Author: westportexperiment

I am a minister serving Presbyterian Reformed Church of Rhode Island, with strong interest in the history, theory, and contemporary application of parochial church extension.

The blessed God

I recently preached on the words of Christ to His faithful servants on the last day, “Enter into the joy of thy Lord.”  This text, among other things, opens up a window into the joy, the happiness, or what some biblical texts speak of as the “blessedness of God” (Rom. 9:5, 1 Tim. 1:11, 6:15).  It is the joy of the Lord.

imagesGod is the self-sufficient One, who enjoys true happiness in and of Himself.  One Swiss Reformed theologian, Benedict Pictet (1655-1724) said of God, “Who would not call God happy, who is in need of nothing, finds comfort in himself, and possesses all things; is free from all evil and filled with all good?”

When Christ speaks to the believer on the last day and ushers him with open arms into “the joy of the Lord,” He is welcoming that believer into the full participation of God’s happiness – at least as far as a creature can possibly sustain in the narrow limits of his being.  What a grand thought.  God wants to share His joy!

Are you, friend, truly happy?  Can you be happy without the blessed God?  Come to Him, then, through Christ – through whom He lavishly pours out joy “unspeakable and full of glory.”

The Spirit & the Bride

wolgemutpleydenwurffFor where the Church is, there is the Spirit of God; and where the Spirit of God is, there is the Church, and every kind of grace; but the Spirit is truth. Those, therefore, who do not partake of Him, are neither nourished into life from the mother’s breasts, nor do they enjoy that most limpid fountain which issues from the body of Christ; but they dig for themselves broken cisterns out of earthly trenches, and drink putrid water out of the mire, fleeing from the faith of the Church lest they be convicted; and rejecting the Spirit, that they may not be instructed.

-Irenaeus of Lyons (d. ca. 202)

A new (and alarming) declaration of indepedence

Recent days have shown how far some judges will go to impose their views on the majority of citizens.  Just yesterday, one solitary judge in Utah by fiat overturned that state’s constitutional amendment to define marriage as between one man and one woman.  This right on the heels of the same in New Mexico.  On a purely political level, this trend ought to be alarming.

And yet, this cannot be alarming merely because the will of the citizens of Utah or other such states has been steamrolled.  In our democratic America, it is ever and always “we the people.”  If a judge overrules the will of the people, then there is a defiant outcry.  But if a judge rubber-stamps the current of popular opinion, applause erupts.  Yet, what if the majority of the people are wrong?  (Cue gasps.)  Yes, I did just suggest the unthinkable.  But there it is.  And if they ever are wrong, a judge could and should overrule their wrong decisions.  And deal with the fallout unflinchingly.

What happened in Utah should outrage the people, within and without the state.  But not because a single judge crossed their will, enshrined by law.  What should shock the folks of Utah and the rest of the United States is that God’s law has been overturned.

That is evident for those who do not willfully close their eyes.  Nature speaks.  The male and female bodies were designed for each other.  Pick up that anatomy book again and review.  In detail.  Behold the signature craftsmanship of God!  The unnaturalness of man and man or woman and woman is obvious.  How?  Barrenness is not a painful exception in such unions; it is an inflexible law.  This barrier to conception and childbearing is a clear stamp of God’s total disapproval.

To this testimony of nature, God adds His revealed Word.  “Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination” (Lev. 18:22).

Judges who overturn God’s law will have to reckon with God.  And citizens who – by their elected representatives – overturn God’s will will answer to Him as well.  We have great reason to fear, both people and officials, elected and unelected.  We have been transgressing God’s law for decades, flagrantly disregarding His commandments and sanctioning them after the fact by law or decree.  Yesterday was but another step in a long process.  Having given our stamp of approval to sex outside of marriage, to no-fault divorce, and even to the inhumanity of abortion, it is not terribly surprising that same-sex marriage eventually gets a pass.  Most heterosexuals have abandoned their moral high ground to critique anything they may not prefer.

We are effectively writing a new declaration of independence.  From God.  And the real alarm should be that we are sorely trying His patience, and that His patience will at some point come to an abrupt and jarring end.  How long will God withhold His hand of judgment?  How long will He indulge our prodigal orgy of lawlessness?  I genuinely fear that our day of reckoning is coming.  Whether by cyber-terrorism, or by an unstoppable epidemic, or by some other fearful national calamity, it is coming.  And that is only the beginning, when one reckons with the fact that temporal judgments are omens of those beyond death.  “The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God” (Psa. 9:17).

O, that we might come to our senses!  All of us – “we the people.”  And with broken hearts and tears of sorrow, that we might pledge our allegiance to God once again, and to His Christ.

No adults allowed!

Mark 10:13-16, “And they brought young children to him, that he should touch them: and his disciples rebuked those that brought them. But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein. And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them.”

* * *

Tomorrow, we will be considering this memorable story of Jesus welcoming and blessing the children. First and foremost, we shall see that these little ones do not get “put out” of the adults-only circle of the worthy. No, children are properly citizens of the Kingdom. All who bring their children to Jesus may bring them precisely because theirs is the Kingdom.

But what is more, not only does Jesus’ Kingdom include children. His Kingdom only includes children! Placarded on the gates of this Kingdom, with royal seal affixed, are the words, “no adults allowed.” None who feel adequate before Him, none who feel ‘entitled’ by their long resume of attainments, by their matured and more penetrating minds, by their boasted seniority. Oh no, none of that! Seniority disqualifies from the Kingdom. Only children will receive His saving blessing. Only the inadequate, the insufficient, the undeveloped, and the weak belong. And more, only those who with childlike simplicity receive Jesus as He is – holy, harmless, undefiled and separate from sinners.

I think one of the beauties of this Kingdom mystery lies in the King Himself. He only accepts children because He was a child once. Yes, the Son of God did not become a man fully formed. He didn’t bypass childhood. No, the Lord of all embraced this weakness. And unlike so many adults who forget they were children once, Jesus never forgot. To be sure, there is a natural forgetfulness. Memories fade with time. Yet some of that fading is culpable. How often we forget what it was like to be a child! We can be gruff with children and shoo them away just like the disciples, because we fail to remember our childhoods. We can shut them out because we are in on what is really important. Shame on us.

But not so with Jesus! He got angry at the disciples for shooing away those precious children. Jesus, the childlike One, who was “meek and lowly in heart,” had not forgotten what it was like to be a child. And so with the utmost tenderness, He welcomes them. He takes up their little bodies into his arms, He puts his hand on that disheveled head and blesses.

Darkest before the dawn

We have just resumed our series on the Old Testament books of 1 & 2 Kings during our morning Lord’s Day services.  Picking up after the ministry of Elisha, things go from bad to worse.  The glory fades and darkness drowns the light.  But Jonathan Edwards poignantly observes the greater significance in greater story:

The declining of the glory of this legal dispensation made way for the introducing the more glorious dispensation of the gospel. The declining of the glory of the legal dispensation was to make way for the introducing of the evangelical dispensation that was so much more glorious, so that the legal dispensation had no glory in comparison of it. The glory of the ancient dispensation such as was in Solomon’s time, consisting so much in external glory, was but a childish glory in comparison of the spiritual glory of the dispensation introduced by Christ. The church under the Old Testament was a child under tutors and governors, and God dealt with it as a child. Those pompous externals are called by the Apostle, ‘weak and beggarly elements.’  It was fit that those things should be diminished as Christ approached, as John the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ, speaking of Christ, says, ‘He must increase, but I must decrease,’ John 3:30. ‘Tis fit that the twinkling stars should gradually withdraw their glory when the sun is approaching towards his rising.

As with Israel and Judah of old, so the night now closes on the West.  But whatever may be the particulars in God’s hidden plan, we are assured that light will break forth again – only infinitely greater than before.  “He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth. They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him; and his enemies shall lick the dust.  The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents: the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts. Yea, all kings shall fall down before him: all nations shall serve him” (Psa. 72:8-11).

The precious, one and only

There were three parents, with three precious children.  Only children.

A woman had lost her son, her only son.  As the procession passed, what overwhelming grief she suffered!  To add to the torment, she was a widow.  Stripped not only of her last remaining joy, but her last, flickering ember of hope.

Jairus was a great man and very devout.  But neither his position or piety could prevent the virus.  His dear little daughter, his one and only child, was on the verge of death.  He was desperate.  So as he sought after Jesus, the miracle Healer, time was of the essence.  But the crowds slowed the Master down, and finally the time was up.  His daughter was gone.

Another father came to Jesus.   His one and only son had for years been plagued with a demon, seizing his weak and weary body, convulsing him, and even casting him into the fire.  As the father watched, what agony!  Could Jesus spare his helpless boy?  His one and only son?

Because of Jesus, each precious, ‘one and only’ was spared.  And in sparing them, their poor, tormented parents were spared.

Jesus was also a precious, ‘one and only.’  Not that He was the only child of Joseph and Mary.  He wasn’t.  But He was, is, and evermore shall be, the precious, one and only Son of the heavenly Father.  From eternity, He is “the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”  Yet in infinite love, to lost, undone parents and children, God did not spare His ‘one and only.’  He gave Him, surrendering Him to  the cursed death of the cross, that by such a sacrifice we and our children may be spared for ever.

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Join us this Lord’s Day (Sunday), June 9, as we consider Jesus, the “only begotten Son,” whom the loving Father sent into the world.  “In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him” (1 Jn. 4:9).

