faith

Because we know that we know?

Lisa SpencerLeave a comment

I’ve been working my way through G.I. Williamson’s commentary on the Westminster Confession of Faith. There so much I can write about (and probably will). But I was really struck by this section of the WCF on assurance;

True believers may have the assurance of their salvation divers ways shaken, diminished, and intermitted; as, by negligence in preserving of it; by falling into some special sin, which woundeth the conscience, and greiveth the Spirit; by some sudden or vehement temptation; by God’s withdrawing the light of his countenance, and suffering even such as fear him to walk in darkness, and to have no light; yet are they never utterly destitute of that seed of God, and life of faith, that love of Christ and the brethren, that sincerity of heart and conscience of duty, and of which, by the operation of the Spirit, this assurance my, in due time, be revived, and by the which, in the mean time, the are supported from utter despair. (WCF 18.4)

Old language, I know. But listen to Williamson’s commentary

There is a great difference between believing in Jesus Christ (without which we cannot be saved) and believing that we truly believe in him (without which, important as it is, salvation is possible). The man who cried, ‘Lord, I believe; help my unbelief’ (Mark 9:24), surely had faith in Christ, but he was not sure of his own faith. Just as a man may be sure that he is saved and yet not be saved, so a man may be saved (by faith in Christ) and yet not be sure that he is saved. Infallible assurance in not the essence of saving faith…The Bible does not say that we must have infallible assurance to be saved, but only that we must have faith in Jesus Christ (Mark 5:36; John 11:26). We ought to have such assurance. We absolutely must have faith…There are many exhortations in the Bible urging believers to strive for, and attain unto, this assurance (Heb. 10:22; 6:11; 2 Peter 1:10). But if all true believers were required to have full assurance as the essence of saving faith, there would be no need to exhort them because, being believers, the would on this view already have it.

I don’t know how many times, in the course of my Christian life, I’ve heard that the way we know we are Christians is because of our assurance, “we know that we know that we know.” What I love about this part of the Confession is the reality that Christians may go through times that they don’t know. But this raises an important question, in whom or what are we placing our assurance? If it is in ourselves, that’s pretty shaky. Some can make false professions and have absolute assurance because they are convinced that they are of the elect simply because of reliance on that assurance. Continue reading →

When You’re Graduating from Seminary…and have no idea what’s next

Lisa Spencer7 Comments

Graduated_next pathIn just a few short weeks I’ll be donning the graduation regalia and walking across the stage. My diploma will come later in the summer since I needed an extension on my thesis. But the thought of having all my classes done is a refreshing one indeed.

A common question that gets asked of me, as I’m sure it does other seminary students and near graduates, is ‘what’s next’? I wrote about this a couple of years ago, in What’s After Seminary? Not a Job but an Adventure. What the question really refers to is what fantastic ministry will you NOW be a part of, where you will be on staff and serving God’s people? I mean after all, why ELSE would you have gone to seminary if you aren’t doing that? In fact, there’s such a strong emphasis on church ministry that not obtaining that can make a seminary grad feel like they failed or wasted their time.

Despite my insistence in my article from 2 years ago that its all about the ministry adventure and not the actual position, I still find myself quite unsettled and a bit anxious these days. I was fortunate enough to land a good part-time position in the field that I had been working for many years and the job was secured even before moving to Dallas. Unfortunately, that position was eliminated and I took another position that didn’t work out. For the past few months, I have been engaged in an intensive job search and recognizing that I may have to continue what I was doing prior to seminary or at least leveraging that experience. In fact, during the drafting of this post I did indeed accept a position and it’s not in a church. Continue reading →

The Challenge of Maturing Faith

Lisa Spencer1 Comment

highway road w_cloudsWhen I was young in the faith, it seemed as though my prayers made a straight b-line to the Father and he answered them accordingly. It showed me that he really hears and cares. But more important, that this Christian thing was real. Not only that, but there were the extras, you know the things you just didn’t expect that came out of the blue.  Sure there were bumps and trials, but God had a way of showing his faithfulness in an apparent and expeditious way.

