Working Out At The Gym

I was excited to receive notification last week that my gym had developed a smart phone app for me to download. I downloaded the app and discovered that my gym was not yet open for business, but planned to open on July 5. Imagine how excited I was to use the app to make an appointment to work out with a select few today at 11:00 AM.

As I stood in line, maintaining social distancing from others also in line, it was apparent that the front door was locked, prohibiting entrance into the facility before 11:00 o’clock sharp. I stood in line with my mask on and noticed the sign on the front door insisting that those working out wear both mask and latex gloves while exercising inside. I imagined that this was for the purpose of maintaining a rather sterile environment for the protection of others. I had no latex gloves with me and expected, correctly it turned out, that my gym would provide the latex gloves.

The door was then opened, and entrance was allowed for each person who could display on a cell phone the proper “no contact app display” proving my identity and my reservation to work out. I passed through the door and stood at the welcome desk, asking for latex gloves. The attendant ran to the back office and brought out a box of latex gloves that fit the hands of every woman who wanted to work out and that fit the hands of the men with great difficulty.

As I put on my latex gloves while walking upstairs to the weight room it dawned on me that the very act of putting on the latex gloves rendered the latex gloves no longer sterile. It is impossible to put on latex gloves without touching the latex gloves on the outside. Wearing latex gloves benefits the wearer but no one else. Thus, when one works out by touching the barbells, the kettle balls, the dumbbells, and the various exercise machines, every surface a customer touches is immediately contaminated. The next time I come into the gym, reusing the latex gloves they gave me, my gloves will be even more contaminated. Of course, they know that. It doesn’t matter. The whole point of gloves and mask to exercise is to calm the fears of the uninformed, the misinformed, and the frightened.

As I began to work out, I noticed especially the young men in the facility. The big guys, the muscular guys, the fit fellows, immediately took their masks off and mostly took their latex gloves off. They ignored the warning over the loudspeaker. Thus, the guys who were serious weightlifters were not about to encumber themselves with stupid and ineffective masks or latex gloves that interfered with a good grip. They did not care about any Karens who might be in the room. I laughed as I observed it all, and was particularly amused by the very conscientious (and not very muscular) mask wearers and latex glove wearers.

Notice my picture with masks on and latex gloves on. Don’t I look positively ridiculous? What a stupid way to approach vigorous exercise, by interfering with your breathing and encumbering a good grip.

The owner of this facility cannot be a moron. He cannot be an idiot. There is no possible way he would have reopened this facility without consulting sterilization experts and, more importantly, attorneys. This whole exercise in sterilization futility is not for the purpose of minimizing the likelihood of CCP Virus spreading, but to minimize the gym’s liability exposure when someone who has recently been to the gym catches the CCP Virus from an immediate family member. You can’t sue family, but you can blame the fitness center. That is what this is all about.

It’s the same with restaurants and churches. You cannot go into a restaurant without having a mask on. The establishment will not allow any patron to enter without a mask of any kind. Methinks a cheesecloth mask would be acceptable to most eateries. However, once you go in and sit down at your table, removing the mask is not only optional, it is necessary. Who can drink a beverage or eat food while wearing a mask? So why is a mask required to enter the restaurant? Purely for the purpose of reassuring the uninformed, the misinformed, and the timid.

This causes me to reflect upon church services yesterday. Our church has been conducting services throughout the pandemic lockdown because I am a Baptist pastor and we are a Baptist church. Baptists believe (or claim to believe) in soul liberty. Soul liberty prohibits me from denying other Christians the right to exercise their God-given liberty to gather for worship. Thus, Baptist pastors who close their auditoriums because of a government edict and deny their individual congregants the opportunity to exercise their God-given liberties as free moral agents, are not really acting much like Baptists at all.

I am also reminded of the thoughts that frequently ran through my mind throughout this pandemic lockdown, which affected most churches but which did not affect the church I pastor at all. Where were the leaders among the Baptists during the mandatory lockdown? Where were those with the courage of a lion, who annually conduct leadership seminars that young and gullible Baptist preachers pay money to attend, when the government was demanding that they shutter their auditoriums, and they meekly and timidly complied with those unscriptural, illegal, and obviously unconstitutional demands?

