July Pastoral Letter

 

Greetings in the Name of the Lord!

It is amazing to me that we are already at the beginning of the 2011-2012 school year. Even more mind-boggling to me is that Lily will be beginning Kindergarten at South Jones Elementary on August 8th and Mackenzie will be starting pre-school at Laurel Christian School on the 9th. It only seems like yesterday that I was holding each of them in the delivery room at Magee-Women’s Hospital in Pittsburgh. If I am already affected by the commencement of their respective educational journeys I cannot imagine what it will be like when graduation comes down the line!

As we come to the close of our study of 2^nd Peter we have seen the Apostle’s dying concern for his flock. In 2 Peter 3:1 the Apostle Peter uses the word “Beloved” to describe the folks he has been instructing and warning concerning the many false teachers that are reaching out to them while he has been away. We are reminded by this the loving, tender relationship a true shepherd will have with his flock. A shepherd that does not care for the flock will not stay with the flock when wolves threaten but will run like the hireling Jesus mentions in John 10:12-13. Peter’s letter also reminds us that the Christian Life is not an easy one. The Scriptures require of us to follow the Law of God with a loving heart, seeing Gospel Obedience as a Gospel Promise and as a pleasure, not a duty. This can cause us hardships sometimes when the culture and/or even family or friends want us to do that which God Himself has called us not to do. In our next sermon series beginning August 14^th we will look at the trials and tribulations of a woman who had to make some very tough decisions that concerned following her earthly family and the god of the place of her birth or to go with her new family to the place the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had given to His People. Through Ruth’s journey we will also learn more about our deliverance and redemption by Jesus Christ as well as the reward given to those who persevere in faith and righteousness.

I again want to welcome you to join us for Sunday evening Bible Study at 5:00pm in the Pastor’s Study. We have been enjoying the study and hope that you will consider meeting with us. As always if there is anything I can do for you do not hesitate to give me a ring or stop by the study during the week. Brandy, Lily, Mackenzie, Iain, and I will be visiting Brandy’s family in Cincinnati and then attending my Father’s 60^th Birthday Party at my sister and brother-in-law’s home in Kingsport, Tennessee. We will be leaving after worship on the 31^st of July and will return on the evening of the 7^th. If you need anything while we are gone please contact one of the Elders.

In God’s Love,

 

Rev. Benjamin P. Glaser, M. Div.

Pastor, Ellisville Presbyterian Church (Independent)

www.ellisvillepres.org

John Calvin On the Need For Admonition

John Calvin on 2 Peter 3:1-2

To make this more evident, he shews that they could not be beyond danger, except they were well fortified, because they would have to contend with desperate men, who would not only corrupt the purity of the faith, by false opinions, but do what they could to subvert entirely the whole faith.

By saying, I stir up your pure mind, he means the same as though he had said, “I wish to awaken you to a sincerity of mind.” And the words ought to be thus explained, “I stir up your mind that it may be pure and bright.” For the meaning is, that the minds of the godly become dim, and as it were contract rust, when admonitions cease. But we also hence learn, that men even endued with learning, become, in a manner, drowsy, except they are stirred up by constant warnings.

It now appears what is the use of admonitions, and how necessary they are; for the sloth of the flesh smothers the truth once received, and renders it inefficient, except the goads of warnings come to its aid. It is not then enough, that men should be taught to know what they ought to be, but there is need of godly teachers, to do this second part, deeply to impress the truth on the memory of their hearers. And as men are, by nature, for the most part, fond of novelty and thus inclined to be fastidious, it is useful for us to bear in mind what Peter says, so that we may not only willingly suffer ourselves to be admonished by others, but that every one may also exercise himself in calling to mind continually the truth, so that our minds may become resplendent with the pure and clear knowledge of it.

True or False Teaching?

True or False Teaching?

By Rev. Benjamin P. Glaser

pastor@ellisvillepres.org

www.ellisvillepres.org

In 2 Peter 2:1-3 the Apostle Peter warns us that there will be many false teachers in our day that will try their collective best to confuse and lead astray the people of God. The question we should ask is how can we tell the “false teachers” from the “true teachers”? Well the Apostle helps us to understand how we can do this by reminding us where it is we receive the truth in the first place. Peter reminds us that it is not from the clever minds of men that we receive the beliefs Christians hold dear but from the Holy Spirit itself. He says in 2 Peter 1:21, “For prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” What this tells us in the context of the question asked is that we can identify the truth of the teaching by comparing it to the words of the Bible. One of my favorite stories in all the Bible comes from Acts 17. In that chapter we learn about the Bereans, who searched the Scriptures to see if what the Apostle Paul was teaching them was true. The Bereans give us a perfect example of how we can tell false teachers from true teachers. However one thing we also learn in the Book of Acts is that the Bereans were not able to understand these things in a vacuum. In chapter 16 we learn that in the conversion of Lydia, “The Lord opened her heart to heed the things spoken by Paul.” What does this have to do with discerning true from false teaching? It reminds us that God in His grace reveals the truth to His people. It is not because we are clever ourselves that we know truth from falsity, but because God in his mercy has opened our eyes and our ears that we may know His truth (Isaiah 35:4-5).

(Appearing in the Laurel Leader-Call)