Reformed Texan

In Mark 10:18, when someone called Jesus “Good teacher” Jesus responded with “no one is good but God alone”. What Jesus was getting at is the holiness of God, which far exceeds man’s ability to approach. Because in order to even fulfill the law, you must love God and neighbor, continually, with all the right and perfect intentions of the heart and mind, with all your strength (Mk 12:30-31). Something Jesus did, and we see the great strain of doing so when the night before his death, when he asked three times if the cup of the wrath of our sins be taken from him, but also proclaimed “still not my will but your will be done” (Mk 14:32-42). If we want to talk about after the fall man eating by the sweat of his brow, there we are told that Jesus sweat as drops of blood. To the point that He had to be at the same time entirely God to begin to bear this great burden as also entirely man.

The Reformation was a recovery that is at the heart of the gospel, this great work of Christ, where God, outside of us, in love, works in history to redeem, save, bless, and adopt as family forever sinners like us. This good news message that God uses to save us in Christ was at one point heralded in Reformed churches across Europe and in America. However, after the Great Awakening, and revivalism movements in America a theological shift began to occur that is described here:

“While in Calvin and Luther all the emphasis fell on the redemptive event that took place with Christ’s death and resurrection, later under the influence of pietism, mysticism and moralism, the emphasis shifted to the individual appropriation of the salvation given in Christ and to its mystical and moral effect in the life of the believer.

Accordingly, in the history of the interpretation of the epistles of Paul the center of gravity shifted more and more from the forensic to the pneumatic and ethical aspects of his preaching, and there arose an entirely different conception of the structures that lay at the foundation of Paul’s preaching.” -Herman Ridderbos 1909-2007 (Paul: An Outline of His Theology)

Or to state it a bit differently the Lutheran theologian, professor, and pastor Dr. Rod Rosenbladt points out the effects of Lutheran Pietism absorbed by American fundamentalists saying:

“Instead of the Reformation emphasis on Christ outside of us, dying for us, and on the justification of sinners by grace, the emphasis shifted to the individuals experience of conversion and to the victorious life of the true Christian day by day.”

What both of these statements are getting at is we’ve moved on from the Reformation. Protestantism, at least in its broadest expression has become more “we-and-what-we-do” centric than “Christ” and His saving work for us centric.

In many Protestant churches in our day the scriptures are interpreted chiefly from the standpoint of me and you using our freewill to make right decisions.  So, while Jesus dying on the cross to save a sinner like me might be mentioned, the lens is not chiefly from the standpoint of God outside of me saving me, but my internal appropriation of it, it’s effects in me,  and the scope of duties I have as a “Jesus follower”.

So, preaching with this focus includes a lot of self-improvement so that  functionally  the overarching message is more one of good advice, not good news. The net-effect is either self-righteousness, or if you’re not good at self-deception this to-do-list-Christianity produces an “I’m never good enough” feeling, because there’s been no real convincing and glorious gospel of God outside of us saving us, because the gospel is diminished and relegated to brief mentions and platitudes that aren’t very convincing to the heart of those sensitive to their own shortcomings. 

If this sounds familiar, it was Luther’s problem, the strong conscience, the internal lawyer that says, “That’s not good enough”, or “I’m still such a failure”, only a complete and convincing gospel preached can silence this lawyer, and the context must be a real and serious appraisal of the law.

Hard law, with the standard of the law given by a Holy and just God that requires perfection in heart, mind, and deed, where the law is not just breakable but must be fulfilled positively with a righteousness greater than that of the Pharisees. In short, “you must be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect”. Thanks be to God that Jesus who proclaimed this in Matthew 5:48 also proclaimed His own mission work to save us in Matthew 5:17.

You see at the right time God sent forth His one and only son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law so that we might receive adoption as sons (Gal 4:4-5) , because you see none of us in and of ourselves are ever are good, no one is righteous, no not one!

