“God, that Comforteth those that are Cast Down” by C. H. Spurgeon (Morning and Evening, February 20, Morning)

“But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus…” (2 Corinthians 7:6 ESV)

And who comforteth like him? Go to some poor, melancholy, distressed child of God; tell him sweet promises, and whisper in his ear choice words of comfort; he is like the deaf adder, he listens not to the voice of the charmer, charm he never so wisely. He is drinking gall and wormwood, and comfort him as you may, it will be only a note or two of mournful resignation that you will get from him; you will bring forth no psalms of praise, no hallelujahs, no joyful sonnets. But let God come to his child, let him lift up his countenance, and the mourner’s eyes glisten with hope. Do you not hear him sing—

“‘Tis paradise if thou art here;

If thou depart, ’tis hell?”

You could not have cheered him: but the Lord has done it; “He is the God of all comfort.” There is no balm in Gilead, but there is balm in God. There is no physician among the creatures, but the Creator is Jehovah-rophi. It is marvellous how one sweet word of God will make whole songs for Christians. One word of God is like a piece of gold, and the Christian is the gold beater, and can hammer that promise out for whole weeks. So, then, poor Christian, thou needest not sit down in despair. Go to the Comforter, and ask him to give thee consolation. Thou art a poor dry well. You have heard it said, that when a pump is dry, you must pour water down it first of all, and then you will get water, and so, Christian, when thou art dry, go to God, ask him to shed abroad his joy in thy heart, and then thy joy shall be full. Do not go to earthly acquaintances, for you will find them Job’s comforters after all; but go first and foremost to thy “God, that comforteth those that are cast down,” and you will soon say, “In the multitude of my thoughts within me thy comforts delight my soul.”

This week Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary had the honor of hosting Russell D. Moore, president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention. Dr. Moore preached the Scudder Lecture in chapel on Wednesday, and afterward he talked with some of our faculty, students, and guests about topics ranging from what the ERLC is to how to counsel a new believer in Christ who had undergone gender reassignment surgery. It was a very edifying time and I invite you to watch the entire conversation with Dr. Moore here.

More than a few jokes have begun with “Have you heard the one about the Pope and Billy Graham . . ., ” but when it comes to religious liberty, the need for Roman Catholics and Evangelicals—and all people of faith—to stand together is no laughing matter.

That is why I was so pleased to see Kansas City’s J.E. Dunn Construction recently file an amicus brief with the United States Supreme Court supporting Hobby Lobby’s objection to the HHS Mandate. Of particular concern to the Dunn family, and Hobby Lobby’s Green family, is that the HHS Mandate requires employers to provide contraception and abortifacient drugs to employees—a violation of Christian conscience and an abridgement of their religious liberty.

As practicing Roman Catholics, it is unsurprising that the Dunn family entered the fray in the Hobby Lobby case. Roman Catholic dogma proscribes contraception and finds abortifacient drugs particularly lamentable. They are abortive by definition. They do not merely prevent pregnancy; they terminate it.

While I own significant theological differences with the Roman Catholic Church, I, as an Evangelical, share their concerns over the HHS Mandate. I have substantial reservations about certain forms of contraception and urgent concerns about abortifacient drugs. This case, however, is about more than contraception; it is about conscience—and the HHS Mandate’s abridgement of one’s religious liberties.

To be sure, the First Amendment is not a universal trump card, guaranteeing citizens the right to practice any and all beliefs one can cram into a religious classification. Yet, the burden of proof seems to be shifting from those who would curtail expressions of religious liberty to those who merely seek to practice it.

The fundamental question is, Can the government coerce citizens to violate their most deeply held religious convictions? The answer, save red-herring examples, must be “no.” And in this deliberation, society must proceed with care and caution, with the ever-present awareness that a government powerful enough to regulate one’s religious liberty is powerful enough to eradicate it.

Indeed, now is the time for all persons—religious and irreligious—who care about religious liberty, freedom of speech, and conscience to speak out. In this sense, we are all potential victims now.

