Here I Am, Send Me

My Blog Has Moved

2009-04-10T07:35:00.000-07:00

I now post my blogs as part of the Truth Matters community site. Please feel free to join us there: http://truthmatters.ning.com/

The Real Purpose Driven Life

2007-07-28T08:13:00.001-07:00

And straightway He constrained His disciples to get into the ship, and to go to the other side. . . ." Mark 6:45-52

We are apt to imagine that if Jesus Christ constrains us, and we obey Him, He will lead us to great success. We must never put our dreams of success as God's purpose for us; His purpose may be exactly the opposite. We have an idea that God is leading us to a particular end, a desired goal; He is not. The question of getting to a particular end is a mere incident. What we call the process, God calls the end.

What is my dream of God's purpose? His purpose is that I depend on Him and on His power now. If I can stay in the middle of the turmoil calm and unperplexed, that is the end of the purpose of God. God is not working towards a particular finish; His end is the process - that I see Him walking on the waves, no shore in sight, no success, no goal, just the absolute certainty that it is all right because I see Him walking on the sea. It is the process, not the end, which is glorifying to God.

God's training is for now, not presently. His purpose is for this minute, not for something in the future. We have nothing to do with the afterwards of obedience; we get wrong when we think of the afterwards. What men call training and preparation, God calls the end.

God's end is to enable me to see that He can walk on the chaos of my life just now. If we have a further end in view, we do not pay sufficient attention to the immediate present: if we realize that obedience is the end, then each moment as it comes is precious.

Source: My Utmost for His Highest, July 28th devotional

A Quiz for Your Arminian Friends

2007-07-15T11:25:00.000-07:00

For those of you who might not understand the confusion about Arminianism, take the following quiz, and see where you fall on the spectrum. Authors of many quizes will tell you there's no right on wrong answers. Not this one! There is only one right answer, and it is found in Scripture. Take a look a see for yourself: Click Here to Take the Quiz.

Pastor Chuck at Tenth Pres

2007-07-04T14:09:00.000-07:00

On Sunday evening, July 1st, Pastor Chuck preached at historic Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia. Although I've sat under Pastor Chuck's preaching and teaching for some time now, it seemed to me that he brought his preaching to a whole new level with this exposit of Genesis 25: 29-34.

His message, entitled Soup du Jour, was quintessential Chuck, with a polish and ease I've not seen in some time.

I was so proud at how he brought the scripture to light using real-life examples and stories, I wanted to stand up and clap. And, I might have done that if I had not been buckled over in laughter. One person commented to me that he's never seen the entire congregation at Tenth laughing all at one time before.

I would like to offer my congratulations and kudos to Pastor Chuck on such a successful and enjoyable preaching engagement.

We love you, Pastor! Keep bringing us the Word in spirit and in truth!

The unreformed Christian church has failed!

2007-07-04T13:53:00.000-07:00

I justed finished listening to R.C. Sproul speak about why the unreformed Christian church is failing today, and boy was I impressed. This is the clearest and most concise articulation of the problem I think I've ever heard. I agree completely with what he's said. Listen to this brief audio clip yourself and tell me what you think:

The unreformed Christian church has failed.

A Reformed Approach to Evangelism

2007-06-24T12:23:00.000-07:00

Whether justified or not, Reformed thinkers have a bad reputation for not being concerned about evangelism. Nothing should be further from the truth, and so here are twenty things that Dr. Kim Riddlebarger shares with us as tactics for the Reformed to begin evangelizing:

1. Be clear about what you believe and why you believe it. Know the Scriptures and know the confessions and catechisms. The more you know about your faith, the easier it is to talk with non-Christians.

2. The essence of evangelism is communicating the correct information about sin and grace, simply and clearly. Talk about the law and the gospel, not about infralapsarianism and divine simplicity! That comes later!

3. Avoid the use of Christian jargon. Speak about real sin, real guilt, real shed blood!

4. Use tact and be charitable! Don't talk about reprobation with someone who has just lost an unbelieving family member. Be kind and courteous! Many non-Christians act and speak out of ignorance, not malice.

5. Be sensitive to someone's past--if they've had a bad experience in church, struggle with a particular sin etc., be understanding and compassionate! Non-Christians hate self-righteousness, and they have a right to do so! Do not soft-peddle the law and the guilt of sin, but make sure they understand that you are a justified sinner, not a self-righteous "know it all," who is here to correct them!