Therefore, the Christian pastor to faithfully fulfill the calling of a Christian pastor he must preach a Christian sermon. As has been pointed out, a Christian sermon is distinct from what you’d hear in a Synagogue, or a Mosque. If the sermon (with a word or sentence or two changed here and there) could be preached in a Synagogue, it’s not a Christian sermon. The Christian must have the law in all its weight proclaimed, and then the gospel in its freeing glory also made very clear in all its beauty, the white letters of the good news on the black background of our condition apart from it. Then it sets the mind and heart free to love and will for the glory of God, from the heart.  Someone importantly once said that he who has been forgiven little loves little, but he who has been forgiven much loves much.  This is so true. If we wish to love much, we must see that we have been given much, and this is the central job of the Christian pastor, to faithfully divide the word of God and proclaim the law and the gospel in such a way as it becomes clear how great the saving work of Christ was and is for us, proclaimed from all the scriptures. Then instructions for how to live are no burden, but they are made light, even a joy. 

To answer the question of “Have we moved on from the Reformation?” is to simply ask, “have we moved on from the centrality of Christ, and His gospel?”. If God’s saving work is always the footnote of the Christian sermon, then that tells us something else is central, and that we and what we do and don’t do has become the narrative. In that narrative we have made ourselves the main characters in God’s redemptive story in our lives. I would suggest that this is actually common to man, it’s human nature to make everything about us and what we do and don’t do. However, it’s to be rejected. We should reject all notions of this in our churches, and seek to return to Christ centered Christianity. In places where that repentance and reformation needs to happen it will take courage, and encouragement, and men willing to stand on the principles and doctrines recovered in the Protestant Reformation. 

Intersectional or Christian –  Answering the “Who are we?” Question

Author: SM White

One of the hot topics of discussion among Christians in the United States is the issue of Christian Nationalism. One of the most glaring problems with it is some of the proponents of it make no distinction between the theocracy of Israel and the other common kingdom nations that exist today. They propose that since Jesus is King, that there should be some sort of minimal national fidelity to a Christian creed, or some even suggest applying the moral law, even including the first 4 commandments, which would essentially make the nation a form of Christian theocracy. One can only imagine with politicians swapping out every 4 years or so what kind of God Biden or Trump might get to dictate what we worship, or perhaps which church they would delegate that responsibility to. Rome?

With Biden’s continuation of Obama’s fundamental transformation, and with a sort of cultural decline in general, there is distinct new culture arising to be the Antithesis, and even replacement of traditional Christian, (or so called family) values. Under the name of democracy, and human rights, abortion, race, LGBTQ, trans-humanism, and a host of other intersectional commitments combine where there may be a narrative of grievance or inequality, even down to “healthy-at-any-size” individuals joining together via “identity politics” in  movement that has been termed Cultural Marxism.

Cultural Marxism is not like the old Marxism where the inflection points were between the material divisions between the Bourgeoisie and the Proletariat.  The social classes and grievances today have been remapped to a group of intersectionals who oppose issues such as white-privilege, male-domination, hetero-normative dominance, with even traditional families being considered part of racial inequality, and therefore at cultural enmity with the intersectional comradery. These new intersectional cultural norms are considered necessary parts of democracy, which America assumes it has the right and responsibility to spread democracy globally, which now comes with these features such as LGBT included, or else the nation or leadership of that nation is pegged as undemocratic, or dictatorial and are therefore problematic.

One of the nations in the sights of this new values democracy is a more traditional values friendly and therefore new values resistant Hungary. Which is one reason many conservatives in America look to it as a beacon and guide for what America should be like. As a American, Reformed Christian who lives in Hungary, I have thought about these things and hopefully have some insights that might be helpful.

First off, Hungary is a culturally Christian country which reminds me more of the 1970s or 80s America. Hungary is more culturally Christian than formal.  The statistics are that about half of the population identifies as Christian, where most of them identify as Roman Catholic, but about 1/3 as many of those identify as Calvinist. It has been my experience that most of the churches that identify as “Reformed” or Calvinistic, most would resemble more of a sort of “do-gooder” type of Christianity without much doctrinal understanding or confessional fidelity. Still, nearly 1 million people identify as Calvinists in this small country of about 10 million people.

