Delight in the Lord's Day

If you turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy day of the LORD, honourable, and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD has spoken it. –Isaiah 58:13–14

 

Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it. –Exodus 20:8–11

 

Revelation 1:10 states, “I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day.” John was speaking of the first day of the week, the day we know as Sunday when we gather in our local churches to worship the Lord just as the apostles did on the first day of the week (Acts 20:7). But the Lord’s Day is so much more than going to church. The Lord’s Day is that day when our souls are nourished by the pure milk of the Word of God. Jesus speaks directly to us! 

 

In the twenty-first century, there seems to be widespread thought that the command to keep the Lord’s Day holy is a heavy burden (Ex. 20:8–11). To some it has become the forgotten commandment and is perceived as simply another legalistic regulation. Happily, the Lord created the Lord’s Day to bless man, not to oppress him (Mark 2:27). This day is a blessed day, a happy day, a joyful day, a glad day; not one of oppression but one of freedom in the Lord, for He has said, “Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.” If the church and our own souls are to flourish unto holiness, then we must actively learn to delight in the Lord's Day. 

You can find the rest of this article here. 

This article first appeared in Puritan Reformed Journal. Volume 3, Number 2. July 2011. Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary. Grand Rapids, page 341-350 and is used with their permission.

Hiding From The Lord

In Genesis 3, verse 8 says, “They heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day…” Adam and Eve have fallen into sin, they are uncomfortable before each other, they have covered themselves up, ashamed of their sin, the devil had deceived them; and then they heard the sound of the Lord walking or another way to interpret the Hebrew is they heard the voice of the Lord God going forth in the garden in the wind or the cool of the day. They heard God, God was present among them, He was coming to fellowship with man, to be with man, the very presence of God. The Lord God who created them was now a threat to them. These loin coverings which in their minds could cover themselves up from being uncomfortable before each other, these won’t work with God. Not to hide the guilt and the shame and the sin for God sees all and knows all.

“They heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day,and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.” They hid themselves among the trees of the garden, hiding from the presence of the Lord God. They don’t hide from God behind their loin cloths, now they hide behind something a little bigger, some trees. They are hiding from the God who has created all heavens and the earth, the universe. The God who has existed from all eternity, from the smallest particles to the greatest stars; God knows all and sees all. In the time of Noah, He describes all that He sees; for He said, “every intention of the thoughts of man’s heart is evil continually.” He knows and sees not only the material physical things, but even all those things which are immaterial and spiritual; He knows every single thought and intention of every single person at all times. He is a big God, and Adam and Eve are trying to hide from Him.

You see verse 9, “Then the LORD God called to the man, and said to him, ‘Where are you?’” It isn’t as if God didn’t know, but He is speaking down to man like a baby, like a child. Picture the scene, you are playing hide and seek with your child, and they go out into the back yard to hide and they hide behind a tree, and you come out looking for them, and you can see part of the body sticking out from the tree, very easily seen. You call out “Where are you?” That’s sort of the picture here, except God already knew, He didn’t have to look at all, He is infinitely wise. What we need to see here is that Adam and Eve are trying to hide from God. That is the response of sinners to the presence of God. We hide, we want to get away. For us, that doesn’t necessarily happen with a loin covering or with a tree, but in other ways.

For the world, the scientist will look out at the creation, which declares the glory of God and His handiwork, and they attribute it against all their knowledge, against everything that tells them otherwise, even against science itself, and they say it came from a big bang. They hide behind their faulty science, which is still an unproven theory. They hide behind a false theory. What about celebrities, they hide their sin and the truth about themselves behind their success. That despite many moral failures, no one really cares, and they have an easy life because they are a famous actress, musician, businessman, or politician. Hide behind success of a job, possessions, a good position. There are those who hide behind morality. I’m a good person, I am clean, I don’t use bad words, I live a good life, I keep my promises, I go to church, I volunteer at church at a food pantry or homeless shelter, I do good to those around me, my neighbors.

Hiding behind one’s morality. Hiding behind lies, lies about God that He is a God of love and when I mess up and sin, everything is fine, He is Love, there is no punishment for sins. Hiding in church. Hiding behind this crazy notion that if I go to church, then God will be pleased with me, and everything will be alright. That would be a hiding from reality of who God really is. Some know who God is moreso then these people, and so they hide from worship. That’s why we have Hebrews 10, “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another (to meet together), and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” We hide from worship, but also we Hide in worship, when we are hearing the preaching of the Word sometimes and it makes us uncomfortable (because God has pointed out our sin), and so you hide behind others.

You think to yourself, my wife, my kids, my husband or that family over there, they really need to hear this don’t they. You hide behind each other, when you should be concerned with your own soul and life. In many of thousands upon thousands of ways we hide from the Lord God. Where are you hiding from the Lord God? Those times in worship, when we hear the voice of the Lord going forth (just like in verse 8), His Word comes and pierces you in your soul and spirit, joints and marrow, His Word discerns the thoughts and intentions of your heart. You can’t hide from Him. No one can, not even the once perfect creatures Adam and Eve, they couldn’t hide from Him. God comes knowing who they are, where they’re from, what they’ve done; all the secrets are laid before the Lord and they want to hide. Before the Lord, our sin is unbearable.

The most popular passage that should come to our minds perhaps when thinking of this is Isaiah before the Lord, “Woe is me! For I am undone; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!” There is great distress, increasing grief and regret over sin. He says literally, I am cut off, I am as good as dead. Why? Because he knew in that moment that God knew every single little spec about him, not just his body but even his thoughts and intentions of his heart God knowing your thoughts and intentions of your heart, think about that, and you’ll realize that Sin Makes the Presence of God Unbearable. Yet, notice that when comes to you, that He comes as a Savior speaking. He presents Himself, who was slain for His people, in their presence. And they don’t die immediately, the mercy and grace of God shine here.

They are not immediately judged to physical death, He gives them time. Time to hear the Gospel in verse 15, time to turn back to Him through His Son. But there is more mercy and grace He speaks not just words of judgment, but at least to Adam and Eve here in verses 7-13, He doesn’t come with the curses that He brings to the devil in verses 14 and 15. He comes and speaks with searching questions? He asks questions, and while Adam tries to hide behind Eve, and Eve tries to hide behind the devil; God is being gracious and merciful. When the Lord brings the Word through His servant, your elder(s), how do you hide? When He is speaking words of mercy and grace to you, where are you hiding from Him? Stop hiding, and turn to Jesus for salvation, for cleansing of sin, so you can go before the presence of God with boldness and confidence, before His very throne. Where and how are you hiding from Him?

