STILL THE THINGS MOST SURELY BELIEVED AMONG US?

In reference to the 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith, Charles Haddon Spurgeon called it as the “most excellent epitome of the things most surely believed among us.” Needless to say that there are many who are uninformed of the contents of the Confession and yet their church subscribe to it. I am not ignorant of the fact that reading the confession of faith alone won’t take you to heaven. Neither being a Baptist for that matter. It’s only through repentance and faith in the death of Lord Jesus Christ. However, if the church you belong to subscribe to a confession of faith or some Church Constitution, surely won’t you, at least try and read the contents? This is a challenge the church of our day is facing- ignorance! I am not talking about the pastors and elders, these of course are not ignorant but the average Church member. Brethren we are not reading!
The art of reading among this generation has been lost. The experiences and habits gained from SMS, movies, emails, instant messaging, Skype and Facebook are not helping matters. These are tailored towards immediate consumption. We are leaving in “instant times,” when everything happens in a moment. Technological advancement enables people to get what they want immediately. You think of a friend, you can immediately call them up, Skype them, send them a message or post on their Facebook wall, send them an SMS, MMS, email and you shall be in touch immediately. However when it comes to reading Christian literature, there is no instant! How on earth can you read John Owen in an instant? The guy writes as though its Rocket science meant for Phd's and professors only. This calls for much study and hard work. The young Timothy was told to “Study to show himself approved, a workman able to divide the word.” There is no excuse to studying if we are going to be well grounded in the faith. We are further exhorted to “guard your doctrine and practice carefully.” Peter tells us that some stuff that we have to read won’t be easy to understand (2 Peter 3:16) and yet we need to persevere.
It is said of CH Spurgeon that he had 12,000 books and loved them all. It is further said that he would read six substantive books per week! It is very sad for some in our number who can remember reading a 100 paged Christian paperback, not in a week like Spurgeon, but in the last 2 years. I remember about 10 years ago hearing of the Junior Youth Group visiting a lady of church at her home. In the cause of the visit, the young people asked her what book she was currently reading. She narrated that she felt challenged because at that time she had been reading the bible only. They gently encouraged her to read other Christian books if she was to grow in her Christian faith. The following Sunday she went straight to the bookshop to buy a Christian book. Such was the zeal! The youth leaders would place a book in your hands on Sunday and give you two week to give a book review at the youth meeting.
There is need to slow down and recheck our habits that have been formed around the gadgets! We need to set aside time to read good well tested Christian books especially of the previous generation- the puritans and reformers. There is need to keep challenging one another what book/s your colleagues are reading- apart from the bible. Let us lend each other books. Lastly, we need to practice what we read. Remember, doctrine and practice always go hand in hand. May the Lord truly bless us and cause that we may love to read His word and also the Christian literature for our sanctification.