6. Stick with the subject--don't get side-tracked. When the conversation wanders, pull it back to center stage--the law and the gospel.

7. Evangelism is not about winning an argument, but leading people to Christ. Discussions may get heated and intense at time--that's okay. But the purpose of evangelism is not to show why you are right and they are wrong. It is to communicate the truth of the gospel! The message is to be the offence! Not you!

8. When people are apathetic about sin--use the law. When people have doubts or are skeptical--use basic apologetic arguments. When people express guilt for sin--present the gospel.

9. Evangelism is about leading non-Christians to Christ. Convincing Evangelicals that Reformed theology is true, falls under the heading of polemics. Don't confuse the two.

10. Stick with what all Christians hold in common wherever possible. Leave the internecine fighting among Christians aside when talking to non-Christians. A non-Christian will not care much about why the Lutheran view of the Lord's Super is in error, or why Baptists are wrong about infant baptism! That will come during catechesis!

11. Wherever possible, speak about Christianity as factually true-- "Jesus did this," "Jesus said this," "people heard and saw him," etc. Keep away from the subjective line of approach-- "it works for me."

12. Pray for wisdom.

13. Trust in the power of God the Holy Spirit working through the word! Cite texts directly from the Scriptures with attribution. Jesus says, Paul says....Not, "I think," or "it seems to me."

14. Don't rush things. Just because someone is not ready to trust in Christ after one encounter does not mean that effective evangelism has not taken place. Pre-evangelism is equally vital. You may plant, but someone else may have to water!

15. Treat people as objects of concern, not notches in your belt! Establish relationships and friendships whenever possible.

16. Don't forget that a prophet is without honor in his own home. The chances of you leading your own unbelieving family members [or someone close to you] to Christ are remote. Pray for someone else to come and evangelize your family!

17. Don't force things. If people balk, ridicule and otherwise are not interested, back off. Find another time and place. If after repeated attempts to communicate the gospel, and someone still shows an unwillingness to hear what you have to say, "shake the dust off your feet and move on to a new town!"

18. Be willing to get people the resources they need: be willing to provide them with a Bible, the right book to read, and certainly an invitation to attend your church or Bible study, etc.

19. Pray for opportunities to evangelize. Pray for your church--that God would bless the preaching of his word, that he would bring non-Christians into our midst, and that he would bless the church with growth.

20. You don't have to become a practical Arminian to be a faithful evangelist! A Reformed approach to evangelism simply means telling people the truth in love.

Contending For Truth In Love

2007-06-10T11:33:00.000-07:00

As we launch TRUTH MATTERS this month, I thought I would share one historical example that speaks to the heart of why this is so. It's an example and explanation offered by Tom Asco and excerpted from an article entitled Contending for Truth in Love.

Please note the paragraph that begins "In our day and age of 'can't we all just get along' spirituality...." It summarizes the climate of our culture today and emphasizes why we truly believe that a ministry like TRUTH MATTERS is so important and needed now more than ever before!

-----------------------------------
One of the most poignant scenes of the Protestant Reformation comes from the Marburg Colloquy in 1529. The conference was convened in hopes that it might unite what was becoming an increasingly fragmented Protestant movement. In Zurich, the Swiss Brethren (later to be known as Anabaptists) had become convinced of believers' baptism and fully separated from the Protestant movement led by Zwingli. In Switzerland and beyond Protestants began to further divide along what came to be called "Lutheran" and "Reformed" lines.

One of the key issues of contention was the nature of the Lord's supper, specifically, the nature of Christ's presence in the supper. All of the reformers were united in the rejection of the Roman Catholic view of transubstantiation. Decreed at the Council of Trent and based on Aristotelian metaphysics, Roman Catholic doctrine asserts that when the priest consecrates the elements the substance of the bread and wine is changed into Christ's flesh and blood, respectively. These elements, which do not change their "accidents" (ie. their form, shape, texture or taste) are then offered as a repetitive bloodless sacrifice of the body and blood of Christ.

The reformers rejected this notion and argued that the supper was not an offering of Christ's body and blood but a feasting on that which has been once and for all time offered on the cross. The reformers further agreed that Christ is present in the supper. Precisely how He is present was and remains a subject of debate and in the sixteenth century became the basis of division.

