Archive for January, 2009
Dr. Francis Schaeffer : A Prophet and YouTube Video
Posted by L.G. Parkhurst in Lifestyle on January 31, 2009
Many of you have never seen or heard Dr. Schaeffer in person. Various people have taken portions of his video sermons and video series and have placed them on YouTube. In this YouTube video, a portion of a sermon Dr. Schaeffer preached in 1982, you will hear him accurately predict the situation Christians find themselves in today in the United States, 27 years after he preached this sermon and almost 25 years after his death. The YouTube video is titled: Where Have We Been? -- Dr. Francis Schaeffer
Remember that Dr. Schaeffer had been diagnosed with Lymphoma cancer in late 1978, at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, where I first met him and his family. He died May 15, 1984.
Lessons I Learned from Francis Schaeffer No. 5
Posted by L.G. Parkhurst in Christianity, Church, Lifestyle, Prayer on January 31, 2009
Lesson 5. A Church without discipline or the ability to discipline ceases to be a Church.
In Matthew 18:15-17, Jesus said, “If another member of the Church sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If the member listens to you, you have regained that one. But if you are not listened to, take one or two others along with you, so that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If the member refuses to listen to them, tell it to the Church; and if the offender refuses to listen even to the Church, let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.”
The Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy, in 1 Timothy 5:19-20, “Never accept any accusation against an elder except on the evidence of two or three witnesses. As for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all, so that the rest also may stand in fear.”
One of the most difficult things to do today is to discipline a Church member. Many Churches are so large the leadership and the people do not know all of the members or all of those attending. Some Churches do not have “members,” and therefore, have no way of disciplining those who attend. In many places in the United States there are so many Churches that a member who might come under discipline in his or her Church will simply move to another Church. In some cases in America, Churches have been sued for applying what Jesus teaches about discipline in Matthew 18:15-17.
Francis Schaeffer said that if a Church does not have the ability to discipline her members (and that would include the ability to discipline pastors and leaders); then that Church ceases to be a Church. Indeed, if a Church cannot do what Jesus taught and apply discipline in ways similar to the practice and teachings in the rest of the New Testament that Church is not obeying the Lord she claims to serve. I might add from a personal perspective that a Church that consistently practices or endorses disobedience to the Lord Jesus Christ and the Bible’s clear teachings in any area ceases to be a Church, or at the very least becomes an unfaithful Church that can, and probably will, mislead people.
The necessity and responsibility to discipline someone involves their committing sin. Sometimes you have the responsibility to approach someone who sins because, in Jesus words, they have committed “sins against you”).
Sin must be defined as the Bible defines sin. Sin is lawlessness, for the Bible says, “Everyone who commits sin is guilty of lawlessness; sin is lawlessness” (1 John 3:4).
If sin is not disciplined, the person will remain lawless and the Church will become lawless (or practice sin). Jesus is speaking of “another member of the Church.” So, in order for the Church to exercise discipline in the Church, the person must be a member (however the Church and the members define membership, either loosely or formally). The Bible does not tell the Church or her members to discipline those who are not members or outside the Church. Rather, Jesus gave the principle of turning the other cheek if an evil doer strikes you, “But I say to you, ‘Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also’” (Matthew 5:39).
One of the main reasons the Bible tells the Church to exercise discipline is love: love for Christ, love for the Church, and love for the sinner. Love for Christ comes first. We do not want the Church or Church members dishonoring Christ and disobeying Christ, for the sake of Christ, Who is worthy of our love and loyalty. In addition, the world is watching, and a Church or Church members that dishonor their Lord will not help lead others to saving faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Second, we exercise discipline because we love the Church. Christ died for the Church, because He loves the Church. When we exercise discipline, so the Church and Church members honor and love Christ as they ought, we express our love for the Church. Third, we exercise discipline over the sinner, because we love the sinner. We know that their living in rebellion against God is bringing others and themselves hurt and sorrow, and if not repented of sincerely, will bring them under the discipline of God (if they are one of God’s children).
Discipline needs to involve much prayer, for the person who sins that they will see the love of Christ for them and experience the love of Christ for them in the lives of those who will go to them to exercise discipline. Prayer for the sinner will include praying they have an open heart and an open mind to receive the discipline and that they will repent and make restitution if necessary. Discipline will involve much prayer for the person or persons who will go to the sinner in the Church to exercise discipline over them. Discipline needs to involve prayer for those exercising the discipline to be practicing sound judgment and for the Lord to give them the right words to say in the right spirit (and Spirit) and at the right time.
