The Local Church

Every word must have a meaning and when reading the Bible, we can’t take modern usage or our assumptions and read them back into the Bible. The word translated church meant in New Testament times, “a called assembly”. The English word church, defined by context, tells me the Lord’s churches are local bodies. Indeed, the use of the plural “churches” is enough to teach the local, not universal and invisible, church (e.g., “churches in Asia” or “churches in Galatia”). Almost 90% of the usage of the word church in the Bible refers explicitly to local churches.

Jesus started a local church with called, baptized disciples. For several years, there was only one church on Earth. One local assembly of believers. When you eventually get to more than one church in the book of Acts (cf. Acts 11:20-30; 13:1) you find separate, independent bodies, conducting business and acting as separate bodies. You have to travel a couple hundred years past the book of Revelation, and the 7 churches of Asia, to find a “universal invisible” church ever mentioned by men. The Lord started and still has local and visible churches.

Some use passages in Ephesians and Colossians to prove the existence of this universal invisible assembly, but there, Paul uses singular word “church” to talk about the institution of the church. I have a book called “The Theology of the Family.” Notice, the title, the family, in the singular. The book doesn’t suggest that we are all one big giant universal family, but the author used the singular to teach on the institution. In Ephesians, Paul likewise speaks of “the church” as an institution, but not one universal body. There are requirements, blessings, boundaries, duties, and responsibilities each local church has in common, if it is a church of Christ. Paul, speaking of the institution, speaks of these universal characteristics of every local church.

All application in Scripture concerning the church teaches the local church. The only way to obey the commands concerning the church, to fulfill one's duty in the church, to bless and be blessing in the church is through a local assembly. Church discipline, praying, preaching, baptizing, Lord’s Supper, giving, receiving -- all point to and applies only in a local body. Confusing and confounding the family of God, the kingdom of God, and the church of God has caused a great many people to accept false teaching about the church, about baptism, and about church government. The teaching on the church is important because Christ is glorified in his church. He died for his church. We serve him in his church. We should love what Jesus loved, and hold as important what Jesus views as important. Error never leads to edification and blessing, but it does lead to more error. It breaks down the necessity of Scriptural baptism, the reality of a Scriptural church, blurs the lines of Christian responsibility, diminishes the authority of the local church, and will always lifts up individuals to lord over men.

Marks of a Church

Lots of Marks

I was looking for a book on my shelves a while back and found, among the Baptist books, a Louis L'amour Hopalong Cassidy novel. I don't know what Hopalong's religious affiliation was, or his stance on the church, so I took it off the shelf and when I removed the Western, I joined two other books together in the process.

The one was JR Graves book, Old Landmarkism and a newer book by Mark Dever, 9 Marks of a Healthy Church. Since it had been a while since I read either of them, I took the pair down and started to skim. Dever's book talks about church health, and while I don't agree with all his marks, his concern is whether or not a church is healthy, is an important topic.

The Bible makes clear that scriptural churches can be unhealthy. Revelation 3:1-2, “And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead. Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God.” Being on the verge of death is very unhealthy. And, it appears the issue at Sardis didn’t have anything to do with a particular doctrinal error, but practice. How they were living was killing the church.

I turned to Graves and noticed, he also had “marks” of the church, only his were 7 marks of a scriptural church. Is the church local and independent, does the church practice scriptural baptize, etc.

I chuckled at first, thinking about how unlikely a pair Graves and Dever would be and how they both had the “marks” in their book and now would have to dwell side by side on my shelf. I continued to consider the juxtaposition of their views on the church. Dever's book assumes that all assemblies and groups that claim to be a church, are a church, and the most important thing is to be in a healthy church. I know this because men of various denominations have blurbs on the back of my edition of the book. Graves makes no such assumption because there are clear identifying marks or requirements that an organization must have to be a church to start with.

Yes, a scriptural church can be unhealthy, but an unscriptural church will never be a healthy church. Sprinkling will never be baptism. Sacraments will never confer grace. And no matter how well functioning the assembly, no matter how good the preaching, or the style of preaching, or how concerned the assembly is for souls, if you are not scriptural, you are not healthy. Many organizations that call themselves churches of the Lord Jesus Christ do not bear the marks of a scriptural church.

Actually, I don't think it is one or the other. I think you should first desire to be a scriptural church and then work towards being a "healthy" church.

