WiseReader

“….Secret sin, and secret prayer, have this in common, that they both make a man travel his fastest. Secret sin makes him who commits it travel his fastest down to Gehenna, — that is to say, down into “the fire that is not quenched.” Whereas secret prayer make him who so prays travel his very fastest up to the throne of God ….”   - Michael A.G. Haykin, Ed., in A Consuming Fire: The Piety of Alexander Whyte [Reformation Heritage Books, 2006, p.65]

A few days ago, John Blackman, Pastor of Renaissance Baptist Church (Brooklin, Ontario) sent me a link to a provocative article posted by Michael Spencer, known in the blogosphere as Internet Monk. Spencer’s article, Stop Me Before I Turn Into A.W. Pink, will challenge every Christian who struggles over finding a church family in which to settle.

In his posting, Spencer describes himself as

“churchless …. because there is no church within reasonable driving distance that takes seriously very much of what our family believes is important in the life of the church.”

Spencer devotes the post to discussing the implications of remaining aloof from corporate worship. And though he has not (at the time of his post) found a church in which he feels completely at home, he writes that come Sunday:

“I’ll be at a church that doesn’t particularly represent my own faith journey because I’m following Jesus and I don’t want to turn into A.W. Pink.”

Most readers of Spencer’s blog will probably know something of A.W. Pink, but for those who don’t, Pink was a gifted Bible teacher who eventually isolated himself from all churches because he could not find one with which he completely agreed. Spencer discusses the reasons why this took place. 

John, commenting positively on the posting, wrote:

“I plan to keep a link close by for my own nourishment but also for something I can forward to people I know who time to time are also in danger of developing (A.W.) Pink-eye” (emphasis mine).

I love John’s unique brand of humour - something that naturally flows when he is preaching. And I find myself identifying with Michael Spencer, I do not want to become like A.W. Pink. I do not want to contract ”(A.W.) Pink-eye“. I suspect I am not alone in thinking this way.

I highly recommend Spencer’s post.

Why One Way? Defending an Exclusive Claim in an Inclusive World
John MacArthur
W Publishing Group, 2002
ISBN: 0849955580
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Postmodernism’s denial of absolute truth is seeping through the walls of the evangelical establishment and MacArthur, in the vein of all true shepherds, raises a warning for the church.  While acknowledging evangelicalism’s historical diversity, he notes there was a time when all evangelicals held one truth in common:  “They knew that Jesus Christ was the only way to heaven. ‘One way’ seemed an unshakeable belief that all evangelicals held in common.”

As the number of evangelicals flirting with postmodern relativism grows, MacArthur seeks to remind us of the gospel’s distinctive and exclusive claim - it alone holds the truth about life here and in the hereafter.

The Christian message is one of absolute truth standing outside ourselves.  It remains true whatever one makes of it.  Rooted in a rational revelation from God, it is a message of veracity, authority, and integrity.  It is, as MacArthur effectively demonstrates, incompatible with any and all messages rooted in worldly wisdom.

This pocket-sized book (74pp.) packs a major punch.  It is a great gift for university students, young pastors, and anyone needing an encouraging reminder that Jesus alone is still the way, the truth, and the life.