The Self-Policing Church

I don't know why it continues to amaze me, but it does: God is concerned with purity. He hates sin and will not tolerate the arrogance and abomination of sinners in his assembly. Of course, this makes sense, given that he himself is "holy, holy, holy"; altogether separate, pure, and entirely other from us.

As I've been reading through Deuteronomy again the past few days it has hit me that over and over again God demands purity in his people because he is pure. But more than that, he demands that his people maintain a standard of purity and holiness as well, because of their relation to him who is pure! They are to be a people holy, even as he is holy, because they are to be a nation of priests: witnesses of him to the world.

The repetition of this theme throughout Deuteronomy (the Mosaic "farewell discourse" as the people of God prepare to enter the promised land) is astounding. What is even more astounding is that they are to "police" themselves! See here for some examples.

So that was then, what about now? If this was how the people of the OT were to handle sin and impurity, what about the people of the NT? Afterall, the OT is "copies" and "shadows" of the real things. The Church, in the NT is the true "chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for (God's) own possession" (1 Peter 2.9).

This idea of being a people and nation for God in the NT--just as in the OT--is used to exhort God's people to increased purity and holiness of life! That's why Peter continues: "I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul..."

This is more than an individualistic call to a righteous life. It's a call to consider the fact that we are a people who are to represent God collectively, as a nation! When our members begin to make mockery of the God we are to glorify by the way that they live, we are to purge the guilt of that sin from our midst.

Obviously that was easier to do, theoretically, when they people of God were a physical nation, but it is no less important now. For the church to be effective in glorifying the God of holiness by remaining pure, she must be "self-policing."

Where it seems many in our day have trouble with this is this notion that the Christian "ought never judge." The problem here is mistaking a concern for the glory of God's name in the purity of his people with a self-righteous pride. The solution, it would seem, is for Christians concerned with the glory of Christ and the purity of his bride to remain humble "gate-keepers" and for all Christians to be open to loving correction.

In a culture that says no-one is allowed to correct anyone, this would be light and salt indeed.

And in a western-world where it seems that much of Christendom has nothing else to do, other than to re-discover old heresies abandoned in the purification of the church in days of persecution in the past, this means we must police our own doctrine as well. It would be absurd to think that God is this concerned with his glory in the way that we live, because it represents him, but that he won't care if we teach (or "discuss" or "humbly question") the wrong things about him.

A father is embarassed when his boys misbehave at school. He's also embarassed when they describe him to their teacher as a guy who "looks just like us... only more girly."

Glorifying God as his chosen, holy nation, means acting like him and describing him as accurately as possible in all circumstances. To this end, the church must be "self-policing," watching our life and doctrine closely.

When I don't want to obey...

Believe it or not, it happens quite often. From childhood up, I've been a rebel. I don't want to listen to those over me. The things that people ask or tell me to do are oppressive... they're not what I want to do, and so--more often than not--I don't do them.

When it comes to obeying biblical commands (and thus, obeying the God of the Bible), I've been becoming increasingly aware that when I try to shirk my obligations to obedience, I'm displaying my own pride.

Throughout the OT, when God gives commands to the nation of Israel, he generally reminds them, immediately following the command, that it is he--the LORD, their God--who demands it of them. So one reason for obedience, then, is the person giving the command.

In relation to this, I noticed today that God demands obedience not only because of who he is, but also because of who I am. In Deuteronomy 16, our God reminds his people why they should obey his commands: "You shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt; and you shall be careful to observe these statutes." So we obey not only because he is God, but also because we were slaves, and he redeemed us. Or in NT terms, "You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God with your body."

When I am reluctant to obey, it is pride. I'm thinking better of myself than I ought. I forget that was in bondage in Egypt, without hope or God in this world. But the Lord chose me, not because of anything good in me--not because I was stronger or better than any other person, but because I am weaker and worse--so that he might display in me the great glories of his grace and the triumphs of his mercy and love.

He bought me at a price: his own Son's blood. He bought me for a purpose: the display of his glory in all the world. When I refuse to obey, I'm like a lazy ant or a burnt out bulb; completely useless. I'm missing the whole point of why I'm here.

But it all has to start with humility. I need to remember who God is and who I am, and what he has done for me. Why is that so hard? Why is my foolish heart so quick to revert back to "looking out for #1?" I am forever in need of deep, true heart change.

Blame the Bad Christians...?

My good friend, Jon Warner, has a post over on his blog that got me thinking. In it, Jon questions the "labels" we live under as a result of "hero worship" in the Christian faith. He argues that even those "great saints" who have gone before us have had fatal flaws in their character which are significant enough that we should distance ourselves from labelling ourselves with their names.

There is a good amount of truth in this. I cringe anytime someone says something like, "oh... you're a Calvinist..." with that look on their face as if to say, "now I've got you all figured out." It is good to fight labels in the sense that we don't want to either follow or be labelled as following a person's teachings carte blanche. If we just accept something because someone we like said it, we're in grave danger of exalting people to places in our minds that they don't deserve.

That being said, I think Jon is reacting against a type of Christianity that I am unfamiliar with. For example, Michael Haykin has posted a wonderful series on Eminent Christians through history on his blog. These posts have been insightful, encouraging, edifying, and challenging. There has been no hint of hagiography; all of the sketches picture great men of the faith who, even while being great, were still men.

This seems to be symptomatic of much of the angst and rebellion in the "younger evangelicals" these days: There is reaction to what is legitimately wrong, but they are unwilling or unable to see that there are those still within evangelicalism who have not made that particular mistake. As a result, lookout below, because here comes that nasty pendulum.

It would appear that the solution here is, as with many other problems, merely a matter of reasoning things through. Do we have much to learn from great figures of our faith? Yes. Have people gone too far in the past and made idols out of Christian figures? Yes. Do we need to avoid all labels as a result? No. Are labels sometimes frustrating? Yes, absolutely.

So what do we do? Well, first we actually have to read our Bibles. Believe it or not, the Bible might have a thing or two to teach us about how to view ourselves in the light of those who have gone on before. I wonder if some would even accuse the author of Hebrews of hero worship in Hebrews 11?

Next, we need to actually read church history... in a discerning manner. Then we ask questions: Were they right? Why? How can we advance / build off of what they said? Hopefully this will lead to a more reasoned approach to progressing Christian thought.

Spurgeon Quote

"Fear, without joy, is torment; and joy, without holy fear, would be presumption."

kerux noemata: T4G: Quotes

Kerux's favourite quotes from Together for the Gospel... good stuff from good men!

kerux noemata: T4G: Quotes

Going Deep

God is big... infinite, in fact. It only makes sense, then, that a finite being like me can't understand everything about God. One thing the emergent *cough*neo-orthodoxy*cough* crew likes to point out is that we can't put God in a box. Generally it's phrased in a 'witty' sarcastic statement intended as a 'humble' rebuke of some 'fundamentalist' that goes something like this: 'Well, I'm glad that some of you have God all figured out, but for those of us who think God is too big to fit into a little box (or sometimes 'book'), we prefer to think that he is free to act as he sees fit.'

Sure. But no one was denying that. In fact, we would argue that the Scriptures themselves teach that God is free to act as he sees fit (even in spite of what we might choose).

The idea of God being 'really big' should not effect the basic doctrines the way emergents often quote it. Infinity does not negate perspicuity. When deep sea diving, it can get dark. When snorkeling, there is plenty of light to see where we're swimming. You could very well be in the same ocean either way, but in one place the water is murky and in another it's clear.

The same is true of God. Just as he has claimed to have not revealed everything to us, neither do we claim to know everything. But the things that God has revealed, we can and must know! The fact that God is bigger, deeper, more profound, complex and wonderful than me should not discourage me from ever knowing anything about God, but rather, should inspire to look into the mystery of his revelation all the more.

But the complex does not complicate the simple. Some aspects of God are plain. He is holy and righteous and he hates sin. He will not compromise, change his mind, or give his glory to another. He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished. He will accomplish his purpose in history, despite sinful man's every effort to thwart God's plan (as pictured in the cross). God will always be victorious (as pictured in the resurrection and ascension). He requires propitiation of his holy wrath, and he provided it for all his sheep in the person of Jesus Christ. He will one day raise all the dead from all time to face judgment: either unto eternal life or eternal punishment. This much is plain.

When Christ returns, I want to be able to say that I used the 'talent' he left us (his word) to get to know him and that I've spoken his truth to others, not that I buried it in the ground in order to 'ask questions,' because I was afraid to conclude anything about him because he's too 'big.'

The Church Benefits when the Pastor Preaches

Tim Challies has been live-blogging the T4G Conference. There have been many interesting posts (from many interesting messages), but this one from John MacArthur caught my eye. John, in his message, was discussing 40 years of gospel ministry at his church. He identifies several benefits from expository preaching in the church:

Having discussed the benefit of expository preaching, he turned to the benefits to the church in this type of consistent, Bible-focused ministry:

1) A church full of genuine Christians who think biblically. "I go to church at a real church." We can go to a real church with real believers. It is the real deal!

2) People develop conviction where they have clarity. Conviction makes strength and strength has impact.

3) When you exposit the Word of God, everyone's belief is tested at every text. "Everything I've ever taught has had to survive the scrutiny of the text."

When the word is faithfully exposited and taught week-in and week-out the people learn (oftentimes without even knowing it) how to exposit the word on their own as they read. I've got lots of friends in various ministry roles and often they complain about the general ignorance of the average church-goer.

I have no such complaint about people in our church.

That is not bragging. I think it is simply evidence of the truthfulness of what MacArthur has noted above. Faithful Bible teaching bears fruit in the lives of individual Christians who come to know their Bibles better and are apply to learn from it and apply it to their lives on their own.

Maybe the problem with Church (and the Christians who make up church) isn't the Christians, but the leadership who have not been faithful to preach the word expositionally.

Spurgeon vs. Emergent

Words of wisdom from Spurgeon, writing against (ironically enough) proponents of 'modern thought' who would 'fiddle' with doctrine, always looking to change the theology of the church.

Our 'modern thought' gentry are doing incalculable mischief to the souls of men, and resemble Nero fiddling upont the top of a tower with Rome burning at his feet. Souls are being damned, and yet these men are spinning theories. Hell gapes wide, and with her open mouth swallows up myriads, and those who should spread the tidings of salvation are 'pursuing fresh lines thought.' Highly cultured soul-murderers will find their boasted 'culture' to be no excuse in the day of judgment. For God's sake, let us know how men are to be saved, and get to the work: to be for ever deliberating as to the proper mode of making bread while a nation dies of famine is detestable trifling. It is time we knew what to teach, or else renounced the office. 'For ever learning and never coming to the truth' is the motto of the worst rather than the best of men.

Something like this helps me put my finger on exactly what it is (at least one of the things) that bugs me so much about emergent. The more time we spend re-inventing the wheel, the more people live and die without ever hearing the plain gospel truth from a Christian. The more Satan keeps Christians busy arguing over how seriously we should take warnings of hell for all who don't consciously put faith in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of their sins, the more people die convinced they are fine because even a Christian wouldn't tell them their sin is sin.

Not posting like usual...

Well, the past week or so has been incredibly busy and I haven't even had time to keep up with reading other people's blogs, nevermind writing for my own!

Today, however, I posted some reflections of "Good Friday" and the Problem of Evil here. Feel free to check that out.

Hopefully I'll be able to write more in the coming days and weeks.

Love Your Children!

Pastor David N. Robinson says, "Love your children!" In today's culture, somehow loving our kids means buying them the latest sneakers more than it means being willing to spend the time. Parents spend all day and night pursuing their own pleasures... and just now we're starting to reap the results.

Amen.

I couldn't agree more. This post is definitely worth checking out.

The Blue Jays Win the World Series!!

Okay, this is a little outside of what you may have come to expect from this blog, but it just hit me today that the only thing I've ever really posted about this wonderful city I live in was that stupid fan thing.

And today is opening day!! So, all things considered, I thought we should give it the old "Okay, Blue Jays, Let's Play Ball!" routine. Some may think that the title of this post is a little premature, but Ken Rosenthal, senior baseball writer for Fox Sportsnet has predicted the Jays to bring home the big prize this year. Check it out!

So... make sure if you're visiting our beautiful city, you come check out the Jays. Since the Maple Leafs stink so badly this year the Jays are the only show in town (we're not even going to mention the miserable Raptors). If you live here, get out and cheer on Doc and the boys... it could be a fun year.

Good Ol' Newton

From Olney Hymns, #37

Begone unbelief, My Savior is near,
And for my relief Will surely appear:
By prayer let me wrestle, And he wilt perform,
With CHRIST in the vessel, I smile at the storm.

Though dark be my way, Since he is my guide,
’Tis mine to obey, ’Tis his to provide;
Though cisterns be broken, And creatures all fail,
The word he has spoken Shall surely prevail.

His love in time past Forbids me to think
He’ll leave me at last In trouble to sink;
Each sweet Ebenezer I have in review,
Confirms his good pleasure To help me quite through.