Thoughts on General Assemblies

I love General Assembly and Presbytery meetings for that matter.  Why?  Because I am a church polity nut and enjoy learning more and more about parliamentary procedure.  However, I have come to the realization that the Church does not stand or fall on the PCA Book of Church Order (BOC) nor on Parliamentary Procedure.  I'm happy about this because both the PCA BOC and Parliamentary Procedure (Robert's Rules) are flawed.  I'm happy because my Savior is not flawed, He is perfect in every way.  No man made books rule the Church, nor a pope of Rome.  The Head of the Church is Jesus Christ, as King, He rules.  Because King Jesus rules the Church, the gates of Hades cannot overcome or destroy it.   Praise the Lord, that despite sinners and under-shepherds, Jesus Christ will always be Head of the Church and therefore its (the Church) future is glorious! 

Sensual Worship — A Sign of Impending Apostasy

Sensual Worship - A Sign of Impending Apostasy by Iain Murray

When interest in the churches begins to centre round the visual and the sensual it is commonly a sign of impending apostasy. By ‘sensual’ I mean that which appeals to the senses of man (sight, smell, hearing), as opposed to ‘spirit’, that is, the capacity that belongs to those born of the Spirit of God. Hence the antithesis, ‘sensual, having not the Spirit’ (Jude 19). ‘Sensual’ is also translated ‘natural’ or ‘worldly’; the meaning is the same. It does not take regeneration to give the sensual or the aesthetic a religious appeal to the natural man or woman.

In the Old Testament the people of God were in measure taught by their senses as God imposed the form of worship. As a check against any misuse of that means of teaching no additions to or subtractions from it were allowed. But with the finished work of Christ, and the coming of the Holy Spirit, a momentous change took place. The church was raised to the higher privilege of worship in ‘spirit and truth’ (John 4:24). She belongs to the ‘Jerusalem which is above’ (Gal. 4:26).

In the words of John Owen, ‘the naked simplicity of gospel institutions’ was established in the place of ‘the old, glorious worship of the temple’; Levitical choirs, incense, vestments, etc. — all were gone. Yet not gone permanently; for as church and world gradually came together in the rise of the Papacy, worship that appealed to the senses was reintroduced. Presuming on Old Testament practice, what the gospel had ended in the apostolic age was restored, and the difference brought in by Pentecost disappeared.¹ Instead there developed a form of worship in Roman Catholicism which made impressions on the senses at the natural level and which did not need the Holy Spirit.

In the words of Richard Bennett, long a Roman priest, ‘The ritual, symbolical richness of the sacramental life of the Church, to a great extent, meets the human need for transcendence.’² It does no more than that. The observation of W. H. Griffith Thomas, writing on ‘Spiritual Worship’, is true:

It is the universal experience of Christian people that the more the senses are attracted, fascinated, and occupied, the less room there is for the action of the soul. The teaching of Christian History points very clearly to the fact that simplicity of outward ceremonial has been usually unaccompanied by the reality of the inward spirit of worship.³

This is where the neglect of church history and Scripture has serious consequences for many contemporary evangelical churches. In the 1960s, at a time when the churches were losing their hold on young people, it was believed that a new way of renewing contact with them was to be learned from the contemporary culture. Music appeals to all, and why not make use of the new style of music and accompaniments which had become so popular? After all, music has to be neutral, so why not make it an ally?⁴ Some put it more strongly. James Ryle ‘prophesied’ that ‘God is getting ready to anoint Christian musicians with the same anointing that was given to the Beatles’, and he attributed to God the words, ‘I had a purpose, and the purpose was to usher in the charismatic renewal with music revival around the world.’⁵

Few warning voices were to be heard. Martyn Lloyd-Jones was almost alone in the 1960s in England when he warned against ‘the increasing tendency at the present time’ to use music to produce emotion; the justification being that music can make people happy, and when people feel happy they will find Christianity more acceptable. When an older generation sometimes expressed misgivings at the change this thinking had brought into public worship, they were told not to put their wishes before those of the outsiders whom the church needed to win. Few saw the danger pinpointed by Lloyd-Jones: the impression of music on natural feelings was being confused with spiritual truth: ‘Because it [music] is performed in connection with a religious service or by Christians, people imagine and persuade themselves that they are feeling the truth. But they are not. This feeling has no direct connection with what they have believed.’⁶

With this new departure came a flood of musical innovations into evangelical churches worldwide. The instruments of the old temple worship, as well as others, were restored, and with ‘music teams’, ‘music directors’, public worship has undergone a transformation.

It would be a mistake to say the change has come simply from the initiative of evangelicals. The Roman Catholic Church is no less involved, and in her case the new thinking was not new at all. It was under the Papacy, in the later Middle Ages, that the Church first commonly took up the use of instrumental music. At the time of the Reformation, Erasmus complained of the Roman Church:

We have brought into our churches a certain operose and theatrical music . . . as I think was ever heard in any of the Grecian or Roman theatres. The Church rings with the noise of trumpets, pipes and dulcimers; and human voices strive to bear their part with them . . . Men run to church as to a theatre, to have their ears tickled.⁷

The Reformers rejected the paraphernalia of musical accompaniments, not because they did not appreciate the place of congregational song in the worship of God but, on the contrary, because they wanted its restoration to New Testament simplicity. In the words of Calvin: ‘In gospel times we must not have recourse to these, unless we wish to destroy the evangelical perfection, and to obscure the meridian light which we enjoy in Christ.’⁸ Far from having any right to claim the support of Scripture for what Rome had introduced, he further says: ‘Now that Christ has appeared, and the church has reached full age, it were only to bury the light of the gospel, should we introduce the shadows of a departed dispensation.’⁹

The Church of Rome, in her apostasy, has long exhibited the full outworking of the danger which evangelicalism has been ignoring. But sometimes protest coming from an unexpected quarter broke the silence. Richard Bennett, after finishing his education at the Angelicum University of Rome, served as a priest in Trinidad. In all his years there, he writes, Protestant Christians from overseas sometimes came to services,

saw our sacred oils, holy water, medals, statues, vestments, rituals, and never said a word! The marvellous style, symbolism, music, and artistic taste of the Roman Church were all very captivating. Incense not only smells pungent, but to the mind it spells mystery. One day, a woman challenged me (the only Christian ever to challenge me in all my twenty-two years as a priest), 'You Roman Catholics have a form of godliness, but you deny its power.' Those words bothered me for some time because the lights, banners, folk music, guitars and drums were dear to me. Clearly I was unable to apply the Scripture to my life where it mattered most.¹⁰

The change in public worship in evangelical churches is not the harmless thing it is thought to be. ‘So long as there is good preaching’, it is said, ‘we need not be overly concerned.’ We ought to be concerned! An appetite is being fed which in the past has led to the very abandonment of the gospel. When satisfying the ‘natural’ becomes acceptable in churches, the spiritual will not long remain. As the long-time Catholic, and later Protestant martyr, Hugh Latimer, warned, ‘When candles go up, preaching comes down.’