Luther argued for the real presence of Christ in the supper. While the elements are not changed into different substances, the body and blood of Jesus are present "in, with and under" the bread and wine. "This is My body" can only be taken literally, according to Luther. Zwingli, on the other hand, argued that Christ's words at this point must be taken figuratively and that His presence in the supper is symbolic and spiritual.

A literary debate on the subject reached its height in 1527 and 1528 with charges and counter-charges being made in the strongest of language. Luther accused Zwingli of teaching heresy and the devil's doctrine. The Zwinglian camp responded with accusations that the Lutherans were flesh-eaters, blood-drinkers whose communion bread was a "baked God."

The religious divisions made it difficult to maintain political and military alliances among the Protestant regions of Europe. In hopes that the political coalitions might be restored Philip of Hesse exerted his influence to convene a meeting of Protestant leaders for the purpose of discussing points of theological difference and coming to points of theological agreement.

Zwingli readily accepted the invitation to meet at Marburg. Luther reluctantly agreed to participate after being pressured by the Elector of Saxony. Together with delegates from Basel, Strassburg, Nürnberg, Augsburg and Swabia, the reformers met at Philip's castle during the first three days of October 1529.

The debate, though more civil and gentlemanly than the previous literary one, rehashed well-known positions. It was obvious that the disagreement over the presence of Christ in the supper constituted, at least in the minds of Luther and his cohorts, an insurmountable barrier to fellowship.

At Philip's insistence Luther drew up a confession consisting of fifteen articles, including statements on the Trinity, Christ's person and work, sin, justification by faith and the Holy Spirit. On all these points there was perfect agreement among the participants. The fifteenth article deals with the Lord's Supper. On the main points even of this article, both the Reformed and Lutheran parties were agreed. At the prompting of Philip, a final paragraph was added which states,

And although at present we are not agreed on the question whether the real body and blood of Christ are coporally present in the bread and wine, yet both parties shall cherish Christian charity for one another, so far as the conscience of each will permit; and both parties will earnestly implore Almighty God to strengthen us by His Spirit in the true understanding. Amen.

All the participants signed the confession--including Luther and Zwingli. On Monday morning, after the conference ended, the two reformers met together for one final time. It would be their last meeting on earth. With tears in his eyes, Zwingli held out his hand toward Luther as an expression of brotherly fellowship. But Luther refused to grasp it and instead said, "Yours is a different spirit from ours."

I disagree with what Luther did. But I deeply cherish the reason he did it. Truth matters(emphahis added). It is more important than political alliances. If we love God then we must be committed to the affirmation and defense of His revealed truth. But, if we love God, we must also love people--especially "the brethren." Devotion to truth, a necessary, noble Christian characteristic, is what motivated Luther to leave Zwingli's hand awkwardly extended in front of him. He had purchased the truth too dearly to sell it cheaply. And in Luther's mind, to have embraced Zwingli's hand would have signaled a compromise on the Word of God.

In our day and age of "can't we all just get along" spirituality Luther's action appears repugnant and utterly indefensible. Strong currents within western Christianity encourage us simply to forget about the issues which we see differently from others who name the name of Christ and pretend that differences do not exist, or if they do exist that they do not really matter. Politeness trumps conviction. This is the spirit of that slobbery ecumenism to which more and more warm-hearted but wrong-headed evangelicals are being attracted. Truth is sacrificed on the altar of what is mistakenly believed to be unity (but which could more accurately be described as conspiracy). Where such a spirit obtains, no serious consideration of biblical teachings can be proposed because "it will only cause division." To those who are caught up in this spirit, Luther at Marburg looks only like a prideful ogre. But that is not an accurate portrait of the reformer. He did what he did because he was convinced that God's truth was at stake.

Nevertheless, even though it was a commendable love of God and truth which motivated his actions, Luther cannot be completely exonerated. His refusal to allow room for disagreement on the sacrament caused him to write Zwingli off as an unbeliever. On the final day of the Colloquy he professed astonishment that the Swiss contingency considered him to be a brother. He turned to them and said, "You do not belong to the communion of the Christian Church. We cannot acknowledge you as brethren." At this point Luther illustrates the following maxim: The greatest strength of Christians who take doctrine seriously can easily become their greatest weakness.

