The Blessing of Church Officers

October 30, 2011 in Bible - NT - Ephesians, Ecclesiology, Meditations

Ephesians 4:11–12 (NKJV)
11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,
The final thing that I would like to share with you publicly about my trip to presbytery in Minneapolis is the privilege that I had to serve on the examination committee for Kenton Spratt. Kenton is the pastor of our sister congregation in Colville, Washington. It was an incredible privilege to get to hear him preach, to read some of his writing, and then to examine him at presbytery.
But not only was it an incredible privilege to examine Kenton, it was also an incredible privilege to work in concert with other elders in the CREC during this process. The examination committee is typically composed of five CREC elders – some pastors, some teaching elders, some ruling elders. Our task is to examine the candidate’s fitness to serve as a minister of the Gospel.
 The privilege of joining in this work reminded me that one of our callings as the people of God – both officers and congregants – is to thank God for the gift he has given us in apostles, prophets, evangelists, and even pastors and teachers. God in His grace and mercy has gifted us with men to teach and articulate the Word of God – and it was my privilege to recognize Kenton as one of those men.
So how are you doing? First, have you been thanking God for the leaders, past and present, in the church? Thanking God that He has given us those equipped to read and understand and teach His Word? And not only thanking God for them, but continuing to pray for those living that they would fulfill their tasks with joy and integrity?
Second, have you reckoned with your calling to support ministers of the Gospel with your tithes and offerings? Paul writes to the Corinthians, “Do you not know that those who minister the holy things [in the OT] eat of the things of the temple, and those who serve at the altar partake of the offerings of the altar? Even so the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should live from the gospel” (1 Cor 9:13-14). And so we are called upon as the people of God to express our gratitude for those who labor in Word and Sacraments by providing for their physical needs by giving to the work of the church.
Third, have you shown your appreciation for these men by listening to what they are telling you? The way we show respect and honor is not by nodding our heads and saying how much we appreciate them, but by doing what they urge us to do when it is consistent with the Word of God. God has given them that we all might be equipped for ministry, Paul says – and so our calling is to make use of their teaching by ministering, by implementing the principles they give.
Reminded of the many ways in which we take leaders for granted, let us kneel and confess our sin to God.

The Tragedy of Division in the Church

October 23, 2011 in Bible - NT - Acts, Ecclesiology, Meditations

Acts 15:36-40
Then after some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us now go back and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord, and see how they are doing.” Now Barnabas was determined to take with them John called Mark. But Paul insisted that they should not take with them the one who had departed from them in Pamphylia, and had not gone with them to the work. Then the contention became so sharp that they parted from one another. And so Barnabas took Mark and sailed to Cyprus; but Paul chose Silas and departed, being commended by the brethren to the grace of God.
At Presbytery learned not only of great deliverances but also of troubles in some churches. That which has sat most on my heart is one of the original congregations in the CREC whose elders – all godly men – have found it impossible to labor side by side any longer. Their difference of vision has become so entrenched that they have decided, for the sake of long term peace, to part ways and plant a new church in the same community while endeavoring to preserve fraternal relationships with one another through joint meetings, psalm sings, etc.
Their story reminded me of the event in the life of Barnabas and Paul that we read in Acts. They simply could not agree on what to do with John Mark. Barnabas was willing to give John Mark another chance; Paul felt that to bring him along would compromise their very important mission. Luke comments on their disagreement that “the contention become so sharp that they parted from one another.” They could not agree on the course forward.
Here’s the question: was the division between Barnabas and Paul a result of sin? No doubt. Not only had John Mark’s sin provided the original cause for the dispute but our general condition as fallen human beings means that both Paul and Barnabas were sinners as well and no doubt their particular weaknesses contributed to the conflict. But here’s another question: does Luke make an attempt to sort this situation out and ascribe blame? Not at all. These were godly men, they had a difference of vision, and so they parted ways because they simply could not agree on a course forward.
Isn’t that humbling? We imagine in our idealism that we Christians should be able to work all these problems out. We’ve got to preserve the unity of the Spirit – didn’t Paul himself write that?! But the story is put here to remind us of the stark reality of our current human condition – we are finite and sinful and stand in desperate need of the grace of God? Here are two godly men who couldn’t agree and had to separate from one another for a time. Here in the CREC are godly men who cannot agree and are separating from one another while endeavoring to maintain fellowship. How this ought to humble us, to cause us to cry out to God for mercy, to beseech him to keep us united and give us a common vision.
Job tells us, “Man is prone to trouble, as sparks fly upward.” Knowing how prone we are to such trouble, our calling is to be gracious to one another, to endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, and to cry out to God to unite us in love. Unfortunately we often fail to do so. We bicker and complain; we seek our own good rather than the good of others.
And so reminded of our need to be humble, to seek the face of God, to treat one another with kindness and mercy, let us kneel and confess our sins to the Lord.

Women and Wine

October 9, 2011 in Bible - NT - Titus, Ecclesiology, Meditations

But as for you, speak the things which are proper for sound doctrine: that … the older women … be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things— that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed.(Tit 2:1-5)
In our text today, Paul continues his admonitions to older women and his admonition is that older women “not be given to much wine.” What does Paul’s admonition reveal to us?
It is a perennial tendency of sinful men to identify the cause of our problem as human beings as something outside ourselves, something external to our nature. Rather than correctly understand that our fundamental problem is a problem of the heart – that we are indeed corrupt and twisted, inclined to evil rather than to good – we begin to imagine that we are basically good people and that the problem is all these corrupting influences that surround us.
The fruit of this thinking is the moralistic crusade – in order to secure salvation we must abolish whatever it is that is corrupting us. And so some have insisted that that which corrupts us is sexual pleasure – the solution? Develop man made rules restricting sexual enjoyment. Others have insisted that that which corrupts us is certain foods – the solution? Develop a list of those foods which are acceptable and those which are forbidden. Still others have insisted that it is ignorance which corrupts us – the solution? Develop schools, pay teachers larger salaries, save our kids.
But among the items which have been said to be the source of our corruption, none has been more fiercely condemned in the last 100 years than the demon liquor. The prohibitionist movement in America and the continuing antipathy toward alcohol of any sort in many conservative Christian quarters is evidence of the hold this notion has had and continues to have upon the Christian conscience.
But here’s what I’d like you to notice in our text today – Paul does not say that older women are not to drink wine, he says that older women are not to be drunkards, not to be given to much wine. Despite much conservative Christian thought to the contrary, alcohol is not in itself sinful. What is sinful is the abuse of alcohol – drunkenness is a sin. And what this means is that the fundamental problem is not with the alcohol, the fundamental problem is with us. As sinners we continually abuse the good gifts that God has given us, using them not for the glory of God but in sinful ways.
You see the same Bible which condemns drunkenness in the most emphatic terms, also tells us that God gave wine to gladden the heart of men. The problem is not the wine – the problem is us. We take a gift from God and corrupt it. And so Paul insists that older women are not to be drunkards, not to be given to much wine. And if women aren’t to be drunkards then neither are the rest of us.
Reminded that the primary problem in the world is our sinfulness and not the objects in the world, let us kneel and confess our misuse and abuse of His gifts.

Women and Slander

October 2, 2011 in Bible - NT - Titus, Ecclesiology, Meditations, Tongue

But as for you, speak the things which are proper for sound doctrine: that … the older women … be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things— that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed.(Tit 2:1-5)

Some weeks ago we began a series of exhortations for the women in the congregation. What would God teach us through them and what are the particular sins which women need beware of? Last time we considered Paul’s admonition that the older women are to be reverent in behavior; this week we consider his admonition that the older women are not to be slanderers.

Characteristically sins of the tongue seem to tempt women far more than they do men. Fittingly, therefore, the Word of God does not shy away from exhorting women in this specific area. One of the key signs of godliness is the way we use our tongue. Out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks – and therefore that which comes out of the mouth reveals that which is in the heart, reveals that which we treasure and love and esteem.