That music has great prominence in modern society is not in doubt. Nor is it the first time that such attention has been given to music in periods of decadence. Horatius Bonar noted:

In connection with the 'decline and fall' of the Roman Empire, a singular fact has been recorded. — When the arts were declining, — poetry, sculpture, painting, deteriorating, — religion and patriotism decaying, — music was cultivated to an extraordinary extent. Old Romans died music-mad.¹¹

Accommodating the churches to contemporary culture may increase numbers (for a time); it has never led to a spiritual awakening. Unless there is a God-given change, it is to be feared that we will see in evangelicalism a developing apostasy.

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Notes:

1. ‘Dislike of the purity and simplicity of the gospel worship is that which was the rise of, and gave increase or progress unto the whole Roman apostasy. Men do not like the plain institutions of Christ, but are pleased with the meretricious Roman paint, wherewith so great a part of the world hath been beguiled and infatuated.’ John Owen, Works, 20:114-5, also identified as his Exposition of Hebrew, vol. 4 in the Goold/Banner of Truth edition. Likewise he argues that what was being addressed in the Epistle to the Hebrews was the temptation of professing Christians to regret the loss of the visual glory of Judaism. Owen’s Nature and Causes of Apostasy from the Gospel, in his Works, vol. 7, is unsurpassed as a treatment of the subject.

2. Richard Bennett, Catholicism: East of Eden (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 2010), p. 44.

3. W. H. Griffith Thomas, The Catholic Faith, A Manual of Instruction for Members of the Church of England (London: Church Book Room Press, 1955), p. 147.

4. That music is ‘neutral’ is by no means always true. ‘Since music should help the reception of the Word of God, it should be weighty, dignified, majestic and modest; fitting attitudes for sinful creatures in the presence of God’ (Calvin).

5. Quoted by John MacArthur, Charismatic Chaos (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1992), p. 72.

6. Living Water, Studies in John (Wheaton: Crossway, 2009), p. 365. He added: ‘If you start clapping your hands or stamping your feet or moving them in a rhythmic manner, you are the whole time dealing with this realm of the emotions. And there is a great deal of that today. Some even deliberately employ psychological methods — different coloured lights, for instance, to prey upon the emotions’ (p. 366).

7. Quoted by John L.Girardeau, Instrumental Music in the Public Worship of the Churc (Richmond, VA; 1888), p. 162. R. L. Dabney, reviewing and commending Girardeau’s book, made the same point as Dr Lloyd-Jones: ‘Blinded men are ever prone to imagine that they have religious feelings, because they have sensuous, animal feelings, in accidental juxtaposition with religious places, words, or sights. This is the pernicious mistake which has sealed up millions of self-deceived souls in hell.’ Dr Girardeau’s Instrumental Music in Public Worship, A Review (Richmond, VA: 1889), p. 8.

8. On 1 Samuel 18:1-9.

9. On Psalm 92:3, quoted by C. H. Spurgeon, whose church also used no instrumental accompaniment, The Treasury of David, vol. 4 (London; Marshall, Morgan, & Scott, 1950), p. 123. Many Protestant churches have used one instrument instead of a precentor to set the tune; this is very different from the instrumental accompaniment that is now promoted.

10. Catholicism: East of Eden, pp. 9-10.

11. Horatius Bonar, Our Ministry (Edinburgh: MacNiven 1883), p. 74.

Artists Build the Church???

Just a few minutes ago I posted a comment in response to one commenter on The Gospel Coalition Website Blog and to an article as a whole.  It was then deleted a few moments later, but I wanted my comment to be public.  It is the following:

I want to respond to 'yuck' (at least at the beginning of my response and then to the article as a whole) who stated that we should be asking 'Who do we worship?' and I assume that that is instead of 'How should we worship'???  Well, we worship the Lord God Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.  What does He say about how to worship Him?  That is the only thing that matters isn't it?  How I want to worship HIM means very little.  If I chose, I could worship Him in the corporate setting by reading a good book about Him, but would He be pleased?  No.  He says in the context of worship in Dt. 12, "You shall not worship the LORD your God in that way, for every abominable thing that the LORD hates they have done for their gods, for they even burn their sons and their daughters in the fire to their gods. Everything that I command you, you shall be careful to do. You shall not add to it or take from it."  I think that is pretty clear.  He never tells me to read a good book about Him (outside of the Bible) during corporate worship.

Okay, who builds the Church?  Artists?  Nope, God's Word says, "The one who speaks in a tongue builds up himself, but the one who prophesies builds up the church."  What did the prophets do?  They spoke God's Word.  God's Word is what builds up the Church.  What else does God's Word say about God's Word?   "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work."  Oh yes, God's Word builds up the Church spiritually.  What about physically?  Yes, the Word of God builds physically the Church.  "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim);  because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved...everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?"  And what were they preaching?  Yes, that's right, the Word of God. 

Artists don't build the Church, I as a Pastor don't build the Church, Christ Jesus the Head of the Church tells us how the Church is built...by His living and active Word, which is sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.  I'd like to see an Artist do that!

The Church needs to return to what Jesus says is important on how to build the Church physically and spiritually, and that is His own Word: Read, Preached, Prayed, Sung...

Conclusion: This article is hogwash, false teaching, and is of devil.  Don't be led astray.

The Prayer Meeting

Take great heed to these words, which come from a sermon by Charles Spurgeon on Zechariah 8:21.

"And the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, Let us go speedily to pray before the Lord, and to seek the Lord of hosts: I will go also." - Zechariah 8:21

One of the first signs of God’s Presence among a people is that THEY TAKE GREAT INTEREST IN DIVINE WORSHIP. “The inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, Let us go speedily to pray before the Lord, and to seek the Lord of Hosts.” It is clear from this that they no longer despise assemblies for worship and no longer count Divine service to be a weariness. On the contrary, they begin to value the means of Grace and desire to make good use of them. The first solemn assembly mentioned here is the Prayer Meeting and certainly one of the surest tokens of a visitation of God’s Spirit to a community is their delighting to meet for prayer.  The first cry of the people mentioned in our text was, “Let us go speedily to pray before the Lord.” It is no statement of mine, suggested by unreasonable zeal, but it is the result of long-continued observation when I assert that the condition of a Church may be very accurately gauged by its Prayer Meetings. 

If the spirit of prayer is not with the people, the minister may preach like an angel, but he cannot expect success. If there is not the spirit of prayer in a Church there may be wealth, there may be talent, there may be a measure of effort, there may be an extensive machinery, but the Lord is not there. It is a sure evidence of the Presence of God that men pray as the rising of the thermometer is an evidence of the increase of the temperature.

As the Nilometer measures the rising of the water in the Nile, and so foretells the amount of harvest in Egypt, so is the Prayer Meeting a “Graceometer,” and from it we may judge of the amount of Divine working among a people. If God is near a Church it must pray. And if He is not there, one of the first tokens of His absence will be slothfulness in prayer. God’s people, by their saying one to another, “Let us go speedily to pray,” manifest that they have a sense of their needs—they feel that they need much, much that Nature cannot yield them—they feel their need of Divine Grace, their need of quickening, their need of God’s help if sinners are to be converted. They feel their need of His help if even those who are saved are to be steadfast—their need of the Holy Spirit that they may grow in Grace and glorify God. He who never prays surely does not know his own needs and how can he be taught of the Lord at all? God’s people are a people sensible of their needs and therefore the absence of a sense of poverty is a sad token.

