Ernest Creux: Missionary to the Tsongas

Posted on 3 October 2024 by Seth Meyers

The Swiss Mission to the Tsongas

  1. In Switzerland in 1861, a 16 year old man named Ernest Creux devoted himself to be a missionary.
  2. Matt. 24:14 convicted him: This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.
  3. His dear friend Paul Berthoud agreed to go with him.
  4. The church decided to send them to Africa, and the easiest way to enter at that time was through the Cape.
  5. At 26 years old, Creux arrived in Lesotho. Nine months later, Paul joined him.
  6. 1873, Creux and Berthoud depart from Lesotho and travel to Limpopo.
  7. At this time, cannibalism was still practiced among both the Tsonga and Venda peoples after victory in a war.
  8. There were no schools, no Bibles, no shops, no churches, and no clothing (or very little).
  9. Further, the black slave trade was still active with black chiefs trying to buy guns from the white men with black slaves stolen from other tribes.
  10. They purchase a farm to use as a mission station, and name it Valdezia after their home town, Vaud.
  11. Hundreds of years earlier, the Waldensians lived in area where France, Italy, and Switzerland joined.
  12. In French they were called the Vaudois—and their descendants brought the gospel to the Tsongas.
  13. 1876, The first Tsonga believer: Lydia Sehlumula.
  14. The two missionaries were both imprisoned for 6 weeks by the British government because it was afraid their preaching would stir up political trouble.
  15. 1875, Ernest’s little girl dies.
  16. 1879, Paul’s wife and little girl dies.
  17. Within four weeks of April alone (presumably 1879), each family lost two more children.
  18. Example: In 1835 alone, 30 of 78 missionaries sent to West Africa died within one year.
  19. 1879, Paul Berthoud returns to Switzerland broken in health and family.
  20. The record in Tsonga records that “the love these men had for the black people was greater than the love which they had for themselves.”
  21. One Tsonga believer stood at the grave of the children as they were being buried: “You have passed my parents in love for me. These graves will judge anyone who rejects the the doctrine of God [that you have brought.]”
  22. Circa 1880, Creux purchases the farm named Elim in hopes that the sicknesses will be less severe.
  23. 1882, Chief Njhakanjhaka at Elim declared that the people could learn from the missionaries if they wanted to.
  24. Before the end of 1882, the church in Elim was sending out Tsonga men to preach in other villages.
  25. After 10 years of work among the Tsongas: 5 churchplants; 180 baptized members; 350 in attendance each Sunday; 1-2 missionaries.
  26. Compare this with the German missionaries working 50 kilometers away among the Vendas: 184 church members after 10 years; 326 after 20 years; 4-5 missionary couples.
  27. 1884-1889, Creux, his wife, and four other children return to Switzerland.
  28. Creux commonly wrote songs in Tsonga for the churches, at least 72.
  29. 1898, 3,000 people gather for the 25th anniversary of the missionaries.
  30. At this celebration, Chief Njhakanjhaka broke down and testified publicly that God had humbled him and made him to believe.
  31. 1902, Creux left Elim to be stationed in Pretoria at 57 years old.
  32. There in Pretoria he opened churches for the lepers and other terminally ill Africans until he was 79.
  33. His tomb stone reads: “For 53 years a missionary and a father in God to the Native Peoples.”
  34. His wife passed away after him in 1932.
  35. The Tsonga Bible was first translated in 1907, and it was revised in 1929, the year of Creux’s death. It is this translation that we still use today.
  36. The Swiss missionaries continued to come and join the team. They published the Bible, wrote a song book, developed Tsonga grammars, started schools, and opened a hospital.
  37. But Satan was active at the same time. The final chapter of the Swiss mission is a fulfillment of the warning in 1 Timothy 4:1.
  38. They joined the liberal World Council of Churches. Some of their missionaries taught evolution and the social gospel (see Junod’s two volume anthropology).
  39. The change was so complete that a Tsonga man and member of the Swiss Church in 2013 attacked the missionaries as rude, aggressive, thieving, brutal, selfish, fierce, hypocritical, treacherous, money-loving tricksters. (And that is only the first 3 pages of his 16 page attack on the missionaries and Christianity.) Halala, “Matimu ya EPCSA”
  40. Though they gave us the Bible, I have found very few Christians–born again, Bible readers–among the Tsongas.

Lessons

  1. Jesus calls us to sacrifice our lives and even our families for the evangelization of the lost.
  2. Men do not easily leave their religion. They will pretend to be Christians in order to get some benefit. But it is rare that they are prepared to leave their culture, way of life, beliefs, and sinful habits.
  3. Many good beginnings slip into apostasy after time.
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5 Reasons Every Christian Should Vote for Trump

Posted on 1 October 2024 by Seth Meyers
  1. The unique strengths of America ought to be protected.

America sends out the most missionaries by far of any country in the world. Practically speaking, its wealth and freedom are two major reasons why the churches are able to devote so much energy to missions. Of course, He who sits in the Heavens can raise up missionaries from an impoverished realm of men dwelling in huts. But it has not been so in history, and we ought not to count on miracles to save us from poor husbandry of such a great gift to the modern church as America’s believers.

Every missionary-loving Christian should rejoice at the prosperity of America, but that is not all. Its emphasis on freedom of speech and equality under the law has influenced many governments around the world in a more Biblical, humane direction. The best books and the best publishing houses are largely coming from the USA. The strongest opposition to Islamic terrorism comes from the USA.

Yes, good things can come from hard times, and perhaps that is God’s sovereign will for the future of the country that has sent more missionaries and planted more churches than any in 2,000 years. But Paul told Timothy to pray that citizens might live a quiet, peaceful, godly, and honest life. Trump is by far the better path to such a life, and so it is a Christian duty not only to pray for such a life, but to vote as well.

  1. The other side is uniquely evil.

As if it were only a small beginning to rejoice in sodomy, the democrats now press on to overcome every distinction of male and female. Democrats try to force women to accept men in their bathrooms, schools, sports, prisons, and meetings. They despise Biblical manhood and spit on the gentle beauty of femininity. Not being content to teach society, they would codify this evil in numerous, binding laws.

In their eyes it is a sin to place any restriction on the murder of babies. Their leaders take smiling photos in the deadly offices of Planned Parenthood. They give money to such abortion mills. They are not shocked at murdering even those little ones who have been born alive. Though they hate freedom in the best sense, they promote freedom from the consequences of their own wicked lifestyles.

The democrats despise America, and every Christian should ask themselves, Why? They have no regard for her Constitution, but instead choose judges that would rewrite, overlook, and contradict it. They give police powers to non-citizens, open the doors for illegal aliens to vote, and force through unjust taxation the honest citizens to pay for food, medicine, and education for criminals. They have opened the borders and dangled carrots in front of the rest of the world to rush in so that the culture can be diluted as quickly as possible. When criminal invaders murder, rape, and steal from the citizens, the democrats are quick to overlook or even pay for their legal deliverance. And of course, these illegals are being allowed to vote which will change all future elections. Many times elections are decided by 100,000 or fewer votes, and already 15-20 million illegal invaders have been let in. Even Elon Musk can see this now.

The democrat nominees for judges are almost all extremely leftist. They let rapists go free, charge fathers with non-crimes, attack masculinity and femininity, and overthrow the rule of law. The Biden nominees are almost every one anti-law, anti-Christian, and anti-victim. The destruction of the judiciary is an attack on the rule of law.

Paul Kengor in his excellent books on communism has showed again and again how communism regroups after each defeat to come back in a stronger, more virulent form. This most violent of all ideologies is surging into the ears of students by the promotion of the democrats. It has now reformed like a nightmare demon into Cultural Marxism whereby the politicians, educators, masters of technology, and media personalities are dominated by it. Generally, conservatives start businesses because their focus is on their families and churches. But if your life is not structured around family and church, then you will devote yourself to entertainment or “great causes” such as restructuring society. The democrats are mastered by communism in this form (if you doubt this at all, check the linked historical paper), and it is such a sin for a Christian to support this idea that it calls their Christianity into question.

But this is not all. Though no wars were started from 2016-2020, there is now a war in Ukraine and Israel. John Milton imagined in the last book of Paradise Lost how evil is the action of war. Who can fathom it? War is such a terror that we must search every possible way out of it unless there is no other way. The democrats and a majority of the republicans, however, start wars in nearly every term. Let us not forget how terrible it is for a young man’s life to be ended in a bomb blast. Very few wars in the world ought to have been fought; nearly all are unjust and evil. America could have an influential effect on peace around the world, but a vote for the democrats in 2024 is a vote for the deaths of many young men, not only from our citizens but from the militaries of other countries.

Though the list of evils promoted by the big-government, globalist, leftist regime could go on, I come lastly to theft. Inflation, unjust taxation, most government spending, grants to poor people, inefficient laws, federal control of medicine, wasteful lawsuits, international aid to foreign countries, foolish wars, university subsidies, unbalanced budgets, and the majority of the salaries of government workers are all kinds of stealing. The democrats promote these, and their combined effects reduce the wealth that believers have available to train their children, send missionaries, build churches, and support Bible translations. Satan comes to steal, and his children are known by this family birthmark.

I am not saying, “This is the most important election of our lives!” No, I am saying that in this election of November 2024, these evils are uniquely seen on one side more than on the other, and much more than in times past.

  1. There is a unique alignment of hatred toward him.

Between evil men and good men lies a mutual abhorrence as king Solomon observed in Proverbs 29:27. Who hates Trump? The democrats call him Hitler and tried already to assassinate him more than once. They impeached him twice groundlessly even after he left office. The hoaxes about Russia and Ukraine were both proven false years after they were raised at great expense to the taxpayers and the candidate, yet there has been not only no apology, but a constant assembly line of more. He has been sued in four different courts without basis. His home was illegally raided by armed government officials. The Department of Justice, the FBI, the CIA, and now even the Secret Service have all been shown to have employees with influence who tried to attack him. The director of the FBI publicly doubted that he was shot in the face though the entire world saw it. Joining all these government assets, the worst republicans have refused to support him as well. The government that the Founding Fathers warned us about hates Trump.

The main stream media such as the most popular television channels have given more than 90% negative coverage to the 100% positive coverage of Harris. The New York Times, The Washington Post, and most other newspapers who delight in taxation, abortion, sodomy, and cultural Marxism seethe with hatred at Trump. The press hates Trump.

He was banned from Twitter, FaceBook, and YouTube meaning the masters of technology are against him. Google searches raised false and evil stories about him, burying positive statements. Amazon’s Alexa will not say anything positive about him, and books that praise him have had their covers changed or their distribution limited.

In general, the more unchristian a group’s stance is, the more likely that group will hate Trump. When all the devils of Hell direct their attacks on a single enemy, you are generally safe in supporting him.

  1. His policies and previous administration are generally consistent with Christianity.

What Christian could disagree with his 20 policy positions?