Where in the Bible does it say that someone wearing a white smock, with a stethoscope draped around his neck, is an authority figure whose demands and commands must be obeyed? Where in the Bible does it say that someone occupying a position of authority in government, whether he wears a uniform or not, is an authority figure whose demands and commands must be obeyed even when he directly violates the U.S. Constitution? And where did the legacy of Baptist civil disobedience in the face of outrageous infringements upon our God-given duties and privileges to worship and serve God fly off to when this CCP Virus pandemic came along?

Someone might express a concern that going to church during a pandemic might be dangerous. However, throughout most of Christian history over these last 2000 years it has been dangerous for God’s people to gather for worship, with the danger being far more violent than a sub microscopic virus. Courage is required to live the Christian life. Liberty is granted by God to His children so that we might individually exercise wisdom and caution in proportion to the danger, to our age, and to our individual susceptibilities to illness. But this notion of an entire nation’s population being locked down before we get sick is positively ludicrous.

I know a few Baptist pastors who have exercised wisdom by not calling attention to themselves, while continuing to conduct their church services. I applaud them. I say bravo. Those men remind me of the Baptist pastors of days gone by, the kinds of men that Patrick Henry used to defend in courts of law in the Commonwealth of Virginia for their defiance of government mandates that they restrict the exercise of their religious liberties.

I have no problem with the privately owned business requiring masks and latex gloves. I know that masks and latex gloves accomplish virtually nothing, besides calming the misinformed, the uninformed, and the timid. But, for God’s sake, and for Christ’s sake, I call upon Baptist pastors everywhere to ignore the leadership advice of those big boys who have been silent for the last 90 days, and start paying more attention to the conduct of men like the apostle Paul and the apostle Peter.

Racism or Sin? by Dr. William R. Downing

Racism or Sin?

A plea to pray for revival in our churches and a spiritual awakening in our society, by Dr. William R. Downing, pastor of Sovereign Grace Baptist Church of Silicon Valley, Morgan Hill, CA

     Our nation and society are being torn apart, we are told, because of racism, prejudice and police brutality. The protestors and rioters, allegedly protesting against the failures, actions and personalities of the past are themselves breaking existing laws and ordinances, and even deifying persons who were despicable in their lives and lawlessness. They believe that they can do so because their cause is just. They have torn down statues, defaced and destroyed buildings and looted businesses, demonstrated their violent actions, and vented their energies and hatred against the standing social order. Protestors and rioters have even torn down or defaced statues of abolitionists and such leaders as Lincoln, who allegedly emancipated the slaves! But all they have done or can do is destroy—they have not and cannot build.

     At the same time, our nation is celebrating fifty years of Gay Pride this week. Cosmetic companies are changing “whitening” creams to more acceptable terms. Universities are changing the names of their respective schools. Some cities are in the process of disbanding or defunding their police departments. This is “Political Correctness” and “Social Justice” run amuck in the extreme. We are a nation without morality.

     Is there something deeper than the Marxist–led mob in their desire to erase the past and establish a new world order? Yes. There is one single underlying factor and awful reality which permeates all this destructive violence—SIN. Mankind is fallen and sinful. It is easier to destroy than to build; easier to erase than to spell, draw or paint; easier to riot than to establish true equity. Man as a sinner has always wanted the “quick fix.” Like a spoiled child, he wants his own way and does not consider the consequences. He wants to take, but not give; to destroy, but not build; to curse, but not bless; to stand arrogantly, but not bow…

     What is most needful at this point in our national history and survival is Divine intervention. Law and order begin with a cooperative determination to have the best and safest for society. And even before this, there is a need for a moral base. Without a sufficient moral base any society is doomed. Historically, morality has derived from the religion of the society. This has been true of both pagan and so–called “Christian” societies. Any attempt at morality without a religious base is completely arbitrary and often unjust and inequitable.

     God has ordained the family and the church. Human government among fallen, sinful mankind is a necessary evil without a morality which derives from the Word of God. The uniqueness of America stems from its base in the Bible. Although never a truly “Christian” Nation, the influence of the Bible gave us the greatest nation in the history of the world. It influenced that “group of old white men” who gave us the Constitution and its Amendments.

     Apart from the Bible, morality, society and government are all arbitrary, as are its laws. The State becomes both “Parent” and “God.” Totalitarianism becomes a necessity as fallen, sinful man cannot rule himself or others equitably. All, then, must submit to arbitrarily a totalitarian government enforced by the use of arms—a police state.

     The Lord God has graciously given to our nation and society time after time of revival and spiritual awakening: the first occurred c. 1734–1750 under Jonathan Edwards, George Whitefield and others. This mighty work of God gave the Thirteen Colonies the moral impetus for a new nation. And this new nation reflected much of this biblically–based morality in its foundation.

     This new nation then experienced several spiritual revivals and spiritual awakenings from 1793 to 1840, delivering it from the baneful influences of English Deism, French Skepticism and German Rationalism. Even during the great financial crash of 1857, revival came (c. 1857–1859), and its force spread to the Britain, bringing revival to Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England. There was a great revival among the Southern Armies during the War between the States (1861–1865). There were spasmodic revivals during the last part of the 19^th century. At the beginning of the 20^th Century, the Welsh Revival reached our shores about 1905 and made a deep impression on our country.

     It has been 115 years since the Lord poured out His Spirit upon our land and people. We have sunk lower than ever before religiously, morally, ethically and socially. What now? Where are those who truly see that the root cause of our present unrest, violence and attempts to overturn our social order is SIN—and our hope is in Divine intervention. Can our past speak to us of hope in this time? Are we a praying people? Do we realize that we need God to “rend the heavens and come down…to make Thy name known to Thy adversaries, that the nations may tremble at Thy presence.”? (Isaiah 64:1–2).

MRI Meditation

MRI Meditation

Over the last couple of weeks, I have become frequently reminded of my mortality. Let me briefly recount the ways:

·         Two Saturdays ago, I had the privilege, the honor, of conducting the memorial service for a preacher friend that I've known for 25 years. His name was David, and he pastored a church in Redondo Beach was a fine man.

·         Last Tuesday, I had the privilege of taking my wife to Vada’s birthday party, celebrating her 100th birthday with her daughter and son-in-law and the many friends at the facility she lives at. Several church members also went there and I very much enjoyed myself with her.

·         On Saturday last, my wife and I attended the birthday party of a fine Christian woman who was a member of the first church I served as pastor thirty-five years ago. She celebrated her 80th birthday.

So, I have been reminded and reminded and reminded of mortality and the advance of age.

Now a separate line of thought. Several months ago, I began noticing certain sensations on the soles of my feet. I made an appointment with a neurologist who checked me for diabetic neuropathy. He concluded that the sensations on the bottoms of my feet (which are not painful) were not diabetic neuropathy. Whew!

The neurologist wondered whether or not the sensations in my feet were a consequence of a long-ago back surgery that I had, when my L5 lumbar vertebrae was fused to my sacrum in January 1969. I was a 19-year-old kid who had a weightlifting accident several years earlier, was subsequently discharged from the United States Air Force Academy because of it when it was discovered I was no longer ejection seat qualified or even flight qualified. That diagnosis resulted in me taking a discharge.

I decided to get the extreme back pain taken care of once and for all by checking into St. Vincent's Hospital in Portland, Oregon for the fusion surgery. From then to now, it has been what 51 years and the neurologist wondered if perhaps there was a connection between the back surgery and the sensations now occurring in the bottoms of my feet in my 69th year since neuropathy was ruled out as a cause of the symptom.

So today I went to get an MRI. When the narrow bed that I was on was pushed into the MRI machine, I experienced the very close quarters for the first time in my life. “Ah,” I thought to myself. “This is why they asked me so many different times if I was claustrophobic.” Of course, some people are so claustrophobic they can't take the confinement of an MRI machine. Additionally, I had not before been aware of how loud the noises are when an MRI machine is operating.

