Unnecessary Silence

I took some brothers in the Lord to see Martin Scorsese’s Silence yesterday. You know you live in the middle of nowhere – or at least close – when you have to drive three hours and cross state lines to see a movie.

Warning: plot details ahead. Don’t read on if you plan on seeing the movie – which I personally wouldn’t recommend unless you’re going to discuss it in the context of the Bible and biblical theology with brothers and sisters in Christ.

MattZoller Seitz wrote: “‘Silence’ is a monumental work, and a punishing one. It puts you through hell with no promise of enlightenment...this is not the sort of film you ‘like’ or ‘don't like.’ It’s a film that you experience and then live with." This sums up how I felt about it. When I got home and my family asked if I liked the movie, it seemed impossible to answer.

Having discussed it with my brothers in Christ, however, I have a few observations. This post is as much the fruit of their meditation as it is mine.

The Christianity of Silence is Roman Catholicism. There are prayers (and rosary), absolutions and masses ministered by the priests, crosses and crucifixes, infant baptism, and…silence. Waiting for the voice of God to guide through the torment. One crucial thing is missing for the Christianity of Silence, and, I suspect, the Christianity of many living in the world today: the Bible was absent. God’s Word, by which the Holy Spirit speaks to the saints, is not present. It is no wonder God is “silent.” The means by which He speaks to His people is not used.

One of the most powerful parts of the movie for me personally was when Padres Rodrigues and Garupe meet with the underground church in the village of Tomogi. Rodrigues, in a narrative voice-over, compares the gatherings of these believers with those worshiping in the catacombs under the persecution of the Roman Empire. It is night, and the first meeting of the priests with the underground church. The believers offer food to the priests, who ravenously begin devouring it before pausing in embarrassment to realize they had not blessed it before eating. After a hasty prayer, they resume devouring the food. Then they notice that the lay leadership of the church is not eating. When the priests ask why the leaders aren’t eating, the elder Ichizo (who will soon be martyred on a cross in the ocean) responds, “it is you who feed us.” The food these believers – and all believers – desperately need is the Word of God, and Christ has given His Church both elders and gifted lay members who give this most needful food to His people by the power and illumination of the Holy Spirit.[1] The sacramental wafer without the Word rightly preached, taught, and understood, cannot feed the people.

Earlier in the movie, Rodrigues, still in Portugal, meditates on Jesus’ command to Peter as he prepares to journey to Japan. The padre only considers the phrases, “feed my lambs, feed my lambs, feed my sheep.” He would have done well to go to the Book to discover what this means.

“So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?’

He said to Him, ‘Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.’

He said to him, ‘Feed My lambs.’

He said to him again a second time, ‘Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?’

He said to Him, ‘Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.’

He said to him, ‘Tend My sheep.’

He said to him the third time, ‘Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?’ Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, ‘Do you love Me?’

And he said to Him, ‘Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.’

Jesus said to him, ‘Feed My sheep. Most assuredly, I say to you, when you were younger, you girded yourself and walked where you wished; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish.’ This He spoke, signifying by what death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, ‘Follow Me’” (John 21:15-19, N.K.J.V.).

How did Peter understand Jesus’ command to “feed” His “sheep”?

Believers have “been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever…as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious” (1 Peter 1:23; 2:2,3). The food is “the Word of God…the pure milk of the Word.”

The “silence” was unnecessary. “God, Who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son” (Hebrews 1:1,2). The Old Testament testified and revealed through shadows and symbols the Son of God. The New Testament reveals Him fully in His Person, His actions, His words, and the inspired apostolic word concerning Him. The Word is not “silent.” It gives us Jesus, our most needful Food.[2]

The Holy Spirit speaks through the Bible today, especially when believers gather to worship and fellowship through the preaching, reading, and teaching of the Word. It is sad when either 17^th century Roman Catholic priests or believers today struggle with the silence of God because they are neglecting His appointed means of speaking and being present with His people.

Apostasy is a major theme of the movie Silence. Believers are tormented physically, emotionally, and psychologically in an effort to get them to apostatize. Rodrigues and Garupe even argue briefly over advising the Japanese believers to apostatize before the Inquisitor. In the end, Rodrigues is denied his own martyrdom and led to apostatize to relieve the torment of Japanese Christians. It is a horrible choice he is given, and a clear picture of the depravity of the fallen human nature.

Apostasy is a reality described in the Bible.[3]

In one sense, it is ubiquitous to this age between the Advents of Christ. In explaining His parable of the sower, Christ says, “the seed is the word of God…the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away [ἀφίστανται]” (Luke 8:11,13).

Believers are called to examine themselves to rid themselves of that which may reveal them to be false confessors: “Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing [ἀποστῆναι] from the living God; but exhort one another daily, while it is called ‘Today,’ lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end” (Hebrews 3:12-14). Notice the remedy is self-examination and the encouragement of other believers.

The New Testament also uses the term apostasy to describe that falling away that comes at the end of this age.

“Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away [ἀποστασία] comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God” (2 Thessalonians 2:1-4).

“Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart [ἀποστήσονταί] from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons” (1 Timothy 4:1).

In Silence, Inoue (the Inquisitor) uses a parable to explain to Rodrigues why Christianity cannot thrive in Japan. A daimyo, he explains, has four concubines whose jealousy and fighting with each other make him miserable. His solution: cast them all out of the house. Inoue explains these four concubines are “Spain, Portugal, Holland, England,” all trying to have their national “Christianity” take root in Japan. Japan, the man, has decided to cast them all out. Rodrigues responds, “our church teaches monogamy. What if Japan were to choose one lawful wife from the four?” Inoue states, “you mean Portugal” (Rodrigues’ country of origin). The padre responds, “I mean the holy church.” Beautiful moment – if only the priest meant not the Roman Catholic Church, but the biblical Church of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Bride, the only one who has the means of saving and healing from out of the nations through the Gospel entrusted to her. Sadly, it seems that Rodrigues himself doesn’t remain faithful to the Bride. Apostasy, ἀποστασία, has a cognate in the N.T. - ἀποστάσιον, a certificate of divorce (Matthew 5:31; 19:7; Mark 10:4).

