Introduction to Truth In Heart Ministries
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NATURE & GOAL:
Welcome to Truth In Heart Ministries. It is our desire to help you in any way we can.
Our intention was to make people reflect
upon the need for truth in the heart,
and not just in the
head. Our files on this web site and our CD have a lot of important information, and everyone dealing with such is
always in great
danger of failing
to receive the truth learned into the heart, where it also belongs. Thus, our purpose for this ministry is as the apostle: "the goal of our instruction is
love from a
pure heart and a
good conscience and a
sincere faith." But while we loath the imbalance of merely holding the accurate truth in unrighteousness (
Romans 1:18), we equally flee from mystical tendencies that discourage
sound, systematic, and thorough investigation. We again agree with the beloved apostle when he categorized all believers as receiving "the love of the truth so as to be saved." (2 Thes. 2.) Our purpose and method, which is
open to all for correction and advancement, is thus to promote as best as possible "salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth."
MINISTRY HISTORY:
Our ministry grew out of making available to earnest souls the rare resources that we gathered over twelve years of personal study. We could only afford to make basic photocopies and so furnish people with good spiritual material. But when the general need to get these books out became more apparent, better copies of originals were made and the work of typing them electronically began. Eventually a catalogue was requested on the Internet and the books that were being typed for other CD's were posted on this site. As requests continued and people benefited from the ordering of books it was seen to be useful to add certain other things such as links and testimonies. But as will be noticed by the compilation, it is not finished. We have over 70 printed volumes and almost 500 booklet/tracts. We have also begun recording the reading of these sermons and books. Further, it was not always intended that the things listed were all seen to have been of fundamental importance. But articles were posted on this site as they were presently being studied by the owner. As of April 2003, we have moved into a larger building in order to meet growing ministry demands. At the same time we began to display our books at Conferences, while bringing our mobile office for sales, production, and ministry. It is our desire to travel in America every few months to such locations as request and support our ministry.
OUR CONTENT:
An additional object was the desire to post rare Christian classics that no one else was working on and that generally seemed to be among the best that could be found on the particular subjects of interest. Finally, the authors mostly listed were sound, intelligent men of
deep religious commitment and experience, and who were either Revivalists, Christian educators, presidents or ministers who were deeply involved in promoting reformation in their day. The general time period of our authors is from 1700 to 1900. We presently desire to expand in any way that would best suit the need of the hour. We have an estimated number of at least 500 other works of most excellent quality, which no one else is doing anything about, and which we hope to make available on CD, and the Internet, for free in the future. The further progress of this ministry will largely depend on the interest of the viewers, the help of friends, and the time available by all.
OUR THEOLOGICAL POSITIONS:
As can be observed from reviewing the site, we have nothing to hide or apologize for theologically. Yet we realize from experience how difficult it can be to state anything these days without being very misunderstood by the choice of words given in any statement of faith. We also do not wish to so precisely stereotype our positions as to either prevent our
great Teacher from further developing our knowledge, or to fall into a nice convenient system and deceive ourselves. But we can safely say that we could call ourselves
orthodox in the evangelical sense of the word, and thus we are not restorationists or inventors of new doctrines that the church of Christ has never known till now. We believe the bible is the
final authority for deciding doctrine and is
without err in its original form. We would believe that there are fundamental doctrines contained therein which pertain to salvation and which
no one can afford to be wrong in.
The following Confession we would completely agree with:
CONFESSION OF FAITH OF THE CONGREGATION
AT THE CHURCH OF OBERLIN.
From The Oberlin Evangelist. Vol. VII.... No. 10. Whole No. 166. New Series, Vol. II. No. 10. Page 80. May 7, 1845. The introduction is also from O.E.
We publish this document by special request. It was the intention of its framers that it should include only the fundamental doctrines of the gospel—those which all real christians do in fact believe, because they are incorporated into the very flesh and blood of the christian life. The 8th article respects the gospel ordinances and the christian Sabbath. These institutions were thought to be of great, if not indispensable value to the prosperity of the visible church, though the belief of them may not be essential to the evidences of personal piety. With this exception, it is held that a creed should aim to comprise precisely the fundamental doctrines of the gospel—all these and no others. We rest this position on the obvious ground that in no other way can we hope to prevent the manifold and great evils of sectarianism. A church on this ground opens its doors equally to all christians, and shuts them against all others. All real christians and none others believe, love, and practice the fundamental doctrines of the gospel system. ED.