Moreover, the love which God’s people have for prayer shows their desire after heavenly things. Those who frequently meet together for importunate, wrestling prayer, practically show that they desire to see the Lord’s Kingdom come. They are not so taken up with their own business that they cannot afford time to think of God’s business. They are not so occupied with the world’s pleasures that they take no pleasure in the things of God. Believers in a right state of heart value the prosperity of the Church and, seeing that it can only be promoted by God’s own hand, they cry mightily unto the Lord of Hosts to stretch out His hand of mercy and to be favorable to His Church and cause.

Church members who never pray for the good of the Church have no love for it. If they do not plead for sinners they have no love for the Savior and how can they be truly converted persons? Such as habitually forsake the assembling of themselves together for prayer may well suspect the genuine character of their piety. I am not, of course, alluding to those who are debarred by circumstances, but I allude to those who, from frivolous excuses, absent themselves from the praying assemblies. How dwells the love of God in them? Are they not dead branches of the vine? May they not expect to be taken away before long? Earnest meetings for prayer, indeed, not only prove our sense of need and our desire for spiritual blessings, but they manifest most our faith in the living God, and our belief that He hears prayer, for men will not continue in supplication if they do not believe that God hears them. Sensible men would soon cease their prayers if they were not convinced that there is an ear which hears their petitions. Who would persevere in a vain exercise?

Our united prayers prove that we know that God is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him. We know that the Lord is able to work according to our desires and that He is willing to be entreated of us. I have never known a thirsty man by a well who would not use the bucket which was there ready to hand unless, indeed, he was of the opinion that the well was dry. I have never known a man who wanted wealth and had a good trade, who would not exercise his trade. And so I have never known a man who believed prayer to be really effectual and felt his great needs who did not engage in prayer.

It is an ill token to any community of Christians when prayer is at a low ebb, for it is clear evidence that they do not know their own needs, they are not anxious about spiritual things and neither do they believe that God will enrich them in answer to their petitions. Beloved, may we never, as a Church, deserve censure for neglecting prayer! Our meetings for prayer have excited general astonishment by their number, but they are not all they might be. I shall put it to the conscience of each one to say whether you are as prayerful as you should be. Did you ever hear of a Church member who had not attended a Prayer Meeting for a month? Do you know of Church members who never assemble with the Brethren so much as once in a quarter of a year? Do you know of any who have not been to a Prayer Meeting in this place for the last six months? Do you know such?

I will not say I know any such. I will do no more than hint that such people may exist. But if you know them will you give them my Christian love and say that nothing depresses the pastor’s spirit like the absence of Church members from the public assemblies of prayer, and that if anything could make him strong in the Lord, and give him courage to go forward in the Lord’s work, it would be if all of you were to make the prayer meeting your special delight? I shall be satisfied when I see our prayer meetings as crowded as the services for preaching. And it strikes me if ever we are fully baptized into God’s Spirit, we shall arrive at that point. A vastly larger amount of prayer ought to be among us than at present and if the Lord visits us graciously He will set us praying without ceasing.

But next, these people also took an interest in meetings for instruction. I find that the Chaldee translates the second sentence, “Let us seek the doctrine of Jehovah of Hosts.” The Lord’s coming near to any people will be sure to excite in them a longing to hear the Word. God sends impulses of enquiry over men’s minds and suddenly places of worship become crowded which were half empty before. Preachers, also, who were cold and dead become quickened and speak with earnestness and life. No doubt waves of religious movement pass over nations and peoples—and when God comes to a people the crest of that wave will be seen in this form—that the kingdom of Heaven becomes an object of interest and men press unto it!

During the revival under John the Baptist, the people went in crowds into the wilderness to hear the strange preacher who bade them repent. The revival under the Apostles was marked by their everywhere preaching the Word and the people listening. This was the great token of the Reformation—meetings were held under Gospel Oaks, out upon the commons and away in lone houses—and in glens and woods men thronged to listen to the Word of God! The professionals of popery were forsaken for the simple preaching of the Truth of God! This also marked the last grand revival of religion in our own country under Whitfield and Wesley. The Word of the Lord was precious in those days.  And whether the Gospel was preached among the colliers of Kingswood or the rabble of Kennington Common, tens of thousands were awakened and rejoiced in the joyful notes of Free Grace.

Men loved to hear the Word—they said to one another, “Let us seek the Lord.” It is said that Moorfields would be full of light on a dark winter’s morning at five o’clock when Mr. Whitfield was to preach because so many people would be finding their way to the rendezvous, each one carrying a lantern. And so also over there in Zoar Street, in Southwark, when Mr. John Bunyan was out of prison and was going to preach, a couple of thousand would be assembled at five o’clock in the morning to enjoy his honest testimony.

Master Fox in his, “Acts and Monuments,” speaking of the time when the Reformation was breaking out, uses language something to this effect—“It was lovely to see their travels, earnest seeking, burning zeal, Bible reading, watching, sweet assemblies, resort of one neighbor to another for conference and mutual confirmation.” And, he adds, “All which may make us now to blush for shame in these, our days, of free profession.”

We may take the good man’s hint and feel shame for neglected opportunities, cold devotions and disregard of the Word of God. Our fathers loved to meet for prayer and to hear the preaching of the Truth of God. And when they came together it was with an intensely earnest desire to obtain the Divine blessing. To get this they risked life and liberty, meeting, even, when fine and imprisonment, or perhaps the gallows might be their reward. O to see the like earnestness among ourselves as to the means of Grace! May the Lord Jesus send it to us by the working of His Holy Spirit.

Another sign of God’s visiting a people in mercy is that THEY STIR EACH OTHER UP TO ATTEND UPON THE MEANS OF GRACE, for “the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, Let us go speedily to pray before the Lord.”

That is to say, they did not merely ask one another to go if they casually met. They did not bring in the subject accidentally if they could do so readily in common conversation—but the inhabitants of one city went to another on purpose to exhort them! They made a journey about it. As men go to market, from town to town, so did these people try to open a market for Christ—and not only one messenger, but many of the inhabitants of one city went on purpose all the way to another city, with set design, to induce them to join in worship, saying, “Let us go speedily to pray before the Lord.”

They put themselves out of the way to do it. They had such a desire that great numbers might come together to worship the Most High that they took much trouble to invite their neighbors. God will be with us, indeed, if each one of us shall be anxious to bring others to Jesus, and to that end shall try to bring them to hearken to the Word of God. Why were these men so earnest? The reply will be, they persuaded others to come to the meetings for worship out of love to God’s House, to God’s cause, and to God Himself. God’s House is honored and beautified when great numbers come together. The ways of Zion do mourn and languish when but few assemble for prayer. Christ has promised to be where two or three are met together in His name. Still, it is not helpful to comfortable fellowship for a mere handful to meet in a large house. We feel like sparrows alone on the housetop when such is the case.  