It does differ from America and many of the Western European nations in that there is not much crime, or delinquency in its capital city Budapest. For example, there is not as much street art painted on buildings and hoodlums don’t go around and destroy cars, or art, and most parts of the beautiful city of Budapest are safe for a woman to walk alone, even at night. Right now the bricks on our sidewalk are being replaced, and there is this sense that the government cares for its citizens, the beauty of the city, the public transportation, good affordable food, natural gas heating, and clean water. It’s not a panacea here. Inflation rose by over 17% last year, and many people are struggling as over all of Europe, but in all, it’s my favorite European city, for reasons of its culture, and still relative affordability.

Significant, there were a series of important amendments written in 2013 and added to the Hungarian constitution in December of 2020 under the heading of: Hungarian Fundamental Law.  Among the statements in this document (which reads as a civilizational constitution) are statements like:

“We recognize the role of Christianity in preserving nationhood.” , and “The protection of the constitutional identity and Christian culture of Hungary shall be an obligation of every organ of the State.”;  and

“Every child shall have the right to the protection and care necessary for his or her proper physical, mental and moral development. Hungary shall protect the right of children to a self-identity corresponding to their sex at birth, and shall ensure an upbringing for them that is in accordance with the values based on the constitutional identity and Christian culture of our country.”

Now before would be Christian Nationalists in America get too excited, I would say that there are some fundamental differences between Hungary and the United States that I believe leaves America simply unable to establish something like what Hungary has. The fact that they came out of Communist oppression gave them a sort of mandate or even requirement to search for their identity.  So a sort of “who are we?” question was not only valid, but necessary after what was a national and cultural usurpation and imposition of a liberal enlightenment philosophy, which is what Marxism arguably was/is.

There is also the fact that Hungary as it is established, and has even codified in its constitution is in the category of a civilization-state, and America falls more in the category of a nation-state. Whereas the nation state is a nation built more on ideas, and socio-political modes, a civilization state is built more on the historical and cultural continuity, and therefore has a civilizational identity which in this case Hungary has asserted that it was founded over 1000 years ago as a Christian nation, and that Christianity itself has a role in the preservation of its nationhood. This is claiming a historic reality of Christianity as the constitutional aspect that is necessary to the nation’s very continued existence.

There is simply no way that without massive coercion and probably bloodshed, that America could impose something like this. Partly because America was founded much later, after the Reformation on more of a syncretism of Protestant Christianity and secular Enlightenment philosophy. Which are both aspects of Western liberalization, and which has progressed to the point of individual atomization, and it’s final form of anti-humanity intersectionality and quest for global-hegemony in the name of democracy.  Hungary in its original form was a Christian monarchy, and this is it’s current constitutionally codified claimed national identity which lives on in the form of a democracy, although there are many with the West  who would claim that since it codifies traditional Christian values that this is in itself anti-democratic. Because the new values democracy must include enlightenment’s final form of post-modern liberalism or else it’s not a real democracy but is instead authoritarian.

There is this split within the West, which America must work though it’s own future based on its own “who are we?” questions without the cultural homogeny or unique national and political will to identify with that Hungary had and was able to appeal to its own deeper historic foundations to the point of its codification of Fundamental Law stating the importance of Christianity it its existence. The fact that the idea behind the democratic process has resulted in radical policy shifts every 4/8 years within democracies like America has devolved into a sort of bipolar culture war between new and traditional values, with most education, government, social-media and many big corporations united on or pragmatically betting on the success new-values side. The end result is a deeply divided nation in regards  to national or cultural identity or beliefs about where now there are more intersecting divides between Americans than what unites them.

What this means for the church is that these cultural divides and atomized individualism will continue to negatively impact church bodies. Which I  believe that Reformed confessionalism (Reformed confessions and catechisms guiding ones biblical understanding)  and a sacred-secular distinction between what could be called: “God’s two-fold kingdom”  offers a path forward for the necessary “who are we?” question that Christians and churches will need to answer. Indeed, being unable to answer that fundamental question, leaves one’s principles and values open in a time of great confusion and chaos in the common realm. For the church I believe that the old adage is true that: “If you don’t know where you stand, you’ll fall for anything.”