CONFESSION OF FAITH.
Article 1. We believe that the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are given by inspiration of God, and are the only infallible rule of faith and practice.
OUR PHILOSOPHICAL POSITION:
Many of our authors were profound scientists and philosophers. If the above details have not suggested it, our philosophy takes the Realist approach to viewing reality; or what others would call the 'commonsense' approach. We believe that all false religions and philosophies would not accept this method (which is the spontaneous practice of the race in times of emergencies and in ordinary matters of life which do not require self-denial), and such false teachers either 1. neglect to admit the existence of obvious faculties of the mind and universal facts of nature, or 2. they assume certain things to exist because they want to, and proceed to build entire systems of thought (which are often very logical from their false premise) upon such desires or superstitions. This does not just take place among secularists, but also in the professing church. Most of the theological schools today do not train their students carefully in philosophy, and sadly many turn out in part or in whole with the same sort of unrealistic assumptions that support the endlessly conflicting errors in the professing church. We would thus approach the bible realistically (in a manner that everyone would wish to be understood by others), and historically, not allegorically (supposing what we wish to be behind the words), mystically (spiritualizing everything to the point contradiction), selfishly (neglecting its full application, and making it consistent with sinful living), or legalistically (neglecting to realize its various modes of expression, or graded commandments--which sometimes are circumstantial). We understand that God has given us two major revelations: the light of nature (natural revelation); and the written Word of God (special revelation). We see that they do not conflict, and that the second should in no way be understood to obviously set aside the first--which is the only thing we personally have to verify the second (against other opposing claims). Many false doctrines in the church are owing to the fact that people go into the bible without its own method of interpretation and without due consideration of the same primary or natural revelation which is supposed to lead us to accept this second revelation. In conclusion, every false theology in the church and world is owning to a false philosophy which people have either received by tradition, indolence, selfishness, or ignorance.
OUR MODERN CONCERN:
We have concerns about many things in our day but try and confine our energies in the
most needful areas so as to accomplish the greatest possible good. Again, it is not our desire to contend for contention's sake, but we see it as vital to the interests of God's kingdom to
contend for the faith. Our hearts rejoice with the goodness of God in the salvation of many in all ages. But we have come to see that the kingdom of heaven will not advance until the professed church of Christ is purified so it will be properly effective in reaching the world and
accomplishing God's will. We thus
lament over the
modern gospel that is widely preached in America in general, in which the chief aims are numbers and
pleasure. We hope to expose these modern forms of
lawlessness, and will only be satisfied with
Truth In
"Take care that you keep your hearts with all diligence, and that your hearts keep pace with your intellectual improvement. If you do not make a self-application of the truth as fast as you learn it, if you do not obey it, it will ultimately blind instead of enlighten you. You must live up to your convictions, or the study of theology will greatly and fatally harden you. Therefore be careful that you grieve not, resist not, quench not the Holy Spirit. Study on your knees. Go to God with every position that is established, and pray him to write the truth in your heart; and rest not till it be adopted by you as your own, as a truth to influence you, to have dominion over you; and as these truths are developed in your intellect one after the other, and established, let it be settled that in the midst of them, and in conformity with them, you are to live and move and have your being.
"If you do this the study of theology will make you a mellow, anointed, devoted, useful man of God; if you do it not, you will become hardened and reprobate. And of all the reprobate minds in existence, they seem to be the most hardened who have studied theology and gone through the course of theology without receiving the truth into their hearts. Every truth that lodges in the head and does not take possession of the heart, is to the student "the savor of death unto death." As you value your own souls, therefore, as you value your influence, as you value the cause of God, let it be settled that with much prayer and the utmost honesty and effort you will make every truth of theology your own, not only in the sense of mastering it with your intellect, but of embracing and obeying it in your heart.
Jan. 14, 2002
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