Consider God! “God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable, in his being, wisdom, holiness, justice, goodness and truth.”[1] God created the heavens and earth and all that is in them out of nothing by the Word of His power. God’s eternal glory is declared by the rising of the sun He created, the ebb and flow of the oceans He controls, and by the grandeur of the highest mountains that speak of the majesty of his name. “Since the perfection of blessedness consists in the knowledge of God, he has been pleased, in order that none might be excluded from the means of obtaining felicity, not only to deposit in our minds that seed of religion of which we have already spoken, but so to manifest his perfections in the whole structure of the universe, and daily place himself in our view, that we cannot open our eyes without being compelled to behold him.”[2]
God needs nothing nor does He draw anything from that which He created. God is self-existent.[3] He is without beginning or end. “From everlasting to everlasting you are God.” God is necessary. “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.” [4] And God is non-contingent. God is not limited in any way by man, the devil, or any other created thing. “For his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom endures from generation to generation; all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, ‘What have you done?’”[5] The God of Christian faith “is not an abstraction, but a Person – with a right arm and a voice.”[6] God the Father - He is there and He is not silent![7]
Consider God! In times past God spoke by prophets and phenomena; by miracle and manifestation. But in these last days God has spoken completely, comprehensively, and finally by His Son; who is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature. The Son of God speaks by his virgin birth, sinless life, vicarious death, bodily resurrection, glorious ascension, and everlasting mediation of the covenant of grace. He tells us that all which was lost in the 1st Adam is redeemed in the 2nd Adam. Through Him we learn of the utter sinfulness of our sin and the absolute sufficiency of our Savior. God the Son – He came down and His gospel saves!
Consider God! Proceeding from the Father and the Son is the Holy Spirit who brings every decree of God to its appointed end. Most importantly, the Holy Spirit fully persuades and assures us of the infallible truth and divine authority of the Word of God. He convinces us of our sin and misery, enlightens our minds to the knowledge of Christ, and renews our wills enabling us to believe, trust, and embrace the gift of God as offered to us in the gospel.[8] God the Holy Spirit – He is here and He will not fail!
Consider God! “He is the source of all things in that they have proceeded from him; he is the Creator. He is the agent through whom all things subsist and are directed to their proper end. And he is the last end to whose glory all things redound.”[9]
“For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be glory forever. Amen.”
[1] Westminster Shorter Catechism, Q&A #4
[2] John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, 2 vols. (1845; reprint, Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1964), 1:51.
[3] Psalm 90:2
[4] Revelation 4:11
[5] Daniel 4:34-35
[6] Harry Blamires, The Christian Mind, (Servant Publications, Ann Arbor, MI 1963) p. 111
[7] Francis Schaeffer
[8] Westminster Shorter Catechism, Q&A #30,31
[9] John Murray, quoted by John D. Hannah, How Do We Glorify God?, P&R Publishing (Phillipsburg, New Jersey 2000) p.42
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Our Only Means
The most important doctrinal question of the Reformation was “How does God save sinners?” To say it another way, “How are sinners justified in the sight of God?” The answer to these questions is only found in a salvation that comes in Christ by grace through faith alone. The doctrine of justification by faith alone was and remains the defining tenet of Protestant evangelical Christianity. At the heart of this doctrine was the issue of whether righteousness of God was infused in us or imputed to us. R. C. Sproul said it this way, “The crucial issue of infusion or imputation of righteousness remains irreconcilable. We are either justified by a righteousness that is in us or a righteousness that is apart from us. There is no third way.”
The Westminster Shorter Catechism defines justification as, “An act of God’s free grace, wherein he pardons all our sins, and accepts us as righteous in his sight, only for the righteousness of Christ imputed to us, and received by faith alone.” Christ is our mediator and all sufficient merit. His birth, life, death and resurrection fully propitiated the judgment of God and expiated our sins. Grace is the unmerited favor of God who pardons our sins and accepts us as righteous for Christ’s sake. Faith is the persuading power of the Holy Spirit that convinces us of the incarnation of Christ, what Christ did as our substitute on the cross, what Christ is doing as mediator of the new covenant, leading us to offer to God our “Amen” for all the promises that are ours in Jesus.
Salvation by grace through faith in Christ plus something is not the gospel. Only the work of the Son of God, freely given by the grace of God, appropriated through the faith of God alone, in any way can be called “good news.”
“We shall possess a right definition of faith if we call it a firm and certain knowledge of God’s benevolence toward us, founded upon the truth of the freely given promise in Christ, both revealed to our minds and sealed upon our hearts through the Holy Spirit.” John Calvin
The Westminster Shorter Catechism defines justification as, “An act of God’s free grace, wherein he pardons all our sins, and accepts us as righteous in his sight, only for the righteousness of Christ imputed to us, and received by faith alone.” Christ is our mediator and all sufficient merit. His birth, life, death and resurrection fully propitiated the judgment of God and expiated our sins. Grace is the unmerited favor of God who pardons our sins and accepts us as righteous for Christ’s sake. Faith is the persuading power of the Holy Spirit that convinces us of the incarnation of Christ, what Christ did as our substitute on the cross, what Christ is doing as mediator of the new covenant, leading us to offer to God our “Amen” for all the promises that are ours in Jesus.
Salvation by grace through faith in Christ plus something is not the gospel. Only the work of the Son of God, freely given by the grace of God, appropriated through the faith of God alone, in any way can be called “good news.”
“We shall possess a right definition of faith if we call it a firm and certain knowledge of God’s benevolence toward us, founded upon the truth of the freely given promise in Christ, both revealed to our minds and sealed upon our hearts through the Holy Spirit.” John Calvin
Our Only Method
Thoughts on grace -
“Long my imprisoned spirit lay, fast bound in sin and nature’s night; Thine eye diffused a quickening ray, I woke the dungeon flamed with light; My chains fell off my heart was free; I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.” Charles Wesley
"Like a spiritual corpse, a sinner is unable to make a single move toward God, think a single thought about God, or even correctly respond to God—unless God is first present to bring the spiritually dead person to life, which is what Paul says he does do." James M. Boice
“Now let us cast ourselves down before the majesty of our good God with acknowledgment of our faults, praying him to make us so to feel them that it makes us not only confess three or four of them, but also go back even to our birth and acknowledge that there is nothing but sin in us, and that there is no way for us to be reconciled to our God, but by the blood, death and passion of our Lord Jesus Christ.” John Calvin
“There are two great truths which from this platform I have proclaimed for many years. The first is that salvation is free to every man who will have it; the second is that God gives salvation to a people whom He has chosen; and these truths are not in conflict with each other in the least degree.” Charles Spurgeon
“Do not stand still disputing about your election, but set to repenting and believing. Cry out to God for converting grace. . . . Whatever God’s purposes may be, I am sure His promises are true. Whatever the decrees of heaven may be, I am sure if I repent and believe I shall be saved.” Joseph Alleine
“Long my imprisoned spirit lay, fast bound in sin and nature’s night; Thine eye diffused a quickening ray, I woke the dungeon flamed with light; My chains fell off my heart was free; I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.” Charles Wesley
"Like a spiritual corpse, a sinner is unable to make a single move toward God, think a single thought about God, or even correctly respond to God—unless God is first present to bring the spiritually dead person to life, which is what Paul says he does do." James M. Boice
“Now let us cast ourselves down before the majesty of our good God with acknowledgment of our faults, praying him to make us so to feel them that it makes us not only confess three or four of them, but also go back even to our birth and acknowledge that there is nothing but sin in us, and that there is no way for us to be reconciled to our God, but by the blood, death and passion of our Lord Jesus Christ.” John Calvin
“There are two great truths which from this platform I have proclaimed for many years. The first is that salvation is free to every man who will have it; the second is that God gives salvation to a people whom He has chosen; and these truths are not in conflict with each other in the least degree.” Charles Spurgeon
“Do not stand still disputing about your election, but set to repenting and believing. Cry out to God for converting grace. . . . Whatever God’s purposes may be, I am sure His promises are true. Whatever the decrees of heaven may be, I am sure if I repent and believe I shall be saved.” Joseph Alleine
Our Only Salvation
The central theme of Scripture is God’s redemptive purposes through Jesus Christ. From Gen. 3:15 through the end of Revelation the theme is Jesus Christ. In the Old Testament the promise of Jesus Christ was made. In the New Testament the promise of Jesus Christ was kept. In this sense all of the scriptures are Christian in that they speak of the centrality of Christ.
The primary purpose of Christ was not to give us purpose, self-esteem, or success in life. His primary purpose was to save us from our sins and reconcile us to God. This He did by a taking upon himself flesh, by living a sinless life we could not live, by dying a vicarious death in our place, by rising from the dead for our justification, by ascending to the Father to plead our case in the court of heaven, and with the Father, by sending the Holy Spirit to bring us to salvation by grace, through faith, in Christ, alone!
John Calvin once said, “We must be careful not to look for Him anywhere else, for apart from Christ whatever offers itself to us in the name of God will turn out to be an idol.”
The primary purpose of Christ was not to give us purpose, self-esteem, or success in life. His primary purpose was to save us from our sins and reconcile us to God. This He did by a taking upon himself flesh, by living a sinless life we could not live, by dying a vicarious death in our place, by rising from the dead for our justification, by ascending to the Father to plead our case in the court of heaven, and with the Father, by sending the Holy Spirit to bring us to salvation by grace, through faith, in Christ, alone!
John Calvin once said, “We must be careful not to look for Him anywhere else, for apart from Christ whatever offers itself to us in the name of God will turn out to be an idol.”
Our Only Foundation
Sola Scriptura has been called the “formal principle” of the Reformation. At the heart of the Reformation was the issue of authority; or, to be more specific the issue of final authority. While both Church and creed carry with them a measure of secondary authority, for the Reformers the Word of God alone was the “only rule of faith and practice” for the Christian.
After being convinced by Holy Scripture that popes, councils, and creeds do error, Luther posited the radical conviction that only the Word of God alone was without error and was the final authority on all matters on which it speaks. Charged with heresy and threatened with death, Luther stood before the ultimate “powers that be” of his day to defend his conviction that the Bible had led him to doctrinal positions contrary to the Church at Rome. When commanded to recant his convictions and doctrines Luther said,
“Unless I am convinced of error by the testimony of Scripture or by manifest reasoning I stand convicted by the Scriptures to which I have appealed, and my conscience is taken captive by God’s word. I cannot or will not recant anything. For to act against conscience is neither safe for us, nor open to us.”
So strong was the Protestant conviction of the necessity of the Bible that many died in defense of the doctrine of sola Scriptura. We forget the human cost that gives us the privilege of holding in our hands an English Bible that we might hear the voice of God as we read, pray and preach the Word of God.