The same way a civilization state will probably do better in the future than a nation state is that it stands on deeper foundations, and this truism applies to the Christian as well. While Roman Catholics or even Eastern Orthodox can always appeal to and found core beliefs on deep historicity, we Protestants, being the product of Reformation have either the choice of being established in our Reformation roots (even back to proclaiming historic creeds) , or face endless atomization the same way that the broader Western liberal cultures are going.  

There is always a danger that intersectionality is a temptation to culturally attuned and influence seeking churches. Yet a commitment to Reformed confessionalism and a recognition that God distinguishes the spiritual and temporal kingdoms he rules over we will have a bulwark against those who would wish to insert worldly agendas, and in particular those who seek to insert intersectional mandates to either syncretize or make use of Christianity towards an earthly end. The fact remains the new values intersectionality or Cultural Marxism is completely incompatible with historic Reformed Christianity and could rightly be classified as a secular infection of Christianity as it is of traditional culture. We should beware of those who claim otherwise.

Narratives that threaten to control and overthrow us are a trial we are to overcome

I think one of the ways Satan seeks to destroy Christians is through our own thought life. In particular through what we focus on. He wants us to focus on all the bad things that happen to us or that happens in the world, and to be either outraged by it, angry, or afraid. This is the ultimate in narrative control, and inasmuch as it exists, and things affects us, hurt us, or threaten us, it can start to seem like this is our lifes narrative.  There is however a battle we are in and it is about what rules over our hearts.

The Bible teaches us Christians that there is another greater narrative for us that transcends, overcomes, and overrules this temporal worldly narrative that we have often let rule over our minds and to a degree have become enslaved to. 

We Christians are taught by the Holy Spirit through the Word of God, a transcendent, and eternal narrative of the world and of our lives. One of the most important things we learn from God’s word is that our Lord is sovereign. He is all-powerful over the entire universe that he made. That, as R.C. Sproul taught, “there is not one maverick molecule” that is not under God’s control, or outside of His will.

That is a chief pillar of our worldview. That God is Lord of all and by that, we understand just who God is. We are also taught in the scriptures that He is good, He is faithful, He is righteous, and He is loving and merciful. We see that throughout the Old Testament and New. We are taught in the New Testament that the Father has loved us, and sent his only Son, who willingly, in love, came to accomplish the mission of our redemption, the forgiveness of our sins, and the imputation of His righteousness to us. This is good news. 

As we are united to Christ through faith alone, (faith which He grants), this double imputation, our sin to Christ, borne away, His righteousness to us, credited to us. This is our redemption and our eternal life are secured forever by Him. This is our wonderful new story and narrative. This is the metanarrative that controls us, and therefore the Love of Christ controls us (2 Cor 5:14). As we set our minds on the things above (Col 3:2), where our treasure is, where Christ is, we know truth. We then bear fruit of this new heart, and new narrative of our lives.

The fruit of the Spirit is borne from our new hearts and therefore out of our lives. Fruit of: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness and self-control. (Gal 5:22-23) This is enabled in us through the work of the Holy Spirit which indwells us.

So, the strictly materialist worldview of all we see around us, of all the information that fills our senses should be at times either ignored or pushed out of mind, or other times we should understand it in its temporal context as being under the eternal context. The eternal context which we in Christ have been enlightened to (1 Cor 2:16). Through His Word we are taught that “God works all things together for the good of those who love him, and are called according to His purpose.” (Rom 8:28)

So, the narrative of the life we experience is not simply “sad things are bad”, and “happy things are good”, but everything that happens to us is interpreted for us by this Word. That all things work for our good. The all things He purposes that we experience in life are for our good from an eternal perspective. This is a great battle we must fight in our own hearts and minds. That the two narratives exist, one that our flesh tends to agree with, and one that the Spirit agrees with, and we are often tripped up by the weakness of our own flesh (Gal 5:16-17). But even that failure of ours is turned for our good, for the strengthening of us in Christ who seek, and are called to strive towards walking in the Spirit, not in the Flesh.

