Disregard Man’s View; Follow God’s Call Part 2
Romans12:3 “For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.”
Shame on you Pastor if you have chosen one quality or characteristic from Timothy or Titus to stomp on the call of another!
1 Corinthians 10:12 “Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.”
Proverbs 16:18 “Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.”
By the way, God does the calling and the Holy Spirit sends. The church is a part of the process of assuring the one called has evidence of the call. However, it isn’t the responsibility of the church to decide whether God’s call on a saint is valid or not.
Matthew 9:38 “Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.” Baptists pray, plead, and preach this verse but pick and choose which laborer they want in the harvest! Perplexing?
P.S. Don’t think that licensing or ordination is the only spiritual “calling card.” I challenge the IFB to study licensing and ordination. By the way, have you studied the issue of ordination? I have seen over the years, that the case for the ordination of a Pastor is an unstudied part of the local church. My experience has viewed it as a time to belittle, mentally wreck, and question, based on the beliefs of men on the so-called council. Thus, I’m not convinced it is a necessary part of the IFB church but has been adopted from the connection many IFB churches had to the convention before pulling out. Consider this, are we independent or not? If so, this should be the approach; men in the local church should lay hands on the candidate without calling in elders or pastors from other churches who have no authority in the local assembly.
Jeremiah 1:5 “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.” Jeremiah was set apart and appointed by God, not man.