Devotion to truth and a passion to have an accurate understanding of it can lead a believer to dismiss all those who do not agree with him at every point. Love for truth, however, is never an excuse for not loving people. And genuine love for people, especially for brothers and sisters in the faith, necessarily requires a willingness to forebear with weaknesses, including weaknesses in understanding. The theological pugilism which sometimes accompanies doctrinal Christianity is contrary to the very content and spirit of the gospel. Is not the heart of our message that God loves His enemies and Jesus Christ has humbled Himself to the point of death in behalf of people who deserve divine wrath? The obligations of humility, deference--extended even toward weaker brothers--and genuine love even for enemies stem from biblical teachings which cannot be set aside in the pursuit to affirm and defend other doctrines of the Bible.

At this point I think Luther failed at Marburg. He could not conceive that he himself might not understand the Lord's Supper perfectly. Neither could he allow for the possibility that Zwingli could be orthodox in his Christology and yet mistaken in his understanding of the sacrament. So Luther refused to extend his hand in Christian fellowship. Better by far to recognize the difference between doctrinal essentials and doctrinal distinctives without giving up either.

A better course is to recognize that all those who hold to the essentials of the faith are to be received as brothers and sisters in Christ, even if they hold to distinctive ideas with which we disagree. Furthermore, while we unashamedly affirm our own distinctive beliefs which we find in the Bible, we should afford that same privilege to other believers, admitting that none of us has yet perfectly understood all that we ought about everything that God has revealed. Sin has affected not only our affections and wills, but also our minds. Therefore we are liable to make mistakes in our understanding and are in constant need of having our thinking reformed by the Word of God.

For this very reason Christians who disagree on certain distinctives ought to argue their points of contention with a desire not only to be understood but to understand those with whom we disagree. It is possible to be both rigorous and humble. All who love Christ and His Word should welcome the efforts of those who strive to clarify revealed truth at any point.

Truth is worth disagreeing over. It is worth maintaining ecclesiastical separation. On that, [many Christians] agree. It is to be hoped that we can also agree, in our pursuit of the truth, with Zwingli's prayer which he prayed upon entering the conference at Marburg:

Fill us, O Lord and Father of us all, we beseech Thee, with thy gentle Spirit, and dispel on both sides all the clouds of misunderstanding and passion. Make an end to the strife of blind fury. Arise, O Christ, Thou Sun of righteousness, and shine upon us. Alas! while we contend, we only too often forget to strive after holiness which Thou requirest from us all. Guard us against abusing our powers, and enable us to employ them with all earnest for the promotion of holiness.

Why Ask Why?

2007-04-26T06:08:00.000-07:00

Dear God:

Why didn't you save the school children at?..

Moses Lake, Washington 2/2/96
Bethel, Alaska 2/19/97
Pearl, Mississippi 10/1/97
West Paducah, Kentucky 12/1/97
Stamp, Arkansas 12/15/97
Jonesboro, Arkansas 3/24/98
Edinboro, Pennsylvania 4/24/98
Fayetteville, Tennessee 5/19/98
Springfield, Oregon 5/21/98
Richmond, Virginia 6/15/98
Littleton, Colorado 4/20/99
Taber, Alberta, Canada 5/28/99
Conyers, Georgia 5/20/99
Deming, New Mexico 11/19/99
Fort Gibson, Oklahoma 12/6/99
Santee, California 3/ 5/01
El Cajon, California 3/22/01
and Blacksburg, VA 4/16/07 ?

Sincerely,

Concerned Student
----------------------

Reply:

Dear Concerned Student,

Sorry, I am not allowed in schools.

Sincerely,

God

Easter Dinner Prayer

2007-04-09T15:36:00.000-07:00

I wrote the following prayer for Easter dinner yesterday, and I prayed it with the sixteen family members I had visiting. When I was done, my five year old niece started clapping. I don't think I've ever received applause for a prayer I prayed before. I guess that's truly having the faith of a child. Since someone here was clearly moved by it, I thought someone else out there might enjoy it, too.

---------------------------------------------------------------
God our Father, Creator of all, today is the day of Easter joy.

This is the morning on which the Lord appeared to those who had begun to lose hope and opened their eyes to what the scriptures foretold: that first He must die, and then He would rise and ascend into His Father's glorious presence.

By raising Christ your Son You conquered the power of death and opened for us the way to eternal life. Let our celebration today raise us up and renew our lives by the Spirit that is within us.

May the risen Lord breathe on our minds and open our eyes that we may know Him in the breaking of this bread;
that we may know Him in the fellowship of the Spirit;
that we may know Him in the love of our family and friends;
and that we may know Him as we follow Him each day in His risen life.