Sometimes we are weak, and sometimes we are strong, according to where we are in-the-now, but God gives us the church, which is comprised of our leaders who Christ calls and enables to love us, and our brothers and sisters in Christ who love us, and we love them, and we all build one another up in Christ, because we are one Spiritual family. Family forged by the bond of the Spirit of God.

This is our narrative in-the-now. This is our temporary state on our way to eternal glory which awaits all of us. Christ has already overcome the world, and we are following Christ. Following in faith, and as imitators (Eph 5:1-2), and as brothers and sisters, led by the Sprit bearing Spiritual fruit. This is our story! This is our song! Why wouldn’t we want to praise this great savior all day long?  Christian, be encouraged! You have a great future!

Now this new narrative we are given brings to mind a couple of things. First, as far as evangelism goes, who wouldn’t want to be a part of this story, to have this new story be their story? Not as if we are a great hero in it, but really as we are, weak poor unlovable sinners bought by the King (redeemed) and brought into His family and eternally loved by Him.

The second thing is, what about the misery of this life’s temporal trials and sufferings overcoming us? What about when we forget the truth and start down the wrong path to be controlled by our own weakness, or the world’s narratives and desires, which is both an offense to God and an expression of unbelief.

These trials that test the genuineness of our faith, and instead of falling away to destruction, we repent and return to Christ our savior. God grants us repentance (Acts 11:18), and we cling to Christ our savior in faith again, in repentance again, and this is how we walk in this temporal world. As those who continually are expressing two steps of repentance and faith, repentance and faith, repentance and faith.

This is our temporal state, simultaneously both sinners and saints (Simul Justus et Peccator), continually strengthened by the Spirit (Eph 3:16), the Word, the church, all given by God to we who are guarded by the power of God through faith through the trials, to our eternal inheritance (1Pet 1:5). This is our great hope, which is assured in us by the Spirit that we are indeed children of God for whom this is our story, this is our future, this is our sure treasure, this is our inheritance kept for us in heaven.

1 Peter 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

The Holy Spirit assured Biblical narrative is the controlling narrative of our lives. We should continually strive, not only to remember it and to understand it, but taking every thought captive, continually preach it to ourselves and each other to build one another up in Christ. This is our story, and this is what is to ruleour hearts and minds, not the partial narratives.

We should know that Satan often works with partial truths, stripped away from the larger narrative, and by that He lies, and seeks to control our fleshly hearts by partial truths, which are really lies. This is our battle, always making sure that all the partial narratives fall under the greater narrative of what is true according to God, according to the Word of God. The partial narrative with events that seem good or bad in the moment is not the whole story, and therefore it is not the context of all that happens.  Therefore our hearts are to be ruled by Christ, and the eternal narrative, not the temporal and partial narratives of our experiences in certain seasons of our lives. 

Doubting, fearing, trembling as a Christian. It’s okay… In fact. If our doctrine of “grace alone” is summed up only in the position that there is no merit in the things we do after coming to Christ, this view fails to understand the height of the law or the depth of our sin. It’s a failure to understand that even after coming to Christ we’re failing at the perfect fulfillment of law by our commission (what we do) and omissions (what we fail to do) daily, hourly, even every second.

Yet today there is still a lot of confusion even in Reformed churches. There are people teaching and people who are trying to get their primary assurance from their internal perception of their obedience to the law in places like 1^St John, and other places of spiritual testing, because to them this is the first place, they look for Christian assurance.

It is true that assurance is strengthened or weakened by our pursuit of, or failure to pursue obedience to God’s laws, but this fruit of the work of the Spirit and is to be considered secondary. It’s not the first place to set your eyes of Christian faith. The first place we set our eyes is on Christ, and the sufficiency of His accomplishments for us,  and promises to us in the gospel for just believing. This is our hope and confidence. To look first to what we do is a short-circuiting of the path to assurance putting the wrong things first.