Observe in our text there does not appear to have been any minister or missionary employed to go from one city to another, and to say, “Let us go and pray,” but the inhabitants, themselves, undertook the duty of invitation and persuasion, and said, “Let us go and pray unto the Lord.” The people, themselves, attended to mutual provocation to love and to good works! How I wish they did so now! They did not wait for the exhortations of one specially set apart to be a prompter and an organizer. But their own hearts were so warm that they did it spontaneously among themselves! My Brothers and Sisters, may you thus be pastors to one another! There are far too many of you for me to look after personally, therefore I pray you stir one another up to every good word and work.

I believe that when a man stirs others up it is good for himself, for a man cannot, in common decency, be very cold, himself, who bids others be warm. He cannot, surely, unless he is an arrant hypocrite, be negligent of those duties which he bids others attend to! Beloved, I commit this charge to you, and then I have done with this point. This morning I ask you to visit one another and to say, “Come, let us not as a Church lose the Presence of God after nearly 20 years’ enjoyment of it. Let not our minister’s hands grow weak by our neglect of prayer. Let not the work of the Church flag through our indifference, but let us make a brotherly covenant that we will go speedily to pray before the Lord and seek the Lord of Hosts, that we may retain His Presence and have yet more of it, to the praise of the glory of His Grace.”

I must pass on to notice that it appears from our text that it is a sure mark of God’s visiting a people, when THEY ARE URGENT TO ATTEND UPON THESE HOLY EXERCISES AT ONCE. The text says, “Let us go speedily to pray,” by which is meant, I suppose, that when the time came to pray, they were punctual, they were not laggards. They did not come into the assembly late. They did not drop in, one by one, long after the service had begun—but they said, “Let us go speedily.” They looked up to their clocks and said, “How long will it take us to walk so as to be there at the commencement? Let us start five minutes before that time lest we should not be able to keep up the pace and should, by any means, reach the door after the first prayer.”

I wish late comers would remember David’s choice. You remember what part he wished to take in the House of God? He was willing to be a doorkeeper and that not because the doorkeeper has the most comfortable berth, for that is the hardest post a man can choose. But he knew that doorkeepers are the first in and the last out and so David wished to be first at the service and the last at the going away! How few would be of David’s mind! It has been said that Dissenters in years gone by placed the clock outside the Meeting House so that they might never enter late. But the modern Dissenters place the clock inside, that their preachers may not keep them too long! There is some truth in the remark, but it is not to our honor.

This was, however, a fault with our forefathers, for quaint old Herbert said—“O be drest, stay not for th’ other pin: why you have lost a joy for it worth worlds.” Let us mend our ways and say, one to another, in the language of the text, “Let us go speedily to pray before the Lord.” Let us go with quick feet. If we go slowly to market, let us go quickly to Prayer Meeting. If we are slow on week days, let us go quickly on Sunday. Let us never keep Jesus Christ waiting and we shall do so if we are not on time, for He is sure to be punctual, even if only two or three are met together in His name. The expression, however, means more than this. “Let us go speedily” means, let us go heartily—do not let us crawl to prayer, but let us go to it as men who have something before them which attracts them.

When the angels serve God they never do it as though they were half asleep. They are all alive and burning like flames of fire. They have six wings and, I guarantee you, they use them all! When the Lord says, “Gabriel, go upon My bidding,” he outstrips the lightning! O, to exhibit some such ardor and zest in the service of God! If we pray, let us pray as if we mean it! If we worship, let us worship with our hearts. “Let us go speedily,” and may the Lord make our hearts to be like the chariots of Amminadib for swiftness and rapidity—glowing wheels and burning axles may God give to our spirits—that we may never let the world think we are indifferent to the love of Jesus. “Let us go speedily.”

The words, “Let us go speedily,” mean—let us go at once, or instantly. If any good thing has been neglected and we resolve to attend to it better, let us do it at once. Revivals of religion—when is the best time for them? Directly! When is the best time to repent of sin? Today! When is the best time for a cold heart to grow warm? Today! When is the season for a sluggish Christian to be industrious? Today! When is the period for a backslider to return? Today! When is the time for one who has crawled along the road to Heaven to mend his pace? Today! Is it not always today?

And, indeed, when should it be? “Tomorrow,” you say. Ah, but you may never have it! And, when it comes, it will still be today. Tomorrow is only in the fool’s almanac—it exists nowhere else. Today! Today, let us go speedily! I beseech the Church of God here to be yet more alive and at once to wake up. Time is flying—we cannot afford to lose it. The devil is wide awake, why should we be asleep? Error is stalking through the land, evil influences are abroad everywhere! Men are dying, Hell is filling, the grave is gorged and yet is insatiable—and the man of destruction is not yet satisfied. Shall we lie down in wicked satisfaction, yielding to base laziness? Awake, arise, you Christians! Now, even now, lest it be said of you, “Curse you Meroz, says the Lord, curse you bitterly the inhabitants thereof, because they came not to the help of the Lord, to the help of the Lord against the mighty.”

I know we are all apt to think that we live in the most important era of history and I admit that under certain aspects every day is a crisis, but I claim liberty to say that there never was a period in the world’s history when Christian activity, and prayerfulness, and genuine revival were more needed than just now. Where is our nation? Is it not on the very verge of becoming, once again, a province of the Pope’s dominion? Are not the modern Pharisees compassing sea and land to make proselytes? Does it not seem as if the people were gone mad upon their idols and were altogether fascinated by the charms of the Whore of Babylon, and drunken with her cup? Do you not see everywhere the old orthodox faith forsaken, and men occupying Christian pulpits who do not believe, but even denounce the doctrines which they have sworn to defend?

Might I not say of Christendom in England, that “her whole head is sick and her whole heart faint”? The daughter of Zion staggers in the street for weakness—there is none to help her among all her sons—all her friends have dealt treacherously with her, they have become her enemies. Her adversaries are the chief, her enemies prosper. Her Nazarites were purer than snow and their separation from the world was known of all men—but now they are defiled with worldliness until they are blacker than a coal! From the daughter of Zion her beauty is departed. O you that love her, let your hearts sound as a harp for her! O you that love her, weep day and night for her hypocrisy, for unless the Lord returns unto her the time of her sore distress draws near. Thus says the Lord, “Arise, cry out in the night season, pour out your hearts like water before the Lord, and then the Lord will return and be gracious to His inheritance.”

