MOTHERS AND GRANDMOTHERS- CHARLES WOODRUFF

“Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus, to Timothy, my dearly beloved son: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day; Greatly desiring to see thee, being mindful of thy tears, that I may be filled with joy; When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also” 2 Timothy 1:1-5.

Recently, I was going through some photographs and memories of my grandmother on my father’s side. She was 88 years old when she passed away in Somerset, Kentucky in 1978. I was privileged to conduct her funeral.

Among her things, I found a couple of booklets. One was by Jacob Gartenhaus; a minister of the gospel who was a converted Jew. It was on the second coming of Christ (click link). http://www.ibjm.org/history  The other was a booklet distributed by her church, the Baptist Temple in Brooklyn, New York. It was What Saith the Scripture?, by John W. Aitchison. I believe these were the only two books, other than her Bibles, among her belongings she left behind.

Her family Bible was revealing in many ways. It likely was passed down from my great-great-grandmother. I probably would have much difficulty finding out my great-great-grandfather’s name had it not been for this Bible. It was a crumbling edition that dated back to the early 1800’s, but the intact family entry pages helped me immensely.

I had overlooked the other Bible, my grandmother’s personal one, until I picked it up recently. One of the passages she has marked is:

Psalm 119:9 “Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.”

This touches me greatly when I remember that she often prayed for me when I was young, and I was a very wayward sinner. I was able to tell her and my maternal grandmother that both their prayers were answered in November, 1963 when I was saved at 21 years of age. Praise the Lord!

The little booklet from the Brooklyn church was enlightening in another way. It has an entry page that shows my grandmother, Lillian A. Taylor, being baptized at the Baptist Tabernacle in Atlanta in June, 1902. The pastor there was Dr. Len Broughton, a rather famous preacher, who later pastored a church in London, England. He may be best known for founding, almost single-handedly, Georgia Baptist Hospital (now Atlanta Medical Center). http://www.materialreligion.org/documents/sept98doc.html 

Lillian, and my grandfather, Charles B. Woodruff, were married four years later on May 8, 1906. Charley, as he was called, was tragically killed in a railroad accident on October 27, 1910 when my father, Theron, was only two years old. His older brother Sam was three. Grandmother remarried a few years later to Sgt.W.C.Sievers of Kentucky, a career army man. That is how she wound up in New York for a few years. He was stationed there. I have other memories I could share, but I must move on.

In verse five of our text, Paul saw in Timothy the value of having a godly grandmother (Lois), and a godly mother (Eunice). They had a great influence on him. His faith was unfeigned (real, without hypocrisy, see Strong’s Concordance entry: Greek #505).

John R.W Stott in his commentary on 2^nd Timothy titled Guard the Gospel (IVP, 1973), says on this verse: “The most formative influence on each of us has been our parentage and our home. Hence good biographies never begin with their subject, but with his parents, and probably his grandparents as well. True, no man can inherit his parents’ faith in the way that he inherits facets of their personality. But a child can be led to faith by his parents’ teaching and prayers.”  (Emphasis mine)

This is true. It should both humble us, and put fear of God in us for ourselves, and our children. Oh, I know some rigid, philosophical, Calvinist will decry this “not depending on the sovereignty of God.” My friends, God is sovereign, absolutely in control of all things. Yet God says: Proverbs 22:6 “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”

Even Mr. John Calvin himself said: “Timothy was reared in his infancy in such a way that he could suck in godliness along with his mother’s milk.” (The Epistles of Paul to Timothy and Titus, p.292; John Calvin, written in 1548, quoted by Stott; op. cit.)

I was blessed to have two Christian grandmothers who set good examples for me. My maternal grandmother, Inez Biddy Smith, was also an inspiration to me. I was around her more than the other grandmother. She was not in the least shy about laying a hickory on my backside when I misbehaved either! I believe the only serious mistake she and my grandfather made was calling me a good boy!  I probably wasn’t worse than other kids, until my early teenage years, and then I became plain mean! I was a sinner in need of a savior!

The Smiths were old fashioned country people from Cartersville, Georgia, who never had very much money, but they both loved their grandkids. I do remember, after I was saved, and called to preach, she liked for me to read the Bible with her. We would discuss it some. She would always listen to Brother Maze Jackson, and Brother Edgar Thomas (two well-known Georgia preachers), on the radio.

