Saturday, October 16, 2010

Sunday's New Testament Lesson: The Anglican Reformers Were Correct

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. II Timothy 3:16-17, read this weekend.

Our churches get in trouble because

We substitute human personalities for the inspiration of God's word;

We employ anxious gimmicks du jour instead of steadily teaching of the word;

We critique and redirect the church and the world with earth-bound ideologies instead of the values of God's kingdom;

We teach our people theories and techniques instead of train them in life application of scripture;

We assume that anybody who shows up belongs to God and is proficient in what God wants them to do.

The Anglican reformers called the church back to right priorities:
For they so ordred the matter, that all the whole Bible (or the greatest parte thereof) should be read over once in the yeare, intendyng thereby, that the Cleargie, and specially suche as were Ministers of the congregacion, should (by often readyng and meditacion of Gods worde) be stirred up to godlines themselfes, and be more able also to exhorte other by wholsome doctrine, and to confute them that were adversaries to the trueth. And further, that the people (by daily hearyng of holy scripture read in the Churche) should continuallye profite more and more in the knowledge of God, and bee the more inflamed with the love of his true religion.

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