Category Archives: Uncategorized

I have decided to do something a bit different today and defend what may seem indefensible.  The potluck.

No.  I am actually not talking about the reality of the potluck that the symbol points to.  I often find it hard to defend assorted jellos with mayonnaise in them, various casseroles of assorted things, and other essentially indefensible things.

I am actually talking about the word:  potluck.

OH.  You may say, afraid that by this word I may be bowing before a 1st century Roman god of chance.  Rushing to the defense of the mysterious providence of God, you say with a knowing smile, “You mean a pot providence.”

No.  I actually don’t.  I mean a pot luck.  I do not at all deny the mysterious and wonderful providence of God, by which He upholds heaven and earth with all creatures and so governs them that herbs and grass, rain and drought, fruitful and barren years, meat and drink, health and sickness, come not by chance, but by His fatherly hand.

With all Christians, I sound a hearty AMEN to that statement, found in question 27 of the Heidelberg Catechism.

But the fact is that language is a wonderful, nuanced, careful, cacophonous, brilliant and God- imaging thing,  Adjectives fail me.

I began this post saying that I decided to do something different.  By this, I did not mean that I have independent free-will apart from the decree of God. I simply meant that I made a decision.  I could have decided not to write this blog; or I could have decided to write it.  I have not yet decided to publish.  You will know if you are reading it what my decision will be.

We don’t live in the mind of God.  We don’t have access to His secret decrees.  What has been revealed to us are those things that Solomon calls, “The things under the sun.”

We are not commanded to pry into the book of life and see whose names are written there.  We are commanded to come to Christ, who freely offers salvation to all.

We are not commanded to sit under a tree and ponder when and how God will provide our daily bread; we are commanded to get a job and go to work.

That is part of what has been revealed to us.

The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.
(Deu 29:29 KJG)

Often we act like children taking quizzes answering every question with “Because that’s how God made the world.”

What were some of the causes of the War of 1812?  God’s providence.

Why did the apple fall on Newton’s head?  God’s providence.

What were the causes of the crusades.  God’s providence.

Eventually it becomes silly.  We all (as Christians) know and love the doctrine of God’s providence.  But we also live under the sun and are called to apply our hearts to wisdom.

And there is a remarkable thing that happens under the sun.  Sometimes events happen that are inexplicable.  There are wondrous coincidences.  There are almost mystical convergences that take place that change the course of history.  One may be righteous, and die; and one may be wicked and live.  One might be the fastest runner, but he stumbles on a nail that just happens to be on the road.  As the proverb goes, for want of a nail, the war was lost.

We all know that these are attributed solely to God’s hand of providence.  But the word “providence” includes everything that takes place in or under heaven.  Some things work on very precise mathematical principles.  Often, human behavior is predictable to a remarkable degree.  Weather patterns can be followed and weather forecasts can be made.

And we know that it is all attributable to God’s providence.  And yet, we don’t insist that every time we speak of any fact we again remind our hearers of God’s providence.  Science books and history tomes would be even more ponderous than they already are if with every sentence you had to say, “By God’s providence, of course.”  Couldn’t we just understand that principle and read and think in the light of it, rather than give ourselves to vain repetition?

By God’s providence, the alarm clock went off at exactly the same time that I set it.

By God’s providence, the bread dough rose exactly as it was supposed to.

By God’s providence, the man that I insulted and hit became angry with me.

All of these statements are factually true, but lack wisdom and insight.  We are better than that.

Human beings have a word that describes those inexplicable happenings, those things that have no earthly explanation. Those fortuitous events that come together without any expectation, contrary to what experience would allow.  It is true that all of these events are also in the hand of God’s providence, but that is sloppy language.

The word that we have in English is “chance”, or sometimes, “luck”.

When my house catches fire, but I happen to be awake at 3:00 in the morning, contrary to my usual pattern, and so I am able to warn my family and flee to safety, I might say, “I was lucky that I was up then!”

I would praise the sovereign hand of God, give him thanks for his providence and rejoice in Him for His goodness.

But if I said, “By God’s providence, I was up then,” then I haven’t communicated anything meaningful.  I have not told you if it was my normal practice, whether I had a predictable reason for being up, or whether my insomnia was inexplicable.

“Luck” or “chance” covers those things that are inexplicable and fortuitous.  “I happened to come by just as the accident happened.”  “I was lucky to have found the child before he was seriously injured.”

The problem with using the term “providence” to describe those events that happen by chance, is that it leaves the impression that providence does not cover those events that happen expectedly.  Let’s look at an example from the Bible.