Much more could be said about Church discipline. The primary design of Church discipline is not necessarily the punishment of the sinner, but the restoration of the sinner to faith, love and obedience to Jesus, and the restoration of loving fellowship between and among those they have sinned against. Churches that have a Confession of Faith have guidelines that can be followed that will help them to exercise discipline, but even with these guidelines the Church and Church leaders will need to have the courage, love, and wisdom to exercise right discipline.
You might also like to learn more about Francis Schaeffer from two of his biographies, now online for you to read for free at http://www.labri.net .
Copyright 2009 by L.G. Parkhurst, Jr.
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Lessons I Learned from Francis Schaeffer No. 4
Posted by L.G. Parkhurst in Lifestyle on January 29, 2009
Lesson 4. Go first to establish a Bible-believing church and then a denominational church.
In Matthew 28:18-20, Jesus said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
In Acts 2:38-40, after the disciples had received the baptism of the Holy Spirit, the Apostle Peter preached and said, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to him.” And he testified with many other arguments and exhorted them, saying, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.”
After I became a Bible-believing Christian in January 1979, I told Dr. Schaeffer that I needed to relearn everything, so I spent a lot of time listening to him teach in different settings, listened to his tapes, and read the books of both Francis Schaeffer and Edith Schaeffer. I also began a serious study of the life, sermons, and theology of Charles Finney, because he was so successful in promoting revivals.
On one occasion, I remember Schaeffer talking to a group of new ministers and those God had called to start new churches. He made it clear that the first reason to go into a community must be to start a Bible-believing church, a church that believes and teaches that everything the Bible affirms is true; then, and only then, should the emphasis be on starting a church of a particular denomination.
Keeping this in mind, those in churches today, whether old or new, need to make their first priority maintaining a congregation and a church that is Bible-believing. I like to say of my congregation that we are Christ-centered and Bible-believing, along with our practice of all the lessons I have learned from Dr. Schaeffer. For me, this means keeping my focus on Jesus Christ in worship, study, fellowship, and service. It means doing all I can to help everyone in our church keep their focus on Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. For that reason, I have stated our congregation’s vision in a way that does not read as a vision but as something we need to do daily, “As we Serve God and others, let us Know, Love, and Follow Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, in the power of the Holy Spirit according to the Scriptures.” From time to time, I speak on this vision to remind people of what we are about as God’s people.
The second priority for many will be the establishment of a particular denominational church in a community that does not have a church (or enough churches) of that denomination. If the denomination is Bible-believing, the creation of a denominational church will not be inconsistent with being Christ-centered and Bible-believing. If the denomination is not Bible-believing, then the minister, church leaders, and members will have a different set of problems.
When I became a Bible-believing Christian and resolved to follow Jesus Christ as faithfully as I could as a pastor in my church, I talked to Fran about whether or not I should stay in my church and denomination. He told me this, “The Holy Spirit calls some to stay in these denominations and the Holy Spirit calls some to leave these denominations, and I am not the Holy Spirit.” He went on to say that if I stayed that I would need to speak out and speak against those teachings and efforts in my denomination that were not Bible-believing or in accordance with the Scriptures. I stayed in my church for another nine years and tried to do as Schaeffer recommended before leaving my church for a nondenominational church. Later, I served a congregational church, and now I am happily serving the Lord in a Cumberland Presbyterian Church that is a denomination with a history of being Christ-centered and Bible-believing, though there are some who are trying to indoctrinate others into theological liberalism. In these cases, the Bible-believing Christians need to speak out against their teachings with love. In this context, Francis Schaeffer also said that once a denomination’s hierarchy and seminaries have been lost to theological liberalism that it is impossible to turn the denomination around. Knowing that fact is one of the reasons I left my former denomination for the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, a denomination that I serve happily in the Lord, though a denomination not without its problems (as with every denomination or nondenominational church).
Copyright 2009 by L.G. Parkhurst, Jr.
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Lessons I Learned from Francis Schaeffer No. 3
Posted by L.G. Parkhurst in Christianity, Lifestyle on January 28, 2009
Lesson 3. The Bible is true in all that it affirms, even where touching history and science.
In 2 Timothy 3:16-17, the Apostle Paul wrote, “All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work.”
We might consider a Bible-believing Christian as one who would agree with Francis Schaeffer when he taught that the Bible is true in all that it affirms, even where touching history and science. When considering what the Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy above, Paul wrote about “All scripture.” Paul would never have written, “All scripture, except those parts of scripture that touch on history and science, is inspired by God; therefore, trustworthy and true.” Yet, many have come to conclude and have taught that the Bible cannot be trusted where it touches history and science, but it can be trusted where it touches moral and spiritual concerns. Obviously, the Bible is not a history textbook or a science textbook. Nevertheless, how can it be possible that some think they cannot trust the Bible in the less important areas of history and science, but they can trust it in the most important areas of faith, spirituality, and morals? For me, if I cannot trust the Bible in the areas of history and science, where it touches on history and science; then, I certainly cannot trust the Bible as my infallible rule of faith and practice in the most important areas. Simple consistency, logic, and trust in God’s inspiration move me to believe with Francis Schaeffer that the Bible is true in all it affirms.
When I was eighteen years old, I remember some Bible college professors teaching that Adam and Eve were not real people, but only mythological figures. Still, they taught that we could learn some valuable spiritual lessons from the story of Adam and Eve. I thought even then that if I could not trust the Bible when it obviously throughout teaches that Adam and Eve were real people, that I could not consistently and logically trust anything the Bible teaches. Eventually, my teachers in my church and university led me away from my commonsense, and my faith in the Bible was destroyed – even as a guide in the areas of faith, morals, spiritual life, and practice. It was not until I met Francis Schaeffer in late 1978 and considered carefully his thought and writings that I became a Bible-believing Christian. Through Schaeffer, I came to understand that unless we believe that Adam and Eve were real people we have no trustworthy explanation regarding why evil exists in our world. Furthermore, if they were not real people, what the Apostle Paul taught about the first Adam and the second Adam becomes meaningless. Moreover, what the unbelieving pastors and professors teach about the first and second Adam becomes nonsensical and untrustworthy.
After I became a Bible-believing Christian, I told a missionary friend of mine that I had become “a Bible-believing Christian,” and he asked me a question, “Is there any other kind?” Can a person be a Christian if he is calling God a liar and not trusting in God’s word? Can a person really live the Christian life fully if he or she cannot trust what they read in the Bible to be true, but feel they need to spend a considerable amount of time trying to figure out what they can believe and trust in the Bible and what they cannot trust and believe and build their lives upon?
Eventually, of course, many of those who have believed and taught others in the church, especially pastors, that the Bible cannot be trusted in the areas of history and science have come to believe and teach that the virgin birth did not happen, that Jesus sinned, that Jesus did not die on a cross (but was resuscitated), that Jesus did not rise from the dead or ascend into heaven, that there are many ways to heaven in addition to the way Jesus’ taught, was, and is. We have come to call these patterns of disbeliefs and teachings in the church “liberal theology” or “theological liberalism.”
For me, historical, biblical, Christianity is true. The Bible is true in all that it affirms in all areas. The Bible is true to reality and corresponds to reality, to “what was, is, and will be.” The Bible is consistent and all the Bible’s teachings are logically consistent. The Bible teaches the only practical way to live and is the only sure basis upon which to build one’s life, faith, and future. Of course, we still need to properly translate and interpret the Bible, and we still need to spend some time trying to reconstruct the original writings in a few places, but this is far different from taking the path of liberal theology. The areas where we might have some textual problems in the original languages are few and very far between. We still do research regarding these problems, but they do not impact at all the truths upon which we can trust God and base our lives.
You might also like to learn more about Francis Schaeffer from two of his biographies, now online for you to read for free at http://www.labri.net .
Copyright 2009 L.G. Parkhurst, Jr.
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Lessons I Learned from Francis Schaeffer No. 2
Posted by L.G. Parkhurst in Christianity, Lifestyle on January 27, 2009
Lesson 2. There is only one reason to be a Christian.
In 1 John 5:19-20, the Apostle John wrote, “We know that we are God’s children, and that the whole world lies under the power of the evil one. And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.”
I can remember hearing Francis Schaeffer say on more than one occasion that the only reason to be a Christian is because Christianity is true. After his death, I remember Edith quoting him as saying, “There is one and only one reason, and not two reasons, to be a Christian, and that is because Christianity is true.”
