There must be a work of God in destruction before we are free. We must invite the cross to do its deadly work within us. We must bring our self-sins to the cross for judgment. We must prepare ourselves for an ordeal of suffering in some measure like that through which our Saviour passed when He suffered under Pontius Pilate.
from The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer
That a saving work must first be done in the heart is taken for granted here. The spiritual faculties of the unregenerate man lie asleep in his nature, unused and for every purpose dead; that is the stroke which has fallen upon us by sin. They may be quickened to active life again by the operation of the Holy Spirit in regeneration; that is one of the immeasurable benefits which come to us through Christ's atoning work on the cross.
from The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer
quotation from Ministry in the image of God : the trinitarian shape of Christian service / by Seamands, Stephen A., 1949-
Soon he was preaching in the open air all over England. And that’s what [John Wesley] did for the next fifty years, traveling some 225,000 miles on horseback, preaching 40,000 sermons, winning perhaps as many as 144,000 converts and establishing a vast network of Methodist societies within the Anglican Church. Yet . . .[he] never became fully comfortable with field preaching. As late as 1772 he admitted, “To this day field preaching is a cross to me.”
OBSERVATION FROM A SEMINARY STUDENT
(By Dr. Bill Bouknight - 2012, Confessing Movement Newsletter)
Recently I had the privilege of speaking at a United Methodist seminary. My subject was: “Five Truths about Evangelism that I wish I had learned in Seminary.” Those five truths are the following:
• All people can be divided into two categories: lost and found, and some of the lost are in every congregation.
• The Word of God is the only real authority we have.
• Until a person faces his sin, he/she cannot really comprehend or receive the grace of God.
• The Gospel always has a cross at its center.
• A Bible-based, Spirit-filled sermon has enormous, mysterious power.
A few days later I received a letter from a seminary student who was in that audience. Here are a few of his comments:
“I regret to say that today was the first time in my seminary experience that words like ‘sin,’ ‘Hell,’ and ‘the lost’ have been employed. As a consequence, I think we have celebrated grace that a favorite pastor of mine termed ‘melted ice cream.’
In short, today was the first time since I have been at seminary that the Gospel of Christ was acknowledged unapologetically, and for that I am most grateful.”
I am curious if other seminary students at United Methodist seminaries are having similar experiences. Are you being taught the cross-centered Gospel or some other version? John Wesley listed the following as essential doctrines of the Christian faith: original sin, the atonement of Christ, justification by faith, the Holy Spirit, the new birth, Christian assurance, and holiness. Are you being taught those doctrines? Please email your reaction to me at bgbouknight@aol.com I promise to keep your names confidential.