One of those martyrs was William Tyndale whose passion to translate the scriptures into English led him into direct opposition with Rome. In response to a challenge to the supremacy of God’s Word over both pope and church, Tyndale said, “I defy the Pope, and all his laws, and if God spares my life, I will cause the boy that drives the plow in England to know more of the Scriptures than the Pope himself!" Charged with heresy in 1536 and sentenced to die it was recorded that as Tyndale faced death "at the stake with a fervent zeal, and a loud voice", he said "Lord! Open the King of England's eyes." He "was strangled to death while tied at the stake, and then his dead body was burned". Tyndale was martyred for the Word of God. Where is our zeal, our commitment to the Word of God in our generation?
After being convinced by Holy Scripture that popes, councils, and creeds do error, Luther posited the radical conviction that only the Word of God alone was without error and was the final authority on all matters on which it speaks. Charged with heresy and threatened with death, Luther stood before the ultimate “powers that be” of his day to defend his conviction that the Bible had led him to doctrinal positions contrary to the Church at Rome. When commanded to recant his convictions and doctrines Luther said,
“Unless I am convinced of error by the testimony of Scripture or by manifest reasoning I stand convicted by the Scriptures to which I have appealed, and my conscience is taken captive by God’s word. I cannot or will not recant anything. For to act against conscience is neither safe for us, nor open to us.”
So strong was the Protestant conviction of the necessity of the Bible that many died in defense of the doctrine of sola Scriptura. We forget the human cost that gives us the privilege of holding in our hands an English Bible that we might hear the voice of God as we read, pray and preach the Word of God.
One of those martyrs was William Tyndale whose passion to translate the scriptures into English led him into direct opposition with Rome. In response to a challenge to the supremacy of God’s Word over both pope and church, Tyndale said, “I defy the Pope, and all his laws, and if God spares my life, I will cause the boy that drives the plow in England to know more of the Scriptures than the Pope himself!" Charged with heresy in 1536 and sentenced to die it was recorded that as Tyndale faced death "at the stake with a fervent zeal, and a loud voice", he said "Lord! Open the King of England's eyes." He "was strangled to death while tied at the stake, and then his dead body was burned". Tyndale was martyred for the Word of God. Where is our zeal, our commitment to the Word of God in our generation?
Comfort My People
God is a covenant making, covenant keeping God. Sadly, God’s covenant receiving people are not always covenant keeping people. Therefore, the prophets of the Lord often served as covenant prosecutors of the terms of God’s covenant. In that role Isaiah, one of the greatest prophets, is summoned before the great throne of God in Isaiah 6. He is called there to become a messenger sent from the Lord’s heavenly court to Jerusalem’s earthly court. To his dismay God’s message to Israel was not initially to speak about salvation but to harden their impenitent hearts. Isaiah presented the Lord’s complaint against God’s people. Israel had lost the vision of God’s holiness.
Faithful to God’s Word, Isaiah pronounced the judgment of God that would come upon Israel by their enemies the Assyrians and Babylonians. He names names and foretells events that would take place long after he died. For thirty-nine chapters Isaiah declares that Israel will receive “from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.” But even in His judgment God was merciful in limiting their captivity. Jeremiah the prophet set the time limit at 70 years for this Babylonian captivity of God’s people. Then in chapter 40 comes the consolation of Israel. One theologian writes, “when one turns from the thirty-ninth to the fortieth chapter it is as though he steps out of the darkness of judgment and into the light of salvation.” In chapter 40, in a manner similar to chapter 6, Isaiah is called again to the Lord’s heavenly court. There Isaiah overhears God sending messengers announcing that judgment is coming to an end and that Israel’s sins have been paid for.
With most prophesy there is a near and far fulfillment. The near fulfillment of Isaiah's prophesy was accomplished in history through the exile, deliverance, and a return to earthly Jerusalem of God’s people. The far fulfillment would come 700 years later in Christ, who would save His people out of the captivity of sin, restore them to himself, and forever call them His own. But God’s Word to Isaiah reaches farther than the first coming of Christ. The Reformation Bible says: “Isaiah’s vision of God’s kingdom is great, because it includes the history of redemption from his day until the fullness of redemption. It embraces the exile, the return of the Jews from exile, the mission, ministry, and kingdom of Jesus Christ, the mission and hope of the church, Jesus’ present rule over this world, and the restoration of all things in holiness and righteousness.”
This is best described by Jeremiah as the New Covenant. “Behold the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah – not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the LORD. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD; I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. . . . for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more” (Jer. 31:31-34).
“When spiritual comfort is sent to you by God, take it humbly and give thanks meekly for it. But know for certain that it is the great goodness of God that sends it to you, and not because you deserve it.” Thomas a’ Kempis
Consider yourselves in bondage, held captive by a power greater than Babylon. This is the power of sin that results in death, hell and the grave. You have no hope of deliverance and no way of escape. And then God speaks “Comfort, comfort My people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned . . ..” This is good news!
Faithful to God’s Word, Isaiah pronounced the judgment of God that would come upon Israel by their enemies the Assyrians and Babylonians. He names names and foretells events that would take place long after he died. For thirty-nine chapters Isaiah declares that Israel will receive “from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.” But even in His judgment God was merciful in limiting their captivity. Jeremiah the prophet set the time limit at 70 years for this Babylonian captivity of God’s people. Then in chapter 40 comes the consolation of Israel. One theologian writes, “when one turns from the thirty-ninth to the fortieth chapter it is as though he steps out of the darkness of judgment and into the light of salvation.” In chapter 40, in a manner similar to chapter 6, Isaiah is called again to the Lord’s heavenly court. There Isaiah overhears God sending messengers announcing that judgment is coming to an end and that Israel’s sins have been paid for.
With most prophesy there is a near and far fulfillment. The near fulfillment of Isaiah's prophesy was accomplished in history through the exile, deliverance, and a return to earthly Jerusalem of God’s people. The far fulfillment would come 700 years later in Christ, who would save His people out of the captivity of sin, restore them to himself, and forever call them His own. But God’s Word to Isaiah reaches farther than the first coming of Christ. The Reformation Bible says: “Isaiah’s vision of God’s kingdom is great, because it includes the history of redemption from his day until the fullness of redemption. It embraces the exile, the return of the Jews from exile, the mission, ministry, and kingdom of Jesus Christ, the mission and hope of the church, Jesus’ present rule over this world, and the restoration of all things in holiness and righteousness.”
This is best described by Jeremiah as the New Covenant. “Behold the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah – not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the LORD. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD; I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. . . . for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more” (Jer. 31:31-34).
“When spiritual comfort is sent to you by God, take it humbly and give thanks meekly for it. But know for certain that it is the great goodness of God that sends it to you, and not because you deserve it.” Thomas a’ Kempis
Consider yourselves in bondage, held captive by a power greater than Babylon. This is the power of sin that results in death, hell and the grave. You have no hope of deliverance and no way of escape. And then God speaks “Comfort, comfort My people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned . . ..” This is good news!
Why God Became Man?
In his book, On The Incarnation, Athanasius wrote of The Divine Dilemma. How does God who promised death for the transgression of Adam keep His word, yet, save those created in His image and likeness? For God to not punish the transgression would make God a liar and therefore not God at all. But on the other hand, how could God, finding Adam and Eve in their nakedness and shame allow those created in His image, those who once reflected the very Word of God, disappear and the work of God be undone? “The creatures whom He had created reasonable, like the Word, were in fact perishing, and such noble works were on the road to ruin, what then was God, being Good, to do?” (Athanasius, On the Incarnation, p.12). What then was a good and holy God to do?
Before God’s very eyes degeneration and death was evident in Adam and Eve; they were in fact perishing and all of God’s creation with them. Only God could solve The Divine Dilemma. Only the Word of God himself, who in the beginning made all things out of nothing, could again bring regeneration and a new birth to all creatures of our God and King. “For He alone, being Word of the Father and above all, was in consequence both able to recreate all, and worthy to suffer on behalf of all and to be an ambassador for all with the Father. For this purpose, then, the in-cor-poreal and incorruptible and immaterial Word of God entered our world. . . . He entered the world a new way, stooping to our level in His love and Self-revealing to us” (Ibid, p.13).
Over 700 years later Saint Anselm, the Archbishop of Canterbury, wrote another book important to our understanding of the Incarnation entitled “Why God Became Man?” While the doctrine of penal substitutionary atonement would wait another 500 years, Anselm rightly understood that for humankind to be saved from the results of the Fall of Man God would have to be satisfied. Anselm argued, “Satisfaction cannot be made unless there be some One able to pay God for man's sin something greater than all that is beside God. . . . Now nothing is greater than all that is beside God except God Himself. None therefore can make this satisfaction except God. And none ought to make it except man. . . . If, then, it be necessary that the kingdom of heaven be completed by man's admission, and if man cannot be admitted unless the aforesaid satisfaction for sin be first made, and if God only can, and man only ought to make this satisfaction, then necessarily One must make it who is both God and man" (Anselm, Cur Deus Homo, Book II, ch. 6). If only God can make satisfaction and only man is responsible for satisfaction, then only One who is both God and man can satisfy the debt we owe.
In other words, we owe a debt we cannot pay. Only God can pay the debt He does not owe. Therefore, only a God-man, Jesus Christ, can both bear the guilt of human sin and pay the debt incurred by it.
Before God’s very eyes degeneration and death was evident in Adam and Eve; they were in fact perishing and all of God’s creation with them. Only God could solve The Divine Dilemma. Only the Word of God himself, who in the beginning made all things out of nothing, could again bring regeneration and a new birth to all creatures of our God and King. “For He alone, being Word of the Father and above all, was in consequence both able to recreate all, and worthy to suffer on behalf of all and to be an ambassador for all with the Father. For this purpose, then, the in-cor-poreal and incorruptible and immaterial Word of God entered our world. . . . He entered the world a new way, stooping to our level in His love and Self-revealing to us” (Ibid, p.13).
Over 700 years later Saint Anselm, the Archbishop of Canterbury, wrote another book important to our understanding of the Incarnation entitled “Why God Became Man?” While the doctrine of penal substitutionary atonement would wait another 500 years, Anselm rightly understood that for humankind to be saved from the results of the Fall of Man God would have to be satisfied. Anselm argued, “Satisfaction cannot be made unless there be some One able to pay God for man's sin something greater than all that is beside God. . . . Now nothing is greater than all that is beside God except God Himself. None therefore can make this satisfaction except God. And none ought to make it except man. . . . If, then, it be necessary that the kingdom of heaven be completed by man's admission, and if man cannot be admitted unless the aforesaid satisfaction for sin be first made, and if God only can, and man only ought to make this satisfaction, then necessarily One must make it who is both God and man" (Anselm, Cur Deus Homo, Book II, ch. 6). If only God can make satisfaction and only man is responsible for satisfaction, then only One who is both God and man can satisfy the debt we owe.
In other words, we owe a debt we cannot pay. Only God can pay the debt He does not owe. Therefore, only a God-man, Jesus Christ, can both bear the guilt of human sin and pay the debt incurred by it.
