BibleDriven

Christ the Sum and Centre

“Christ Jesus the Lord, is the sum and centre of all divine revealed truth; neither is any thing to be preached unto men,

as an object of their faith, or necessary element of their salvation, which does not, in some way or other, either meet in him, or refer unto him. All truths, especially divine, are of a noble and precious nature; and, t herefore, whatsoever mysteries of his counsel God has been pleased in his Word to reveal, the church is bound in

her ministry to declare unto men.

And St. Paul professes his faithfulness therein, ‘I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God’ (Acts 20.27): but yet all this counsel (which elsewhere he calls the testimony of God) he gathers together into one conclusion, ‘I determined not to know any thing amongst you’ (1 Corinthians 2.1-2), that is, in my preaching unto you to make discovery of any other knowledge, as matter of consequence or faith, but only of Jesus Christ and him crucified (2 Corinthians 4.5). And therefore preaching of the Word, is called preaching of Christ,—and ministers of the Word, ministers of Christ (1 Corinthians 4.1-2; 2 Corinthians 3.6, 14),—and learning of the Word, learning of Christ (Ephesians 4.20); because our faith, our works, and our worship (which are the three essential elements of a Christian, the whole duty of man, the whole will of God,) have all their foundation, growth, end, and virtue, only in and from Christ crucified.”

—Edward Reynolds (1599-1676)
An Explication of the Hundred and Tenth Psalm

Michael Spencer (1956-2010)

Michael Spencer (1956-2010), a.k.a. the Internet Monk (and my friend), passed from here (at his home in Oneida, KY) into the presence of the Lord yesterday (Monday, 05 April), with his family at his side.

I first got to know Michael when I was at Southern Seminary, and always enjoyed stimulating conversations with him over some good coffee in the Founders Cafe. We may not always have seen eye to eye on every theological jot and tittle, but Michael was articulate, insightful, always charitable even when challenging, and not so much opinionated as having strong convictions. He had studied hard.

He knew what he believed and why he believed it. And he was passionate for truth.

Here’s a bit from his bio:

Michael started Internet Monk right after the November 2000 elections, and has been blogging ever since. Internet Monk is consistently rated in the top twenty Christian blogs in the world. It was recently voted the number 6 blog at ChurchRelevance.com and is rated the #11 blog in the Christian blogosphere. His work has been noted on blogs around the world and published in newspapers and magazines, such as The Christian Science Monitor and Modern Reformation. He was featured in the September 21, 2006 edition of Time Magazine for his blogging on Joel Osteen and was chosen as a featured blogger by the Dallas Morning News. He has been cited and linked by The Drudge Report, CNN, Glenn Beck, CBN, GetReligion, Out of Ur, Christianity Today, BBC Africa, Yahoo News, Andrew Sullivan, Daily Kos, Rod Dreher, National Review Online and Real Clear Politics, among many others. His analysis of evangelicalism has made him a frequent guest on podcasts and radio programs such as The God Whisperers, Truth Talk and Frank Pastore.

In 2008 Michael was awarded a sabbatical grant from the Louisville Institute to pursue his interest in “Contemplation and Balance in Life and Ministry.” He has been a seminar presenter and panel moderator at Cornerstone ’08 and ’09. He is a regular guest at Steve Brown, etc. and has appeared at The Frank Pastore Show and The Catholic Guy Radio program.

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He has been interviewed on numerous radio programs and magazines. He also podcasts the popular Internet Monk Radio podcast.

Michael’s first book, still untitled, will be published by Waterbrook Press in the fall of 2010. [I think the working title now is Mere Churchianity.]

Yesterday, Michael left here, and we mourn with his dear family and ponder our loss. The Lord’s ways aren’t our ways, but his ways are perfect. Today, Michael is alive and well, because Christ the Lord—in whom he trusted and whom he loved—died for our sins, and was buried, and was raised on the third day and lives forevermore and is able to save to the uttermost all who come to God by him. Sweet shall be your memory, my brother, till we meet again.