Close the border—In other words, he will oppose multiculturalism. There is a meaning to American culture and American citizenship is the gateway to full membership in that culture. Currently, citizenship is being offered to large numbers of people who do not share the language, the work ethic, or the commitment to law. And many of them are drug dealers, child traffickers, and violent criminals.

Lower taxes—Since any unbiblical tax is theft, lower taxes almost always glorify God. Trump respects private property.

Relative international peace—One of the greatest achievements of his first term is simply refraining from wars. Tucker Carlson mentioned that the international policy of America controls the politicians because there is so much money involved in war. Trump was a good president because he allowed no money to be stolen for unjust wars, and no lives to be lost on the same—the first president in many years.

Stop the government attacks on US citizens—Since the democrat party is now controlled by men who want to reshape American culture away from its Christian roots, then they want to frighten those who hold to traditional values by arresting law abiding citizens. Trump will stop this at least for his term.

Election integrity—There is no good reason to use computers for voting or to have voting extend multiple days. Trump has promised to introduce legislation or an executive order for something so important and obvious as same-day, citizen-only, paper-ballot elections.

Stop transgender insanity—Trump will issue an executive order to stop men from invading women’s bathrooms or sports.

Pro Israel—In the most careful, precise exercise of military power against a foe that intentionally hides among civilians, Israel is fighting for its life with groups that have promised to absolutely destroy the nation. Trump will be supportive of the nation of Israel to exist and defend itself.

Cut regulations—The best government makes very few rules, but Biden’s government is pouring out rules. Trump cut rules and will do so again.

Conservative judges—In his first term, 234 judges were appointed almost all of whom are constitutionalists. Biden on the other hand has done 213 so far and a shocking number are activists who want to write law rather than interpret it. This single category alone is enough to make Trump the best choice since many judges sit for a life-time appointment.

  1. There are no substantive reasons why a Christian should not support him for president.

I have no evidence that Trump is a Christian, but neither have I heard anything other than superficial critiques of him.

Today I read several leftist websites listing the reasons Trump was a bad president. The reasons overlapped as if they were all reading from the same script. The list from the New York Times included that he is a racist, he hates immigrants, he did not release his tax returns, he wants paper ballots, he tried to stop Obama-care, he is an isolationist in foreign policy, he boasts, he refused to help stop climate change, he cut taxes (yes, that was a weakness), he failed in COVID, and he removed regulations. Other authors listed that he appointed conservative judges, overturned Roe v. Wade, and lost jobs for Americans. Do you think these are valid reasons to let Kamala Harris in office?

But what did the conservative critiques of Trump say? He is not pro-life. He supports homosexuality. He is proud, angry, rude, immature, and petty. These were the most substantial critiques I could find from conservatives. On both pro-life and homosexuality, I could wish he were stronger. But is it good judgment to reject his good policy positions when so many fires are burning? The same thing goes for his personality. While I could desire the character of Joseph and the statesman’s speech of Ezra, it is a matter to be overlooked after making a remark about it.

By several measures, Trump’s net worth went down after his presidency, and he worked for free returning $1.6 million in his salary to the government. For the privilege of carrying the heaviest job in secular society, he is in court, maligned, and losing the chance to retire in luxury. My job is more important as a church planter and evangelist, but I can at least unequivocally support my country by endorsing Donald Trump for president.

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A Prayer to be Kept from Falling

Posted on 30 September 2024 by Seth Meyers

Yesterday, two members at one of our church plants appeared to be falling away. Last week, we heard of another man who has fallen terribly. In that light, let us pray to be delivered.

To the One who is able to keep me from falling, I do address my prayer. My mind is troubled by my own sin. My heart is disturbed by so many temptations, but mostly from the fact that they come from within. It is my own self that would destroy me. My worst enemy is inside my gates.

And today I am troubled because I have seen how many strong ones this inner foe has cast down. It is a match too great for me. In my own library I have a Greek New Testament that was given to me by the woman whose husband made a pretense to teach himself the original languages only to leave her and his big efforts for the pleasures of sin—a modern Samson, except he did not repent in the end. On another shelf is The Knowledge of the Holy by Tozer which I received at 20 from a dedicated pastor who had started several churches, yet he too, fell away in his 70’s! Lord, who is safe? Another large book about salvation from another shelf was written by a man whose double life was revealed just recently. In total, I have counted 4 books on my shelves that were written or given by good men who fell. Lord God, save me!

Art thou not the Almighty God? Art thou not the One who freely distributes strength to the weak, eagles wings to those who cannot walk, and warrior hearts to those in the battle? Who is weak if not me? Who is a paralyzed beggar if not me? Who is a worm, a man sold under sin, an unprofitable servant, a door turning on its hinges, a member of the faithless generation, if not me? Grace has, like Ahab, been poured on me over and over, and yet for all the kindness, how often do I return dog-like to the vomit?

Yes, I praise you that I have stood firm in the faith for this is also true, and it is owing to your past kindnesses. Do Thou mercifully give future grace until I reach the end! Please, Father, I ask for today’s Bread of Life that I might be sustained and for my wife and children. Lead us not into temptation today. Deliver us from the Evil One for this one brief period, and ingraft the Word into our hearts such that we breathe out these requests again and again.

Your Spirit has so brightly made Heaven to shine in my eyes and sin to stink in my nostrils, but what of tomorrow? Enhance my senses, make my eyes keen in the growing darkness that I might see into eternity and not be distracted by the false candles of earthly comfort.

