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If the Bible is the only source for God's word, where do Baptist pastors get their calling from?
- Thread starter delizzle
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delizzle
Active Member
A. What do you mean by "your god".
B. How does God call you to ministry via the Bible? Which verse did you read that said you were called?
D. Because your calling comes from God (not the congregation or other pastors) and [edit] your calling must have been given to you by God via the Holy Spirit in some form or fashion.
Edit: btw...for the record, I am not questioning the legitimacy of your calling. Only the method at which you received your calling. Also, thank you for your service in both law enforcement and military.
Last edited by a moderator:
Please do not lie about my calling.
delizzle
Active Member
That statement is not a lie unless you can provide the passage which specifically says that you were called. So please do not make false accusations about my integrity.
One last time. Do NOT lie about my calling.
BobRyan
Well-Known Member
The Bible says to to listen to what the Holy Spirit says - and as your post reminds us - the Holy Spirit was not "put on mute" at the end of the last page of the Bible.
The Word of God "is living and active and sharper than a two-edged sword" precisely because the Holy Spirit is speaking to us as we read it. "His anointing still teaches" 1 John 2.
This is problematic thread. It was obviously begun to attack cessationists who hold to sola scriptura. Those who do so cannot possibly believe that the Holy Spirit has no influence in their lives and ministries. That would be rank heresy.
I am an unconvinced cessationist; I believe that the Holy Spirit may, according to God's will, sometimes recreate the miracles of the New Testament. I also hold to a very high bar in such things; most of the so-called manifestations of the power of the Spirit — such as theatrical healings, speaking in "tongues" and "words of knowledge" must be held to rigorous examination. Most are unbiblical and can be rejected outright.
But that has nothing to do with calling. Cessationists do not believe the Holy Spirit does not work today. To say so is just stupid. The Holy Spirit works as He wills and will stir within the hearts of His own the desire for service.
It is difficult to discern who has had a true call and someone who thinks he has a call. I had a good friend who thought he was called to be a pastor. No one who knew him believed it; he was responding to his family, which would be proud if he were a pastor. And so it proved to be true.
The call of the Holy Spirit to be a pastor is subject to not only the would-be pastor's affirmation, but also by the congregation. Even that is not foolproof. A man may be a charlatan and lead his flock astray. History is rife with such cases.
But a true calling will be evidenced not only by the congregation but also by the life of the one who believes he is called. A man who has a solid record of service and moral rectitude can be assumed to have had a true call. A man who proclaims loudly that he has the call but proves to be a megalomaniac and a heretic may have had the call but did not live up to it and may not ever have had it at all. He who most loudly proclaims he has the call is the most suspect because he may be relying upon his own assertions, rather than his walk with God, to prove the call.
Many years ago I briefly thought I might have the call; friends and mentors thought so too. But I realized that I would make a horrible pastor; I needed too much humbling, and I had at least the sense to know it. Today, having been chastened by life, it is possible that I might make a passable pastor for some woebegone congregation. But that is not the calling that God chose for me, IMHO.
With that, and I do not like to have the last word on threads, this one is closed.
I am an unconvinced cessationist; I believe that the Holy Spirit may, according to God's will, sometimes recreate the miracles of the New Testament. I also hold to a very high bar in such things; most of the so-called manifestations of the power of the Spirit — such as theatrical healings, speaking in "tongues" and "words of knowledge" must be held to rigorous examination. Most are unbiblical and can be rejected outright.
But that has nothing to do with calling. Cessationists do not believe the Holy Spirit does not work today. To say so is just stupid. The Holy Spirit works as He wills and will stir within the hearts of His own the desire for service.
It is difficult to discern who has had a true call and someone who thinks he has a call. I had a good friend who thought he was called to be a pastor. No one who knew him believed it; he was responding to his family, which would be proud if he were a pastor. And so it proved to be true.
The call of the Holy Spirit to be a pastor is subject to not only the would-be pastor's affirmation, but also by the congregation. Even that is not foolproof. A man may be a charlatan and lead his flock astray. History is rife with such cases.
But a true calling will be evidenced not only by the congregation but also by the life of the one who believes he is called. A man who has a solid record of service and moral rectitude can be assumed to have had a true call. A man who proclaims loudly that he has the call but proves to be a megalomaniac and a heretic may have had the call but did not live up to it and may not ever have had it at all. He who most loudly proclaims he has the call is the most suspect because he may be relying upon his own assertions, rather than his walk with God, to prove the call.
Many years ago I briefly thought I might have the call; friends and mentors thought so too. But I realized that I would make a horrible pastor; I needed too much humbling, and I had at least the sense to know it. Today, having been chastened by life, it is possible that I might make a passable pastor for some woebegone congregation. But that is not the calling that God chose for me, IMHO.
With that, and I do not like to have the last word on threads, this one is closed.
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