Jesus is telling a parable.  He says,

And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. (Luk 10:31 KJG)

He uses the Greek word “sugkuria”, which means “chance”.  I am sure that a modern expert on theology would have corrected him here and said, “Wait.  You mean ‘by providence'”

No.  Being the eternal word of God, Jesus never tried to say anything, nor did he ever misspeak.  He meant, “By chance”.  He is not delving into the mysteries of God’s providential hand.  He is stressing the fact that there was no earthly reason for a priest to be walking the road at this time.  At this exact moment, out of the blue, completely unexpectedly, a priest walks by.

If Jesus had said, “By God’s sovereign decree, a priest was walking by…” the meaning of the sentence would be different.  It would not be clear if this was an ordinary occurrence, according to the natural laws of priests, something that was expected, or if this was something OUT of the ordinary and unexpected and unpredictable.

Jesus’ point was that this was unpredictable and marvelously unexpected.  That is highlighted with the only word that could have been used.  Sugkuria, or, as we would say, “Chance” or “luck”.

Let’s look at the Old Testament.

I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all. (Ecc 9:11 KJG)

The Old Testament word is “pega'”.  It again means “chance.” Once again, I can hear the corrections in my head.  “Oh, poor Solomon.  He means ‘Time and providence happeneth to them all.’

Once again, no he didn’t.  The point in this verse is NOT that God’s hand is over everything, and not even a hair can fall from our heads without the will of our Father in Heaven.  That point is stressed throughout scripture and we see God’s hand in the smallest and largest events.

But that isn’t the point in this passage.  The point is that under the sun things happen that can never be explained and never be expected.  This world is vanity under the sun.  We can prepare to be the strongest, fastest, and mightiest and get run over by an oxcart in the street.  Time and chance happen to everyone.

Only when we lift our eyes to heaven can we trust in God’s hand even in those events of chance. But by denying chance at all, we attempt to explain and quantify that which cannot be explained and quantified.  We not only lose the mystery that is in the world, but we also ROB from the doctrine of God’s providence.

Just as the doctrine of election includes my free-will decisions; just as the government and order of God’s creation includes scientific laws, so also the providence of God includes those events of time and chance and luck.  In none of these is the choice “Either/or”; it is always, “Both/and.”

The writer of Esther could have written, “Because God’s hand is over all things and nothing happens outside of His decree, that night the king couldn’t sleep….” and we would have glossed over it and not have seen how astounding it was that on this night, of all nights, the ONE NIGHT that wicked Haman was plotting against the Jews, the king couldn’t sleep.

But by saying, “On that night, could not the king sleep” (Esther 6:1), the master story-teller stresses something astounding that a systematic theology could not say with the same punch.  If it was the night before, or if it was the night after, the hope of the entire world would have been lost.  But on THAT ONE night, it happened that the king couldn’t sleep.

Instead of denying God’s providence, the writer exalts the amazing hand of almighty God with art and skill and mystery, without even saying the words.  It lifts the heart to heaven in wonder; it opens the lips to praise and the heart to mystery!  It takes the breath away at the wonderful, glorious, almighty hand of God in even the sleep patterns of the kings of Persia.  The master story teller SHOWS us God’s providence, without ever even mentioning the word.

So also the potluck.  We could say, “Pot providence” but that doesn’t communicate the same thing.  I could assign everyone in the church to bring an assigned item, lay it out like a banquet, fully knowing what to expect, and still call it a “pot providence.” I could actually cater a meal, go to a restaurant, or order fast food, and have a “pot providence”.  Is God’s hand only seen in the inexplicable and unexpected?  God forbid.

When we say potluck, we are simply saying, “everybody bring what you want.  The meal will be unexpected, marvelous, strange, a bit wacky perhaps, and scientifically inexplicable – like Jello with peas and onions and Aunt Edna’s casserole that no one has ever been able to explain.”

It means precisely that there are no rules, no menu and what we will be eating will be inexplicable.

If we insist on “pot providence” let’s at least be consistent and instead of asking for menus, ask for the providence list; instead of seating charts, we could call them providence charts.  Instead of family style, we could say, providence style.

And we would be boring, uncommunicative, non-creative and say absolutely nothing.

The fact is, whether we go to Burger King, Five Guys, Red Robin, or have a potluck at church, all our food is controlled by the providence of God.  We know that as Christians.

That doesn’t mean that we turn our brains off and make no distinctions and use no definitions.

Being created in the image of God, man gave names to all the animals.  It is part of our image bearing to name those things that are under the sun.  One of those things is the uncaused event, the unpredictable and unexpected, the fortuitous and almost miraculous.

Those things have names too.  Let’s use them, and understand that God’s providence is indeed over all.  For now, I will praise the hand of God and proudly say, “Next Sunday, we’re having a potluck.  You know what that means!”