When God visits a people they will not only attend to prayer and preaching, and stir each other up to do so at once, but THEY WILL HAVE A SPECIAL EYE TO GOD IN THESE DUTIES. Observe, they shall say, “Let us go speedily to pray before the Lord, and to seek the Lord of Hosts.”  Beloved, how different is my text from that formal worship into which it is so easy to fall. “I have been to the Prayer Meeting. I have done my duty and I can go home satisfied. I have taken a seat at the Tabernacle and listened to two sermons on Sunday—I feel I have done my duty.”

Oh, dear Hearer! That is a poor way of living! I need a great deal more than all that or I shall be wretched. At the Prayer Meeting I must see God, I must pour out my soul before Him! I must feel that the spirit of prayer has been there and that I have participated in it, otherwise what was the good of my being there? I must, when in the assembly on Sunday, find some blessing to my own soul! I must get another glimpse of the Savior! I must come to be somewhat more like Him! I must feel my sin rebuked, or my flagging Graces revived! I must feel that God has been blessing poor sinners and bringing them to Christ! I must feel, indeed, that I have come into contact with God, or else what is my Sunday  worth, and what is my having been in the assembly worth? If God shall bless you, indeed, you will worship spiritually and you will count nothing to be true worship which is not of the spirit and of the heart and soul.

It is a blessed sign of God’s visiting a people when  EACH ONE OF THEM IS RESOLVED, PERSONALLY, THAT HE WILL, IN A SPIRITUAL MANNER, WAIT UPON GOD. Notice the last four words. “I will go also.” “Let us go speedily to pray before the Lord, and to seek the Lord of Hosts: I will go also.” That is the point—“I will go also.” The Christian man should neither be content, when he goes to worship, to leave others behind, nor should he be content to drive others before him and stop behind himself. It is said of Julius Caesar that he owed his victories to the fact that he never said to his soldiers, “Go,” but always said, “Let us go.” That is the way to win. Example is mightier than precept!

We read of the Pharisees of old that they laid burdens on other men’s shoulders, but they themselves did not touch them with one of their fingers—true Christians are not so. They say, “I will go also.” Was not that bravely spoken of poor old Latimer, when he was to be burnt with Ridley. Ridley was a younger and stronger man, and as he walked to the stake, old Latimer, with his quaintness about him to the last, cried to his Brother, Ridley, “Have after, as fast as my poor old legs can carry me.” The dear old saint was marching to his burning as fast as he could—not at all loath to lay his aged body upon the altar for his Lord! That is the kind of man who makes others into men—the man who habitually says, “I will go also; even if I am called to be burned for Christ. Whatever is to be done or suffered, I will go also.”

I would be ashamed to stand here and say to you, “Brothers and Sisters, pray. Brothers, preach. Brethren, labor,” and then be an idler myself. And you, also, would be ashamed to say to others, “Let us pray. Let us be earnest,” while you are not praying and not earnest yourselves. Example is the backbone of instruction! Be, yourself, what you would have others be and do, yourself, what you would have others do. “I will go also,” because I need to pray as much as anybody else. I will go to hear the Word, for I need to hear it as well as others. I will go and wait upon God, for I need to see His face. I will cry to Him for a blessing, for I need a blessing. I will confess my sin before Him, for I am full of sin. I will ask mercy through the precious blood of Jesus, for I must have it or perish.

“I will go also.” If nobody else will go, I will go. And if all the rest go I will go also. I do not want to pledge any of you this morning. I shall not, therefore, ask you to hold up your hands, but I should like to put it very personally to all the members of this Church. We have enjoyed the Presence and blessing of God for many years in a very remarkable manner and it is not taken from us. But I am jealous, I believe it is a godly jealousy and not unbelief—lest there should be among us a slackness in prayer and a lack of zeal for the Glory of God. I am fearful of a neglecting of the souls of our neighbors, and a ceasing to believe to the full in our mission and in the call of God to be, each one of us, in this world as Christ was, saviors of others.

My Brothers and Sisters, knit together as we are in Church fellowship and bound by common cords to one blessed Master, let each one say within himself, “I will go also.” The Church shall be the subject of my prayer. The minister shall share in my petitions. The Sunday school shall not be forgotten. The College shall be remembered in supplication. The Orphanage shall have my heart’s petitions. I will plead with God for the Evangelists. I will consider the congregation at the Tabernacle and pray that it may gently melt into the Church. I will pray for the strangers who fill the aisles and crowd the pews that God will bless them. Yes, I will say unto God this day, “My God, You have saved me, given me a part and lot among Your people and put me in Your garden where Your people grow and flourish. I will not be a barren tree, but abound in fruit, especially in prayer. If I cannot do anything else I can pray. If this is my one mite, I will put that into the treasury. I will put You in remembrance and plead with You, and give You no rest until You establish Your cause and make it praise in the earth.”

I am not asking more of you than Jesus would ask, nor do I exact anything at your hands—you will cheerfully render that which is a tribute due to the infinite love of your Lord. Now, do not say, dear Brother, “I hope the Church will wake up.” Leave it alone and mind that you wake up yourself. Do not say, “I hope they will be stirred up this morning.” Never mind others! Stir up yourself. Begin to enquire, “Which Prayer Meeting shall I go to, for I mean to join the people of God and let them hear my voice, or at least have my presence. And if I cannot go to the Tabernacle I will drop in near my own house. And if there is no meeting there I will open my own house—the largest room of any cottage shall be used for a Prayer Meeting—or my parlor if I have one. I will have a share in the glorious work of attracting a blessing from the skies. I will send up my electric rod of prayer into the clouds of blessing to bring down the Divine force.”

Do it! Do it! Let each one say, “I will go also.” May God bless this Word to His people, and I am sure it will result in benediction to sinners.

Infant Baptism is Biblical?

The following comes from a pamphlet asking if Infant Baptism is Biblical.  There are many Baptists today who question the practice of infant baptism because they can't find a specific command or example in the Bible.  This pamphlet attempts to answer those who question the biblical doctrine of infant baptism.

Infant Baptism Is It Scriptural? by William Hendriksen

Answer This Question for Yourself on the Basis of Scripture

1. Does the Bible really teach that infants of believers should be baptized?

Answer: "And he that is EIGHT DAYS OLD shall be circumcized among you" (Genesis 17:12).

2. But that text says "circumcized," not "baptized." Hence, that passage fails to prove the point, unless baptism is Christian circumcision. Is it?

Answer: "In whom also ye are circumcized with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead" (Colossians 2:11, 12).

3. Is it true then that God has done away with circumcision, as having no longer any spiritual meaning, and has commanded baptism in its stead?

Answer: "Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye receive circumcision, Christ will profit you nothing" (Galatians 5:12).

"Go ye, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 28:19).

4. So, then, the Bible teaches that since baptism has replaced circumcision, and since children eight days old were circumcized, therefore small children should be baptized. Is there any other passage which clearly implies this?

Answer: "And Peter said unto them, Repent ye, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of sins; and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For to you is the promise and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call unto him" (Acts 2:38, 39).

5. Do you really believe then that Jesus would not forbid little children to be baptized?

Answer: "And they were bringing unto him little children, that he should touch them: and the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw it, he was moved with indignation, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me; forbid them not: for to such belongeth the kingdom of God" (Mark 10:13, 14; Matthew 19:13-14).

6. But why were the bloody sacraments of circumcision and passover replaced by the unbloody sacraments of baptism and the Lord's Supper?

Answer: "Christ through his own blood entered in once for all into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption" (Hebrews 9:11, 12).

7. But is it not true that some persons who were baptized in their infancy are lost for eternity? Then, why baptize infants?--No, you do not have to answer that one, for on second thought I see that the objection is foolish, for it would hold just as well against adult baptism. Besides, we surely would not banish all wedding rings because some people fail to keep the pledge which is represented by them.

8. But another problem arises in my mind. It is this, What good does infant baptism do the child, seeing that he does not understand what is happening to him?

Answer: "And he that is eight days old shall be circumcized among you" (Genesis 17:12).

Oh, I see your line of reasoning now. My objection would hold just as well against circumcision, yet God commanded a little one, eight days old, to be circumcized. And if God commands it, we must do it. But though I must admit that there is not much left of my objection, I still cannot understand what good baptism will do the little one... unless it should be that the parents who present it for baptism will be more apt to keep a solemn promise which they have made in public before the eyes of God and all his people. Do you think that there is something to that?

Answer: "I will pay my vows unto Jehovah, Yea, in the presence of all his people" (Psalm 116:14).

Moreover, if even wicked people are more ready to do a wicked thing because they have solemnly promised to do it, will not God's people be more ready to do a good thing because they have promised to do it?

Herod was a wicked king who had made a wicked promise. Yet we read, "And the king was exceeding sorry; but for the sake of his oaths, and of them that sat at meat, he would not reject her" (Mark 6:26).

9. I can see now that Infant Baptism is good for the child in a twofold way: 

1. because of the promise which the parents make, namely, to nurture the child in the fear of the Lord; and 
2. because of the fact that if the child has been baptized as an infant, then when later on he hears about this wonderful, sovereign, love, it becomes a powerful incentive for him to love and trust the Lord in return. He will then say, "How wonderful, that it is exactly INFANT BAPTISM that has shown me that God loved me ere I knew him. Seeing, then, that at baptism, he said to me: "My son [or "my daughter"], give me thy heart" (Proverbs 23:26), I will, by means of making public profession of my faith, and by means of adorning that confession with a godly life, say to him:

Take my life, and let me be
Consecrated, Lord, to thee;
Take my hands and let them move
At the impulse of they love.

Take my love, my God, I pour
At thy feet its treasure store;
Take myself, and I will be
Ever, only, all for thee.

10. But why does God present that wonderful gospel of his love to our eyes by means of the sacraments (baptism, the Lord's Supper) as well as to our ears (in the preaching of the Word)? Does that twofold presentation make the gospel more effective?

Answer: "I had heard of thee by the hearing of the ear; but now mine eye seeth thee: wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes" (Job 42:5).

11. Is it true that the water of baptism points to the cleansing blood and Spirit of Christ?

Answer: "In that day there shall be a fountain opened... for sin and for uncleanness" (Zechariah 13:1).

"The blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin" (1 John 1:7).

"Except one be born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God" (John 3:5).

12. I am now strongly inclined to believe in Infant Baptism, I can see that it is a wonderful sign and seal of God's love, and that once rightly understood by the child, it will be able to exert a might influence for good upon his spiritual life in its development. But, if you don't mind, I want to know how to answer three additional objections that are sometimes advanced against this doctrine. The first is this: Does not Mark 16:16 indicate that a person should first believe before he can be baptized?

Answer: See for yourself by reading the text in its own context. It means, of course, that those to whom the gospel is preached (verse 15) must first confess their faith before they can be baptized. Hence, before an adult is baptized he must first confess his faith. The passage, therefore, has nothing whatever to do with infant baptism.

13. Yes, I can see that now clearly. The next objection I want to be able to answer is this one: some people say that infants cannot be admitted to baptism because nowhere do we read in so many words (literally), "Go and baptize infants."

Answer: And where do you read in so many words (literally), "Women can be admitted to the Lord's Supper"? (Remember that when Christ instituted this sacrament men only were present.) Where do we read in so many words, "Go to church on Sunday instead of on Saturday"? You say, "But these are safe and warranted inferences." Exactly, so is Infant Baptism, as you have seen. Furthermore, shouldn't we expect a command, not to baptize infants, if the Lord wanted the New Testament Church to have a different attitude and practice than was present in the Old Testament?

14. The final objection which people sometimes advance is this: Infant Baptism is a late invention. The early church did not know anything about it.

Answer: One of the greatest authorities on Church History, Philip Schaff, has this to say about that objection:

"Among the fathers... there is not a single voice against the lawfulness and the apostolic origin of infant baptism."

Report Teaches Us A Lot About Where We Are

The following report was submitted and adopted into the minutes of Central Mississippi Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church in the United States (April 13-15, 1926).

Your Committee on Sabbath would respectfully submit the following report:

Your committee on Sabbath Observance can at the very outset but express regret that they are forced to come again before you with the same mournful statement as in the past, that they have nothing either bright or encouraging to present, but rather the reverse.

It pains our hearts to say it, yet truth demands the statement, that while the Christian world seems to be pressing with unwonted strides toward the goal in other directions, aiming to get nearer to the Scripture ideal, in bringing the world more and more under the influence of gospel truth, yet in the matter of Sabbath observance, in stead of lifting up, it seems actually more and more to be losing its hold upon the masses; and just here we are confronted with the startling inquiry, whether the world, with all its boasted progress, can really and truly be getting upon a higher plane, while the Sabbath of the Lord remains in the dust, and this sign of divine sovereignty lies trampled under the foot of man.

We would not be guilty of gross pessimism, or painting the cloud too dark, but while some of our people are fairly well observing the Sabbath, yet it is rapidly assuming the characteristics of the continental Sabbath, so far as the masses are concerned, being by them regarded as a day of recreation and pleasure, and even of business, if necessary, and especially is this true in the cities and towns and sections of country adjacent to them. If we would be called upon to say why this is the case, we would unhesitatingly say that it is due to the apathy and indifference of a large part of God’s professed people.

If all the professed Christian in America were united in their opposition, the evil would soon be abated. It is when “men sleep” that the enemy does the work of “sowing tares.”

Is the Sabbath a divine institution of permanent and universal obligation? Is it of God and did He intend it for all mankind? These are the questions that lie at the root of the present-day Sabbath day controversy. We unhesitatingly answer, YES, it’s a divine institution; YES, God intended it for all mankind, but many are losing a sense of the sacred quality of the day. Many are turning it from a holy to a holiday, and the crying need of our time is to have a sense of sacredness of the day revived in the hearts of the people. It is useless to talk about the manner in which the Sabbath should be observed, unless the people are convinced of its sacred character.

