The House of Forgiveness

In meditating on the Scripture’s teaching about forgiveness this week, I noticed something: God’s forgiveness in Christ is not described as an intensely individualistic and personal reality, but a reality experienced corporately in the “basics” He has given His Church.

Fellowship: “...if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin...if we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:7,9).

Praise: “...to the one who...believes in Him Who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness, just as David also speaks [in Psalm 32:1,2] of the blessing on the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: ‘Blessed are those who lawless deeds have been forgiven, and whose sins have been covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will not take into account’” (Romans 4:5-8). See also Psalm 25:18; 32:5; 85:2; 99:8.

Baptism: “Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, ‘Brethren, what shall we do?’ Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit’” (Acts 2:37,38).

The Lord’s Supper: “And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you; for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins’” (Matthew 26:27,28).

Proclamation:

• “Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and He said to them, ‘Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem’” (Luke 24:45-47).
• “And He ordered us to preach to the people, and solemnly to testify that this is the One Who has been appointed by God as Judge of the living and the dead. Of Him all the prophets bear witness that through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins” (Acts 10:42,43).

Perhaps those believers who are struggling with their assurance or feelings of guilt need to ask if they are participating in the corporate life of the Church, where forgiveness is proclaimed and awareness of its reality in Christ is driven deep by the Spirit. We pastors should ask if we are being faithful in this regard over the ones “the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood” (Acts 20:28). Are we proclaiming “repentance for forgiveness of sins” (Luke 24:47)? Are we regularly and faithfully administering the ordinances/sacraments? Does the praise of the Church express repentance and the truth of forgiveness in Christ? If our fellowship is not richly infused with the language of “the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us” (Ephesians 1:7,8a) and the transfer of the Church “to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in Whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:13,14), we should prayerfully lead it back to this truth. We should guard against false, worldly, pop-psychology ideas like repentance-free forgiveness and “forgiving self.” The spiritual, emotional, and psychological health of the congregation depends on this. The Church is the congregation of the forgiven. Unless the forgiveness found only in Christ is a rich part of our gathering, this health will falter.

The M.E.

When new individuals or families begin attending the church, it takes me several years to discuss membership with them. In most cases, though, I will have a meeting with them early on to discuss hot-button issues like Calvinism, eschatology, etc. Part of the reason is that I like being open and honest with them so they know what they’re going to get from the beginning. Of course, there’s a much more personal reason. My church is my family. I love people quickly and easily, and it hurts when they leave.

There have been many times over the years that folks have come, excited and enthusiastic about I.H.B.C. and the teaching here. Then a year passes. Suddenly, the Reformed Baptist theology offends. Or the commitment to the local Church. Or the amillennial and even partial-preterist eschatology. Or my glacial approach to change. Or the fact that I am just as welcoming and loving to people who believe differently than myself (and them) as I am to those who agree with me 100%. Or the fact that my commitment to Scripture means I’m not going to let you gossip or regularly skip worship. Or my less-than-stellar communication abilities. Or my tendency to occasionally make less-than-wise and impulsive decisions from a heart of compassion. Or whatever other awesome thing about me that should be endearing (in my lowly opinion) but eventually becomes grating and annoying and frustrating to you.

And after a year, the folks that I’ve welcomed into my heart are cool to me, bitter in spirit, suddenly mouthing against the doctrine preached from the pulpit like it’s something new, or are just gone without a word. It hurts. I take it personally (in a sad, not angry way).

Last night I was up with a sick little one and thinking about what I call (in my head) the “Michael Effect” – odds are that while you’re happy to have me as your pastor now, you’ll get over it. It was then that I noticed the acronym: “M.E.”

Well, that put things into perspective.

We are never, ever, ever, ever done in this life dying to ourselves. Just when we think we’re selfless and humble, we kick over a rock in our souls (stubbing our toe in the process) and find a big, hissing, ugly thing of pride. I have a Sunday School teacher who regularly jokes that he is proud of the fact that he is the most humble person in the congregation. Sad enough, that joke creeps into my self-identity too many times as my unconfessed confession. I have a long list of folks who’ve broken my heart because they’ve broken fellowship with me (the M.E.). I am a humble, lowly victim. Just like Jesus.