Saturday, August 23, 2008
The Coming Glory
Paul knew suffering – he knew what it meant to be stoned, flogged, left for dead, shipwrecked, snake bit and eventually martyred. Speaking of suffering the Apostle said, “We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down; but not destroyed . . . .” Whether we suffer directly for the sake of the gospel or simply suffer the consequences of a fallen world we will “suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.” This is the testimony of all of Scripture.
True faith wrestles with the problem and burden of suffering. Nevertheless, the trusting Christian does not require an immediate and complete justification of God when things get hard. The people of God trust His providence and sovereignty even when they do not understand His ways. Often the faithful Christian waits patiently in the darkness of this world without an answer groaning for the consummation of all things. As David Livingstone once said, “Anxiety, sickness, suffering, or danger, now and then, with a foregoing of the common conveniences and charities of this life, may make us pause, and cause the spirit to waver, and the soul to sink; but let this be only for a moment. All these things are nothing when compared with the glory which shall hereafter be revealed in, and for, us.” In other words, no matter how strong the pain, how long the suffering, how difficult the hardship, God’s people hope and wait in faith knowing that adversity in this life will redound for their good and God’s glory.
What about God’s glory? How do we describe the weight, worth, brightness, splendor and even beauty of God? We are prohibited by Scripture from even trying to imagine the majesty of God’s presence. Paul said it is beyond compare - the glory of God is incomparable. Moses asked to see God’s glory only to be told, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The LORD.’. . . But, ‘he said, you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.’” Graciously God hid and protected Moses in the cleft of the rock and gave him a glimpse of the glory of God passing by. Job looked by faith for God’s glory. In the midst of great suffering he said, “For I know that my Redeemer lives . . . yet in my flesh I shall see God.” We read of the hope of God’s glory in the Psalms - “I shall behold your face in righteousness; when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness.” Isaiah saw the Lord “high and lifted up” and heard that antiphonal choir of heavenly beings saying, “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” In the Book of the Revelation John heard “a loud voice like a trumpet” and then He saw, “one like the Son of man . . . The hairs of his head were like wool . . . His eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze . . . his voice was like the roar of many waters . . . and his face was like the sun shining in full strength.” Even Paul himself spoke of being “caught up to the third heaven . . . caught up into paradise” where he heard things “that cannot be told, which man may not utter.” God’s people do not have the words to describe the glory of God.
What about God’s glory? How do we describe the weight, worth, brightness, splendor and even beauty of God? We are prohibited by Scripture from even trying to imagine the majesty of God’s presence. Paul said it is beyond compare - the glory of God is incomparable. Moses asked to see God’s glory only to be told, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The LORD.’. . . But, ‘he said, you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.’” Graciously God hid and protected Moses in the cleft of the rock and gave him a glimpse of the glory of God passing by. Job looked by faith for God’s glory. In the midst of great suffering he said, “For I know that my Redeemer lives . . . yet in my flesh I shall see God.” We read of the hope of God’s glory in the Psalms - “I shall behold your face in righteousness; when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness.” Isaiah saw the Lord “high and lifted up” and heard that antiphonal choir of heavenly beings saying, “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” In the Book of the Revelation John heard “a loud voice like a trumpet” and then He saw, “one like the Son of man . . . The hairs of his head were like wool . . . His eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze . . . his voice was like the roar of many waters . . . and his face was like the sun shining in full strength.” Even Paul himself spoke of being “caught up to the third heaven . . . caught up into paradise” where he heard things “that cannot be told, which man may not utter.” God’s people do not have the words to describe the glory of God.
In the meantime we have those brief and shining moments where we experience, what the hymn writer called, “a foretaste of glory divine.” This we see most clearly in the public worship of God on the Lord’s Day. Every seven days God does break in on us to show us a glimpse of heaven. But at best in this life we see through “a glass darkly.” We await the consummation of God’s’ redemptive purposes towards us and His creation. Someday we shall see Him as He is in all His glory and we shall be like Him.
Read Romans 8:18-25
Saturday, July 19, 2008
The Persevering Christian
If God saves by grace, through faith, because of Christ alone, thereby securing our eternal salvation for us, can we fall away from the faith and be lost? No. Were it not for the preserving grace of God would we fall away from the faith? Yes. This begs the question, “If God is doing the saving and preserving, why then do we as Christians need to struggle against sin and persevere in the faith?”
Like many other mysteries in the Scriptures the preservation of God and the perseverance of the saints are held in tension. We are perfectly righteous through the imputed righteousness of Christ yet still unrighteous in many of our ways. We are seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus yet still part of the Church Militant on this earth. We are eternally secure in Christ yet we are warned to make our calling and election sure. We have a salvation finished in Christ and a salvation being worked out in us. How then are we to understand this tension?
The “called, chosen and faithful” are between the cross and heaven, between the “already” and the “not yet”, secure in our positional standing in Christ yet struggling with the practical holiness God expects from His chosen people. The Latin phrase for all of this is simul iustus et peccator; “At the same time righteous and a sinner” or saints and sinners at the same time.
If this makes you a bit spiritually schizophrenic you’re not alone. John Stott in his commentary of Romans identified in Chapter 7:21-25 two egos, two laws, two cries, and two slaveries working in Paul at the same time. He says of the two egos, When I want to do right, evil lies close at hand (v.21). Of the two laws Paul says, For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law . . . the law of sin (vs. 21, 23). Paul cries out, What a wretched man I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Paul’s final words of struggle are I myself (autos ego, the authentic regenerate Paul) serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh (sarx, the false and fallen Paul) I serve the law of sin.
Regeneration happens in an instant and justification in a moment - sanctification takes a lifetime. In the time it takes blink an eye one supernatural touch from the Holy Spirit awakens us from the dead that we might hear and believe the gospel. It takes the means of grace ministered to us every seven days our whole lives for us to grow up into Christ by dying to sin that we might live unto God.
On this trip from earth to heaven from Sinai to Calvary to Zion “The only haven of safety is in the mercy of God, as manifested in Christ, in whom every part of our salvation is complete.” John Calvin
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Law and Gospel
American Christianity is dying. Biblical faith and practice of ages past is now being rejected wholesale as not relevant to this generation. This impending death of the evangelical nation is evidenced in many ways. The clearest proof, however, of the decline of Christian faith in America can be found in how God is worshiped and what is being preached in our churches?
These two things actually go together since the way people worship says more about what they really believe about God than any creed they might confess or profession of faith they might have made. But what people believe and how they worship comes from the content of what they hear preached as “gospel.” For many they hear law or gospel. For most it’s the law as gospel. When in fact, what should be preached is law and gospel.
Preaching law or gospel produces legalists or libertines. The “works righteousness” legalists in the long sad line of Pelagius, Erasmus and Arminius are convinced that what God commands them to do they can do. Just give them the Ten Commandments or any other list of things to do to please God and they are set; they know what the goal is and they are confident that with a little help from the grace of God they can get it done. On the contrary, libertines simply use grace as an excuse to sin thereby giving evidence of being unconverted.
When the law is preached as gospel you will find people seeking a better life “in Adam” not necessarily a new life “in Christ.” The law as gospel is marked by good works and obedience to spiritual laws or principles designed to "Change Your Life!" Faith and action based upon these laws releases the power and favor of God into the human condition. This is heralded as “good news” when in fact it’s not the “gospel” at all. When human initiative is the contingency to get God to do what He really wants to do, that He can’t do unless we exercise some spiritual law that lets God be God, its spiritual fraud. There is no gospel in "What would Jesus do?
What the Bible teaches is law and gospel. The loud thunder of the law is seldom preached anymore. The law is “bad news” for the sinner. There is a holy God and by His holy law we are judged sinners, condemned to die, and suffer His judgment. We are “dead in our trespasses and sin” and we can’t do a thing about it. This is really “bad news.” The law either drives us to despair or to Christ who did for us what we could not do and would not do for ourselves. The gospel isn’t a “new and improved” us. The gospel is Christ dying for our sins and being raised again for our justification.
These two things actually go together since the way people worship says more about what they really believe about God than any creed they might confess or profession of faith they might have made. But what people believe and how they worship comes from the content of what they hear preached as “gospel.” For many they hear law or gospel. For most it’s the law as gospel. When in fact, what should be preached is law and gospel.
Preaching law or gospel produces legalists or libertines. The “works righteousness” legalists in the long sad line of Pelagius, Erasmus and Arminius are convinced that what God commands them to do they can do. Just give them the Ten Commandments or any other list of things to do to please God and they are set; they know what the goal is and they are confident that with a little help from the grace of God they can get it done. On the contrary, libertines simply use grace as an excuse to sin thereby giving evidence of being unconverted.
When the law is preached as gospel you will find people seeking a better life “in Adam” not necessarily a new life “in Christ.” The law as gospel is marked by good works and obedience to spiritual laws or principles designed to "Change Your Life!" Faith and action based upon these laws releases the power and favor of God into the human condition. This is heralded as “good news” when in fact it’s not the “gospel” at all. When human initiative is the contingency to get God to do what He really wants to do, that He can’t do unless we exercise some spiritual law that lets God be God, its spiritual fraud. There is no gospel in "What would Jesus do?
What the Bible teaches is law and gospel. The loud thunder of the law is seldom preached anymore. The law is “bad news” for the sinner. There is a holy God and by His holy law we are judged sinners, condemned to die, and suffer His judgment. We are “dead in our trespasses and sin” and we can’t do a thing about it. This is really “bad news.” The law either drives us to despair or to Christ who did for us what we could not do and would not do for ourselves. The gospel isn’t a “new and improved” us. The gospel is Christ dying for our sins and being raised again for our justification.
Saturday, June 28, 2008
God Gives What He Commands
To whom do you answer? To what are you a slave? What fruit is being produced in your life? We are constantly being told to do better, be better, and do more. There is a temptation to move from the things that God has done in Christ to the things we are to do because of Christ and assume it’s now our turn. Yet, in the same way that we needed another to fulfill the law and die in our place, on our behalf, so Christ remains the source on which we rely as the Holy Spirit initially and progressively conforms us to God. There are gospel imperatives to do and not do certain things. Nevertheless, we cannot forget that we are not able apart from the Spirit of Christ to do what God commands.
“This first thing to remember, of course, is that we must never separate the benefits (regeneration, justification, sanctification) from the Benefactor (Jesus Christ). The Christians who are most focused on their own spirituality may give the impression of being the most spiritual ... but from the New Testament's point of view, those who have almost forgotten about their own spirituality because their focus is so exclusively on their union with Jesus Christ and what He has accomplished are those who are growing and exhibiting fruitfulness. Historically speaking, whenever the piety of a particular group is focused on OUR spirituality that piety will eventually exhaust itself on its own resources. Only where our piety forgets about ourself and focuses on Jesus Christ will our piety be nourished by the ongoing resources the Spirit brings to us from the source of all true piety, our Lord Jesus Christ.” Sinclair Ferguson
Whatever God requires it is Christ who meets the requirement. Whatever duty is owed it is Christ who dutifully obeys. Whatever price that needs to be paid it is Christ who has paid it. And we are “in Christ” by the work of the Holy Spirit who effectually calls us, gives us saving faith, leads us to godly repentance, justifies us by Christ’s imputed righteousness, and sanctifies us for good works, until heaven is our home and sin is no more.