So what do you love? What do you treasure and esteem? Well answer me this – what is coming out of your mouth? For what is coming out reveals what is inside. We have this strange notion that the way someone acts and speaks doesn’t really reveal what they treasure. But Jesus insists that that’s just not true. So let me ask you – what is coming out of your mouth? Is it thanksgivings to God, the wisdom of God’s Word, words and remarks that refresh the soul and build up those with whom you are speaking, gracious words that always put the best interpretation on others’ actions? Or is it fretting and whining, complaints and grumblings, gossip and slander?

It is this last sin that Paul particularly focuses upon in our text – the sin of slander. Slander is closely related to gossip. Gossip becomes slander when the rumors we circulate are clearly false and intended to destroy. Slander has a much clearer sinister element to it – intending as it does to harm the one about whom the tale is told. While those who gossip sometimes delude themselves into thinking that they are really helping the other person or at least not harming anyone, the slanderer intentionally sets out to harm another by spreading falsehoods. She is using her tongue to destroy.

So whom have you slandered? Whom have you maligned and mistreated with your speech? Your husband? Your father? Other women? Your elders? Beware the sin of slander.

Warnings against this sin are replete in the Scriptures. David complained, “For I hear the slander of many; Fear is on every side; While they take counsel together against me, They scheme to take away my life.” His son Solomon notes in Proverbs 10:18, “Whoever hides hatred has lying lips, And whoever spreads slander is a fool.” And Paul, in the other testament, notes that in the latter days men will be “unloving, unforgiving, slanderers.”

Because of the insidious nature of slander, severe curses are called down upon the one who practices the same. The psalmist prays in Psalm 140:11, “Let not a slanderer be established in the earth; Let evil hunt the violent man to overthrow him.” And God Himself announces in Psalm 101:5, “Whoever secretly slanders his neighbor, Him I will destroy.” God takes slander seriously.


And so reminded that the words we speak reveal what we treasure and love, let us turn to God and confess that we have loved wickedness and deceit. Let us kneel as we confess together.

That the Women be Reverent

September 12, 2011 in Bible - NT - Titus, Ecclesiology, Meditations, Sexuality

But as for you, speak the things which are proper for sound doctrine: that … the older women … be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things— that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed.(Tit 2:1-5)

The women of Crete did not have a sterling reputation in the ancient world. Part of this was no doubt a consequence of the topless attire that they wore. But part of it was also a consequence of the conduct of some of Crete’s leading women.

One of the ancient legends associated with Crete that most people know is that of the Minotaur. What fewer now know is that the Minotaur was the offspring of the Minoan Queen Pasiphae who had mated with a bull. Pasiphae’s sexual perversions weren’t lost on her daughters – one of whom, seduced by the Greek hero Theseus, paved the way for the destruction of the Minotaur and the decline of Cretan power and the other of whom later married Theseus and then tried to seduce Theseus’ son, precipitating the son’s death when he refused her advances. Not to be outdone, another of the royal Cretan women was banished from Crete for her illicit behavior, rose through skillful use of her beauty in the court of the King of Mycenae, married the king’s son, and then assisted the king in murdering his own son so that she could become the king’s wife. These perversions led to the disgrace of Cretan women generally – their conduct became the example by which all were judged; even the upright were viewed with suspicion.

Paul is very concerned that Christian women cause no such shame for the Gospel of Christ. He states the motivation of all his exhortations quite plainly in v. 5 – “that the word of God may not be blasphemed.” In so doing, Paul indicates that the operative concern for our lives as professing Christians is not our happiness, not our ease or comfort, but preserving the Word of God and hence God Himself from being blasphemed.

And so Paul’s first command to the older women is that they be “reverent in behavior.” Literally his exhortation means that they conduct themselves in such a way as would be fitting in the temple of God; that they act as they would if they were in the presence of God Himself all the time – for this is, in fact, how we live. We all live coram Deo – before the face of God. And so we are to live reverently.

So women – how are you doing? What are you using as the measure of your actions? What determines the sacrifices you make? The way you spend your time? The way you speak to your children? The way you respond to your husband? The way you speak about your husband to your friends? Paul urges you to measure your life by the Word of God – don’t do anything that would bring shame on Jesus’ Name, that would give the enemies of God cause to blaspheme God’s Name. Suffer anything rather than shame your Savior.

And this is the same message that Paul gives to you men as well. We are all to live such that we adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in every respect. So how are you doing? Has your attitude at work adorned the Gospel? Has your thankfulness at home adorned the Gospel? Has your care for your children adorned the Gospel? Or have you brought shame on Jesus’ Name?

Reminded that our conduct as Christians inevitably reflects on the Name of our Savior Christ, let us kneel and confess that we have given occasion for the enemies of God to blaspheme.

The Battle of the Sexes

July 27, 2011 in Bible - OT - Genesis, Ecclesiology, Meditations

Genesis 3:16 (NKJV)
16 To the woman He said: “I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; In pain you shall bring forth children; Your desire shall be for your husband, And he shall rule over you.”

For the last several weeks we have emphasized that God is the One who designed man as male and female. He created Adam, He announced that it was not good for man to be alone, He paraded the animals before Adam so that Adam would sense his incompleteness, He put the man to sleep and fashioned the woman from his rib, He presented the woman to the man as his helper. All this was God’s doing, God’s design.

So what went wrong? Why is it that we have strife and competition between men and women? Our text today answers the question clearly: strife between men and women is a judgment from God visited upon our rebellion. “Your desire,” God announces to Eve, “shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.” Though God had created Adam and Eve to live in harmony, now there would be strife. No longer would she willingly and joyfully submit to her husband but would desire to subdue him, to subvert his God-ordained position of authority. No longer would he lovingly guard and protect and nourish his wife but would oppress her. This relational strife was a direct result of our rebellion and explains a large swath of human behavior.

Why is it that a man oftentimes uses his strength to batter and abuse a woman rather than to protect her? Why is it that a man is willing to exploit a woman sexually? Why is it that he is willing to terrorize a woman? To treat her with benign neglect? Deem her his inferior intellectually, morally, spiritually, emotionally? Because of our rebellion against God.

Why is it that a woman oftentimes uses her beauty to seduce a man rather than to glorify him? That rather than submit to her husband’s authority she will seize that authority for herself, either by intimidation and threats or by whining and manipulating her way into power? Why is it that a woman will mock and scorn a man who is willing to lead and protect his family or will give a nasty look to a man who opens the door for her? Because of our rebellion against God.

The strife between male and female is a consequence of our sin, a judgment visited upon us by God Himself. But here is the good news. Because God visited this judgment upon us, He can also take it away. And when we seek His forgiveness through Christ, when we acknowledge that we have rebelled against Him and brought all this disaster upon ourselves and that our only solution lies in the Lamb of God who died for our sins, He will forgive us. And what’s more, He promises to enable us by His Spirit to recover the harmony that was lost in our rebellion. We can, through the renewal of the inner man, live in harmony one with another – as husband and wife, as brother and sister, as father and daughter, as mother and son, as brother in Christ to sister in Christ. We can, by the grace of God, learn to live in harmony as male and female once more. We can be a new humanity.

And so in order to achieve this, we must begin by acknowledging that it is our own sin that has gotten us into this mess. It is our own folly that has introduced tension where there ought to have been peace and concord. So reminded of our sin, let us kneel and let us confess our sins to the Lord. There will be a time of silent confession followed by a public prayer of confession.

Mature Femininity

July 27, 2011 in Bible - OT - Genesis, Ecclesiology

Genesis 2:18 (NKJV)
18 And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.”

In the last couple weeks we have learned that male and female together bear the image of God and that therefore God made males to be male and females to be female. This was his design, his intention, his plan. He saw that the man was alone and declared it wasn’t good. He decided to make a helper comparable to the man.