When she got bedridden, and was unable to attend church, she would often talk about going home to be with the Lord, especially after my grandfather died. We called him Big Daddy. He was a pretty big guy. He had big hands. But, somehow the name Big Mama, though that was how we knew her, was a bit incorrect. She was not a big woman, at least all the time I knew her.

In her final seven years on earth, I called her “my miracle grandmother”. You see, the doctor had given up on her, because her kidneys were bad, and other things. He called the family in. My mother and her sisters met, and decided to contact a funeral home in Acworth, Georgia to pre-arrange everything. I tried courteously to talk them into waiting, but my Aunt Judy, who handled all Big Mama’s business affairs then, insisted on planning it then.

I admit she looked bad, like “death warmed over” as we used to say. I (and I am sure others), had special prayer for her. I held her little hand. I earnestly implored the Lord not to take her yet. I knew death was coming, but I didn’t give up on her yet. We stayed, and watched, and prayed much of the night.

The next morning, there seemed to be a little improvement, but I don’t know who noticed it besides me. I was exhausted, so I went home and slept. I seem to recall that I did not return the next day because of commitments, but I checked on her. She had improved slightly. I saw her again a couple days later. She looked better. We prayed again. She told me she wanted to go to be with the Lord. I asked her to hold on a while, because we would miss her so much. Then she said, “Charles, I want you to preach my funeral.” I said “Big Mama, I would be honored, but only if you wait a while. We are not ready to send you off yet. But, God’s will be done.” 

She improved day by day. In a week or so, she was able to go home, and lived seven more years! To God be the glory for her life and example! She passed away on April 8, 1988 at 84 years of age.

I preached the funeral as she requested, but a few years later than we thought! We were simply going by what the doctor had said. The sisters are all gone now, except Aunt Jessie who is 89. Mom passed away in April 2005, at 82. I want to talk about her now.

Exodus 20:12 “Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.”

My father was 36 years old when I was born. Perhaps that kept us from being closer in spirit, because when I was 13, he was 49. My mother, Vertie Lee Smith, on the other hand was young. She was only 16, nearly 17, when they married. I was born three years later, when she was 20 years old.  Mom was born in 1922. I was born in 1942. Chuck, my oldest son, was born in 1962. I always thought this was interesting.

One of the earliest memories I have is going to Sunday school and morning services at Gordon Street Baptist Church in the Cascade Heights area of Atlanta. I delighted in learning Bible verses, and singing the old hymns, such as Holy, Holy, Holy, Crown Him with Many Crowns, and He keeps Me Singing. Mom always went with me, but Dad didn’t. Dad was a good provider, a good father, but Dad was a drinking man during the time I was growing up. I’ll explain how that changed later in another article.

I made a profession of faith, but, I don’t believe I was really saved at 8 ½ years old. They thought I understood, and was ready, I thought I understood and was ready, but apparently not. Anyway, I went forward, made a profession, and later was baptized. Mom had made a profession herself, and was baptized, and perhaps I just wanted to do what she did. I can’t be sure. The invitation system itself creates an atmosphere for premature professions of faith. That is just a fact.  Almighty God is the only being in the universe that can tell you that you are saved. Let no man deceive you!

Let me be clear here. Even though I may not have been really convicted, and saved then, I would not discourage parents taking their children to church from infancy. I learned much during those days that was pretty sound Bible teaching. I continued to go to church regularly until my rebellious teen years. I still remember some of the teaching I received in several Atlanta Southern Baptist churches as we “moved our letters” when we located to a different area of the city.

I believe the greatest thing Mom ever did for me, was expose me to the Bible, Sunday School, and gospel preaching! The value of this in my life cannot be fully measured! But, this story is not really about me, it’s about Mom, yet as far as her relation to me, it is impossible not to say things about myself. So bear with me a little.

When I started to school in kindergarten, and the first grade, guess who walked me six blocks to school?  Mother!

When I got my lip severely cut on a broken swing chain after falling out of a swing at about five years old, guess who cared for me, and took me to the doctor? Mother!

When, as a teen, I got in trouble several times, who was the main person who believed in me, and tried to help me? Mother!

Things with me got worse and worse, including burglary and car theft, and I was going to be sentenced to reform school at age15 until I was18. Who do you think pleaded with the judge, and got my school Principal, Mr. DeVaughn, at Brown High School, and my pastor, Dr. O. Norman Shands of West End Baptist Church, to write letters to the judge, stating that I was a good boy? Mother!

