There are, at base, three forms of government. The first is rule by one. The second is rule by a few, the third rule by all. In civil government this would essentially be monarchy, republic and democracy, broadly speaking. In church government it would be episcopacy, presbyterianism, and congregationalism, broadly speaking. Rightly understood then the church, whatever denomination, if it is indeed a part of the church, is an episcopacy. Just as Jesus reigns over the nations, so He reigns over the church. His vicar, however, is not the bishop of Rome, but the Holy Spirit.
Men of Good Will Differ
The Holy Spirit has given us the Word of God. That Word, true in all that it teaches, does not come equipped with a Book of Church Order. Good men, good Reformed men, over the course of church history have argued that under Christ’s reign the church should function as an episcopacy. Other good Reformed men argue for presbyterianism, and finally good Reformed men have spoken in defense of congregationalism.
A Plurality of Elders
This Reformed man, while acknowledging that this isn’t the clearest thing in the Bible, sides with the presbyterians. The church should be ruled by a plurality of elders. Even if I am right, however, this doesn’t settle fully the question of whether or not we should vote in church. It does, however, set some boundaries.
“Voting” Allowed
First, if the church is to be ruled by elders it cannot simultaneously be ruled by the congregation. Congregational votes at the very least cannot overrule the will of the session, at least without devolving down to congregationalism. This still, however, doesn’t outlaw all votes by the congregation. One might, for instance, take a poll of the congregation. Insofar as such a poll would be non-binding, it is no denial of presbyterian church government. Suppose the elders are curious to know how many of its member families would be interested in a mid-week Bible study, or even if Tuesday or Wednesday would be a better evening for such a study. By all means take a poll. The elders, however, would have to decide.
Approving Elders
Second, there is value in having the congregation “vote” on who should be their elders. Here again I would argue we have to be careful not to let the congregation wrest rule from the session. That is, I don’t believe the congregation can impose an elder on the session. I argue that the approval of elders should be two-fold. Certainly the session needs to approve potential session members. But when the congregation votes on potential elders they are doing something other than ruling in the church. They are acknowledging the rule over them. That is, they are agreeing to have the elders be in authority over them.
No Stockholders
Typically these issues do not become difficult in themselves. That is, it is rare for a church to find itself in trouble, or in battle mode, over competing classes of members. That said, there are often subtle dangers in not thinking through these issues well. To say, for instance, that the elders rule in the church is not to suggest that the members are just spectators, that they are not full members of the body. Much less should it communicate differing levels of spiritual standing. Elders are sinners saved by grace. Laymen are sinners saved by grace. We are all called to do the work of the ministry. On the other side of the coin, when congregations do vote, or even meet together in discussion, it is important to not import the wrong categories into the meeting. The church is not a business, and the members are not stockholders. And it most certainly is not a democracy.
No Perfect Earthly Government
There is no church government that will eliminate sin. Things go wrong in all kinds of churches. It is tempting in the midst of dealing with sin to think the grass must be greener on the other side. It is especially tempting to believe, “Things would be so much better if only I had more power to bring it to pass.” But we all bring sin with us wherever we go. One man ruling is dangerous. All men ruling is dangerous. A few men ruling is dangerous, but, I would argue, less dangerous than the first two. Which is why God gives us elders and gives elders the authority to rule in the church.
Joshua has always intrigued me. First, I loved his passion and commitment, not just for himself, but for God’s glory. When the ten were timid, he and Caleb were ready to go, confident and trusting. What has also impressed me, however, is Joshua’s stamina. Here was a man who not only fought the good fight, but who finished the race and finished well.
Genesis recounts for us some rather titanic shifts for humanity. Creation itself, moving from non-being to being is there. The fall, moving from perfection to depravity is there. The deluge, moving from a world of peoples to just one family is there. At the same time, however, there is this change- the shift from life spans measured in the hundreds of years to life spans much more like ours. Moses, of course, had a rather productive old age, leading the nation of Israel from the time he was 80 to his death at 120. Leading a nation through the wilderness for forty years would be tough on anyone, but beginning when you were 80?
Joshua most likely was at least sixty years old when Israel entered into the Promised Land under his leadership. His calling, however, wasn’t merely to lead the people on a long journey. He was called to lead the conquest of the land, to lead them into battle. He wasn’t just a statesman, but an active soldier. And when the land was essentially conquered, when all that remained was resistance on the frontiers, off he went to the frontier, to fight for the land God had promised him. There was no easing into retirement as a precursor to easing into the afterlife. He went out with his boots on.
In God’s good providence I am not called to wage physical war with the enemies of God. I am, however, called to wage spiritual war with the enemies of God. That calling does not end at my retirement, but when I am called home. And it makes me weary. The fiercest enemy of God that I fight, of course, is the old man yet within me. Him I am to be continually putting to death. He, however, never takes a rest. In addition to mortifying my own flesh, I am likewise called to take on the world and the devil. Neither takes a rest.
Which is one reason we are so apt to grow weary. Our journey is immeasurably long, our enemies immeasurably tenacious. I want to fight as faithfully as Joshua, and for as many years as Joshua. But I have something he could only look forward to, the rest that Christ won. My enemies fight against me 24/7. But because of my Friend, because of my Hero and Champion, I fight 24/6. The rest, however, is for the valiant. Refuse the call to the battle and I miss the invitation to rest.