Because God designed you women as women what this means is that your fundamental calling in life is to honor and glorify Him. He is the Creator of all; further, He has sent Christ to redeem and rescue you, to restore you to the glory of your creational design. So what does this mean?

First, it means that because God is the Creator His Word governs and rules your life. Eve got you into trouble by questioning God’s Word and deciding for herself whether the Word of God or the word of the serpent were to be believed. She set herself up as judge. But none of us were designed to live this way – and it is the choice to live this way that has wrought calamity and destruction in the world – and which continues to do so. The so-called Battle of the Sexes has arisen precisely because men and women have refused to live in accordance with God’s Word and have instead lived according to our own.

Second, God’s word declares here that men and women were created to complement one another. God’s judgment that it is not good that man be alone reveals not only the complementariness that God designed for marriage but also for broader society. Whether the number of men and women would have been perfectly balanced in an unfallen world we are not told – but we are told that God designed man as male and female to glorify His Name and be for the benefit of all. Men as male and women as female were designed by God to complement one another, not compete with one another.

Third, God’s design for women, revealed here in the creation story, is that women were created, you were created, to help the men in your midst. God declares, “I will make him a helper suitable to him.” God created you to come alongside men and to serve, to assist. The exact way this will look will appear different in different situations but this is the basic calling – to be a pillar of strength and support and to enable the men in your life to be all that they can be. As John Piper has written, “At the heart of mature femininity is a freeing disposition to affirm, receive and nurture strength and leadership from worthy men in ways appropriate to a woman’s differing relationships.” So, ladies, how are you doing? Are you affirming, receiving and nurturing the strength and leadership of your husbands? Your fathers? Your elders? This is your calling.

And you men, are you being worthy men? “At the heart of mature femininity is a freeing disposition to affirm, receive and nurture strength and leadership from worthy men in ways appropriate to a woman’s differing relationships.” Are you stepping up to the plate and giving godly strength and leadership to the women in your life? This is our calling.

Reminded that rather than submit to God’s design for us as men and women, we frequently develop our own visions for what is good and right, let us confess our sins to the Lord. We will have a time of silent confession followed by a public confession. Let us kneel as we confess our sins together.

Mother’s Day 2011

May 10, 2011 in Bible - OT - Psalms, Ecclesiology, Faith, Meditations

Psalm 113:4-6,9 (NKJV)
The Lord is high above all nations, His glory above the heavens. Who is like the Lord our God, Who dwells on high, Who humbles Himself to behold The things that are in the heavens and in the earth? … He grants the barren woman a home, Like a joyful mother of children. Praise the Lord!

Sarai was barren. For nearly eighty years she had longed for a child, longed to cuddle and nurse and play. But now her hope was gone; she no longer dreamed. But God heard her. He sent his angel to announce that she would give birth to a son. And though Sarai first laughed in scorn, reasoning that this man in her tent didn’t know the first thing about barren wombs, Sarah later laughed in joy, understanding that the wisdom of God is foolishness to men.

Leah was unloved. Passed off as her more attractive younger sister she saw in her husband’s eye the torch of pity and resentment that broke her heart and made her weep. And when her sister was likewise married to her husband, her personal grief only increased. But God heard her. He opened her womb and gave her many children – and though her hope that her husband would love her was never fully realized, God loved her and raised up her son Judah to be the father of our Savior.

Tamar was shamed and scorned. Married to two men who had both been scoundrels, she was now being deceived by the father of those scoundrels, Judah. Though he had promised to give her his third son as husband, Judah’s promise was empty. He had decided, as most scoundrels do, that Tamar was the problem not his sons. So Tamar cried out to God and God heard her. He granted her success as she laid plans to entrap the worthless man Judah; and when she had conceived and Judah was prepared to destroy her, God delivered her from his hands, changing the scoundrel Judah into the man Judah. And Tamar’s son Perez became the ancestor of our Lord Jesus.

Manoah’s wife was barren. Her lifeless womb had given them no children and her grief was great. But God heard her. He sent his angel to announce that she would give birth to a son who would deliver Israel from her enemies – and she, unlike Sarai, believed and told her husband. And so Manaoh went in to his wife and she conceived and she bore a son whom they called Samson.

