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INDEX OF ARTICLES FOR THIS MONTH
Are You Saved? John Bunyan
The Anabaptist Theology of the Lord's Supper by Peter Hoover
Feeding the Sheep or Entertaining Goat? C.H. Spurgeon
Do You Pray? J.C. Ryle
The Marks of a True Church
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Are You Saved? John Bunyan
You must be born twice before you can truly believe once. They that believe in
the name of Christ are such which are born `not of blood, nor of the will of the
flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.' Jn. i. 13.
QUESTION: On whom then must I believe?
ANSWER: On the Lord Jesus Christ. Acts 16:.31.
QUESTION: Why must I believe on him?
ANSWER: Because he is the Saviour of the world. 2 Peter 1:3. 1 John 4:14.
QUESTION: How is he the Saviour of the world?
ANSWER: By the Father's designation and sending: `For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved.' John. 3:17.
QUESTION: How did he come into the world?
ANSWER: In man's flesh, in which flesh he fulfilled the law, died for our sins, conquered the devil and death, and obtained eternal redemption for us. Ga. 4: 4. Ro.10: 4; 8: 3. Heb 2:14, 15; 6: 20.
QUESTION: But is there no other way to be saved but by believing in Jesus Christ?
ANSWER: `There is none other name under heaven, given among men, whereby we must be saved;' Acts 4: 12. and therefore `he that believeth not, shall be damned.' Mark 16: 16. John. 3: 18, 36. Even as a rich man freely offers an charity to a beggar, and so must you receive him. John. 6. 32-35.
Are you going to Heaven? The Bible says,
He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him. John 3:36
For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 6:23
If you need more information about being saved, please email us and be sure to read the J.C. Ryle link on Are You Born Again? .
The Anabaptist Theology of the Lord's Supper by Peter Hoover
A Nighttime Meal
On Feb. 5, 1525, Hans Ockenfuoss testified before the Protestant court
at Zürich: "Two weeks ago I was in Zollikon in Jakob Hottinger's house. Conrad Grebel
and some other men were there. They spoke of baptism and the nighttime meal. After
that, Conrad took a loaf of bread and divided it among us. He ate from it too and said that
from now on we want to lead a Christian life."
Leonhard Schiemer wrote from the prison at Rattenberg on the Inn:.
Those
who have become one body and one loaf of bread in Christ -- those who are minded alike
(gleichgesinnt) -- should keep the nighttime meal in remembrance of his death. Through
this, everyone should be admonished to become like Christ, in obedience to the Father<
br>
Hans Betz wrote from the dungeon of the castle at Passau in Bavaria
Mark the counsel of God: Christ has set the pattern for a nighttime meal of bread and
wine for his commune -- the commune that keeps itself from sin. If she eats the nighttime
meal in remembrance of him, death will not overtake her
Huddled Around Christ
When I began to read what the Anabaptists
wrote, two expressions stood out to me. One was the mention of Christ as our
Hauptmann (captain or "head man"). The other was the term kleiner Hauf used for the
followers of Christ. Kleiner Hauf literally means a little heap or a huddle. At first I had a
hard time picturing the followers of Christ like this. But when I began to see the place of
Christ in the Anabaptist movement, it became clear to me. Christ is the captain, and his
followers huddle around him. "Look to the captain. . . . Leap to your captain's side,"
wrote an Ausbund writer. Those who follow Christ do this continually to get their
directions from him.
Practiced Often and Used Much
The first Christians huddled around Christ by breaking bread and drinking wine in
remembrance of him whenever they got together. The Anabaptists, out of love and
necessity, did the same.
Christ was the focus of their commune. From Christ in the centre, radiated the love, the
evangelization, the discipline, the direction, and the communion of those who broke
bread and drank wine in their meetings to remember him.
The bread and the wine helped the Anabaptists to remember Christ's body and his blood.
But they broke bread and gave thanks for yet another reason: to follow the example of
Christ.
Christ broke bread and drank wine in community with his disciples. "On the night he was
betrayed, he took bread, and when he had given thanks he broke it and said: This is my
body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of me. In the same way, he took
the cup, saying: This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it,
in remembrance of me. For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim
the Lord's death till he comes" (1 Cor. 11:24-26).
After his resurrection Christ broke bread and gave thanks on the first day of the week.
The apostles and the first Christians did the same every week.
First practised by Christ himself, the breaking of bread and the drinking of wine became
the outer witness of the Christians' inner community. In the light of this, the Anabaptists
wrote in their first statement of brotherly union:
"Every time we meet as
brothers, we should eat the nighttime meal together, to proclaim in this way the death of
the Lord. In doing this we help one another to remember how Christ gave himself up and
how his blood was poured out for us. In the same way we need to be willing, for Christ's
sake, to give up our bodies and our lives for the brothers."
Feeding Sheep or Entertaining Goats? C.H. Spurgeon
The devil has seldom done a cleverer thing than hinting to the Church that
part of their mission is to provide entertainment for the people, with a view to
winning them. Had Christ introduced more of the bright and pleasant elements
into His mission, He would have been more popular when they went back,
because of the searching nature of His teaching. I do not hear Him say, "Run
after these people, Peter, and tell them we will have a different style of service tomorrow, something short and attractive with little preaching. We will have a
pleasant evening for the people. Tell them they will be sure to enjoy it. Be quick,
Peter, we must get the people somehow!" Jesus pitied sinners, sighed and wept
over them, but never sought to amuse them. In vain will the Epistles be searched
to find any trace of the gospel amusement. Lord, clear the Church of all the rot
and rubbish the devil has imposed on her and bring us back to apostolic
methods.
DO YOU PRAY? J.C. Ryle
We live in days of abounding religious profession. There are more places of
public worship than there ever was before. There are more persons attending
them than there ever was before. And yet in spite of all this public religion, I
believe there is a vast neglect of private prayer. It is one of those private
transcripts between God and our souls which no eye sees, and therefore one
which people are tempted to pass over and leave undone.
Some say over a few hasty sentences picked up in the nursery when they were
children.
Some content themselves with repeating the Creed, forgetting that there
is not a request in it. Some add the Lord's Prayer, but without the slightest desire
that its solemn petitions may be granted. Praying and sinning will never live
together in the same heart. Prayer will consume sin, or sin will choke prayer. I
cannot forget this. I look at people's lives. I believe that few pray.
I cannot see your heart. I do not know your private history in spiritual things. But
from what I see in the Bible and in the world I am certain I cannot ask you a more
necessary question than that before you- DO YOU PRAY?
ARTICLE OF THE MONTH! The Organic Nature of the Church, Dr. Ray Sutton
Three sermons by Dr. Ray Sutton who is a bishop in the Reformed Episcopal Church. These messages are a voice crying in the wilderness to American Christianity!
OTHER GREAT SERMONS AND ARTICLES
Are You Born Again? J.C. Ryle
Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, Jonathan Edwards
The Almost Christian, George Whitefield
The Death of Death in the Death of Christ, John Owen
A Defence of Calvinism, C.H. Spurgeon
The Pelagian Captivity of the Church, R.C. Sproul
Looking for Grace in All the Wrong Places, Robert Spinney
Calvinism vs. HyperCalvinism
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