Category Archives: Bible

Bible, Christian Living, worship

The Use of Imprecatory Psalms

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When people try to provide some order in the psalms, one of the strategies they use is to identify different types of psalms, like psalms of praise or lament. When organizing them in this way, one of the categories that presents itself in the psalter is psalms of imprecation, or imprecatory psalms. In these psalms the psalmist calls down curses on his enemies. One such example is Psalm 69. The psalm opens with David asking the Lord to save him from the reproach, shame, and dishonor that fill his life. Those kinds of things might be included in a psalm of lament. And yet later David calls down curses on his enemies. He wants them to become entrapped in their own poisonous plans (v. 22), have their eyes blinded (v. 23), be overtaken by God’s wrath (v. 24), have their camps become desolate (v. 25), experience punishment without mercy (v. 27), and be blotted out of the book of the living (v. 28). Or perhaps more notoriously, Psalm 137:9 exclaims praise for those who destroy Edom: “Blessed shall he be who takes your little ones and dashes them against the rock!” These are difficult words to process for New Testament believers and sometimes cause Christians to wonder about the place of imprecation for New Testament believers.

The Tension with Imprecatory Psalms

That struggle is not without warrant since the tone of the New Testaments seems so different. Romans 12:19 says, “Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’” Or Jesus says in Matthew 5:43-44: “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”  Further, there are calls to feed your enemy when he is hungry and give him water when he is thirsty (Rom. 12:20). Further Scriptures implies that God is providing for the daily needs of your enemy (Matt. 5:45). Those apparent discrepancies lead some to conclude that Jesus and Paul are at odds with the imprecatory psalms, or even with calls of cursing of God’s enemies generally speaking.

However, to put Jesus and the psalms at odds with each other is without warrant. First, there are also calls of cursing in the New Testament. Clearly the imprecatory psalms are a fairly small category of psalms. Less than 10% of the psalms contain even an imprecatory section. In other words, it is not the main theme of the Old Testament. By way of comparison, a quick glance at the New Testament shows there are also imprecations in the writings of the apostles. For example, in Galatians 1:8 Paul calls curses down on those who would pervert the gospel, when he says, “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed.” Or in 1 Corinthians 16:22 Paul calls curses down on those who have no love for the Lord when he says, “If anyone has no love for the Lord, let him be accursed. Our Lord come!” Additional examples are found in Galatians 5:12, 2 Timothy 4:14, and Revelation 6:10. It is a mistake to think calling down curses on God’s enemies is something that is uniquely Old Testament, and that the New Testament is filled with patience, grace, and turning the other cheek. The validity of biblical imprecation has to be understood by considering the themes of judgment and mercy together. Depending on how someone is wired they tend to dismiss one or the other, but that cannot be done from a biblical perspective.

Someone with a propensity toward justice tends to minimize statements on God’s mercy and the patience the believer is to exercise in the face of the cruelty of enemies. Someone with a propensity toward mercy will likely begin with a negative view of biblical imprecations. But in understanding the imprecations, justice and mercy must exist together without contradiction. Both exist in Scripture. They simply must be applied properly.

The justice of God, which is expressed in its final form as the ultimate curse of an eternity in hell, will certainly be applied to His enemies. However, today’s enemy may be tomorrow’s friend and vice-versa. Paul begins as a  persecutor of the church, but ends an apostle. Judas Iscariot begins in Jesus’ inner circle of disciples, but becomes a betrayer of the Lord. If the church had called on Paul to be cursed while he was a persecutor, it would have been asking God to curse His apostle. And if the church had asked for Judas to be eternally blessed, they would have been asking for that blessing for the “son of destruction” (John 17:12).

Clearly, there is a use for imprecation for saints of any age, but the application of when it should be used requires discernment. Christians should be able to see that imprecation should not be used by man based on what appears to be so in his limited understanding. Instead, imprecation is applied based on what is finally true, which is only known by the omniscient God. Man’s assessment of a person’s final spiritual condition is always incomplete. Think of the worst person imaginable. Are you sure God will not pardon this guilty sinner by the sacrifice of Christ? Are you certain he will suffer eternally in hell? If not, praying a curse against him as an individual might oppose God’s will. He may be chosen by God to be an object of His mercy.

No child of God will be cursed because Christ has become a curse for him. Likewise, no enemy of God will be blessed because Christ is not his mediator. So when should imprecations be used?

Applications for Imprecatory Psalms & Prayers

The prayers of imprecation are not appropriate for individuals. Christ will certainly conquer all His enemies. However, since man does not know these enemies by name, imprecations should not be offered against an individual. It is right to pray that God would thwart a specific person’s actions, or to pray for mercy and a changed heart for those who oppose God’s church in the present. It is good to pray that God would work all his will in each person’s life, either unto salvation or condemnation. But we must be very careful not to pray a curse on a specific individual.

Prayers of imprecations are appropriate when aimed at the Devil, his demons, the wicked, the enemies of the Lord.  Whoever God’s enemies are, Christians can be certain they will be defeated. Christ conquers, defeats, and judges his foes. Therefore, it is right to pray a curse on God’s enemies. That kind of prayer is simply to agree with God. The Bible states clearly that the devil and the other fallen angels are God’s enemies, and without hope of change. The wicked will be judged. The enemies of the Lord will be defeated. The Christian can pray strongly against these categories, even if, for the most part, the names of individuals are not known. God will curse and judge all His enemies as a group, and He knows perfectly well who they are individually. Therefore the Christian can leave the question of who God’s enemies are to His perfect, omniscient mind. However, since there are enemies of the Lord, curses call be called down on them without indicting any single individuals.

Agreeing with God’s Word

The curses of the Lord are real. For those outside of Christ, their eyes will be darkened with death one day. Then the indignation of God will be poured out on them, and his burning anger will overtake them. Their legacy will be nothing. There will only be the desolation and emptiness of the haunting echoes of hell. Punishment will be added to punishment for them with no hope of acquittal. They will be blotted out from the book of the living, never to be enrolled among the righteous. That is not simple an attempt to frighten. That is the words of the Bible.

The curses of the Bible allow the Christian to agree with God. It allows them to say, in agreement with the message of Scripture, that salvation is found in no other place but the person and work of Christ. There is not any other name under heaven by which men can be saved. And those who are not saved are cursed. That is God’s plan, and it is good. And those who pray and sing imprecations in that general sense are praying for and singing of things agreeable to the will of God.

Pastor Geoff Gleason
Cliffwood Presbyterian Church

Bible, Children, Christian Living

The Christian and Conflict in the Extended Family – Part I

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“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:14-16)

Parents exert a lot of energy nurturing their children, protecting them from evil, and pointing them to the right way to live. With few notorious exceptions, that all parents share those goals, whether Christian or not. In a nation as large as the United States, it is not surprising when there is tremendous variety in terms of how people think that should be done. When these world-views clash people naturally end up avoiding those who they think exercise poor influence over their children. And in most relationships that is a normal and acceptable response. But what is to be done when the bad influence arises from your own extended family?

Extended family can undermine the hard work Christian parents are doing to train up their children “in the discipline and instruction of the Lord” (Eph. 6:4). But the response to unbelieving extended family is more complicated because the Bible outlines some basic obligations for Christians in their larger families. These obligations are unique to the family relationship. The basic question is, “How does a Christian balance the call to honor parents and provide for them when parents, or perhaps extended family as a whole, do not honor the Lord and exercise a negative influence on your nuclear family unit of husband, wife, and children?” But answering this question is complicated and requires an examination first of the ethical obligation of the fifth commandment and second, of the practical steps that can be taken in this regard.

The Ethical Obligation

When relationships are in family bounds, there are unique obligations. These obligations complicate the decisions that are to be made. People enter almost all relationships voluntarily. Perhaps there is a common stage of life or interest; perhaps work or school brings people together. Whatever the case may be, people willingly enter these relationships and are free to leave them if relational obstacles become too great. However, family relationships have with them an aspect of obligation, at least biblically speaking. There are two broad categories that can be considered.

First, there is the obligation of honor. “Honor your father and your mother.”[i] There does not seem to be a limit attached to that biblical mandate. As part of the Ten Commandments there is an abiding nature for all people everywhere to live in obedience to this law. The question of how that is done may be various, but the biblical expectation is that it should be done.

Second, there is the obligation of provision. “But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”[ii] To fail to provide materially for family is the expectation of Scripture.