Elizabeth was old and barren yet full of faith and good works. She and her husband Zacharias served the Lord, loving him, cherishing his laws, delighting in his ways – all the while longing for a child. God heard her. He gave her a son in her old age and made him the last and greatest of all the prophets of the Judaic Age.

Mary was a righteous young woman, pregnant by God’s own power and facing the prospect of a betrothed who was determined to divorce her. She cried out to God and God heard her. He visited Joseph in a dream and Joseph remained with her becoming the human father of our Lord.

The Syro-Phoenician woman was desperate. Her daughter was deathly ill and no physicians could help. Then she received news that the Jewish prophet Jesus was in her town. She frantically searched for him and, humiliation of humiliation, begged him to heal her daughter. But he rejected her plea. And so she cried out to him, “Yes, Lord, but even the dogs eat the scraps from under the master’s table.” And God heard her. He healed her daughter and sent his new daughter home.

Clotilde was anxious. Her first child had died shortly after his baptism and now her second child, also baptized and only a few weeks old, was ill. Her unbelieving husband mocked and scorned – this is what comes of following this new religion of yours! Clotilde cried out to God and God heard her. He rescued the child from death and used Clotilde’s faith to turn her husband Clovis, King of the Franks, to Christ.

Brothers and sisters, the love of mothers has prompted God to move and to act from the earliest days of biblical history to today. So mothers – love your children and pray for them. God will hear you. Others – love your mothers and give thanks to God for them. Reminded that we have taken our mothers for granted, let us kneel and seek God’s forgiveness.

The Discipline of Fathers

April 22, 2011 in Children, Covenantal Living, Discipline, Ecclesiology, Meditations

Hebrews 12:7-11 (NKJV)
7 If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? 8 But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. 9 Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? 10 For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. 11 Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

A couple weeks ago we observed that one of the duties fathers have before the eyes of God is to exhort and comfort and bear witness to each of our children. We are to bring them to a knowledge of the truth, striving to show them the beauty of a life lived in honor of our Lord Jesus Christ. Today we learn that an essential part of that training is discipline. Fathers are to discipline their children.

We learn from our text today a number of things about this discpline. First, discipline originates from a specific type of relationship. It is our sons and daughters that we are called upon as fathers to discipline. As much as we might deplore the conduct of the neighbors’ kids, as much as we might grieve for their long term health and prosperity, those children have not been entrusted to us and so it is not our responsibility to shepherd them. But it is our responsibility to discipline our own children – precisely because they are our own children given to us by God Himself in trust.

Second, discipline aims to imitate the discpline of our Father in Heaven. Hence, discipline is designed primarily for the profit of our children and not for our own profit. Indeed, when we use discipline primarily as a tool for our own comfort then we are misusing the tool. God discplines us for our profit, that we might share his holiness. So we are called to discipline our children for their profit, that they might be blessed. Discipline is a gift that we are to give to our children not a set of shackles to wrap around their legs.

Third, discipline is supposed to be unpleasant. Not all gifts are pleasant in the short term. A father who makes his son weed the garden is not given a short term gift but a long term gift – training the rewards of hard work and diligence. A father who spanks his disobedient child is not giving his child something that is pleasant in the short term – but in the long term he is delivering his son from hell. And what greater gift could be given? Discipline is supposed to hurt.

So, fathers, discipline your children. Do not grow weary in doing good. And discipline them because they are your children and you love them – so the discipline should be for their good, their profit. And remember that this means it will hurt.

Children, for your part, respect your fathers and mothers. Hebrews calls upon you to honor and respect your parents in the midst of discipline. God has entrusted your parents with this authority and insists that you must heed and obey – even as you would obey God Himself.

These admonitions remind us of the many ways in which we have fallen short. We have sinned and are in need of the forgiving grace of God in Christ. And so let us confess the many ways in which we have fallen short. We will confess our sins privately and then corporately using the printed confession found in your bulletin. Let us kneel together as we confess.