Our Lord’s Day rest is a foretaste of our eternal rest, eternity piercing our every day. Lord teach me to rest that I might go and fight. And teach me to fight that I might be blessed with rest.
Thesis 72- We must faithfully pray for our wife and children.
There is no calling more fraught with danger and import than leading a family. Certainly bad things can happen if we fall down on our 9-5 jobs. No doubt failures at the local church have deep impact. Every member of every family, however, is a person who will last into eternity. There are only two destinations where that eternity will be spent. No father, no parent, is fully responsible for all those under their care. We are, as husbands and fathers, given the tasks of raising our children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord (Ephesians 6). We are called to wash our wives with the water of the Word (Ephesians 5). Scared yet? If not, you clearly don’t understand.
The purpose of the fear, however, isn’t to make us freeze up, to futilely seek to flee our responsibility. Rather, the fear is there to drive us to our Father. The church is chalk full of tools and helps to carry out these callings. We have seminars and podcasts, conferences and books, whole para-church ministries devoted to equipping us. Many of these, of course, can be quite helpful. None of them, nor all of them put together, however, can hold a candle to the power of prayer.
Actually, while it may seem a pedantic distinction, the power isn’t in the prayer, but in the One prayed to. We often rightly chasten ourselves for looking to prayer as the strategy of last resort. “Tried everything else and still stuck? Try prayer!” We’re fools to forget where the power lies. We’re fools as well when we forget the promises of Him to whom we pray. Our Father indeed hears us when we pray, “Lord, won’t you buy me a Mercedes-Benz.” And He more often than not answers, “No.” When, however, we pray in line with His actual promises, we can be confident in positive responses.
Who, for instance, is more interested in your children being raised in His nurture and admonition, you or Him? Who is more committed to the washing of your wife, you, or Him? Who is more zealous for the growth in grace and wisdom of you and your whole family, you or Him? So let’s pray. Let’s daily storm the throne room of God Himself for those under our care, for those whom we love most of all. Let’s ask for direction, wisdom, power, strength, perseverance, faith from His Spirit. Let’s invest our time in time with our Father.
Let’s in fact, remember that husbands, wives, children, that we are all together both part of the bride of Christ, having the perfect Husband, and are all children of our heavenly Father. We are being washed by our Husband, and nurtured by our Father, all while being led by the Spirit. Reformation comes as we are re-formed into all that He calls us to be, as we are re-committed to doing all that He calls us to do. Pray for yourself. Pray for your wife. Pray for your children. Pray for His grace, and give thanks.
First, I’m not sure such is true anymore. Some, to be sure. Many professing Christians, however, are joining the world in embracing a love and let love ethic. Given the choice between being culturally marginalized or marginalizing the Bible, too many of us choose the latter.
Out and About
There are, however, some Christians who still are willing to affirm a biblical sexual ethic, which precludes homosexual practice. Biblical Christians have always taken this position. It was not, however, so much front and center fifty or more years ago. What changed? Not Christians, but homosexuals. There is a reason homosexuality was once called the love that dare not speak its name. It once made sense that homosexuals used to live in “closets,” hiding the truth about their sexual peculiarities. There was, not just among Christians but in the broader culture, a consensus that this was twisted. Those given to such behavior kept it on the down-low. The only reason Christians find themselves having to be bold and upfront in denouncing homosexuality is because homosexuals and their fellow-travelers are insisting that we celebrate homosexuality.
Pride, In the Name of Love
While it is in fact not true that all sins are equal in the eyes of God, it is true that homosexuals have not cornered the market on sexual sin, nor grievous sin in general. The norm among the hetero-normative includes all manner of besetting sins, closeted sins, Spirit-grieving sins. One could argue that homosexual behavior entails not only a general violation of God’s sexual ethic but adds to it a radical rejection of His created order. Homosexual is not merely licentious but also perverse. Whether true or not, there is a deeper distinction in our day between homosexuality and fornication, adultery, and other forms of heterosexual sexual immorality. No one is publicly celebrating those sins. No one is claiming one can be a faithful Christian while giving themselves over to those sins. When was the last time your city set aside a day and gave a parade for fornicators? When was the last time adulterers took to the streets to announce their pride? No one is demanding that those opposed to these sins be considered sexual immorality phobic monsters on par with the Nazis.
Intolerance to the Intolerant
The homosexual lobby has no interest in protecting their “rights” to do what they do in private. No one has been trying to take those “rights” away. The whole of the movement isn’t about what they do, but about what we think about what they do. We are being made, through the tender mercies of the state, to care. Christians want nothing more than for everyone to repent and believe the gospel, to turn from our sins and rest in the work of Christ for us. The homosexual lobby wants Christians to repent of our Christianity, our belief in the gospel, our conviction that we are all sinners, that we have a duty to submit to God’s law. Christians proclaim our message, the sole weapon of our warfare being the preaching of the gospel. The homosexual lobby uses the bludgeon of the state, their sole weapon of enforcing their religion of “tolerance.”
We Christians have no need to go out of our way to condemn homosexuality. We bear a message of deliverance from every sin’s power and destruction. We remember, such once were we. We must, however, have the courage to not bend God’s Word to the world.
