Pastor's Corner
March 2005
"He is on the path of life who heeds instruction,
But he who forsakes reproof goes astray."
Proverbs 10:17
Within the last few weeks there have been two times when I have been "wrong" in my sermons. The first was some weeks ago when I was sharing about the sanctity of human life. I mentioned that one of the reasons (among many) that human life is unique and special among all of creation is the fact that God specially "formed" man out of the dust from the ground" (with the Hebrew word "formed" being used of an artist fashioning something from clay). My comment was that this shows how special man is as this is the creative act where God is said to make man special. However later that day it was pointed out to me that in Genesis 2:19 it says "and out of the ground the Lord formed (same Hebrew word as 2:7) every beast of the field and every bird of the sky…." So in brief, I was wrong in that particular comment (even though I was correct in the point supported by other Scripture that man is unique as the pinnacle of God’s creation). I stand (stood?) corrected.
The more recent time I was "wrong" was the recent reference I made to Einstein having been the one who came-up with the Second Law of Thermodynamics. Well, as Dave Barry often refers to "thanks to an alert reader"; there was "an alert listener" that morning who wondered about this fact. Lo and behold they discovered that while Einstein built upon that Law, he did not come-up with it. That honor goes to a man named Rudolf Julius Emanuel Clausius! (I would have lost that one in "Trivial Pursuit"!) Again, I stand (stood?) corrected.
Now, all of this is to say several things. The first is that I make mistakes! However my key concern is that in matters of doctrine and faith I speak truth as best I can! The second thing is to point out that I am grateful that people in our body are listening to what is being said and (like the Bereans of Acts 17:11) are "examining the Scriptures (or history books?) daily to see whether these things are so."
Finally, I am very conscious of what God’s Word says in Proverbs 10:17 regarding "heeding instruction." It is the fool who won’t listen to "reproof" (correction)! So I invite people to keep listening, keep examining Scripture and to keep checking "facts". Preaching God’s Word is an enormous privilege for me and a tremendous and sobering responsibility! I pray for clarity, faithfulness and correctness! So as I do so I invite you to help “keep me on the path of life” (wisdom in Proverbs) as I "heed instruction". I do not ever want to "go astray" by "forsaking reproof"!
Serving with you,