If our perception of our law obedience is the short-circuited path to our assurance, this naturally leads to a self-righteousness. A sort of elevated view of the self, which also naturally includes a looking down on others who we perceive are not as good as us.  What happens is that since so much weight, the very weight of our assurance before God is put on these evidences, it leads to self-delusion.

It leads to delusions about the wrong things we do (sins of commission), or the things we fail to do (sins of omission). In order to not have our assurance undone, we will judge these sins we do as “not so bad”. We would tend to hide our failures, to overlook them, to diminish them. This is nothing less than a diminished view of God’s law. It’s a softening of the law of God.  Both by lowing the bar for ourselves, and magnifying them in others this leads to a mindset of “Grace for me but not for thee.”

So, in this process of assurance looking primarily to the inner feeling that we are meeting the biblical spiritual tests, there is a sort of skipping over of Christ. This process skips looking to Christ and resting our hope on His righteousness promised to us first.  However, we should look first there for assurance!  This is why the gospel is so important for Christians, every Sunday! People who don’t appreciate the importance of the gospel every Sunday probably have not understood these things.

This is why our Presbyterian confession sends us back to the full weight of the law, for the purpose of driving us see our need of Christ.  Christians are no longer under the law as a “covenant of works” for our justification, but the Westminster Confession of Faith teaches that Christians should “examine themselves”, by the law for this purpose:  That we may “come to further conviction of, humiliation for, and hatred against sin, together with a clearer sight of the need they have of Christ, and the perfection of his obedience” (WCF 19:6)

This is the “First use of the law” for Christians. First, the law convicts us to see all the more our need of Christ, second as a warning to protect us from the bad consequences of overstepping the law, and third as a guide for a life of gratitude for our salvation in Christ. All three uses of the law are important, and there is an important reason the first is not listed third, and the third is not listed first.  Because of the negative consequences of short-circuiting the first use of the law out of our theology.

There is a reason that every Reformed and Presbyterian church has a time of confession in the liturgy. The fact that we’re not pulling off God’s law as we should. It’s supposed to be an integral part of our understanding of our Christian theology. But have you ever been to a church where it just feels like an isolated ritual that has nothing to do with the Christian life or the theology of people who are super good and getting better?

How can we be humble if our very confidence that we are Christians at all depends directly on the fact that we are pulling off the law pretty well? What do we confess in silence? That we are not even more awesome than (by God’s grace) we already are?  What does of living a life of daily repentance look like in that?

We should instead take the whole law and the weight of it seriously. The life of gratitude comes after seeing our sins and misery, how we have been set free from our sins and misery, and then how we are to live lives of gratitude to God for that.

To diminish any one of those is an error, and yet that is exactly what making our perception of our obedience the basis of our assurance does.  Again, our relative obedience can and certainly feed our assurance, but a proper understanding of the holiness of God and the high standard of His law should also direct us back around to the first use of the law that the Westminster Confession tells us of, or to that first thing listed in the Heidelberg Catechism Q & A 2

1. What must you know to live and die in the joy of this comfort?
2. Three things: first, how great my sin and misery are; second, how I am set free from all my sins and misery; third, how I am to thank God for such deliverance.

We cannot forget what the scriptures and our confession teach us. That even now we are still wretched sinners who deserve condemnation, and yet because of Christ we get life and blessings instead. This is what makes grace so amazing even to the end of our lives. Not simply that he plucked me out of humanity to save me, but that even after that, even after I was not a good deal, God’s grace continues, and even after a lifetime of sanctification, I’m still not a good deal, but Christ’s righteousness is my hope and standing.

Finally, we should understand our “grace alone” theology through the example of the Pharisee and the tax collector. It is important to note that the Pharisee did see that he was who he was because of God’s grace. He acknowledged in his prayer by thanking God that he was not like those others…

^{Luke 18:9} He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: ¹⁰ “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹ The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. ¹² I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ ¹³ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ ¹⁴ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

So, this person is like those people who say “salvation is by grace alone” yet when it comes to themselves, you only hear things like they can’t take credit for how good they are, but that is by grace. Have you ever heard that? Have you ever thought that?

