Holding the Phalanx of the Christian Life

22 For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, 23 but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. 24 Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! ~ Ro. 7:22-25a

As I was reading through my devotional for this morning (which is New Morning Mercies by Paul Tripp, and I highly recommend it), I was struck by something in Ro. 7 that I had never really thought about before. In vv. 22-23, Paul brings out how sanctification is a war in the Christian life. Yes, that is not really new, but the way I thought about it this morning was new to me. Sanctification being a war of sin, temptation, the world, my flesh, and the devil against my my union with Christ requires me to hold the phalanx of the Christian life and march forward always.

The Phalanx

The phalanx was an ancient battle formation that was really brought to its penical by the Spartans in ancient Greece. In the above photo, you get a pretty good picture of what it looked like (though, that photo is from the movie 300, which was really not representative of Spartan battle strategies in any other way than this one scene). The front line of soldiers would line up with shields in their left hand and spears in their right. The shields would overlap, so part of your shield protected you and part of it protected your comrade to your left. Then, the next line would do the same thing, putting their shields right up against the backs of the front line, and so on and so forth back--many ranks deep. Then, they would face another army, and the line would never break. The the Spartans would often just march over entire armies this way or even push entire armies off a cliff, if that was available.

Christian Life Warfare

Since sanctification is a war of sin, temptation, the world, the flesh, and the devil against my union with Christ and since that means I must hold the phalanx of the Christian life, it is then something constant and spiritually exhausting, when we do it in our own strength. Do you ever get tired of resisting temptation to the same sin over and over again? Do you ever get so tired that you give in? Me too. Holding the phalanx can be exhausting, and we often make the same tragic outcry Paul makes in v. 24, "Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?"

Holding the Line

Yet, what is Paul's answer to his outcry? It is that we never actually do hold the line on our own. We are never meant to! "Thanks be to God through Christ Jesus our Lord... There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." (Ro. 7:25-8:1) Our Savior--who is the only human ever to hold the line without it breaking ever in His life--delivers us and strengthens us; not just at the moment of our salvation but in every moment that follows throughout our whole life. He beckons us, "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." (Mt. 11:28) He gives us rest, even in the midst of holding the phalanx in the spiritual battles of this life. A phalanx held by me will fail, but one held by faith in Jesus will hold until the end (cf. Php. 1:6).

The Shield of Faith

So, now that you know what the phalanx is, do you see why Paul used the metaphor of a shield for faith? In his metaphor about the Christian life and the armor of God (Eph. 6:10-20), he says, "In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one." Faith in Jesus providing the strength we need is what protects us and what allows us to hold the phalanx, even in the midst of battle.

In Sparta, if you were a soldier, you could be caught without your sword or your spear during a time of war, and you might only receive a minor punishment. If you were caught without your shield, however, that was a capital crime. Why? Because being without your sword or spear would merely mean you could not go on the offensive in the phalanx, but if you did not have a shield, you were a weak point in the phalanx that might cost the whole army the battle. Your shield was absolutely essential, and you had to have it on you all the time during wartime.

For us, the shield of faith is something we cannot let drop for even a moment. We live by faith (Ro. 1:17) and walk by faith (2 Co. 5:7), for we must always acknowledge our need of Him and His gospel every moment. The war of the Christian life is not made of two or three "big" moments in life where temptation comes in a huge assault but of a million "little" ones in our daily, hourly, minutely life--the war is constant! And, we can face none of those moments on our own and hope to succeed. We must submit them all to Christ and His strength, praying that the gospel would drive us, strengthen us, and motivate us in Him to hold the line through them all. That is why Paul ends his metaphor of the armor of God by saying, "...praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication." (Eph. 6:18)

Holding the Line Together

There is one more thing I want to bring out: the phalanx was not a one-man line. That is obvious, but we need to think about the implications for us as believers. We hold the line against temptation with our shields of faith as a community of believers. I stand beside my brothers and sisters in Christ, and sometimes their shield of faith is what encourages me to keep mine up against the enemy. They might do this through their own prayers for me, through accountability, or simply through encouragement, but whatever way it is, one of the ways Jesus strengthens us to hold the line is through His body. We hold the line together.

O Lord, make this true of us today!

By His Grace,
Taylor

Fight the Good Fight of the Faith: Recounting the History of God's Grace

Well, we have made it through the book of Joshua. This Sunday, the sermon posted will look at the final chapter and see how God and Joshua end this wonderful book that teaches us how to fight the good fight of the faith.

In the previous sermon, we saw Joshua's final words to the leaders of Israel that teach them about living by faith. In this final chapter of the book, Joshua leads the people in renewing the covenant with God, which is an act of rededicating themselves to His service before Joshua passes into glory and they are on their own. The way the covenant renewal ceremony is laid out in this passage is very similar to the covenants of the other peoples of the ancient near east surrounding Israel. God chose to make His covenants with them in a way that would be familiar to them (in and of itself and act of grace!).

The ceremonies generally opened with a preamble where the parties making the covenant introduce themselves, and then they go on to a "historical prologue" where the history of the relationship between the parties is recounted (i.e. everything that is leading up to the covenant ceremony). The covenant renewal ceremony in Jos. 24 follows that pattern, and it is the historical prologue that I want to focus on for this devotional. We will talk about it a little Sunday, but we will not be able to go into detail there. So, here are a few theological highlights from the recounting of the history of God and His people to this point (reading Jos. 24:1-13 first would be helpful):

• Unconditional Election: Joshua starts out by reminding them that God took Abraham from Ur while Abraham was still a pagan. And, Abraham was chosen; not his brother Nahor, yet Abraham deserved it no more than Nahor. Abraham was no saint when God found him. He was plunged into pagan worship probably just as much as the Canaanites. Abraham did not become a believer because he was somehow inherently better than his father or brother. Abraham did not deserve it any more than anyone else. No, it was because God "took" him and "led" him. God loved Abraham when he deserved only wrath. The fact that Israel exists at all is simply an act of God's free grace and unconditional election. And, this is consistent with the rest of Scripture. The Bible constantly reminds us of who we were, but it is not to bring us to despair but to show us the incredible grace of God. Francis Schaeffer once wrote:

Whether studying the Old Testament or the New, we are reminded that we are not where we are because of a long, wise, and godly heritage. We come from rebellion. Individually, we are children of wrath. After we are Christians, we must look at others who are still under God's wrath and always say, "I am essentially what you are. If I am in a different place, it is not because I am intrinsically better than you, but simply because God has done something in my life." There is no place for pride.

• Slow growth: Joshua tells us that God multiplied Abraham's seed, but it was really, really slow. He only gave him Isaac. Isaac only had two sons, one of which would not produce people of God (i.e. Esau). Finally, with Jacob's twelve sons, things start to speed up. So, we see from this that God does what He promises, but sometimes it is so gradual that we do not notice until it has been going on for a long time. We need to keep this in mind and walk by faith; not by sight. As one commentator says, "We easily lose sight of what Yahweh has done by demanding too much too soon."
• Rough spots: Joshua also points out that Esau and his people (not God's people) get their inheritance right away but Jacob and his sons (God's people!) go to Egypt and become slaves. What? Why do the covenant people get slavery while the others get their land? Sometimes history seems to conflict with God's design, which is, again, why we have to walk by faith and not by sight. God always accomplishes His design, but sometimes it is not at all when we would expect it (cf. e.g. He. 11:32-38). The Scriptures are realistic about this and do not hide the "rough spots" from us, and that shows God is honest, realistic, and always faithful. God showing us the "rough spots" and confusing parts of history is not to make us relish the difficult aspects of the life to which He has called His people but to show us that He is faithful to hold us in and bring us through the "rough spots."
• God's power: In vv. 5-12, Joshua recounts God's incredible power to deliver His people from Egypt (the greatest power in the world at the time), conquer the kings east of the Jordan, and conquer the Promised Land. Joshua sums it up with telling the people that it was not by their sword or bow that all this was accomplished but by God's mighty power. Time and time again God's people are outnumbered, outgunned, or even completely helpless, and God fights for them by His mighty power. This shows us what Jonah learned in Jon. 2:9: Salvation is of the LORD. Paul also tells us this in 2 Co. 4:7. This is not to say that we just "let go and let God," for God uses our struggles, as we fight by faith, but it does show us that our struggles would be nothing, useless, futile without God's mighty power. (We will talk more about this in the upcoming sermon.)
• God's provision: If we look at vv. 7, 13, Joshua shows us God's provision in necessity and abundance, but also note that His provision is the basic stuff: manna, grain, towns, houses. It, with the exception of the manna, is ordinary stuff that we take for granted every day, but it is all of God's grace. God always provides for His people, but we need to remember too that God isn't some kind of genie that just grants our wishes. He gives us our needs; not necessarily our desires. And, most often He does it through the normal, ordinary means of a job, a family, etc.

You see, Joshua does not recount their history just to show them their past but to show them the great God whom they serve. That is the basis for the rest of the covenant renewal ceremony, which we will talk more about on Sunday. Until then, think about your own history, and I bet if you think long and hard enough, you could find some very similar displays of God's grace, faithfulness, power, and provision even during the rought spots, and if you do that, it will refresh your soul.

By His Grace,
Taylor

Fight the Good Fight of the Faith: Sin in the Camp

First, this week, there is not a devotional that goes with this sermon. As I have mentioned in the past, the devotionals in this series come from emails sent to my church on the Fridays before the sermons. Generally, they have something to do with the passage or subject of the coming sermon. I like to use them to fill in gaps in the sermon series. Because my series are often for a summer, there are a limited number of sermons I can preach, so sometimes I have to skip parts to finish a book or section of a book (like with my Joseph series). This was certainly true with Joshua, for I had to fit 24 chapters into eleven sermons. But, this week, there was not anything major I had to skip to move on, so, instead in the Friday email to my congregation that preceded this sermon, I sent a link to an article about the PCA's racial reconciliation efforts. You can read that article here, if you want, but it is not really pertinent to this series, so I am not going to talk about it. Instead, we will move on to the sermon itself.

Today's sermon is on Joshua 7:1-13, 19-21, 25-26. With this text, we come to the hardest passage of Joshua, I think. Of all the episodes, this is the one to which I was least looking forward. I’d rather preach on the whole conquest of the land and the annihilation of the Canaanites than this, and, by the way, last week’s Friday post covered the tough question of how the holy war against the Canaanites fits in the biblical witness. If you have not read that, you might want to because I think it will help you with a very difficult part of the Bible. But, again, I personally think that’s easier than this passage. Here we come face-to-face with the consequences of sin not only on the individual but on the congregation of God’s people, and that’s not a subject on which I want to preach. But, this is the counsel of God, and really no series on the battle of the Christian life would be complete without addressing the issue of sin, which is probably why the author includes this difficult story in the first place.

If you want to hear more, you can listen to the sermon here or read the transcript here.

I pray that God will use it to magnify His glory in your heart and fortify you for the battles of this Christian life.

By His Grace,
Taylor

Fight the Good Fight of the Faith: God Fights for His People

In the previous post, I talked about the conquest of the land of Canaan because that is one of the difficult ethical issues that this book brings up, and in the chapter that this sermon will cover brings that to the forefront. However, I would not have had time to cover it in the sermon, so I did it in the devotional. So, if you have not read that, please read it first.

In this sermon, we'll see from this passage how God fights for His people in the battles of this life. We cannot hope to stand alone against sin, the devil, the world, and death itself. Our enemies are far more powerful than we are, but God does not leave us alone. He fights for us, just like He fought for Israel in the battle against Jericho.

If you want to hear more, you can listen to the sermon here or read the transcript here.

I pray that God will use it to magnify His glory in your heart and fortify you for the battles of this Christian life.

By His Grace,
Taylor

Exodus: A Great Salvation -- The Supreme Court, Exodus, and the Gospel

Note: This was written as a devotional for my congregation on June 26, the day the results of Obergefell v. Hodges were announced. So, it is a little behind; yet it still applies today.

So, anyone who has been on Facebook or kept an eye on the news for the past few hours probably knows by now that the Supreme Court ruled that States are required to license a marriage between two people of the same sex. And, of course, since then the Internet has exploded with articles and opinion pieces on this topic, which is not really surprising. So far, Russell Moore has a very good response "Why the church should neither cave nor panic about the decision on gay marriage." And, the Exodus story is relevant to the situation the Church is entering.

We do not need to cave or panic. Yes, this will likely mean more persecution for Christians in America as the ramifications of this decision play themselves out. But, let's sit back and take a historical perspective. Rarely has the true, invisible Church existed in an environment where the culture around them was not hostile to their beliefs (and Jesus warned us of this), and God has continued to sustain, love, and care for His Church in whatever environment they live. The Hebrew people had to learn this in Ex. 1-2, and the Church has learned it ever since. Persecution has never stopped God's people or the spread of the gospel. In fact, it has only served to fuel the spread. We have seen this in Ex. 1, the book of Acts, the Roman persecutions of the early Church, the Reformation, and even today in places like Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. And, this is because the life of the Church is not in our selves, our strength, or anything else from us at all. The life of the Church is the resurrection life of Christ, against which even the gates of hell cannot prevail. As Russell Moore said in the above article, "The Supreme Court can do many things, but the Supreme Court cannot get Jesus back in that tomb." Nothing can stop the Church, and Christ will continue to sustain and protect His Bride until He returns again to take her home.

And, speaking of home, that is another aspect of the Exodus story and our lives as the Church that we need to remember. Yes, this latest decision will likely mean greater persecution for us as a Church and as individuals, but that should remind us that the gospel shows us that this world is not our home. He. 11:26 tells us that Moses "considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward." Even Moses knew that the promises of God and the coming Redeemer were greater than all the treasures of Egypt. Why? Because he knew that this world is not his home. The "reward" towards which he was looking is told to us by the author of Hebrews in v. 16: "a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city." Moses and all of God's people have "a better country, that is, a heavenly one" coming--the new heavens and the new earth. Jesus, through His work of redemption, has secured for us a home that far surpasses this world in every category, and while we may suffer here for Christ because we stand with Him against our culture, as the gospel tells us, "The sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us." Yes, we may suffer in the future as the implications from today play themselves out, but that suffering should remind us that this world is not our home. We are strangers and foreigners here, exiles as Peter puts it, but that is only for a short time. America is not really our country but simply a place to sojourn for a while on this earth. We have "a better country, that is, a heavenly one" coming. Christ secured it; the gospel displays it.

Now, I know this might worry you, for even though we know that God will not let His Church die and that we have a better country coming, we still have to see our children grow up in a world hostile to the things we teach them. Yet, we must also remember here that to God our children are holy, and He loves them more than we do. Perhaps life will be hard for them--harder than it was for us--but instead of focusing on that hardship that will come, let's display before them confidence in God's sovereignty, and as we do, perhaps it will help us to live more free from worry. Let's show them that we know God has this country in His hands and the He turns the heart of the "king" however He chooses. Let's show them that He loves and cares for all His people, so much so that He knows how many hairs are on our heads and when one falls He knows (a reality for me that becomes more and more vivid with each passing year). Let's show them that Christ loves His Bride and sacrifices everything for her by living marriages that are sacrificial and serving before them. Or, if you are single, our children can still see quite clearly in your life that Jesus is more important and valuable than any relationship in this world, so please, show them that. Let's show them that we are looking forward to a better country and therefore God is not ashamed to be our God, even if our culture is ashamed to have us in it. Let's show them that the gospel is the true hope of every individual in this country and that they will never be satisfied until they drink of Christ, therefore we still need to be lights and salt for Him so that when the sexual revolution has left our culture bankrupt, the gospel is right there waiting for them. And, let's look forward explicitly to the new heavens and new earth, showing them that we long for that world which is our true and eternal home and that the sufferings of Christ are nothing in comparison. Perhaps as we display that in our homes and in our worship at church and fervently pray for the next generation of Christians, the stark contrast between a bankrupt culture and a full, life-giving gospel will sink down into their hearts, so much so that they will be the next generation that carries the spreading of God's kingdom forward, for His glory and our good.

By His Grace,
Taylor

Advent: Day 19

Today we continue our journey through the covenants of the Old Testament to see how they center around the covenantal refrain—"I will be your God and you will be my people"—and how they point us to Jesus. We have looked at God's covenant with Adam and Eve (after the fall), God's covenant with Noah, and God's covenant with Abraham. That brings us to God's covenant with Moses and the Israelite people. The specific passage about this covenant, since it lays out the covenant law for God's people, are numerous. It covers Ex. 19-24 and the entire book of Deuteronomy. It is far to much to read in a single blog post, so we will focus on God's words to Moses when He first promised to redeem Israel from Egypt and then talk a little about the Mosaic Covenant:

² God spoke to Moses and said to him, "I am the Lord. ³ I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by my name the Lord I did not make myself known to them. ⁴ I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they lived as sojourners. ⁵ Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the people of Israel whom the Egyptians hold as slaves, and I have remembered my covenant. ⁶ Say therefore to the people of Israel, 'I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from slavery to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment. ⁷ I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. ⁸ I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. I will give it to you for a possession. I am the Lord.'" (Ex. 6:2-8, emphasis added)

This is not only the story of Israel's redemption from Egypt but also our story of our redemption from sin. Like God covenanted with the Israelites to give them the land of Canaan, so He covenanted with us to give us heaven and eventually the new heavens and the new earth, in Jesus. Like God heard the groaning of the people of Israel whom the Egyptians held as slaves, so He heard the groaning of His elect whom sin held as slaves. As God said, "I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from slavery to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment," so He brought us out of the burden of slavery to sin and redeemed us from the power of death, through Jesus. And, as God promised to bring them into the land He swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and give it to them as a possession, so He will soon send Jesus back to bring us into the land we have been promised—the new heavens and the new earth—and give it to us as a possession. All of this was done for the Israelites and for His Church so He could fulfill His covenantal refrain, the thread weaving through all the covenants (italicized above): "I will be your God and you will be my people." God's physical redemption of Israel is a type, a foreshadowing of what He would soon do for all His elect in Jesus. This is why we have something celebrate at Advent. God brought us out of slavery into freedom in Christ, and "He delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son" (Col. 1:13).

Now, let's talk specifically about God's covenant with the Israelites that He gave to Moses. God covenants with His people at Mt. Sinai, and this covenant is often called the "Mosaic Covenant" or sometimes the "covenant of law." Why add this covenant under the umbrella of the covenant of grace after the Abrahamic Covenant (AC)? In Ga. 3:19 Paul says, "Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made…." The Mosaic Covenant (MC) was added to the umbrella of the covenant of grace "because of transgressions." It provided the covenant law and sacrificial system by which God's people could fellowship with Him—He as their God and they as His people—until "the offspring should come," i.e. until Jesus Christ came to fulfill the covenant of grace. The MC mediated the covenant of grace for God's people until Christ, and it ultimately pointed to Christ who was foreshadowed in its ordinances, laws, and sacrifices and who would one day fulfill and mediate a better, ultimate covenant (He. 7:22). It did not replace the AC but built upon it (again, giving more information about the covenant of grace and greater fellowship with God). This is clear from the beginning when God rescued Israel from Egypt: "And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob." (Ex. 2:24, emphasis added) So, God redeemed them from Egypt to give them the land which He "swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob" (Ex. 6:8, emphasis added) and so He could "take [them] to be [His] people, and [He] will be [their] God" (Ex. 6:7), again repeating His covenantal refrain. The covenantal dealings with God before He made the MC with the Israelites at Sinai were founded upon His covenant with Abraham, and this did not change with the introduction of the MC. Even after the covenant was made at Sinai, God often repeated His covenantal refrain that He made to Abraham (Lv. 11:45; Dt. 4:20; 29:13). Also, in the MC God's mercy and grace were traced to His covenant with Abraham (Ex. 32:12-14; 33:1; Lv. 26:42; Dt. 1:8; 4:31; 7:8; 9:27; 29:12-13). And, the fellowship promised in the covenantal refrain found even greater fulfillment with His presence in the Tabernacle among the people (Ex. 40:34ff; Lv. 26:11-12). It was only upon the foundation of God’s covenant with Abraham that the MC could be built, and it was in the MC that God’s covenant with Abraham found a basic fulfillment. More was to come in His later covenants and ultimate Jesus Himself, who would bring final fulfillment. Thus, far from abrogating God's covenant with Abraham, the MC built upon it, further revealed God's covenant of grace, increased His fellowship with His people, and pointed to Jesus.

So, even though the MC may seem like a lot of rules and regulations, remember that it is founded upon the promises of redemption and grace given in the AC, and remember that all these laws, ordinances, and sacrifices were not an end in themselves but pointed to Jesus who would fulfill them all forever. Christ's advent did not replace the covenant with Moses; it fulfilled the promises, shadows, and types in it that pointed to Him all along. 

By His Grace,

Taylor

Eternal Perspective and Elections

"²⁹This is what I mean, brothers: the appointed time has grown very short. From now on, let those who have wives live as though they had none, ³⁰and those who mourn as though they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy as though they had no goods, ³¹and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it. For the present form of this world is passing away." ~ 1 Corinthians 7:29-31

This past Sunday I preached a sermon at East Lanier Community Church, which I titled "Eternal Perspective Now." And, I am going to preach it again this coming Sunday at East Cobb Presbyterian Church (spoiler alert for my friends who attend E. Cobb). It is not as if I did not have enough time to write another sermon, but since I knew I would be preaching at two different churches the two weeks prior to the election, I felt I could not just ignore the weight of this important civic time. (For those of you who read my previous post, it should be clear that when I say that, I am not talking about making a political statement from the pulpit.) I wanted to remind believers of the bigger perspective that Scripture gives us about our dealings with this world and the things in it. After considering several passages and praying about it, I landed on the above brief passage from 1 Corinthians. If you are interested in hearing the sermon, you can listen to the recording from E. Lanier, or you can read my transcript.

I pray that if you are a child of God, this sermon would encourage you as you think about the future of this country, your life, and all that you have. I pray that it would remind you of the eternal perspective Scripture gives us about our life in this world. I pray that it would remind you that this world is not your home. And, I pray that it would heighten your awareness of the transience of this world and our need to make much of Christ before the unbelieving world.

By His Grace,
Taylor

How Should We Worship?

"[It is the] tension between the need to remain faithful to the gospel and the Christian tradition while at the same time faithfully communicating that Evangel [good news] in a changing and complex cultural milieu that presents mammoth challenges to the continued witness of the Christian church." ~ J. Matthew Pinson, Perspectives on Christian Worship: Five Views

How we should worship God, especially in public worship, is an important question for the Church. It is one of the more important questions because worship is one of the main ways we glorify God before an unbelieving world, and it is what we will be doing for all eternity in the new heavens and new earth. I would like to pose a list of fifteen things that I think are essential for public worship. Now, this list is a work-in-progress and I am in no way claiming that it is exhaustive. I welcome any comments on how to biblically refine these points.

Here we go: public worship should...

1. ...be God-exalting, Christ-centered, and Spirit-filled: The second commandment, the Psalter (e.g. Ps. 134), and the rest of the Scriptures declare of the glory of the Triune God and that He is to be worshiped and only Him. Other Scriptures (cf. Jn. 4:21-23; 5:23; Php. 2:9) tell us that worship in spirit and in truth is Christ-centered worship for He is the glory of the Father and the one whom God has exalted to the highest place. Finally, passages like 1 Co. 12:3 tell us that no one can worship God unless indwelt by the Spirit, for a renewed heart is essential to the right worship of God. 
2. ...put the amazing back into grace. The grace of God to us in Christ Jesus is more than we can fathom and we can never the exhaust the depths of this grace. Every worship service must amaze us and shock us by the grace of God, for we are a people prone to wander and we need constantly to be reminded of the magnitude of what He has done for us. 
3. ...be founded on the fact that we are created to worship God and enjoy Him. The first question of the Westminster Shorter Catechism (WSC) asks, "What is the chief end of man?" It then biblically answers, "Man's chief end is to glorify God (cf. Ps. 86; Is. 43:7; 60:21; Ro. 11:36; Re. 4:11), and to enjoy Him forever (cf. Ps. 16:5-11; 144:15; Is. 12:2; Php. 4:4; Re. 21:3-4)." It is important to note that this is one end with two aspects—when we truly glorify God, we also enjoy Him. This means that public worship (and private too) should always be an overflow from our very purpose of existence. It should also be enjoyable because glorifying God and enjoying Him are inseparable. 
4. ...be on the Lord's Day. The Sabbath was not just part of the 10 Commandments (though that is no trivial thing) but was part of the creation ordinance. Even before man fell, he was to rest and worship one day in seven. In the OT, the Lord's Day was the seventh day of the week. Now that Christ has come, He is making a people for Himself, and grace abounds, the first day of the week is the Lord's Day (Re. 1:10; cf. Mt. 28:1; Lk. 24:1; Jn. 20:1, 19-23; Ac. 20:7; 1 Co. 16:2) for it mirrors grace—we rest in grace and then we work—and it is the day in which our Lord was raised from the dead. Though not foundational, it is also practical, for God's people need a Lord's Day to have a common day to gather for worship (cf. He. 10:25). 
5. ...be corporate. On the Lord's Day (see above), God's people gather for corporate worship. While private worship is absolutely essential, one can and should distinguish between corporate and private worship. There are few explicit commands in the NT that tell us to gather together to worship (He. 10:25 being one) but that is not because the NT does not expect there to be corporate worship. That is because the teaching of the NT apostles rests firmly on the OT view of public worship and the assumption that the NT saints gather together in a public, definable worship service. Indeed, many of the NT commands about worship are unintelligible if there is not a distinct, corporate worship service for God's people (cf. Mt. 18:20; Ro. 14; Ac. 20:17-38; 1 Co. 7-11; 14; 16:2; 1 Ti. 2; 4:6-13; 2 Ti. 4; Tt; 2; He. 4:9; Re. 1:10). 
6. ...be governed by the Regulative Principle (RP) of worship. This principle is thrown around a lot these days and sometimes quite incorrectly, so let me attempt to define it for you. The Westminster Confession of Faith (WCF) 21.1 states it well, "But the acceptable way of worshiping the true God is instituted by Himself, and so limited by His own revealed will, that He may not be worshiped according to the imaginations and devices of men, or the suggestions of Satan, under any visible representation, or any other way not prescribed in the holy Scripture (Dt. 12:32; Mt. 15:9; Ac. 17:35)." Why does it say this? It's justification is stated in WCF 20.2, "God alone is Lord of the conscience (Js. 4:12; Ro. 14:4), and has left it free from the doctrines and commandments of men, which are, in anything, contrary to His Word; or beside it, in matters of faith or worship (Mt. 15:9; 23:8-10; Ac. 4:19; 5:29; 1 Co. 7:23; 2 Co. 1:24)." In short, the RP tells us that pastors, sessions, worship leaders, or anyone else directing worship can only prescribe in public worship that which God Himself has prescribed. Because God alone is Lord of the conscience, man has no right to insist another man do anything in matters of faith and worship unless God Himself has commanded it. No man has a right to make another man feel guilty about anything unless it comes from God's command in Scripture (cf. Mt. 15:1-9; Ro. 14; 1 Co. 8-10). This frees man's conscience from the tyranny of man and places it under the only Sovereign who can rule the conscience without damaging it—God. It is helpful, when discussing the RP, to distinguish between elements (those things prescribed as essential to gathered, public worship), forms (the way the element is expressed in public worship), and circumstances (those considerations regarding how, when, where, and in what manner or amount the elements are to be performed, i.e. bulletins, length of prayers, number of songs, times of services, etc.). The RP tells us the elements of public worship but leaves the forms and circumstances open. The forms and circumstances are those things that are, as WCF 1.6 states, "common to human actions and societies, which are to be ordered by the light of nature, and Christian prudence, according to the general rules of the Word." (In the case of forms, they are open but only to things which do not detract from the element itself, and some forms can detract from the element, which is why the WCF says, "ordered by... Christian prudence." E.g. reading Scripture in Latin to a people who do not understand Latin, as the Roman Catholic church did and still does at times, is a form which detracts from the element and therefore unacceptable.)
7. ...contain the following elements: reading the Bible (1 Ti. 4:13), preaching the Bible (Ro. 10:14, 17; 1 Ti. 4:6-13; 2 Ti. 4:2), praying the Bible (Ac. 2:42; 1 Ti. 2:1-4), singing the Bible (Eph. 5:18-19; Col. 3:16), and "seeing" the Bible, i.e. the sacraments (Mt. 28:19; Lk. 22:14-20; Ac. 2:38-39; 1 Co. 11:23-26; Col. 2:11-12). Why is it that we read, preach, etc. the Bible? Because God’s Word is central to our knowledge of Him, His works, His will, and our salvation. With its content and its content alone can we be assured that we are worshiping Him properly. Therefore, as the elements of worship are derived from Scripture, so should those elements be saturated with Scripture. 
8. ...be following the one, true worship leader—Jesus Christ Himself. Everyone else who directs a worship service is merely a minister, Jesus is the one who leads us into worship (Mt. 18:20; Jn. 4:21-23; He. 2:5ff). Jesus gathers us together in Him and brings us before God as our great High Priest. If we really remembered that Jesus is our worship leader (not the man or woman with a piano or guitar), would we not worship differently? 
9. ...be the whole thing—every activity between the call to worship and the benediction. Worship is not just singing. Worship is reading God's Word, praying, preaching, singing, and participating in the sacraments. Every act between from the beginning to the end is part of public worship. When we hear God's Word read or listen to a sermon, we should be cognizant that the hearing, actively listening, and contemplating of it are acts of worship and should lift our affections toward Him. 
10. ...have music that aids in the worship of God but never gets in the way of the worship of God. I do not think it is biblical to quibble over style of music in general, yet there are things that need to be considered when we choose our style. Music is a great way to involve our affections in worship, but it can also manipulate those affections and lead us away from worship, when not used properly. Being moved emotionally is not the same thing as being spiritually changed. Music should engage the affections but always in a way that is spiritually edifying, not just emotionally charged. 
11. ...be orderly. This is a simple but very important aspect of public worship that Paul pounds into the Corinthian people in 1 Co. 14. Paul builds an argument for order in worship and then closes it by saying, "But all things should be done decently and in order." How else is it going to edify God’s people and be a witness to the lost? 
12. ...be edifying. Like the previous point, in 1 Co. 13-14, Paul tells the Corinthian people that gifts and actions in worship are to be done "so that the church may be built up." What good does it do to speak in a tongue, prophesy, or have all knowledge if it is not used in love for the edification of the body? Paul answers in 1 Co. 13:3 we "gain nothing."
13. ...be covenantal. WCF 7.1 states, "The distance between God and the creature is so great, that although reasonable creatures do owe obedience unto Him as their Creator, yet they could never have any fruition of Him as their blessedness and reward, but by some voluntary condescension on God's part, which He has been pleased to express by way of covenant." God's people should come before God to praise Him for what He has done, hear His Word preached, understand the new covenant in Christ, learn about His commitment to them, learn about their commitment to Him, give Him thanks for His covenant, and receive the sign and seal the covenant and be nourished by Christ in the Lord's Supper. All these are aspects of a covenant renewal ceremony, which is at the heart of public worship.
14. ...engage the affections. Jonathan Edwards, in his excellent work Religious Affections, states, "True religion consists so much in the affections, that there can no true religion without them." One can have sound doctrine and not be a Christian, but one cannot be a true Christian and not have true affections. Now, it is important to note that affections are not just emotions, they are the response of the whole person. Affections are not emotions as distinct from the other faculties but the whole lot of emotions, will, and mind. They involve the will, the intellect, and the full range of emotions (not just the happy emotions). It is only through the engagement of the affections for God that we can glorify and enjoy Him. 
15. ...be simple, transferable, and flexible. Worship should not require any elaborate ritual or prescribed book of liturgy/prayer. Since it is based on the principles of God's Word, it is simple, not complicated. Worship, if guided by the RP, is also transferable. The elements are defined (and uncomplicated) but the forms and circumstances can be adapted to every culture (when guided by Christian prudence and the light of nature, according to the general rules of the Word). Finally, worship should be flexible. Like its transferability, it is flexible because biblical worship does not and cannot produce a "cookie-cutter" pattern that everyone church must fit into. The flexibility of worship guided by the RP encourages diversity and cultural expressions. 

As I stated above, this list is not exhaustive and I welcome any comments that may help me biblically refine what is said above.

By His Grace,
Taylor

The Charge of Inconsistency

"Simply stated, the 'homosexuality and shellfish' argument falls apart when read as the Scriptures are meant to be read—with a redemptive-historical approach in view." ~ Matthew Everhard

You often hear stated today, "Christians love to quote the Bible and pick and choose whatever rules they want us to obey and what rules they want to ignore. I can quote the Bible too, and Lv. 11:9-11 says that you should not eat shellfish. You eat shrimp, so why should we believe what you say about homosexuality?" This is the "shrimp argument" and it sounds like a good one on the surface, but it actually comes from a complete lack of understanding of Scripture and Christianity as a whole. It is leveled by those who want to charge Christians with inconsistency if they do not agree with homosexuality. Yet, as we will see, citing a random verse from Scripture does not prove Christians inconsistent at all. It in fact opens up the door to show how Christ has changed everything.

First of all, let's be clear about what the Bible says. People who use the shrimp argument generally quote from Lv. 18:22 or Lv. 20:13 as if they are the only thing the Bible has to say about homosexuality. That is simply not the case. The New Testament (NT) is not silent on the issue but is quite clear (cf. Ro. 1:26-27; 1 Co. 6:9; 1 Ti. 1:8-11). So, if we are going to throw around the charge of "picking and choosing," let's not pick and choose what prohibitions we mention or what Testament we go to for those prohibitions. (It is often argued that Jesus did not say anything about homosexuality. Stand to Reason has a good article answering that charge.)

So, is it inconsistent for Christians say homosexuality is sinful but eat shrimp? No, because with His life, death, and resurrection, Jesus changed the Biblical landscape and now proper interpretation of the Old Testament (OT) law must take Christ's work into account (the redemptive-historical view mentioned in the quote by Everhard).

The OT, especially Leviticus, commits a large amount of space to what is called the "ceremonial law." This law told Israel how it could approach and worship God. Because Christ had not yet come, man could not just approach God in his any state. For God's people to be in right relationship to a holy God and to rightly worship that God, there had to be sacrifices to deal with sin and rules to deal with the purity of the Israelite people. You could not approach God if you had eaten certain foods that were declared unclean (like shrimp), if you had touched an unclean object, or if you did not wear the right clothing. Through the ceremonial law, God made it clear that He is holy and people are not, therefore they cannot just approach Him and worship Him in whatever fashion they pleased. They had to be pure. When Jesus came on the scene, however, He fulfilled the ceremonial law. The book of Hebrews argues this point at length, showing that with Christ's death and resurrection approaching God has changed and people cannot go back to the ceremonial law. Christ's is one-for-all sacrifice (He. 10:12), His righteousness is now our purity before God (Ro. 5:12-18; He. 10:19-23), and now all foods are clean (Mk. 7:19). When Jesus died on the cross the veil of the Temple was ripped and replaced with Jesus Himself (He. 10:20), which shows that the ceremonial law, with its sacrifices and cleanliness laws, has been fulfilled and can no longer be observed by Christians. Jesus makes us clean now, not what we eat, wear, touch, or what sacrifices we make.