In all but the most exceptional circumstances, some traces of these should be visible in how the extended family is treated. There should be a great hesitancy to cut off even difficult family members because the obligations above are not simply self-help principles, but divine directives. God is the author of families and the obligations attached to those relationships. And though there be variety in all the different relationships within that family, the Christian is to do all he can to live to the glory of God, by ordering his life according to God’s instruction.

In the case of relationships between people, the fifth commandment gives God’s direction. “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.”[iii] And though father and mother are specifically mentioned, the applications of this commandment extent to all human relationships.

“Q. What is required in the fifth commandment?
A. The fifth commandment requireth the preserving the honor, and performing the duties, belonging to everyone in their several places and relations, as superiors, inferiors, or equals.”[iv]

Whether the members of the extended family in question are parents or siblings there is a biblical obligation to preserve honor and perform duties. The trickier question is to wade through what that may look like in this world of sin and misery. The Heidelberg Catechism summarizes the requirements of the fifth commandment as follows:

Q. What does God require in the fifth commandment?
A. That I show all honor, love, and faithfulness to my father and mother and to all those in authority over me, submit myself with due obedience to their good instruction and discipline, and also have patience with their weaknesses and shortcomings, since it is God’s will to govern us by their hand.[v]

Before getting to the specifics of behavior, notice first that the Christian’s relationship to his parents is based on his relationship to God. Because God has placed these specific parents in their lives, any other behavior expressed in the horizontal way (between people) involves a vertical aspect (between God and man) as well. It is God’s will to have these imperfect families knit together. And with that perspective as a foundation, the Heidelberg Catechism encourages Christians to relate to father and mother with five characteristics. The complications of sin may necessitate different approaches to each, but the Christian should strive to manifest each:

Honor

At a very basic level, Christians should honor their parents. From young children to grown children that obligation is the same. To clarify, to honor is not the same thing as to obey. Obedience is carrying out instructions given by an authority. To honor someone is to give a recognizable expression of respect to those who occupy specific relational places. A cultural example will suffice to demonstrate what that may be.

In the south, many parents teach their children to honor the adults around them by using titles or salutations like “sir” or “ma’am.” They are not expecting their children to obey all the instructions that person gives them, but they are teaching them to show them honor. That call to honor is still present in the relationship of adult children to their parents, even if they be unbelieving.

Love

To love is more than to have a feeling. Love involves feelings, but it is more than simply emotion. To love often also involves exercises the will. The will chooses to look favorably or gently on those who are far from perfect. Loving successfully in the more intimate relationships (marriage, family, close friends) involves making choices that go against the emotion of the moment.

The Bible describes love as follows: “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.”[vi] Love is defined in this way not only for those who are easy to be around, or even for those who are believers. Corinthians provides the Christian definition of love as a reflection of how God loves His people first. Love is meant to compensate for the failures that all people will have in relationships and must be exercised toward our families.

Faithfulness

A right understanding of divine providence means recognizing that God can place even difficult or unbelieving people in a Christian’s family. Recognizing the divine will in these things encourages the exercise of faithfulness. Faithfulness is maintaining a commitment to a group or individual. The Lord Jesus is faithful to His people. “If we are faithless, he remains faithful.”[vii] In light of Jesus’ faithfulness in the face of man’s faithlessness, how much more should the Christian be faithful in his family? And in the context of family, to be faithful is to remain unmoved in terms of commitment to the family unity regardless of the behavior of others.

Submission

Adults are not required to submit to their parents as children are. The word the Heidelberg Catechism uses that provides the proper amount of flexibility is “due obedience.” Though grown children do not owe parents obedience as children living in under the parental roof do, there is still a healthy dose of deference that should accompany the adult child’s relationship with the parent.

Patience

1 Corinthians 13:4-6 (quoted above) includes patience as part of love. That inclusion proves the exercise of love requires overcoming feelings. Miriam Webster defines patience as “bearing pains or trials calmly or without complaint.”[viii] Patience by definition involves situations of pain and trial. These are not pleasant circumstances for the person in or under them. But love includes overlooking pain and trial caused by another, or at least bearing with it. Even when family members are hard to love, the Bible calls for patience, whether they be believers or not.

It is easy to judge the faults of parents. They are often magnified in the eyes of their children because they have seen them at their worst. Stress in public verses the home, rightly or wrongly, is handled differently. Words are spoken with greater care when the world is watching. Issues are most often addressed with more charity outside the home. That is not to justify these discrepancies. It is a simple observation of fact.

This first article is meant to deal with the ideal. Especially in family relationships, the Bible gives certain parameters that must be observed as a matter of obligation. The Christian is to honor and provide. These things look acceptable and clear on paper, but trying to live them out is another matter. And so the next installment will look at living with family in a fallen world.

[i] Exodus 20:12.

[ii] 1 Timothy 5:18.

[iii] Exodus 20:12.

[iv] Westminster Shorter Catechism #64.

[v] Heidelberg Catechism #39, https://www.heidelberg-catechism.com/en/lords-days/39.html

[vi] 1 Corinthians 13:4-6.

[vii] 2 Timothy 2:13.

[viii] https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/patient.

Belief about God, Bible, Christian Living, church, Love for God

Responding to Hurricane Helene – Part 2

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Last installment the stage was set for a broader consideration of how the Christian should respond to God’s providence using Job 2:9-10. In the midst of tremendous loss, Job maintains his spiritual integrity, event worshiping God who he saw as taking things away from him. This topic is important especially for those who have just suffered the effects of hurricane Helene. And yet it is applicable to all because we are all subject to God’s providence.

The Providence of God

Westminster Shorter Catechism defines God’s providence in this way: “What are God’s works of providence? God’s works of providence are, his most holy, wise, and powerful preserving and governing all his creatures, and all their actions.”[1] In the book of Job the reader is challenged to understand how God governs His creatures and their actions, and how to properly respond to that reality. Since God governs all His creatures and all their actions, that means good times and disaster come from Him. God does not remove Himself from this world after He makes it as the Deists would teach, but continually governs it. He cares for the creation, superintending all His creatures and all their actions.

What Job teaches the Christian is that he should respond with the same level of contentment in both kinds of circumstances. And that is challenging. In some sense easy times make us complacent and hard times make us grumble, but from Job’s lips the Christian is reminded that we should receive both by remembering that it is God’s providence, His governance of his days that has brought these circumstances into being.

God’s Good Providences

In the book of Job the tension is not that he has received too many blessings from the Lord. It is rather the opposite. Job has experienced a shattering of his life and his tragedy is real. Even for those who have experienced this most recent hurricane, it is still predominantly true that those in the United States can sing with the psalmist: “The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.”[2]The vast majority of westerners live under God’s good providences, which are experienced in different ways.

His provision. The Lord provides for His people in a variety of ways. He does so materially by giving food, clothing, housing, and other possessions. He does so emotionally by blessing Christians with friends, family, and most often a spouse with whom to share life. He does so through the technological advancements of our time with vastly improved medical technology, and other inventions that provide ease and comfort in life. There are many others that could be listed here. Most of the time people hardly give these any thought, and even assume that these are their right. And yet because all men participated in the sin of Adam and add to that guilt daily by sinful thoughts, words, and deeds, it is in the provisions that God gives that He demonstrated His kindness.

His protection. In God’s governance of His creation there is security because in it God protects His people. In Job, the only reason the devil has access to him is that God gives him permission. Often in prayer meetings, Christians will pray for a “hedge of protection” around someone. That phrase is derived from the devil’s conversation with God. When the devil responds to God’s praise of Job’s faithfulness he says, “Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side?”[3] The Christian lives with the knowledge that nothing happens to him apart from the permission of his loving Heavenly Father.

Most often, the Lord directs these protections through secondary means. Parents are used to protect their children both physically and spiritually. The elders of the church exercise their office for the protection of faith and practice among God’s people. Governing authorities protect their citizens from evil and promote what is good. These institutions do not exist apart from God’s appointment, but are instances of His tremendous kindness in his good providences.

His pardon. The greatest aspect of God’s work of providence is the way He redeems people from the guilt of sin. All people are by nature guilty before God because of their sin. And yet some are declared righteous and pardoned from the guilt of their sin. It is God’s providence that any turn. None would be reconciled to God on their own. The condition of man is dire. He is “dead in sin and trespass”[4] and even Christians are naturally “children of wrath like the rest of mankind.”[5] There is no possible way to escape the significance of this natural condition. God’s merciful pardoning of sin is His ultimate demonstration of kindness.