They also have a view that the sinners, the bad people, they’re out there, they aren’t like me, and like us who’ve receive grace. That’s the theology of the Pharisee. They may think they are being humble by not taking credit, but these men lack true humility that they would beat their breast and cry out that they still need mercy.

Certainly, God can save those of tender conscience, and self-assured self-confident people too. Although, the scriptures do teach that one path is humble and the other is not, and so it’s not the doubter of self who beats on his breast and claims “have mercy on me a sinner” who’s in danger of not being justified. It’s the confident guy. The one who says “I am what I am by grace, but thank you God that I am so good now.”

There is absolutely a place to look for God’s work in our life, and mainly the fact that we feel guilt for our sin and look to Christ are good evidences that we are Christians, but after we have been assured by resting our hope on Christ alone for the forgiveness of sins, and importantly for the imputation of His righteous record of obedience to us. This is sole basis of our justification before God.

Those who have that short-circuited path will hopefully in time find a higher view of God’s holiness and his law. That fact God still requires perfection that we can’t provide, and then Christ and His gospel will be even more beautiful to them as well. The one who looks first at his own obedience for his assurance simply can not find the gospel to be beautiful, but it becomes more of a detail that will show up in what they like to think about, talk about, or if they are a pastor, preach about.

Christian, doubt in yourself, and look to Christ. Men faileth, but God availeth! You’re not doing what you should, or doing something you shouldn’t. Repent of it and then look to Christ. In a healthy church, if it’s gross sin your elder will probably come to you and graciously, and prayerfully point that out. But ultimately don’t let those who might exaggerate others sins, but overlooks their own shape your own theology. It’s actually they who have lowered the law who put too much hope and weight on what they think they are pleasing God by doing. In a time when it seems like there is an obsession over antinomianism (whcih antinomianism is indeed a problem), the theology of the Pharisee flourishes unfettered.  Remember, from the biblical text the Pharisee would also say “of course I am what I am by Grace alone”, so what we mean by “grace alone” should be distinct from the Pharisee. 

One of the biggest antichrists in our day is about fear. It’s a sort of spirit involviong a set of  machinations that bring about and use fear as a tool.

Fear of death, fear of government, fear of mandates, fear of vaccines, fear of anti-vaxers, fear of no income, fear of loss of wealth, fear of what other people will think, fear of growing old, fear of war spilling over, fear of the future, fear of being rejected, fear for your health, fear for loved ones, fear of the culture, fear of missing out, fear of elections, fear of terrorism, fear of abduction, fear of abuse, fear of being exposed, fear of being canceled, fear of peers, fear of making a wrong decision, fear of too much success, fear of failure, fear of loss, fear of global warming, fear of losing power, fear of queers, fear of bad influencers, fear of losing your church, fear of losing your sight, fear of losing your hearing, fear of losing your mind, fear of the unknown, fear of the decline of culture, fear of bad monetary policy, fear of guns, fear of white nationalists, fear of Marxists, fear, fear, fear, fear, fear. It’s the air we breathe today. Everything is about fear. It’s what’s for breakfast.

Fear paralyzes us and makes us do crazy things. I can tell you this that even those with all the power and money, they fear the most. Justin Trudeau is a man acting out of fear. He is imposing tyranny out of abject fear that his worldview narrative is falling apart, and that is what most of these authoritarians in control are doing also. They’re afraid of being exposed as wrong, blamed for something, or their side losing, and so they spread fear and control people like little chess pieces, even ruining lives, because they fear.

I believe that it’s possible that even Putin is doing this act of aggression against Ukraine out of fear. If we pay attention to the things he has said for years, he sees what looks like the West falling apart with postmodernism creating all kinds of crazy behaviors, and he has argued for years that Christendom is the key to the survival of a culture and a nation. There is a big rift right now in the Russian Orthodox church, and Ukraine holds the city that is sort of like their Jerusalem.