Over the years, I have thought about his statement, and I have wondered if Francis Schaeffer was right. I would like to share my reflections on what Fran’s statement means to me, rather than claim that he would agree with me in all these particulars below.
When teaching others about faith in Jesus Christ, the Bible, and Christianity, I like his answer. For example, we can reply to a nonbeliever, who accuses us of using Christianity or the church as a crutch that they do not need, that the only reason we are a Christian is because Christianity is true. Our reply might make them think further about the claims of Christianity. No one can accuse us of having a selfish motive for becoming a Christian, if the only reason we became a Christian is because Christianity is true. No one can accuse us of becoming a Christian as some kind of a “fire insurance policy” to keep us out of hell, if we became a Christian because Christianity is true.
Knowing that the only reason to become a Christian is because Christianity is true should have an impact on the way we do evangelism, the way we conduct worship, the way we study the Bible personally and in a Bible study class. In evangelism, we will not try to convert someone to Christianity by giving them selfish reasons to come to Christ. Giving someone a selfish reason and encouraging them to come to Christ for selfish reasons will not help them change from being a self-centered person to living the Christ-centered life.
In the Gospel of John, we learn that Jesus came into the world not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through belief in Him. Jesus died on the cross and rose again from the dead to save us from sin and death. The Bible teaches that Jesus ascended into heaven, where He sits at the right hand of God and prays for us. These facts are true. They are “true truth,” as Fran was fond of saying. Think again about the verses from John above. Remember, he wrote, “The Son of God has come and has given us understanding so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true.” It is true that Jesus Christ came into the world so we might know Him, know what is true, be set free by the truth, because He is true and Christianity is true.
You might also like to learn more about Francis Schaeffer from two of his biographies, now online for you to read for free at http://www.labri.net .
Copyright 2009 by L.G. Parkhurst, Jr.
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Lessons I Learned from Francis Schaeffer No. 1
Posted by L.G. Parkhurst in Christianity, Lifestyle on January 26, 2009
Lesson 1. Teach the Truth in Love
Recently, I preached at the Installation Service of the Rev. Tom Sanders at Faith Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Tulsa, OK. Tom had studied the works of Francis Schaeffer, so I preached on “Ten of the Lessons I Learned from Francis Schaeffer.” I will post these lessons one at a time over the next few days and weeks, and perhaps share a few more than ten lessons. BTW: I did know Francis Schaeffer personally from 1978 until his death on May 15, 1984.
In Ephesians 4:15-16, the Apostle Paul wrote, “But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love.”
Francis Schaeffer demonstrated and taught the life transforming power of speaking the truth in love. He spoke the truth of the Bible to others, especially moral and spiritual truths that might make some feel uncomfortable. But he spoke these truths with such love for others, such love for the individual person, that they knew he was teaching these truths from a heart of sincere love for them. The truths he spoke and the love he showed led them to take what he said seriously, and sometimes led them to make life transforming decisions — even decisions to bow before Jesus Christ and accept Him as their Lord and Savior.
Unfortunately, it is possible to speak the truth without love. If spoken without love, the truth can seem hard, harsh, and judgmental to the person hearing the truth. Just the spirit with which the truth is spoken can lead the person to reject the truth and not make the life-change that would make an eternal difference in their life.
Similarly, some think it is possible to love without speaking the truth. However, I think this is a misconception. If someone is involved in life-destructive behavior, is it the loving thing to say nothing or do nothing? If someone is leaving OK to go to CA and they head east toward NY. Is it the loving thing to let them go the wrong way? It would be the loving thing, no matter how much they might be embarrassed, to call them on their cell phone and tell them to turn around. How much more serious this is in the moral and spiritual areas of life!
Of course, speaking or teaching the truth in love requires much prayer. Pray for your loving heart toward someone to shine through to them as you speak the truth. Pray for the right words to use when sharing the truth with them. Pray for them to have an open mind and heart to receive the truth you speak. Pray for the Holy Spirit to make the truths you share and the loving way you share those truths effective in the person’s life.
You might also like to learn more about Francis Schaeffer from two of his biographies, now online for you to read for free at http://www.labri.net.
Copyright 2009 by L.G. Parkhurst, Jr.
International Bible Lessons
Prayer Steps to Serenity
Serenity Groups
A Psalm and A Prayer