Wow, that’s ugly.

I was meditating on this passage in the Psalms yesterday: “Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted. The troubles of my heart are enlarged; bring me out of my distresses. Consider my affliction and my trouble, and forgive all my sins” (Psalm 25:16-18). Oh, I will pray and pray and pray (like Jesus!) the first phrases over and over as I wallow in the M.E. But it’s the last phrase that I need the most. Whatever afflictions or rejections that come my way (be they real or imagined), that’s not my greatest problem. My hardships do not negate “all my sins.” The list of spiritual family members who are now removed from me does not atone for or balance out the list of my sins before God. I need the forgiveness and wrath-covering that is gracefully given (not earned by my sufferings) through faith in Jesus Christ alone.

It is His Church, purchased with His blood (Acts 20:28), and I am just another member who is a sinner justified by faith in Him alone. I am thankful that, in the middle of the night, He shows me the acronym (M.E.) of my prideful, injured humility and disciplines me in Fatherly love (Hebrews 12:1-17).

I am the chief of sinners, not the chief of innocent sufferers. That would be Jesus, Whose obedient life, sacrifice, resurrection, and heavenly intercession I need more than the continual affection of a fan base.

This is why the cross junction includes the word “daily” (Luke 9:23), beloved.

42 Years, 1 Month, 2 Weeks

I was running the other day and started doing math in my head...the result is tongue-in-cheek and purposefully ridiculous. You have been warned.

Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758), one of the greatest minds America has ever produced, played an important role in the First Great Awakening. But after around 20 years, the church in Northampton voted to bar him from the pulpit...for denying the Lord’s Supper to unbelievers. He was still in great demand as a preacher elsewhere, but his own congregation...

Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892), called the “Prince of Preachers,” was hugely popular in Britain in the latter half of the 19th century. He pastored the same congregation for 38 years. However, at the height of his influence, he attempted to lead the Baptist Union to adopt a confessional standard to combat the theological “Downgrade” taking over. They rejected any attempt to stand for even the most basic orthodoxy concerning Christ. Spurgeon’s health broke in this failed effort.

These two stories have always weighed heavily on me. How long? A pastor has a faithful, effective preaching/teaching ministry for decades, and ends in heartbreak over basic doctrine. How long must a preacher preach to have a problem-free ministry? I warned you this was a ridiculous line of thought. Just wait. It gets worse.

How long did Paul spend in Corinth? “And he settled there a year and six months, teaching the Word of God among them” (Acts 18:11). Hmmm...obviously not enough. Ever read 1 Corinthians?!

How about Ephesus? Paul’s letter to the Ephesians doesn’t contain any strong rebukes. He covers some basic things like the unity of Jews and Gentiles in the Church and the importance of godly speech to each other. Okay...so, no major problems. How long did he spend there teaching? “Therefore be on the alert, remembering that night and day for a period of three years I did not cease to admonish each one with tears” (Acts 20:31).

Alright. 3 years. Day and night. Assuming 2 teaching opportunities a day for three years, we’re at 2,190 teaching times. Hmmm...there are some congregants I only see once a week (I’m being generous). To teach them as much as Paul taught the Ephesians, I’d have to teach them for 42 years, 1 month, and 2 weeks. Four decades of Bible teaching, and you’ll surpass both Edwards and Spurgeon...maybe that way you’ll avoid the heartbreak they experienced at the end of their ministries.

Except...I don’t preach like Paul. Or even Edwards or Spurgeon. Not even close. Plus, after 42 years, you have death-birth turnover. After that amount of time you’d be speaking to a very different congregation and might need to start again.

Plus, even though Paul didn’t need to strongly or directly correct the Ephesian congregation, the glorifying Lord Jesus did later (Revelation 2:1-7). Not the perfect Church.

Sigh.

I could hold two services a day for three years...better make that six years, since – again – I am not Paul.

Speaking of Paul, what was his attitude about that problem church in Corinth? Well, even though they broke his heart (I believe the “thorn in the flesh” of 2 Corinthians 12 was messengers about problems in the Corinthian church) he still gave thanks to God for them (1 Corinthians 1:4-8). He prayed for them. He loved them (1 Corinthians 16:24). He corrected them. He continued to teach them.

Well, just as I am not a Paul or Edwards or Spurgeon, neither is the congregation assigned to my care by the Lord a Corinth. Or anything even close. They’re a precious people. There are times looking at them every week over the Lord’s Supper table that my heart feels like it’s going to explode with love for them.

Now I’m reminded of my mentor’s general attitude about church problems: look to the pulpit. Have I prayed for them enough...do I even pray enough, period? Have I invested the time in discipling them I should? The little issues that worry me over them, are those issues found in my own life and heart?

I’ll keep preaching to them from the Word with full reliance on the Holy Spirit to do His work in them. I’ll keep seeking my own growth through prayer and that same Word through the same Holy Spirit. They’ll never mature past my own point of spiritual maturity.

And I’ll trust God with what they’ll be in two or three decades, or even 42 years, 1 month, and 2 weeks.

I am thankful for them, and love them. Especially because they so graciously put up with me.

Phew. At least they can’t hear my idiotic mathematical musings while I’m running! That’d be embarrassing!

Jeremiah's Turning #6: Pastors for the Remnant

Following the word “turn” (שוב) through Jeremiah’s prophecy.

“‘Return [שוב], O faithless [שבב, from שוב] sons,’ declares the LORD; ‘For I am a master to you, and I will take you one from a city and two from a family, and I will bring you to Zion. Then I will give you shepherds after My own heart, who will feed you on knowledge and understanding’” (Jeremiah 3:14,15).

Baal, the false Canaanite god with which the idolatrous Israelites were so enamored, has its name from the word for “husband” (בעל for both “Baal” and “husband”), or “master” as it is translated above. The Lord will later, when promising the new covenant, identify Himself as the sole husband of His people: “‘Behold, days are coming,’ declares the LORD, ‘when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband [בעל] to them," declares the LORD” (Jeremiah 31:31,32). The new covenant, in which God is still husband to His people, cannot be broken, for its faithfulness was gained through the imputed righteousness and active obedience of Jesus Christ, the Bridegroom (Matthew 22:2; John 3:29; 2 Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 5:25-27; Revelation 19:7-9; 21:9).

This is a passage about the remnant. Jesus will draw on this language in the “Little Apocalypse” (Matthew 24:40,41; Luke 17:34-36), which I believe describes the gathering of the Church by the effectual calling of the Gospel in that generation between the old and new covenant (up to the final destruction of the Jewish Temple in A.D. 70). Our Jeremiah passage and the Matthew/Luke references are consistent with how the Prophets used the idea of “remnant.” God called His elect-who-would-be-faithful from among those who were His in name only.

God calls His people by the “shepherds” (pastors) He gives His people as gifts (Ephesians 4:7-11). These are the “messengers” of Matthew 24:31//Mark 13:27 (αγγελος, translated “angels” in our English translations) who are used of God to gather and feed the Church by the proclamation of the Word. They give the Church the needful food for its survival, “knowledge and understanding.”

And so we preached, praying even as we speak forth the call to gather from the four winds: "...we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God" (Colossians 1:9,10).

The Pastoral Heart of Interpreter

“...my Master, you must know, is one of very tender bowels, especially to them that are afraid; wherefore he carried it so towards him as might tend most to his encouragement.”

- Great-heart, speaking of Interpreter, in “Pilgrim’s Progress” (Book 2, Stage 6) by John Bunyan (1628-1688)

17^th century language aside, this is a great reminder to pastor-teachers. May we be more like the Interpreter.

“But we proved to be gentle among you, as a nursing mother tenderly cares for her own children. Having so fond an affection for you, we were well-pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives, because you had become very dear to us...you are witnesses, and so is God, how devoutly and uprightly and blamelessly we behaved toward you believers; just as you know how we were exhorting and encouraging and imploring each one of you as a father would his own children, so that you would walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory” (1 Thessalonians 2:7,8,10-12).

Putting Pastor Humpty-Dumpty Back Together Again

“...build me up again by Your Word...everything's falling apart on me, God; put me together again with Your Word...I wait for Your Word to renew me...following Your guidelines, revive me...rescue me on the terms of Your promise” (Psalm 119, the Message).


Sunday I woke up inexplicably heavy-hearted for, as I put it then, "the gathered Church and the un-gathered un-church." I worried throughout my coffee and devotional reading of the Psalms and Proverbs, then headed outside to watch the sunrise. I looked over our little garden, which at the moment has a handful of cucumbers and a single squash coming up. The small patches of green in the midst of the brown garden was a perfect illustration of my concerns and anxiety for the Lord's people under my watch. I considered these Scriptures:

• “And He was saying, ‘The kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the soil; and he goes to bed at night and gets up by day, and the seed sprouts and grows - how, he himself does not know. The soil produces crops by itself; first the blade, then the head, then the mature grain in the head. But when the crop permits, he immediately puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come'’” (Mark 4:26-29).
• “So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God Who causes the growth” (1 Corinthians 3:7).

"Lord," I prayed, "help me out of this. I feel like my heart's broken into pieces this morning. Put me back together again according to Your Word so that I can effectively minister to Your people. I only get one hour a week with some of them...that hour is so important! Please, Lord, please." Then I went in to help my bride get our household ready for the gathering.


Every Sunday I have two of our men alternate calling us to worship by reading one of the Psalms (I am convinced the Psalms should have a high place in the worship life of the Church - 1 Corinthians 14:26; Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16). This morning Dr. Don called us to worship by reading from Psalm 107. The Spirit spoke through Don powerfully to my soul, starting His process of putting me back together according to His Word: “Those who go down to the sea in ships, who do business on great waters; they have seen the works of the LORD, and His wonders in the deep. For He spoke and raised up a stormy wind, which lifted up the waves of the sea. They rose up to the heavens, they went down to the depths; their soul melted away in their misery. They reeled and staggered like a drunken man, and were at their wits’ end. Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and He brought them out of their distresses. He caused the storm to be still, so that the waves of the sea were hushed. Then they were glad because they were quiet, so He guided them to their desired haven. Let them give thanks to the LORD for His lovingkindness, and for His wonders to the sons of men! Let them extol Him also in the congregation of the people...” (107:23-32). May those who have experienced Him calming the storm find their way to the gathered Church to proclaim it!

Don calls us to worship with Psalm 107.

During the offertory my beautiful bride played and sang one of my favorite modern songs, "Let It Be Said of Us" (Steve Fry). She knew the weight on my heart, and knew how strongly I feel about these lyrics. I wept.

Let it be said of us that the Lord was our passion, that with gladness we bore every cross we were given; that we fought the good fight, and we finished the course; knowing within us the power of the risen Lord.

Let the cross be our glory and the Lord be our song! By mercy made holy, by the Spirit made strong. Let the cross be our glory and the Lord be our song! Till the likeness of Jesus be through us made known. Let the cross be our glory and the Lord be our song.
Let it be said of us, we were marked by forgiveness; we were known by our love and delighted in mercy; we were ruled by His peace, heeding unity’s call, joined as one body that Christ would be seen by all.