I believe that he wants control just like Trudeau does, and Kiev, where the Russian Orthodox church was founded. It was founded in 988 after Vladimer of the Rus having been converted to Christianity through a marriage to the Christian Emperor Basil II’s sister had everyone in the city gather at the river Dnieper for a mass baptism.

In 2019 the Ukrainian part of the Russian Orthodox church declared independence from the rest, and the Russian Orthodox church based in Russia rejected this independence, and declared it was still part of the churches “canonical territory”. So, if Putin will have a legacy of restoring Christendom in our day against the rise of the Godless post-modernism in the rest of the West, he must unite the church and its holy seat must be seen as Moscow.

This is I think, one of the biggest motives of this war. He made a flimsy argument to the corruption and neo-Nazification of the governing authorities in Ukraine (which both Ukraine and Russia are regarded as the 2 most corrupt nations in Europe). But this sounds in some ways like some of the justifications of a just war that America has used in recent years, only he didn’t have a Western media pumping up the stories of suffering and abuse of those he now claims to be defending by taking out the bad people.

When it comes to being motivated by fear though, the defiant President of Ukraine is possible one of the bravest men in the world today. He gave a speech recently, in a t-shirt saying that he knows he and his family are target number one, and that he is ready to talk with Putin or he is ready to fight, and to die. There is a man who, though he might be afraid, (and who wouldn’t be?), he is fighting his fear, and doing his duty, and he will die for his country as many people who are fighting for it will die.

How are we Christians willing to die to self and live to Christ today?

It has been said that the most repeated teaching in the bible, in various forms is “do not fear”, or “do not be afraid”. Over and over again, we’re told not to let things control us, and that “the love of Christ controls us”. That we fix our eyes on the things above, where Christ is, where our eternal life and inheritance is and this gives us context in the now. That we are pilgrims here, that we have eternal life, and so we are shown again and again in the New Testament that this is the narrative of the Christian life and Christian worldview.

However, in our day there is a desire in the church for Influence, and numbers, and there is this fear that we might lose influence and not get numbers. So, this has changed the narrative, and now we see a lot of people operating out of fear. Fear of a small church, fear of being rejected by the culture, fear of being rejected by our chosen side. Fear of calling out someone for bad theology that one of our peers liked, fear of losing friends, and influence. This is not good. This is not right. This is not “fear of the Lord”, but this is “fear of man”.

The battle today is not so much with others, but it’s between our own ears. In our own minds. Fighting to not fear, but to trust the Lord, to move forward with a clear conscience, and be faithful to what the Lord says is true. Like the brave Ukrainian president, we Christians should be willing to stand with no pomp, or favor, or with the world not on our side at all, and say what’s true.

The offensive message of what God has said is true in His Word without compromise, and without fear. That God is holy and is coming to judge and condemn to hell all mankind who are not dressed in holy and perfect righteousness, and of faith in Christ alone as the only way to be redeemed, restored, and to have eternal life and a place in heaven with God. The bad news and the good news are the witness we have to a dying and condemned world. Christian, don’t fear man, or your temporary circumstances.

Luke 12: ²² And he said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. ²³ For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. ²⁴ Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! ²⁵ And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? ²⁶ If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? ²⁷ Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. ²⁸ But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! ²⁹ And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. ³⁰ For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. ³¹ Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you.

³² “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. ³³ Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. ³⁴ For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

We are reading through Romans in our family bible time, and having read the first three chapters so many times in my life, one thing I noticed this time is how strong the theme is that Paul is making through all three chapters. He is keen to point out and stress that it’s both Jews and Gentiles, the whole world is condemned under the law of God, but then at the end of chapter 3, how there is a justification of all who have faith in Christ.

He starts out with the most simplistic level of humanity in chapter 1, that they know God through the creation, yet reject what little they do know about God and Paul points out that they make a bunch of gods up like a bird god, or tree god (animism). Paul notes that God gives this category of Gentiles over to depravity and then in chapter 2 he starts bringing it on around to show the Jews that they are not faring any better in any sort of “righteousness” competition with them. