Good Morning,
Some of y’all of a certain age will remember a radio preacher by the name of J. Vernon McGee. Headquartered in Los Angeles, California for most of the Twentieth century at the Church of the Open Door he was a pioneer of radio ministry through the Thru the Bible program. A Southern Presbyterian by training (many do not know this) he broke with the old PCUSA over his biblical and evangelical beliefs. I mention him this morning because I fairly regularly listen to his preaching on Monday morning as I am preparing for the week as well as for the next coming Lord’s Day. I find it a good way to cleanse my mind and refocus myself away from whatever matters may have got me down, or otherwise. Seeking solace in the means of grace is good.
The ability of our age to regularly be fed by the preaching of God’s word by any number of pastors is a blessing (or it can be, like anything else it may be abused). There’s an irony here. In the early days of the ARP it was strictly verboten for members, and particularly ministers, to be found “occasionally hearing” non-ARP preachers. To be fair there was a good reason for this. The early days of the United States was a wild west of unlettered and unsent men who did real damage to the spiritual life of starved Christians. Through this kind of encouragement away from non-ARP ministries the presbytery sought to protect their people like good shepherds should do.
To get back to my buddy J. Vernon a second the reason why I bring him up is that on Monday as I was listening he was talking about Satan. Now, I don’t really like hearing about the devil. I do not need help recognizing my own sin and weaknesses. Being reminded of his work can have an effect on me. However, it is good for us to hear this for several reasons. First of all, most people have a completely backwards understanding of Satan. He is not a red (or blue) scary looking kind of creature. He is the pinnacle of the angelic creation, the most wonderful and beautiful of the highest echelon of the angels. He shines as one made of light. Unlike Lee at Gettysburg or Grant at Cold Harbor he’s not a fan of frontal assaults. He prefers flank attacks and feints. It is why the Bible describes Lucifer as a deceiver. When he tempts men and women he does so by taking the truth and twisting just a little. He takes blessed gifts like love and grace and makes them ugly by convincing us that defining those words in a certain way means never saying no nor recognizing that enabling transgressions of the law brings the opposite of what is desired.
The other way the devil works is by softening the law and hiding the gospel. He tells you that a comforting idea of your goodness is sufficient to get to Heaven. Satan Stewart Smalley’s your mind, telling you that you are smart enough, good enough, and just plain fine as long as you are not as bad as your neighbor. You don’t cheat on your taxes, you do put stuff in the blessing box, you round up for the cause at Food Lion, and witness other small steps of personal righteousness.
Isn’t that sufficient for God to look at me and say, “You know what? That lady is pretty alright.”
In closing, the answer to that question is a strong no. When I lived in Pittsburgh there is a church built by Richard Mellon, younger brother of the Secretary of the Treasury under Herbert Hoover which even in its day was called “Mellon’s Fire Escape”. A massive cathedral seen by many as an attempt to earn the favor of the Lord. Lots of people fool themselves into thinking that their ticket to a blessed eternal existence is just being and doing. Satan might teach you that, but the good news of Jesus Christ is that you are not enough. All you can do is add to the heat of Hell. Your only hope in life and death is a perfect Savior who lived the perfect life that you cannot. It is purely by His free gift of righteousness reckoned unto you by the free gift of faith, being born again through the Holy Spirit by the decree of the Father that you receive eternal life.
Go to Him.
Blessings in Christ,
Rev. Benjamin Glaser
Pastor, Bethany ARP Church
