tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8934298301663499561.post7435784657912784686..comments2023-05-07T09:56:23.909-04:00Comments on The Christian Curmudgeon: Sometimes the Questions Are Already AnsweredAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07146011447109951026noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8934298301663499561.post-46365262309793371242011-07-12T14:40:11.923-04:002011-07-12T14:40:11.923-04:00As you have rightly stated "The common evange...As you have rightly stated "The common evangelical mindset is that salvation is a private affair between the soul and God." However, is it possible that your question "How do we expect that our covenant children will become Christians?" belies your conviction (and mine too)that outside the visible church there is no ordinary possibility of salvation. Would it not be more appropriate to ask "How do we expect that our covenant children will be confirmed as (or will confess themselves to be) Christians?" If they are marked as Christ's in baptism, the diligent use of the means of grace should be to persuade them of this truth. Otherwise, don't we make the mistake against which you have been rightly railing against that our children must first be converted?Don Frankhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17252758119376534001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8934298301663499561.post-63513120981728840002011-07-12T11:05:39.452-04:002011-07-12T11:05:39.452-04:00An anonymous spiritual giant has said the followin...An anonymous spiritual giant has said the following: "From my perspective, which is admittedly only a little less than six and a half feet, this is your best column yet! Preach on, brother!" I trust this endorsement will put anything I say beyond question. (I do not believe he has 6 fingers, but, as I have not seen them, he could have 6 toes. At any rate at 6' 6'" he is a giant to me at 5' 81/2".)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07146011447109951026noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8934298301663499561.post-51400943164774878122011-07-12T08:56:57.700-04:002011-07-12T08:56:57.700-04:00You mentioned this, but it is something that recen...You mentioned this, but it is something that recently struck me. Until the invention of the printing press (and even for many years after that), individuals had no way of reading the Bible in private, unless they were particularly wealthy and could afford a hand-written copy. That means, for all intents and purposes, individuals and families could not have a "quiet time" as we generally think of it. They could not engage in personal Bible reading and study. They could not read through the Bible in a year, apart from the lectionary readings in church.<br /><br />That means that, if such personal quiet time devotional reading is ESSENTIAL to Christian growth, then the saints for the first 1500 years of the church had NO MEANS of growing in the Christian life.<br /><br />Now, that is an argument ad absurdum. We know that conclusion is not true; therefore the premise must not be true. Personal Bible reading, quiet times, etc. are NOT essential to the Christian life. Instead, as your post makes plain, Christian growth comes through the public reading and preaching of the Word and the other means of grace given to the Church.<br /><br />I am very grateful the Lord has blessed us with printed Bibles, and I treasure the time I spend in the Word each day. But that must not lead to neglect of the inestimable value of the publicly preached Word of God.Rodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05595768384130580254noreply@blogger.com