About the Author

Thomas Ray Floyd was born in 1953 in Simpson County, Mississippi, the son of Roy Thomas Floyd and Lina Sue Shows Floyd. Thomas Ray's mother was a member of a Primitive Baptist church, and he cut his teeth on the doctrines of distinguishing grace.

When he was a small boy, his father was converted to Christ and became a member of a Missionary Baptist Church. Thomas Ray joined the church of his father when he was 13 years old, and thought of himself as a Christian. The doctrines of grace that he had heard as a child continued to be precious to him and when he became an adult, he joined a Primitive Baptist Church. When he was 27, Thomas Ray made his first effort to preach the gospel in public and was ordained to the full functions of the ministry in 1985. In 1986 he was convinced under the preaching of Rolfe Barnard (by tapes from Mt. Olive Tape Library), the written sermons of Spurgeon, and the ministry of Elder Zack Guess that he had been a false professor and cried out in agony of soul to the Lord Jesus Christ to have mercy and truly save him. And He did! Floyd then began to preach the gospel as he had been taught of the Lord.

Floyd has pastored churches in Mississippi, Louisiana, and Tennessee and until recently was pastor of a church plant known as "Particular Baptist Fellowship." He and his wife Brenda presently attend Zion Baptist Church at Polkville, Mississippi, pastored by Elder Glen Hopkins. The pulpit ministry of Zion Baptist Church can be heard at Sermonaudio.com.

Sunday, November 9, 2014

Another Lesson from Great Faith

(Article for publication week of  11-13-2014 AD)
 
"For I also am a man set under authority, having under me soldiers, and I say unto one,' Go', and he goeth; and to another,' Come', and he cometh; and to my servant , 'Do this,' and he doeth it. When Jesus heard these things, He marveled at him, and turned him about, and said unto the people that followed Him, 'I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no not in Israel' " (Luke 7:9-10).
We return this week to our lesson we have been considering for several weeks concerning the Roman centurion, who the Lord declared was of "great faith." We have opened several doctrinal and practical lessons in this account which is given in Luke 7:1-10 and Matthew 8:5-13. We have shown that this man's faith was marked by profound humility and absolute trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. We had also shown that this faith was found in a surprising character, first in that the man was a soldier and secondly in that he was a gentile. We have also shown from these passages that we can serve the Lord in any lawful calling, and then we used the occasion to show from the scriptures something of what a lawful calling is. Now we come to make another practical point which is evident from these passages, and the point is this- the scriptures nowhere teach the man made philosophy of equality.
Our Lord was not an egalitarian. Note well, in the lesson at hand the Lord Jesus Christ recognised that the centurion was a man under authority, and he was a man with authority over others. This man of great faith was an officer in the Roman army, and the Lord recognises this as being righteous by His holy approbation. The man also had servants ("doulos"in the Greek, of which we hope to write later). If our Lord had been an egalitarian, or a guru who had come to teach equality, this would have been the place for Him to command the Roman Centurion to resign his commission, get out of the Roman Army, and free his domestic servants. On the other hand, our Lord commended this dear brother to us as an example of "great faith."
Now, dear readers, note well, the Bible nowhere teaches the vain philosophy of egalitarianism. In fact Lucifer was the first advocate of equality when he said "I will be like the Most High' (Isaiah 14:14).After Lucifer lost his first estate by this rebellion, he then tempted Eve with a promise of equality , when he said to her, "ye shall be as gods"(Genesis 3:5). Every egalitarian movement, including abolitionism, feminism, civil rights-ism, and now the sodomite rights movement is based on this Satanic lie of equality. Current policy in government, the media and the education system is generally based on this lie of equality.
Conversely, inequality is a self evident fact and a reality which the scriptures embrace and regulate and with which they teach us to be content . For example, the fifth commandment , "honour thy father and thy mother", teaches us not only to obey our parents, but also to respect all lawful authority, to be diligent and humble in our own authority, and to be content to stay in our place. Our Baptist forefathers taught us in our catechism (like the one endorsed by the old Charleston Association), in question and answer 69, "What is required by the fifth commandment?" Answer prescribed, "The fifth commandment requires the preserving the honour, and performing the duties belonging to every one in their several places and relations, as superiors, inferiors, and equals." The Westminster Larger Catechism goes into further details as to the duties of superiors to inferiors, inferiors to superiors, and equals to equals.
Dear readers, be not deceived by the devilsh and anti-Biblical and anti- God lie of equality.

 

 

 

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