Life is too long for me. The 70 or 80 years is too much for my reservoir. And yet it is a mist, a vapor, the pass of a weaver’s shuttle, water flowing quickly in a stream, a moment, a drop in the bucket. Are not a thousand years like a day? I therefore plead for persevering power for what is to me a great race though it be in Thy sight the smallest of challenges.

Even from the falling and failing of other men, I find help for my faith. Has their failure not inspired me to pray? Has it taken away my inner confidence and self-boasting? Has it not destroyed the foundations of my own conceit? What amazing wisdom and providence to allow the failure of some that others—and I trust a great many—may stand. Judas fell that Peter might learn to repent. Demas fell that Timothy might not. Please make the terrible sins of these men work to save me and my sons and their sons as well.

And what of these few souls Thou has placed in my charge? Of the 18 in Valdezia, are several not at this moment on the verge of going back to the world? What word can I say except, Save them, Master of Mercy, before they crucify the Son of God afresh and put Him to an open shame. May I know no happiness save that of hearing you say to my wife and children and these dear Tsonga and Venda and Shona souls, “Well done, my good and faithful servants. Enter into the joy of your Lord.”

The lion is prowling, so grant us watchfulness and boldness that we might do valiantly to dash even the little ones of our sins against the stones. The flesh is exhausting and even tempts us in our sleep, so give us strength, might, and power to run through the troop and leap over the wall.

I ask this for today for myself, for my dear wife, for my children, and for the little groups in 8 different villages in Jesus’ name.

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7 Arguments for Total Abstinence from Alcohol

Posted on 17 September 2024 by Seth Meyers

Though it is exceedingly unpopular to speak against alcohol, the Bible presents several important arguments. Numbers 3, 5, and 7 below require some knowledge outside of Scripture to make a Biblical point, but the others should be clear from the text.

  1. Alcohol raises a risk of eternal damnation.
    It alone can produce drunkenness which is condemned unequivocally as the mark of a man who will never enter the kingdom of God (Matt. 24:48-51; 1 Cor. 6:10; Gal. 5:21; Luke 21:34). If something can lead me to an eternity of torment, under what circumstances would I give it a place at my table? Does the wise man not see the potential danger and hide himself? Has it not killed so many already that whole societies the world over are dedicated to helping people be free from it?

  2. Alcohol is deceptive.
    Men are easily tricked by a false view of themselves and the nature of the world. They fancy that though others fell, they will not. They consider their minds to be strong, their wills to be firm, and their judgment to be sufficient. And yet many, many men have fallen to sins because of these misplaced, exalted self-evaluations (Pro. 20:1). I cannot think of anything that deceives so many people and is yet defended by truly Christian men. But that is what Solomon told us, we will need great wisdom to escape such deception. What good is in alcohol that makes it worthwhile to bring a deceiver into your house and your own body?

  3. Alcohol brings great evils in this life.
    When the evil of alcohol is placed on the scales against its possible good, evil far outweighs the good. The best that can be said for alcohol is that some say it tastes good. But the worst that can be said is that it has murdered women who received beatings from intoxicated men; it has stolen the shoes, food, and housing from children whose fathers drank the money away; it has thrown mud on the name of Christ when professing Christians sin by it; it has ruined girls by leading them into pregnancy; it has ruined the babies by damaging their little, pre-born bodies; it has raised taxes on citizens due to the increased crime and medical problems; it has torn apart marriages; it has depleted savings; it has impaired judgment so many times as to boggle the imagination; it has taken innocent lives and resources through car accidents; it bears the responsibility through Lot’s drunken stupidity of creating countries that have tormented the Jews; it is a mark of the pagans before they were converted (1 Pet. 4:3-4); it saps the time and mental acuity of many thousands of the poorest in the world so that they become as insensible as rocks when they need to work and raise themselves. Are these consequences so mild that we can overlook them or risk them?

  4. Alcohol is prohibited explicitly in Scripture.
    It is common to hear people argue that alcohol is not prohibited by Scripture, but Proverbs 23:31 explicitly says, “Do not look on the wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it goes down smoothly.” You might justifiably look on wine, but not in that condition. When this mode is true of this substance, look elsewhere. Solomon describes it three ways to clarify that he is speaking about intoxicating beverages. Walking through the store looking for something to refresh you, you are to keep walking past that particular aisle if it has drinks that have their own life. Can this drink produce the result of seeing strange things, speaking perverse things, and addicting your palate? Its the drink that has brought people problems, and it makes their eyes red (23:29). Well, some reply, it is only prohibited in Proverbs. When we find a single proverb that teaches a doctrine we agree with, we are glad to find it. What is happening to our souls when the Spirit inspires a verse (here a paragraph, 23:29-35), and we look for ways around it?

  5. Alcohol is entirely unnecessary.
    Technology and production have advanced our world in many ways so that every meal for a middle class citizen of a developed country can now be a taste thrill. A dizzying variety of non-alcoholic drinks are available to excite, comfort, satisfy, and please. Furthermore, we can now measure alcoholic content and processes of fermentation as well as store through refrigeration in ways that the Jews of David’s era could not. That ancient world had options such as water, milk, wine, and strong drink whereas we have whole aisles in our stores with juices, carbonated beverages, dairy drinks, flavored waters, coffees, and teas. If you lived in a society without refrigeration, running water, trucks supplying you with dozens of low-cost options, and instruments to measure alcohol content levels, I could see why you would speak about juices without always clearly delineating between alcoholic and non-alcoholic. With all the differences between the lifestyle and options of the past and present, why would any Christian have a need for choosing an intoxicating beverage?

  6. Charles Spurgeon hated alcohol.
    At least 18 times in Spurgeon’s Practical Wisdom (originally published as John Ploughman’s Talk) he rebukes drinking any alcohol.
  7. Alcohol is associated by many with drunkenness.
    Many of the Tsongas among whom I work assume that a man who drinks is either getting drunk or involved in fornication. Recently, a church discipline situation arose in our church where one member who had been converted about 2 years spoke to another member of about 3 years after finding that he had been seen with alcohol. The church agreed with the one who rebuked that Christians should not hold or drink any alcohol. The implication was alcohol and drunkenness were integrally or at least consistently related. The apostle wrote, “Abstain from all appearance of evil.” The apostle’s Savior wrote, “Be perfect like your Father” so that “men may see your good works and glorify your Father.” If alcohol is connected to drunkenness then why would believers get near it?

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10 Questions Atheists Can’t Answer

Posted on 10 September 2024 by Seth Meyers

When I say atheists can’t answer these questions, I mean they can’t answer them smoothly, persuasively, coherently, or popularly. Of course, any question can receive a stumbling word salad from the person questioned. But these questions completely defy the system because it is false.

  1. Why are some things always bad? Why is there a category of badness, evil, or wickedness?
  2. Where do the laws of logic come from?
  3. How can we call people, nature, music, or virtues beautiful without a Great Beauty? Why beauty, if no Beauty?
  4. Where did the first material come from?
  5. Why do all (or nearly all) men believe in god, gods, or the God?
  6. Why are atheist social experiments always violent, authoritarian, and cruel like Russia’s or China’s communism?
  7. If atheism is true, then why can’t it produce as many good actions as Christianity?
  8. How can there be truth without God? What does meaning mean without a Personal, Absolute, Logical Word?
  9. Where are the inspiring historical examples of atheists who sacrificed themselves to serve an honorable cause like Corrie Ten Boom in World War II, Jim Elliot in Ecuador, Paul Carlson in the Congo, and the thousands of defenseless missionary martyrs like them?
  10. Why are the great works of beauty in sculpture, orchestra, architecture, and literature all created by theists and mostly from a culture steeped in the Trinity?

Atheism is bankrupt. It does not have a good historical record to receive the investment of your soul. Better to hear the words of the wise Man who said, “Strive to enter at the narrow gate because many will try to enter, but will not be able.”

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No Rest Til Heaven: The Life of Richard Baxter

Posted on 3 September 2024 by Seth Meyers

Youth and conversion

  1. On 12 November 1615 in England, Richard Baxter was born.
  2. He lived with his grandparents because his father was ungodly.
  3. About 10 years old, his father was converted and took his son back so that he might lead the boy to Christ.
  4. Baxter came under great conviction of sin:
    1. “I was much addicted to lie that I might escape [correction].” 8
    2. “I was much addicted to the excessive gluttonous eating…” 8
    3. “I have often gone into other men’s orchards, and stolen their fruit…” 8
    4. “I was somewhat excessively addicted to play…” 8
    5. “I was extremely bewitched with a love of romances, fables, and old tales, which corrupted my affections, and lost my time.” 8
    6. “I was guilty of much idle foolish chat…” 8
    7. “I was too bold and irreverent towards my parents.” 8
  5. Baxter was led to saving faith by his father’s prayers and reading as well as privately reading other godly books.
  6. To the end of his life, Baxter believed reading good books—after manly preaching—was the best way to see a sinner saved.
  7. Even after finding the truth, Baxter doubted his own conversion for years.
  8. He later thanked God for these doubts since the doubts (15):
    1. Taught him to hate his own sin since they were the cause of the doubts.
    2. Kept him from wasting his youth with too many sports.
    3. Made Christ and salvation very important and desirable to him.
    4. Showed him that the world was like a dead carcass.
    5. Urged him to study the Bible and theology in detail.
  9. These years of doubt and introspection prepared him to deal with the complex problems in the souls of many others.
  10. Baxter only had an informal education with private tutors, but he read carefully and was able to feed himself.
  11. From age 20 to 76 Baxter was constantly sick writing many things like, “being seldom an hour free from pain (40),” or “God was pleased so greatly to increase my painful diseases (108).”
  12. Because of sickness, he was often confined to bed, but he said that the pain was not nearly so hard to endure as the loss of time. 60

Pastor at Kidderminster

  1. At 24 years old, Baxter was invited to preach in Kidderminster.
  2. His sicknesses were still so great that he wrote, “[they] made me live and preach in some continual expectation of death, supposing still that I had not long to live.” 27
  3. “[My sicknesses] I found, through all my life, to be an invaluable mercy to me for: 27
    1. They greatly weakened my temptations.
    2. They kept me in a great contempt of the world.
    3. They taught me to highly esteem time. If any of it passed away in idleness or unprofitableness, it was so long a pain and burden to my mind.
    4. They made me study and preach… as a dying man to dying men.”
  4. “Time hath seemed to me more precious than gold, or any earthly gain…” 27
  5. In Kidderminster, he preached for 17 years seeing a miracle of revival in the town.
  6. At first, he recorded the names of all those who were converted, but then so many came to Christ that he stopped the list.
  7. After two years he was taken with such a violent sickness that he thought again he would die.
  8. At this time, he wrote The Saints’ Everlasting Rest about the glory of Heaven.
  9. When he was stronger, he began the practice of visiting, evangelism, and catechism two days per week.
  10. They continued to expand the church building in the small town until more than a thousand could squeeze in.
  11. When Baxter arrived, there was less than one family per street who were true believers. After a few years there was less than one family per street who were unbelievers.
  12. He influenced the pastors around him by meeting with them on a consistent pattern so that he could say, “[The pastors in this area now] were wholly addicted to the winning of souls.” 51
  13. He devoted himself to youth evangelism since they were the most likely to be converted and it is easier to prevent than repent.
  14. He wrote a book to encourage pastors to be humble and evangelize, The Reformed Pastor.
  15. Now his books were becoming so popular that he devoted himself to writing while relaxing by preaching.
  16. Baxter wrote on average 3 books per year for 50 years.
  17. About this time, the king offered Baxter a very large church with a high salary, but he turned it down.
  18. Baxter often supported missionaries even writing a book touching on how to reach unreached areas.
  19. Throughout this time lies commonly circulated about him.
  20. “I had long been learning not to overvalue the thoughts of men.” 76

