30 June 2018

SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES (3)

By John Ollis

Before any truths could be be restored to the Church, first and foremost the Word of God had to be restored to the Church,  THERE COULD BE NO RECOVERY OF LOST TRUTH WITHOUT A RECOVERY OF THE WORD -THE BIBLE. it had been locked up and hidden and forbidden from God’s people for hundreds of years, and not available in their language. We take for granted today the many translations and paraphrase Bibles we have at our disposal.. There were five great movements that rose up from around the 11th century seeking to bring reform in the Church and they were repressed with terrible persecution:

  • The Albigenses
  • The Waldensians
  • John Wycliffe
  • John Huss
  • Jerome Savonarola

They had discovered the Scriptures and some translated them and they then recognised the errors and heresies that were abounding in the Church, even Luther’s Theses that he nailed to the door of the Wittenberg Cathedral, were as much about unbiblical practices and errors as well as the Biblical truths he now understood. The invention of the printing press so assisted the printing and distribution of the Word of God.
The recovery of lost truth (after the Word of God became more available) began about the fifteenth century during what we call the Reformation period. Over the centuries since that time God has continued to restore lost truth to the Church. Psalm 43:3-4 AMP we see this principle being fulfilled O send out Your light and Your truth, let them lead me; let them bring me to Your holy hill and to Your dwelling.
Then will I go to the altar of God, to God, my exceeding joy; yes, with the lyre will I praise You, O God, my God!
As each step of restoration took place God sent out His LIGHT and shone it on the truth (the Word of God). Jesus tells us in John 16:13 NKJV that the Holy Spirit wants to shine on the Word of God  and give illumination and revelation, and we thank God for Martin Luther and John Calvin  and other great Reformers whom God used to uncover glorious truths. We read  However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. May I say here that the Holy Spirit wants to lead us  ALL into ALL TRUTH, (not just great Bible Teachers) are we willing to be led??? Is our mind closed because we either see extremes and reject the truth, or simply we do not want to change our position and thought on a matter.
In relation to extremes we often quote Martin Luther that we “must not throw out the baby (truth) with the dirty bathwater”. I had a thought recently if our pet became afflicted with a scourge of fleas, we wouldn’t get rid of the pet, we would get rid of the fleas!!!!!! Keep this in mind as we highlight these major truths that have been restored to the Church over these last 5 centuries. Now the Reformers had the Word of God restored, they discovered the most important  glorious truth:

JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH

We are not Christians because of works, and merit, and penance but:

  • Through Christ alone
  • Through Faith alone
  • Through Grace alone

What a glorious liberating truth and experience

BELIEVER’S BAPTISM

At the conclusion of Peter’s first sermon he says in: Acts 2:38 NKJV Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Being baptized by immersion is an act of obedience following conversion, not something you do with a baby.

SANCTIFICATION

It was around two hundred years later that another major truth was recovered and restored to the Church. The experience of Justification by Faith must be balanced out by the evidence of a holy life, that is sanctification. A movement known as the Pietists began to preach this truth, , then John Wesley embraced the truth, and a whole branch of the church became known from the mid 1700’s as the Holiness Pentecostal Movement. Like so many truths this truth  has been at times distorted and unbalanced but the awesome reality is a Believer can live a holy victorious pure life.

THE PRIESTHOOD OF ALL BELIEVERS

Early in the 1800’s many came to see  (especially in the Brethren and Baptist churches) the glorious truth that a Believer is a Priest in his own right, (1 Peter 2:5 & 9) and has direct personal access into the presence of God at any time, and does not need a mediator, but can always come boldly to the Throne of Grace.  Sadly some take this truth to extremes and so do not recognise the unique function and ministries in the church.

DIVINE HEALING

It was held by many that the Gifts of the Holy Spirit such as healing ceased at the death of the last Apostle (I guess it is easy to say today “how did they come to that conclusion”?) God raised up men like A.B. Simpson  the Founder of the Christian & Missionary Alliance (C.M.A.) who saw the truth that Believers can lay hands on the sick in the Name of Jesus and they shall recover.Mark 16: 18 This was a revolutionary recovery of truth, that as we will see each new group that embraced a recovered truth simply added it to that which had gone before, the Pentecostals also majored on this truth, and major healing Crusades were conducted around the world from the 1950’s that saw literally millions of people healed by the power of God. The C.M.A.’s basic doctrines were centred around the Fourfold Gospel, Jesus the Saviour, Sanctifier, Healer and Coming King. Their Missions work was prolific, I saw for myself their effective ministry in Indo China (Laos, Cambodia & Vietnam).

THE BAPTISM IN THE HOLY SPIRIT

Jesus had told the Disciples to “tarry in Jerusalem until they receive the promise of the Father”  for they would be baptised in the Holy Spirit Acts 1:4-5) This took place 10 days after Christ had ascended to heaven, and the 120 Believers were “filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke in unknown languages as the Holy Spirit gave them ability. Just over 100 years ago, this phenomena broke out all around the world. As many had believed the Gifts of the Holy Spirit including speaking in tongues had ceased at the death of the last Apostle, the immediate reaction was that this is a psychosomatic experience or a demonic experience and was quickly rejected by much of the established church of the day. Many Believers were excommunicated from their churches, and many left and started Pentecostal Assemblies.Sadly there was “dirty bath water” and numerous “fleas” as well, that seemed to be a stumbling block to many people, despite all the negatives, this recovered truth has so gone around the world, and has impacted all the established churches and denominations, and statistically it is believed that at least 50% of the world’s Christian population is Pentecostal/Charismatic today as of 2018.
I could have said so much more about all these major truths, you can sure study them more yourself if you desire. But I trust you thank God with me, for these awesome truths.
Over the centuries since the beginning of the Reformation, there has been many other truths recovered and from time to time the Holy Spirit has felt to bring fresh emphasis or greater understanding on many truths in the Word of God. I will list some here, that mean much to me.
Praise & Worship (The Restoration of the Tabernacle of David)
The Rhema Word (The Word of Faith)
Demonic Deliverance and Emotional Healing
Discipleship
I will write another blog next week, in this series, that I trust will challenge and encourage you, not to settle down, but ever have an “ear to hear what the Holy Spirit wants to say to you”, that you learn to daily go to the Word of God with a prepared heart to receive that incorruptible seed of the Word of God, and you will let the  Word work, and letHoly Spirit turn the light on and give you revelation and understanding .