That was a close call, so I had a bit of a reformation. Although I quit school at 16, and left home, except for drinking and fighting, I stayed out of major trouble. No felonies, although if they had caught me bringing in Dexedrine, and other illegal drugs at the Mexican border at Tijuana in 1959, I would have likely done hard time!

I got married in January 1962 to Sandra, and our first child, Chuck, was born December14th of the same year. In early November, 1963 (about three weeks before President Kennedy was shot), I was finally saved for real at a dear Christian friend’s home. Guess who didn’t believe her ‘good boy’ needed saving? Mother!

But, she soon saw that I had indeed changed. We started going to Maranatha Baptist Church in the Bolton area of Atlanta. The pastor, Jack O. Cole, was young and a fireball.  It was real different from the more staid setting in the churches we had attended when we were much younger. We were sad when Jack left after a year or so.

After a couple years of being cold in heart and unsure where to go to church, we got involved in Grace Baptist Church in the Cabbagetown area of Atlanta. http://www.nps.gov/history/nR/travel/atlanta/cab.htm  This was about a mile from historic Oakland Cemetery where my Great-Great-Grandfather is buried. http://oaklandcemetery.com/.Pastor Garland Odom preached the gospel straight and true. He believed if God called you, God would prepare you. At Grace Baptist on March 15, 1968, I surrendered to preach the gospel. After the service Pastor Odom asked me to preach in his stead on April 7, 1968. I thought, “Oh, please God! That only gives me three weeks to prepare!” I did try to prepare. I saw a man’s tattoo in the Walgreens where I worked. It said Born to Lose! This stirred a theme in me. As natural men, we are sinners, and are born to lose, unless we are born again by God’s grace. My text was Ecclesiastes 1:2:  “Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.”

I think I have preached better since then, but never more sincere. I could sense God’s presence in a special way. Mother, Dad, and my brother and sister were there. I think my grandmother was there. Some of my aunts and uncles, and cousins were there. Some of Sandra’s relatives were there. We all were in that little church in a mill village! Including regular members, it was rather crowded. There were two professions of faith, as I recall. That’s in God’s hands. But the striking thing, my mother and my dad were there! Guess who always encouraged me in my ministry after that? Mother!

Many years and many miles have passed since then. I wish I could say that Mom stayed close to God all those years. After Dad died in 1984, she quit going to church regularly. She, who had sung in the choir, and was faithful to church for a time seemed to lose interest. There were areas where I wish her life had been different. She did some things that were not right in those years. She got more materialistic. We still discussed the Bible, but it wasn’t the same.

Mom started to physically decline about ten years ago. It was Alzheimer’s. How fast that terrible disease seems to take its toll. Her memory got down to nothing. She would repeat things over and over. It got worse. Then, in October 2004, she fell and broke her hip. After that, she declined rapidly. Sadly, we had to put her in a nursing home. She developed a severe infection in March, and she died in Forsyth, Georgia on April 19, 2005. She was 82 years old. We miss her.

I always loved her and she loved me, I know. Time moves so quickly, and I have not always been where I should be with God. But God is faithful. Mom, like all of us will be, is in the hands of a just and almighty God. “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, and after this the judgment” Hebrews 9:27.   

In memory of Vertie Woodruff, Lillian Seivers, Inez Smith, and, also,

Chuck Woodruff. You all made a difference in my life! Thank God for you!

Originally written on May 12, 2006, revised May 7, 2008, May 9, 2009, May 8, 2013.

                              

                     Mary, the Mother of Jesus

How could we fail to mention the mother of our Lord? The scripture says “Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb” (Luke 1:42b). She is to receive honor as no other woman, but she is NOT to be worshiped! As a matter of fact, she herself worshiped the savior. She knew she was greatly honored, and blessed, and said so in the Magnificat (See Luke 1:46-55), yet she knew she was a sinner herself, and needed this savior that she bore in her own womb (verse 47). She knew she was NOT co-redeemer of the human race ready to receive our prayers and intercede on our behalf with Christ. There is nothing of this lying Popery in the word of God! Mary was a humble woman, chosen of God for the greatest motherhood of all time. She was a godly woman that all women could model after in character. She is to be honored, remembered and taught about -- but not worshiped. If she was on earth today, she would be saddened by those misguided souls who pray to her and worship her. She would point to Jesus Christ and say “worship Him who is the true savior”. (See John 14:6). She loved Him as her son, sure, but loved Him more as her “Saviour which is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11). Mary is truly the most honored mother in the Bible. The most honored mother of all time.