The believers in Silence publicly apostatize under tremendous threat and distress. Sadly, many professing Christians today deny “the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3) just to remain popular or socially acceptable (politically correct). Many cannot hold to the faith even though they are free from the type of persecution depicted in this movie – the type of persecution experienced by many believers around the world today. For them, the only “gospel” is that God wants His people in this world to be comfortable and happy. The rest of the Gospel message – the hope, glory, and eternal joy on the other side of Jesus’ cross -  is a key point missing from their lives, and the movie Silence.

At one point, after baptizing a Christian couples’ infant, the wife asks, “we now? All with God, in paraiso?” Rodrigues attempts to correct her, “Paradise? Now? No. But God is there now, and forever. He prepares a place for us all. Even now.”

Later, as they are arrested, a Japanese believer whose new name at baptism is Monica (like St. Augustine’s mother) has to remind Rodrigues himself of this. She says, “Padre...our father...Padre Juan...said if we die we will go to paraiso.”

Rodrigues says, “Paradise, yes...”

Monica continues: “Isn’t it good to die? Paraiso is so much better than here. No one hungry,

never sick. No taxes, no hard work.”

The padre, reminded of this truth in his despair, agrees. “Padre Juan was right. There’s no work in paraiso. No taxes, no hunger. Nothing can be stolen from you. And there’s no pain...” He is almost forced into this confession by Monica, but its hope is not seen in the rest of his actions, words, and meditations throughout the movie.

The Scriptures, especially the Word of the New Testament, would have given Rodrigues a firm foundation in this vital theological truth. Believers are called to walk through this world with a hope, assurance, and longing for glory with Christ in heaven.

Suffering is to be expected in this world. It should not be a surprise for believers.

“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).

“…all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution” (2 Timothy 3:12).

Only those who have starved themselves of this needful biblical meal, be it a 17^th century priest or modern Christian engorged on prosperity and positivity preaching, will be shocked and unable to understand when difficulty for the faith comes. It is promised in the N.T., and the strength for it is found there.

“We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is fitting, because your faith grows exceedingly, and the love of every one of you all abounds toward each other, so that we ourselves boast of you among the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that you endure, which is manifest evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you also suffer; since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you, and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, when He comes, in that Day, to be glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who believe, because our testimony among you was believed” (2 Thessalonians 1:3-10).

The great Whore, Babylon the great, “drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus” (Revelation 17:6), manifests under many masks, from the Roman Catholic Church in the days of the Reformation to Imperial Japan to today’s militant Islam to bestselling false teachers buying "souls of men" (Revelation 18:13) to many others.[4] “Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time” (Revelation 12:12). The dragon hates the Church and seeks her destruction, one believer at a time, often through his deceitful puppet, Babylon.

How does the Church overcome in the face of such evil? “…they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death” (12:11). Generation to generation of this Gospel Age, believers have suffered horribly for the faith and endured it by the hope of the promise of glory contained in the Word.[5]

His blood is our assurance now and forever. The Word of the testimony of Jesus Christ is not silent, and cannot be silenced. And this life, including the sometimes long moments of its end, are indescribably small compared to the glory waiting the faithful in eternity (this is Paul’s perspective – Romans 8:18; 2 Corinthians 4:17,18).

And the silence of God? When the Psalmists beg God to speak in His silence (28,30,39,83,109), they themselves are never silent. They pray for God to speak, and then begin to remind their souls of His long ages of good faithfulness to His people in blessing and trial.[6] The Word is the answer to their prayer that God not be silent.

Run to the Word. Read it, pray it, sing it, preach it, teach it, think it, adore it, breathe it. God is not silent nor absent as long as His Word is your life. God is not silent.

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[1] “Although it be incumbent on the bishops or pastors of the churches, to be instant in preaching the word, by way of office, yet the work of preaching the word is not so peculiarly confined to them but that others also gifted and fitted by the Holy Spirit for it, and approved and called by the church, may and ought to perform it” (Second London Confession, 26.11).

[2] The Bible is “the true center of Christian union,” and “all Scripture is a testimony to Christ, who is Himself the focus of divine revelation” (Baptist Faith & Message 2000, I).

[3] While the word “apostasy” is not used, the apostle John’s warning describes the state of salvation of these who leave: “Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us” (1 John 2:18,19).

[4] Sadly, the tortures Inoue Masashige, the “Inquisitor,” oversaw concerning the Christians (Japanese and Jesuit alike) – drownings, burnings, beheadings – were torments the Roman Catholic Church (and some Protestants) had been inflicting on Protestants in Europe for the previous hundred-plus years.

[5] “…it pleased the Lord at sundry times and in divers manners to reveal Himself, and to declare that His will unto His church; and afterward for the better preserving and propagating of the truth, and for the more sure establishment and comfort of the church against the corruption of the flesh, and the malice of Satan, and of the world, to commit the same wholly unto writing; which maketh the Holy Scriptures to be most necessary, those former ways of God’s revealing His will unto His people being now ceased” (Second London Confession, 1.1).

[6] Near the end of the movie, Rodrigues, now living as Okada San’emon, a man with a Japanese name with a Japanese family, hears the voice of Jesus say, “I suffered beside you. I was never silent.” I am reminded of Isaiah 53:7//Acts 8:32,33.

How It's Supposed to Be

We normally offer a class on world missions for our children on Wednesday nights while the adults are in Bible study. This last week our teacher was on vacation, so the children were in with the adults. We were on the second week of James 5:13-20, discussing elders, anointing the sick with oil, the connection between sickness and sin, confession, prayer, and turning the wayward back to the truth. The time began with a cappella singing of Psalms 7 and 67 (from the ARP Psalter, one of the best out there).