Of course, I believed by faith that Jesus was alive, seated at the right hand of the Father, making intercession for me. I believed it because that’s what I read in the Bible and heard in sermons. But there’s nothing like actually experiencing the delight of answered prayers with something that comes through just at the right time. And the extras are even better.

But as I’ve grown in the faith a funny thing happened. The trials have grown longer. Prayers don’t immediately get answered. Disappointments set in. Failures occur. What you want, you don’t always get. In fact, I have discovered that you can receive the opposite of what you are hoping and praying for. Compound this with the greater awareness of sin and brokenness, when stuff you didn’t even realize was an issue comes to light.  Continue reading →

When Your Eyes Have Seen the Glory…but not so much now

Lisa SpencerLeave a comment

eyes in darkHave you ever gone through a dark period of time in your Christian walk? And by dark, I mean a stretch of time marked by endless trials, barrenness and/or uncertainty about what to do? I came across this picture that I thought captured it so well. As we traverse the Christian walk, we’ll have high times when so much seems to be working. But then we’ll have times when we don’t know what in the world is going on.

Now there’s a sect within Christianity that says you just have to have strong faith. Stand and declare your promises. God won’t bless you unless you’re declaring the victory over your circumstances. Nothing personifies than Hank Hanegraaf’s article on the Osteenification and What it Portends. The premise behind Osteen and his ilk is that in order for stuff to happen in our lives, we need to be positive and strong.

One of my Facebook friends provided this wonderful commentary the other day in response to this article and kind of mentality;

“Osteen is such an easy target that I can debunk him without even using theology, by sheer experience alone. The VERY few times (that I can count on the fingers of one hand) where God spectacularly intervened in my life over the last 30 years, was when I was at the weakest in my faith, doubted him and had no conviction or assurance whatsoever that he would actually DO anything.

Glimmers of hope and desperation was all I had left in the tank and some times not even that. I felt about as strong as a beggar begging for scraps. On one particularly painful season I felt so gutted that I couldn’t even bring myself to pray and ask for anything, so I asked others to do it on my behalf and they obliged. I wish I could be more specific but some of the details are too painful to regurgitate and I am mindful of others who are still waiting on an answer to prayer on some personal and pressing issues.

Continue reading →

Where is your boast?

Lisa Spencer3 Comments

blurry_visionAs my seminary excursion is headed for a close  next semester, I find myself with an increased inability to describe exactly how these past five years have been. Juxtaposed to new friendships, great opportunities of learning and rich fellowship has been some pretty intense personal upheaval. In fact, I’m pretty sure that if I had a picture of how rocked my boat would have been I probably would have stayed anchored in Rhode Island. It has been the best of times and the worst of times.

Disappointments, failure, broken dreams, uncertainty, unanswered prayers.

While I am immensely appreciative of the shake down I received to cut loose some long-held baggage, it’s left me a bit shaken. Shaken in my ability to make sound choices, shaken in certainty of my direction. An unfortunate employment situation has left me even more shaken in my confidence in my abilities. Shaken as a face unemployment, downgrading my resume and trading off some long held components for something else more suitable, hopefully aligned with seminary pursuits. Maybe I’m not as smart, or articulate or as accomplished as I thought. I’m walking that fine line between critical evaluation and crashing confidence. Surely, I have much to offer but also wanting to be honest.

And I cry to the Lord, ‘what has all this been about? Why is there so much uncertainty so close to graduation? Why all this loss and failure? Where are you taking me? Why have you not answered my many prayers, turned things around by now and restored the years the locust have eaten?’ I weep. I grope. I question. I battle feeling like a loser.

But the one place I find solid ground is the resting place in Christ.  I’m learning this is where I win, because he already won.  In my imperfection, I can rest on His perfection that yields fruit over time. In my uncertainty, I can hope in his certainty that the Father knows exactly what is going on and exactly what he is doing and exactly how this will work out. I can only see through a very dim glass that at times has fogged to minimal visibility. But at the same time with clearer vision. Continue reading →