We ask that you grant these things through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.

Amen.

Alone...

2007-04-07T11:48:00.000-07:00

"Eloi, Eloi, Lama Sabachthani"

A cry uttered by Jesus Christ

while dying on the cross,

preserved in the original Aramaic:

"My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?"

----------------------

Father,

Now the sun is risen,

I thank Thee for Thy silent strength

Given me in my hour of despair--

When the darkness

Seemed to smother,

And the tears

I selfishly shed

For my own pain

And trivial troubles

Shut out the light,

And I rendered myself

Alone.

Father,

Now Thy Son is risen,

I thank Thee for allowing One

So much greater than I

Thine Only Begotten,

Flesh of Thy flesh,

To complete a task so

Wonderful and

Terrible

By leaving Him

Necessarily

Alone.

Father,

In the garden green of Olivet,

In the still and solitude

The Creator of everything

Offered up all He had,

And submitted Himself

To all the vengeance of Hell;

And in His hour of need,

The Friend of the friendless

Was forsaken,

Forgotten,

For what?

Although the spirit was willing

The flesh indeed was weak;

And they slumbered,

Leaving Him,

The Balm of mortal pain,

To suffer,

Alone.

In the beauty of that desert place,

The Savior of mankind

Faced all the ugliness

His charges could offer:

The pain, the hate,

The sin, the sorrow,

The waste, the wickedness,

The pride, the poverty,

The deceit, the ignorance,

The doubt, the fear,

The betrayal

--And even the

Loneliness--

Alone.

As His immortal, righteous blood

Was spilled, like sweat

From every pore

And fell to the thirsty earth below,

I cannot hide

My honor and my awe

At His great love for me;

Neither can I hide

My shame,

Self-reproach

And regret. For

How many of those precious drops

Am I responsible for?

--As He suffered

The bitter cup,

Alone.

The longest night

the world will ever know,

The solstice of eternity,

Fell on Emmanuel

And by the light of torches

The Light of the world,

The very God of Love,

Was betrayed by a kiss,

Enslaved by strangers,

Rejected by His own,

Denied by those who

Knew Him best,

And led away

In chains

Alone.

How it must have hurt Thee

To witness the sufferings

Of Thy Beloved

Inflicted by Thine other children--

Those whom He had come to save;

To steadfastly persevere,

And answer not a word,

Amidst the jeers

The blows,

The spit

And scorn;

To see His perfect body torn,

His perfect soul rent in anguish,

Staggering and fainting beneath

The evil and imperfection

Of all mortality

Collectively

Alone.

And Thou,

Beyond the grasp of human pain

Did surely mourn at the

Mocking of His misery

By so many witnesses and

Beneficiaries of His

Miracles and ministry--

Those who knew better;

Who unworthily

And ungratefully

Bore Thy birthright;

Those with whom Thou had

Cut they covenant

Now cut the flesh of Thy Son

Deliberately.

And in the crowded mob

He wept

Alone.

Down the winding passages of

The City of Peace,

Stumbled the Prince of Peace.

Plaited thorns adorned His crown;

Stripped of all but His

Mantle of Duty;

How it must have burdened Thee

To see Thine Own,

Who in innocence

Did glorify Thy name,

Bearing a scapegoat's load--

The weight thereof

Not unfamiliar to Thee,

Which could so mercifully have been loosed

By Thy Omnipotence;

Yet in the name of mercy

Didst Thou allow

This charade of justice

To continue.

At a crossroads He was lifted up

Upon the cruel cross.

And in His torment,

When He needed Thee most,

Thou left Him

Unwillingly

Alone.

Father,

In the vastness of Thy creations,

was there any place large enough

To contain the immensity

Of Thy sorrow?

Was there any place small enough

And far enough away

To hide from the pleas and cries

Of Thy suffering Son?

Until the moment He pronounced

"It is finished."

Triumphing, at last

Alone.

In olden times, the Scriptures say

Thou wert a jealous God described;

I think I know now why--

Jealous lest man ever

Slight,

Forget,

Or with anything replace

The memory of the Sacrifice

Made by Thy Son

Alone.

O Father,

I thank Thee

For sacrificing Thy

Fatherhood for Thy

Godhood, by

Giving us Thy Son

To pay the ransom we could not.

And by so doing,

Thy righteous heart was broken also--

For what Father could bear to see

His helpless child suffer

And not rush to his aid?

