Putting Christ First
"For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures" (1 Corinthians 15:3).
St. Augustine, Painting by Champaigne, 1660.
It was Augustine who said that understanding the gospel correctly is a consequence of belief. Augustine said this in opposition to those who thought that understanding the gospel correctly would produce belief. The difference between these two statements is huge. One says that belief produces understanding, the other says that understanding produces belief. If belief results from a correct understanding of the gospel or a correct understanding of Scripture, then all we need to do is to teach it correctly and people will believe. In contrast, Augustine's view is that belief is necessary in order to acquire a correct understanding of the gospel or of Scripture. It all starts with belief, not understanding.
The difference involves regeneration by the Holy Spirit versus enlightenment through education. Augustine was saying that regeneration is different than a correct understanding. He said that the one leads to the other, but the other doesn't lead to the one. It's a one way deal. He said this because he knew from personal experience that his own regeneration allowed him to see things that he had previously known in a different light. He still knew the same things, but he knew them differently after his regeneration than he had known them before it. There was more involved than information.
from Arsy Varsy, Reclaiming the Gospel, by Phillip A. Ross
Evangelistic Opportunity Before the Modern Church
by Scott Brown, March 22, 2006
I believe that we are involved in the greatest evangelistic opportunity before the church today: the salvation of millions of children under the evangelistic and discipleship ministry of fathers and mothers in the home. This is not the only mission field, to be sure, but it is perhaps the most neglected mission field before the church in our time.
The Bible calls fathers to preach the gospel to their children everyday, when they "sit in their house, when they walk by the way, when they lie down and when they rise up" (Deuteronomy 6:7). A father is to pass on the knowledge of God to the next generation. He is commanded to expose his children day by day to the greatness of God, the perfections of His ways, and the great stories that explain His nature and character. This kind of instruction gives children a true understanding of the gospel.
How different this is compared to sending your children to an evangelistic crusade or a concert in the hope that they might be saved. …more
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Mid-Ohio Valley Reformed Fellowship is an informal gathering of Christians who are interested in bringing genuine reform to Christians in the Mid-Ohio Valley.
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Our concern is faithful Christian doctrine (what the Bible teaches), and its role as the basis upon which genuine Christian unity and peace are founded. How can we actually be Christ's church in our time — the Twenty-First Century of our Lord Jesus Christ? The recent development and failure of the Church Growth Movement has added to the growth of churches, but has also been a source of new problems. Those problems are also growing. What can we do about them?
Honest self-analysis is the first step to the recovery of the distinctively Christian mission in the world. But we must be cautious because a prescription without a proper diagnosis can be harmful. So, we begin with diagnosis.