“Prone to wander Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the God I love: here’s my heart, O take and seal it, seal it for thy courts above.” Robert Robinson
“This first thing to remember, of course, is that we must never separate the benefits (regeneration, justification, sanctification) from the Benefactor (Jesus Christ). The Christians who are most focused on their own spirituality may give the impression of being the most spiritual ... but from the New Testament's point of view, those who have almost forgotten about their own spirituality because their focus is so exclusively on their union with Jesus Christ and what He has accomplished are those who are growing and exhibiting fruitfulness. Historically speaking, whenever the piety of a particular group is focused on OUR spirituality that piety will eventually exhaust itself on its own resources. Only where our piety forgets about ourself and focuses on Jesus Christ will our piety be nourished by the ongoing resources the Spirit brings to us from the source of all true piety, our Lord Jesus Christ.” Sinclair Ferguson
Whatever God requires it is Christ who meets the requirement. Whatever duty is owed it is Christ who dutifully obeys. Whatever price that needs to be paid it is Christ who has paid it. And we are “in Christ” by the work of the Holy Spirit who effectually calls us, gives us saving faith, leads us to godly repentance, justifies us by Christ’s imputed righteousness, and sanctifies us for good works, until heaven is our home and sin is no more.
“Prone to wander Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the God I love: here’s my heart, O take and seal it, seal it for thy courts above.” Robert Robinson
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
The Covenant Way: Provision, Protection and Instruction
In the mythical town of Lake Wobegon, “the women are strong, the men are good looking, and all the children are above average.” These are not the proper designations for the Christian family. In the world of Christian discipleship the men are faithful, women are godly, and the children are “the heritage of the Lord.” Consequently, the Christian man cannot be the self-centered narcissist of Lake Wobegon or of popular culture and be the man of God. The faithful man of God understands his duty to provide for the needs of his family, protect them from harm, and instruct in righteousness those under his care.
The Christian man feeds his family before himself; the Christian man places himself in harm’s way to shield those he loves; the Christian man teaches the Word of God. Too often men feel that if they are willing to provide and protect they are doing reasonably well. After all two out of three isn’t bad. But this begs the question, “If the man fails to instruct in righteousness is he fully providing for and protecting his family?”
To paraphrase R. C. Sproul, the thing that is going to cause our people to perish is not the strength of popular culture, or public education, or the decline of the American civilization, but what will cause the collapse of our families and churches is ignorance of the Word of God!
The greater duty for the Christian man is to provide for more than “the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life” (Jn. 6:27). The Christian husband and father protects against “this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in heavenly places” by taking up the whole armor of God – truth, righteousness, gospel, faith, salvation, the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God (Eph. 6). The Christian man must do more than put food on the table and warn his children not to play in the street.
Men of God take heed – “But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.” Isa. 66:2
The Christian man feeds his family before himself; the Christian man places himself in harm’s way to shield those he loves; the Christian man teaches the Word of God. Too often men feel that if they are willing to provide and protect they are doing reasonably well. After all two out of three isn’t bad. But this begs the question, “If the man fails to instruct in righteousness is he fully providing for and protecting his family?”
To paraphrase R. C. Sproul, the thing that is going to cause our people to perish is not the strength of popular culture, or public education, or the decline of the American civilization, but what will cause the collapse of our families and churches is ignorance of the Word of God!
The greater duty for the Christian man is to provide for more than “the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life” (Jn. 6:27). The Christian husband and father protects against “this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in heavenly places” by taking up the whole armor of God – truth, righteousness, gospel, faith, salvation, the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God (Eph. 6). The Christian man must do more than put food on the table and warn his children not to play in the street.
Men of God take heed – “But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.” Isa. 66:2
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
The Covenant Way: Learning Christian Grammar
“Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader?” I’m not speaking of the television show; I’m speaking of a well taught and catechized covenant child of God of that age. I suggest that if adults on a television program struggle with a 5th Grade response to “What was the 49th state admitted to the Union?” it is doubtful they would know the answer to “What is God?”
Christian and non-Christian alike bemoan the “dumbing down” of America. Sadly the Church did not escape the “dumbing down.” This intellectual decline reduced the Christian faith from a biblical, historic, objective, cognitive religion into a cultural, contemporary, subjective, feel good experience – Christian faith went from “I believe” to “I feel.”
Let me get back to 5th graders. If Christian parents are increasingly unable to articulate their faith imagine how this adversely effects the communication of biblical faith to children. Children learn to pray “Now I lay me down to sleep . . .” which is only one word away in meaning from “Twinkle twinkle little star . . ..” Children are told that Jesus wants them to be “good little boys and girls.” The “gospel” for children is singing “Jesus loves me this I know . . ..”
The Church has not helped the problem. Children often spend their early and teen years in segregated Sunday School hearing the same stories of Noah and the Ark, David and Goliath, and Zacchaeus up in the tree, over and over and over again. Then we move them to Children’s Church to hear moral stories from the Bible and that Jesus loves them after which they color, play and eat snacks. It is uncommon today for children to sit in worship under the preaching of the Word and the administration of the Sacraments during their formative years.
The Christian faith “once for all delivered to the saints” is not being passed to the next generation. We have lost the language, the grammar if you will, of the Christian faith. God’s people do not know the words of God – creation, sin, covenant, law, atonement, grace, justification, sanctification and gospel, to name a few. To reengage God’s people with God’s Word is at the heart of another Reformation. To do so is to go against the culture and return to the “ancient paths.”
Every family of God (men, women and children) each Sunday must join with the forever Family of God in corporate worship immersing themselves in the language of their faith; reading, preaching, singing, praying and seeing the Word, with everyone hearing and speaking the covenant language of God. Every covenant believer and family must then learn the definitions of what they hear and speak in God’s house on the Lord’s Day. There is no better way to define what one believes than through “catechesis” - learning the faith through questions and answers in the Westminster Shorter Catechism. Before you think the WSC is too hard for you, remember it was written as biblical grammar for children.
Consider the following story related by the American theologian B. B. Warfield –
We have the following bit of personal experience from a general officer of the United States army. He was in a great western city at a time of intense excitement and violent rioting. The streets were over-run daily by a dangerous crowd.
One day he observed approaching him a man of singularly combined calmness and firmness of mien, whose very demeanor inspired confidence. So impressed was he with his bearing amid the surrounding uproar that when he had passed he turned to look back at him, only to find that the stranger had done the same.
On observing his turning the stranger at once came back to him, and touching his chest with his forefinger, demanded without preface: ‘What is the chief end of man?’ (the first question in the Shorter Catechism). On receiving the countersign, ‘Man’s chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever’ (the Catechism’s answer) –‘Ah!’ said he, ‘I knew you were a Shorter Catechism boy by your looks!’ ‘Why, that was just what I was thinking of you,’ was the rejoinder.
Christian and non-Christian alike bemoan the “dumbing down” of America. Sadly the Church did not escape the “dumbing down.” This intellectual decline reduced the Christian faith from a biblical, historic, objective, cognitive religion into a cultural, contemporary, subjective, feel good experience – Christian faith went from “I believe” to “I feel.”
Let me get back to 5th graders. If Christian parents are increasingly unable to articulate their faith imagine how this adversely effects the communication of biblical faith to children. Children learn to pray “Now I lay me down to sleep . . .” which is only one word away in meaning from “Twinkle twinkle little star . . ..” Children are told that Jesus wants them to be “good little boys and girls.” The “gospel” for children is singing “Jesus loves me this I know . . ..”
The Church has not helped the problem. Children often spend their early and teen years in segregated Sunday School hearing the same stories of Noah and the Ark, David and Goliath, and Zacchaeus up in the tree, over and over and over again. Then we move them to Children’s Church to hear moral stories from the Bible and that Jesus loves them after which they color, play and eat snacks. It is uncommon today for children to sit in worship under the preaching of the Word and the administration of the Sacraments during their formative years.
The Christian faith “once for all delivered to the saints” is not being passed to the next generation. We have lost the language, the grammar if you will, of the Christian faith. God’s people do not know the words of God – creation, sin, covenant, law, atonement, grace, justification, sanctification and gospel, to name a few. To reengage God’s people with God’s Word is at the heart of another Reformation. To do so is to go against the culture and return to the “ancient paths.”
Every family of God (men, women and children) each Sunday must join with the forever Family of God in corporate worship immersing themselves in the language of their faith; reading, preaching, singing, praying and seeing the Word, with everyone hearing and speaking the covenant language of God. Every covenant believer and family must then learn the definitions of what they hear and speak in God’s house on the Lord’s Day. There is no better way to define what one believes than through “catechesis” - learning the faith through questions and answers in the Westminster Shorter Catechism. Before you think the WSC is too hard for you, remember it was written as biblical grammar for children.
Consider the following story related by the American theologian B. B. Warfield –
We have the following bit of personal experience from a general officer of the United States army. He was in a great western city at a time of intense excitement and violent rioting. The streets were over-run daily by a dangerous crowd.
One day he observed approaching him a man of singularly combined calmness and firmness of mien, whose very demeanor inspired confidence. So impressed was he with his bearing amid the surrounding uproar that when he had passed he turned to look back at him, only to find that the stranger had done the same.
On observing his turning the stranger at once came back to him, and touching his chest with his forefinger, demanded without preface: ‘What is the chief end of man?’ (the first question in the Shorter Catechism). On receiving the countersign, ‘Man’s chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever’ (the Catechism’s answer) –‘Ah!’ said he, ‘I knew you were a Shorter Catechism boy by your looks!’ ‘Why, that was just what I was thinking of you,’ was the rejoinder.
Monday, May 26, 2008
“The Covenant Way: The Abdication of Husbands and Fathers”
Consider the man in the average Christian family. A Christian husband and father will usually have a general sense about his duties to provide and protect his family. He will understand that his wife and children need provision and care. He might even acknowledge the importance of spiritual growth for the wife and kids. But when the duty of providing that spiritual leadership falls on his shoulders, the average Christian man begins to look for someone else to carry that responsibility.
Who would you think usually decides where a family goes to church? I suggest it’s probably a group decision (that dad claims as his own) based upon the following considerations:
1. Who has the best program where the children can learn to be good little boys and girls?
2. What church provides the best opportunity for the wife’s spiritual growth?
3. Where is the place we all can feel comfortable with the style of worship?
So the family takes a journey into the marketplace of religion to find the place where everyone can be happy. Dad wants everybody to be happy. If the family is happy he’s happy. Most men want their wives and family engaged elsewhere because when mom and the kids are busy being happy they leave him alone. Men love it when they can “outsource” their role as husband and father.
