“Faith rests not upon the testimony of any man, nor is it subject to any man. It rests on the Word of God, and it is amenable to Him alone. “He that builds his faith upon preachers, though they preach nothing but the Truth, and he pretends to believe it, hath indeed no faith at all, but a wavering opinion, built upon a rotten foundation” (John Owen). Then “cease ye from man . . . for wherein is he to be accounted of?” (Isa. 2:22), and “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding.” (Prov. 3:5). Practical Christianity, AW Pink, page 173.
For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. (I Corinthians 3:11)
christina,
i have been through a lot of trials already and what keeps me moving is my deepest trust to the God that He will be with me all the way. I am a strong believer of the footprints in the sand, it is such a strong message that when we see only 1 set of footprints, it was then that we have been carried by Him
Christina,
This is powerful, sadly today lots of people fall into the trap of building there faith on the Messenger(the person delivering the message) instead of the word of God(the Message).
HI All:
Thank you for your comments!
This chapter on “Private Judgement” is loaded with what I consider to be amazing insight. I read it for the first time many years ago and on a personal level it is extremely significant.
From page 181:
“These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily whether those things were so.” (Acts 17:11). Those Bereans sat in judgement upon the teaching of the apostles! They are commended for doing so! Not only was it their privilege and duty, but it is recorded to their honour.”
Testing and proving all things with the Word of God is not optional for Christians – it is completely obligatory argues Pink.
“Thousands have sought to evade this duty by joining Rome and allowing that system to determine everything for them…Beware, my reader, of allowing any influence to come between your soul and God’s Word.”
And finally, “Every man has the right to think for himself and express or aver his thoughts on political, moral and spiritual matters, without being subject to any civil r ecclesiastical penalty or inconvenience on that account. Conversely, no man is entitled to force his ideas upon others and demand that they subscribe thereto, still less to propagate them tot he disturbing of the public peace. ” (page 169)
Lord, give us the insight necessary and the courage to exercise our private judgement with your Holy Scriptures as the foundation. Let us hold fast to your Truth, and not relinquish our right to think and decide for ourselves. You have given us the Divine gift of reason, conscience and will and one day we will have to give an account. It is only by your amazing grace that we can do this responsibly and to your pleasure. Amen.