While lying still (hard for an itcher and scratcher like me to do), it suddenly dawned on me that sometimes people are diagnosed with stage IV cancer as the result of an MRI scan, having had no pain or any other noticeable symptoms. Imagine. Inside an MRI machine for about 20 minutes pondering the possibility that the doctor might diagnose me with cancer. Is that what is causing the weird sensations in my feet, cancer destroying that part of my lower spine that no longer has sensations due to the surgery fifty-one years ago?

At the time, the surgeon informed me that two very long scars would remind me of the back surgery, but that the incisions were unnecessary for the fusion. Rather, it was the protocol in 1969 to kill nerves to alleviate pain following the surgery. Hence, the long incisions. It ran through my mind that addressing a potential pain issue then might leave me without symptoms of something far worse now. The mind does wander.

I won't know anything for two or three days. The neurologist has to get the MRI results, and I have to make an appointment to see him. But in those few minutes in the MRI machine, I was reflecting on how much closer I might be to eternity than I imagined myself to be at the age of 69 without cancer.

Understand, I don't know whether I have cancer or not. I don't know whether there's anything there. The doctor is just taking a shot in the dark about something going on in my lower back as a result of my surgery long ago that might now affect the soles of my feet.

But the entire experience was orchestrated by my gracious Father to cause me to think about eternity. It is always good to ponder eternity. And what thoughts ran through my mind as I pondered those things, I would like to share with you. I was overwhelmed with peace. I was overwhelmed with gratitude. I was overwhelmed with contentment. I was thankful to the Lord for the opportunity that He has given me to serve Him for many, many years.

For a long time, I have had the privilege of ministering to people I love and care about, and I want to reflect in this Musings of a Gospel Minister what kind of feelings run through the mind of an old preacher who ponders how close he is to eternity, by the grace of God, and the comfort of God, and the blessedness of the indwelling Spirit of God. It's not a bad feeling. It's a comfortable feeling. And it's a confident feeling knowing that to be absent from the body is to be present with my glorious Lord.

I surely hope that should some occasion come into your life shortly where you ponder your mortality as I did this afternoon, that God gives you the comfort of mind and soul that He gave to me.

Bless you, preacher.

Our job this late in life is to finish well.

By the grace of God, I hope you finish well.

My friend David finished well.

I want to finish well.

Pastors Treating Pastors As Adults

PASTORS TREATING PASTORS AS ADULTS

A colleague recently invited me to speak at a preacher’s meeting. Being invited to speak at such meetings is an infrequent occurrence for me. Perhaps these musings will provide you with an idea of why I am not frequently invited to speak to pastors more often, though I have served in my present field of service for thirty-five years.

At the beginning of my time in ministry, I went to a very large gathering of pastors in the upper midwestern part of the United States. It was there that I first noticed the reluctance of the host pastor to treat invited pastors as adults. We (and there were thousands of us) were treated like children, and quite intentionally deprived of the information adults might expect to receive to make pertinent decisions. This happened every time I attended that annual event. I did not appreciate being treated that way, but I guess that most of the others in attendance didn’t mind at all. I stopped attended and most of them continued to attend every year and put up with being treated like children.

I read. I read a great deal. And my selection of material to read is quite wide if discussions with others who read are any guide absent a scientific study. As a result of my reading, I have come to appreciate what was believed in the past and what was practiced in the past. My reading has cultivated my appreciation for Baptist history, Baptist doctrine, and Baptist practice in days gone by. My reading has also led me to cherish Baptist distinctives, with my thoughts while writing this article settling on the Baptist practice of Baptist preachers treating other Baptist preachers as peers, as equals, with respect, and appreciation of our high and holy calling. None of this Protestant denominational hierarchy nonsense for Baptists … in days gone by. Would that it was still so.

Appreciation for past Baptist practices makes me sensitive to those who, in my day, withhold respect and appreciation from others who are similarly called to the Gospel ministry. Therefore, it is with regret that I reflect on the practice of some Baptists (in name, at least) who have the notoriety and resources to cultivate large followings and host large gatherings that allow them to treat grown men, God-called preachers of the Gospel, as anything but peers.