 

 

Ten reasons why you should go to church

George_Henry_Durrie_-_Going_to_Church1. Above all, God  commands it.  “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.”  “Forsake not the assembling of yourselves together, as the manner of some is.”

2. God lets you have six days for yourself.  One for God, six for us.  That’s pretty generous.

3. God deserves our gratitude.  Think about it.  He formed you when you were in your mother’s womb.  He gave you life, breath, and all things.  He makes His sun shine on you, His rain fall on you, His earth to produce for you.  In short, He gives you everything.  Coming into His house is giving credit where credit is due.

4. God deserves public, not just private honor.  We publicly recognize accomplishments, especially those who are especially worthy.  When we gather together in the house of God, we unite our voices to express His greatness.   Officially.  “Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised.”  The purple heart isn’t awarded in a dark basement, but in a public forum.  And God is greater than our greatest heroes.

5. You were meant to worship.  Theologians have well said that each of us have “the seed of religion” within us.  Having been made by God and for God, we cannot escape our fundamental religiousness.  Not to worship is to act against our humanity.  It is animalistic.  Look  in the mirror.  You’re not an animal, meant to eat, drink, and become compost.  You have a soul, a God-shaped hole that only He can fill.

6. Your children were meant to worship.  They are little humans.  And they need you to fear God and to lead them to Him.  They won’t do it otherwise. “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.”  And if they complain, remember – God put you in the driver’s seat, not them.  You make them eat broccoli, even if they don’t like it.  Get over their foot-dragging.  If you hold the line, they will thank you for it.

7. You will improve your physical health.  Our bodies can be overworked, especially in our fast-paced society.  We weren’t made to do 90 in a 25 mph zone.  God tells us to slow down!  Further, when we give rest to our souls in the Church, the hospital of Christ, our souls are healed and reinvigorated.  And a healthy mind contributes to a healthy body.

8. You will recover your sanity.  When God speaks by His Word, light shines and clouds are dispelled.  A calm there descends on the storm of our thoughts.

9. You will improve all your relationships.  The more we are distant from God, the more alienated we become with husbands, wives,  parents, children.  Back to God is back to family, back to community.

10. The doors to God’s house will one day close.   Now there is an open house.  Now there is easy access to this place of forgiveness, renewal, and restoration.  It is an oasis in a desert, available for all the thirsty to drink and be satisfied.  But not forever.  There is a day, unknown to men, in which God’s offers of grace and  mercy shall be withdrawn, and men shall then face a God-less eternity.  “As it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be in the days of the Son of man.”  The doors then closed, and the rain fell.

Sexuality and the public servant

The following testimony was delivered before the Rhode Island House Judiciary Committee  on Tuesday, January  15, 2013, in anticipation of a vote to redefine marriage.

*  *  *

Respected members of the House Judiciary Committee, I am grateful to address you today. I speak against the proposed legislation not only as a private citizen, but as an ordained Christian minister.

This public service is often a very thankless task. Such ministers are under orders to speak for their Lord unequivocally. Often, they must contradict men and women of power and influence.  And suffer the consequences, knowing that they have a greater reward in heaven.

Oftentimes, they must touch the sensitive nerve of sexuality and run the risk of spiting those who know what they want and are used to getting it. They must address sexual ethics and its bearing on public policy.

As I speak to you today, I am reminded of John the Baptist. John was a quintessential man of God, a new Elijah, calling on his people to nothing less than radical brokenness for sin and lifestyle change. They must repent, for “the axe is laid at the root of the tree.”

He also happened to have the ear of a powerful man, King Herod. Herod respected him. But Herod was used to getting what he wanted. So was his wife. But his wife was already married to another man – to his own brother. To make a long story short, John didn’t roll over and play dead. He spoke. “It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother’s wife.” John had touched a very sensitive nerve, and for that he lost his head.

We also must at times touch sensitive nerves. Today, we must affirm the holy ordinance of marriage to be between one man and one woman, in covenant, for life. Other sexuality is thereby forbidden. Fornication, adultery, no-fault divorce, and yes, homosexual sex is, to use the language of the Baptist, “unlawful.” In point of fact, the Scripture brands the latter as “abomination.”

But please understand. We, as John of old, have no relish for controversy. Nor do we have some personal animus against those on the other side.

Like John, we are simply under orders. Much inside us shrinks from the public light, especially when our stance is increasingly unpopular. But we have been called to obey, not do as we please. Even if that makes us misunderstood, or worse.

And like John, we in fact dearly love our fellow-men. John didn’t hate Herod or his wife, but spoke the truth for their sake. Please understand, I speak not for self-righteous bigots. We love our neighbors. And we plead with them to stop courting judgment. Your honors, I beg you in the name of God, take heed. “God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.”