Marriage to Margaret

  1. He had resolved to live a single life so that he could give God more of his time.
  2. Yet a woman in his church Mrs. Charlton urged him to marry her daughter Margaret.
  3. She had come to Christ under his preaching, and now they were married though he was 46 and she was 22.
  4. They loved each other dearly and she even accompanied him when he was sent to prison.
  5. At her death, Baxter wrote a biography of his wife professing her deep spirituality and spiritual insight.
  6. He said she has more ability to help souls in sin than most pastors.
  7. They lived together for 19 years before she passed away at 41.

Suffering

  1. Baxter lived and ministered during the great plague when men would get sick in the morning and die in the evening.
  2. Burying the dead overwhelmed the people and villages were devastated and emptied.
  3. He was sent to prison more than once for preaching the gospel.
  4. At the end of his life, his books and even bed were seized by the government authorities.
  5. He urged his people to remember that “the design of Satan was more against their souls than their bodies.” 90
  6. As a 70 year old man, he was unjustly sent to court and then prison while he was sick and widowed.
  7. During his last sermon, he nearly died in the pulpit.
  8. On his death bed, his friends visited him, and heard him say, “You come hither to learn to die; I am not the only person that must go this way. I assure you, that your whole life, be it ever so long, is little enough to prepare for death.” 127

Lessons from the life of Richard Baxter

    1. Time is a special and limited gift from God. We must be especially hard working, not losing a day or even a minute if we can help it. In this sense, men are all the same. They are all given the same amount of time: One life.
    2. The human soul is infinitely valuable because it will live without end and because it has a unique role in honoring God.
    3. The wise man will give himself to reading good books. Even without formal education, we can be teach ourselves through careful reading and discipline.
    4. Souls will not generally be won to Christ without a great deal of hard work in prayer and conversations. If we truly believe Heaven, Hell, sin, and Christ, we will study how to speak in a persuasive, lively way.

    Thesis

    • Seeing that life is so short and eternity so long, let us serve the Lord and the souls of men with all our might while we have might.

    Bibliography

    • Richard Baxter’s abridged Autobiography by Christian Focus.
    • “Richard Baxter” Meet the Puritans.
    • “Memoir of Richard Baxter’s Life” The Practical Works of Richard Baxter.
    Posted in Biography, Book reviews | Leave a comment

    Another Christ-less Pastor

    Posted on 28 August 2024 by Seth Meyers

    Saturday* my boys and I picked up a sharp and friendly Tsonga man who needed a lift. For about 30 minutes he was in our car resulting in this conversation as best as I can reconstruct it.

    Seth: “Do you call yourself a Christian?”

    Man: “I am a pastor.”

    Seth: “How do you know that you are a Christian?”

    Man: “My lifestyle; I live the way I should.”

    That answer is strike 1. Maybe I’m pitching too fast.

    Seth: “Is there anything else? Any thing else that you would say you are trusting in?”

    Man: “And prayer. That too.”

    Seth: “There is something else that you are forgetting. What are you forgetting? When I tell you, you will say, ‘Oh, I knew that.’ But you need to ask why you didn’t know before you were told. Can you think what it might be?”

    Man: “Can you remind me? I can’t think of it.”

    Seth: “I will tell you, but before I do, I want you to know that you are very similar to most of the people that I pick up. When I speak with them, they answer like you are answering. Where do you worship?”

    Man: “I started a church in my house.”

    Seth: “Why did you start a church? Is it different from the other churches? What is your main reason for wanting a new church?”

    Man: “We saw that many people were chasing these prophetic ministries so that prophets would tell their futures. But I told the people, you cannot be prophesied over until you prophesy for yourselves.”

    Seth: “So that is the main reason you started your church? Is there anything else you would add to that?”

    Man: “No.”

    Seth: “What about Jesus Christ? What about the Cross? Heaven, Hell, Life, Death, repentance, and humility? Why didn’t you say anything about these matters?”

    Man (smiling): “I forgot.”

    Seth: “Christ did not come out of your mouth because He is not in your heart. But this is not my first and second time to hear these kinds of answers. Nearly everyone answers without Christ as you did. Let me ask, Have you ever read the whole Bible: Genesis to Revelation?”

    Man: “No.”

    Seth: “The entire NT, it is only 260 chapters and takes about 15 hours to read?”

    Man: “No, and I will tell you, I am not accustomed to read the Bible. When I preach, I just open and find a verse. Then I talk.”

    Our conversation went on, but you now have the salient points faithfully narrated. Later that same day, I met again two other pastors who had been with me at one of the preaching points for nearly a year. Neither man was able even to recite the 5 Solas though we had repeated these week after week. In less than 6 months they had forgotten Bible Alone, Christ Alone, Faith Alone, Grace Alone, and Glory To God Alone.

    *This took place in October 2023.

    Posted in Accounts of African Religion | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

    11 Reasons Christians Should Not Use Curse Words

    Posted on 27 August 2024 by Seth Meyers

    Yesterday while making a purchase, I was the only person in an office with several employees. Speaking to the man helping me, a woman inserted an English curse word into her Afrikaans comments. Since they were friendly, I asked the man helping me if he could think of anyone who did not curse. Another man came from the back to join this conversation, and the three of them could only think of one name, an old woman who did not curse.

    Even senators and representatives use crude words while debating bills or appointees in the US Congress. A Christian news source recently lost my business because they continued to speak shamefully. Though I have found some of Jordan Peterson’s observations insightful and Dennis Prager’s videos inspiring, they both argued that inserting the divine name as an expletive is not wrong.

    But cursing is a sin. How do we know?

    The laws of Christ with words

    1. Christians cultivate a pure heart, but curse words are not pure. Matt. 5:8
    2. Christians are the salt of the earth, the light of the world, and a city known for good works, but curse words are worldly words. Matt. 5:13-16
    3. Christians watch every word from their mouths because they will be judged by their words, but curse words come out without careful screening. Matt. 12:36-37
    4. Christians strive to be perfect like their heavenly Father, but curse words are far from perfect. Matt. 5:48
    5. Christians bear good fruit, but curse words are not good fruit. Matt. 7:17-19
    6. Christians put away all bitterness, wrath, clamor, anger, slander, filthiness, foolish talk, and crude joking, but curse words fit into several of those categories. Eph. 4:31-5:3
    7. Christians refrain even from speaking about the sins of sinners, but curse words often name these evil actions with a mixture of mockery and anger. Eph. 5:12
    8. Christians speak words that bring their thoughts to true, honest, just, pure, lovely, virtuous things, but curse words are none of those things. Phil. 4:8
    9. Christians put on a spirit of holiness, mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, longsuffering, and love, but curse words contradict all those graces. Col. 3:12-14
    10. Christians follow the patterns of the most godly Christians, but godly Christians do not use curse words. Heb. 13:17
    11. Christians labor for the reward Christ is bringing for faithful service, but curse words will never produce a reward. Rev. 22:12

    Kinds of curse words

    1. Crude words

    These refer to body parts and functions, but without the privacy, dignity, delicacy, or shame that those things deserve. God made Adam and Eve put on clothes because certain parts should not be displayed to eyes or to our ears. Solomon’s Song teaches us how to speak about the pleasure of marriage—discreetly, with veiled terms, preserving mystery. If there is a necessity to communicate about such matters, then judgment should control to whom we speak so that the required dignity or shame still comes across in our communication.

    2. Sacrilegious words

    These refer to the divine name or holy matters used in a light, flippant way. To speak of such a Person or such high realities lightly is, of course, breaking the third commandment even if there are other ways to break the third command as well.

    3. Euphemisms

    These replace a sacrilegious or a crude word with another term that people have become accustomed to using. Though the connotation has been softened, the message is, “I want to say a harsh word, but I will soften it a little while still keeping a part of the offense.”

    Connotations

    1. Denotations

    Words have a dictionary definition such as “wench” for a female servant, or “religion” as a system for relating to God, or “bribe” for paying someone to overlook your crime. These are the denotations.

    2. Connotations

    But each of these terms has connotations only recorded in the culture. A wench brings to mind a dishonorable girl. When a man says he has a relationship with Jesus Christ, not a religion, he is meaning something like “legalism”—“I am not overwhelmed with law, but with the person of Christ.” All that in the connotation of religion. A mother might say she is bribing her son to finish his chores when she actually is trying to say something about motivating with grace and joy.

    Good judgment

    Sinners have found profane words to use for many good things. A godly husband will not use the same words flirtatiously with his wife that a fool would use with a prostitute. A father may have righteous anger with his son, but he must not use the same words as an angry fool.

    If we have grown up with English as a first language, we all understand using words according to the accepted meaning now current in society even if it has not reached the dictionary yet. We used email, text, and now gaslight before they reached the dictionary.

    Using words is an act of judgment. If we have bad judgment, we may be sinning without even realizing it. If a man were not taught in the Scriptures, he might say salvation is by the waters of baptism. At best those words are a bad judgment which are untrue. At worst, his bad judgment is a terrible sin. A man who apologizes to his wife for “his abomination” when he arrived 8 minutes late has made a bad judgment with that word.

    When bad judgment leads to sin, then it is itself sin. Did we not have a duty to obtain better judgment before now? Judgment is a crucial part of the Christian life in which we must grow (Heb. 5:14).

    Posted in Pastoral | Tagged | 1 Comment

    Forgetting Christ and Loving Money: 2 Venda Pastors

    Posted on 22 August 2024 by Seth Meyers

    Two men climbed into my vehicle for a 20 minute ride. After learning that they both call themselves Christians, I asked the first what his church teaches.

    First man, Mr. Rambau*: I attend United.

    Seth: I don’t know that church, United? Does it have a full name?

    Rambau: United African Apostolic Church.

    Seth: I’ve never heard of that one. What is its teaching?

    Rambau: [Pause] What?

    Seth: What does it teach? When you meet together what things do you learn? If a man wanted to go to Heaven, what would your church tell him?

    Rambau: Keep the 10 Commandments.

    Seth: Anything else? You are forgetting something. What are you forgetting?

    Rambau: No, I am not forgetting. You must keep the commands.

    Seth: There is one Big Thing you are forgetting! If you forget This, you are a goat, not a sheep; in the dark, not the light; a child of Satan, not of God; an unbeliever, not a believer.

    Second man, who had been quiet up until now, Mr. Sithole: Christ!

    Seth: Yes, that’s it! Mr. Rambau, you forgot Christ just like most other people who ride with me. For 20 years I have evangelized, and most people forget Jesus just like you. He does not come out of their mouths because He is not in their hearts.

    After some more discussion, I turn to Mr. Sithole who had surprised me with the correct answer “Christ” a few moments earlier.

    Seth: I’m glad and surprised that you answered with Jesus, Mr. Sithole. But may I ask if your church loves money?

    Sithole: [Pause] That is a tricky point. I can say that we do love money. That is something we need to work on.

    Seth: I am afraid because I see very few churches or pastors that love Jesus more than money.

    Sithole: Yes, that is the truth. We all love money even when we are at church.

    Seth: In your opinion, do we still need missionaries for the Tsongas and the Vendas?

    Sithole: Yes, we do because our churches are still filled with false teachers. There are very few like you. [He has only known me for 15 minutes.]

    Having offered them both tracts with my contact information, I encouraged them to read their Bibles and think much of the Son of God. Then 2 different Venda pastors from two different areas, who both made important admissions about the state of the church in this area, disembarked.

    *Names were changed. Find more stories like this in the “Accounts of African Religion” Category to your right.

    Posted in Accounts of African Religion | Tagged , | Leave a comment

    What is a Christian?

    Posted on 7 August 2024 by Seth Meyers

    We are a people who seek first the Kingdom of God. That means when treated badly, we turn the other cheek. We love and pray for our enemies returning good for evil. When taken advantage of, we go the extra mile, offer a coat when our shirt has been fraudulently taken, and give to those who ask. Though we fail, though it seems impossible, we long and strive to be perfect as our Father in Heaven is perfect.

    Our minds are set on things above not on things on the earth so that we count all things but loss if only we could somehow know the Son of God, the one chosen to be the King of Kings. When we see a Christian’s death, we think he is merely sleeping, he is exchanging his shack for a sturdy and glorious mansion, he has received a bonus, and therefore, we cannot mourn like others. In fact, we actually would rather die to be with Christ because that is far better, but as long as we can help Christians here on the earth, we are willing to go on living.

    Our earthly ambitions could be summarized as laying up treasures in Heaven, not on earth. Everything to us is religious so that we cannot even drink Pepsi without doing it to the glory of God. When we see a marriage we think of Christ’s love for sinners. When we see a child, we think of being born again and the humility that it requires. We see Christ constantly, whenever we look at a door, or bread, or a road, or a flower, or a tree with branches, or a son, or the sun. When we rest, we think that He is the rest for the people of God. When we wake, we think that He is our life and resurrection. When we read books or poems, we are amazed that He is the Word and the Truth. We see Him everywhere and in every mark of beauty because He is all and in all and by Him all things hold together. We wistfully cry after Him in every absence of goodness in a politician, dishonesty in business, and injustice on earth.

    When we pray, we ask for things other religions do not ask for, things like, the eyes of our hearts to be opened so that we would see the hope of our calling, the riches of our glorious inheritance, and the shocking power of God. We pray that our inner man would be strong and healthy, that the Son of God would dwell in our hearts, that we would comprehend incomprehensible love, and that we would be filled up with divine fullness. We pray that all men would be saved, and that when believers speak, the Word of God would run. Our prayers are much more commonly spiritual than physical because our Lord taught us to pray that we would not enter into temptation, that our faith would not fail, that missionaries would be sent out, that the Holy Spirit would come, and then to rejoice only that our names were written in the book of life.

    We know that a real man marks his stature by the fullness of Christ when he speaks the truth in love, when he bears the fruit of the Spirit which is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, and self-control. We are very happy when we are poor in spirit, weeping for our sin, hungry for holiness, thirsty after more obedience, and actively working to stop fighting and tensions. The only way we can be happier is if we are maligned, rejected, or attacked for the sake of the name of Jesus Christ for whom we are willing to lose all things.

    And we expect to enter the Kingdom through many hardships. We know that every godly person will suffer. We think that suffering is a light and brief problem that actually brings about amazing and glorious benefits that are very real even though they are unseen. We are ready to endure any evil if by so doing, God’s chosen ones will come to faith. We believe our lives are simply passing mists, and if all humanity were gathered together it would only amount to dust on the eternal scales. When we reflect on our service to God, we say we are unprofitable slaves having barely done our basic duties. As we draw nearer to God, so we speak worse of ourselves as the least of all the saints, then the least of all the sinners. We strive to hate and deny ourselves so that it might be said, we do not live, but Christ lives in us. We confess our sins to God and to each other because we call ourselves wretched men.

    The Second Coming of Jesus occupies our minds very much because we are eagerly waiting for Him. Our watching for His return keeps us from sin. We believe He is coming soon, and we call it our happy or blessed hope.

    We love the promises of the OT prophets that the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. He will rule from sea to sea and to the ends of the earth. All kings will bow down before Him, and all the Gentile nations will serve Him. Missions and evangelism will be obsolete activities because all men will know Him. We love to think that in that day, wars will have ended since men will beat their swords into plows. And it is constantly in our minds that in this final day, Jehovah will shake the earth terribly and then He alone will be exalted.

    Our minds are at peace because they are set on the things of the Spirit. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.

    Posted in Orthopathy | Tagged , | 1 Comment