THE RIGHTEOUS ONE

As I turned to my notebooks this week and reviewed my attention to the prophecy of Jeremiah, I noted that I had touched on this book only four times in thirteen years of regular preaching over the last twenty-four years. I well remember one of my two conservative professors in seminary describing the ministry of Jeremiah in the declining years of the Jewish Kingdom. Hardly a successful ministry I decided, yet the prophet remained faithful year in and year out. The people would seldom listen to him even though times were rough and his revelation from the Lord was ignored or even condemned. The people much prefered the State Religion of their time where their ears were tickled and their fancies encouraged.

My seminary classmates and I admired Jeremiah's faithfulness in the extremities of his service when the Gospel was not in season as theologians sometimes phrase it. In Great Britain in the last generation there was a very fine pastor by the name of Dr Martin Lloyd-Jones. His books are full of hope and prayer that a new revival might be released upon his country and people. And for that revival he worked and prayed throughout his entire ministry. Yet, a massive revival and a return to the orthodoxy of the true faith did not happen. Here and there in Britain as well as around the world, there are a handful of faithful congregations that love the Lord enough to read, study, listen to and obey His revealed word. Yet, those sincere churches are in the minority.

Too many pastors have to worry about bringing in as many goats as they can lay their hands on. Others must keep the goats happy enough to pay the monthly bills. And in both cases the gospel message is usually tweaked to avoid upsetting any of the customers as they are increasingly being viewed today. Strong and successful churches are seen as a necessity to speak to the corporate world that only pays attention to other successful organizations like itself. Within the last few months we have heard of one social organization that has chosen to reorganize itself in the Corporate manner in order to make its ministry more effective. And of course, every denomination of any size is afflicted and affected by the Church Growth & Management crowd to measure success by the numbers. And unfortunately any church that does not show a dramatic increase is suspected of being less than faithful.

Here at Christ Covenant you all know that we have been trying to do carefully and within God's providence, a public witness that will bear fruit. We know too that when Paul set out to take the Gospel to the pagan gentile world, he used every skill at his command to witness in the cities that he touched. Only when he came to Cornith, did he resolve to preach only Christ and Him crucified and to downplay the techniques and arguments of earlier attempts. Certainly, every ministry of Paul showed some minimal progress, yet only at Cornith do we read of a success that is the envy of every congregation then and now. It was in humility that Paul went to Cornith and he used the theme and phrases of Jeremiah to illustrate how God truly works in all times and places.

"Let not the wise man boast ... let not the strong man boast ..."

"let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth."