Skip to main content

Broken Heroes: What Can we Learn from the Life of Athanasius? by Pastor Charlie Handren

By Anonymous
Athanasius (ca. 295-373) was a fourth century pastor, theologian, and leader who loved God with all of his heart and stood strong against the onslaught of Arian heresy, even when no one else would stand with him. Over the last two weeks we have considered aspects of his life that were commendable, and some that were unfortunate. We have seen that Athanasius was a broken hero, so now the question is, what can we learn from his life?

First, Athanasius sincerely loved the Word of God and the God of the Word. As his good friend Gregory of Nazianzus wrote, “From meditating on every book of the Old and New Testaments, with a depth such as none else has applied even to one of them, he grew rich in contemplation, rich in splendor of life” (Oration 21.6). This long meditative journey shaped his soul and prepared his mind for the battles that lie ahead, and formed in him a confident and accurate conviction about what the Bible does and does not say. Were it not for this fundamental passion, he could not have stood for truth and Arianism may well have taken permanent hold of the church. Like Athanasius, our love for God and his Word may well bear unexpected fruit, so let us follow his example and gladly cling to the gracious words of our Creator.

Second, beyond mere Bible reading and personal meditation, Athanasius did the painstaking work of thinking about the overarching themes of the Bible, that is, he engaged in theological reflection. The simple lesson I take from this is that theology matters. Ideas about God, right or wrong, have consequences, and we must seek to understand, uphold, and defend what is biblically right no matter what the cost or consequence. Theological reflection can lead to idle speculation, but when it is founded upon a genuine passion for God and his Word, it leads to God-honoring stability for the church. Theology matters, and like Athanasius, we should give ourselves to thinking about the overarching themes of the Bible.

Third, Athanasius provides us with a stunning example of what it means to persevere in Christ. He endured much suffering for the sake of truth, and he did so by fixing his eyes on Christ, taking up his cross, and following the Lord to the day of his death. He feared God more than people, and he leaned hard upon the presence and promises of God, and therefore he was able to press on. His life clearly displays the truth that perseverance is a fruit of faith, so may we too look to Christ and follow him all the days of our lives.

Finally, Athanasius teaches us that God uses broken people. His flaws were real, and the hurt he caused was serious. But God uses broken people, and therefore we should not be ashamed to count him a hero. And we should be encouraged that God can use each of us for his glory—warts, wounds, and all.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Secret of all Failure is our Failure in Secret Prayer

By
“We may be assured of this—the secret of all failure is our failure in secret prayer” (12). So writes the anonymous author of the classic little book on prayer entitled, The Kneeling Christian (Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids: 1971). He means that the reason we so often fall into sin or live in discouragement or fail to bear fruit is because we do not cling to God in Christ above all things. We do not diligently seek him or lean on him or plead with him or draw on his strength. We give ourselves to busyness over communion with God and in this way we seek to accomplish in our flesh what can only be accomplished in the power of the Spirit.  Giving first place to what our dear author calls “secret prayer” is indeed a key to the Spirit-filled life but let’s be clear: prayer is not magic, rather, it’s a relationship. It’s not as if we simply have to file requests with God, being careful to use just the right words so that we can get him to respond as we wish. God is not a vending m
Post a Comment
Read more

Deacons - How They Serve and Strengthen the Church (Part 1)

By
  One of the next important priorities for GCF is to establish deacons in the life of the church. On March 14, 2021 we were able to establish an elder team. Currently, we have a team of four elders overseeing the congregation of GCF.  However, there is more work to be done. I have come to see that establishing an elder team was the bare minimum that needed to happen for GCF to survive. I believe GCF now needs to turn our attention to raising up a team of qualified and willing deacons to serve the congregation so that it will not only survive but thrive.   I would like to begin a series of blogs on deacons to help us understand who they are and what they do in the life of the church.  In this blog let me provide three reasons why I think deacons should be near our top priority.  Number 1: It is Biblical. Paul instructs Timothy to install elders who will help him pastor the church. For whatever reason, it seems the churches in our circles treat the installment of elders as non-negotiable
Post a Comment
Read more

Does the Doctrine Divide? by Patience Griswold

By Anonymous
“Oh, I try not to talk about doctrine. It’s so divisive.” This is a sentiment that I’ve heard expressed, as well as implied, on many occasions, and one that raises the question, does doctrine divide? In answering this question, we must keep in mind a very important truth and that is that everyone holds to some sort of doctrine . “Doctrine” is defined as “a belief or set of beliefs held and taught by a church, political party, or other group.” Regardless of whether or not someone publicly holds to a statement of beliefs from a particular church, every Christian, by definition, holds to a particular set of beliefs. As Carl Trueman observes in his book The Creedal Imperative ,       [W]hile Christianity cannot be reduced to doctrine, to mere teaching, it cannot be meaningfully separated from it, either. Even the most basic claims, such as “Jesus is Lord,” carry clear doctrinal content that needs to be explicated in a world where, as we have noted before, every heretic has his text and n
Post a Comment
Read more