Dying of Dignity

"It is easy enough among Dissenters to find regulations as rigid as could be invented by any bench of bishops; you may not vary the length of the hymn or the order of the service by a hair’s breadth, or you will sin against your own reputation and the feelings of the conservative portion of the congregation. There are few of such places now, but quite enough. and, where the evil rules, the good folks are as tenacious of their established nonsense as ever the Church of England can be of her printed prayers and rubrics; and the preacher must submit to all the regular fudge as if it were Scripture itself, or be pronounced eccentric and wanting in decorum. A man that is a man will yield for peace sake as far as his soul is unhampered, but beyond that he will ask, “Who makes these regulations, and to what end are they made?” Finding them. to be worthless and injurious, he will put his foot through them, and there will be an end of the rubbish. Some congregations are dying of dignity, and must be aroused by real life. People said that Mr. Hill rode on the back of order and decorum, and therefore he called his two horses by those names, so that if he could not ride on the back of them he might make the saying nearly true by being dragged behind them. Order and decorum, in some of our churches, have manifested themselves to be deadly sins; dead and burying the dead. Some congregations are so very orderly that they are like a vault in which the corpses lie, each one in due place, and none dares to move or lift a voice loud enough to be called a chirp. This will not do. Bring the trumpet! Sound a blast and wake the sleepers! Eccentric! Yes, eccentricity, if you like to call life by that name. Heaven knows it is sadly wanted."

C.H. Spurgeon from Eccentric Preachers




DPN

Baptism

Excerpt from the sermon I preached at Elijah's baptism. 

We have come today to replay an ancient picture. For going on 2,000 years, believers have gathered about a body of water to witness this very same baptism. You have an ancient heritage, church. You don’t have to go search out your genealogy to find a connection to your past. Here is your connection.

Upon baptism you will join the ranks of Peter, James, John, Andrew, Stephen, Philip, Apollos, Timothy, Paul, and those men and women who followed their doctrine. Every church planted that sent out its own men to preach the word, make disciples and baptize them as the Lord's churches spread like wildfire. Down through the ages and through the dark valley of persecution. Across the continents, men have confessed their sins, trusted in the Christ, and followed Him in baptism.  Starting in a muddy river in Israel by a man sent from God, to Jerusalem, through Samaria and Asia. Down southward to Africa and westward across the mountains plains into the land of the Barbarians believers were immersed upon profession in Christ and united with the church. On to Europe, then to the Americas this same ordinance was give for the same purpose. Age after age, church after church acting out this drama, making this confession, Jesus Saves.

Silently, yet publicly proclaiming that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of the Father. Confessing that Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, the Word made flesh, came, born of a virgin and entered into His own creation to save His people from their sins. We declare in baptism that the Godman was nailed to the cross and was the Lamb of God, the substitutionary sacrifice and completely saved every single person for whom the sacrifice was intended. On that terrible afternoon, Jesus cried it is finished and gave up the ghost. And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent.

Jesus, the Lord, the Saviour, the King, the Christ was dead. They took his lifeless body from that wretched tree and laid His lifeless body in a rich man’s tomb. Sad, dejected, and faithless, the disciples had given up in despair.

But lo, at the dawning of the first day of the week, the two Mary’s came to the tomb but the stone was rolled away. They were terrified, but the angle said “Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.” The reports were flying about, the tomb is empty! Jesus had risen! He met with them, spoke with them, ate with them, and preached to them. He was alive! He had the power to lay his life down and he took it right back up. This same Jesus, in His same body spoke to these same disciples, bodily risen and forever defeating death for those He had died and risen for.

The same Jesus who had the power to raise himself from the dead has the power to give life. To give life to the dead to raise them from spiritual death unto spiritual life and to one day raise their bodies from the dirt.

As a church, we are to go with this message of the gospel and preach repentance and the forgiveness of sins in Christ. We have been charged to make disciples and baptize them.  We baptize them symbolizing how we are made disciples. As Jesus died, was buried, and was resurrected – we symbolize that in the water. We are buried in baptism. As Jesus rose from the dead for our justification, we come up out of the water raised to walk in newness of life.

Baptism symbolizes what Christ has already done. We baptize the believers, the disciples of Jesus to show the world that we have died to the old life (repentance) and have been born again and are new creatures in Jesus.

An Odd Couple

The thought occurred to me, as it sometimes does, that there is a similarity between the Lutheran position on infant baptism and the Arminian position in decisional regeneration. If you have been reading the comments of prior posts, you may have a headache. Buy you also may have noticed many of the arguments of the pro-Luther party were lobbed in the general direction of the pro-Arminius constituency. I did observe something peculiar as I looked at the scorched remains of the Arminian straw man. He looked vaguely familiar.

Like I’ve noted before, there is a strange kinship between errors that, on the surface, seem to oppose one another. The antinomian is just as focused on the law as the legalist. One runs from the law, the other to the law, but for the sake of the law, they both do run.

The Lutheran and the Arminian have a strange kinship in regards to the sovereignty of God in salvation while they firmly deny the resemblance. Neither truly believes that God has the absolute freedom to choose who will be saved. Both believe it to be unjust and unfair for God to chose to show mercy on some and not others, to one degree or another. Whereas the Arminian applies this to all mankind, the Lutheran applies this to children. Both think they can do something to make God save someone. One calls sinners to the “altar” in the front of the church to make a decision while the other sprinkles water on a babies head. Both positions think that their actions will move God to save and both will call it grace. Both sides will get upset when you point out that this is a work, and both positions will say these things are done in faith. But when you boil it all down, making a decision is a work, and so is baptizing babies. What precedes faith will determine if you truly believe in grace. An odd couple.

The wreckage of decisional regeneration is no different than that of infant baptismal regeneration. In both instances a well meaning adult convinces a child that they are saved. The child takes their word for it and moves on, walking (or crawling) in darkness. A church full of false converts, nominal Christians who have taken the word of someone that they were baptized and believed the report that they repented of their sins and trusted in Christ. Do many later come to saving faith? Sure. Do many die in their sins trusting in the words of men assuring them that their decision saved them, or their baptism saved them? Sadly, yes.

Faith is substantive. True, living, God given faith awakens the dead spirit to life, opens the blind eyes to sight, and causes the dead sinner to see the kingdom of God and come to Jesus Christ. The Lutheran can parse words all day long, but an unconscious infant does not have faith, as faith is defined by the Bible (Hebrews 11:1). How many legs does a dog have if you call his tail a leg? He has four - calling a tail a leg doesn’t make it so. Redefining faith may help a well meaning parent or pastor to sleep at night, but it does not change God’s Word, nor does it regenerate the soul of the deceived.

This is an emotional issue, especially for parents of young children, like myself. If there were something I could do to save my children, I would do it - but it would do them no good to impose upon them a religious ritual that has no power to save and lie to them in order that I might feel better. The well meaning Arminian will do the same. They will ask the child if they love God and want to go to Heaven and then ask if they love Jesus and then tell them they are saved. This makes the parents rejoice, for  a season, until they wonder why their teenager is cooking meth in the back yard instead of at Bible study.

My children are in God’s hands. Salvation is of the Lord. I tell my kids of the gospel daily. We have daily family worship and daily Bible reading. I pray for the salvation of my children. I do all that the Lord has required of me,all that I can do and their souls are in His hands - and there is no other place that I would rather they be. I desire nothing more than to see my children walk in the truth, but I cannot change the leopard's spots in family worship and only God’s grace can give a heart of flesh, faith, and true repentance. I preach the gospel, I call them to repentance - but their souls are not in my not in my hands, not in the hands of the church, but in the Hands of God.

Does Titus 3:5 Teach Baptismal Regeneration and Support Infant Baptism?

In case you have missed the fun.
Part 1
Part 2

 The book of Titus is a pastoral epistle, penned by Paul to instruct the Gentile minister on the work of pastoring a church. Chapter three, to which we have our present controversy, begins with the charge to Titus to preach that Christians are not to be subversive rebels, but live gently and meekly in this present evil world. We didn't always live a holy life, because we used to be foolish and disobedient, serving our lusts and pleasures. We used to be the hateful ones, living in hate, speaking hate, and hating one another (3:3). Christians are to live a life to the glory of God – a way that is contrary to the world, and a way that is contrary to our old lives. We also see a radical shift in worldviews. We used to believe one way and we used to do things a certain way, a wicked way, an evil way. Now, we don’t. How did that happen? How did we get from hateful and hating to gentle and meek?

Titus 4-7 But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; that being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. 

 Not by our works, but by God’s work. We did not change ourselves but God changed us. Not because we are good, but because He is merciful. Not because of our work, because of His work. Not by decisions, water, church membership or any other thing we did, but he saved us by a supernatural work of the Holy Spirit, through Jesus Christ. We are not justified by baptism, but by Grace. Verses 8-12, show us that because of the work of God in salvation, we are urged to maintain good works. We do not do good works in order to be saved, but because we are saved, we do good works. One problem those that baptize infants have is applying faith and repentance to the unconscious infant. Our text illustrates repentance – turning from sin unto Christ. The thrust of the passage is we are saved from our evil ways unto good works. Something that actually happens on account of the new birth. This does not happen with the infant. Indeed, we are born into sin, but does the infant repent of the depraved nature and confess that he is born in guilty in Adam, before he is able to know his own name?

Baptism is something God commands that we do. Our text, very clearly is telling us this washing has nothing to do with our works. Baptism is a work that we do in obedience to the Lord's command to be baptized. It is an act of obedience of the church to baptize believers. It is a good work, a righteous work to follow the Lord in baptism. But...

 (5) Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; (6) Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour 

Verse 5 makes it clear that it has nothing to do with our works that we are saved, but we do good works because of the good work of God in us. Titus 3:8 tells us that those who have believed are to do good works, not those who have been baptized. The washing and renewing are Divine acts of the Holy Spirit of God. The same is found in 1 Cor 6:9-11 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God?..... And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God. We were sinners, God cleaned us by His blood, now we are different. This verse has nothing to do with baptism. We are born again by the power of God. God using the instrument of His Word in regeneration.

The only other time the word "washing" appears in the New Testament is in Ephesians 5:26, in which, speaking of the church, says God will "sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of the water by the Word.” It is the Word of God used to “wash” the sinner from the filth and defilement of sin. In fact, the Word of God is the instrument of God the Holy Spirit in salvation (James 1:18; Gal 3:1-2). 

1Pe 1:23-25  Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.   For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away:   But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.

The same eternal Word that is preached is the gospel that is preached and believed. We evangelize by preaching God's Word. If God is pleased to use His Word to quicken a dead sinner to life, He will do so. Salvation comes by faith in Christ, through the preaching of the gospel, which is the power of God unto salvation. We are not born again by the power of baptism, but of the incorruptible seed, by the Word of God. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God (Romans 10:17), not by the water. I believe it is incumbent upon those who believe this verse refers to Baptism to prove it. It is assumed this washing refers to baptism; however, since the whole of scripture teaches we are saved by Grace through faith, not by baptism, and that regeneration is a work of the Holy Spirit by His Sovereign will, not by the will of priest and parent. The sad thing is that those that baptize their babies lie to their children and tell them that they are saved because of what they did for them by having them baptized. 

 There is a twofold operation of the Holy Spirit in salvation, namely cleansing and renewal. Cleansing from the defilement of sin and the new birth. What does wash away our sins? The precious blood of Christ; Hebrews 9:22; Hebrews 12:24; Heb 9:13-14 For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? 

Faith, which is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen, comes by hearing the Word of God. You cannot have faith without an object of hope and a conviction of the reality of the unseen. None of which applies to the infant. Repentance means to turn. No infant has ever repented of their sins upon their baptism. Infant baptizers get around this by redefining the words hearing, faith, repentance, and the Word. The Bible can mean anything if you get to define what the words mean.

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Please keep the comments on topic. If you want to discuss THIS post and THIS passage, well by all means, comment away. 


Thanks.

Does Colossians 2:11-13 Teach Baptisimal Regeneration?

There were heretics in the church at Colosse and through vain deceit and the traditions of men, they were leading men away from Christ in religion rather toward and after Christ in truth. The issue in Colosse was the beginnings of what is known as Gnosticism. The heresy was a mixture of a type of Judaism, mysticism, and philosophy that corrupted the truth about Jesus Christ. Much like many of the cults today, the wolves at Colosse were using the words of Christianity, but applying different doctrines and philosophies and meanings to the words. They used familiar Christian terms but applied their own definition.

There was the pre-Gnostic idea of “the fullness”(Pleroma) which was "...the mediating eons or angel-powers or spiritual manifestations supposed to be intermediate between God and the world... the entire series of angels or eons, which filled the space or interval between a holy God and a world of matter, which was conceived of as essentially and necessarily evil." (ISBE).  Paul declares that this is not fullness and true fullness is not found in mysticism, or works, or ritual but Christ is the fullness: Christ is all and we are complete and full in Him.  Christ is sufficient. Christ is fully God, Christ is the fullness of God in creation, Christ is the fullness of God in redemption, Christ is the fullness of God in the church, and Christ is the power and the purpose of living our lives. By positively asserting Christ, Paul as inoculated the church from the heresies that were (are are still) being taught. For the most part in this book, Paul battles the heresy by showing the truth.

When we get to second chapter, Paul is dealing specifically with Christ and our salvation (Col. 2:9-10).  How are we full and complete? Paul gives two examples – not two options in verses 11-13. These examples are to illustrate what the symbols were/are given to illustrate - that we are complete & made full in Christ. The first example is showing the true meaning of circumcision and what it actually represented.

Col 2:11  In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ:

Circumcision was never given to impart faith. There was a twofold purpose for circumcision – one a sign of the physical part of the covenant with Abraham (a land and a nation) and the second part was a token of God’s work in redemption.  When a person is born again, God takes away the flesh, i.e. sin, the "old man". God preforms a circumcision of the heart. The Gentiles believers were not encouraged to be circumcised but he is explaining from the physical token what had happened to them spiritually by using the token that God had used with Israel to demonstrate that very point. The covenant given to Abraham was based upon the promise God gave to Abraham, not upon the works of the flesh (Gal. 3:17-19). Circumcision never conferred grace (Romans 4:8-10), it was a sign (Romans 4:11-12). This had always been the spiritual aspect of circumcision (cf. Lev 26:41-42; Deut 30:5-6; Deut 10:12-17). In order to be a citizen of the nation of Israel and to partake of the inheritance of the land, one had to be circumcised, but this did not preform any spiritual work. The Old Testament taught the same principle as the new, a heart circumcision (Ezk 11:10 and Col 2:11). However, circumcision never saved.

Moving on to Col. 2:12, we see the second part of the same sentence giving the same thought.

Col 2:12  Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.

As circumcision is being used to illustrate a point, so is Baptism. It has never been something that confers grace, but it is a picture of the work of God in regeneration. We are buried under the water (immersed, not sprinkled) and raised to walk in newness of life. The act of going under the water pictures death, our death to sin and Christ’s death FOR our sins - does not bring faith. Our coming up out of the water pictures our walking in newness of life on account of Christ’s rising from the grave for our justification. Like circumcision in verse 11, baptism shows the operation of God who raises men from the dead. We were dead in our sins and God gave us life in regeneration, forgiving us our sins. This does not teach us that we are born again through the waters of baptism or through the ritual of circumcision. Not only does this passage not teach that circumcision replaces baptism, it illustrates that neither had the power to save. Nothing can be as clear in the New Testament as the fact that Paul did not believe that circumcision had any efficacious saving power. Paul using both examples here in a positive light, Paul is showing that neither baptism or circumcision has efficacious saving power, but was given as a picture and a sign of God's redemptive work in regeneration. 

It was the Gnostics and the mystic Judiazers who were trying to pull the Christians into sacramentalsim and offering works and rituals to be forgiven. When you read the rest of the chapter, Paul continues on by condemning rituals, ordinances, and other aesthetics to gain salvation.

The analogia scriptura (analogy of scripture) is that we are saved by Grace, through faith. Not by right, not by ceremony, not by works, not by knife, and not by water. We are saved by faith, cleansed, not by the water, but by the blood of Christ.

Series introduction found here.
The next post in the series is found here.

Grace & Peace, 

What is worship?

Worship isn't a question of whether, but of who. God created man to worship and every human will worship something, even if their god hangs over their belt (Philippians 3:19). What is worship? Is it the singing? is it the preaching? Is it life? Worship is giving homage and due reverence to God, starting in the heart, then it is  manifested in outward expression. Where did I get that? Glad you asked. In both Hebrew and Greek the word translated basically means to bow down, or kneel down or do homage, at least, so says Brown-Driver-Briggs and Thayer for those who care for such information.

But when you read the Scripture, it’s clear that worship is more than the outward movements.

• Exodus 34:8  And Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshipped.
• Nehemiah 8:6  And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands: and they bowed their heads, and worshipped the LORD with their faces to the ground.
• Matthew 2:11  And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.
• Matthew28:9  And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him.
• Revelation 19:4  And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia
• Revelation  And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God,
• Revelation  And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever.

Note that they fell down and they worshiped. Bowing down was part of the worship process here, but it was not the actual worship. Something happened first that caused them to fall down. They first prostrated themselves inwardly and this affected their outward expression of praise. It was the recognition that they were in the presence of a Holy God and they worshiped Him in the beauty of Holiness. It is adoration, homage, reverence, submission to God.

Preaching or singing or praying is not, of itself, true worship. I’ve heard a lot of Christ-less preaching that was not worship, it was moralism because it did not bring me to God in Christ. You can sing your little heart out, but be thinking about how awesome you sound. Who is it you are lifting up again? You can be a Baptist and amen when the preacher smacks the pulpit and not even be thinking about what he said. My dad was preaching once and illustrated the absurdity of a false doctrine by saying something like "let's say I said the moon is made of cheese" and someone shouted AMEN! I have more confidence that the man was not listening and felt it was his turn to say "amen" rather than supporting the likelihood of lunar Limburger. Point being, going through the motion of preaching or listening isn't worship either.

Vines says..."it is not confined to praise; broadly it may be regarded as the direct acknowledgment to God, of His nature, attributes, ways and claims, whether by the outgoing of the heart in praise and thanksgiving or by deed done in such acknowledgment."

Much of what is described as "worship" is sentimentality.

 Jonathan Edwards in “Religious Affections” said “As there is no true religion where there is nothing else but affection [feelings/experiences], so there is no true religion where there is no religious affections.”

Understanding worship is very important, as it is required of man to worship. I believe that God has given man a desire to worship, we were created to worship - but in our fallen state men are drawn to worship idols (Romans 1). The first four commandments regulate the proper worship of God. Men will either worship the true God or they will worship idols. God is worshiped in Spirit and in truth, but God is also not mocked. If you sow to the flesh in worship, you will reap its rewards.

Have you read part 1? Click these words and you can.

Sing, Sing, Sing

I was lurking in a Baptist internet forum, as I am wont to do, and I was very interested in a topic on worship and singing, which has lead me to our present post. I don't usually post on the forum because I'm not very good at it. I have a tendency to come off harder than I intend to be, bringing more heat than that light - which I admit, repent of and am working on. I think it all started when I was a child...wait, what was I saying? Oh yes, singing.

Singing is for both instruction and for the worship of God and it is a sign that one is full of the Holy Spirit. A Spirit filled believer is going to be singing to God. In the worship of God, we are to sing both to God and each other.

Col 3:16-17 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.

We teach and admonishing one another, signing for the benefit of the saints, and we sing with grace to the Lord. Not only singing, but everything we do be done unto the Lord. Singing isn’t an ornamental aspect of the church, - it is a required part of the worship of God.

Eph 5:18-19  And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;  Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.

Songs we sing should be theological, they should be instructive, they should make us think, not just tap our toes, but can make us tap our toes. That is how awesome God is. He gave us the gift of music so we can love Him and enjoy Him as we worship Him. Think about it, God didn't have to invent three part harmony, He didn't have to invent sound and have our ears and brains receiving the sound as pleasing, but He did because He is good. Combine the good gift of sound with the good gift of music and instruments with the blessed gift of Christ honoring lyrics and you have a wonderful opportunity to worship God.

Those that have been given the talent to sing should do so for the people of God. Yes, sing unto the Lord, but sing for us, help us worship God with you. Please, lift up your hearts unto the Lord. Hymn writers write out in poetic form what we wish we could say on our own.

Eph 5:18-19  And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;  Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.

Songs we sing should be theological, they should be instructive, they should make us think, not just tap our toes, but can make us tap our toes. That is how awesome God is. He gave us the gift of music so we can love Him and enjoy Him as we worship Him. Think about it, God didn't have to invent three part harmony, He didn't have to invent sound and have our ears and brains receiving the sound as pleasing, but He did because He is good. Combine the good gift of sound with the good gift of music and instruments with the blessed gift of Christ honoring lyrics and you have a wonderful opportunity to worship God.

Those that have been given the talent to sing should do so for the people of God. Yes, sing unto the Lord, but sing for us, help us worship God with you. Please, lift up your hearts unto the Lord. Hymn writers write out in poetic form what we wish we could say on our own.

See from His head, His hands, His feet,

Sorrow and love flow mingled down!

Did e’er such love and sorrow meet,

Or thorns compose so rich a crown?

I feel that. I know that. I wish I wrote that. When I sing his words, I think of our Saviour. With great skill, Brother Watts penned how God's children feel. Though I don't have the ability to express my feelings in such beautiful verse, the hymn writers do and help us worship God.

More to come.

Grace & peace,
DP

Book Review: Pastoral Graces: Reflections of the Care of Souls by Lee Eclov

Pastoral Graces: Reflections of the Care of Souls

Lee Eclov

Chicago: Moody Publishers, 201. 171pp. ISBN: 9780802405678

 

Have you ever wondered what pastors may talk about when they get together to fellowship? Pastoral Graces: Reflections of the Care of Souls by Lee Eclov gives you that kind of feel – an inside and behind the scenes look at the world of a pastor, warts and all.

This book is a collection of stories on how God has blessed and worked in the life and ministry of Pastor Lee Eclov. This is not intended to be an instructional book about the work of the pastor or an exposition of Pastoral Epistles or Biblical imperatives, but rather this book is a assortment of frank accounts of the successes and failures of one man in his attempt to serve the Lord in the work of the ministry. But don’t confuse this as a biography, but rather it is more a collection of “war stories” with a point. Eclov uses his experiences as illustrations to the overarching point he is making; namely that God is gracious to pastors in a special way. He focuses on the three major themes of this grace in the book. God gives pastors grace to do the work of the ministry in the Word; secondly God gives pastors grace as they lead the church; and God gives the pastor grace as they deal with the reality of death in the lives of the people God has placed in their care. The book is optimistic in that it focuses on the Grace of God in the work of the pastorate.

I did have a few points of disagreement and concern. The experiences of the author will not relate to all situations, especially pastors of smaller churches. Much of the advice that is given won’t work unless you have a similar church framework. There are ecclesiological and theological issues that are briefly mentioned in passing that I found to be potentially problematic.

I appreciated the overall message of the Pastoral Graces - that pastoring is worth it. It is worth the pain, it is worth the trials, it is worth the labor. Paul told Timothy that if a man desires the work of the pastor, he desires a good thing and I appreciated the fact that there was a positive outlook on the work and that he agrees that it is a good thing to be a pastor. The trials of this life cannot be compared to the glory that awaits those who love His appearing. I received a copy of this book from the publisher for the purpose of this review. My thanks to Moody Publishers.

Behold, I stand at the door and knock. Revelation 3:20

Revelation 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. This is a very familiar passage of scripture. Many know this verse, and many quote and use this verse frequently, but it is used so frequently to promote a wretched doctrine of works for salvation. Revelation 3:20 is erroneously used as an invitation to the lost, but I believe that they, to comfort and ease the minds of the lost, have twisted a verse speaking of the love of Christ toward His church and made it into a doctrine of God dishonoring heresy.

Too many people believe in errors and easily accept falsehood due to the perception that all scriptures in the bible are for all people regardless of whether a child of God or child of the Devil. I could say “I am happy to see you here this morning” to one who enters the Lords house on Sunday morning and there would be nothing strange about that. But the same phrase “I am happy to see you here this morning” would not be the message I would give to an intruder who was trying to break into my house in the early morning. Just as every word you and I speak are not intended for every person walking the earth in all situations, words of peace spoken to those who are loved of God wouldn’t apply to the reprobate. So common sense would tell us that not every message in the Bible is for every person at all times.
We need to see who this message is from and who is the intended recipient. Revelation 1:10-11 I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia. Jesus, I am, Alpha and Omega, it was He who had the message. It was he who had the message, and revealed it to John, to give to someone, but who? Revelation 3:14 "And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write,” and Rev. 3:22 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. The message that the Lord had given in Revelation 3:20 was given to the church of the Laodiceans. A message that is given to a church, naturally excludes some people. Since a New Testament church is made up of saved, baptized believers, it can be said that a message to a church would in fact exclude the impenitent sinner. By a simply, cursory reading of the whole message, and knowing to whom the message was intended, we see that Revelation 3:20 cannot be an invitation to the lost as so many believe. Otherwise this verse would be calling for those who are saved to be saved.

This verse cannot be an invitation to the lost to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. This would contradict the attributes and nature of Jesus. I once saw an artist’s depiction of this verse. A log cabin set back in the woods with a small dirt path leading up to the door. It was dusk; the fire from within the rustic home was putting out a warm glow that could be seen afar off shining out through the windows. There at the door, what I assumed to be Jesus, with his head hung low, and arm out stretched, gently knocking at the door of the old cabin, but alas, no one would answer. HOW OUTRAGEOUS! That is not my Jesus! My Jesus does not beg for one to trust in him, but he is the Great Shepard who said in John 6:44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. The lost world loves to think of Jesus in this manner, the needy Saviour who is in great want from us. In December, they will think of Him in the manager, but not as Lord. He is depicted standing outside of “heart’s door” seeking our approval rather than seeking and saving the lost. The choosing is not at “hearts door”, man choosing Christ, but the choosing was in eternity, God choosing his people.

I mentioned “heart’s door” because that is how I have always heard the door in Rev 3:20 being referred as. The bible states clearly in John 10 that Rev 3:20 doesn’t call sinners to open their heart’s door to Jesus. In verse one Jesus says Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. Then in verse seven Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. Jesus is the door, not our hearts. And if one is to be saved they must “enter in”, not allow Jesus to enter in. Those who teach another Jesus, knocking at heart’s door, are not “entering in by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way” and are thieves and robbers. It is by grace that we are saved through faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ.

So then, what does it mean? As with the previous churches in Revelation, there was a word of correction of faults then a word of comfort or encouragement. The Laodecians were neither hot nor cold as we find in verses 14-22. They had lots of money, but spiritually poor. They had lost their zeal for service, just playing church if you will. They had not gone off into idolatry either; they were lukewarm. Jesus told them in verse 19 to repent of the sinfulness of idleness and cold heartedness. He commanded the children of God to be zealous. Then in verse 20 we see a word of encouragement. The emphasis of the verse should not be put on the door, or on the knocking, but what the verse is telling us. Consider the foolishness of “heart’s door” in this interpretation. If the door is heart’s door, when we sup, do we sup at heart’s table? No, what we see here is Jesus love for his people and his church. Because of this love, Jesus meets and fellowships with his churches. Jesus will not leave nor forsake us. When his churches gather together to worship, He is there. Jesus loves His people, and loves fellowship with His people. The Laodecians met, but by being lukewarm, they lost sight of the fact that we are given the opportunity to come, fellowship with the Son of God, in His house, and worship Him in spirit and in truth, and we are given that opportunity regularly. We should come to God’s house knowing that Jesus meets and sups with his church, without fail. He is faithful to meet with us and bless us; but are we faithful to be in His house? God is faithful by who ye were called unto the fellowship of His son Jesus Christ our Lord. This love knows no bounds, and with that love there is friendship. There is a special relationship between the Lord and His church. He will choose his bride from among his true church and said “ye are my friends if ye do whatsoever I command you” and the members of the Lord’s churches have followed the Lord in baptism and joining His assembly.

Revelation 3:20 doesn’t tell us that Jesus needs something from us, but that God is there for us! This passage teaches that God is faithful to us as He promised to be. Are you in need? Are you depressed? Do you feel alone child of God? Are you shunned by family and hated by those around you for trusting in Christ? Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. To apply this message to an invitation perverts the sacrifice, the glory of God, God’s relationship with His children and the love Jesus has for his Church. Child of God, do you seek that sweet fellowship with the Lord? He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

Lux lucet in tenebris

If you wonder what the symbol is that is on the header of the blog, here you go. Lux lucet in tenebris is Latin for “Light shining in darkness”. It was the motto for the Waldenses, the Anabaptists who lived and preached in Europe in the ninth century. I am a Baptist who holds to Baptist truths; I am a Christian and Jesus said that I am the light of the world, and so are you if saved by God’s marvelous grace. Also, if you have any books from Baptist Standard Bearer, then you will recognize the image.

Jesus said in Matthew 5:14 Ye are the light of the world. He tells us what a Christin is, not what a Christian should try to be. If you are a child of God, you ARE the light of the world. The world has no other source of light. Not in politics, not in art, not if philosophy and not in any other religion.

The Bible says a lot about light and darkness. I believe that darkness is shown in scripture to be sin, ignorance of truth, death, judgment, error, the unsaved, and the power of darkness in Satan. Darkness is the absence of light. God is light. Men love the darkness, love to be in sin and far, far from the holiness of God. John 3:19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. Despite the horror and consequences of darkness; men love it. Ignorance is bliss for a season. Men love their false gods and false religions and would rather spend their time groping in the dark Egyptian night than to stand before the Holy God.

We are the light because we are in The Light, Jesus Christ the Lord. We cannont try to be the light but ARE the light because if we are truly Christians, we are in Christ. In a world of darkness, you Christian, are the light. You are the bright spot in this Earth, not the scourge. You are the answer to the problem, not the source of its troubles. Do not feel insignificant and helpless because you are the light of the world. Do not try to hide your usefulness but shine the grace of God in your life! Love God, love your neighbors, not to be seen, but because Jesus Christ died for your sins, and you have a home in Heaven because your sins are forgiven.

Christian, you are the light of the world. Jesus did not say that only Peter was the light of the world, or only the apostles were the light, but all his people, all Christians are the light of the world. Some men God raises up and have fame and far reaching ministries; but they are not the ONLY light of the world. Spurgeon was not the ONLY light of the world. A.W. Pink was not the ONLY light in the world. John MacArthur is not the only light in the world. YOU are the light of the world. Look what God said through Paul in Philippians 2:13-15 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. Do all things without murmurings and disputings: That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world. He did not say that HE was the only light because he was the apostle, but you church at Philipi, you shine as lights in this crook, perverse world, you are shining in the darkness of sin.


God is light (I John 1:5-7) and Jesus said “I am the light of the world” (John 9:5). We are Saved by the Light (Luke 1:79). The Lord is my light and my salvation (Psalm. 27:1). How is it that God is the light, and we are the light? We are the Light as we are brought into the Light (Christ). We are reflectors of the Light. For example, Christ is the sun, we are the moon. We shine forth the light that is in us. Christ IS the light, He is purity, He is holiness, He is salvation, the Way the Truth and the Life. By being His children, we reflect Christ in our lives.
How is it we can shine our light? We are the light, by living as Christians we shine our lights. One way we are light is we walk in the light. Ephesians 5:8;11 For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light: And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. Living a holy life is being light in the dark world; living like you are saved is shining our light. Philippians 2:15 That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world. Giving the light or the gospel is shining our light in this sinful, wicked, dark world. II Corinthians 4:6 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.


Christian, Lux lucet in tenebris.


______________________________________________________________________

Douglas Newell IV

Why Preach Church Truth?

Things would go a lot easier for us if we would just 'get along' and agree to disagree on the church; however, we have not been called to a life of ease. Better to be despised by the world and hold to the truth than to be praised by the world and compromise the faith once delivered. When I think of my Baptist forefathers who were truly persecuted and despised and beaten and imprisoned; those preachers who were torn from their wives and children and were taken from their homes, sharing their life with a blessed family to sharing them with the rats and disease of the dungeon cell, I am embolden to carry on in this eleventh hour, when we serve in the cool of the day here in America. If the worst that happens is a couple walk out of services without shaken any one's hand because of the truth of baptism, or that some ministerial association think us bigoted and naive, then I have it easy comparatively. In light of what I face, even more disgrace to compromise.

God help His churches,
By Grace,
Douglas Newell IV

We Need Creek Swimming, Brier Cutting Men

BH Carroll was right on when he described the need of the Lord's men to act like men. Baptist churches need men to act like men. We need creek swimming, brier cutting men today. Men who will stand up and fulfill their roles God has called them to, namely to act like men. In I Corinthians 16:13 it says "Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong." God has challenged us, to BE A MAN.

"It is the creek-swimming men that shake the world—the brier-cutting men who will not allow obstacles to keep them from doing what God wants them to do.

Let a congregation get the idea of their pastor that he is pink of perfection, can beat anybody in town tying a cravat [neck tie], and wears the nicest little shoes, knows how to fasten a nose-gay in his vest, and how to enter a room and entertain company; carries an umbrella so as not to burn his delicate skin, then what will be his power to awaken and save the lost? An umbrella is all right in its place, but what I want to impress is this—that a stalwart man, a real man, will accomplish more of the great things in the work than all of these little fellows. He will not stop to consider a thousand things that absorb the mind of the trivial man, but will go right straightforward to the accomplishment of his great purpose. I have heard these dainty essayists preach. I have gone to their churches hungry and tried to -get something—and failed.


It reminds me of the story of a preacher who tells this of himself: During the civil war he went to a house to get some supper. Army rations were poor, and he was very hungry. They had just a little butter and they all wanted to make it go as far as possible, so each one tried to hurry through in order to get another chance at the butter before it disappeared. He said that he could not get rid of the butter in his plate. He even tried to sop it up with his bread, but it did not have any taste to it. At last he looked up and saw through knot-hole in the roof over his head that the moon was shining down through into his plate, and that all the time he had been sopping moonshine.”