Published by Charles Woodruff- email: oursong2000@yahoo.com 

 

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PREACH TO ALL--CHARLES WOODRUFF

Perhaps you, dear reader, are one who believes that it is only necessary to preach to the saved --the sheep --the elect. Not so, my brethren! The example given us by Phillip and the Ethiopian eunuch,  Paul and Silas, and Barnabas, Peter, Apollos, Aquila and Priscilla, Timothy, and all through the New Testament tells us what our calling is to be. In examples given, we see some believed, and some didn't. When Timothy was told "Do the work of an evangelist (Greek = bearer of glad tidings), make full proof of thy ministry” (2 Timothy 4:5b), this job was not to just carry a message to the sheep, but to all men. Otherwise, how would you identify the lost sheep, i.e., the unsaved elect? He said "My sheep hear my voice" The sheep hear; the goats (non-elect) do not hear. That is how you ultimately tell the difference.Eusebius in the third century (which was about 1400 years earlier than anyone called Baptist, Old Baptist, Primitive Baptist, Methodist, Calvinist, Lutheran, or just about any other group), says: "men do the work of evangelists, leaving their homes to preach Christ, and deliver the written Gospels to those who were ignorant of the faith.” (H. E., 3:37, Fausset’s Bible Dictionary).

Some have the idea that since God is absolutely sovereign, and in control of all of His affairs, that God doesn’t use men, or that He hasn’t used men since the apostles; that the great commission isn’t for us today, and it was fulfilled by the apostles. If the great commission was only for apostles, by the same logic “Feed my sheep---Feed my Lambs” (which some preachers claim is their only obligation), was also only for apostles. Who was told to feed the sheep? Wasn’t it Peter? (See John 21:15-17). What was he, if not an apostle? So, by the same logic, if you are not to preach to the lost today, you cannot feed the sheep either,
since the apostles are all gone! Think about it! This nonsense of “only apostles sent” is totally unscriptural!
Timothy was a bishop (a pastor), not one of the apostles, yet he was told to “Do the work of an evangelist” (II Timothy 4:5), which is preaching to the lost!What we must see is that God still uses men. The true teaching of God's sovereignty shows God uses whom He chooses, when He chooses, and in what way He chooses! The false teaching of some extreme Calvinists generally teaches that God doesn’t use anybody, and nobody can really do anything in the service of God.

It is true no human can accomplish anything for God, unless He divinely enables them, but it is evident from scripture that He has, and still does enable men to do His work. There is a great commission job for us today, just as there was a similar job for Moses in his day, for Elijah in his day, Peter and Paul in their day. It is still the job of men called of God to “Go ye therefore and teach all nations” (Matthew 28:19). Do you know how I know this (besides being called of God myself)? I know because the Lord Jesus in the same verse said “Baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world” (Matthew 28:19-20). The part regarding “Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you” shows that Christ meant for His disciples (not just the twelve, but all His followers), to train others to do that which they were trained to do-Evangelism! This command has never been rescinded. We are to carry it out today, as in the first century! It is valid until the end of the world!

Those He addressed that day certainly did not live until the end of the world, and the commandment is in force until then. Who is going to obey it? Who is going to carry it out? The answer is: all those he has called through the ages. People like Polycarp, John Wycliffe, Hugh Latimer, William Tyndale, John Hus, Samuel Rutherford, John Bunyan, Thomas Watson, Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Gill, John and Charles Wesley, Brownlow North, William Carey, Hudson Taylor, Adoniram Judson, Amy Carmichael, David Brainerd, Jonathon Edwards, George Whitefield, Charles Spurgeon, D.L. Moody, Arthur W. Pink,George Muller, David Martyn Lloyd-Jones, A.W. Tozer, Vance Havner, Leonard Ravenhill and Jim Elliott.These are gone on, but the world is still here, and God still raises up men (and sometimes women), to do His bidding, i.e., His work, even today!