Allow me to illustrate. Decades ago, I was planning a trip related to family matters that I realized would coincide with a large gathering of pastors in the western United States close to my planned destination. Reflecting on the situation at hand, it became apparent to me that I had time to attend a portion of the preachers meeting, but that I would be unable to attend a full day’s schedule. It was necessary for me to make an adult decision about the wisest use of my time.

I called the church where the meeting was scheduled to begin in a couple of days and found myself talking to someone who had access to the information I needed, who would be preaching, and when. I needed this information so I could make the best use of my time. However, when I asked for that information, the person I spoke to refused to inform me who was preaching when following explicit orders from the pastor.

I was stunned. I verified that the schedule had been arranged. I verified that there was no inherent confusion about who was speaking when and on what topic. Yet this information was denied me. When I asked the reason for withholding that information, I was told that it was “pastor’s policy.” Such information was not to be provided for any of the preachers attending the conference. Did the person I was speaking to know the schedule? The answer was yes. Yet the information was a closely guarded secret of such sensitivity that visiting pastors who could not attend an entire day were not allowed the information they might need to exercise wisdom they needed to redeem their time.

It has been more than two decades since that exchange took place, and I still have not yet figured out why certain men of prominence withhold such information — no one in the business world functions in that manner. My own life experience provided me with no insight into the logic employed to establish and maintain such a policy. I used to work on a National Security Agency deep black program, so I have been read in on the need for compartmentalization of classified information. But who preaches at 10:00 AM and who preaches at 11:00 AM is a closely held secret at a Baptist church conference? Really?

I am left to wonder. I have never treated preachers that way. I have never figured out why preachers would be treated that way. Are others as committed to treating Gospel ministers as if they were children like I experienced forty years ago? Is it an ego trip? Is it a demonstration of ecclesiastical superiority?

I am a Baptist pastor. I have read enough history and conducted enough research in preparing to write two of the books that I know how Baptists used to conduct their ministries.[1] I can tell you that there was a day when Baptists not only held to the conviction of local church autonomy and the trustworthiness of the Bible but something commonly referred to as soul liberty, as well.

When Baptist pastors embrace the concept of soul liberty, they stop this nonsense of treating other preachers as children who are incapable of making their own decisions and exercising wisdom concerning the best use of their time.

What think you, pastor? Am I being overly sensitive about this? Or is this symptomatic of a more serious matter, a slide toward some form of Protestant hierarchical conduct that reflects an abandoning of core Baptist convictions?

---

[1] John S. Waldrip, The Church of Jesus Christ: 28 Truths Every Christian Ought To Learn, (Monrovia, CA: Classical Baptist Press, 2019), John S. Waldrip, The Blight Of Islam - Revised, (Monrovia, CA: Classical Baptist Press, 2018), John S. Waldrip, Suffer The Children (The tragic legacies of Finney & Bushnell), (Monrovia, CA: Classical Baptist Press, 2018)

Travesty Invitations

     There are two ways a Gospel minister can conduct an invitation for the sinner to trust Christ. He can either imbed his invitation into the body of his Gospel sermon (which is how Jonathan Edwards, John Wesley, George Whitefield, Asahel Nettleton, and Charles Spurgeon did it), or he can tack it on at the end (which is how Billy Graham and John R. Rice did it). This ministerial musing has nothing to do with where in the Gospel sermon the invitation to trust Christ is found.

     Feel free to preach the Gospel and invite sinners to trust Christ. Never hesitate to engage in that high and holy calling. As you do that, however, recognise that among those who actually preach the Gospel (and most don't) there are a great many whose invitations to trust Christ are diametrically opposed to the spirit of the Gospel they purport to preach.

     Who initiated God's interaction with Adam? God. Who initiated God's interaction with Noah? God. Who initated God's interaction with Abram? God. Who initiated God's interaction with Isaac? God. Who initiated God's interaction with Jacob/Israel? God.