It is good to remember and express these acts of kindness which God in His good providence has given to His people. That is especially true while living in the shadow of hurricane Helene. In hard times, people are tempted to think only of the tragedy. But Christians must remember the goodness and kindness of God which is experienced (and perhaps taken for granted) from day to day. Certainly it is easier to praise God when His providence provides for and protects you. It is easy to praise Him for His work of salvation. But there is much to be learned in the book of Job in giving thanks in all circumstances.

God’s Hard Providences

The tension in Job 2:9-10 is found in the conversation between Job and his wife. This family has just experienced a heart-wrenching tragedy. Their 10 children have been killed in a natural disaster, all their wealth is lost. But after his wife urges him to cut ties with God Job says: “Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?”[6] What does Job mean when he says he receives “evil” from God?

From the rest of Scripture it is abundantly clear that God is not capable of doing evil. For example, James 1:13 says that “God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one.” That limits what Job might be saying. It cannot mean that he thinks God is behaving in an evil way toward him. The Bible says that interpretation is impossible. There is not any place for laying blame at God’s feet. The solution is not far away.

The Hebrew word translated “evil” in the ESV can also simply mean bad, or disaster. So it is not that God acts wickedly against Job in allowing this tragedy. Rather, the Bible is describing Job’s assessment of his circumstance. It does not seem far fetched at all that Job would describe his calamity as bad or a disaster. But the emphasis in Job is to teach the Christian how to respond properly when faced with a departure from the good times with which people are so familiar. It exhorts the reader to trust the Lord with all that happens in this life without judging the acceptability or fitness of His works. But that is not the only way that people respond to calamity. It is in Job’s exchange with his wife in Job 2:9-10 that the two basic responses to God’s hard providences are acted out.

Job’s wife acts in bitterness toward the Lord leading to what seems to be a rejection of Him. Many people are tempted to respond in this way. Job 2:9 records: “Then his wife said to him, ‘Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die.’” Job’s wife concludes that her calamity, which is truly and in all ways to be considered a tragedy, is too hard. It pushes her to think, at least for a season, that God is not worth her time. At this time, Job’s spiritual integrity is a joke to her and his life is even worthless to her. She urges her husband to curse God and die. Perhaps these words are simply the cry of a broken heart. We are not told if she changes her tune. However, even in her devastating circumstances she charges God with evil and elevates herself to being wiser than He. She presumes to know the final result better than God does. This same sentiment is expressed when people express anger against God over a certain difficulty they have witnessed or experienced. Such a response is basically the same as the emotional state of Job’s wife, and Job calls it “foolish.”

By way of contrast, Job acts in contentment, bearing up under what God has assigned to him. Job’s acceptance of God’s hard providences is, in some sense, mind-boggling. Some of Job’s statements as he suffers his ruin are truly breathtaking. When he looses all his possessions, status, and children in a matter of minutes, he says: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.”[7] I wonder how many Christians today would make such a statement. When the devil strikes covers him with festering blisters from head to toes, he says: “Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?”[8] In both of these sayings, Job demonstrates a stunning and complete contentment with God’s providential ordering of his circumstances. And it is his acceptance of God’s working in his life that marks the lesson of Job. It is a lesson I have found myself needing to learn better as I have walked through the fairly minor inconvenience of the temporary loss of power, water, and mobility.

Application

In response to the Bible’s teaching on trusting God also in hard providences, I want to challenge Christians in two ways.

First, trust in the omniscience, and goodness of God. Especially in times of crisis, it is crucial for us to have the contentment of Job. If this man who suffered far more than most Christians ever have can praise God, the rest of the Church should be able to do so as well. That begins with a right assessment of the One who orders His creation. Man’s understanding of any event is limited. His knowledge takes only a small slice of what he is taught and experiences over a span of eighty years. But God is omniscient, meaning that He knows all things. There is no mystery to Him, nothing where He does not know the outcome. That makes Him trustworthy. He is good, meaning that He does not deal with His people for their destruction, but only for their building up. Who is man to make a final assessment of what good things the Lord will bring to him even in his hardship. From personal hardship, the deprivations caused by the hurricane have helped me. They have shown me my great reliance on Him, helped me see my own weakness, caused me to recalibrate my priorities. And He may have other plans besides the ones I recognize. But whatever His reason for hurricane Helene, He is wiser than any man and good in all His dealings. Therefore the Christian’s default should be to trust Him, and be content.

Second, rehearse the many great gifts God has given. Christians should keep themselves from being overwhelmed with the troubles of today by looking to the many instances of God’s kindness. Rehearse together how He has given life and health. Consider how many things could have gone wrong but did not. Reflect on the fragility of life and how the Lord has yet preserved His people these many days.

The reason people who are minimally affected by the effects of this hurricane are prone to grumble is because they have had a very comfortable life up to this point. That is not to make light of the devastation faced by communities and families in the Southeast. Their grief is justified. However, for the vast majority of people, their temporary loss of power, gasoline, and drinking water does not compare to the many good gifts the Lord has given them.

Finally, consider the greatness God’s work of salvation. He sent His Son to be the propitiation of sin. That means His Son was sent to satisfy the wrath of God over sin committed against Him. On the cross the Lord Jesus Christ bore God’s wrath. Whatever is endured in this life cannot be compared to that agony. Christ bore the infinite wrath of God. His Father forsook Him, turning His face away so that His people would not taste the agony of hell. He has done that for the good of His people. It is the greatest gift anyone might ever receive. That gospel truth is to be believed and rejoiced in. It is that perspective that helps people endure the hard providences God brings their way.

Conclusion

I do not think I will ever forget hurricane Helene. I think it will change how I respond to reports of storms for the rest of my life. But Christian, be reminded that the Lord is good, and the Lord is sovereign. Because He rules and reigns, the Christian says with Job: “The Lord gives and takes away…” Because the world is subject to God’s providence, the Christian’s grumbling should be changed to Job’s good confession: “Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” That does not mean that hardships are not hard anymore. It does not mean that loss does not bring about tears. But it does mean that whether facing easy or hard circumstances, Christians are to give thanks to God, praise His name, tell of His salvation, and rejoice for His steadfast love endures forever.

[1] Westminster Shorter Catechism #11.

[2] Psalm 16:6 (ESV).

[3] Job 1:10.

[4] Ephesians 2:1.

[5] Ephesians 2:3.

[6] Job 2:10.

[7] Job 1:21.

[8] Job 2:10.

Belief about God, Bible, Christian Living, church

Christians in a Fallen World – Part 2

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Conflict

At 6.15 p.m. on Saturday, July 13, 2024, there was an attempt on former president Donald Trump’s life. He was shot in the ear, one bystander dead, two others wounded, the shooter himself killed, and the former President whisked away by secret service. How does the Christian respond to that kind of event? Last article looked at how they could respond and what they should not do. This second installment examines this question positively, in terms of what they should do.

What Should the Christian Do?

“My son,  fear the LORD and the king, and do not join with those who do otherwise, for disaster will arise suddenly from them, and who knows the ruin that will come from them both?” (Proverbs 24:21-22)

Verse 21 calls the Christian to fear the Lord. That is the default Christian response to any circumstance, including unsettling circumstance, like experience on July 13, 2024. The Christian is not to fret or envy the evildoer. In some sense that would be to fear man. But rather than fearing man, he is to fear the Lord. But what does it mean to fear the Lord?

In this context it does not mean to cower before the Lord God in terror because of dread of His presence? It is not to be like Adam in the Garden immediately after the fall when he hides himself from God because he fears Him. What is the fear of the Lord then?

“The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil.” (Proverbs 8:13)
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” (Proverbs 9:10)
“The fear of the Lord prolongs life.” (Proverbs 10:27)
“The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life.” (Proverbs 14:27)
“The fear of the Lord leads to life and whoever has it rests satisfied.” (Proverbs 19:23)

To summarize, the fear of the Lord can be used to simply describe the Christian life. It is living in relationship with a God who is pure and who has accomplished redemption. That is the fear of the Lord. It is the reverence and awe that the redeemed feel towards the God who is not there to condemn them, but the God who has promised and secured salvation. It is a phrase that shows the changed life of a man who is under God’s protection.

The man who fears the Lord turns away from evil. The fear of the Lord makes him wise and prolongs his life. It gives him rest. That is the life of the man who is in Christ because of the grace of God. He loves the Lord. He loves his law. He hates what is opposed to him. Rather than fearing man and his disapproval, he fears the Lord, also in the face of political unrest. Yet it is important to clarify, that though the Christian does not fear the evildoer, it does not mean he indifferent about him.

The Christian should not shrug at evil, but condemn it. He should seek biblical justice so far as he is able, because he hates evil and exactly because he fears the Lord. He should care about about who his ruler is. He should seek to gain a ruler who governs in that same fear of the Lord that he has because he wants the good of his nation. He understands Psalm 33:12 which says, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.” A righteous ruler behaves in the same way as the Lord does. In Proverbs 19:21 the wise man calls his son to fear God and the king. In verse 22, it shows how both respond to evil the same way. The Lord and the king together will bring disaster and ruin on the one who doesn’t fear the Lord. Now, God always renders pure biblical justice. At the same time any king/ruler should render that.

Days like July 13, 2024 should not make the Christian disheartened. The Christian, by God’s grace, will not endure the ruin to which that warning points. Not because he is by nature right, but because God, by his grace, has made him right. He has transferred his citizenship from the countries of this world to the heavenly kingdom. And so the Christian is called to fear the Lord and the king. Live in this nation in light of your heavenly citizenship. There are events in this life that make man fret. But the Christian should remember he has a heavenly King. He should remember his adoption (Romans 8:14), the promise from Almighty God that He will never leave or forsake His people (Hebrews 13:5), that there is nothing in all of creation that can separate him from His love in Christ (Romans 8:38-39).

Days before the Lord Jesus Christ was crucified, He encouraged his disciples that he was going to prepare a place for them (John 14:2). In other words, this world is not their home. There is a heavenly inheritance that awaits them. And that same promise applies to His disciples today as well. The Christian is not living in his permanent home, but is simply passing through. He is to fear the Lord and to fear the Lord only.

The Lord is to be feared because He is sovereign over all moments, including the one that happened on July 13, 2024. Nothing has happened that has not been ordained by him. The evildoer may believe he is advancing his own agenda, but the Lord mocks him and laughs at him. The evildoer’s own sin is being used to accomplish God’s perfect will. Think about Pontius Pilate. He thought he was advancing his political career by hanging this innocent Jewish carpenter on a cross. That is a sinful act. And yet the Lord used exactly that sinful action to accomplish the redemption that He had promised.

Without a doubt, Christians do not understand all that God is orchestrating through the assassination attempt on July 13. They do not know why God allowed this evildoer to do evil. But should the Christian even ask that question? The point is not that Christians cannot ask questions of God. However, they should never do so in such a way as puts His competency to ordain all things in doubt. God is good, merciful and compassionate. He did ordain it and He has every right to do so. It is in trusting in Him when things seem uncertain that peace is found. No man can give another ultimate peace. But no man or event should be able to take away the Christian’s peace either.

Proverbs 19:23 (quoted above) says that in the fear of the Lord that man rests satisfied. The Christian looks to the Lord for his future. The evildoer has no future (Prov. 24:20) because the evildoer assuredly and certainly will be condemned. His sins will find him out. Books will be opened. If he is not found out in this life, he will stand before the judgment seat of God, and his heart and thoughts will be laid bare. His transgressions against God’s law will be declared, and he will be sentenced. That is dismal, and it is the default state of everyone in the world. The godless evildoer, the wicked who seems so powerful, has an appearance of invincibility that lasts only for a moment.

But if a man is in Christ, the squabbles of this earth are not to be compared to the glory that he will have in heaven. Jesus Christ is King on the throne, and He is judging the nations. He is ruling over the nations. And Christians will participate in these things because they are united to the Anointed One. Because he is purchased by Christ, he is protected by Him and never abandoned.

He has purchased a future for the Christian at the cost of his own blood. That is the only hope presented in the gospel. God’s people should seek a nation where the righteous prosper and the evildoer is punished. But what is to be done when God, in his providence, denies these things. That is the question this article is addressing. It is not dealing with what may be wanted ideally. Rather, how do God’s people live in the corruption of this world?

The Christian ought no fear the plotting and scheming of man, nor envy such an evildoer. He is not to be anxious about him. Rather he is to fear the Lord and live under the authorities He has set in place. That is to be done with integrity, serving God in this world.

An assassination attempt is unsettling because it is an evidence of the rotten natural state of man which pervades our own country too. And no part of the Church can control it. However that does not give permission for the Church to fret and worry over those who do evil. It does not mean the wicked should be envied. The gaze of man is to be away from those things, directed rather to the Lord which a proper, biblical fear.

Seek his glory. Hate evil. Love wisdom. Rest satisfied in him. Why? Not because life will be easy, or even because it will necessarily be safe. It is because the Lord gives eternal peace to all who look to him in Christ. It would be good to heed the wisdom of Psalm 146:

1 Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD, O my soul!
2 I will praise the LORD  as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.

3 Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is  no salvation.
4 When  his breath departs, he returns to the earth; on that very day his plans perish.

5 Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose  hope is in the LORD his God, 6 who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, who keeps faith forever; 7 who executes justice for the oppressed, who gives food to the hungry.

The LORD sets the prisoners free; 8 the LORD opens the eyes of the blind. The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down; the LORD loves the righteous.

9 The LORD watches over the sojourners; he upholds the widow and the fatherless, but  the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.

10 The LORD will reign forever, your God, O Zion, to all generations. Praise the LORD!

Bible, Christian Living

Christians in a Fallen World – Part 1

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Conflict

At 6.15 p.m. on Saturday, July 13, 2024, there was an attempt on former president Donald Trump’s life. He was shot in the ear, one bystander dead, two others wounded, the shooter himself killed, and the former President whisked away by secret service. How does the Christian respond to that kind of event? Of course, there are many ways that the Christian could respond.

How Could the Christian Respond?

For one, the Christian might make Donald Trump into a saint. However, nothing really changed about Donald Trump between July 12 and 13. The only difference about this man is that somebody tried to kill him and they failed. He is still just a man with his strengths and weaknesses. So the primary Christian response should not be to work through issues about a preferred or despised politician. Instead Christian should never exalt a man, but he should think carefully about what it means to live as a Christian in a world that is dominated by evil, a world where such an event is possible.

The Christian also could respond by demonizing Donald Trump’s political opponents. Social media is the wild west for this kind of thing, and the Christian must avoid using posts and comments as the guide rails for how to handle this situation. Trump’s political opponents have expressed their sympathies, and the response of his supporters includes a large number of profanity-laced tirades, accusing all Democrats personally of causing the environment where assassination may seem like a good option. However, the Christian preoccupation should be to govern his emotional biblically.

Lastly, the Christian could also become overwhelmed by fear. That fear is reflected in the many public pronouncements that have been made about what happened on July 13. Celebrities have weighed expressing their with horror and dismay. Foreign dignitaries have extended their sympathies. Our own president has taken to the television to condemn the violence, and the tenor of all of those messages is that our country is in deep trouble. How does the Christian respond to that sentiment, however true it might be?

Without a doubt any nation where God is not worshipped is by default in deep trouble. How does blessing come to a nation? Psalm 33:12 tells us, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.” And that is not the United States of America. America may have “In God we trust” written on its currency, but it denies this slogan in its entertainment, political discourse, business practices, and cultural emphases. And yet in responding to a national travesty like an assassination attempt, for most Christians fixing the godlessness in the United States of America is above their pay grade.

Many people are presenting the assassination attempt on Donald Trump as the natural outcome of inflamed political discourse. The thinking goes that when you ratchet up political rhetoric it incites hatred. Political rhetoric in the United States has been inflamed as of late which may lead to the conclusion that this problem is unique to former President Trump and the way that he pushes people’s buttons. However, the assassination of political figures is not a novel political enterprise, whether internationally or in our own country.

In our own country, six other presidents have been shot. Four of them have died as a result of their wounds: Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy, James Garfield, and William McKinley. Two of them survived: Theodore Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan. From the 1860s to the 1980s, presidents and former presidents in the US have been at risk of assassination attempts. These are not unique to the United States.

There are plenty of examples in world history where political figures are assassinated. For example, in 44 BC, Julius Caesar is murdered in the Senate of Rome. In 1914 Archduke Franz Ferdinand is shot and killed in Sarajevo, launching the Great War. In 1981 Anwar Sadat, president of Egypt, is murdered while reviewing a parade of his troops. It is a mistake to think that July 13, 2024 is unique in world history, or the history of the United States. That should not be surprising to Christians. Ecclesiastes 1:9 says, “What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun.” Human behavior is quite predictable, in a general sense, because man is sinful.