After dismissal, I heard something that is one of those magical moments in ministry. While everybody was standing around talking (mostly focused on the adorable one-year-old girl telling a story in the corner), a boy asked his dad, “what did pastor mean when he said…?” I didn’t hear the rest of the question, but I didn’t need to. This is exactly how it’s supposed to work.

“…be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father; and be subject to one another in the fear of Christ…fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord” (Ephesians 5:18b-21; 6:4). The outflow of the Spirit-filled gathering of the Church is the training of the children by fathers. And, as Proverbs 1:8; 6:20; 31:26 shows, the mother also teaches the children “the Law” (תּוֹרָה) – not her own Law, but the Law of her God she had been taught by her parents.

That same Law commands the fathers to teach the children (Deuteronomy 4:9,10; 6:7; 11:19; see also Psalm 34:11; 44:1; 71:18; 78:3-8; Isaiah 38:19), but also assumes the children are capable of participating in the faith-life of the people and will ask the meaning of the things that are done in a household organized around faith in God (Exodus 12:26,27; 13:14; Deuteronomy 6:20,21; Joshua 4:6,21). This is what thrilled my heart Wednesday night: the Scripture was acted out in a mostly-hidden moment. It was normal, it was right, and it was good to see the Spirit work according to His Word.

This is how it is supposed to be.

The Birth of a Girl and the Great Story

I saw a meme slandering the “religion” of the Bible yesterday, justifying the rejection because of this citation (I give it exactly as it appeared): A woman who bears a female child is twice as filthy as one who gives birth to a male. Leviticus 12:1-5

First, there is no verse that says this (notice the citation is for 5 verses). Second, no English translation of Leviticus 12:1-5 uses the word “filthy.”

The passage hinted at and twisted actually says this: “Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to the sons of Israel, saying: “When a woman gives birth and bears a male child, then she shall be unclean for seven days, as in the days of her menstruation she shall be unclean. On the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. Then she shall remain in the blood of her purification for thirty-three days; she shall not touch any consecrated thing, nor enter the sanctuary until the days of her purification are completed. But if she bears a female child, then she shall be unclean for two weeks, as in her menstruation; and she shall remain in the blood of her purification for sixty-six days” (Leviticus 12:1-5).[1]

You can reject the Bible because of a single idea (not accurately quoted) that seems offensive in our culture and time (so much for tolerance, understanding, and pluralism, eh?). Or, you can step back and see this verse as reaching back to the first and greatest low point in human history where a promise of incredible saving grace was given…then see that this verse bridges between that bright promise on a dark day and a future day when the promise was fulfilled in the greatest gift the world has ever (or will ever) see.

Let me tell you a story. Leviticus 12:1-5 is an element of that story.

In the beginning, “God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them; and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it, and rule’” (Genesis 1:27,28). There’s no category of “unclean” at this point. God’s creation “was very good” (1:31). The “unclean” part comes in later.

God created a unique place of joyful communion with Him – “a garden…in Eden” (2:8). All that human beings could need was there. They could “from any tree of the garden…eat freely” (2:16). Except one tree, which was the test of faithful obedience to the Creator Who had supplied their needs and made them to be in blessed relationship with Him, the Source of Life and Goodness. The one commandment was given to them: “Then the Lord God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it. The Lord God commanded the man, saying, ‘From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die’” (Genesis 2:15-17).

Then something happened.

“Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, ‘Indeed, has God said, “You shall not eat from any tree of the garden”?’ The woman said to the serpent, ‘From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, “You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.”’ The serpent said to the woman, ‘You surely will not die! For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’ When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate…” (Genesis 3:1-6).[2]

Every verse after Genesis 3:6, and every moment of human existence (including yours and mine) afterwards, is grace. That could have been the end. But God, from before the foundation of the world, knew what would transpire and had a plan. The ending would be better than the beginning. It’s a story played out over a very long time, though. As the twisting and criticism of Leviticus 12:1-5 shows, we don’t often have the patience for a long story, no matter how beautiful.

Serpent, woman, and man are summoned to God’s tribunal for this rebellion. The serpent is cursed by God. In the curse, God makes a promise. The Promise. “I will put enmity [warfare] between you and the woman, between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise Him on the heel” (3:15). Immediately after this, the woman’s punishment is announced: “I will greatly multiply your pain in childbirth” (3:16). The woman tastes death – the punishment for rebellion – in giving birth, even shedding blood (life, as we’ll see). Every birth is a reminder of the sentence of death, a reminder that the saving serpent-Crusher promised by God is desperately needed.

A long time later, God organizes His people into a nation, giving them moral laws, civil laws, and ceremonial laws. The ceremonial laws reminded them that they were a people who lived by a different standard than all the other peoples of the world, who were alienated from Him and living however they desired (the autonomy espoused by the serpent that fateful first day of the Fall of humanity). Among those ceremonial laws was Leviticus 12:1-5. The shedding of blood was significant from a symbolic standpoint, for “…the life of the flesh is in the blood” (Leviticus 17:11). Bloodshed was to be a reminder that rebellion against God forfeited the life of the rebel, and that sin had separated us from God. The blood and the ritual inconvenience was to be a reminder. Those laws under that old covenant (we call it the Old Testament) applied to all of life for God’s people – there was no aspect of life that didn’t point them to the Great Story. Including childbirth, in which (as a result of Eve’s rebellion) there is the shedding of blood, a picture of sin-caused death (alienation from God) even in the entry of life into the world. We need the serpent-Crushing Savior.

Why, though, was the ritual time of “uncleanness” longer with the birth of a girl? It’s not because God or the Bible consider girls bad. In fact, did you know that, among all the ancient religious texts, the Bible is the only one that tells us about the creation of women (Genesis 2:18-25)?[3] The Bible is filled with women who were great heroes, from the judges of Israel to prophetesses to incredible key parts of the Great Story! No, Leviticus 12:5 isn’t there because girls are worse than boys. It’s there to keep reminding us of the roots of the Great Story and The Promise. The apostle Paul later says, “the woman [Eve] being deceived, fell into transgression” (1 Timothy 2:14). The birth of a girl, daughter of Eve, reminds us that through the woman Eve’s actions, sin entered humanity. Before you get angry at how unfair this seems, remember: God is not holding a grudge against the female gender because of Eve. He is reminding every generation in which a girl was born that through the “seed” of the woman the serpent-Crusher was going to enter the world. The birth of a girl brought a longer meditation on this Promise and the need for that Promise’s fulfillment than the birth of a boy.

Instead of the female of humanity being a stigma forever reminding of one woman’s sin, the female of humanity was, by the gracious plan and Promise of God, the means by which the solution to humanity’s problem was to be solved. Bloodshed and “uncleanness” were reminders that we all are under sentence of death for our rebellion against God, but through the woman a serpent-Crusher was going to come. This was worth a two weeks’ reminder with every birth of a girl among the ancient people of God.

Let’s fast-forward. The Bible tells us that, “when the fullness of time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law” (Galatians 4:4), including the “Law” contained in Leviticus 12:1-5. The serpent-Crusher didn’t come through the “seed” of a man. This is why Mary’s conceiving of Christ as a virgin is theologically important – it fulfills the promise of the first pages of the Bible! The messenger-angel said this to Mary upon bringing her the news: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:35). The same messenger-angel assured Mary’s fiancé Joseph with this revelation: “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child Who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:20,21).

The regulation of Leviticus 12:1-5 isn’t there to stigmatize women and infant girls. It’s there as a reminder that humanity’s greatest problem, brought into the world by the first woman’s sin, will be incredibly and gloriously solved by God through a woman. The beginning was tragic, but it is infinitely out-shined by the ending. Like any good story, the tension was maintained and built throughout the telling, and Leviticus 12:1-5 was part of that.

It’d be a shame to miss out on the whole Story.

Genesis 3:15 has been fulfilled by God when He sent His Son into the world through a woman - not just one famous woman (Mary), but through women who were providentially brought into the Christ-story even though their backgrounds should have excluded them. Ruth was from Moab, not Israel…she wasn’t part of the nation God was using to bring His Son into the world, but by His incredible gracious plan to “purchase for God with [Christ’s blood]…from every tribe and tongue and people and nation” (Revelation 5:9), she was included. Her name is in Jesus Christ’s genealogy (Matthew 1:5). Rahab was a harlot in Jericho…the same Jericho filled with idol-worshipers consigned to destruction (Joshua 6:1-27). But by God’s providential plan and grace, Rahab and her family were saved out of the destruction. And she became part of the Old Testament people of God, Israel. Her name is in Jesus Christ’s genealogy (Matthew 1:5).

The ceremonial regulation of Leviticus 12:1-5 doesn’t apply to new covenant (New Testament) believers anymore, because it was fulfilled in Christ, the serpent-Crushing seed of the woman promised in Genesis 3:15. Now “you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes. There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you” (Galatians 3:26-29, New Living Translation). Men and women are equal in the salvation that comes through Jesus Christ (the same equality by which both are described as the image of God back in Genesis 1:27). In Christ, a woman is to be honored “as a fellow heir of the grace of life.” God doesn’t even hear the prayers of anyone who treats her less than this (1 Peter 3:7)!

Let me finish up the story by taking us to the words of the apostle Paul: “I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling; likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, but with what is proper for women who profess godliness - with good works. Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness. I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. For Adam was formed first, then Eve; and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor. Yet she [Eve] will be saved through childbearing [her “Seed,” Jesus Christ] - if they [female Christians] continue in faith and love and holiness, with self-control” (1 Timothy 2:8-15, English Standard Version). The mandate that women not be pastor-teachers in the Church isn’t a punishment. It is, like Leviticus 12:1-5, a telling of the Gospel story in the role women play in the Church. Women still speak the truth of God’s Word by the power of the Holy Spirit, what the Bible calls “prophecy” (Acts 2:17; 21:9; 1 Corinthians 11:5). But they don’t take the leading teaching role in the Church, as a telling of the story of Eve and the eventual salvation that came through her “Seed,” Jesus Christ. Children of Eve, tell this story by continuing in “faith” in her “Seed,” Jesus Christ, in “love and holiness, with self-control.”

I’ve heard for decades now that the attention span of the average American is continually shrinking. I wonder if we’re capable of reading beyond a meme or bumper sticker anymore. Please don’t reject the Grand Story of God’s Love because of a single tiny falsehood that popped up on your screen appealing to your innate desire to rebel against everything.

“‘She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.’ Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet [in Isaiah 7:14]: ‘Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,’ which translated means, ‘God with us’” (Matthew 1:21-23).

Believe in Jesus Christ, this “Seed” of the woman, the great serpent-Crusher, the Defeater of the sin-penalty of eternal death, the Savior of all – men and women equally – who call on His name, the Reconcilion to our Creator, and the Demonstration of the love of God.

Yes, the love of God. “By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world [as the “Seed” of the woman] so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son [as the “Seed” of the woman] to be the propitiation [punishment-taker] for our sins” (1 John 4:9,10).

Believe.

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[1] New American Standard Bible, unless otherwise noted.

[2] What’s sad about this is that the serpent hasn’t had to change his strategy in the least since that moment. The meme slandering the “religion” of the Bible is a modern expression of that “serpent of old” (Revelation 12:9): twist the Word of God, then outright deny the Word of God. It worked then, and still works today. The Bible says these continuing followers of the serpent’s way are in “the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will” (2 Timothy 2:26). God grant them freedom to the truth of the Bible!

[3] Some will chafe at the creation of the woman – wife to the first man – as a “helper” (Genesis 2:18). “The term ‘helper,’ which is also used by God to identify Himself (Exod. 18:4; Deut. 33:7), describes the woman God created to become a partner with the man in the overwhelming task of exercising dominion over the world and extending the generations (Gen. 1:28; 2:18). When you call upon God to be your ‘Helper,’ you are not suggesting that He divest Himself of His deity and supernatural powers. Rather you ask Him to come to your aid with the powers of His divine person. There is no hint of inferiority in the term. It describes function (what she does) rather than worth (who she is).” Dorothy Kelley Patterson, “The Family,” in Baptist Faith & Message 2000: Critical Issues in America’s Largest Protestant Denomination, ed. Douglas K. Blount and Joseph D. Wooddell (Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2007), 188.

Wives of Preachers, Be the Prophetess

Early in our marriage, my bride asked me what the most important thing she could do to help me in ministry. I appreciated this question, for I am one who is in constant need of help. Further, I believe that – in a Christian marriage – the wife is a means of God’s grace to a husband (Proverbs 18:22). God knows I need a lot of grace. I told her that she needed to be a woman of the Word, and that I felt such people would become fewer and fewer in days to come. She was already devoted to her Bible (this was how she was raised), so this wasn’t a request for anything to change. It was an encouragement to keep walking on the same path.

The Puritan Richard Baxter (1615-1691), in the memoir for his late wife Margaret (1631-1681), speaks of her passion for the ministry of the Word of God - even when it came with great cost: "When warrants were out (from Sir Thomas Davies) to distrain [i.e., confiscate and sell] my goods for fines for my preaching, she did without any repining encourage me to undergo loss and did herself take the trouble of removing and hiding my library awhile (many scores of books being so lost), and after she encouraged me to give it away, bona fide, some to New England, and the most at home to avoid distraining on them. And the danger of imprisonment and of paying a fine of £40 for every sermon was so far from inclining her to hinder or discourage me from any one sermon, that if she did but think I had the least fear, or self-saving by fleshly wisdom, in shrinking from my undertaken office work, it was so great a trouble to her that she could not hide it (who could too much hide many others). She was exceeding impatient with any Nonconformist minister that shrank for fear of suffering or that were overquerulous and concerned about their wants or dangers, and would have no man be minister that had not so much self-denial as to lay down all at the feet of Christ and count no cost or suffering too dear to serve Him. She greatly hated choosing or using the sacred ministry for wealth, ease, or honor, or any worldly end serving the flesh under the name of serving Christ, and looking to be reverenced and honored in this taking of God's name in vain" (A Grief Sanctified, pg. 101).

I have heard personal property rights described as the foundation of the U.S.A.'s law and economy. In so many camps of American Christianity, the "American" and "Christianity" are so melded that it is difficult to discern the difference. Would we choose the Word over personal property, as Margaret Baxter did? The early Christians "accepted joyfully the seizure of [their] property, knowing that [they had] for [themselves] a better possession and a lasting one" (Hebrews 10:34). There's a testimony that demands attention. "Joyfully." Why? Because the hope of heaven was exponentially greater than any loss experienced here.

As I've been thinking about Mrs. Baxter's courage for the ministry of the Word, the words of a hymn we sang last Lord's Day have repeatedly echoed as a prayer in my mind: "O, for grace to trust Him more" (words by Louisa Stead, 1882, after seeing her husband drown trying to rescue a boy).

"Joyfully."

As I've shared before, one of my favorite chapters in the Old Testament is Isaiah 8. The great prophet ministers the Word in a dark, dark day in Judah's history. He, his wife (the "prophetess," 8:3), his children, and his disciples take a stand on that Word: "Bind up the testimony, seal the Law among my disciples. And I will wait for the LORD Who is hiding His face from the house of Jacob; I will even look eagerly for Him. Behold, I and the children whom the LORD has given me are for signs and wonders in Israel from the LORD of hosts, Who dwells on Mount Zion...to the Law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this Word, it is because they have no dawn" (8:16-18,20). What do we know about Mrs. "Prophetess" Isaiah? Well, her title points to a Spirit-empowered ministry of speaking the Word (this is my definition of “prophecy”).[1] She is willing to let her children be named "Maher-shalal-hash-baz" (8:3) and "Shear-jashub" (7:3) just because it made for great sermon illustrations for her husband. That says a lot by itself. While she is not mentioned in the latter part of chapter 8, we can assume she is part of the family and disciples standing with Isaiah for the Word against a world which denied it.

I am thankful the Lord has given me a Mrs. Baxter and Mrs. “Prophetess” Isaiah in my bride. She has been a means of grace used of God to strengthen me for the task more times than I can say. Her valuing of the Word above all comforts me; I do not stand alone. Ever.

Preacher's wives, whatever you think of the life, keep your heart on the Word that is this life's fruit. Regularly remind yourself of that which is of actual worth, and let that transcendent treasure become your treasure.

“A voice says, ‘Call out.’
Then he answered, ‘What shall I call out?’
All flesh is grass, and all its loveliness is like the flower of the field.
The grass withers, the flower fades,
When the breath of the Lord blows upon it;
Surely the people are grass.
The grass withers, the flower fades,
But the Word of our God stands forever.

Get yourself up on a high mountain,
O Zion, bearer of good news,
Lift up your voice mightily,
O Jerusalem, bearer of good news;
Lift it up, do not fear.
Say to the cities of Judah,
‘Here is your God!’
Behold, the Lord God will come with might,
With His arm ruling for Him.
Behold, His reward is with Him
And His recompense before Him.

Like a shepherd He will tend His flock,
In His arm He will gather the lambs
And carry them in His bosom;
He will gently lead the nursing ewes.

Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand,
And marked off the heavens by the span,
And calculated the dust of the earth by the measure,
And weighed the mountains in a balance
And the hills in a pair of scales?
Who has directed the Spirit of the Lord,
Or as His counselor has informed Him?
With whom did He consult and who gave Him understanding?
And who taught Him in the path of justice and taught Him knowledge
And informed Him of the way of understanding?
Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket,
And are regarded as a speck of dust on the scales;
Behold, He lifts up the islands like fine dust” (Isaiah 40:6-15).

The message beginning the “Comfort” section of Isaiah doesn’t much sound like the comforting words proclaimed and written today. It begins with a message reminding us of our temporary mortality. We are a moment before the breath of the Lord withers us. What is the true forever we desire to reach in our youth-imitative measures? The “Word of the Lord.” That’s the true forever. It gives us the “good news” of the Presence of God we are to announce to the people of God. It is the doorway to knowing God as righteous Judge and Vindicator (we all desire for things to be made right), the way into His loving arms as a Shepherd, and the eye-opening vision of Him as Creator of this massive universe. Experience of God comes through the proclamation of the ever-enduring Word. Be about this, my sisters. You do not carry the title “pastor,” and you may not stand behind the pulpit, but your life is the greatest it can be when it is rich with the Word in your evaluation, discernment, speech, relationships, priorities, passions, etc. Be the prophetess – that sister who is Spirit-reliant and Word-centered without compromise. Your husband the pastor needs it more than you know. Your sisters in Christ need it. The Church needs it.

Be the prophetess.

"Miriam the Prophetess," by Chava Devorkin

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[1] And she is far from the only one in the Bible: Exodus 15:20; Judges 4:4; 2 Kings 22:14; Joel 2:28,29; 2 Chronicles 34:22; Nehemiah 6:14; Luke 2:36; Acts 2:17,18; 21:9; 1 Corinthians 11:5. Of course, there are false prophetesses just as there are false prophets (Revelation 2:20). A claim to the gift is not a confirmation of the gift (in fact, I have found that folks who claim to have this gift are the ones who absolutely do not have this gift).

The Holy Spirit's 70-Year Lesson in Bible Reading

“Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘Because you have not obeyed My words, behold, I will send and take all the families of the north,’ declares the LORD, ‘and I will send to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, My servant, and will bring them against this land and against its inhabitants and against all these nations round about; and I will utterly destroy them and make them a horror and a hissing, and an everlasting desolation. Moreover, I will take from them the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones and the light of the lamp. This whole land will be a desolation and a horror, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years. Then it will be when seventy years are completed I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation,’ declares the LORD, ‘for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans; and I will make it an everlasting desolation. I will bring upon that land all My words which I have pronounced against it, all that is written in this book which Jeremiah has prophesied against all the nation...for thus says the LORD, ‘When seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My good word to you, to bring you back to this place’” (Jeremiah 25:8-13; 29:10).

This is the first place chronologically in Scripture where the “seventy years” are promised by the Lord for the Babylonian exile of the Jews.

As our Baptist forefathers taught, “the infallible rule for the interpretation of Scripture is the Scripture itself” (1689 Baptist Confession of Faith 1.9). Jeremiah’s prophecy seems very straight-forward, without any need for nuance or cleverness. However, three other inspired authors of Scripture give us three different inspired interpretations of Jeremiah’s “seventy years.” In this we learn an important lesson about biblical interpretation.

“The LORD, the God of their fathers, sent word to them again and again by His messengers, because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place; but they continually mocked the messengers of God, despised His words and scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against His people, until there was no remedy. Therefore He brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans who slew their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion on young man or virgin, old man or infirm; He gave them all into his hand. All the articles of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king and of his officers, he brought them all to Babylon. Then they burned the house of God and broke down the wall of Jerusalem, and burned all its fortified buildings with fire and destroyed all its valuable articles. Those who had escaped from the sword he carried away to Babylon; and they were servants to him and to his sons until the rule of the kingdom of Persia, to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed its sabbaths. All the days of its desolation it kept sabbath until seventy years were complete. Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia - in order to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah - the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he sent a proclamation throughout his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying, ‘Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, “The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and He has appointed me to build Him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever there is among you of all His people, may the LORD his God be with him, and let him go up!”’” (2 Chronicles 36:15-23).

The Chronicler is inspired to interpret “seventy years” as the time between the destruction of Jerusalem (586 B.C.) and Cyrus’ decree (539 B.C.) – somewhere between 47-48 years. Given that the Chronicler mentions this time as that in which “the land had enjoyed its sabbaths” (36:21; in accord with the covenant curses in Leviticus 26:34,35,43), we are probably meant to understand this seventy years to be seven sabbaths (49 years). The Chronicler, as inspired of God the Holy Spirit as Jeremiah, understands the 70 years to be “literally” about 49 years, or seven sabbaths. If we truly let Scripture interpret Scripture, Jeremiah’s prophetically-uttered time period must be understood symbolically.

“Then the angel of the LORD said, ‘O LORD of hosts, how long will You have no compassion for Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, with which You have been indignant these seventy years?’ The LORD answered the angel who was speaking with me with gracious words, comforting words. So the angel who was speaking with me said to me, ‘Proclaim, saying, “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘I am exceedingly jealous for Jerusalem and Zion. But I am very angry with the nations who are at ease; for while I was only a little angry, they furthered the disaster.’” Therefore thus says the LORD, “I will return to Jerusalem with compassion; My house will be built in it,” declares the LORD of hosts, “and a measuring line will be stretched over Jerusalem”’” (Zechariah 1:12-16).

Interestingly, one of the most challenging prophets to interpret (Zechariah) seems to be inspired of God the Holy Spirit to interpret Jeremiah’s “seventy years” in what we would consider the most “literal” manner! Between the destruction of Jerusalem (586 B.C.) and the dedication of the second temple (515 B.C.), the building of which is the predominant theme of the first chapters of Zechariah, is roughly 70 years. Is Zechariah more accurate or inspired than the Chronicler? No! They are both inerrantly inspired by the same Holy Spirit. Jeremiah’s “seventy years” are meant to be understood symbolically, and the Holy Spirit’s interpretation of His own words reveal this to us clearly.