George Whitefield admonished husbands and fathers – “Let me exhort all governors of families, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, often to reflect on the inestimable worth of their own souls and the infinite ransom, even the precious blood of Jesus Christ, which has been paid down for them . . . and you will no more neglect your family’s spiritual welfare than your own” (emphasis mine).
Each Christian husband and father leads his own covenantal church family with all the duties and privileges that attend that calling. This calling cannot be delegated to others. The faithful Christian man then leads his family to join together with that larger covenant family of God to renew covenant in Christ by Word and Sacrament in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day. A covenant home and a covenant church - this is God’s best way to “love your wife as Christ loved the Church” and to see your children and your children’s children embrace the benefits of redemption through the covenant of grace.
Who would you think usually decides where a family goes to church? I suggest it’s probably a group decision (that dad claims as his own) based upon the following considerations:
1. Who has the best program where the children can learn to be good little boys and girls?
2. What church provides the best opportunity for the wife’s spiritual growth?
3. Where is the place we all can feel comfortable with the style of worship?
So the family takes a journey into the marketplace of religion to find the place where everyone can be happy. Dad wants everybody to be happy. If the family is happy he’s happy. Most men want their wives and family engaged elsewhere because when mom and the kids are busy being happy they leave him alone. Men love it when they can “outsource” their role as husband and father.
George Whitefield admonished husbands and fathers – “Let me exhort all governors of families, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, often to reflect on the inestimable worth of their own souls and the infinite ransom, even the precious blood of Jesus Christ, which has been paid down for them . . . and you will no more neglect your family’s spiritual welfare than your own” (emphasis mine).
Each Christian husband and father leads his own covenantal church family with all the duties and privileges that attend that calling. This calling cannot be delegated to others. The faithful Christian man then leads his family to join together with that larger covenant family of God to renew covenant in Christ by Word and Sacrament in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day. A covenant home and a covenant church - this is God’s best way to “love your wife as Christ loved the Church” and to see your children and your children’s children embrace the benefits of redemption through the covenant of grace.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
An Objective Faith
Most of American religious life encourages people to look for God within themselves; to go deeper inside until they find that experience that satisfies. When you find that subjective thing deep down inside that scratches whatever spiritual itch one may have – you have found God! This is not just the mantra of a New Age guru, it is increasingly the message of American evangelicalism. Finding that “personal relationship with God” or “making Jesus Lord of your life” has become the task of the believer on his or her spiritual journey. Two things are wrongs with this scenario – 1. Everyone already has a personal relationship with God, and 2. God has already made “this Jesus whom you crucified,” as Peter preached on Pentecost, “both Lord and Christ.”
There are only two kinds of people – those “in Adam” and those “in Christ.” Both kinds of people have a very “personal” relationship with God. Those created by God of Adam’s fallen race know Him in judgment and wrath. Those re-created by God through Christ know Him as Lord and Savior in Jesus. The people “in Christ” did not find Him within themselves. It was God in Christ who came to them, in time, in history, in flesh, on the cross, to die for their sins and be raised again for their justification; it was God who condescended to sinners to save them from the outside in by the preaching, hearing, and believing of the Gospel of God. The “Good News” is a message of what God has done to satisfy His own justice by pouring the full measure of judgment and wrath on Jesus in order to save those who were enemies and haters of God dead in trespasses and sin. To paraphrase Luther, the Gospel is outside of us!
Therefore, when you come to worship on the Lord’s Day your hope will not be found within you, within your heart or experience. The hope of the Christian on the Lord’s Day is found in objective faith in Christ through “ordinary means” apart from ourselves. Christ is our worship leader through Word and Sacrament; He speaks through ink, paper, water, bread and wine; “a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain where Jesus has gone . . .” our high priest forever. Our Righteousness is in heaven!
There are only two kinds of people – those “in Adam” and those “in Christ.” Both kinds of people have a very “personal” relationship with God. Those created by God of Adam’s fallen race know Him in judgment and wrath. Those re-created by God through Christ know Him as Lord and Savior in Jesus. The people “in Christ” did not find Him within themselves. It was God in Christ who came to them, in time, in history, in flesh, on the cross, to die for their sins and be raised again for their justification; it was God who condescended to sinners to save them from the outside in by the preaching, hearing, and believing of the Gospel of God. The “Good News” is a message of what God has done to satisfy His own justice by pouring the full measure of judgment and wrath on Jesus in order to save those who were enemies and haters of God dead in trespasses and sin. To paraphrase Luther, the Gospel is outside of us!
Therefore, when you come to worship on the Lord’s Day your hope will not be found within you, within your heart or experience. The hope of the Christian on the Lord’s Day is found in objective faith in Christ through “ordinary means” apart from ourselves. Christ is our worship leader through Word and Sacrament; He speaks through ink, paper, water, bread and wine; “a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain where Jesus has gone . . .” our high priest forever. Our Righteousness is in heaven!
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
For Whom Did Christ Die?
I truly believe that the essential doctrines of the Reformed faith cannot be refuted only disbelieved. Often the pastoral doctrines of grace come to mind as a point of contention and particularly the doctrine of election.
I once had a man who had spent many weeks studying with me about the electing grace of God. At the end of our time together he said, "I cannot disprove what you believe, but I will not believe it!"
If you haven't read the following logical syllogism of the brilliant John Owen read it again and rejoice with me of God's amazing grace.
FOR WHOM DID CHRIST DIE?
The Father imposed His wrath due unto, and the Son underwent
punishment for, either:
1. All the sins of all men.
2. All the sins of some men, or
3. Some of the sins of all men.
In which case it may be said:
1. That if the last be true, all men have some sins to answer for, and so, none are saved.
2. That if the second be true, then Christ, in their stead suffered for all the sins of all the elect in the whole world, and this is the truth.
3. But if the first be the case, why are not all men free from the punishment due unto their sins?
You answer, "Because of unbelief."
I ask, Is this unbelief a sin, or is it not? If it be, then Christ suffered the punishment due unto it, or He did not. If He did, why must that hinder them more than their other sins for which He died? If He did not, He did not die for all their sins!"
I once had a man who had spent many weeks studying with me about the electing grace of God. At the end of our time together he said, "I cannot disprove what you believe, but I will not believe it!"
If you haven't read the following logical syllogism of the brilliant John Owen read it again and rejoice with me of God's amazing grace.
FOR WHOM DID CHRIST DIE?
The Father imposed His wrath due unto, and the Son underwent
punishment for, either:
1. All the sins of all men.
2. All the sins of some men, or
3. Some of the sins of all men.
In which case it may be said:
1. That if the last be true, all men have some sins to answer for, and so, none are saved.
2. That if the second be true, then Christ, in their stead suffered for all the sins of all the elect in the whole world, and this is the truth.
3. But if the first be the case, why are not all men free from the punishment due unto their sins?
You answer, "Because of unbelief."
I ask, Is this unbelief a sin, or is it not? If it be, then Christ suffered the punishment due unto it, or He did not. If He did, why must that hinder them more than their other sins for which He died? If He did not, He did not die for all their sins!"
Monday, May 19, 2008
The Covenant Way: Reforming The Christian Family
Consider the family life of this generation. When you can find the intact family with a dad, a mom and children, you often discover both parents working outside the home with demanding work schedules and precious little time for each other, the children, or God. For single parent homes it’s even more challenging. What’s a parent to do?
Parents work hard to provide the necessities of shelter, food and clothing. Most fathers and mothers cannot imagine doing much more, so they convince themselves that “quality” time with the family is more important than “quantity” time. To fill the parenting void, parents seek out other people and programs in an effort to give their kids a quality education, good personal character, and meaningful achievement. This, of course, justifies working harder to pay others to do what God ordained the family to do.
Why not take advantage of public schools, non-profit organizations, and community activities designed with children in mind? In fact, why not find a church that will take the kids off your hands for a couple hours a week so both dad and mom can have a meaningful worship experience while the children color Bible figures, enjoy a puppet show, and eat snacks? This is simply not God’s best for you or your family.
This is not to say that to take advantage of a community sports program, an artistic learning experience, or even belonging to good social organization is wrong. It is not. But these things cannot take the place of godly fathers and mothers as the primary care-givers and spiritual leaders in the lives of their children. The covenant family united to a larger covenant church family is God's best for us and our children.
Consider these things:
1. Who spends the most time with your children?
2. Who is the primary teacher of spiritual things to your children?
3. Where and how do your children spend their leisure time?
4. What are your children involved in apart from you that you know is your responsibility?
What were the answers to these questions? Who is at the center of your children’s lives? The problems of family are easily diagnosed but difficult to cure. We get accustom to those ways that make life easier for us but are not better for the heritage of God under our care as fathers and mothers. Pray diligently for God to give you the faithfulness to do your duty as covenant parents to His covenant children.
There will be no 2nd Reformation of the Church without a new Reformation of the family.
Parents work hard to provide the necessities of shelter, food and clothing. Most fathers and mothers cannot imagine doing much more, so they convince themselves that “quality” time with the family is more important than “quantity” time. To fill the parenting void, parents seek out other people and programs in an effort to give their kids a quality education, good personal character, and meaningful achievement. This, of course, justifies working harder to pay others to do what God ordained the family to do.
Why not take advantage of public schools, non-profit organizations, and community activities designed with children in mind? In fact, why not find a church that will take the kids off your hands for a couple hours a week so both dad and mom can have a meaningful worship experience while the children color Bible figures, enjoy a puppet show, and eat snacks? This is simply not God’s best for you or your family.
This is not to say that to take advantage of a community sports program, an artistic learning experience, or even belonging to good social organization is wrong. It is not. But these things cannot take the place of godly fathers and mothers as the primary care-givers and spiritual leaders in the lives of their children. The covenant family united to a larger covenant church family is God's best for us and our children.
Consider these things:
1. Who spends the most time with your children?
2. Who is the primary teacher of spiritual things to your children?
3. Where and how do your children spend their leisure time?
4. What are your children involved in apart from you that you know is your responsibility?
What were the answers to these questions? Who is at the center of your children’s lives? The problems of family are easily diagnosed but difficult to cure. We get accustom to those ways that make life easier for us but are not better for the heritage of God under our care as fathers and mothers. Pray diligently for God to give you the faithfulness to do your duty as covenant parents to His covenant children.
There will be no 2nd Reformation of the Church without a new Reformation of the family.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Worship According To Scripture
What would a worship service shaped by biblical theology, scriptural liturgy, and ordered by the gospel look like? Let’s follow a worship service designed around these things and see how God meets His people in the Word.
The Call to Worship
What happens when the time has come for God to redeem one of His elect? God the Holy Spirit effectually calls them. The Holy Spirit’s call so touches the heart of man as to turn it from stone to flesh and gives the one called to salvation the moral ability to repent, have faith, and believe the gospel.[1] This is God’s effectual call. Therefore, worship on the Lord’s Day should not begin with greetings, fellowship, or, “How y’all doin today?”, but with a Word from God to His people. This is not a meaningless form anymore than the Word of God is like other words. The Call to Worship is a not call from man to man but a call from God to His Church to come meet Him in worship through the Word. It should thrill the soul of the Christian to hear God say through His minister:
“The Spirit and the Bride say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who hears say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.”[2]
God is calling and it is a great beginning to worship.
