Paul’s Counsel for Carl

Mike Leake

Last Friday I asked how you would counsel my friend Carl.  Obviously, Carl is a made up dude.  But I used a familiar group of people to craft his portrait.  The Corinthians.  They were pretty much like Carl if not worse.  And we have the blessing of knowing how Paul addressed him (them). 

“To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:  Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” 

“Sanctified in Christ Jesus”.  Seriously?!?  Is that how you would begin counseling someone like Carl; remind him that Jesus has already made him holy? 

Such counsel is surprisingly what Paul gives.  He unashamedly applies the gospel to the Corinthians.  Then he throws out praise to God for them in verses 4-9.  He says they have been “given grace”, they were “enriched in him”, and he even went so far as to say, “the testimony of about Christ was confirmed among you”.  Paul ends with confidence that God will sustain the Corinthians “to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 

Paul is teaching as he is encouraging them.  He wants them to see that God is the one that saves, and God is the one that saves all different types of people not just the Corinthians.  Their fundamental problem is that they have a tiny gospel.  In their mind the gospel is only big enough for the elite, like themselves.  But Paul shows the wideness of the gospel in calling many diverse peoples.

As Paul teaches the Corinthians he teaches me as well. 

I suppose there would be one type of person that would hear what Paul is saying and say, “Duh, once saved always saved.  They made a profession of faith it doesn’t matter how they live for the rest of their life.  God’s will hold them to their decision to accept Christ regardless of whether they endure to the end. ”  I don’t think that squares with the many passages that warn against apostasy and threaten hell if we do not endure to the end.

But Paul’s counsel here does rebuke those like me who struggle with what Richard Sibbes termed, “killing a fly with a mallet”.  I’d probably be pretty quick to dismiss Carl as an unbeliever.  I get the idea that Paul was far more patient with struggling believers.  And I get the idea that I should be too. 

There is more that could be said about this.  But, what do you think?

Review of The Unquenchable Flame by Michael Reeves

Mike Leake 1 Comment

Author: Michael Reeves

Pages: 208 pgs

Publisher: B & H Publishing

Price: 10.19

Genre: Church History/Reformation

Quick Summary:

Touted on the back cover as a “remarkably accessible introduction to the [Reformation] historic era” this 208 page book focuses on Luther, Zwingli, Calvin, and the Puritans. As these key figures are analyzed the heart of the reformation is uncovered. The book begins by glancing at the pre-history of the Reformation and closes by asking “is the Reformation over?”.

What I Liked:

The Reformation is an interesting time period to study. I have, however, read books that make it seem boring and stale. Thankfully, this book is not in that line. Michael Reeves writes with humor, passion, and insight. He allows the main characters to be who they really were. He does not take pains to gloss over their rough edges or to needlessly exalt them. He allows them to be. And in so doing he points out the heart of the Reformation—the redeeming work of Jesus Christ alone.

There are also little sidebars that help us to take a slice out of these particular time periods and focus on a crucial event or character. These are helpful for seeing the well-rounded landscape of the Reformation. Reeves does a great job of not confining the Reformation to one particular location but showing how it impacted all of Roman Catholic lands.

What I Disliked:

I always greatly dislike footnotes at the end of a chapter. I prefer them at the bottom of the page, or even at the end of the book, but it is laborious to try to find the last page of the chapter ends on every time you want to check the footnote. Other than this minor dislike, there is nothing else I can point to as a dislike worth mentioning.

Should You Buy It?

It is a fun read even for those that have read many books on the Reformation period. Particularly helpful is the chapter on Zwingli (he doesn’t get much press in Reformation books). If this is your first exposure to the Reformation then this is also a great place to start. So, no matter who you are I think this book would be an asset. You can buy it here for only 10.19

Rating: 4.8 out of 5 stars

Counsel for Carl

Mike Leake

What would be your first words of counsel to my friend Carl? 

Carl professed faith in Jesus three years ago.  He seems to be very gifted but he’s also very unpolished.  He is still a pretty immature believer but he wants to be teaching and leading.  He criticizes his pastor and other spiritual leaders constantly.  He plays favorites.  He has a list of people that he likes and rejects everyone else that doesn’t match up.  He has even “grown” so much that he no longer follows the man that originally led him to Christ—he considers him an uneducated dolt. 

It’s not just his pride that causes trouble for Carl.  He also is pretty loose with his lifestyle.  He has become a horrible witness to the community.  Don’t get me wrong, he has plenty of friends in the world, and he may even share Jesus with some of them.  But, his lifestyle is very much the same as the world.  He is liberal in his acceptance of not only his own sin but also that of others.  Furthermore, his business practices are shady.  It seems he will do anything to get a dollar.  It’s all about success for Carl. 

He seems to be spiraling downward.  As an example he recently got drunk (still not sure how) at one of our church gatherings.  It was one of those special occasions of church unity and fellowship.  Carl was drunk even before the party started.  Ridiculous. 

Carl recently approached me with some theology questions.  Obviously there are bigger issues we need to address. 

But I’m curious, how would you start in addressing these things? 

Active Symbols

Mike Leake

I am really interested in this series by Les Puryear on the differences between Reformed and Southern Baptist Churches.  Today Les considers the difference between Ordinances and Sacraments.  He mostly highlights an article by Tim Challies.  It would also be helpful to read Justin Nale’s response. 

I am not sure if you would call my position Reformed, Baptist, sacrament, or ordinance.  Honestly, I’m not really all that concerned with the label that you give me.  But here is my view. 

Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are visible pictures of the gospel.  It is another way of proclaiming the gospel.  Baptism does not save, Jesus does.  The Lord’s Supper does not save, Jesus does.  But I believe the Spirit proclaims the gospel through baptism and the Lord’s Supper. 

Challies uses this statement to sum up the Baptist view: “Where sacraments revolve around what God does, ordinances revolve around what man does and what God did.”  I struggle with this statement because I struggle with memorialism.  What Challies defines as, “the sacraments have no real power, but are merely memorials, object lessons, which teach something about God.” 

I struggle with this view because I believe that God is active through His Spirit in the proclamation of the gospel.  And I believe that the gospel is being pictured/proclaimed in both Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. 

I think we as Baptist overstate what Baptism “isn’t” to keep us from falling into any form of sacerdotalism or baptismal regeneration.  And in so doing we undercut the activity of the Spirit in proclaiming the gospel to hearts through visible pictures like baptism and the Lord’s Supper. 

So, am I Reformed or Baptist?  You tell me.