The Lord's People Mocked
Pastor's Letter from W.J. Seaton
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| The Lord's People Mocked
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July/August 2001 Dear Friends,One of the nicest words of testimony to come from the lips of the Lord's apostle Paul with regards to our Lord Jesus Christ is contained in something that he said as he stood before King Agrippa, in Acts chapter 26. Paul has been reasoning with Agrippa over the issues of the gospel, and it would seem that the truth of the resurrection of Christ was proving a stumbling block to that man. In verse 8 of the chapter, then, Paul asks Agrippa a very straightforward question: "Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you," he says, "that God should raise the dead?" And then comes Paul's word of testimony on the back of that: "I verily thought with myself," he tells Agrippa, "to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth, which things I also did..." Paul challenged Agrippa with regards to HIS thoughts, and then proceeds to tell Agrippa something about his own thoughts, and his own actions, indeed, prior to that time when God took a dealing with his never-dying soul. It can be a good thing, when speaking to the unconverted concerning their thoughts and actions towards Christ to remember how we ourselves thought and acted in our unconverted days. Paul thought to do many things contrary to the name of Christ, and he did them with a vengeance; and Paul wasn't the only one who followed that course in their life. Most have heard of the great George Whitefield, one of the greatest preachers that the Church has ever known. Whitefield's "fame" was so widespread in his day that he had become the subject of all kinds of jokes and baudy songs, and there were some men who boasted that they could do a "take-off" of Whitefield that would leave their audience roaring with laughter. On one occasion, four of these music hall turns decided to set a wager as to who could do the most effective imitation of Whitefield preaching one of his sermons. Each was to open his Bible at random, put his finger on a verse of scripture, and then preach extempore from that verse. One after another the men got up to do their piece, and each one seemed more hilarious than the one who had gone before. It then came the turn of the fourth man, a man named Thorpe, who was looked upon as being the best in the country in making a mockery of Whitefield. "I shall beat you all," he boasted, as he stepped on to a table that had been provided to act as a rostrum. The Bible was handed to him, and as he opened the Book, his finger landed on a verse in Luke's gospel: "Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish." The imitator read the words out loud, but as soon as he uttered them, he began to feel the impact of the truth which they contained. The awful truth of God's hatred of sin began to grow on him, and he began to preach and preach as though his own life, and the lives of those around him, depended on what he said. One sentence followed another, and never in his life had that man sounded more like the one that he had stood up to mimic. Not one person tried to interrupt him and all sat spellbound as the sobering truth of God's judgment rang around that room. Anger began to grow, but no one seemed to have the power to step forward to stop him. He stepped down from the table, and without so much as the wager being mentioned he fled from that place and was never seen within its walls again. After a period of deep conviction, he held out his hand in faith, and Christ brought him to Himself. As time went on he became one of the most fervent preachers of the gospel that he thought to scorn. What a blessed thing it is when we can speak in the past tense concerning how we thought of Christ, and indeed, acted towards Christ. "And such were some of you, but..." 1 Cor. 6:11. Yours sincerely, |