In Ezekiel God warned there would be blood on the hands of the watchman who failed to warn of impending doom. “When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul” (Ezekiel 3:18, 19). Even though this is in the Old Testament, the principle has not been negated. There is blood on the hands of those who sit idly by and do not obey the great commission; because to not obey the great commission is not to obey the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. He said “If you love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15). So, from scripture we can see that any man who claims he is called to preach, and will not preach indiscriminately to all that he can, is disobeying God, and ought to shut up, or repent! It is the obligation of the preacher to “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15).

If you are not interested in reaching sinners for Christ, you had better examine yourself to see if you are indeed in the faith (see II Corinthians 13:5). It is not enough to believe you are elect,or hope you are elect! Remember He said "Why call ye me Lord, Lord, and do not the things that I say?" (Luke 6:46)
I weep because of sinners in my own family and all around me.God wants us to have a heart of compassion for the lost. I also weep for some friends who do not see the truth of the necessity of preaching to the lost. They feel it is “Arminian” to advocate doing so. No it is just biblical! Jesus said “And ye shall be witnesses unto me, both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth”(Acts 1:8b).

In 1 Corinthians 1:21(b) "it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe." Then in 1 Corinthians 3:4-6 " For while one saith I am of Paul: and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal? Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man?" Both these verses show the design of God to use his ministers (yes, even unworthy men who have themselves been washed in the blood of the Lamb), preaching His Word, which God alone quickens to the saving of the soul. Listen to the word of God on the matter “In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise” (Ephesians 1:11-13).

Call it "gospel regeneration" if you will, but that is God's design to save His elect.He regenerates them and opens their understanding in conjunction with His word"Of His own will begat He us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures" (James 1:18). These are some of the "every creatures" that are talked about in Mark 16:15 who have been regenerated and converted. Since the word is said to be the instrument God uses in begetting (or birthing), it seems to violate scripture exegesis that one would be regenerated, and then days, months, or even years might pass before he is converted and believes the gospel!Some even teach that you may be regenerated and remain an idol-worshipping heathen
all your life, never hearing of Jesus Christ! Away with such nonsense!

I want you to know that no one believes in the sovereignty of God any more than I do. But I also believe in the declaration of the gospel to all. The great commission was not just for the apostles, it was for all time until He comes again. God is absolute Sovereign in all of His doings. He does the saving. He sends revival when it pleases Him. Saying this, He didn't leave His preachers without tasks.

These are our tasks or obligations. First: glorify God.Think about it.As practically all the catechisms say "What is the chief end of man?" Reply "Man's chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.” The scripture says “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God." (1 Corinthians 10:31). That is first, above all else.Then comes teaching the saved, then reaching the lost, in that order of importance, the way I understand it.

Then you know about John 21:15-17, our obligation to“feed the sheep”(those in the churches who are revealed as elect, appear to be elect, or likely might be).So that is second of our duties as called men. Feed, or instruct the sheep who have evidenced salvation.

Third: there is the obligation of reaching the lost,which is the responsibility that many don’t want to hear about, but you had better hear, my friend! Paul says in Romans 1:14"I am a debtor both to the Greeks and the barbarians: both to the wise and the unwise. So as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are in Rome also." Paul knew there were elect yet out there who needed the gospel, but he did not know who they were. None of us know who they are.Only God knows who His elect are. Paul earnestly beseeches sinners to be reconciled to God here in 2 Corinthians 5:18-20 "And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God." He is both debtor to the lost, and an ambassador for Christ!

Salvation is all of grace (see Ephesians 2:8-10), yet God uses those He has saved to reach those He will save. Are you usable? You may say “I am unworthy”. We all are that. But, to be usable means that you are saved and walking with God. It does not mean you are perfect, but you are trusting in Christ, and endeavoring to follow His teachings. If you have learned about Him, you will know what to say about Him. He will guide you in the matter. You see, when we are saved, we acquire a hunger to see others saved. We will desire to tell others about Him.It actually becomes a grief to us that so many reject and refuse the gospel. But God tells in His word that it will be this way. “Many are called, but few are chosen” (Matthew 22: 14). “And some believed the things which were spoken, and some believed not” (Acts 28: 24).