Whether matters of contraception and abortifacient drugs, or the ability to hold to a biblical sexual ethic and traditional, conjugal marriage, the common denominator in all of these issues is quickly becoming religious liberty. Even if one is personally ambivalent over the HHS Mandate, all citizens should care deeply about the First Amendment—the right to practice any religion or no religion at all.

As a Christian minister, I celebrate the First Amendment and engage in a happy co-belligerence with other religious groups, not because I believe all religions are equally valid, but because I believe they are not. We, within acknowledged societal pluralism, desire to live, worship, advocate, and yes, evangelize in accordance with our own faith and practice, without fear of political reprisal or recrimination. For tens of millions of Americans, our consciences are bound; we fear God more than man.

Yet, for the gospel minister the issue runs even deeper still. The issue is not merely religious self-preservation or the protection of one’s conscience. We believe the truths we confess and practice are also worth advocating—giving the world a chance to hear and embrace them. Though it sounds audacious to some, these are truths we must speak, and, we believe, others need to hear. This message includes the dignity of every human life and the insistence that conjugal, heterosexual marriage leads to greater human flourishing and happiness, and, most especially, a gospel message of repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.

Winston Churchill famously observed, “An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last.” Whether by appeasement or apathy, not to rally together to defend religious liberty will prove a costly mistake. Crocodiles are not prowling our streets, but when it comes to religious liberty, Leviathan appears to be. These days his appetite seems insatiable.

Beware of ignoring your neighbor’s religious liberty concern; assuming your own religious liberty is well protected. A government strong enough to limit your neighbor’s religious liberty is strong enough to eliminate yours.

“All the Days of my Appointed Time will I Wait” by C. H. Spurgeon (Morning and Evening, May 6, Morning)

“If a man dies, shall he live again? All the days of my service I would wait, till my renewal should come.” (Job 14:14 ESV)

A little stay on earth will make heaven more heavenly. Nothing makes rest so sweet as toil; nothing renders security so pleasant as exposure to alarms. The bitter quassia cups of earth will give a relish to the new wine which sparkles in the golden bowls of glory. Our battered armour and scarred countenances will render more illustrious our victory above, when we are welcomed to the seats of those who have overcome the world. We should not have full fellowship with Christ if we did not for awhile sojourn below, for He was baptized with a baptism of suffering among men, and we must be baptized with the same if we would share his kingdom.

Fellowship with Christ is so honourable that the sorest sorrow is a light price by which to procure it. Another reason for our lingering here is for the good of others. We would not wish to enter heaven till our work is done, and it may be that we are yet ordained to minister light to souls benighted in the wilderness of sin. Our prolonged stay here is doubtless for God’s glory. A tried saint, like a well-cut diamond, glitters much in the King’s crown. Nothing reflects so much honour on a workman as a protracted and severe trial of his work, and its triumphant endurance of the ordeal without giving way in any part.

We are God’s workmanship, in whom He will be glorified by our afflictions. It is for the honour of Jesus that we endure the trial of our faith with sacred joy. Let each man surrender his own longings to the glory of Jesus, and feel, “If my lying in the dust would elevate my Lord by so much as an inch, let me still lie among the pots of earth. If to live on earth for ever would make my Lord more glorious, it should be my heaven to be shut out of heaven.” Our time is fixed and settled by eternal decree. Let us not be anxious about it, but wait with patience till the gates of pearl shall open.

Earlier this week I was invited to the University of Mobile to give a lecture on the issue of biblical manhood and womanhood. It was a great time to visit with old friends, make new ones, and proclaim the gospel of Christ in a culture with an increasingly relativistic view of sexuality. While in Mobile, I was interviewed by Carol McPhail with the Mobile Register, who asked about some of the important issues facing the church today, such as the Calvinism debate and biblical sexuality. I was also able to talk about my vision for Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and the future of SBC leadership. You can read the summary of our conversation here.