8 Open thy mouth for the dumb in the cause of all such as are appointed to destruction.
9 Open thy mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy. (Pro 31:8-9 KJV)

Most of us are familiar with the Proverbs 31 woman.  We heard about her, we studied her and we tried hard to either be her of have a wife like her (some of us have done pretty good with that one).  Unfortunately, men have also used the “Proverbs 31” woman in churches to keep their wife silent, in the kitchen and doing what she is “supposed to do”. Much ink has been spilled praising the virtue of this woman while at the same time professionally “exegeting” the passage to make sure that the women don’t get too uppity.

Let me run through a quick survey.  How many of you have heard how a woman can consider and buy a field and plant a vineyard without every working outside the home?

Next question.  How many of you have read, studied and applied the two verses right before the section on the Proverbs 31 woman?  I’ve listed them above (Proverbs 31:8-9).  I would imagine that now we are hearing crickets.

Run a search on the Proverbs 31 Woman.  How many books, lectures, conferences, blogs and articles do we find?

Now check the upcoming calendar for the year.  How many conferences are there on these two verses?

Don’t get me wrong.  Proverbs 31:10-31 is a wonderful, moving, hopeful and joyful celebration of wisdom.  It needs much more meditation, study and reflection in all of our lives (notice that I didn’t say “conferences, blogs, bible studies, articles and personal opinions”).

But part of the same passage, the same instructions that King Lemuel’s mother gave to him, are these two verses.  It all goes together.

The Proverbs 31 woman doesn’t begin at verse 10.  The instructions begin with the man.  In order for the wife to flourish in wisdom the man must take heed to his heart.  First, he must be devoted to her, married to her (verse 3).  He must not let his heart wander around in fornication and adultery, but must “live with her in understanding” (1 Peter 3:7); he must “love her as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her” (Eph. 5:25).  He must not live as a miserable drunk, but live as a king and priest under Jesus Christ (verses 4-7).  Miserable wretches are drunkards; that is not us.  We have been made members of Christ and partakers of his anointing.

Both of those concepts are for another time and another place.

God has given gifts to mankind according to his wisdom.  To some, he has given authority, responsibility, wealth.  Some have a voice that is heard.  Some have office in the church.  Some are kings.

Our human nature wants to take these gifts that we have been given and use them to control and devour the sheep.  Human depravity always seeks to elevate itself as god in the place of God.  Authority and responsibility quickly become abused to the destruction of those whom God has placed to benefit from godly structure.  And God will hold those in authority accountable  for their abuse of authority.  This is why Israel and Judah were destroyed and taken captive into Babylon.

Because human nature is thus depraved, there are many who have no voice, have no hope, have no help.  They neither have the money to purchase justice from corrupt judges, nor do they have any skills for making a case for themselves.  Perhaps their words get jumbled.  Perhaps they are frightened.  Perhaps they simply cannot speak for themselves. Perhaps they have no legal standing, either in church or in the state.

If King Lemuel is to be a good steward of the gifts that God has given him, he MUST use the authority, responsibility and power that he has been given to be the voice for those who do not have one.  Of course, if I were of the patriarchal persuasion, I might ask what King Lemuel was doing still listening to his mother when he was clearly over the age of 13, but since I am not of that persuasion, I will let those that are continue to blog trying to explain it.

But that is neither here nor there.

Open your mouth for those who can’t (verse 8).  The second half of this verse uses Hebrew idioms that sound a bit awkward in English.

Literally, it says, “Open your mouth on behalf of those who cannot speak, into judgment on behalf of the children of vanishing.”

“Judgment” means the legal process.  It means that which determines situations righteously and with equity.  It means not to look at wealth, power, privilege and position, but to judge according to equity, according to the Law of God.

“Children of vanishing” are all of those without a voice, who are not seen and are not heard.  They are those who have been silenced by oppression, have learned from an early age to vanish into corners, keep their mouths shut.  They are the Harry Potters of the world, hiding under the stairs with no voice, no hope, no future.  They are the ones that fade into the mass graves of the world, who are unnoticed in the marketplace.  They are those who hide the bruises and the scars with long sleeves and long tales, unnoticed by the “important” people, who wish to not be bothered by uncomfortable things.

The King James calls them, “those who are appointed to destruction.”  The ESV says, “all who are destitute”.  The NKJV says, “appointed to die” and the ASV says “the unfortunate”.  All of them (except arguably the ASV) come close to the meaning of the Hebrew idiom.  All of this, and more.  They are the “children of vanishing”.  Those who are marginalized, outcast, voiceless, powerless and helpless.

All who have been given a voice are commanded by God to speak for those who cannot, to plead the cause of the poor.  We all have our corners of responsibility and everyone who has been given responsibility has been given responsibility over only a certain area.  We have our families, our churches, our cities, our neighborhoods.  These are our first responsibilities.  The poor we will always have with us, and we cannot shut our eyes and ears to the cries of the oppressed right in our own midst.

We cannot look the other way while the powerful abuse, beat and torment the sheep.  We cannot pretend that “mistakes were made” when pastors and church leaders get rich on the backs of the oppressed.  We cannot hide our eyes as the gifted ones of the church stomp over the quiet saints of God, running them out of the church and leaving them broken and wounded, without a home.

Perhaps I am a “bleeding heart”.  This kind of talk always seems to make conservative Reformed people a little nervous, as if someone is about to go off and become a “new dealer”.

No.  I’m not talking about ending one form of abuse with another form of officially sanctioned government abuse.

I am talking about a righteous king.  All who have been given voices, responsibility, or even authority.  Whatever sphere God has placed you in and whatever gifts God has given to you it is your responsibility to be a voice to those who have none.  If the church had done this, there wouldn’t have been the necessity of adding a bureaucracy to step in.  But we have miserably failed.   We have historically shut our eyes, ears and mouths against the cry of the oppressed and silenced.

We have not practiced church discipline against those who bought and sold slaves, or even those who attempt to justify such wickedness.

We have not protected wives from abusive, drunken husbands.

We have looked the other way and pretended not to hear the cries of sexually abused children.

The Anglicans who occupied Ireland watched millions starve to death during the potato famine and did nothing.  There was plenty of food, but it went into the pockets of the rich land owners – all of them professing the name of Christ.  The bodies of the poor lay dead on the sides of the roads as the wealthy protestants filled out eviction notices.

It’s time to end it.  It is time for every pastor, elder, deacon, wealthy and powerful church member, all those who have a voice to say, “Enough.”

I am not talking about civil unrest, picketing or even how we vote.  We in the church have been given a tremendously powerful tool against all oppression and wickedness.  We just don’t use it.

That tool is church discipline.  Unfortunately, we most often use church discipline against those who have no voice, because we listen to the ones who have a voice.  It is time to open up different ears and learn how to hear the voice of the voiceless.  It is time to open our mouths and speak for those who are “children of vanishing”.  It is time to hear with the ears given to us by Christ, with minds that distinguish between wolves and sheep, with eyes that discern according to truth and hearts that don’t tremble at the fierce and violent words of the powerful.

This, by the way, is how to build a church.  Not programs, tent meetings and sparkly evangelists.  The church is built of the outcast, the wounded, the sick and those who have no voice.  Follow Christ.  Speak for those who cannot.

6 I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: but I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them with judgment (Eze 34:1 KJV)

And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him.
2 And the LORD said unto Satan, The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan; even the LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?
3 Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel.
4 And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment.
5 And I said, Let them set a fair mitre upon his head. So they set a fair mitre upon his head, and clothed him with garments. (Zec 3:1-5 KJV)

Have you ever believed that you were so shameful and filthy that there was no way you could ever serve the Lord?

This is exactly what Joshua the High Priest was going through.  When Zechariah the Prophet ministered, Israel had just returned from their exile in Babylon.  Joshua was the grandson of the High Priest who was carried away with Jeconiah and the rest of the captives.  They had spent 70 years in Babylon. They had rebelled against God and God drove them from His presence.  Joshua had known nothing else but the experience of being an exile in a corrupt and filthy culture.

But now the exiles had returned!  Zerubbabel had begun to build the temple, and Joshua, the descendant of the first High Priest, Aaron, was to begin his service.  What a tremendous calling!  When you read about the cleansing of the High Priest to make him fit for service (Exodus 39-40), it can take your breath away.  The High Priest stood in the very presence of a Holy God, making intercession for the people.  But Joshua was defiled.

He not only was defiled by his own sins, but he was also defiled by the sins of his father, his grandfather and the whole nation of Israel, all the way back to his first parents, Adam and Eve.  He had been an outcast and an exile, alienated from the land and the covenant of God.  Jeremiah wrote, “It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed!”  Joshua, and all the rest of Israel, were only alive because God saved a remnant, not because they deserved it.

But the fact remained that they were filthy.

Satan, the accuser of the brethren, was on hand to remind Joshua how filthy he was.  “Look at you!  How can you possibly serve God?  You are fit for nothing, skilled in nothing, covered with corruption just like your parents before you!”

His was the voice of the abuser.  “You are worthless. Scum. Violated.  Outcast. You don’t deserve anything and should be grateful that you are even alive.  Now you want to serve God?  Wait until everyone finds out who you really are!”

The scene in Zechariah 3 is the courtroom of God.  Satan is on Joshua’s right hand to resist him.

But then the Lord silences the mouth of Satan.  It isn’t that Joshua WASN’T unclean.  He certainly was.  His garments were filthy (the Hebrew here means to be covered with excrement).  He certainly was not at all fit for God’s service.  He was a sinner, from a line of sinners, corrupted by birth – even as all the others.

But the voice of shame and condemnation came from Satan, not from God.  God’s voice rebukes Satan.  And there is only one reason.  God chose Joshua.  God chose to make Joshua his servant.  God not only chose Joshua, God also makes Joshua fit for service.  He commands the angels to take off Joshua’s filthy garments and clothe him with clean clothes.  God commands them to put a turban, the symbol of the priest’s authority on his head.

God makes Joshua fit for service!

Of course, this is all a picture.  It is a vision that Zechariah sees in heaven.  The reality is this.  God has chosen his church, calls them to service.  Each one of us is called to serve.  We are called to love God with our whole heart and to love our neighbor as ourselves.  We are called to worship and serve the Lord.  We are called to use our gifts readily and cheerfully for the advantage and welfare of the church of God.

And Satan is still there to oppose us.  “YOU? Nobody wants to talk to you.  What if they find out who you really are?  What if they find out about your childhood?  What if they find out who your parents really were?  You aren’t fit to serve.  You’ve been defiled.  You are unclean.  You have no skill, no gift, no ability that anyone would want.  You’re just a drain on everybody.  Just go home.  Nobody likes you anyway.”

But if you have come to Christ in repentance and faith, this isn’t the voice of God calling you filthy and worthless.  This is the voice of Satan.  His name means, “The accuser”.  He is also a liar and he has many children on this earth who do his bidding.  They are the ones that snort with contempt when you speak.  They are the ones that cut you down and tear you to pieces. They are the ones that make sure you always remember just how stupid, useless, and wasteful your whole life is. They act like they are just “speaking the truth”, but they neglect something very crucial.  You aren’t wearing filthy garments any more!

Your sins and your shame were put on Jesus Christ.  He was beaten and mocked and reproached as a criminal in your place.  And now you are His and He is yours.  THIS is who you are, and never let anyone tell you otherwise.

You are not worthless anymore.  You are not unclean, defiled, filthy and unwanted.

You have been fit for service.  You have been clothed with Christ and all of His righteousness.  When the devil says you are worthless, he is really saying that Jesus is worthless, because you are a member of Christ and a partaker of His anointing.

Statistics tell us that one out of four women are sexually abused in their lifetimes.  A very common side-effect of sexual abuse is this:  I am defiled.  I am worthless.  I have no value.  I have nothing to offer.

Some victims go on to live lives of worthlessness and hopelessness, believing that they have nothing to offer.  Drug use, prostitution, marrying abusive men, cutting, eating disorders and sometimes even suicide.

A recent question has surfaced in social media since the Ray Rice story surfaced.  “Why did she stay?”  Why would a woman choose to stay with an abuser?

I believe that there are many different answers because human nature is what it is.  It is complex.  The heart is deceitful and only God knows it.

But I also know that one answer comes up again and again.  “I’m not worth anything else.  I have no gifts.  I have no value.  At least he wants me.  No one else does.”

That’s a lie of the devil.  There is One who wants you.  He wants you to come to Him and cry out to Him and cast all of your sins and shame upon Him.  There is one who shouts in the crowd, “Come to me, all who are thirsty! Come to me, all who are weary and heavy laden!”

There is One who has given his life to redeem.  To redeem means to buy out of bondage.  He came to rescue and redeem the Joshuas and the Rahabs and that Tamars of the world.  The hurt and broken and sinful and weary.  He cries out to all of them with a loud voice, “Come to me and I will give the water of life freely!”  And whoever comes to Him He will never, ever cast away.

In fact, He not only will never cast them away, He will make them His bride!  He will gather, defend and preserve them to the end!  He will take off the filthy garments and give you the garments of a priest!  Listen to what the Bible says concerning those who were unclean, filthy, outcast and worthless.  They came to Christ and now they are no longer outcast and unclean, but this:

9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:
10 Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. (1Pe 2:9-10 KJV)

The mercy of God is astounding!  We have truly been fit for service!  We have truly been given the garments and the turban of a king and a priest because we belong to our Great High Priest, Jesus Christ, Son of Man and Son of God.

May glory and honor and might and praise and dominion be His forever and ever!

Amen.

What’s Wrong With Biblical Patriarchy.

An excellent analysis

An excellent article by my friend

Over the past few months I have received heartbreaking emails from so many people.  There are those who have been abused at home and then abused again at their church.  Oftentimes churches are so concerned with budgets, power, control and numbers that they forget their commission.  Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.”

And the wounded from these groups are outcast, driven away and the fold is taken over by the wolves.  They ask me, “What do I do?”

My heart weeps for them.  But the answer is always the same.  “Go to church”.

Let me put it this way.  If you could ask God anything at all, what would you ask Him?  Would you expect an answer?  There is a place where God has promised to meet with His people and has promised to hear their prayers and give an answer.  The problem is not God; the problem is that we don’t hear.  God speaks to us through the preaching of His Word.  And this happens at church.  Go to church.  There is a great banquet set for you each Sunday in Church and you are starving.  So go to church, and feast on the word of God.

Are you wounded?  Go to church.  Are you downhearted?  Go to church.  Are you fearful? Go to church.  Pour out your heart to the Lord.  Listen to His voice in the reading of the scripture and the preaching of the word.

I will readily agree with you, however, that not every group that calls itself a church is actually a church.  The vast majority are more concerned with numbers than with sheep; with programs, rather than obedience; with budgets rather than faithfulness.  Perhaps you have been attacked and wounded by one of these groups.

The church in the days of the Reformation struggled with the same issues and questions.  They also were outcast, excommunicated and considered evildoers, even criminals, by the vast majority of “churches”.  But then they realized something.  Not every group that calls itself a church is actually a church.  The Apostle John spoke of churches who had their candlestick removed.  It does happen.  Those churches that used to be full of life and now full of decay and ruin, and the voice of God is never heard.

Many groups today have a lot of activity, a lot of people, a lot of money and a great reputation.  But, to paraphrase Witsius, activity doesn’t mean life.  There is a lot of movement in a dead body.  Maggots and escaping gas from decomposition cause a lot of activity.  I would suggest to you that much of the activity that we see today is the decomposition and active decay of a dead body, that doesn’t know enough to give itself a decent burial.

If God requires us to go to church (see Hebrews 10:25) would He leave His people to guess where that church is to be found?  Would He have us join ourselves with a rotting corpse and promise to meet with us there?  We, who once were dead, have been made alive by the gospel.  Now we are to join with the living Church of God.  God expects that the living join themselves with the living. God Himself has told us how to distinguish a true church from a false one.  The Reformers saw this, and wrote in the Belgic Confession:

The marks by which the true Church is known are these: If the pure doctrine of the gospel is preached therein; if it maintains the pure administration of the sacraments as instituted by Christ; if church discipline is exercised in chastening of sin; in short, if all things are managed according to the pure Word of God, all things contrary thereto rejected, and Jesus Christ acknowledged as the only Head of the Church. Hereby the true Church may certainly be known, from which no man has a right to separate himself (From Article 29).

 

And there it is.  A true church is not one with the youth group, the great band, the charismatic and relevant young and tall preacher; a true church is not the one with the fantastic programs, the large and comfortable building, the most current marketing.  A true church is not the one that does great concerts and revival programs.

The true church is where the Word of God is preached and everything contrary is rejected.  The sacraments are administered according to the Word of God.  The true church cares about the difference between wolves and sheep and are careful in their discipline.  They understand about protecting as well as feeding the sheep.

To often, we look for the wrong thing when we look for a church.  We always get what we are fishing for.  When we are fishing for a church that affirms our own opinion of ourselves, we get a church that also affirms the opinions of wicked and evil men.  When we fish for a church that seeks to cater to the spirit of the age, we get a church that caters to the spirit of the age and the prince of the power of the air.  That isn’t good, in case you were wondering.

But God’s voice is not heard in much activity.  Just like in Elijah’s day, the almighty, everywhere power of God is heard in the still, small voice.  A faithful pastor, in a small church with a few sheep – but full of the power of God.  Maybe the sound equipment is a bit faulty at times.  Maybe he doesn’t do a blog very well.  Maybe he isn’t the handsome media star who can captivate an audience by the power of his deep voice.

These aren’t the marks of a true pastor, and are not the marks of the true church.  Does he know what God’s word is?  Does he submit to the doctrine and authority of the One Holy Apostolic Church?  (In other words, what creed does he hold to and love?  Or does he change with the wind of opinion).

Don’t tell me that there aren’t any churches anymore.  Even in the days of Elijah, God reserved 7000 who had not bowed the knee to Baal.  It is more likely that we are not looking in the right place.  Do you need to change what you have considered important and bring it in line with God’s word?

Sometimes, you might have to move.  This sounds drastic in an age where we look at schools, work, location, weather, shopping and neighborhoods to make our decisions and figure that we can find a church after we get there.  But what if there are none?

Haggai rebuked the people of Israel for seeking the things of the world first and when that was sorted out, then they would take care of God’s worship (Haggai 1).  But they had it backwards.  Worship comes first.  Everything else flows from there.

Go to church.  Put everything else aside.  Find where God’s sheep are meeting and join with them.  Sit quietly.  Learn about God, about yourself, about mankind, about Christ.

Learn about the forgiveness of sins, the sanctification of the Holy Spirit.  Learn about the imputed righteousness of Christ.  Learn about patience, about resting as a weaned child on the lap of the mother. Feast on the body and blood of Christ in the Holy Sacraments.  Stop going to the dead and decaying body, more interested in sound and fury, and learn to hear the still, small voice of God in the faithful preaching of the word, by weak, humble and godly men who know the difference between good and evil.

Go to church.  Do whatever it takes.  Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you.

This Sunday (July 13, 2014) I am intending to preach on Colossians 2:6-10.
My mind is whirling. There is a much debated blog intended to be a guide for women married to ungodly (or very ungodly) men. I have previously written concerning just one issue, although there are many others.

Some of those who have commented on the blog have challenged the opposition (of which I am one) to provide a Biblical answer instead of emotional appeals. My previous blog was based upon 1 Corinthians 7 and Romans 13, as well as other passages.

But my mind still whirls. You see, I am not a “proof-texter.” Instead, I believe that the whole of Scripture is the work of One Author, and has one message, from beginning to end. The message of the Bible is nothing else than the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The modern church chops the Bible up into unrelated verses and sentences, and will frequently come to some rather strange conclusions. One of these strange conclusions that captivates the hearts of American Christians I will call neo-Marcionism.

Marcion was a second century heretic. I know that “heresy” is an unused term, but it is a good one. Marcion taught that the Jehovah God of the Old Testament was evil, truly the devil. And Jesus Christ was the true God who appeared to Adam and Eve in the form of the serpent and then came again to rescue men and women from the tyranny of the Old Testament God.

The recent movie, Noah, as I understand it, was based upon the teachings of Marcion. But that is neither here nor there.

Neo-marcionism posits a complete disconnect between the god of the Old Testament and Jesus of the New Testament. It rears its head every time you hear someone say, “Oh. That’s Old Testament. It isn’t relevant to us today.”

This, like all Marcionism, leads to the bondage of the devil and an outright denial of the heart of the Gospel.

One thing that is very clear throughout the Old Testament is this: God never, ever, treats anyone more or less than they deserve. His justice cannot be denied, and all of his works are equity and truth. Note well the following passages:

For he cometh to judge the earth: with righteousness shall he judge the world, and the people with equity (Psalm 98:9).

“Yet the house of Israel says,`The way of the Lord is not fair.’ O house of Israel, is it not My ways which are fair, and your ways which are not fair?’” (Ezekiel 18:29)

God cannot change. He cannot deny his justice or his equity. This means that he will always treat men and women exactly as they deserve.

This is not good news for man, for man is sinful, and God will never acquit the guilty (Nahum 1:3).

But God is also merciful. He loves to show lovingkindness and tender mercy to the children of men.

The great question of the Bible is this: How can God save man without denying justice and equity? How can God save us when he says “The soul that sins shall die” and we are all sinners?

To understand the Gospel, you must also understand the hopeless situation that man was in. God is a righteous judge who will never, ever, treat men and women unfairly, for He cannot. And the law declares that we are all guilty before a just and holy God.

But then angels appeared and announced the birth of a Child. “Thou shalt call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins.”

If God cannot ever bless an unrighteous man, there is only one way for us to be blessed by God. We have to be righteous. So the most important question anyone can ask themselves is this: “How can I be righteous before God?”

The answer of the Bible is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. You have to have a righteousness that is not your own.

This has been confessed repeatedly by the faithful, and is included in every confession of faith written by the orthodox. My favorite expression of this great truth is in the Heidelberg Catechism:

60. How are you righteous before God?
Only by true faith in Jesus Christ: that is, although my conscience accuses me, that I have grievously sinned against all the commandments of God, and have never kept any of them, and am still prone always to all evil; yet God, without any merit of mine, of mere grace, grants and imputes to me the perfect satisfaction, righteousness, and holiness of Christ, as if I had never committed nor had any sins, and had myself accomplished all the obedience which Christ has fulfilled for me; if only I accept such benefit with a believing heart.

61. Why do you say that you are righteous by faith only?
Not that I am acceptable to God on account of the worthiness of my faith, but because only the satisfaction, righteousness, and holiness of Christ is my righteousness before God; and I can receive the same and make it my own in no other way than by faith only.

This is the only way that God can be reconciled to man. Man must become righteous and must pay the penalty for his sin. But we cannot do it, for we daily increase our guilt. So God became flesh in the womb of Mary and fulfilled the law in our place, and took the penalty of the wrath of God in our place.

By faith, we are in Christ. His obedience was our obedience; His righteousness is our righteousness; His death was our death; His life is our life.

This is the heart of the gospel.

But the neo-marcion has subtly changed this. The prevailing view is not that God’s justice was completely satisfied; but that God decided to be nicer and not so cruel. God, they say, was tired of all of that justice stuff and started to forgive instead.

But what they forget is that God cannot ever change, nor can he ever be unjust. The only reason that we have hope of eternal life, the only reason that we have peace with God, is that God now considers us to be righteous, because the righteousness of Jesus Christ was imputed to us and our sins were imputed to Him.

Because of this John can write, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (I john 1:9)

How can it possibly be just, fair or equal for God to forgive sin? Only by a clear understanding of the Gospel can we see it. When we are clothed with Christ’s righteousness by faith and our sins are cleansed by the blood of Christ, then it would be the highest injustice for God to punish us in hell, for punishment has already taken place on the cross.

A righteous man suffering in hell is a tremendous injustice, and God is not unjust. In Christ, it is “as if I had never committed nor had any sins, and had myself accomplished all the obedience which Christ has fulfilled for me.”

But the devil always attacks this. “You don’t deserve God’s love.”
“Look at your filthy garments. How can God love you?”

And this leaves us wide open to the vain philosophies of men which seek to cheat us of the reward of Christ.

Paul writes, “You are complete in Him”.

First, we are complete. We are filled. Every spiritual blessing is ours – forgiveness of sin, everlasting righteousness and life. We are fully accepted in the beloved, because we are righteous before God by faith. It would be unjust for God to punish our sins for he already punished them in Christ and we are in Him by faith. The Holy Spirit is ours, creating in us clean hearts and working in us, conforming us to the image of Christ. 

But the devil is always there to point out how far short we come, trying to point us either to despair, or to works-righteousness, desperately trying to match a standard that we cannot possibly achieve.

And, second, we are complete in Him. It is true that we cannot ever fulfill the law, nor can we make a sacrifice for sin. Christ did it all in our place.

We either fall too far one way, denying that Christ did it all; or fall too far the other way, saying that it hasn’t been done.
The scripture teaches that we are righteous before God by faith.
It also teaches that this righteousness is not earned or accomplished by us, but by Christ.

To deny either one of those is to deny the heart of the gospel.

Look, then, at the previously mentioned blog:
Q11. How good a husband is my husband to me?
A11. Much better than I deserve, and therefore I will thank God for him every day.

Dear daughter of God, if you are in Christ by faith, then you no longer deserve eternal wrath and punishment, but you are deserving of eternal life and every spiritual blessing, as if you had never committed nor had any sin.
Did you earn this? Did you actually do any of these good works? Of course not. Personally, you have rebelled and sinned grievously against God.

But to continue to believe that you do not deserve eternal life is to deny the Lord who bought you. Jesus paid it all. It is all done. His righteousness is given to you and your sins were nailed to the cross.

As a child of God, you are an heir to the promise of God.

Don’t forget that your husband is commanded to deal with you as an heir to eternal life (1 Peter 3:7); no longer a sinner, but as a co-heir of eternal life.

Don’t ever let the devil tell you that you don’t deserve it. The Holy Spirit points out sins to us to draw us closer to God in repentance and faith, comforting us by the gospel; the devil and his children point out sins to leave us in despair – hopeless, and doubting the goodness of God and the salvation that He has freely given to us.

Don’t let the devil do to you what he tried to do to Joshua (Read Zechariah 3). Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

6 As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him:
7 Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.(Col. 2:6-7)

For you husbands, please hear the words of Peter, who commands you to deal with your wives as co-heirs of eternal life. Because she is in Christ, because an inheritance awaits her, purchased by Jesus Himself, everything that you do with her is far less than she deserves, not far more.

No matter how well you treat her, her reward will only come (by grace, never by merit) when Jesus comes again. Treat her as a daughter of God.

Next time you belittle her, strike her, cut her down, insult her, or even cause her tears, remind yourself how Jesus promises to deal with those who mistreat his children.

If you say, “It’s better than she deserves”, you have denied Christ, denied the gospel, and harmed one of God’s children.

I would seriously and urgently plead with you to repent before Jesus comes again to bring vindication and justice to His people.

In the life of a pastor, sometimes you just don’t have time to write as much as you would like.
It was my intention to keep this blog going, be interesting and hopefully edifying.
It is still my intention.
I hope you will bear with me.
I so greatly appreciate all of your support and I promise that I have not forgotten.
But there is family to care for, sheep to tend, sermons to prepare, students to encourage and stimulate – and sometimes what you want to do has to take a back seat to the work that our Lord calls us to do.
I have something rattling around my now fifty year old skull that I shall attempt to put on pixels tomorrow.
Of course, we know how that goes at times, do we not?

Sam