A Psalm, Hymn or Spiritual Song of Adoration
God’s people are a singing people. Redeemed people have a song in their heart of praise to God. In light of God’s effectual calling to save us and His weekly call to worship in spirit and truth we sing unto the Lord. We sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs appropriate to the worship of holy God. The people of God lift their voices and with a loud voice sing something like:
“Come, Christians join to sing Alleluia! Amen! Loud praise to Christ our King; Alleluia! Amen! Let all, with heart and voice, before His throne rejoice; praise is His gracious choice. Alleluia! Amen!”[3]
Prayer of Invocation
The Church cannot meet God and not bow hearts in prayer. Here the pastor lifts his voice on behalf of the Church to acknowledge the presence of the Blessed Trinity, to give God glory for who He is, what He has made, and what He has done for us in Christ. God’s minister prays for the Holy Spirit to work among the congregation by watching over the Word to perform it. And then the pastor adds, “We pray now, as You taught us to pray, saying:”
“Our Father, who art in Heaven, Hallowed by Thy name. Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.”
Already God has called His people to worship, the Church has sung praises of adoration and has prayed together the model prayer of all prayers, and we’re not even 10 minutes into our meeting with Him. Praise be to God!
The Reading of The Law
Then we read the law. The reading of the law of God shows us the knowledge of our sin.[4] The law is our schoolmaster that leads us to Christ.[5] Without the law we would not know that God is saving us from His wrath, by His grace, for His glory. The worship of God must include both law and gospel. The law slays us in our sin. Grace brings us alive again through Jesus Christ. Before we hear “good news” we need to know the “bad news.” And so we hear:
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”[6]
The “bad news” is that God demands perfect obedience. We are covenant breakers. What are we to do? The Law hems us in on every side. We have no escape from the searchlight of His Word. We find ourselves in desperate need of a Savior.
The Confession of Sin and Assurance of Pardon
What follows when we hear of the voice of God from Sinai and are found wanting? We repent! To be truly converted, sinners “chosen in God before the foundation of the world,” must repent of their sins before holy God. We cannot be converted without repentance. Even after conversion biblical Christians know they remain simply “sinners saved by grace.” Therefore, as Israel did in ages past the Body of Christ regularly repents of sin. God’s covenant people acknowledge their sinfulness through a “Confession of Sin” and receive forgiveness of their sins through an “Assurance of Pardon.” These two elements go hand in hand:
Let us confess our sins to God:
“Remember your mercy, O LORD, and your steadfast love, for they have been from of old. Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me, for the sake of your goodness, O LORD! Good and upright is the LORD; therefore he instructs sinners in the way. . . . For your name's sake, O LORD, pardon my guilt, for it is great. . . . Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted. The troubles of my heart are enlarged; bring me out of my distresses. Consider my affliction and my trouble, and forgive all my sins.”[7]
Hear the assurance of pardon:[8]
“Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the LORD counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.”[9]
It’s a little like becoming a Christian all over again every Lord’s Day. Every seven days we are called by God to meet with Him in His Word. We hear the Law and are reminded of our sin and our need for a sacrifice and covenant Mediator. We repent of our sins against holy God only to have Him show us grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt. We confess what the Bible says about God and we place our trust in Christ. Christians must never forget that their righteous standing with God through Christ is “imputed” to them and not “infused” in them. God’s people remain in desperate need of grace all their lives and each Sabbath they repent of their sins again and hear the words of forgiveness again and again and again. May God be praised!
A Psalm, Hymn or Spiritual Song of Response
Now that we have repented of our sins and have had those sins covered by the blood of Christ, what should we sing? I suggest something more than a ditty or some trivial contemporary response in light of the great sin of man and the greater grace of God. Take as a good example this hymn by John Newton:
“Let us love and sing and wonder, let us praise the Savior’s name!
He has hushed the law’s loud thunder; he has quenched Mount Sinai’s flame.
He has washed us with his blood; he has brought us nigh to God.”
“Let us wonder grace and justice join and point to mercy’s store.
When through grace in Christ our trust is, justice smiles and asks no more.
He who washed us with his blood has secured our way to God.”[10]
That one will do just fine.
The Offering
Because we are thankful for God’s great provision we give tithes and offerings to Him. We thank God for the temporal blessings of family, food, clothing, shelter and work. And we thank Him for the rich spiritual blessings we have in Christ.
“Bring the full tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the LORD of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.”[11]
As we give we testify we do not worship what money can buy. We demonstrate we are not idolaters. We recognize the Source from whom all blessings flow. We worship by giving to the Lord cheerfully with a thankful heart.[12]
The Doxology
Then we sing again a prayer in response to God.
“Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him all creatures here below. Praise Him above ye heavenly hosts. Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Amen.”
We sing these words of thanksgiving often to the tune of the Old Hundreth the oldest melody in English hymnody and remember the saints of all time giving the same praise to God for His bounty.
The Reading of Scripture
Biblical preaching is from a text. The Bible is not a jumping off point for existential leaps of faith into the spirit world, nor is it a guidebook for successful living; it is the living Word and voice of God and should be read carefully, deliberately, and with great respect to impress upon those who hear it that God is talking to them. The reading by the minister should end with a statement of faith, “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the Word of our God stands forever.”[13]
The Prayer of Illumination
Whether one is lost and in need of the gospel or redeemed and in need of grace confirmed again, the Word of God proclaimed is the manna from heaven to feed our hungry souls. Before the Word is preached, the minister of the Word in total and complete reliance upon the Holy Spirit humbly asks God to speak His infallible Word through a fallible man. He prays for God to illumine the heart of the congregation to hear what the Spirit will say to the Church. He asks God to, “Teach us your ways, O LORD, that we may walk in your truth; unite our heart to fear your name. We give thanks to you, O Lord our God, with our whole hearts, and we will glorify your name forever.”[14] Having prayed for himself and the people, God’s minister opens the Book to read, explain, and apply God’s Word.
The Preaching of The Word
Preaching is primary to worship. Preaching, sacrament, and prayer are God’s ordinary means of converting and sanctifying His Church. Preaching is a monologue between Christ and His Church. The pastor speaks for God from the Word of God. His only authority comes from the written text. The pastor is a servant of the Word. Nothing is more important to the worship of God than the preaching of His Word. Therefore, every Sunday the expectation of the men, women, and children of Christ’s Church is that God will to speak to us and we can hardly wait!
“And all the people gathered as one man into the square before the Water Gate
they told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses that the LORD had commanded Israel. So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could understand what they heard, on the first of the seventh month. And he read from it facing the square before the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women and those who could understand. And the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law. And Ezra the scribe stood on a wooden platform that they had made for the purpose . . . And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was above all the people, and as he opened it all the people stood. And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God, and all the people answered, ‘Amen, Amen,’ lifting up their hands. And they bowed their heads and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground. Also . . . the Levites helped the people to understand the Law, while the people remained in their places. They read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly, and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading.”[15]
God’s minister preaches the revelation of Scripture. He must “preach Christ” and not himself.[16] Preaching from the text God’s people should hear God’s Word through expositional preaching. “For it is by precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here at little there a little”[17] that God’s Voice is heard by God’s people.
A Prayer of Intercession
Having faithfully read, explained, and applied the Scriptures to the Church the pastor then prays for the redeemed to obey and the lost to believe. There are generally no further admonitions, altar calls or emotional appeals. They are not needed. Historical Christianity believes not only in the authority of Scripture but in the absolute sufficiency of the Bible to accomplish what God intends to do in the hearts of every person in the congregation.
“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”[18]
Confession of Faith
When the sinner, elect and chosen by God, is called to salvation and repents of his sin, that person must also confess his faith and trust in Christ in response to the preaching of the gospel. Therefore, God’s people, all sinners saved by grace, speak with one voice their “Confession of Faith” as an act of worship. Utilizing the Scriptures, biblical creeds and confessions the congregation testifies to who God is, what God has done and who He did it for. The pastor asks the question, “Christian, what do you believe?”
“I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, which was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried: He decended into hell; the third day He arose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty, from thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy catholic church; the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. Amen.”[19]
Through biblical creeds and confessions the Church of the Firstborn confesses with one voice their corporate faith in the foundational doctrines of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself the Cornerstone, as they meet with God on the Lord’s Day.
The Gloria Patri
The Church sings in response a prayer to God: “Glory be to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen, Amen.” The People of God have sung the Gloria Patri for 1800 years giving witness to the Blessed Trinity throughout all generations. The Gloria Patri was a Trinitarian fight song against the Arian heresy that denied the deity of Christ. Joining with God’s people throughout the ages we lift our voices to the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost eternally existing.
The Visible Word
God regularly administers His grace through Sacraments. We need God’s grace sealed to our hearts over and over again. How easily we forget God’s grace to our lives. Regular and frequent administration of the “visible words” of the gospel through Baptism and the Lord’s Supper brings grace to the Church again and again. Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are “signs and seals” of the covenant of grace. The signs point us to Christ and the washing of the water of the Word and invite us to spiritually feed on the broken Body of Christ and the cup of the New Covenant by faith. This never gets old or unnecessary. In the preaching of the sermon we heard the Word of God, at Baptism we feel the cleansing of water, and at the Lord’s Table we “taste and see that the Lord is good.”[20]
A Psalm, Hymn or Spiritual Song of Response
We have heard God through reading, preaching and sacrament and have spoken to Him with singing, prayers and confessions. What should we sing in closing response to God? Certainly not something about “Wonderful Us” or some romantic tune, but a psalm, hymn, or spiritual song that speaks of the steadfast faithfulness of the Lord to keep His Word concerning His Church.
“Great is thy faithfulness, O God my Father; there is no shadow of turning with thee; thou changest not, thy compassions they fail not; as thou hast been thou forever wilt be. Great is thy faithfulness! Great is thy faithfulness! Morning by morning new mercies I see: all I have needed thy hand hath provided – Great is thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!”