That, however, is not the only type of law in the OT. Another type is the "judicial law" that governed the nation of Israel. In it there are a lot of laws that seem odd to us and there are some that seem extreme, like the stoning of blasphemers (cf. Lv. 24:16). What about those laws? How do those work? Blaspheming is obviously still a sin but should we stone those who do it? No, because with the coming of Christ, God's people are not longer a physical nation but a spiritual one. In the OT, God's people were a physical nation so sins had civil punishments. However, now that Christ has come, God's people are a spiritual people living in governments throughout the world. The Church is not the civil government, so the Church no longer deals with sin through civil punishments but through exhortation, censoring, and, as a last resort, exclusion from fellowship (cf. Mt. 18:15-20; 1 Co. 5; 1 Ti. 1:19-20).

But, the third type of law--the moral law, which, for example, tells us about sexuality--is still in place. Why? Because it is not a consequence of how we can approach/worship God (ceremonial law) or the political organization of God's people (judicial law) but an extension of God's very character and created order, which can never change or be done away with. Even the coming of Christ does not change the requirements of the moral law (but He does secure forgiveness and eternal life for those who put their faith in Him). What the OT has to say about generosity, loving our neighbor, families, relationships, and even sex continues into the NT (cf. e.g. Mt. 5:27-30; 1 Co. 6:9-20).

So, how we look at the OT and its regulations depends not on "picking and choosing" but on Jesus Christ Himself. Now, one might reject the Christian premise that Jesus is God and that His death and resurrection changed the biblical landscape. But, even if one does reject that premise, one cannot fairly say that Christians are inconsistent if they accept the moral statements of the OT and do not practice the ceremonial or judicial aspects. From the premises of Christianity this is completely consistent. One can say they disagree, one can reject the conclusion, one can say Christianity is wrong, and one can even say it is "hateful" (those are different arguments), but the charge of inconsistency fails when looked at the data seriously from a biblical, Christian standpoint.

By His Grace,
Taylor

Priorities

"There are only two women in the world: my wife and everyone else. I did not make vows to everyone else." ~ Dr. Bruce Lowe

The other day I was in a professor's office with a couple of other students. We were debriefing from our internships and talking about ministry and the future. One of the things my professor, Dr. Bruce Lowe, wanted to stress to each of us was the importance and priority of our wives. He wanted to make sure our wives came first... always. He said the above and I think he is absolutely right. I cannot tell you how many times I have seen pastors, missionaries, seminary professors, etc. sacrifice their relationship with their wives on the altar of ministry. When challenged on it they might say something like, "I am doing God's work." True, you may be, but if you are putting your call to be a pastor before your call to be a husband, you have your priorities out of order.

When Paul quoted from Genesis 2:24 in Ephesians 5:22-32 (the most famous words about marriage in the Bible), he was making an incredibly radical statement to the first century Christians: your wife is more important than any other earthly relationship in your life. There is no other relationship where the two cleave together and become one flesh, none. Often this passage is pointed to when one is discussing roles in marriage, and it has much to tell us about that, but, role arguments aside, I would like to point out that about two-thirds of these verses are about what the husband does for the wife and they show (for both of them) a commitment which supersedes any other earthly commitment. I would also like to point out that it tells us the Church is the bride of Christ, not the bride of a pastor, missionary, or seminary professor. She has one husband, one Savior, one Head, and His name is Jesus Christ.

By His Grace,
Taylor

The Role of the Pastor's Wife

"The first thing to say on this topic is that the Bible does not establish an office for 'elder/pastor wife.' It doesn't offer her a job description. This in turn means an elder's wife should not feel forced into some mold or set of expectations. Rather, an elder's wife should feel free to simply be a happy, healthy, growing Christian who seeks to fulfill the 'one another' commands in the context of her church just like every other member should." ~ Jonathan Leeman

What is the role of a pastor's wife? As I am about to graduate from RTS and applying to churches, this question comes to my mind a lot. I am sure it is something Erika thinks about as well. I have even answered this question on a few applications. I have generally answered it in the same way as Leeman, though not nearly as eloquently and without as much experience to back up my answer. Below is a little more of Leeman's article:

What role should a pastor's wife or elder's wife play in the church? What are her responsibilities? How can she serve as a helpmate to her husband in the ministry?  

THERE IS NO "PASTOR'S WIFE" OFFICE 

The first thing to say on this topic is that the Bible does not establish an office for "elder/pastor wife." It doesn't offer her a job description. This in turn means an elder's wife should not feel forced into some mold or set of expectations. Rather, an elder's wife should feel free to simply be a happy, healthy, growing Christian who seeks to fulfill the "one another" commands in the context of her church just like every other member should.  

Shouldn't the pastor/elder's wife seek to love and serve the church as occasion permits and as gifts allow? Yes, but only because she is a Christian, not because she is an elder's wife.
Some pastors' wives will want to play the piano, run VBS, and lead the women's retreat. Great! Others will find themselves more fully occupied in the home as well as in the work of private hospitality or neighborhood evangelism. Great! 

An elder or pastor's wife, like every Christian, should engage in private ministry. But there is nothing in the Bible which says that she must engage in public ministry.  

UNHELPFUL EXPECTATIONS FROM THE CHURCH...

I recommend reading the whole thing. You can find it in 9 Mark's website.

By His Grace,
Taylor

Psalm 109 and Imprecation

"[W]hen persecution bursts upon the Church… where Christian pastors and their flocks have been subjected to torture, inhuman indignities and death, when the faith of God's people is severely tried by the enemies of the Lord, Christians instinctively have turned to these psalms. Some people may have considered the Imprecatory Psalms an offense in better days, but their relevancy has been brought home to them, when the forces of evil have persecuted and tortured them because of belief in God and faith in the Lordship of Jesus Christ." ~ Raymond F. Surburg

Several posts ago, I wrote a short review of a book called Crying for Justice: What the Psalms Teach Us About Mercy and Vengeance in an Age of Terrorism. It is about the imprecatory psalms and their usefulness for the Church. Recently, I wrote a paper for a class on Psalm 109, the "the 'imprecatory' psalm par excellence," as some have called it. In examining this psalm closely the reader will get a taste for the imprecatory psalms in general and how to handle them. In the paper I argue that Psalm 109 is a legitimate and righteous prayer of imprecation not only for David in his OT setting but for God’s people today in extreme circumstances of sustained injustice and oppression. If you are interested, you can read the paper here. I pray it is a blessing to you and helps you to understand the Psalms better, for God's glory and your good.

By His Grace,
Taylor

I Love the Church and the True Religion that Forms It

With all the word floating around the Internet about the video "Why I Hate Religion but Love Jesus," I thought I would repost an article I wrote a while ago expressing why I love the Church. Now, do not get me wrong, as I said in the post previous to this one, there is a lot to like about Mr. Bethke's video. I also do not want to beat this subject to death, but those of you who know me know that I am a master of that (it is one of my many sins). When we start to emphasize the things we dislike about contradiction in the Church (one of the main reasons people say, "I hate religion"), we miss out on what the Church is, the true religion that formed it, and the many things to love about it. Below is why I love the Church reposted (and slightly updated):

Every Sunday, right before we take communion at my church, we repeat the words of the Apostle’s Creed. I must confess, sometimes I drone through them without really considering what they mean. However, many times lately the words "I believe in… the holy catholic Church…" have stuck in my mind. Believing that the catholic Church (i.e. the invisible, universal Church) is holy is tough, especially when those in the Church hurt me, hurt those I love, or embarrass me; but they are Jesus’ bride and my people, the "holy catholic Church".

Ronald Rolheiser, in his book The Holy Longing, wrote that "to be connected to the church is to be associated with scoundrels, warmongers, fakes, child-molesters, murderers, adulterers, and hypocrites of every description. It also, at the same time, identifies you with saints and the finest persons of heroic soul within every time, country, race, and gender…because the church always looks exactly as it looked at the original crucifixion, God hung among thieves." Most days I am one of those thieves and no one in their right mind would want to confess me as one of their own. There are other days, only by the grace of God, where I show a glimpse of the "heroic soul" that Mr. Rolheiser wrote about and someone might dare to claim me. Jesus, however, claims me and loves me on all those days, which means I need to do the same for the rest of His Church, His bride.

Loving the Church is hard sometimes. All of us know what it is like to be embarrassed or ticked off by someone in our family but they are our family and we love them. Well, the Church is my spiritual family (whom I will spend eternity with) and there are a lot more of them than in a normal family. There are millions, which means many more opportunities to be embarrassed or ticked off. I heard about a Christian congressman in Florida who wanted to make some law that would force all the science books to be rewritten to say that the earth is the center of the solar system. He claimed that the heliocentric model was all a sham and he tried to prove it from a gross misuse of the Bible. That really burns me up, but Jesus claims him as part of His bride so I cannot disown him. Every time I look at Joel Osteen I want to smack that stupid smile off his face and staple his lips shut, but (this may sound radical but I think it is true) he belongs to Jesus so he belongs to me. John Wesley used to really get under my skin (even though he has been dead for more than 200 years) until I started to read his journals and found things like, "Everybody who belongs to Jesus belongs to everybody who belongs to Jesus." He is right.

Being connected to the millions of the Church also means many more opportunities to be pleased and encouraged by "heroic souls." I could mention the hundreds of Christian organizations that fight hunger, sex trafficking, and all other sorts of injustice but that would be too obvious. I would rather write about my professor's fourteen-year-old daughters who love to sit and talk with the elderly at their church because his daughters "like to hear them talk about Jesus." That makes me proud. I would rather talk about how my church loves on the marginalized in our city—the men on the street, the addicts, and transgendered, to name a few. That makes me proud. I would rather talk about my hero, Steve Brown, who runs two ministries that could easily take up all his time and yet he still takes the time to mentor young seminarians like me. He gets a lot of flak from many Christians (some in my denomination) because of his radical teaching on grace but he does not retaliate (no matter how much he may want to) and practices what he preaches by giving them grace. He makes me proud. I have several missionary friends preaching the gospel in countries where there is civil unrest or it is a capital crime. They make me proud. At our PCA General Assembly last year I met a Palestinian Reformed Christian and a Messianic Jew who were working together to spread the gospel in Palestine. In a group meeting one of them said this when asked how the gospel makes Jews and Arabs relate differently:

I believe that in Christ we have a common ground so Jews and Arabs, yes, but the common ground is the gospel and is our Lord, our Savior Jesus Christ. Me as a Palestinian I have to choose day after day, if not moment by moment that I want to reconcile with my brothers, my Jewish brothers, because the challenge is an instant challenge, endless challenge. It is in my home. It is affecting me day after day. Therefore, I say that we have to be committed to each other. So it’s not just an emotional reaction. It’s not just that I love and pray for my brother, but I am committed through Christ who brings us into a new creation to be together, to be supportive to each other, to love each other, and to embrace each other…. So as a sum up for all this, I believe from all my heart, that we, Palestinian Christians, together with Messianic believers have a message that politicians have never delivered. It’s Christ, the Prince of Peace that makes us peace-makers and through that we can love and live a life that is worthy, a Kingdom life.

That makes me really proud and I feel honored to have known these men, men of whom the world is not worthy.

Entering into a covenant relationship with Jesus means being a part of His bride, the "holy catholic Church." He is a lot more accepting than I would be if I were Him, but that is why He is God and I am not. I may not always like her but the Church is His bride, so I must love her. She is an ugly bride, no doubt, but she is loved dearly by Him and will one day be fully conformed to His likeness. Until then, she is still my people and I can never forget that.

By His Grace,
Taylor

Intentional Community

"²⁴And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, ²⁵not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near." ~ Hebrews 10:24-25 (ESV)

A couple of weekends ago I preached a sermon on intentional community from Hebrews 10:19-25. You can listen to it here. I hope you learn as much from it and are as challenged by it as much as I was while writing it.

By His Grace,
Taylor

Unity Amid Diversity

"[Unity] is not achieved by hunting enthusiastically for the lowest common theological denominator, but by common adherence to the apostolic gospel, by love that is joyfully self-sacrificing, by undaunted commitment to the shared goals of the mission with which Jesus’ followers have been charged, by self-conscious dependence on God himself for life and fruitfulness. It is a unity necessarily present, at least in nuce, amongst genuine believers; it is a unity that must be brought to perfection (v. 23)." ~ D. A. Carson

This past Sunday I was given the opportunity to preach before my church family. I decided to speak on something that all Christians need to hear and that is difficult for all of us--unity. The passage I preached from is John 17:20-23 where Jesus prays for the unity of His Church.

I could say more but the sermon pretty much sums up what I know on the subject. You can read my manuscript here or listen to it here. I pray that it encourages and challenges you on this important subject.

By His Grace,
Taylor

The Pastor's Wife

"The truth is, the Bible has no office or job description called 'pastor’s wife.' This is because the pastor’s wife is simply to be a Christian church member like everyone else. Her first priorities are to be a godly woman, godly wife, and then godly mother, after which all other duties fall." ~ Mark Driscoll

They say that the second toughest job in the Church is being the pastor of a church. Do you know what the hardest job is? Being the pastor's wife. This is something I have thought about a lot because I may one day be a pastor and my wife will have to deal with that. She is a gracious, compassionate, loving, patient woman who I know is definitely up to the task as long as the church we may serve in one day does not try to place expectations on her that are unrealistic or, worse yet, sinful.

Mark Driscoll wrote a post on The Resurgence about loving the pastor's wife that is really good. (Thank you to my friend, and soon-to-be pastor, Adam Powers for sharing it with me.) The quote above comes from it and the rest you can read here. Read it and then think about how you treat the pastor's wife at your church and make sure you are not placing expectations on her that she does not need.

By His Grace,
Taylor

One holy catholic Church...

Every Sunday, right before we take communion at my church, we repeat the words of the Apostle’s Creed. I must confess, sometimes I drone through them without really considering what they mean. However, many times lately the words "I believe in… the holy catholic Church…" have stuck in my mind. Believing that the catholic Church (that is, universal Church) is holy is tough, especially when those in the Church hurt me, hurt those I love, or embarrass me; but they are Jesus’ bride and my people, the "holy catholic Church."

Ronald Rolheiser, in his book The Holy Longing, wrote that "to be connected to the church is to be associated with scoundrels, warmongers, fakes, child-molesters, murderers, adulterers, and hypocrites of every description. It also, at the same time, identifies you with saints and the finest persons of heroic soul within every time, country, race, and gender…because the church always looks exactly as it looked at the original crucifixion, God hung among thieves." Most days I am one of those thieves and no one in their right mind would want to confess me as one of their own. There are other days, only by the grace of God, where I show a glimpse of the "heroic soul" that Mr. Rolheiser wrote about and someone might dare to claim me. Jesus, however, claims me and loves me on all those days, which means I need to do the same for the rest of His Church, His bride.

Loving the Church is hard sometimes. All of us know what it is like to be embarrassed or ticked off by someone in our family but they are our family and we love them. Well, the Church is my spiritual family (with whom I will spend eternity) and there are a lot more of them than in a normal family. There are millions, which means many more opportunities to be embarrassed or ticked off. I heard about a Christian congressman in Florida who wanted to make some law that would force all the science books to be rewritten to say that the earth is the center of the solar system. He claimed that the heliocentric model was all a sham and he tried to prove it from a gross misuse of the Bible. That really burns me up, but Jesus claims him as part of His bride so I cannot disown him. Every time I look at Joel Osteen I want to smack that annoying smile off his face and staple his lips shut, but (this may sound radical but I think it is true) he belongs to Jesus so he belongs to me. John Wesley used to really get under my skin (even though he has been dead for more than 200 years) until I started to read his journals and things like, "Everybody who belongs to Jesus belongs to everybody who belongs to Jesus." He is right.

Being connected to the millions of the Church also means many more opportunities to be pleased and encouraged by "heroic souls." I could mention the hundreds of Christian organizations that fight hunger, sex trafficking, and all other sorts of injustice but that would be too obvious. I would rather write about my professor's fourteen-year-old daughters who love to sit and talk with the elderly at their church because his daughters "like to hear them talk about Jesus." That makes me proud. I would rather talk about how my church loves on the marginalized in our city—the men on the street, the addicts, and transgendered, to name a few. That makes me proud. I would rather talk about my hero, Steve Brown, who runs two ministries that could easily take up all his time and yet he still takes the time to mentor young seminarians like me. He gets a lot of flak from many Christians (some in my denomination) because of his radical (biblical) teaching on grace but he does not retaliate (no matter how much he may want to) and practices what he preaches by giving them grace. He makes me proud. I have several missionary friends preaching the gospel in countries where there is civil unrest or it is a capital crime. They make me proud.

Entering into a covenant relationship with Jesus means being a part of His bride, the "holy catholic Church." He is a lot more accepting than I would be if I were Him, but that is why He is God and I am not. I may not always like her but the Church is His bride so I must love her. She is an ugly bride, no doubt, but she is loved dearly by Him and will one day be fully conformed to His likeness. Until then, she is still my people and I can never forget that.

By His Grace,
Taylor

Church IV

"Once we know so much about the Bible the danger is thinking that we have Him and walk with Him. This is the danger of every mature Christian." ~ Steve Brown

Steve said this on today's episode of his Key Life radio program. He hits on something I have thought about a lot for the past couple of years, particularly in reference to my seminary education. There is a great danger that I often fall into: confusing a love of knowledge about God for a love of God Himself. I sometimes feel like a man who knows a lot about a city he rarely goes to. Or, to use Steve's example, I am sometimes like a botanist who does not smell the flowers. Knowledge is necessary for personal experience but it is not sufficient for (it does not equal) personal experience. Being someone who loves academia, this is something I am constantly having to confess and ask that He help me to experience Him and increase my joy in Him, not just my joy in knowledge about Him.

I have written several times before here, here, and here about why I love the Church. This is another reason why I love the Church. Being a part of a local body, talking with them, fellowshipping with them, worshiping with them, and seeing the love of Christ in them reminds me of my tendency to treat God as a puzzle to be figured out and helps me to return to joy in Him, personally.

By His Grace,
Taylor

Church III

I have written on my love for the Church twice here and here. One thing I love about the Reformed tradition of the Church is how it has always been a confessional tradition. Today I read Article 27 of the Belgic Confession, which is about the Church and I wanted to share it:

We believe and confess one single catholic or universal Church--
    a holy congregation and gathering of true Christian believers,
    awaiting their entire salvation in Jesus Christ being washed by His blood,
    and being sanctified and sealed by the Holy Spirit.
This Church has existed from the beginning of the world and will last until the end,
    as appears from the fact that Christ is the eternal King who cannot be without subjects.
And this holy Church is preserved by God against the rage of the whole world,
    even though for a time it may appear very small in the eyes of men--
      as though it were snuffed out.
For example, during the very dangerous time of Ahab,
    the Lord preserved for Himself seven thousand men who did not bend their knees to Baal.
And so this holy Church is not confined, bound, or limited to a certain placeor certain persons.
    But it is spread and dispersed throughout the entire world,
    though still joined and united in heart and will,
    in one and the same Spirit, by the power of faith.

By His Grace,
Taylor

Church II

I have come with one purpose
To capture for myself a bride 
By my life she is lovely 
By my death she’s justified 

I have always been her husband 
Though many lovers she has known 
So with water I will wash her 
And by my word alone 

So when you hear the sound of the water 
You will know you’re not alone 

Chorus:
‘Cause I haven’t come for only you
But for my people to pursue
You cannot care for me with no regard for her
If you love me you will love the Church

I have long pursued her 
As a harlot and a whore 
But she will feast upon me 
She will drink and thirst no more 

So when you taste my flesh and my blood 
You will know you’re not alone 

Chorus:
There is none that can replace her 
Though there are many who will try 
And though some may be her bridesmaids 
They can never be my bride

This song is by Derek Webb. He is a member of Caedmon's Call and also does side projects on his own. Caedmon's Call is one of my favorite bands and his solo stuff is also very good. I love the lyrics to his songs (and Caedmon's Call's songs) because they are so rich and have so many poetic allusions to biblical stories and/or doctrine. This one in particular I really like because of the bridge lyrics:

   So when you hear the sound of the water 

   You will know you’re not alone 

   ...

   So when you taste my flesh and my blood 

   You will know you’re not alone 

Seeing baptism and taking the Eucharist, among many other spiritual signs and symbols they represent, reminds me of the greater covenant community that Christians are a part of. The Eucharist is a covenant meal, which is an act of covenantal ratification much like the meal shared by the elders of Israel before God in Exodus 24. It proclaims Christ, seals the benefits of union to Christ in believers, spiritually nourishes the believer, and pledges the believer’s fidelity to Christ and His body. (I wrote a paper called "Covenant-Renewing Worship" that speaks some about this.) Baptism is a covenant sign that brings the children of believers, or new believers, into the covenant community so when you "hear" the water you know that you are not alone. 

Last week at church we had two baptisms: the baby of a member couple of the church and a believer's baptism of a young woman who had grown up Muslim (nominal Muslim, but Muslim none-the-less). Seeing both of those really encouraged me. When the baby was baptized I thought, "This is a lucky child because he will grow up in a covenant family that will love and support him." When the believer was baptized I thought, "She is now one of my own." I do not know her personally but she is now a professed Christian and part of the covenant community of the Church and just knowing that another has been brought into the Kingdom is encouraging. They were both encouraging because, like the song says, seeing them reminded me that I am not alone. Like John Wesley says, "Everyone who belongs to Jesus belongs to everyone who belongs to Jesus" (whether we like it or not). 

By His Grace,
Taylor