--Instead, to leave him

Intentionally

Alone.

O Father,

I thank Thee

That through the tears that fell

From His eyes

And from Thine,

That my tears may be dried

And my eyes opened

To the Hope of my Salvation,

And the reassurance of my

Eternal worth

--In spite of myself--

That my meager life

Was worth dying for.

And He died

For me, and

Because of me,

That I might live for Him,

In all my days serving Him

As tool and ambassador

Of the love He had for us;

The love that gave purpose to His life

And life to His purpose.

Father, I acknowledge my

Hungering need

To bear and be borne by the

Unconditional Love of Christ,

Who unselfishly serves all those who but

Come unto Him.

As Counsellor,

Advocate

And Friend;

That neither I,

Nor any of us

Need ever be

Alone.

Father,

Let me let Him in!

Let His Light fill the recesses of my soul,

That darkness and evil

Find no place.

Let me always make room

For Him for Whom the inn was full.

Let your Spirit make me wise enough

To seek the King of Kings

As the Magi did;

And as

Wise men

Still and

Always do.

Let me ever joy

In that same glory

That was witnessed

To lowly shepherds

Long ago.

Praise be

To the Father

And the Son!

The glory be

To Him and Thee

Alone.

Please bless me,

Dear Father,

That I may live my days

In remembrance

Of Him Whose hands

First sculpted me in clay.

Whose hands now rest in Thine;

Those hands

Thou once suffered

To be pierced

For my sake.

Father, wouldst Thou bless me,

That as He bore my burdens,

I may lift all those around me

With whom I share this

Borrowed existence--

For Thy sacrifice,

And His,

Was not for me

Alone.

And in His name may I

Heal the poor in Spirit,

Feed those enhungered

Of body or soul;

Build up where others tear down;

Make Peace

Spread Love;

Share

His

Hope;

That as I represent Him

In my small corner of the world,

No one I meet

Will ever be

In need,

In doubt,

or

Alone.

------------------------------
Copyright 1998 ©Connie Clayton

For the author
Keith Clayton, Jr.
(1968 - 1998)

www.compucast.com/easter.html
Reprinted with permission

Free to duplicate and distribute free of charge.
(please include site address)

God, That's A Good Question!

2007-03-07T07:10:00.000-08:00

I read an awesome question, posed by God Himself, in Job 41:11 this morning: "Who has first given to me, that I should repay him?"

Think about that for a while.

It is not even possible that you or I could have given anything to God first that he should want to repay us. He existed before the foundation of the world, and no one could have given Him anything in order to have Him extend His love to us. And yet He did, especially when He sent His Son into the world to bear our sins for us, be crucifed, buried and raised on the third day. Now the Son sits in heaven with His Father, and some day He will return again to collect his bride whom He dearly loves.

Could we have caused any of these things ourselves? Certainly not! It is only by God's miraculous Sovereignty and Grace that He does. Let's thank Him for that today with every breath that we take. He deserves that much, and so much more.

Freedom of Speech or Blasphemy?

2007-02-25T14:56:00.000-08:00

I've been hearing a lot recently about how people are free to say whatever they want. "After all," they say, "I have freedom of speech! That gives me the right to say whatever I want." Often, in their flawed logic, they presuppose that what they say has no consequences whatsoever. As if there exists somewhere in the world a right without a corresponding responsibility.

However, even if a person has the right to do something, it doesn't necessarily follow that they should do that thing. Matthew 12:36-37 tells us that "on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified and by your words you will be condemned."

This is a pretty powerful statement.

Jesus indicates that words, even carelessly spoken words, are eternally important. In the Bible, verbal sins such as lies, gossip or insults are condemned as severely as adultery and murder.

James tells us in 3:6 that "The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body..." Evil speech (including blasphemy, gossip, slander, lying, false vows and the like) has the power to spoil, stain, and corrupt the entire moral character of a person.

Let's be sure to bridle our tongues and demonstrate to the world that sometimes our responsibilities need to trump our rights.

I'm just saying...

Worship: Evangelical or Reformed?

2007-02-18T09:15:00.000-08:00

I ran across the following article which I found to be very interesting. Not many people make the kind of distinction about worship as does Robert Godfrey. It's critically important to know why you worship as you do and why others worship as they do. I hope you find it helpful in your spiritual growth.