Our time of singing was sweet, as usual. We sang “Day by Day” (Karolina W. Sandell-Berg, 1865, translated from Swedish to English by Andrew L. Skoog) and I again found myself being ministered to by the songs of the gathered Church:

Day by day, and with each passing moment, strength I find, to meet my trials here; trusting in my Father’s wise bestowment, I’ve no cause for worry or for fear. He Whose heart is kind beyond all measure gives unto each day what He deems best— lovingly, its part of pain and pleasure, mingling toil with peace and rest.
Every day, the Lord Himself is near me with a special mercy for each hour; all my cares He fain would bear, and cheer me, He Whose Name is Counselor and Power; the protection of His child and treasure is a charge that on Himself He laid; “As thy days, thy strength shall be in measure,” this the pledge to me He made.

Help me then in every tribulation so to trust Thy promises, O Lord, that I lose not faith’s sweet consolation offered me within Thy holy Word. Help me, Lord, when toil and trouble meeting, ever to take, as from a father’s hand, one by one, the days, the moments fleeting, till I reach the promised land.

Were it not for the "faith's sweet consolation offered me within [His] holy Word," I would be without hope. But the Spirit answers the prayer of the one broken into pieces by putting Humpty-Dumpty back together again according to His Word.


At the Lord's Supper I was moved watching the elements being spread throughout the congregation. I love these people, I thought, in their youth, their age, their strength, their weakness (because I have it on good authority - Matthew 7:1-5 - that their weaknesses are smaller than the blind spots I have toward my own weaknesses...which means they're being graceful in loving me at all!), their different personalities and backgrounds. We are named to be one in Christ, His gathered congregation, and He is doing His will through His Spirit in our gathering. I am blessed to be at the Table with this imperfect-yet-saved people - my family in Christ.


We have been observing a weekly (Sunday morning) Lord's Supper for four years now in our congregation. I am a strong believer that it is vital to the life of the gathered Church. I cannot tell you how many times the Lord has used the Church's unified proclamation of the Gospel, "of the Lord's death until He returns" (1 Corinthians 11:26), at the Lord's Supper Table to prepare me by His grace to proclaim His Gospel from the Word at the pulpit (to my Reformed friends - I know that you guys usually observe the Supper after the sermon - there's a method behind my madness). I am blessed beyond measure to share this meal with this people at this Table.


I love preaching and teaching the Word, and an important part of that is because I also love the Word of God above all things in this world and because I love this people. I know them. God has given me fellowship with some of them in horrible tragedy. With some I have spent hours in deep discussion and study. With others there has been ministry and mission. For others there has been much prayer (we had many present this day who had been absent for some time). The sermon is worship in the Word by God's people to the Word's present Writer. The sermon is fellowship in the Word by the Spirit Who is its Author. The sermon is the heart of who we are as the gathered Church (1 Timothy 3:15), for the Word is the breathing-forth of the Spirit without which we do not truly live. God heals in His Word by re-creation in its reading and application to His meeting people. And, even as I preached His Word to His beloved people, I felt the healing.


I still give an invitation, though I've moved away from calling it that. The Lord never "invited" people to repent and believe. He, as Lord and King, commanded it - as is His right. We have a time of response. It's still a good practice because - just as the Table brought us to the Gospel before the message - this time of response is also a time to re-visit the truth of the Gospel of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, Who is King of kings and Lord of lords. It's not that I ignore the Gospel during the sermon between Table and Response, but any opportunity to integrate that "as of first importance" (1 Corinthians 15:3) into our liturgy, I'm going to observe it. The Gospel saves. The Gospel heals - it especially heals Pastor Humpty-Dumpty, who kept hearing this phrase in his head all morning before the gathering: "I feel like I am broken into so many pieces..."


I don't know much about the King's horses, but all the King's men, women, and children - my family in the Lord Jesus Christ - couldn't in themselves put Pastor Humpty-Dumpty back together again, but the Father used them by the power of the Spirit in the fellowship of His Word to do it. Don't neglect the assembly of the saints in the Beloved, dearest soul!


“...build me up again by Your Word...everything's falling apart on me, God; put me together again with Your Word...I wait for Your Word to renew me...following Your guidelines, revive me...rescue me on the terms of Your promise” (Psalm 119, the Message).