Tag: spiritual grwoth

Quotes to Note 43: Uncut Altar Stones and Assurance

~ Bob Hayton ~ Leave a comment

I am currently reading through a soon-to-be-released devotional on the topic of assurance. The book is Assurance: Resting in God’s Salvation by William P. Smith and it will release on May 1 (from P & R Publishing).

The book contains 31 days of devotional readings. One of those readings hits home with a helpful reflection on uncut altar stones and how they teach us about assurance. I wanted to share that quote here and encourage you to pre-order a copy of this book.

Many times people wonder if they were sincere enough when they accepted Christ or when they repented over a stubborn sin. To this, Smith responds with the following:

Even before God established the tabernacle or the temple, he told his people that they could make an earthen or stone altar on which to offer their sacrifices (see Ex. 20:24-26). But he gave them explicit instructions not to shape or cut the stones (see v. 25). They had to use them as they found them. This didn’t simply distinguish the appearance of their altars from those of their surrounding neighbors. It clarified the role that his people played in atoning for their sin: none at all. They didn’t create or give life to the creatures that they sacrificed, nor did they create the materials that were used to sacrifice them. They couldn’t even set their own stamp on those materials.

The altar pictured the mind-set that the people needed to approach God. It was a mind-set that said, “I have no part in fixing the problem I have created between God and me. All that I bring to this altar is my sin. The only reason I don’t die for my sin, as God’s presence comes near, is that he has offered to accept a substitute for me. If he’s satisfied with the sacrifice, then I live. If he isn’t, then there’s nothing I can do to satisfy him.

It was never a matter of doing enough, because there was never anything you could do. By asking, “Did I do enough? Well enough?” you’re really asking, “Is God satisfied with what I’ve done?” The question that you need to ask instead is “Is God satisfied with what Christ has done?”

Amen to that!

You can pre-order this book at Amazon.com, Westminster Bookstore, or check it out direct from P&R Publishing.

Quotes to Note 30: Pastors as True Shepherds or Mere “Mutton Farmers”

~ Bob Hayton

Recently, I’ve been reading some forums that have been lamenting poor leadership in certain IFBx circles. Some have shared painful testimonies about years of harsh treatment by parents and teachers who ostensibly cared about the children’s welfare, but ultimately just rejected them (literally throwing them out, and disowning them completely) when it became clear that they weren’t keeping in step with the brand of fundamentalism these pastors and church leaders advocated.

Then I stumbled across this quote in studying for my Men’s Bible Study lesson on Mark 6:31-44 where Jesus looks on the crowds with compassion and considers that: “they were like sheep without a shepherd.” I almost started weeping when I read these words about what a true shepherd should be. Praise Jesus he is not like some of the “shepherds” I’ve known…

Most contemporary listeners are unfamiliar with the job description of a shepherd. Lena Woltering has pointed out that a shepherd “is needed only when there are no fences. He is someone who stays with his sheep at all cost, guiding, protecting, and walking with them through the fields. He’s not just a person who raises sheep.” They lead sheep to food and water and are ever mindful of the sheep’s condition (Gen. 33:13). They gather lambs that cannot keep up in their arms (Isa. 40:11). They seek out lost sheep, and when they find them, they carry them back to the fold on their sholders (Luke 15:5). They guard against predators and thieves. It is a dirty and hard job. Woltering castigates those bishops who regard themselves as “tenders of the flock” and brands them as little more than “mutton farmers.” “They build fence after fence after fence, keeping the flock within sight so they don’t have to dirty their feet plodding along the open fields.” They turn the difficult role of shepherd into a position of rank and superiority and sequester themselves from the sheep. Ezekiel’s castigation of the self-indulgent and irresponsible shepherds in his day (Ezek. 34) is no less applicable today to those who want to dominate and crush others rather than feed them. — David E. Garland, Mark, The NIV Application Commentary, pg. 258-259 [quotes from Woltering were cited in Salt of the Earth 15 (July/August, 1995), 34]