-----------------------------------
Worship: Evangelical or Reformed?
by W. Robert Godfrey

One of the challenges of being Reformed in America is to figure out the relationship between what is evangelical and what is Reformed. Protestantism in America is dominated by the mainline Protestants, the evangelicals, and the charismatics. After these dominant groups, other major players would include the confessional Lutherans. But where do the Reformed fit in, particularly in relation to the evangelicals, with whom historically we have been most closely linked?

Some observers argue that the confessional Reformed are a subgroup in the broader evangelical movement. Certainly over the centuries in America, the Reformed have often allied themselves with the evangelicals, have shared much in common with the evangelicals, and have often tried to refrain from criticizing the evangelical movement. But are we Reformed really evangelical?

One area in which the differences between evangelical and Reformed can be examined is the matter of worship. At first glance, we may see more similarities than differences. The orders of worship in Reformed and evangelical churches can be almost identical. Certainly, both kinds of churches sing songs, read Scripture, pray, preach, and administer baptism and the Lord's Supper. But do these similarities reflect only formal agreement, or do they represent a common understanding of the meaning and function of these liturgical acts in worship?

If we look closely, I believe that we will see the substantive differences between evangelicals and Reformed on worship. That difference is clear on two central issues: first, the understanding of the presence of God in the service; and second, the understanding of the ministerial office in worship.

The Presence of God in Worship
The presence of God in worship may seem a strange issue to raise. Do we not both believe that God is present with his people in worship? Indeed we do! But how is God present, and how is he active in our worship?

It seems to me that for evangelicalism, God is present in worship basically to listen. He is not far away; rather, he is intimately and lovingly present to observe and hear the worship of his people. He listens to their praise and their prayers. He sees their obedient observance of the sacraments. He hears their testimonies and sharing. He attends to the teaching of his Word, listening to be sure that the teaching is faithful and accurate.

The effect of this sense of evangelical worship is that the stress is on the horizontal dimension of worship. The sense of warm, personal fellowship, and participation among believers at worship is crucial. Anything that increases a sense of involvement, especially on the level of emotions, is likely to be approved. The service must be inspiring and reviving, and then God will observe and be pleased.

The Reformed faith has a fundamentally different understanding of the presence of God. God is indeed present to hear. He listens to the praise and prayers of his people. But he is also present to speak. God is not only present as an observer; he is an active participant. He speaks in the Word and in the sacraments. As Reformed Christians, we do not believe that he speaks directly and immediately to us in the church. God uses means to speak. But he speaks truly and really to us through the means that he has appointed for his church. In the ministry of the Word—as it is properly preached and ministered in salutation and benediction—it is truly God who speaks. As the Second Helvetic Confession rightly says, "The preaching of the Word of God is the Word of God."

God is also actively present and speaking in the sacraments, according to the Reformed understanding. The sacraments are much more about him than about us. He speaks through them the reality of the presence of Jesus to bless his people as he confirms his gospel truth and promises through them.

The effect of this understanding of Reformed worship is that the stress is on the vertical dimension of worship. The horizontal dimension is not absent, but the focus is not on warm feelings and sharing. Rather, it is on the community as a unit meeting their God. Our primary fellowship with one another is in the unified activities of speaking to God in song and prayer and of listening together as God speaks to us. The vertical orientation of our worship service insures that God is the focus of our worship. The first importance of any act of worship is not its value for the inspiration of the people, but its faithfulness to God's revelation of his will for worship. We must meet with God only in ways that please him. The awe and joy that is ours in coming into the presence of the living God to hear him speak is what shapes and energizes our worship service.

The Ministerial Office in Worship
The difference between the Reformed faith and evangelicalism on the presence of God in worship is closely tied to their differences on the ministerial office in worship. For evangelicalism, the ministers seem to be seen as talented and educated members of the congregation, called by God to leadership in planning and teaching. The ministers use their talents to facilitate the worship of the congregation and instruct the people. The ministers are not seen as speaking distinctively for God or having a special authority from God. Rather, their authority resides only in the reliability of their teaching, which would be true for any member of the congregation.

The effect of this evangelical view of office is to create a very democratic character to worship, in which the participation of many members of the congregation in leading the service is a good thing. The more who can share, the better. The many gifts that God has given to members of the congregation should be used for mutual edification. Again, the horizontal dimension of worship has prevailed.