As to the best course to be pursued in meeting this growing and great evil, your committee is wholly unable to say. They would, however, venture one or two suggestions.

The first is, that as the matter is more directly and intimately under the eye and purview of the pastors and officers of the church, your committee would urge upon them the duty and responsibility of constantly keeping this subject before the people, with a view of awakening a deeper interest. We feel that much can be done in this way. Second, that the pastors and officers by their utterances and example put all the people on their guard against the great danger of becoming — by their patronage — “partakers of other men’s sins” unwittingly though it may be.

Respectfully submitted,

C.P. Colmery, Chairman

The Church as Community or Speaking God's Yes and No

Christian community sounds very attractive in today's consumerist world, at least until you try to practice it. Many people would like Christian community to be like an affirmative therapy group, where only sympathy and support are ever given.

Truth be told, Christian community is more like a family. The arena is one of love, but true family love must also involve correction of thoughts and behaviors. The motive behind fatherly discipline of children, however imperfect, is always love. Every parent, however, will make selfish mistakes in discipline: disciplining a child because he has become an annoyance, or has made a public spectacle, rather than patient guiding of the heart. This can happen in the church, too.

When someone steps out on a limb, and attempts to offer some sort of course correction to us, we can have several responses. A common one is resentment: "Who does he think he is?" I know this because I have been there. People have dared to come to me, and offered helpful critique. I fumed. I fussed. I self-justified. I took it to God. They were right, and I was humbled, and set about correcting course. Not easy. Not fun.

The most common one in today's church is leaving. Find an easier place, where we can hide. Frankly, this is part of the appeal of the mega-churches. This is not just my inkling; I have heard many people voice this as just their reason for leaving a smaller church, where they had to shoulder some of the burden of leadership, or service, or "everyone being into my business." Biblical community is uncomfortable, and I want to hide from it.

Incidentally, this impulse is behind the failure of many marriages, and the pervasive lonesomeness many feel in our world. We don't want to be hurt; we figure solitariness is safety, and there we can always get our own way, so we cut ourselves off from anyplace where we might have to bend or yield our will to another, or be hurt. In our Wal-Mart culture, it is easy to do. We can go places and be surrounded by more people than ever before, and yet be lonely, because we do not connect.

This shows itself in the virtual world, too. Real relationships are too costly, too messy, and inconvenient, so we enter into a world of artificial reality, where we can project ourselves to be whoever we want, and "befriend" those who ask nothing of us, and who can be "un-friended" at will, and who, incidentally, are not their real selves, either.

I think many Bible-believing churches are succeeding today by speaking only the pleasant truths. When the unpleasant truths are brought to bear upon us personally, then we can assuage our consciences by going to other "Bible-believing" churches where the unpleasant truths are simply ignored, as if by doing so, we can escape God's all-searching gaze. This is a fool's errand. While we can escape scrutiny on our lives for awhile, and perhaps find some rest of conscience, or (worse) a passive acceptance of our self-destructive sinfulness, God always sees.

Life in community is no easy thing. God did not intend for it to be easy. The alternative is Hell --being left alone, with ones' self, to become one's worst self-indulgent, self-destructive self, with a worm that never dies, a fire that never goes out, and a thirst that is never quenched.

But, life in community here will often cause us to cry out for the perfection of the life of community in the world to come. Its very imperfection shows us it is a pale copy of the true. The father's house has not mansions, but rooms. Heaven is a place of dwelling together, shorn of all that makes dwelling together here difficult and painful. Yet, life together here can give us a warm foretaste of glory. Lewis said if we would have pleasure, we must have pain too. That's the deal. Those who cut themselves off from the pain, miss the pleasure. If I never connect to another living soul, I will never face the bereavement of death. If I am a faceless face in a crowd among the people of God, who will ever help me see my own sins and shortcomings, let alone show up with a casserole when I am sick?

God save us from our selfish selves....

The Doctrine of Intended Unintended Consequences

I don't know who first said it, but it makes sense: Aim at happiness and you will miss it, but aim at virtue and you will quite possibly have happiness thrown in.

The Christian might say: Aim at happiness and you will miss it, but aim at loving submission to God and others, and you will certainly have joy thrown in. It is an intended unintended consequence. The goal really is joy, but the pathway is not selfish pleasure-seeking, but questing after God and following his way.

Church life is similar. Most every church longs to grow. Growth, we think, means health. Indeed, growth can mean health, but it doesn't always mean health. Some trees grow fast, but are structurally weak, and quick to blow over in a storm. Other trees grow slow, but grow strong. It is no accident that the life-cycle of many mega-churches appears to be one generation.

Far too often, churches think they grow by being attractional: having pretty people and offering every possible service: in short, being a "good" church. It is true: churches do grow that way, at least those that are the best at what they offer. The problem is: there can only be one best, by definition.

Yet, God has purposed that there be many churches. Not every church can be the "best." In fact, aiming to be the best is like aiming at happiness --probably the church will fail, because pride attaches itself to being best, like some voracious lamphrey sucking the life out of its host salmon.

The church should concern itself with "doing good" more than "being good." It should be more concerned about becoming a place that employs the saints with works of kingdom service than a place that exists to meet all their felt needs. If we are doing our job as parents, we are not meeting all our children's felt needs. In fact, the good parent knows that the worst thing he could do for his child is meet all his felt needs. The best thing he can do for his child is to love him, and to train him in the primary virtues --the most primary one being, if Calvin is right, self-denial. It goes without saying that this is done in the warm womb of love, support, encouragement, and loving correction. And, it goes without saying that people will have their needs met, even as they are encouraged to give, as well as receive.

If the church is to become even more a place of joy, then it must be about the way of taking up the cross: a place where the self is denied, and we lose ourselves in service. That sounds glorious, until we realize that service may be cleaning up after floods, or teaching elementary Sunday School. Too many people wait for some grand opportunity of heroic self-sacrifice, when "mundane" kingdom service is right in front of them waiting to be done. In fact, the heroic may be just another opportunity for self-indulgence, when the mundane and seeming unimportant task is the one that requires true self-sacrifice.

What is true for individuals is also true for the church. A church that wants to be noticed is seeking the wrong thing. The church should concern herself with doing good, and leave the results up to God. If the church is busy about kingdom activity --doing good to the least of these, proclaiming the gospel, extending the hand of mercy, and so on-- it may please God to grant her growth, or it may not. That is God's concern, not ours. Yet, there will be a sense of kingdom vitality about a church that does good, whereas the "good church" can all appear rather plastic and shallow.

In fact, the church doing good is just the church being the church. The truth is upheld. Works of mercy ratify the truth of the message. The love that grows in the hearts of the people shows they have been born from above. Their self-denial brings about a satisfaction for which they have sought and longed, but never been able to find in the world, and it pours over the edges of their lives and becomes attractive to others.

That is my prayer for my church.