The Benediction
A prayer of benediction and blessing upon God’s people is not simply an archaic form to end a service. In the benediction God blesses His people through His ministers in response to the congregation’s faithful worship and obedience to what they have heard, believed, prayed and confessed to God. These are not idle words but the blessing of the Lord upon the faithful:
“The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.”[21]
[1] Ezekiel 36:26-27
[2] Revelation 22:17
[3] Trinity Hymnal #302, Christian H. Bateman, 1843
[4] Romans 3:20
[5] Galatians 3:24
[6] Matthew 22:37-40
[7] Psalm 25:6-8, 11
[8] John 20:23
[9] Psalm 32:1-2
[10] Trinity Hymnal #172, Let Us Love and Sing and Wonder, John Newton 1774
[11] Malachi 3:10
[12] II Corinthians 9:7
[13] Taken from Isaiah 40:8
[14] Psalm 86:11-12
[15] Nehemiah 8:1-8
[16] II Corinthians 4:5
[17] Isaiah 28:10
[18] Ephesians 3:20-21
[19] The Apostle’s Creed
[20] Psalm 34:8
[21] Numbers 6:24-26
The Call to Worship
What happens when the time has come for God to redeem one of His elect? God the Holy Spirit effectually calls them. The Holy Spirit’s call so touches the heart of man as to turn it from stone to flesh and gives the one called to salvation the moral ability to repent, have faith, and believe the gospel.[1] This is God’s effectual call. Therefore, worship on the Lord’s Day should not begin with greetings, fellowship, or, “How y’all doin today?”, but with a Word from God to His people. This is not a meaningless form anymore than the Word of God is like other words. The Call to Worship is a not call from man to man but a call from God to His Church to come meet Him in worship through the Word. It should thrill the soul of the Christian to hear God say through His minister:
“The Spirit and the Bride say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who hears say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.”[2]
God is calling and it is a great beginning to worship.
A Psalm, Hymn or Spiritual Song of Adoration
God’s people are a singing people. Redeemed people have a song in their heart of praise to God. In light of God’s effectual calling to save us and His weekly call to worship in spirit and truth we sing unto the Lord. We sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs appropriate to the worship of holy God. The people of God lift their voices and with a loud voice sing something like:
“Come, Christians join to sing Alleluia! Amen! Loud praise to Christ our King; Alleluia! Amen! Let all, with heart and voice, before His throne rejoice; praise is His gracious choice. Alleluia! Amen!”[3]
Prayer of Invocation
The Church cannot meet God and not bow hearts in prayer. Here the pastor lifts his voice on behalf of the Church to acknowledge the presence of the Blessed Trinity, to give God glory for who He is, what He has made, and what He has done for us in Christ. God’s minister prays for the Holy Spirit to work among the congregation by watching over the Word to perform it. And then the pastor adds, “We pray now, as You taught us to pray, saying:”
“Our Father, who art in Heaven, Hallowed by Thy name. Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.”
Already God has called His people to worship, the Church has sung praises of adoration and has prayed together the model prayer of all prayers, and we’re not even 10 minutes into our meeting with Him. Praise be to God!
The Reading of The Law
Then we read the law. The reading of the law of God shows us the knowledge of our sin.[4] The law is our schoolmaster that leads us to Christ.[5] Without the law we would not know that God is saving us from His wrath, by His grace, for His glory. The worship of God must include both law and gospel. The law slays us in our sin. Grace brings us alive again through Jesus Christ. Before we hear “good news” we need to know the “bad news.” And so we hear:
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”[6]
The “bad news” is that God demands perfect obedience. We are covenant breakers. What are we to do? The Law hems us in on every side. We have no escape from the searchlight of His Word. We find ourselves in desperate need of a Savior.
The Confession of Sin and Assurance of Pardon
What follows when we hear of the voice of God from Sinai and are found wanting? We repent! To be truly converted, sinners “chosen in God before the foundation of the world,” must repent of their sins before holy God. We cannot be converted without repentance. Even after conversion biblical Christians know they remain simply “sinners saved by grace.” Therefore, as Israel did in ages past the Body of Christ regularly repents of sin. God’s covenant people acknowledge their sinfulness through a “Confession of Sin” and receive forgiveness of their sins through an “Assurance of Pardon.” These two elements go hand in hand:
Let us confess our sins to God:
“Remember your mercy, O LORD, and your steadfast love, for they have been from of old. Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me, for the sake of your goodness, O LORD! Good and upright is the LORD; therefore he instructs sinners in the way. . . . For your name's sake, O LORD, pardon my guilt, for it is great. . . . Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted. The troubles of my heart are enlarged; bring me out of my distresses. Consider my affliction and my trouble, and forgive all my sins.”[7]
Hear the assurance of pardon:[8]
“Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the LORD counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.”[9]
It’s a little like becoming a Christian all over again every Lord’s Day. Every seven days we are called by God to meet with Him in His Word. We hear the Law and are reminded of our sin and our need for a sacrifice and covenant Mediator. We repent of our sins against holy God only to have Him show us grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt. We confess what the Bible says about God and we place our trust in Christ. Christians must never forget that their righteous standing with God through Christ is “imputed” to them and not “infused” in them. God’s people remain in desperate need of grace all their lives and each Sabbath they repent of their sins again and hear the words of forgiveness again and again and again. May God be praised!
A Psalm, Hymn or Spiritual Song of Response
Now that we have repented of our sins and have had those sins covered by the blood of Christ, what should we sing? I suggest something more than a ditty or some trivial contemporary response in light of the great sin of man and the greater grace of God. Take as a good example this hymn by John Newton:
“Let us love and sing and wonder, let us praise the Savior’s name!
He has hushed the law’s loud thunder; he has quenched Mount Sinai’s flame.
He has washed us with his blood; he has brought us nigh to God.”
“Let us wonder grace and justice join and point to mercy’s store.
When through grace in Christ our trust is, justice smiles and asks no more.
He who washed us with his blood has secured our way to God.”[10]
That one will do just fine.
The Offering
Because we are thankful for God’s great provision we give tithes and offerings to Him. We thank God for the temporal blessings of family, food, clothing, shelter and work. And we thank Him for the rich spiritual blessings we have in Christ.
“Bring the full tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the LORD of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.”[11]
As we give we testify we do not worship what money can buy. We demonstrate we are not idolaters. We recognize the Source from whom all blessings flow. We worship by giving to the Lord cheerfully with a thankful heart.[12]
The Doxology
Then we sing again a prayer in response to God.
“Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him all creatures here below. Praise Him above ye heavenly hosts. Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Amen.”
We sing these words of thanksgiving often to the tune of the Old Hundreth the oldest melody in English hymnody and remember the saints of all time giving the same praise to God for His bounty.
The Reading of Scripture
Biblical preaching is from a text. The Bible is not a jumping off point for existential leaps of faith into the spirit world, nor is it a guidebook for successful living; it is the living Word and voice of God and should be read carefully, deliberately, and with great respect to impress upon those who hear it that God is talking to them. The reading by the minister should end with a statement of faith, “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the Word of our God stands forever.”[13]
The Prayer of Illumination
Whether one is lost and in need of the gospel or redeemed and in need of grace confirmed again, the Word of God proclaimed is the manna from heaven to feed our hungry souls. Before the Word is preached, the minister of the Word in total and complete reliance upon the Holy Spirit humbly asks God to speak His infallible Word through a fallible man. He prays for God to illumine the heart of the congregation to hear what the Spirit will say to the Church. He asks God to, “Teach us your ways, O LORD, that we may walk in your truth; unite our heart to fear your name. We give thanks to you, O Lord our God, with our whole hearts, and we will glorify your name forever.”[14] Having prayed for himself and the people, God’s minister opens the Book to read, explain, and apply God’s Word.
The Preaching of The Word
Preaching is primary to worship. Preaching, sacrament, and prayer are God’s ordinary means of converting and sanctifying His Church. Preaching is a monologue between Christ and His Church. The pastor speaks for God from the Word of God. His only authority comes from the written text. The pastor is a servant of the Word. Nothing is more important to the worship of God than the preaching of His Word. Therefore, every Sunday the expectation of the men, women, and children of Christ’s Church is that God will to speak to us and we can hardly wait!
“And all the people gathered as one man into the square before the Water Gate
they told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses that the LORD had commanded Israel. So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could understand what they heard, on the first of the seventh month. And he read from it facing the square before the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women and those who could understand. And the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law. And Ezra the scribe stood on a wooden platform that they had made for the purpose . . . And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was above all the people, and as he opened it all the people stood. And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God, and all the people answered, ‘Amen, Amen,’ lifting up their hands. And they bowed their heads and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground. Also . . . the Levites helped the people to understand the Law, while the people remained in their places. They read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly, and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading.”[15]
God’s minister preaches the revelation of Scripture. He must “preach Christ” and not himself.[16] Preaching from the text God’s people should hear God’s Word through expositional preaching. “For it is by precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here at little there a little”[17] that God’s Voice is heard by God’s people.
A Prayer of Intercession
Having faithfully read, explained, and applied the Scriptures to the Church the pastor then prays for the redeemed to obey and the lost to believe. There are generally no further admonitions, altar calls or emotional appeals. They are not needed. Historical Christianity believes not only in the authority of Scripture but in the absolute sufficiency of the Bible to accomplish what God intends to do in the hearts of every person in the congregation.
“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”[18]
Confession of Faith
When the sinner, elect and chosen by God, is called to salvation and repents of his sin, that person must also confess his faith and trust in Christ in response to the preaching of the gospel. Therefore, God’s people, all sinners saved by grace, speak with one voice their “Confession of Faith” as an act of worship. Utilizing the Scriptures, biblical creeds and confessions the congregation testifies to who God is, what God has done and who He did it for. The pastor asks the question, “Christian, what do you believe?”
“I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, which was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried: He decended into hell; the third day He arose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty, from thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy catholic church; the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. Amen.”[19]
Through biblical creeds and confessions the Church of the Firstborn confesses with one voice their corporate faith in the foundational doctrines of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself the Cornerstone, as they meet with God on the Lord’s Day.
The Gloria Patri
The Church sings in response a prayer to God: “Glory be to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen, Amen.” The People of God have sung the Gloria Patri for 1800 years giving witness to the Blessed Trinity throughout all generations. The Gloria Patri was a Trinitarian fight song against the Arian heresy that denied the deity of Christ. Joining with God’s people throughout the ages we lift our voices to the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost eternally existing.
The Visible Word
God regularly administers His grace through Sacraments. We need God’s grace sealed to our hearts over and over again. How easily we forget God’s grace to our lives. Regular and frequent administration of the “visible words” of the gospel through Baptism and the Lord’s Supper brings grace to the Church again and again. Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are “signs and seals” of the covenant of grace. The signs point us to Christ and the washing of the water of the Word and invite us to spiritually feed on the broken Body of Christ and the cup of the New Covenant by faith. This never gets old or unnecessary. In the preaching of the sermon we heard the Word of God, at Baptism we feel the cleansing of water, and at the Lord’s Table we “taste and see that the Lord is good.”[20]
A Psalm, Hymn or Spiritual Song of Response
We have heard God through reading, preaching and sacrament and have spoken to Him with singing, prayers and confessions. What should we sing in closing response to God? Certainly not something about “Wonderful Us” or some romantic tune, but a psalm, hymn, or spiritual song that speaks of the steadfast faithfulness of the Lord to keep His Word concerning His Church.
“Great is thy faithfulness, O God my Father; there is no shadow of turning with thee; thou changest not, thy compassions they fail not; as thou hast been thou forever wilt be. Great is thy faithfulness! Great is thy faithfulness! Morning by morning new mercies I see: all I have needed thy hand hath provided – Great is thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!”
The Benediction
A prayer of benediction and blessing upon God’s people is not simply an archaic form to end a service. In the benediction God blesses His people through His ministers in response to the congregation’s faithful worship and obedience to what they have heard, believed, prayed and confessed to God. These are not idle words but the blessing of the Lord upon the faithful:
“The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.”[21]
[1] Ezekiel 36:26-27
[2] Revelation 22:17
[3] Trinity Hymnal #302, Christian H. Bateman, 1843
[4] Romans 3:20
[5] Galatians 3:24
[6] Matthew 22:37-40
[7] Psalm 25:6-8, 11
[8] John 20:23
[9] Psalm 32:1-2
[10] Trinity Hymnal #172, Let Us Love and Sing and Wonder, John Newton 1774
[11] Malachi 3:10
[12] II Corinthians 9:7
[13] Taken from Isaiah 40:8
[14] Psalm 86:11-12
[15] Nehemiah 8:1-8
[16] II Corinthians 4:5
[17] Isaiah 28:10
[18] Ephesians 3:20-21
[19] The Apostle’s Creed
[20] Psalm 34:8
[21] Numbers 6:24-26
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Thoughts On The Church
Most people I know don’t love the Church. I’m speaking of people who love God and who love some people, but they don’t love the Church. Many feel this way because of past hurts, broken promises, and unfulfilled expectations. Frankly, this side of heaven we should learned to expect that people will fail God; that some people if I given the chance will walk all over our hearts again and again. Yet, we are called to love those who Jesus died for, we are called to fellowship with some people we may not even like, we are called to worship every Lord’s Day with the corporate Body of Christ, and we are called to do it all, faithfully, and with a right heart, because of Jesus!
I once heard a preacher say, “I love the Church. Its people I can’t stand.” Too bad! God didn’t gather to Himself the wise, the powerful and the noble. “God chose what is foolish . . . what is weak . . . what is low and despised . . . so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, whom God made our righteousness and sanctification and redemption. Therefore, as it is written, ‘Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord” (I Cor. 1:27-31).
So, before I pick up a rock to throw it at anybody, I’m reminded of the words “The seed of every sin known to man is in my heart” Robert Murray McCheyne. I not only need a Savior, I need a church where I can hear the gospel preached, where the sacraments are administered, and where good and godly elders watch over my soul.
I once heard a preacher say, “I love the Church. Its people I can’t stand.” Too bad! God didn’t gather to Himself the wise, the powerful and the noble. “God chose what is foolish . . . what is weak . . . what is low and despised . . . so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, whom God made our righteousness and sanctification and redemption. Therefore, as it is written, ‘Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord” (I Cor. 1:27-31).
So, before I pick up a rock to throw it at anybody, I’m reminded of the words “The seed of every sin known to man is in my heart” Robert Murray McCheyne. I not only need a Savior, I need a church where I can hear the gospel preached, where the sacraments are administered, and where good and godly elders watch over my soul.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Word, Sacrament and Prayer
No matter how much a pastor prepares, how much he prays, or how sincerely he loves God, without people it’s hard to have church. Mission developers in particular are obsessed with the thought of “How do we get people to come to church?” With all good intentions the mission pastor will attempt to figure out some common denominator between the church and the un-churched. This usually results in ministry programs that conforms the church to the demands of the marketplace.
The secret to drawing a crowd is easy – make it about them! Give them music that excites, talks that encourage, and principles for living a victorious life and they will come. On the contrary, give them hymns rich in the theology of the faith, Christ-centered sermons, and a cross driven life and you may have a small crowd. Yet, the ministry whereby Christ communicates His mediation to His people is through Word, sacrament and prayer. It is through these “ordinary means” that God enlightens, convicts and humbles sinners; “driving them out of themselves, and drawing them unto Christ . . . ” (WLC, Q. 155).
I’m aware of the pressures pastors feel to bend under the weight of cultural demands in ministry. I understand well the drawing power of programs that appear relevant to the “felt needs” of people. Drawing a crowd is easy. Doing ministry God’s way is hard. In fact, building a church is impossible apart from the miracle that happens when ministers are faithful in proclaiming the Word of God.
The secret to drawing a crowd is easy – make it about them! Give them music that excites, talks that encourage, and principles for living a victorious life and they will come. On the contrary, give them hymns rich in the theology of the faith, Christ-centered sermons, and a cross driven life and you may have a small crowd. Yet, the ministry whereby Christ communicates His mediation to His people is through Word, sacrament and prayer. It is through these “ordinary means” that God enlightens, convicts and humbles sinners; “driving them out of themselves, and drawing them unto Christ . . . ” (WLC, Q. 155).
I’m aware of the pressures pastors feel to bend under the weight of cultural demands in ministry. I understand well the drawing power of programs that appear relevant to the “felt needs” of people. Drawing a crowd is easy. Doing ministry God’s way is hard. In fact, building a church is impossible apart from the miracle that happens when ministers are faithful in proclaiming the Word of God.
Heresy as Orthodoxy
All people believe. They all believe in something or someone. People base their lives here and their lives hereafter on what they believe about God, gods, and themselves. Unfortunately, believing does not make it true! The problem is that most people, atheists and agnostics excluded, in some way believe in the Bible. Even heretics make their appeal to Scripture to justify departure from orthodoxy.
In our culture the subjective, experiential, and existential aspects of one’s personal spiritual journey is beyond question. The credo “I just believe that . . . .” is not to be judged, challenged or disputed. Someone might as well say, “What I believe is true for me and if it works for me who is anyone to say it’s wrong?” People become so psychologically invested in what they personally believe that they demand the right to believe and they insist everyone must respect that belief even if that belief makes no rational or biblical sense. The only requirement of belief is that it be sincere. Non-Christian writer, Curtis White described in Harper’s Weekly this type of subjective, narcissistic, belief this way, “Yahweh and Baal – my God and yours – stroll arm in arm, as if to do so were the model of virtue itself.”
In his article “Hot Air Gods”, White went on to say “Consequently, it’s difficult to avoid the conclusion that our truest belief is the credo of heresy itself. It is heresy without an orthodoxy. It is heresy as orthodoxy. The entitlement to belief is the right of each to his own heresy. Religious freedom has come to this: where everyone is free to believe whatever she likes, there is no real shared conviction at all and hence no church and certainly no community.” Over 10 years ago in the publication Modern Reformation, Shane Rosenthal humorously described this contemporary spiritual anarchy with the question, “Was That Your Karma That Ran Over My Dogma?”
Fighting liberalism was easy. Liberals outright denied the inspiration and inerrancy of Scripture. We don’t need to go any further in recognizing that liberal Christianity is not Christianity at all. Machen settled that argument. New Age mysticism with its “the divine within us all” mantra discovered through serious “naval” contemplation is both irrational and blasphemous. And I’m not sure that outside of California, Public Broadcasting, and the Ivy League anyone really cares.
But what happens when everything sounds Christian, the terms are right, yet the practice of the faith smacks of “another gospel”? The great threat to evangelical Christianity in our day is not that which is evidently false but that which tickles our ears and seems right but isn’t; where subjective spiritual experiences and a undefined personal relationship with Jesus (or whoever) stand above and authoritatively over the clear doctrines of Scripture. This results in the God of Scripture being reinterpreted to reflect a god we can live with. As Dorothy Sayers, the British playwright of the last century said, “We have very efficiently pared the claws of the Lion of Judah, certified him ‘meek and mild,’ and recommended him as a fitting household pet for pale curates and pious old ladies.”
To put this in an historical perspective, during the Reformation the formal principle was whether the Church was over the Bible or the Bible over the Church. In our day I think the issue is whether the Individual will be shaped by the Scripture and thereby be conformed to Christ or whether the Individual will look into the mirror of the Bible and only see god in his own image.
“We are thus the congregation of the Church of the Infinitely Fractured, splendidly alone together.” Curtis White, Harper’s Weekly, December 2007
In our culture the subjective, experiential, and existential aspects of one’s personal spiritual journey is beyond question. The credo “I just believe that . . . .” is not to be judged, challenged or disputed. Someone might as well say, “What I believe is true for me and if it works for me who is anyone to say it’s wrong?” People become so psychologically invested in what they personally believe that they demand the right to believe and they insist everyone must respect that belief even if that belief makes no rational or biblical sense. The only requirement of belief is that it be sincere. Non-Christian writer, Curtis White described in Harper’s Weekly this type of subjective, narcissistic, belief this way, “Yahweh and Baal – my God and yours – stroll arm in arm, as if to do so were the model of virtue itself.”
In his article “Hot Air Gods”, White went on to say “Consequently, it’s difficult to avoid the conclusion that our truest belief is the credo of heresy itself. It is heresy without an orthodoxy. It is heresy as orthodoxy. The entitlement to belief is the right of each to his own heresy. Religious freedom has come to this: where everyone is free to believe whatever she likes, there is no real shared conviction at all and hence no church and certainly no community.” Over 10 years ago in the publication Modern Reformation, Shane Rosenthal humorously described this contemporary spiritual anarchy with the question, “Was That Your Karma That Ran Over My Dogma?”
Fighting liberalism was easy. Liberals outright denied the inspiration and inerrancy of Scripture. We don’t need to go any further in recognizing that liberal Christianity is not Christianity at all. Machen settled that argument. New Age mysticism with its “the divine within us all” mantra discovered through serious “naval” contemplation is both irrational and blasphemous. And I’m not sure that outside of California, Public Broadcasting, and the Ivy League anyone really cares.
But what happens when everything sounds Christian, the terms are right, yet the practice of the faith smacks of “another gospel”? The great threat to evangelical Christianity in our day is not that which is evidently false but that which tickles our ears and seems right but isn’t; where subjective spiritual experiences and a undefined personal relationship with Jesus (or whoever) stand above and authoritatively over the clear doctrines of Scripture. This results in the God of Scripture being reinterpreted to reflect a god we can live with. As Dorothy Sayers, the British playwright of the last century said, “We have very efficiently pared the claws of the Lion of Judah, certified him ‘meek and mild,’ and recommended him as a fitting household pet for pale curates and pious old ladies.”
To put this in an historical perspective, during the Reformation the formal principle was whether the Church was over the Bible or the Bible over the Church. In our day I think the issue is whether the Individual will be shaped by the Scripture and thereby be conformed to Christ or whether the Individual will look into the mirror of the Bible and only see god in his own image.
“We are thus the congregation of the Church of the Infinitely Fractured, splendidly alone together.” Curtis White, Harper’s Weekly, December 2007
Friday, March 28, 2008
Why The Reformed Faith?
Please come and invite your friends to join us at Covenant of Grace Presbyterian Church on Sundays at 6:00 pm for a series entitled "Why The Reformed Faith?" I will be teaching this series and we will study the distinctives of Reformed Theology and why we believe it is the clearest and most systematic expression of what the Word of God teaches.
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