The Reformed view of ministerial office is quite different. The minister is called by God through the congregation to lead worship by the authority of his office. He is examined and set apart to represent the congregation before God and to represent God before the congregation. In the great dialogue of worship, he speaks the Word of God to the people and he speaks the words of the people to God, except in those instances when the congregation as a whole raises its voice in unison to God. We who are Reformed do not embrace this arrangement because we are antidemocratic or because we believe that the minister is the only gifted member of the congregation. We follow this pattern because we believe that it is biblical and the divinely appointed pattern of worship.

The effect of this view of office is to reinforce the sense of meeting with God in a reverent and official way. It also insures that those who lead public worship have been called and authorized for that work by God. The Reformed are rightly suspicious of untrained and unauthorized members of the congregation giving longer or shorter messages to the congregation. In worship we gather to hear God, not the opinions of members. The vertical dimension of worship remains central.

Conclusion
The contrast that I have drawn between evangelical and Reformed worship no doubt ought to be nuanced in many ways. I have certainly tried to make my points by painting with a very broad brush. Yet the basic analysis, I believe, is correct.

One great difficulty that we Reformed folk have in thinking about worship is that our worship in many places has unwittingly been accommodated to evangelical ways. If we are to appreciate our Reformed heritage in worship and, equally importantly, if we are to communicate its importance, character, and power to others, we must understand the distinctive character of our worship.

Our purpose in making this contrast so pointed is not to demean evangelicals. They are indeed our brethren and our friends. But we do have real differences with them. If Reformed worship is not to become as extinct as the dinosaurs, we as Reformed people must come to a clear understanding of it and an eager commitment to it. In order to do that, we must see not just formal similarities, but more importantly the profound theological differences that distinguish evangelical worship from Reformed worship.

The author is president of Westminster Theological Seminary in California and a minister in the United Reformed Churches. This article, slightly edited, first appeared in The Outlook. He quotes the RSV. Reprinted from New Horizons, April 2002.

Visit to Newtown Reformed Church

2007-02-12T16:32:00.000-08:00

Last week I had the privilege to accompany Pastor Chuck Paul to the Newtown Reformed Church. He was invited as the guest speaker.

During the move from the old facility, several members from Newtown Reformed Church volunteered, and during the move indicated they had listened to some of Pastor Chuck sermons from the website and wanted him to come preach at their church. We learned that they were currently without a pastor and were inviting preachers and students from around the area to come an assist with Sunday service.

When we arrived, we were warmly greeted and recognized several of the people who had helped out with our move. Approximately 35-40 people arrived to worship, and Pastor Chuck conducted the entire service, which was a fairly traditional Order of Worship.

Then, Pastor Chuck got up to preach, expositing a text from Galatians 3:1-3. He entitled the sermon Faith Beyond Foolishness. From his opening statement to the closing prayer, Pastor Chuck was filled with the Holy Spirit. He shared how preachers, and those who are called to stand at the “Holy Desk” must not only take this calling seriously, but also be so faithful to, engaged in, and careful with, God’s Holy Word that they almost “leave a trail of blood” up the aisle and to the pulpit because they have been cut to the marrow in struggling to reveal God’s Holy Truth.

It appeared to me that the congregation had not heard such powerful and passionate preaching in a long time. One person, after the service, commented “I’ve been here 13 years, and have never heard anything like that.” We took that as a good sign, and felt that Pastor Chuck had hit the mark, since, as we were leaving, we were called back into the office and told “There’s a rumor going around. Everyone really liked you, Pastor, and what you had to say. The rumor is they’d like to have you come back.” Pastor Chuck agreed, chose a date in April, and will be returning with even more passionate preaching next time.

I Have Arrived

2007-02-12T15:54:00.000-08:00

I have finally broken down and been brought into the world of blogging - somewhat kicking and screaming. Why my reluctance? Time. I don't feel sufficiently excited about writing endless streams of text concerning how my pet Guinea pigs love Romaine lettuce or the fact that I have a plaque on my wall that says "God so loved the world, He didn't send a committee." Nor do I feel that I have all that much to say - at least that others will want to read about. I hope you prove me wrong.

Still, I will strive to do my best and share what insights I can about my life, my faith, my family, the congregation of Philadelphia Community Church, and whatever else might come along.

I hope you find this site helpful, insightful, and at times fun. Please also let me know if I'm on the right track. I will need all the encouragement I can get in order to keep this going.

Blessings!