Determined to save, He watched o’er my path,
When Satan’s blind slave, I sported with death;
And can he have taught me To trust in his name,
And thus far have brought me, To put me to shame?

Why should I complain Of want or distress,
Temptation or pain? He told me no less:
The heirs of salvation, I know from his word,
Through much tribulation Must follow their LORD.

How bitter that cup, No heart can conceive,
Which he drank quite up, That sinners might live!
His way was much rougher, And darker than mine;
Did Jesus thus suffer, And shall I repine?

Since all that I meet Shall work for my good,
The bitter is sweet, The med’cine is food;
Though painful at present, Wilt cease before long,
And then, O! how pleasant, The conqueror’s song!

Luther Advertising Relics

The following is an extended quote from a brief article on Martin Luther, proving that the use of sarcasm and satire are time-tested and proved methods of preaching against heresy and false doctrine.

In 1517, Luther posted his famous 95 Theses, attacking abuses in the sale of indulgences. A full twenty-five years later, and only four years before he died, Luther wrote against this practice again, this time with wit.

In 1542, a pamphlet entitled New Newspaper from the Rhine appeared in Halle. The anonymous author alerted the public to the transfer of Archbishop Albrecht of Mainz's collection of relics from Halle to Mainz, where they would be exhibited at St. Martin's Church and, if solemnly viewed, would grant an indulgence....

In addition, newly discovered relics would be exhibited, with a special indulgence offered by Pope Paul lilt The new relics included:

1. A nice section from Moses' left horn (Exod. 34:29, Vulgate: "his face was horned from the conversation with the Lord");
2. Three flames from the burning bush on Mount Sinai (Exod. 3 :3);
3. Two feathers and an egg from the Holy Spirit;
4. A remnant from the flag with which Christ opened hell;
5. A large lock of Beelzebub's beard, stuck on the same flag;
6. One-half of the archangel Gabriel's wing;
7. A whole pound of the wind; which roared by Elijah in the cave on Mount Horeb (1 Kings 19:11 );
8. Two ells (about ninety inches) of sound from the trumpets on Mount Sinai (Exod. 19:16);
9. Thirty blasts from the trumpets on Mount Sinai;
10. A large, heavy piece of the shout with which the cildren of Israel tumbled the walls of Jericho (Josh. 6:20);
11. Five, nice, shiny strings from David's harp;
12. Three beautiful locks of Absolom's hair, which got caught in the oak and left him hanging (2 Sam. 18:9).

The author concluded by sharing a tip he had receives from a friend in high places: Archbishop Albrecht had willed a trifle of his pious, loyal heart, and a whole section of his truthful tongue to the existing collection. Whoever paid one guiler at the exhibition would receive a papal indulgence remitting all sins committed up to the time of payment and for ten more years, thus giving the people of the Rhineland a unique opportunity to attain a special state of grace.

The author was Martin Luther, of course. He revealed his identity after the pamphlet had been widely circulated. The old issue of indulgences had once more cropped up, and his way of annoying Archbishop Albrecht, the most notorious advocate of the indulgences traffic, one more time.

Taken from TWO FEATHERS FROM THE HOLY SPIRIT? , By: Gritsch, Eric W., Christian History, 08919666, 1993, Vol. 12, Issue 3

Remember when...

Another reason why I love our church is that there are so many children. Kids are great--so much fun. But sometimes they get me thinking...

Like the other day when I was sitting down (because I was tired) watching the kids. Some of them were playing actual games with each other, and some were trying to make their own games up. The boys were having sword fights with imaginary swords and the girls were running around giggling about something or other. Then there were a few others who were running...

No game, just running.

They would run from one wall of the gym to the other... and then back again. Each time they would slam into the wall, laugh, and then run again.

Remember when running used to be fun? I remember thinking, "I hate all this sitting, let's get up and play a game" which would always involve running. Sometimes my friends and I would race each other as a game. That was fun.

Now, there's not much short of the hose busting off the back of our dishwasher mid-cycle and flooding our apartment that can get me to run. Sometimes even when we're playing floor-hockey at our men's meetings, I see the ball and I actually think, "Is this worth running right now?" Am I the only one? Maybe that's why people don't like having me on their team?

My, how far I've fallen.

Muslim "Tolerance"--My, aren't they gracious

See Dr Haykin's post here on the "religion of peace" and their "extreme tolerance" and offers of "forgiveness."

How insightful.

May we never forget that true religion is proven by its deeds. You want to know what Muslims believe? Read about what they're doing in the world.