It is not my suggestion that we hold unkindness toward those who differ with us on salvation.God has used men and women who see things differently in regard to His sovereignty.In my judgement however,holding
a weak view of God’s control is a hindrance to the gospel.It is most successful when we see that God is the originator and controller of salvation.Once a person sees this in the Bible he knows that God’s will is going to ultimately prevail. Some of the most useful servants of God through the ages have been those who firmly held a balanced view of God’s sovereignty. I am convinced we need this in our day to find the proper place, the proper view of who God is and see that His purpose will prevail. We cannot have a God who is defeated and wimpy. That is not the God of scripture. Think about it dear friends.

“For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth. And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed. And the word of the Lord was published throughout all the region“(Acts 13:47-49).

As J. I. Packer said in his classic book, Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God"When you pray for
unconverted people, you do so on the assumption that it is in God's power to bring them to faith" (1) Thus, true believers are forced to believe in God's sovereignty, EVEN THOUGH THEY MAY PROTEST THAT THEY DO NOT! I honestly believe they haven’t really thought it completely through.Actually, I believe,deep inside, every real Christian realizes God is Sovereign, whether he can express it or not.

As Mr. Packer said:"I do not intend to spend any time at all proving to you the general truth that God is sovereign in His world. There is no need; for I know that, if you are a Christian you believe this already."(2) At first, I thought maybe Bro. Packer had not met some of the Christians I had met! But he clarifies: "How do I know that? Because I know that, if you are a Christian, you pray; and the recognition of God's Sovereignty is the basis for your prayers."(3) Then he makes this searching statement: "You would never dream of dividing the credit for salvation between God and yourself. You have never for one moment supposed that the decisive contribution to your salvation was yours and not God's. You have never told God that, while you are grateful for the means and opportunities of grace that He gave you, you realize you have to thank, not Him, but yourself, for the fact you responded to His call. Your heart revolts at the very thought of talking to God in such terms. In fact you thank Him no less for the gift of faith and repentance than for the gift of a Christ to trust and turn to” (4)

(1)Taken from Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God by J. I. Packer., page 15 ©1961 by Inter-Varsity
Press, England, and used by permission of Inter-Varsity Press, Downers Grove, IL 60515. (2) ibid., p.11; (3) ibid, p.11; (4) ibid, p.13.

CHARLES SPURGEON’S FIRST WORDS 
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE
 
March 25, 1861 — From the Sermon "The First Sermon in the Tabernacle"
Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit  Vol 7, pg. 169, Acts 5:10

I WOULD PROPOSE THAT THE SUBJECT OF THE MINISTRY IN THIS HOUSE, AS LONG AS THIS PLATFORM SHALL STAND, AND AS LONG AS THIS HOUSE SHALL BE FREQUENTED BY WORSHIPPERS, SHALL BE THE PERSON OF JESUS CHRIST. I AM NEVER ASHAMED TO AVOW MYSELF A CALVINIST; I DO NOT HESITATE TO TAKE THE NAME OF BAPTIST; BUT IF I AM ASKED WHAT IS MY CREED, I REPLY —"IT IS JESUS CHRIST."

MY VENERATED PREDECESSOR,
DR. GILL, HAS LEFT A BODY OF DIVINITY, ADMIRABLE AND EXCELLENT IN ITS WAY; BUT THE BODY OF DIVINITY TO WHICH I WOULD PIN & BIND MYSELF FOR EVER, GOD HELPING ME, IS NOT HIS SYSTEM, OR ANY OTHER HUMAN TREATISE; BUT JESUS CHRIST,
WHO IS THE SUM & SUBSTANCE OF THE GOSPEL, WHO IS IN HIMSELF ALL THEOLOGY, THE INCARNATION OF EVERY PRECIOUS TRUTH, THE ALL--GLORIOUS PERSONAL EMBODIMENT OF THE WAY, THE TRUTH, &; THE LIFE.

Published by Charles Woodruff- email: oursong2000@yahoo.com

NECESSITY OF THE RESURRECTION-CHARLES WOODRUFF

“Now if Christ be preached that He rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen: And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain” (1 Corinthians 15: 12-14).

Once again I am drawn to 1 Corinthians chapter 15. The first ten verses of this chapter are often called “the gospel in a nutshell”. Because Easter Sunday is near, we are hearing many things in the media and elsewhere regarding the subject of the resurrection. I recall that in 2006, one of the things that caught my ear was a radio skit on the PBS program, Prairie Home Companion. In the comedy skit, a man and wife were talking. He brought up going to church tomorrow, since it was Easter. He said “after all, that’s when He rose from the grave”. Her answer was “Well, I have my doubts.”  While this was a radio play, this is the position so many take on this subject - “I have my doubts.” I or no one else can convince you, only God can. May He do so!

