Difficult Yet Delighting

John Gibson Paton (24 May 1824 - 28 January 1907), born in Scotland, was a Protestant missionary to the New Hebrides Islands of the South Pacific. Paton undertook a tremendous work which would yield little fruit for decades, convinced of the absolute sovereignty of God to build His church. Constantly under threat of death, Paton preached faithfully to the islands of the New Hebrides, raising a family there. As well as his missionary journeys, Paton raised great support for world missions at home in Scotland and inspired hundreds of missionaries to also take up the Great Commission and make disciples of all nations.

Attached is a biographical sermon on John G Paton by John Piper. Each year, at the Bethlehem Conference for Pastors, John Piper examines the life of a notable Christian figure from history. Please listen to the attached sermon, as it examines the life of one of the most courageous missionaries the world has ever seen. The pains Paton endured for the cause of Christ are beyond words. The endurance he displayed at the face of perils he faced is worth studying. Just four months after their arrival at the islands, both his wife and his newborn son died of a fever. He then served alone on the island for the next four years under incredible circumstances of constant danger until he was driven off from one of these islands in February, 1862. The natives were cannibals and occasionally ate the flesh of their defeated foes. 

What kept him going in spite of these hostile conditions and excruciating pain at the loss of his dear ones?

Paton once wrote, "I am more proud that the blood of Martyrs is in my veins, and their truths in my heart, than other men can be of noble pedigree or royal names" .

The truths he has in mind are the robust doctrines of Calvinism. He said in his Autobiography, "I am by conviction a strong Calvinist" (p. 195). For him this meant, a strong confidence that God can and will change the hearts of the most unlikely people. His Reformed doctrine of regeneration was crucial here in maintaining his courage in the face of humanly impossible odds. Commenting on the conversion of one native, he said, "Regeneration is the sole work of the Holy Spirit in the human heart and soul, and is in every case one and the same. "Oh, Jesus! To Thee alone be all the glory. Thou hast the key to unlock every heart that Thou has created" (p. 373). He thus believed in preaching the gospel trusting that the Holy Spirit will work through the proclaimed word to work in the hearts of the most unlikely people.

In other words, Calvinism, contrary to all misrepresentation, was not a hindrance to missions but the hope of missions for John Paton and hundreds of other missionaries like him. So it's not surprising that one of the source of courage for Paton was his confidence in the sovereignty of God.

John Piper's biograpahical sermon is titled "'You Will Be Eaten By Cannibals!'  Lessons from the Life of John G. Paton: Courage in the Cause of World Missions." So that is the focus of what he wants to say. He conceives the rest of this message in three parts:

1) What kinds of circumstances called for courage in Paton's life?

2) What did his courage achieve?

3) Where did his courage come from?

Our aim in posting this is twofold.

First of all, we want young people to hear and learn from the lives of previous generations. Biographies are so good in teaching us how men lived and honored our God. As it is written in Hebrews, we are to "consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith"(13:7). We hope the pain and suffering which men like Paton endured for Christ, will show us the worthiness and preciousness of the gospel. Yes it is worth going to an island of cannibals and die there preaching the gospel. It is more worthy than earning a good job and building the "American dream" of settling down, having lots of bank balance, thus enjoying the pleasures of this life. O how many of our young people - whether they are in America or not - are captives to this "American dream"?? How much of the sweet eternal pleasures of God are they missing??

Second, we hope Pastors will see how a radical belief in the absolute sovereignty of God over all things and including the salvation of sinners, is a fuel for missions and not  something which kills evangelism or missions. The whole modern missionary movement was lead by men for whom the Reformed doctrines were central and nourishing to their preaching and missionary efforts. 

May the Lord kindle our hearts through this message for Christ, who is worthy of our life and even our death and produce missionaries who will like John G. Paton live difficult lives yet delighting in an all sovereign God.

You Will Be Eaten by Cannibals! Lessons from the Life of John G. Paton
Courage in the Cause of Missions
2000 Bethlehem Conference for Pastors
Listen | Read | Download 

Let Me Show You Some Pics

Picture #1 : Sinners prayer is absolutely an unbiblical method.. God bless men like Paul Washer who has declared a war on such shabby man centered methods.

Picture #2 : God and not heaven is the treasure of a truly regenerate soul.. one truth which is largely neglected by those who engage in evangelism and by those who devise methods for evangelism.

Picture # 3: Many years ago A.W Tozer said this "if you are not changed by grace, you are not saved by grace'. Historically Calvinists have always believed that if someone is consistently living in sin, he is not backsliding but he is unregenerate. How different when most of today's pastors react by quoting the unbiblical doctrine of 'carnal Christian'? 

Picture # 4: Paul Washer says in the same sermon that most pastors above 40 years old have no clue of this revival happening among young men below 30 years and one which is not covered by any media.. In my experience that is a very very true statement.. both about young people who are being awakened to historic orthodoxy and their sleepy pastors who waste their time in silly non-theological things.

Picture # 5: Amen.. I too get angry at men who treat gospel as a mere ticket and then spend their whole life focusing on other things.. a church which is not radically gospel centered is a hard place to be.. 

The Recovery Of The Gospel

Rolfe Barnard (1904-1969) was evidently a prophet from God for the 20th Century. With a profound sense of the absolute sovereignty and glory of Jesus Christ, he was able to preach a message that produced conviction of sin. He maintained through all his ministry what he himself called a "sweetheart love for the Lord Jesus," and it is most surely apparent in his messages. Be prepared for a SHOCK if you enjoy the status quo type of preaching, but be assured that if you want the whole counsel of God, the late Evangelist Rolfe P. Barnard will set it forth in plain words, words you'll never forget!. He preaches with great love the pure truths of God. He was no fire and brimstone preacher, but certainly his preaching brings conviction and worship in the hearts of his hearers.

Below is his sermon "The Recovery of the Gospel" which he preached over the radio.

In these radio messages Evangelist Rolfe Barnard proclaims what the true Gospel of God's Grace is. The understanding of the true Gospel, and how it contrasts with the popular man-centered message of evangelicalism in our day, is sorely needed. He points out that the Gospel is Christ and that it is the announcement of the rule of God in Jesus Christ. The Gospel is not the Gospel unless it is preached in the power of the Holy Ghost. If grace does not make us to differ from other men, it is not the grace which God gives His children. One of the most important needs of the day is the recovery of the true glorious gospel of the mighty God our Lord Jesus Christ. If sin is as deadly as the bible says it is and the devil as real as the bible says he is, then to understand the true gospel of grace is the utmost need of our day. We are great sinners, sinning against a great God, that has offered us a great salvation.

This sermon he preached was on two radio shows.If you are a pastor/evangelist/a lay minister, please please I beg with you to hear this 46 min clip. Also please don't pass comments on this sermon until you have heard it fully and have pondered over your heart in light of what you have heard.

Quotes from the sermon :

"Today's gospel fails to produce in its hearers deep reverence of God, today's gospel fails to produce in its hearers deep repentance towards God, today's gospel fails to produce in its hearers deep humility before God, today's gospel fails to produce in its hearers deep worship of God -the gospel that is being preached today produces: lot's of converts, lot's of church members, it seems to change some of the ways of men and women, but it leaves men and women unchanged, it gets men to quite some of their bad habits and keep others - in short, today's gospel fails to produce CHRISTIANS !!"

"Grace of God is simply the grace that the God of all grace provides in Christ Jesus - a great salvation to meet the need of great sinners, who are guilty of great sin. This is the theme of the gospel of the God Almighty as it is in Christ Jesus."

"That proclamation which does not result in men and women being saved in the bible sense cannot be God's gospel."

"Unless our preaching brings sinners to a place of utter despair of any hope within themselves or anything they can do, we are not preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ."