Posts Tagged Francis Schaeffer
Lessons I Learned from Francis Schaeffer No. 10
Posted by L.G. Parkhurst in Christianity, Church, Lifestyle on March 5, 2009
Lesson 10. “God calls some to leave, and some to stay, and I am not the Holy Spirit.”
In January of 1979, I returned to a Bible-believing faith in Christianity and Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. My denomination’s teachings began to turn me away from trusting the Bible and my common sense as I was leaving high school and began attending the university. After graduating from seminary in 1973, I struggled to conduct ministry in three different churches without the Bible-believing faith that I had been raised to rely on in serving God and others.
Francis Schaeffer’s discussions and finally his film series How Should We Then Live? (enabled by the Holy Spirit) led me to a saving, biblical faith in January of 1979. Afterwards, I discussed with Dr. Schaeffer whether or not I should stay in my liberal denomination or leave. He said to me, “God calls some to leave (these liberal denominations), and some to stay in them (where they must continue to remain faithful), and I am not the Holy Spirit.” He also went on to say that if he had stayed in his liberal denomination that he would not have been able to be as creative as he had been. He also insisted that if I stayed in that I would need to remain faithful to Christ and stand up and speak up regarding my faith and the Bible’s teachings. Another statement he made I found to be true in my subsequent experiences staying in the liberal denomination. He said, “The theological liberals would rather destroy the church than have it go conservative.”
The first thing I did in early 1979, was tell my congregation that I had now become a Bible-believing Christian and what that meant and how that differed from what my denomination taught. Three families wanted me to leave the church after I told the congregation that from now on I was going to be preaching the Bible as the true word of God. These three families called in the regional minister of my denomination who in a congregational meeting wanted me to resign from the church, but I refused. I continued to serve that church, and it grew, for another 9 years before moving from Rochester, MN back to Edmond, OK. I believe I followed the Holy Spirit in staying, in continuing to learn from Francis and Edith Schaeffer as I stayed in Rochester, and in returning to Oklahoma. The liberals finally killed that congregation about 20 years after I left, and it no longer exists in Rochester, MN.
As I conclude the 10 Lessons I learned from Francis Schaeffer, I will add a more humorous note, with serious consequences. After becoming a Bible-believing Christian in 1979, I remember telling Fran that I would need to re-learn everything, and I asked him how I was going to do it. He replied, “I don’t know.” What God did do, as I became teachable, was lead me to read all I could of Fran and Edith’s works as well as the works of Charles G. Finney. In April of 1979, I was reading Finney’s Lectures on Revivals of Religion and I believe the Holy Spirit inspired me to compile and edit Finney’s Principles of Prayer from that book.
Later, as I continued to learn, I compiled and edited 16 volumes of Finney’s works. Most recently, I have begun a new Finney’s Principles Series of Finney’s lectures and sermons on Romans, the first being, Principles of Righteousness.
So, even though Fran did not know how I was going to re-learn everything, the Holy Spirit did know and I have continued to learn ever since.
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. 6
Posted by L.G. Parkhurst in Christianity, Church, Lifestyle, Prayer on February 3, 2009
Lesson 6. God is not mechanical, but personal. God is the Infinite-Personal God.
When Jesus prayed for His disciples in John 17:1-3, He “looked up to heaven and said, ‘Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all people, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.’”
Francis Schaeffer insisted that unlike some gods that were finite; such as, the gods of the Greeks and Romans, the true God is infinite. Furthermore, unlike some of the gods of the philosophers and some of the gods of the liberal theologians, the true God is personal. Schaeffer often referred to the true God as the Infinite-Personal God. Jesus closely tied eternal life to knowing the true God, “the only true God” and to knowing “Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.”
Since the only reason to be a Christian is because Christianity is true; certainly, eternal life depends on knowing the true God, the truth about the true God, and knowing the true God personally, Whom we come to know through knowing Jesus Christ. To those who followed Him, Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him” (John 14:6-7).
Knowing these truths, Schaeffer also insisted that evangelism needs to be personal and not mechanical. God is the personal God. God is one God in three persons. God created people in His image. People are finite-personal beings. Therefore, our evangelism must be personal and not mechanical. We should not think that we can approach everyone in exactly the same way, in a mechanical way; such as, presenting the Four Spiritual Laws to everyone in the same mechanical way on order to lead them to saving faith.
In addition, we all have different gifts from the Holy Spirit. Some are gifted at sowing the seeds of truth and reality into people’s hearts and minds. Some have the ability to see the little seed of spiritual life and salvation sprouting, and they have the gift of knowing how to water, when to water, and how much to water so the spiritual seed will continue to grow. Our knowing how to plant seeds and water is personal and not mechanical, as we work with people and not garden variety plants. Others have the gift of reaping, of welcoming people into the Kingdom of God. Many times, they are leading people to salvation who have had the seeds of truth planted into their lives many years before, and who have had others watering those seeds and little plants. Though we tend to think more highly of the reaper, who tends to get all of the praise, without planting and watering, there would be no reaping.
Since evangelism is personal and not mechanical, those seeking to share the gospel with others need to be personal in their approach. They need to take the time to get to know the person, their needs, and how best to share the gospel with them. If they have only a few minutes or hours with the person, they do not need to feel they must plant the seeds, water the seeds, and reap the harvest in the time they have.
Schaeffer said that if he had only one hour to be with a person (perhaps a non-Christian or Christian) that he would spend the first 55 minutes getting to know the person, asking and answering questions. Once he got to know the person and their needs and problems, he would spend the last 5 minutes trying to help them move to the next step (whatever that step might be). I take that to mean that he might plant some seeds, or water the plant, or perhaps hoe around the plant to break up the soil and help the plant grow, or perhaps harvest the plant and lead them to commit their lives to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
Knowing the Infinite-Personal God should make a difference in the way we live, treat others created in God’s image, and share the gospel with them.
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. 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.
International Bible Lessons .
Prayer Steps to Serenity .
Serenity Groups .
A Psalm and A Prayer .
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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.
International Bible Lessons
Prayer Steps to Serenity
Serenity Groups
A Psalm and A Prayer
Related Reading:
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