     Whose idea was it to send God's Son to seek and to save sinners? God. Whose idea was it to bring the Church into existence to carry out the Great Commission of the Lord Jesus Christ? Would you like to answer that it was the Lord Jesus Christ? Great. Would you like to point out that the phrase "church of God" is found eight times in the New Testament, suggesting that it was God's idea? Also great. The point that I seek to make is that there is nothing about the church or the church's mission that would suggest any initiating activity with respect to the salvation of the lost is to be found in the thoughts or conduct of anyone who is lost.

     From Pentecost when the church was empowered onward the initiative is always found with the Spirit-empowered and Spirit-led Christians in the Biblical record. There is not a single instance in the New Testament of the initiative in a conversion transaction by an unsaved person. On the contrary, it is always God, the Spirit of God, the glorified Son of God, or the empowered child of God who initiates the conversion transaction.

     And how about the comments made by the Savior?  Did He not claim that He came to seek and to save that which was lost? Of course, He did.

     That being true, why are Gospel ministers and well-intentioned Christians so determined to reverse the dynamic the Bible so convincingly and unerringly pictures without fail? This is done when the sinner is told, taught, encouraged, exhorted, and otherwise misled to "invite Jesus into your life." What! From where comes this notion that the sinner is responsible to invite the Savior?

     Such an approach to evangelism suggests by action if not openly declaring by instruction that the Lord of glory is waiting for the sinner's word, the sinner's permission, the sinner's go-ahead before He dares to make a move. Such suggests the Savior is passive when the Bible shows Him to always and only be the instigator of the sinner's salvation.

     Just as I have no desire to engage anyone in an argument about when to invite sinner's to Christ, be it during or after a Gospel sermon, so also do I have no desire to engage in soteriological wranglings. I only seek to point out to men who are convinced the Gospel and its presentation are so clearly shown in Scripture that at no time should a sinner be led to conclude that he is the active party and the Savior is the passive party.

     Quite the other way around, John 1.12 shows the sinner to passively receive Christ. Matthew 11.28 shows the sinner to be responsive to Christ's command to come to Him. I leave it to you to search the New Testament for verification and validation of what I bring to your attention. It is a violation of New Testament pattern and protocol to teach a sinner, to suggest to a sinner, to encourage a sinner, and (if I may be so bold) to allow a sinner to invite Christ into his life.

     No, sir! To be saved you are to respond to Christ. You are not to initiate anything with Him. Those who are dead in trespasses and sins are incapable of initiating anything with Him. He left heaven's glory, was born of a virgin, died a substitutionary death on the cross, rose from the dead, ascended to glory, and saves to the uttermost those who come to God by Him ... doing so by responding, reacting, repenting, and believing in response to Him (and those who represent Him) via the Gospel.

     Only when this dynamic is appreciated and honored by the Gospel minister or the witnessing Christian is Jonah's declaration reflected: "Salvation is of the LORD." Am I suggesting that those who invite Jesus into their lives are not saved? No, I am not.

     I am suggesting that Gospel ministers and witnessing Christians conscientiously emulate and imitate as much as humanly possible the approach used to bring people to Christ found in the New Testament. It is better to urge the sinner to receive Christ, to believe in Christ, to believe on Christ, or to trust Christ than it is to suggest the sinner invite Jesus into his life. Why so? The Scriptural approach more implicitly acknowledges Christ as the initiatior and the instigator than does inviting Him into your life.

     The travesty invitation seems to invite Christ to do something He already purposed to do, came to do, and has declared He does. The proper invitation is an invitation to the sinner to respond to Christ, rather than the sinner inviting Christ to do something.

Women in the Church by Kostenberger & Schreiner

     I was saddened but not surprised to learn a number of men without whom I have been aquainted for decades decided to feature their wife, their daughter, or another female speaker during the Sunday morning worship time of their recent Mother's Day service. It requires an ignorance of Second Corinthians 5.14 to think that such a move by a Gospel minister evokes images of love for either women or anyone else. It requires an ignorance of First Timothy 2.9-15 to think such a move by a Gospel minister is permitted by God's Word and does not introduce confusion to the already confused world affected by third wave feminism.