The natural man is consumed with all sorts of evil. God commands Adam, “You shall not eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil.” (Genesis 2:17). But Adam in his arrogance rebels against God, and eats of the Tree. He died that day, as God had warned. His body begins to die, and his soul is immediately dead and corrupted. Man is no longer able to do what is good and is now only bent on evil all the time. From that sinful nature flow all of his sinful actions. One of the things that is included as a consequence of man’s corrupt nature is recorded in Romans 3:15, where it says man is “swift to shed blood.” On July 13, 2024 the world witnessed a man who was swift to shed blood acting on his corrupt nature. There will be men who hate their fellow man, whose lust for fame, notoriety, or power means they will stop at no evil deed to carry out their wicked plans.

So what can the Christian do? The Christian can and must look into the mirror of God’s word and consider how to live in a nation that is steeped in sin.

“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” (Psalm 119:105)

The rest of this two- part series meditates on Proverbs 24:19-22 to answer the questions of how the Christian should respond. And this text gives its answer by presenting two things: 1. What God’s people should not do; 2. What God’s people should do.

What God’s People Should Not Do

“Fret not yourself because of evildoers, and be not envious of the wicked, for the evil man has no future; the lamp of the wicked will be put out.” (Proverbs 24:19-20)

There are two things the Christian should not do in response to the assassination attempt: 1. Fret not; 2. Be not envious. First is the call not to fret. Another word for fretting is worrying. And worrying is an expression of a lack of trust or a fearfulness over something that cannot be controlled. For example, parents fret about the choices their children make because they do not trust the child will make the right choice. Or, people worry about the weather forecast because they are not able to control the storms. To the subject of this article, people fret about the power of wicked people. But in verse 19 it says, “Fret not yourself because of evildoers.” That has application for Christians as they consider the aftermath of an assassination attempt, congressional hearings, different theories of how this event was able to unfold. Christians should not worry because they confess God rules and reigns in the heavens.

The second thing this text tells us not to do is be envious. Envy is a form of covetousness and the Christian is called specifically away from envy of the wicked. The fact that the Bible mentions envy of the wicked means there is within God’s people a temptation to exactly do that. The wicked seem to be successful, wealthy, strong, and wanting all of those things the Christian is foolishly tempted to imitate wicked ways. But Romans 6:23 has taught the wages of sin is death. The final expectation for those who remain in sin is this spiritual death. So the Christian has two responses for those who remain in sin, or who are among the wicked. Spiritually speaking, the wicked should not be envied, but pitied. In society, the wicked should not be envied but receive justice.

Proverbs 19:20 says, “The lamp of the wicked will be put out.” The Christian must always bring these things to mind. Evil doers and wicked men will not always affect the people of God. There will be a time when there will be no more reports of assassinations or even murder. Why? Because the evil man has no future and the lamp of the wicked will be put out. The evil doer may be strong today, but his future is like any other man. The wicked may be successful in the way that man measures success, but his lamp will be put out. On the other hand the Christian has something the evildoer will never have.

He has a future resurrection of glory, the promise of an eternal inheritance in a city which is so glorious that the streets are paved with gold. The Christian is a co-heir with Christ. Instead of darkness, he is promised an eternity bathed in light. The book of Revelation describes the New Jerusalem. And in this New Jerusalem, the apostle John records the sun and moon are not necessary because God will be the light of that city. “And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb.”[1]

So in light of the events of July 13, 2024, the Christian must not fret or respond with envy because “He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.”[2]. The Christian who frets and worries fails to rest in that truth. The Christian who envies denies that truth. The Christian must not forget who he worships. That’s essentially what the book of Proverbs is saying: Do not be anxious or envious because you worship the living God.

The next article will look at Proverbs 19:21-22 where the Christian is told what he should do in the midst of a fallen, sinful world.

[1] Revelation 21:23 (ESV).

[2] 1 John 4:4.

Bible, Children, Christian Living, Family Worship

Meditation on Proverbs 30:7-9

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Father & Son Fishing

I have not done many devotional studies as part of this blog but not too long ago I was reading through Proverbs. As often happens, in reading through a text that I had read many times before, I was struck by something new. Proverbs 30:7-9 says:

“7 Two things I ask of you; deny them not to me before I die: 8 Remove far from me falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, 9 lest I be full and deny you  and say, ‘Who is the LORD?’ or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God.”

This proverb is perhaps unique in that it is a prayer directed to the Lord, a request from a person who has a living faith to the God who sanctifies him. It is by no means intended to be the exclusive prayer of the saint, but it does show the importance of two qualities in the Christian life which are often neglected.

The Importance of Honesty

The proverb directs the believer to ask God to make him an honest, truth-telling person. Perhaps it is overly simplistic to note that this exhortation has to be made. However, the fact that the prayer is offered points out the Christian may still be tempted with, and fall into, dishonesty. As a result, the proverb makes an appeal to the Lord that He would work in the Christian what he is unable to accomplish on his own. The prayer of the proverb is that he be kept from “falsehood and lying.” But why is truthfulness so significant to the Christian?

The Bible teaches that Jesus is the embodiment of the truth (John 14:6), while the devil is the father of lies (John 8:44). Since the Bible calls believers to imitate the Lord (Ephesians 5:1) and since Jesus attributes the lies of the Pharisees to the fact that they are children of the devil (John 8:44), the issue of truth telling is very closely related to spiritual parentage. In fact, speaking the truth is so important that God includes it as part of the Moral Law, summarized in the Ten Commandments. The ninth commandment specifically deals with honesty.

In the Westminster Shorter Catechism’s explanation of the ninth commandment it summarizes its function as “maintaining and promoting of truth between man and man.” That means its intention goes beyond telling the truth in a court of law. Verses like Proverbs 30:7 bear that out as it is addresses removing falsehood and lying in a more general sense.

Falsehood can have an obvious meaning, but there is a sense in which we can actually use the truth to promote falsehood. An example would be gossip. Gossip is a truthful communication of facts for a false end. Of course, falsehood is also the communication of what is not true. An example would be slander. In slander false information, or maybe information that is only partially true is shared. Both gossip and slander show up in Christian circles. The proverb exhorts Christians to ask God to turn them away from those things. However, the more obvious meaning about falsehood deals with lying.

Lying is the willful and intentional distortion or withholding of the truth for the purpose of deceiving another person. So, if someone asks another how his day is going, and he answers with a non-chalant, “fine,” he has not lied even if he did stub his toe earlier in the morning. There is no intent to deceive. But if a person conceals or alters the truth in an attempt to deceive, then he has lied. That person is speaking the language of the devil; it is sinful. And sin requires a Christian response.

The Christian struggling with honesty must repent of his sin. Confession should be made to the Lord and to the person who has been deceived. Yet the Christian is not concerned merely with forgiveness. He delights in the putting on of Christ and His righteousness. That is not simply a forensic and legal condition. The Christian delights to “walk in His ways.” (Deut. 26:17). Prayer is a request for God’s strength to make that a reality, to be enabled to speak the truth in love and forsake the temptation of speaking falsehood and lies. But that is only the first request in the proverb. The second part deals with riches.

The Importance of Contentment

The second part of the prayer offered in the proverb is that of contentment. It asks God to provide for material needs without either deprivation or excess. It is not unlike the fourth petition of the Lord’s Prayer: “Give us this day our daily bread.” (Matthew 6:11). Westminster Shorter Catechism #104 summarizes that petition as asking for a “competent portion of the good things of this life.” That same request is made in this proverb as well. It asks for neither riches nor poverty.

Agur asks the Lord to provide him with his needs so that two scenarios would be avoided. First, he does not wish to be tempted to steal through poverty. Second, he does not wish tempted to deny his need for God because of his riches. And the balance of the Christian life is to receive from God’s hand whatever shape his providential distribution of wealth may take. The riches of eternal life and reconciliation to God received in Christ are of far more worth than any material blessings of this life. Therefore, the heart of the Christian ought first to be delighted with the gift of salvation resulting in contentment in all other circumstances. This proverb is not the only place in the Bible where contentment is urged.

Contentment is the positive subject of the 10th commandment. Negatively, this commandment forbids covetousness, which is a desire for the things providentially given by God to others. But in studying the law of God, the intent in the negatives is not simply to curtail certain behaviors, but to encourage the Christian to pursue the opposite virtue.  The Westminster Shorter Catechism puts it this way:

80. What is required in the tenth commandment?
The tenth commandment requireth full contentment with our own condition, with a right and charitable frame of spirit toward our neighbor, and all that is his.

There is a tremendous emphasis on contentment in the Bible. That contentment is grounded in viewing Christ as the greatest treasure of all. When that treasure is graciously given to a person, all other things will fade into the background. Of course, people fail to live out their gratitude consistently.

1 Timothy 6:10a warns the Christian that “the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils.” Jesus Himself says it another way in Matthew 6:24: “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” There is the danger of forming an affectionate attachment to riches, setting them ahead of the Lord, looking to them as what gives joy and purpose. That is to create an idol in life. On the other hand, what is seen in Jesus’ own words is not a rejection of all forms of wealth. That would be to deny that all good gifts come down from heaven (James 1:17). However, the concern for riches should always be a subservient concern. Man’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever (Westminster Shorter Catechism #1).

But a love for God is a love for who He is. He is the truth and He is the Christian’s treasure. There is, of course, much more that can be said about God and how belonging to Him changes the Christian. But here in this proverb there are two “acceptable sins” and yet these are singled out for a special prayer by Agur. That makes this section of Scripture a good aid for self-examination and a good place to visit as part of family worship.

10 Commandments, Bible, Christian Living, Westminster Confession of Faith

The Christian and God’s Law

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Ten Commandments

“The law sends us to the Gospel that we may be justified; and the Gospel sends us to the law again to inquire what is our duty as those who are justified.”[1]

Recently the topic of the relationship between the Law and the Christian has been occupying a significant amount of my thoughts. That is for two main reasons: 1. I read Charles Leiter’s book The Law of Christ; and, 2. I am preaching through the book of Romans. Why have these things made me consider God’s Law?

First, Charles Leiter’s book is antinomian. That does not mean he is unconcerned with holiness or urging Christians to a righteous life. It is antinomian because Leiter dismisses God’s Law. His basic premise is that the Law (ceremonial, civil, and moral) is abrogated and serves only as an example for the new covenant Christian, unless explicitly repeated in the New Testament. To be renewed by the Holy Spirit, argues Leiter, means the heart is changed and there is a desire to imitate Christ. Therefore the Law is no longer needed. That book forced me to think about the abiding use of the Law from the perspective of someone who would remove it.

Second, preaching through Romans makes me think about the Law, but for a very different reason. Paul is constantly talking about the law. Romans has been divided into 433 verses. 51 of those, or 12% of the verses, mention the word “law”. Sixty-six of those 78 mentions are in the first seven chapters. Of those 51 verses which mention the Law, 41 appear in the first seven chapters. There are 186 verses in those chapters, which means that 22% of the verses in the first seven chapters of Romans use the word “law”. That is a major theme. But in this book, the Law is not being cancelled. Paul is helping the Christian think of the right use of the Law in his life. The Law cannot be used unto salvation, but salvation encourages a right use of the Law.

All of these things have caused me to be refreshed by the Biblical teaching that the free offer of the gospel does not negate the Law’s usefulness for the Christian. There are many Scriptural references to support this way of thinking:

John 14:15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”

Romans 3:31 “Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.”

Romans 8:7 “For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot.”

1 John 3:4 “Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness.”

Texts like these have formed the foundation for the protestant Christian’s belief in the abiding value of God’s Law. The universal nature of this acceptance can be seen in the theological documents that were formulated throughout the Protestant Reformation.

The Sixteenth Century

The Heidelberg Catechism was published in 1563, written primarily by Zacharias Ursinus. It quickly came to be viewed as the best summation of the teachings of reformed Christianity and continues to be used and loved in many Reformed denominations. In Q. 3, the catechism establishes the Law as a convicting agent: “From where do you know your sins and misery? From the law of God.” It is commonly accepted that the Law functions in this way, but the catechism has more to say. It also describes life after the new birth, when man is renewed by the Holy Spirit. This life is the forgiven life, when man is pardoned for sin and declared righteous by faith in Christ. Describing that time, Q. 90 says, “What is the coming to life of the new nature? It is a heartfelt joy in God through Christ, and a love and delight to live according to the will of God in all good works.” And so as to make no mistake about the nature of these good works, the Catechism gives a clarifying definition in Q. 91: “But what are good works? Only those which are done out of true faith, in accordance with the law of God, and to his glory, and not those based on our own opinion or on precepts of men (Italics mine).” In the Heidelberg, the doing of good works which is part of the coming to life of the new nature, is defined by living in obedience to God’s Law.

At about the same time as the Heidelberg Catechism was published, another Confession, the Second Helvetic Confession was published in Zurich. It was authored by Heinrich Bullinger first for his personal use, but then letter as a summary of the teaching of the Reformed Churches in Zurich and beyond in 1566. This confession deals with the law in Chapter XII, “Of the Law of God”. There it says,

“HOW FAR THE LAW IS ABROGATED. The law of God is therefore abrogated to the extent that it no longer condemns us, nor works wrath in us. For we are under grace and not under the law. Moreover, Christ has fulfilled all the figures of the law. Hence, with the coming of the body, the shadows ceased, so that in Christ we now have the truth and all fulness. But yet we do not on that account contemptuously reject the law. For we remember the words of the Lord when he said: “I have not come to abolish the law and the prophets but to fulfil them” (Matt. 5:17). We know that in the law is delivered to us the patterns of virtues and vices. We know that the written law when explained by the Gospel is useful to the Church, and that therefore its reading is not to be banished from the Church. For although Moses’ face was covered with a veil, yet the apostle says that the veil has been taken away and abolished by Christ.”

In other words, the law is not given to justify a man in the sight of God, but rather to show to Him God’s definition of good and evil. The aim is that the man who trusts in Christ alone for salvation rightly understands the law as not causing his salvation, but as an explanation of the good a man should do and the evil he should leave off doing in light of that salvation.

The Seventeenth Century

The Westminster Confession of Faith (1647), The Savoy Declaration (1658), and the London Baptist Confession of 1689 are all 17th century theological summaries. The Westminster Confession of Faith forms the foundation for the latter two. The reason for including their mention is to show the broad agreement in Reformed churches on the issue of the Law. This agreement can be seen in that the Savoy and London Baptist both leave the language they borrow from the Westminster Confession on this subject unchanged:

“6 Although true believers be not under the law, as a covenant of works, to be thereby justified, or condemned; yet is it of great use to them, as well as to others; in that, as a rule of life informing them of the will of God, and their duty, it directs and binds them to walk accordingly; discovering also the sinful pollutions of their nature, hearts, and lives; so as, examining themselves thereby, they may come to further conviction of, humiliation for, and hatred against sin, together with a clearer sight of the need they have of Christ, and the perfection of his obedience. It is likewise of use to the regenerate, to restrain their corruptions, in that it forbids sin: and the threatenings of it serve to show what even their sins deserve; and what afflictions, in this life, they may expect for them, although freed from the curse thereof threatened in the law. The promises of it, in like manner, show them God’s approbation of obedience, and what blessings they may expect upon the performance thereof: although not as due to them by the law as a covenant of works. So as, a man’s doing good, and refraining from evil, because the law encourageth to the one, and deterreth from the other, is no evidence of his being under the law; and, not under grace.

7 Neither are the forementioned uses of the law contrary to the grace of the gospel, but do sweetly comply with it; the Spirit of Christ subduing and enabling the will of man to do that freely, and cheerfully, which the will of God, revealed in the law, requireth to be done.”

In essence the Confession of Faith mirrors Romans in saying that the Law has no use leading up to man’s justification. To affirm law keeping as part of being pardoned and declared righteous would be to live under a Covenant of Works again. The Confession says that is not possible. Man comes to God by His grace, through faith in Jesus Christ only. However, the freedom Christ purchases for His people is not some moral autonomy. God defines a “rule of life” and defines good and evil. This definition is found in His Law. That is why Jesus said, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” (Matt. 5:17). Those who are redeemed make it their delight to walk in these unchanged ways.

Conclusions

So is it right to say the Law of God has no further use? Certainly not. And I give the following reasons:

  1. The Bible does not teach such a thing, but rather shows the inadequacy of the Law unto salvation, but the benefit of the Law for the one saved by grace through faith only;
  2. The Reformed churches of many stripes and places all taught that the Law leads a man to Christ for salvation and afterwards is a guide for thankful, holy living;
  3. Though it is right to claim the heart of the Christian is made new and that he desires to live as Jesus did, it is impossible to separate the law out from that way of living. Even if imitation of Christ was the objective, Christ obeyed the Law perfectly. To imitate Christ is to live in obedience to the Law;
  4. A person who lays aside the Law rarely lives a life of greater dedication to Christ. It is usually done to allow a behavior that is prohibited under the law.

The Law of God is man’s friend if he is in Christ. It is not his master, and it cannot condemn him. But it does help as a good friend does. It directs him away from the things of the flesh because when he lives this way he is hostile to God (Romans 8:7). In that state he will not submit to God’s Law. Instead the Law informs him of God’s definitions of what is good and evil. And it helps him to see just how love for God in Christ should be expressed.

Samuel Bolton was right: “The law sends us to the Gospel that we may be justified; and the Gospel sends us to the law again to inquire what is our duty as those who are justified.”

[1] Samuel Bolton, The True Bounds of Christian Freedom (London: Banner of Truth, 1964) 76, 71, quoted in Charles Leiter, The Law of Christ(Hannibal, Missouri: Grand Ministries Press, 2012) 219.

Bible, theology, Westminster Confession of Faith

Theological Thought » The Attributes of Scripture

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Bible Open

There are two basic categories any person needs to live in the presence of the God who created the heavens and the earth. First, he must know what he is to believe about God. Second, he must know how he should live before such a God. These two broad categories cannot be discerned from what is around us, and therefore it is imperative that any man begin with a study of the Bible.

The significance of the Bible is explained by many. Reformed Christians can turn to their confessions for a summary of what Scripture teaches about itself. The Westminster Confession of Faith is one such resource. Its first chapter deals with Scripture. It answers anyone who is asking what they should believe about the Bible.

First, it teaches that the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments are necessary. It explicitly rejects the apocryphal books adopted by the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Churches. The 66 books of the Old and New Testaments are necessary that man would know God’s plan of salvation. What can be known about God in general revelation (nature, God’s providence in history) is not enough to teach us of Christ, repentance and salvation.

Second, the Bible is authoritative. There are many times when people demand proofs about what is said in God’s word. This demand essentially sets man up as judge over the Bible. However, since God is the Bible’s author, it is to be received, not challenged. In the Bible God sets down all that is necessary for faith and practice. As such the Bible is the final court of appeal for any belief or practice among God’s people.

Third, it is clear. All that is necessary to know God and holy living is clearly taught in the Bible. That does not mean that all parts of the Bible are equally easy to understand. However, the essential message of the is clear to all who would read the Bible. A child who applies themselves to read Scripture will understand that God is Creator, man is sinner, Christ is Redeemer, that holiness is expected, and that glory will be the final outcome for those who trust in God through Christ.

Fourth, it is inspired. Its content is breathed out by God Himself. Meaning that wherever the Bible asserts something as fact it is true. Keeping in mind that poetic sections are not to be read in a wooden, literal fashion, there are no errors in what God says to His people. That is true of all the Scriptures, not just in the concepts that it teaches but in every word that is spoken in it.

Fifth, Scripture in infallible. That means the Bible does not fail to accomplish its purposes. Its study accomplishes the redemption of God’s saints and the hardening of His enemies.

For a Christian, the Bible must be the starting point because it is only in his reading of what God has spoken that he can properly make sense of his life. Not only does he need it for knowing God, but also for how he must serve and worship Him.

Bible, Christian Living, church, Culture, Gospel, PCA General Assembly

Part 5 » An Appeal on Race in the Presbyterian Church in America

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“Therefore my appeal is that the PCA re-focus on the gospel ministry of the church and make that its declaration rather than repeatedly making statements on race and its related issues.”

Moving Past the Issue

This series began by addressing three diagnostic questions as to where the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) is in relation to racial sin. It is necessary to ask these due to considerable attention given to the issue of race in the denomination over the last number of years. These questions are:

  • Has the PCA made a clear and thorough declaration on the sin of racism?
  • Are there any new or extraordinary manifestation of this sin rearing its head in society or the PCA that would warrant additional teaching from God’s word?
  • Is the PCA neglecting shepherding of private or public unrepentant sins in this regard that should be addressed by church courts?

The first question is answered here; the second here; the third here. By way of summary, the PCA’s condemnation of racial sin is abundantly clear. There are no circumstances that justify revisiting previous statements. And as there are no appeals or complaints regarding racial sin moving up through the courts of the church, it is fair to assume that such sins are being effectively handled at a local level. For these reasons, the appeal of this series is that the PCA re-focus on the gospel ministry of the church and make that its declaration rather than repeatedly making statements on race and its related issues.

Other have spoken of the dangers of “mission creep” in the church. In other words, the church loses sight of its main gospel objective and thereby becomes ineffective. Is the focus on race “mission creep”? In the case of the PCA it certainly is. This sin has been clarified and condemned, and it is not controversial in the PCA. However, the PCA’s continued discussion on alleged acts of racism in or outside the church, outside of the actions of the discipline of the church, fosters an “us” and “them” mentality in the church based on race. Yet the church is one body (Rom. 12:4-5; 1 Cor. 12:20; Eph. 4:4; Col. 3:15).

At the last General Assembly (GA) there was talk of majority and minority cultures, designations of “you” and “us” along ethnic lines, and justifications for public repentance in the PCA based on news reports from secular outlets. The language of majority/minority culture is foreign to God’s word. The Bible does not recognize the validity of “you” and “us” statements of difference in the body of Christ. These statements are derived from the philosophy of man.

In Fault Lines, Voddie Baucham critiques the social justice movement, especially as it appears in the church. In it he quotes a definition of Critical Race Theory (CRT) from the pen of one of its proponents: “CRT recognizes that racism is engrained in the fabric and system of the American society. The individual racist need not exist to note that institutional racism is pervasive in the dominant culture.”[1] Those are exactly the sentiments communicated through the language of majority/minority culture, or the “you” and “us” statements made during floor debate. Intentional or not, these terms reflect CRT and imports them into the PCA.

The notions of majority and minority culture seem to be driving the distinctions drawn in the PCA. However, when the Bible deals with differences in the church, they are not based on ethnicity as much as covenantal standing: Jew and Gentile. Certainly, ethnicity cannot be separated from that discussion, but it is accidental. The biblical point is always the inclusion of gentiles into the family of Abraham. But, for example, discussing Asians as a minority culture in a mostly Caucasian denomination divides up the Gentiles. The PCA is populated, by and large, by Gentiles. There are Gentiles with a variety of skin colors, but the PCA is mostly Gentile. All of the Gentiles have been grafted into the family of Abraham, have become the spiritual Israel. In Scripture there is no talk of a majority vs. minority culture. There are only sons of Abraham by faith. To speak of majority and minority cultures in the church is to deny 1 Cor. 12:12-13: “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.” The PCA must stop speaking of and championing the different ethnic varieties of Gentiles in the body of Christ, and return to being ambassadors of the whole of the Bride of Christ. So how is that done?

Color Blindness

First, the PCA must become “color blind.” Martin Luther King Jr. famously said, “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” Morgan Freeman (by no means a conservative, reformed theologian as far as I know) when asked about racial division in an interview with Mike Wallace stated the solution to racial difference was to stop talking about it. Wallace asked him, “How are we going to get rid of racism until…” Mr. Freeman cuts him off and says, “Stop talking about it. I’m going to stop calling you a white man, and I’m going to ask you to stop calling me a black man. I know you as Mike Wallace. You know me as Morgan Freeman.”[2] In other words, treat each other as people. This sentiment is even more compelling for Christians who have a  theological reason for it. The church should treat anyone according to the biblical understanding of man as created in the image of God, no matter where he was born or what his status is (James 2:1-4). But I have been told that color blindness is not possible. I disagree. It is possible, and it should be pursued.

My father grew up in Charlotte, NC during the 40’s, 50’s, and 60’s. He grew up with segregated water fountains. Fast forward to the 70’s when he moved his family to the Netherlands. Our family lived in a “diverse” neighborhood, and one of my friends was Jairaj. His skin was not pasty white like mine. In the course of our “friendship”, Jairaj stole every penny from my piggy bank. However, while walking me through this betrayal my father never once mentioned ethnicity. My father explained Jairaj was not to be trusted because he was a thief, and never mentioned that he was East Indian. His ethnicity had nothing to do with it. In one generation, and through the gospel, my father had learned to look at character and not color. That change transformed his family into a place where Christian friends from Australia, South Korea, Japan, Ghana, the Netherlands, Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Trinidad and Tobago, South Africa,  Mexico and other places would regularly be welcomed. There was no discussion about majority or minority culture. Sure, there were some things they did that we thought was weird, just as some of the things we did seemed weird to them. Certainly there were cultural differences, but the thing that united was a common love for God in Christ and a desire to worship Him. That is where the PCA must land.

Living as One Body

Second, the PCA must intentionally and uncompromisingly live as one body. There are different members with different functions, but they make up one body. Unity is lived out through word and deed. That is the reason why the language of majority or minority cultures is so damaging. The task of the body of Christ is with one voice to bear witness to His works of creation and redemption. That work is accomplished through people fulfilling different tasks as hands and feet of the body. However, the discussion is not around what color the hands and feet may be. It is rather to mobilize all the different parts of the body to be faithful in carrying out the Great Commission of evangelizing and discipling.

At the 48th General Assembly, I spoke to a brother about overture 45, which sought the flourishing of Asian Americans. There was a significant difference in opinion about the value of that request from Metro Atlanta Presbytery. In the conversation he stressed the pain of a minority culture (in this case Asian Americans) living in a majority culture. At the time I didn’t have time to process through what he said, but the more I thought about it, the more the terminology bothered me.

The point is not that there is no pain in the Asian-American community. I would expect there is. The problem is the shift in discussing pain in terms of ethnicity rather than the sin and misery that is in the world through the fall. There should be no surprise that there is pain among Asian Americans, just as there is in black, white community, and Indian communities. All communities, also those marked by racial diversity, suffer pain because all communities are affected by sin. Sin causes pain and all face the pain of sin in their day because they live after the fall. The body of Christ is unified as it realizes that all have been rescued from eternal pain through the work of Christ as a substitute on the cross. And this truth must be championed.

Commitment to Truth

Lastly, the PCA must be committed to biblical truth as its unifying principle. Instead of making statements about the pain of one ethnic group over against another, the task of the church is to speak primarily of the singular solution to that pain: the Lord Jesus X. The world’s comfort from pain is found in Him. Unity is not found in easy-to-make declarations. They cost very little, especially when there is as much agreement on the topic as there is in the PCA. But sharing the gospel in the world, practicing hospitality generously, and encouraging each other toward love and good works in the church is the hard work of building unity and love in the church. The unity of the human race is based in its original creation (Genesis 1:28), and the Gospel is the message that restores the unity that has been lost by sin.[3]

So please, my brothers, let us be done with discussions on race at the General Assembly. If there are sins of that nature in our denomination, they should be addressed through formal process in the courts. The PCA cannot allow the hot topics of the world to become the cause for “mission creep.” Instead the PCA must re-focus on the gospel ministry of the church and make that its declaration rather than repeatedly making statements on race and its related issues.

It is my prayer this appeal will be received in the brotherly spirit in which it was written. It is meant to be an appeal. I pray that the Lord will use it for building the unity of His body.

Geoff Gleason is pastor of Cliffwood Presbyterian Church in Augusta, Georgia. His passion is to see the people of God grow in their faith, and those who are lost become numbered among the faithful. He has been married for 28 years and, usually, is the joyful father of 11 children ranging in age from 28 to 6, and two grandsons.

[1] Voddie Baucham, Fault Lines, (Salem Books, Washington, D.C.: 2021), p. xv.

[2] YouTube, Morgan Freeman on Black History Month, n.d. (accessed August 2, 2021), https://youtu.be/GeixtYS-P3s.

[3] Pastoral Letter on Racism, p. 6.

 

Bible, Christian Living, church, Gospel, PCA General Assembly, Race

Part 4 » An Appeal on Race in the Presbyterian Church in America

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“Therefore my appeal is that the PCA re-focus on the gospel ministry of the church and make that its declaration rather than repeatedly making statements on race and its related issues.”

Are We Ignoring the Issue?

At the start of this series the target was set: to answer three questions to determine whether it is helpful and good for the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) to continue to focus on the issue of race. The questions are as follows:

    1. Whether the PCA has a clear and thorough declaration on the sin of racism;
    2. Whether there are any new or extraordinary manifestation of this sin rearing its head in society or the PCA that would warrant additional teaching from God’s word;
    3. Whether the PCA neglects shepherding of private or public unrepentant sins in this regard that should be addressed by church courts.

These three inquiries form the diagnostic questions the answers to which will inform the recommended responses and conclusions.  The first question was answered here. The second question here. To summarize, the PCA has made clear and thorough declarations on the sin of racism, and there are no extraordinary or new manifestations of this sin that would require additional responses from the PCA. The only question remaining is whether the PCA, as a denomination, is ignoring the theology it professes by failing to address racial sin among its members. Assuming that the assertion of this series regarding the PCA’s theology is correct, the PCA as a denomination has come to the point where that sin must and should be addressed through the process of church discipline, not via declaration. Church courts should at this point address any unrepentant sins that arise.

Unrepentant sins of racism manifested in churches should be addressed pastorally as any other unrepentant sin. If a sinner will not be corrected, the church should walk through the painful but necessary and good steps of church discipline. This process should not look like the current response in the world. The church’s correction may not be punitive or overly harsh. Accusations should be made only against a person who sins, and not anyone else. That is because church discipline is practiced for the spiritual protection of the sinner, the preservation of the purity of the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, and for the glory of God.

Racial sin should not be permitted to take root in the church. To that end, congregants and elders must work to confront  and address it with individuals who continue to sin in this area without repentance. If the church does not act, pronouncements can be made ad nauseum without any effect. The church is purified from sin when it is not allowed to gain a foothold among God’s people. However, a continual restatement of well-established theological positions will only mean that sin will be highlighted and the more difficult part of shepherding under that truth will be ignored.

Implementing Significant Change

Making repeated pronouncement is actually easy and pretty cheap. It is much easier to point out the sins of grand-parents than it is to deal with the sins that plague the church today. In my experience, racism is not the primary ill that is plaguing the church. For the last twelve years I have been in the deep south of the US and have experienced one blatant instance of racial sin. The vast majority of PCA Christians love their neighbor regardless of ethnic background. During my time in Jackson, MS, I had the privilege of knowing a man who, as a white man, quit his job in order to be able to devote his time to disciple young boys who lived without a father. The vast majority of these children happened to be black. But he loved these children, and the whole congregation got behind him in support of it. However, it is possible that my experience does not reflect reality. It is possible that there are instances of racial sin in the PCA that I am missing. Perhaps racial sin is rampant in the PCA and I have simply missed it all. That does not appear to be the case, and this is why.

When a person engages in racial sin, those who observe it should first, in love, address it with the person one to one (Matthew 18:15-17). If that person refuses to listen, there should be another visit, this time with an additional witness. And finally, if the person remains defiant in their sin, the church is to get officially involved, with the possibility of censures should the need arise.

When a person observes sin and the church is unwilling to address it, the member has the right of complaint. A member who sees racial sin and whose elders are unwilling to address it may file a complaint against their elders, asking the next higher court to ensure sin is not allowed to remain unaddressed in the church. I am not aware of any cases involving racial sin being brought to the Standing Judicial Commission (SJC). That means either elders are neglecting their duty or racial sin is being properly addressed at the Session level. Now the former is possible, but the latter is more likely.

However, even if the former is taking place, the hard work the PCA must do is not issue another statement, or produce another theological summary on the sin of racism. It must do the hard work of shepherding and working through the process of discipline to stamp out this sin. If this sin is as widespread as some would try to convince that it is, there must be action taken to address specific instances. As Paul says, “Purge the evil person from among you.” (1 Cor. 5:13).

So the answer to the third diagnostic question, where the silence in the church courts makes it unlikely that there is a festering underbelly of racism in the PCA, further demands a move away from the PCA’s current practice of declaration. If there is racial sin the church is obligated to do the difficult work of shepherding. Declarations and letters are the wrong tool to address an on-going sin issue.

The PCA has plainly repudiated racial sin. There is no new seismic shift in society or church that would necessitate revisiting this issue. And there are no active cases of neglected discipline being circulated through the church courts, which is the only measure denominations have to see if sin is being addressed within its membership. So let us leave behind these requests for recognition based on ethnicity and find a better way.

The PCA must cease from importing the terminology of secular sociology when it comes to examining the body of Christ, His church. No more cheap declarations about how sorry we are for the sins of others. If there is sin among us (also racial sin) let us address it. If there is disunity among us, let us unite as brothers under Christ and through fellowship and true Christian love overcome it. But enough of dividing up a primarily gentile church into many different gentile groups (white gentiles, Asian gentiles, black gentiles, etc.). We, the PCA, are one body made up of many parts. There are hands and feet and mouths and eyes and hearts and all manner of different parts. The significance of those parts is not in their color, but rather in the fact that they are members of the body.

However, rather than leave this topic in the mire of generalities, the next installment will deal with some practical things that can be done to change the tone of the discourse in the PCA.

Geoff Gleason is pastor of Cliffwood Presbyterian Church in Augusta, Georgia. His passion is to see the people of God grow in their faith, and those who are lost become numbered among the faithful. He has been married for 28 years and, usually, is the joyful father of 11 children ranging in age from 28 to 6, and two grandsons.