If you doubt He arose, you doubt the core of the Christian faith. You might as well not claim to be a Christian if you haven’t settled this issue.  I am not speaking here of someone that is very new, as an inquirer in the faith, or one who has never heard the gospel. But there are some, who have attended church for years, and been involved in many church activities and events, may have graduated from a Christian school, got married in the church, and even professed faith, still attend church, yet doubt the resurrection!

Well, you are not alone. The apostle Paul, who wrote the letters to the Corinthians to help them with the same problem, spoke from experience. He had doubted. As Saul of Tarsus, had even hated Christians and persecuted them for teaching that Jesus was alive again. He thought he was serving God by doing so. Yet God revealed the truth to him! On the Damascus road he was knocked down and blinded for a time. He knew it was the Lord whom he had fought against that brought him to his knees. The same Jesus he persecuted had been crucified, dead and buried. At first, he wasn’t buying into “the myth” some Jews were preaching that Christ was raised. Now he knew He was alive! Later when his eyes were opened he became the mighty apostle Paul. Now he is writing to the people of Corinth, and all of us, in this magnificent chapter on the resurrection. I might add that no one could show the resurrection like Paul

He questions particularly why some in the church say there is no resurrection of the dead. We could ask this today.  One of the doctrines that all Christendom claims to believe in their various creeds is the resurrection of Christ. Catholic and Protestant, Orthodox and Coptic, Fundamentalists, Evangelicals and Liberals, Calvinists and Arminians -- All claim to believe this!  Yet like the wife in the skit, many doubt it!

You see the doctrine of the resurrection is not a ritual just to be remembered at Easter time. We observe the resurrection every Sunday, really every time the local church meets to worship Christ, who is risen from among the dead.  When I was in Russia, I saw some of the colorful ceremonies of the Russian Orthodox Church, which generally does not preach the true gospel, but has a formality. One of their rituals on Easter is when the priest says several times “Christ is risen”; the people give a response “Christ is risen indeed!” It is their ritual. Yet this must be our heart response if we are real Christians!

Paul says in verse 13-14, “But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen: and if Christ be not risen, then our preaching is vain, and your faith is also vain.” (KJV with phrasing modified). Can you grasp what he is saying? If the teaching of the resurrection is untrue, Christ is not risen, and He is still dead! That also means that all the apostles preaching and all the preaching before and since is vain! In other words, as it says in the Amplified Bible, it amounts to nothing!  For those who were preaching in the Old Testament times who were looking for Messiah, and Christ and his disciples who preached with Him while He walked on the earth, as well as those who now preach of his saving grace and his glorious return in the future, are all deluded if He is not risen.

To summarize: Paul goes on to say in verse 15 we are false witnesses because we testified that He lives. He says in verse16: if the dead stay dead forever, Christ is still dead!

In verse 17: if that is so, you are still dead sinners. In verse 18: all those who have died before now, believing in Christ are deluded too- they are still dead!

He sums up this line of thought so marvelously that we ought to remember the following verse every day! “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable” (1 Corinthians 15:19). Most miserable! Jean Valjean in the great Victor Hugo novel Les Miserables was not as miserable in all he went through as the apostle would be, or as you and I would be, if there was no resurrection.

But, thank God, Hallelujah! There is a resurrection. Christ is risen, and we who have been born again will also be raised from the dead (If indeed we must keep our appointment with death). “And as it is appointed unto man once to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). Some will not have to die, but will be alive when He comes as Paul points out in verses 51-55 of this glorious 15^th chapter of 1^st Corinthians. I urge you to read it all. I trust and pray it will bless you.

To sum up what is taught here, we must say that without a doubt Jesus Christ lived, was judged and crucified for our sins, and most importantly, He rose from the dead. If He did not, all we have is a dead, formal, lifeless religion, which is unable to save anyone. Without the risen Christ, we have nothing! How wonderful that it is, that indeed He is risen from among the dead, and now lives and makes intercession for us. He is the only Lord and savior, for all time. Hallelujah!

“But now is Christ risen from the dead, and became the firstfruits of them that slept” (1 Corinthians 15:20).

“Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven among men, whereby we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)

Published by Charles Woodruff- email: oursong2000@yahoo.com