“In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of Median descent, who was made king over the kingdom of the Chaldeans - in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, observed in the books the number of the years which was revealed as the word of the LORD to Jeremiah the prophet for the completion of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years. So I gave my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth and ashes. I prayed to the LORD my God and confessed...” (Daniel 9:2-4).

The prophet Daniel, after reading Jeremiah’s “seventy years” prophecy, prays a confession worthy of our reading, meditation, and memorization (9:4-19). He doesn’t seek interpretation of the prophecy, but confesses the sins of his forefathers and his own generation. He confesses that they are worthy of the destruction of Jerusalem and the exile – all “the curse...along with the oath which is written in the law of Moses the servant of God” (9:11). After this prayer, the prophet is visited by a supernatural messenger who gives us a third inspired interpretation of the “seventy years.”

“...while I was still speaking in prayer, then the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision previously, came to me in my extreme weariness about the time of the evening offering. He gave me instruction and talked with me and said, ‘O Daniel, I have now come forth to give you insight with understanding. At the beginning of your supplications the command was issued, and I have come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed; so give heed to the message and gain understanding of the vision. Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy place...’” (9:21-24).

This revelation is related to Jeremiah’s “seventy years” since Gabriel says he was sent “at the beginning of [Daniel’s] supplications” (9:23), which were prompted by the reading of Jeremiah.

Jeremiah’s “seventy weeks,” while referring to the Babylonian exile, are now expanded to “seventy weeks” (9:24). Is there conflict between Jeremiah and Gabriel? No. Both are perfectly inspired by God the Holy Spirit. We now learn in this period of redemptive history that the promises made by the prophets concerning the return from Babylonian exile would not be immediately fulfilled after the “seventy years” (including Jeremiah’s promises concerning the “new covenant” in 31:31-34). Instead, they would be delayed until after the intertestamental period (the time between the Old and New Testaments, a major theme of the book of Daniel), until the time of “Messiah the Prince” and the destruction of the second temple in A.D. 70.

One inspired prophecy (Jeremiah) and three inspired different interpretations (the Chronicler, Zechariah, and Daniel) – all given by the same Holy Spirit. Each uses the “seventy years” in a theological sense to teach the original audience (and us) something important about God’s plan for His people. The Chronicler connects the “seventy years” to the completion of the land’s sabbaths promised in the Law’s curse and Cyrus’ decree that the exiles return to that land. Zechariah connects the “seventy years” to his (and Haggai’s) great prophetic concern – the rebuilding of the temple so that the returning exiles could resume the worship mandated by the old covenant. Daniel is moved to intercession and confession by Jeremiah’s “seventy years,” and Gabriel is sent to extend the fulfillment of the return/restoration promises to the time of the beginning of the new covenant in Jesus Christ.

Biblical numbers are not given to us for the primary purpose of making charts or timelines or setting dates. Biblical numbers, as the Holy Spirit teaches us in this example of the “seventy years,” themselves are symbolic and teach theological truths. This is not one redeemed sinner disagreeing with the interpretation of another (as you and I might over Gabriel's statements in Daniel 9), but four biblical writers all inspired by one God the Holy Spirit, the infinitely wise Author of all Scripture.

May we learn from this example as we come across other theologically-significant numbers in Scripture, and let the Author teach us how to read His Book, in the name of the Son ("All Scripture is a testimony to Christ, Who is Himself the focus of divine revelation," Baptist Faith & Message 2000, 1) to the glory of the Father now and forever.

Pick Up the Book

Last night the first debate was held with candidates from the Republican Party for the 2016 presidential primaries. I did my best to not watch it, but ended up seeing the last hour before my bride and I settled down to watch “Alone” on the History Channel. She had an idea I appreciated: drop the candidates alone into the woods, and make them film themselves trying to survive. I might actually pay to watch that.

Anyway, I’ve been working on my contribution to our upcoming 3^rd annual Southwest Bible Conference. Our theme this year is “the Sufficiency of Scripture.” The last question of last night’s debate was germane for our conference. One candidate gave a great answer. I won’t tell you who he was because I’m not interested in endorsing any candidate, but I’ll tell you he’s a fellow Southern Baptist and he’s not Mike Huckabee (even if you figure out who he is I’m still not endorsing him). When asked, “I want to know if any of them have received a word from God,” this candidate answered: “Well, I am blessed to receive a word from God every day in receiving the Scriptures and reading the Scriptures. And God speaks through the Bible.”

This was the most interesting part of a debate I really didn’t want to watch (I agree with a friend that these things start seeming like Saturday Night Live skits pretty quickly).

My immediate thought was, “I wish most other Southern Baptists could give an answer that spiritually mature and theologically accurate.”

Ah, beloved. Pick up the Book. Read by faith that the Author (God the Holy Spirit, 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:21) is present in you as a believer in the risen and glorified Jesus Christ (John 7:39; Acts 2:38). On every page He will teach you of that same Christ Who is your only Savior and Lord (Luke 24:44-49; John 5:39) to the glory of the Father. Even better – get together with some other believers and pick up the Book together. You don’t need impressions, special words, leadings, mystical guidance, curious feelings, horoscopes, inspiring psycho-babble from self-help life-coaches masquerading as preachers on the television or internet or bumper stickers, dreams, movements in your gut or heart or wherever, songs on the radio, faces on tortillas or toast, signs in the heavens or on the earth, advice from friends or celebrities, or anything else to hear from God.

Pick up the Book. This is how He speaks to His people.

Brought Bible?

Hachita Baptist Church, Hachita, New Mexico, U.S.A.

Brought Bible?

I’ve looked at this old-fashioned board for years now. The only time I really pay attention to it is when I’ve been gone (to get an idea of what went on the week before). A few weeks ago, though, the “BROUGHT BIBLE” caught my attention (though I'm not sure they update that particular number).

“Do they need it?” I asked myself. As I preach or lead them in a Bible study, do they actually need the Book? Do I direct them back to it often enough? Do I inspire them to read further? Do I lift up its vital importance for their daily lives in this world as disciples of Jesus Christ? I was burdened by this. Challenged. How can I encourage them in the Word more than I do? If, by my preaching/teaching, I can get them to look at the Book in their hands, point to the words and really look at it, actively engage the weight of the thing, then the corporate moment in the Bible will cease to be passive. I’ve only got a few brief moments. Got to drive them into the Word more and more.

Then I thought about “stewardship.” It used to just be called “giving,” but somewhere along the way it got replaced by a more spiritual-sounding idea (not that I have a problem with changing words every once in a while...makes us think, which is always good). Anyway, stewardship. If you give to the church, then attending the times of preaching/teaching of the paid preacher is stewardship. You are paying to support the man of God, and are present when he does what you pay him to do. Seems responsible.

“The elders who rule well are to be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching. For the Scripture says [in Deuteronomy 25:4], ‘You shall not muzzle the ox while he is threshing,’ and [in Luke 10:7] ‘The laborer is worthy of his wages’” (1 Timothy 5:17,18). We learn at least two things in this passage. First, “honor” means financial support, and not just respect (verse 18). Second, the evaluation of the “rule” of “the elders” is on how well they are determined to have worked “hard at preaching and teaching.” How can this evaluation be made if the evaluators aren’t present at the preaching/teaching of the Word? I’m not sure it can. How can you be sure that your giving to the church is being wisely spent, if you are not present to participate in one of the main reasons the New Testament says we must give to the church (in addition to the support of the poor, help to widows, and assistance to other churches)?

On the day of Pentecost, the apostle Peter preaches one of the greatest sermons recorded in the Bible. In response, “those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls. They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer” (Acts 2:41,42). “Continually.” Does one hour a week count as “continually”? A lot of preachers regard preaching twice a week (twice on Sunday, and three times if there’s a mid-week service) as a lot. Considering Acts 2:42 (“continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching”), I wonder if I’m doing enough. I mentioned last fall that I was considering adding a small-group Bible study to my schedule in response to a need that had been expressed to me. A church member admonished me that it might be too much. Is it too much? There’s only a little time: “Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:15,16). We’ll give an account for how we spend this small handful of moments, and if we’ve got something to do that is higher on our priority list than gathering to read the Word together...

Our confession says that Scripture “is, and will remain to the end of the world, the true center of Christian union” (Baptist Faith & Message 2000, 1). My greatest prayer request is that God will make this more and more a reality in our lives, beloved Church. More and more into His Word. Together.

His Truth Is Marching On

The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) voted this week at its General Assembly to allow its ministers to bless same-sex marriages in states where such unions are legal. I have seen a lot of gloating about this on the internet ("even the Calvinists have come around!") from people who don’t care one thing about the denomination, would never join one of its churches, and don’t have the slightest understanding about biblical or historical Christianity. Still, they’re happy. The “tolerant” rejoice that another dissenting voice has agreed to change its tune to their own. It is one more institution of the counter-cultural resistance that has fallen.

In Matthew 19:3-6//Mark 10:2-9 Jesus endorses the Creation Ordinance concerning marriage (Genesis 2:24). In other words, Jesus agrees with one of the foundational laws of God in the Bible and defines “traditional” marriage. It takes precedence, in fact, over Moses’ limitations on divorce (Deuteronomy 24:1-4), given because of the “hard hearts” among God’s people.

Once a Church decides it will no longer follow the Word of God (and specifically the Word of Christ), it is no longer a Church. It has forfeited that privilege. The Church is created by the Word, and if the Church leaves the Word, it has cut itself off from the root and is no longer a living organism. This reality is not governed by human beings, human law, or human confessions/creeds/directories of worship. It has been proclaimed by God in His Word.

“And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age’” (Matthew 28:18-20).

“And His mother and brothers came to Him, and they were unable to get to Him because of the crowd. And it was reported to Him, ‘Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, wishing to see You.’ But He answered and said to them, ‘My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it’” (Luke 8:19-21).

“If you love Me, you will keep My commandments...he who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him...if anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s Who sent Me. These things I have spoken to you while abiding with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you...if you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love” (John 14:15,21,23-26; 15:10).

“Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world - our faith. Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” (1 John 5:1-5).

“So the dragon was enraged with the woman, and went off to make war with the rest of her children, who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus...here is the perseverance of the saints who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus” (Revelation 12:17; 14:12).

There are still denominations that still hold to the truth of the Word of God in the United States of America.* The P.C.U.S.A. has been dying for some time before this, and this capitulation to the culture will not change that. It is unsurprising to see the culture do what it does, but is grievous when an institution proclaiming itself to be a church of the Lord Jesus Christ reject His Word and the Word of Him Who sent Christ.

With the original apostles we confess “we must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29). This is what it means to be the Church. What of those who vote to ignore the Word? It doesn’t change one thing about the truthfulness of the Word. This has been argued and addressed before: “...they were entrusted with the oracles of God. What then? If some did not believe, their unbelief will not nullify the faithfulness of God, will it? May it never be! Rather, let God be found true, though every man be found a liar, as it is written, ‘That you may be justified in Your words, and prevail when you are judged’” (Romans 3:2-4).

The true Church has persevered in its faithfulness to the Word of God since the beginning, and will continue. One-voice “tolerance” and “diversity” aside, “the Word of God is not imprisoned” (2 Timothy 2:9). The Kingdom of God is eternal, unstoppable, and has the promised victory.


*Including the Presbyterian Church in America and the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. I have people I greatly admire in both denominations and am sorry that some will confuse the P.C.U.S.A. for these two denominations in their ignorance.