The torch was
applied to the pile: the fire smoldered for a few minutes, and then
suddenly burning up fiercely, the martyr was heard to utter the name
of Jesus several times, and sometimes the word 'Credo' ('I
believe'). A strong wind which blew the flames on one side prolonged
his agony; thrice they seemed to retire from him, and thrice they
returned, until at length, the whole pile being kindled, he expired.
“Praise shall
conclude that work which prayer began.”
William Jenkyn
The Power
Behind Jesus’ Preaching (Mark 1:35 – 39)
Scripture
Mark 1:35 – 39
Key Verse
“And rising
very early…while it was still dark…he…went out to a desolate place,
and there he prayed.”
-- Mark 1:35
Theme
Jesus
establishes the principle of dependence for spiritual power in the
discipline of prayer.
Exposition
Our Lord Jesus
Christ demonstrates in these verses that he is not dependent on the
crowd, nor on his disciples as though requires them for spiritual
power, but rather that the source of power in his life came from
communion with the Father. Jesus has begun a vigorous ministry in
Capernaum, (vs. 21). No doubt he feels the exhaustion of what this
brought to him. It has been estimated that one single act of
preaching is the equivalent of 8 hours of extreme physical labor.
How was Jesus able to handle the rigors and demands of sustaining
this ministry for three years? The only answer lies in his prayer
life.
He begins the
day very early (vs. 35) in the dark, (probably very early predawn –
see Luke 4:42) by seeking out a solitary and desolate place, and
there he prayed. It is apparent that the disciples know nothing of
where he has gone or what he has been doing, and the almost behind
the scenes insinuation given by Mark is that they were not doing
what Jesus was doing.
We do not know
what Jesus prayed about. No doubt he thanked God for the beginning
of his ministry in Capernaum. Jesus believed in prayer. At his
baptism he had prayed (Luke 3:21). He prayed before choosing his
twelve disciples (Luke 6:12). The feeding of the five thousand was
shrouded in prayer (Mark 6:41, 46. He prayed with his disciples
before the Transfiguration experience (Luke 9:28), and after it when
he reminded his disciples that their failure to heal the boy with
the unclean spirit came about obviously because they were not
spending time in prayer (Mark 9:29). Jesus taught his disciples the
Lord’s Prayer (Matt. 6:9 -13). He prayed for Peter before his denial
(Luke 22:32). Jesus prayed in Gethsemane for strength for what lay
ahead as in his humanity he faced the horrors of Golgotha (Mark
14:32, 35, 36, 39). Jesus even prayed on the cross (Luke 23:34; Mark
15:34). We know of certain specific prayers made to the Father (John
11:41, 42; esp. John 17).
Jesus
recognized the importance of prayer in the spiritual life. It is the
source of power from and communion with God. The usage of the
imperfect tense implies that this was prolonged prayer that Jesus
engaged in. Mark specifically draws our attention in his Gospel to
Jesus praying especially at times of crises (see mark 6:46 & 14:32 –
42). We see Simon and the others in verse 36 seeking Jesus for he
was not to be found at the house (presumably Peter’s from 1:29).
When they do find him (vs. 37), a mild rebuke is couched in their
words to him, “everyone is looking for you,” as if to suggest
that he was not operating a popular preacher should. Jesus needed to
pray precisely because the crowd was seeking him. The verb
“searched for” in verse 37 implies a pursuit with hostile
intent. Mark’s point is that the disciples and the crowd have missed
what is important. I don’t think the disciples were looking for
Jesus with hostility, but Mark’s usage of the word implied how he
viewed the situation, and it seems as if Jesus did in the same way,
by desiring to leave. Popularity is not important. The people in
Capernaum were only interested in seeing some sign done, and as long
as Jesus could continue doing what he had recently done in their
midst, he was popular.
Jesus reveals
to his disciples that he has other intentions. He plans to leave
Capernaum (vs. 38), and go to other towns where he could preach the
good news, because this was the reason why he came. The disciples
would have found this perplexing. Here is their Master at the height
of popularity wanting to leave the scene.
Mark concludes
Jesus’ ministry in Galilee by stating that Jesus went throughout all
Galilee preaching and casting out demons. Sustained by prayer, he is
able to continue bringing the good news of God’s kingdom to Israel
(1:14, 15).
Application
The power of
prayer must never be underestimated by any Christian. It is a vital
part of spiritual power. The will of God is accomplished through the
means of prayer. Prayer is necessary to bring our requests to God.
Prayer sustains us in difficult times. Martin Luther maintained that
he required three hours of prayer before the day began to handle his
difficulties. He was simply following Jesus. The value we place on
prayer will be in direct proportion to the power of our spiritual
life. Jesus knew its value, and because he prayed he fulfilled all
that God required of him.
“I have
benefited by praying for others; for in making an errand to God for
them, I have gotten something for myself.”
Samuel Rutherford
Bible Quiz
Things to Be
Thankful For -
This month,
with Thanksgiving approaching, I decided to ask some of my friends
to list things that they are most thankful for.
Below is a
list with their answers and the words that appear in the word search
are underlined.
…I’m thankful
for my musical saw
…I’m thankful
for the hugs I receive throughout the day which make me smile
…I’m thankful
for godly parents
…I’m thankful
for God’s common grace
…I’m thankful
for persecution
…I’m thankful
for sports
…I’m thankful
for the gift of sleep
…I’m thankful
for my education
…I’m thankful
for salvation
…I’m thankful
for the talents God has given me
…I’m thankful
for laughter and joy
…I’m thankful
for the time given to me by God because much can be done with
it
…I’m thankful
for God’s sovereignty
…I’m thankful
for having a Bible
…I’m thankful
for the work God is doing in my life. Transforming me
into the likeness of His Son, Jesus Christ
Many thanks to:
Stephanie
Atmore, Anton Beetge, David Boskovic, Hannah Elizabeth Fox, Caleb
Gage, Coie Igarashi, Aaron Johnson, Amy Johnson, David Peyton, and
Tim Sweetman
[3]
(Thomas
Bilney, 'whose conversion had begun the Reformation in
England' was, in God's hands, the instrument of Hugh
Latimer's conversion. The story of his life 'in strength and
weakness', leading to his martyrdom in 1531, is eloquently
recorded in The Reformation of England,
volumes 1 and 2 by J. H. Merle d'Aubigné. These volumes
trace the history of the Reformation from its earliest
origins to the end of the reign of Henry VIII. )