     The slide into effeminacy has continued apace in the West for centuries, with so many women and more and more men thinking they are magnanimous for surrendering a position in the society, in the family unit, and in the church assigned to them by God. Confusion reigns, and since God is not the author of confusion it is clear that this trend is not of God.

     Do they not study God's Word and discover there God's plan for men, for women, for marriage, and for church and society? As well, do they not correlate the current trend with the prophesied slide into apostasy? Finally, have they no concern for the confusion introduced into the lives of children who increasingly make distastrous choices about sexual practices and so-called gender identity? Does no one read secular history to discover the implementation of a plan (Critical Theory) by a group of communists (the Frankfurt School) who moved to this country before World War Two with the goal of destroying our culture?

     The whole world is going mad, as we see more and more evidence of what happens when God turns people over to a reprobate mind. People who are sometimes brilliant nevertheless abandon any capacity to make more judgments about anything.

     Into this debate has been introduced the third edition of "Women In The Church" by Andreas J. Kostenberger and Thomas R. Schreiner. It is a masterpiece of scholarship, application, and courage in a culture gone south. It is a must read for anyone involved in the teaching and preaching of God's Word.

Women in the Church: An Interpretation and Application of 1 Timothy 2:9-15 by Andreas J. Köstenberger

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


An extremely well-prepared and marvelously thorough treatment of a timely issue in congregations everywhere. I have already held my copy up to the congregation I preach to and have endorsed the book with my highest praise. I like everything about this work.



View all my reviews

Finishing Well

I am generally a very happy man. God has given me a cheerful disposition, even though I am sometimes prone to deep reflection and introspection. So, it has been with sheer delight that I lead our Church into another annual missions conference in which all but the final of the scheduled speakers not only have forty plus years of Gospel ministry with reputations untarnished, but each of them is committed to finishing well.

Despite this I find myself in a somewhat gloomy state this afternoon as I sit back and begin the second volume of Stephen Kotkin’s biography of Josef Stalin, Stalin: Waiting For Hitler, 1929-1941. And what was it that plunged me into a funk while reading the biography if an evil man long dead? It was a section of Kotlin’s first chapter he labelled “The Victim.”

Everyone who is my age or older has some familiarity with Josef Stalin’s reputation. But I had not before known one aspect of his personality, the facility of casting himself always and in every case the victim. Kotkin writes in connection with Stalin’s most loyal colleague, Bukharin:

“Bukharin had grimly foreseen that Stalin would twist his words and label him a schismatic to extract political advantage, but Stalin’s cruelty was something his friend would puzzle over for a long time. And no matter how underhandedly the dictator undercut Bukharin, Stalin was the victim… Stalin wrote to Bukharin on April 16, 1929… ‘Will you at some point desist the attacks against me?’”

I am not saddened that Stalin’s mindset was so perverse that he used his victim mentality to justify his actions. I am saddened that my mind’s eye fell as I read upon a Gospel minister who is quite unlike the men preaching at our Church’s annual missions conference, who are finishing well, and who recognize that no child of God is anyone’s victim. On the contrary, we are the most blessed of God’s creatures. I am saddened by the thoughts of a man who is not finishing well, a man who sees himself as a victim, and who portrays anyone and everyone who disagrees with him about anything as a compromising traitor to the cause of Christ. As I read of Stalin I thought of this man, his victim mentality, and his willingness to twist the words and actions of those who are decidedly not his enemies for short-term political advantage.

I cannot be angry at such a man. I cannot seek revenge against such a man. I can only feel sad and get as far away from such an unapproachable figure as I possibly can. I must allow no one to hinder me from finishing well. I urge every Gospel preacher to contemplate what the apostle wrote in Second Timothy 4:

⁶     For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.

⁷     I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:

⁸     Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.

Let us finish well. Does someone disagree with you? Disagreement does not make an enemy. Does someone choose not to stand with you? Could it possibly be that he can no longer stand with you in good conscience while standing for the Lord? We are flawed and fallible men who must focus our attention on finishing well, so we do not undo in the end what we have spent our lives doing for the Lord.