{"id":2974,"date":"2014-08-23T11:06:15","date_gmt":"2014-08-23T11:06:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/?p=2974"},"modified":"2014-08-23T11:06:15","modified_gmt":"2014-08-23T11:06:15","slug":"what-a-lesson-is-here-for-ministers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/?p=2974","title":{"rendered":"What a lesson is here for ministers!"},"content":{"rendered":"

What a lesson is here for ministers!
\n<\/strong>
\n(J. C. Philpot, \u201cThe Wisdom of Men and the Power
\nof God\u201d Please forward this \u2018gem\u2019 to your pastors!)<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd my speech and my preaching were not
\nwith enticing words of man\u2019s wisdom, but
\nin demonstration of the Spirit and of power\u201d
\n1 Cor. 2:4<\/a><\/p>\n

The word \u201centicing\u201d is as we now say, \u201cpersuasive.\u201d
\nIt includes, therefore, every branch of skillful oratory,
\nwhether it be logical reasoning to convince our
\nunderstanding\u2014or appeals to our feelings to stir up
\nour passions\u2014or new and striking ideas to delight
\nour intellect\u2014or beautiful and eloquent language to
\nplease and captivate our imagination.<\/p>\n

All these \u201centicing words\u201d of man\u2019s wisdom\u2014the very
\nthings which our popular preachers most speak and aim
\nat\u2014this great apostle renounced, discarded, and rejected!<\/p>\n

He might have used them all if he liked. He possessed
\nan almost unequalled share of natural ability and great
\nlearning\u2014a singularly keen, penetrating intellect\u2014a
\nwonderful command of the Greek language\u2014a flow of
\nideas most varied, striking, and original\u2014and powers of
\noratory and eloquence such as have been given to few.
\nHe might therefore have used enticing words of man\u2019s
\nwisdom, had he wished or thought it right to do so\u2014but
\nhe would not. He saw what deceptiveness was in them,
\nand at best they were mere arts of oratory. He saw that
\nthese enticing words\u2014though they might . . .
\ntouch the natural feelings,
\nwork upon the passions,
\ncaptivate the imagination,
\nconvince the understanding,
\npersuade the judgment, and to a certain extent force
\ntheir way into men\u2019s minds\u2014yet when all was done that
\ncould thus be done, it was merely man\u2019s wisdom which
\nhad done it.<\/p>\n

Earthly wisdom cannot communicate heavenly faith.
\nPaul would not therefore use enticing words of man\u2019s
\nwisdom, whether it were force of logical argument, or
\nappeal to natural passions, or the charms of vivid
\neloquence, or the beauty of poetical composition, or
\nthe subtle nicety of well arranged sentences. He would
\nnot use any of these enticing words of man\u2019s wisdom
\nto draw people into a profession of religion\u2014when their
\nheart was not really touched by God\u2019s grace, or their
\nconsciences wrought upon by a divine power.<\/p>\n

He came to win souls for Jesus Christ, not converts
\nto his own powers of oratorical persuasion\u2014to turn
\nmen from darkness to light, and from the power of
\nSatan unto God\u2014not to charm their ears by poetry
\nand eloquence\u2014but to bring them out of the vilest
\nof sins that they might be washed, sanctified, and
\njustified by the Spirit of God\u2014and not entertain
\nor amuse their minds while sin and Satan still
\nmaintained dominion in their hearts!<\/p>\n

All the labor spent in bringing together a church
\nand congregation of professing people by the power
\nof logical argument and appeals to their natural
\nconsciences would be utterly lost, as regards fruit
\nfor eternity\u2014for a profession so induced by him and
\nso made by them would leave them just as they were . . .
\nin all the depths of unregeneracy,
\nwith their sins unpardoned,
\ntheir persons unjustified,
\nand their souls unsanctified.<\/p>\n

He therefore discarded all these ways of winning
\nover converts\u2014as deceitful to the souls of men,
\nand as dishonoring to God.<\/p>\n

It required much grace to do this\u2014to throw aside
\nwhat he might have used, and renounce what most
\nmen, as gifted as he, would have gladly used.<\/p>\n

What a lesson is here for ministers!<\/p>\n

How anxious are some men to shine as great
\npreachers! How they covet and often aim at
\nsome grand display of what they call eloquence
\nto charm their hearers\u2014and win praise and honor
\nto self!<\/p>\n

How others try to argue men into religion, or by
\nappealing to their natural feelings, sometimes to
\nfrighten them with pictures of hell, and sometimes
\nto allure them by descriptions of heaven.<\/p>\n

But all such arts, for they are no better, must be
\ndiscarded by a true servant of God. Only the Spirit
\ncan reveal Christ, taking of the things of Christ, and
\nshowing them unto us, applying the word with power
\nto our hearts, and bringing the sweetness, reality,
\nand blessedness of divine things into our soul.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd my speech and my preaching were not
\nwith enticing words of man\u2019s wisdom, but in
\ndemonstration of the Spirit and of power.\u201d<\/p>\n

Unless we have a measure of the same demonstration
\nof the Spirit, all that is said by us in the pulpit drops to
\nthe ground\u2014it has no real effect\u2014there is no true or
\nabiding fruit\u2014no fruit unto eternal life. If there be in it
\nsome enticing words of man\u2019s wisdom, it may please
\nthe mind of those who are gratified by such arts\u2014it may
\nstimulate and occupy the attention for the time\u2014but
\nthere it ceases, and all that has been heard fades away
\nlike a dream of the night.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What a lesson is here for ministers! (J. C. Philpot, \u201cThe Wisdom of Men and the Power of God\u201d Please forward this \u2018gem\u2019 to your pastors!) \u201cAnd my speech and my preaching were not with enticing words of man\u2019s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power\u201d 1 Cor. 2:4 The word \u201centicing\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,44],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2974","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-author-j-c-philpot","category-gospel-preaching"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2974","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2974"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2974\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2975,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2974\/revisions\/2975"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2974"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2974"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2974"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}