Most blessed challenge! How unanswerable it is! Every sin of the elect was laid upon the great Champion of our salvation, and by the atonement carried away. There is no sin in God's book against His people: He sees no sin in Jacob, neither iniquity in Israel; they are justified in Christ forever. When the guilt of sin was taken away, the punishment of sin was removed. For the Christian there is no stroke from God's angry hand—no, not so much as a single frown of punitive justice. The believer may be chastised by his Father, but God the Judge has nothing to say to the Christian except "I have absolved you: you are acquitted.”
For the Christian there is no penal death in this world, much less any second death. He is completely freed from all the punishment as well as the guilt of sin, and the power of sin is removed too. It may stand in our way and agitate us with perpetual warfare; but sin is a conquered foe to every soul in union with Jesus. There is no sin that a Christian cannot overcome if he will only rely upon his God to do it. They who wear the white robe in heaven overcame through the blood of the Lamb, and we may do the same. No lust is too mighty, no besetting sin too strongly entrenched; we can overcome through the power of Christ.
Do believe it, Christian—your sin is a condemned thing. It may kick and struggle, but it is doomed to die. God has written condemnation across its brow. Christ has crucified it, nailing it to His cross. Go now and mortify it, and may the Lord help you to live to His praise, for sin with all its guilt, shame, and fear is gone.
Here's pardon for transgressions past,
It matters not how black their cast;
And, O my soul, with wonder view,
For sins to come here's pardon too.
Thanks Helen,
Charles Spurgeon was an important part of my early recovery out of CF
The phrase 'Thou shall not touch the Lord anointed' or something to that effect was used by Ray Jackson, Vic Hall and all the other leaders in the Christian Fellowship since. This has been a statement allowing the leaders to get away with abuse. The question to ask is are these men really the Lord's Anointed?
If you answered yes to that question, go one step further and ask what makes me say that.
While I can confidently answer that the leaders in CF are defiantly not the Lord's Anointed and could write a very lengthy argument as to why, its a question that needs to be answered personally.
Abuse is abuse regardless of how big we think it is. We do ourselves a great disservice when we minimise our own pain by comparing to others. Part of the healing process is to Validate yourself regardless of how insignificant you may feel your experience was.
I have heard many many times over the decades from MCF leaders when questioned about abuse, “Touch not the Lord anointed”. The Bible does quote this verse however the Lord was NEVER referring to apply this verse in sexual assault, emotional and physical abuse. They are CRIMES and need to be reported to appropriate authorities. When leaders are made aware of such abuse situations, they are legally required to report to authorities. This DID not occur in MCF or BCF. To this very day they are choosing to “Touch not the Lord appointed”. Dangerous community they all are.
BreakFree wrote: ↑Mon Jul 29, 2024 10:58 am
...its a question that needs to be answered personally.
This is so true! My personal questions were answered when I found out just how honest leaders had been with me concerning some who had left the fellowship and some who had been stood down from ministry. I was lied to. To my face. And they weren't lies about small matters... Yet somehow, the culture is still very much one of, "don't ask questions". Or maybe it's a little bit more sophisticated than that. It's more like, "You can ask whatever you like, so long as it is approved by the presbytery". It reminds me of a quote from Henry Ford, "Any customer can have a car painted any color that he wants so long as it is black".
Sometimes I wish that I was bolder to ask a few more direct questions earlier than I did. I would have left earlier. But (as Helen continually encourages), I am so thankful to God. Since leaving, His mercy and kindness to me has been far more than I ever imagined possible.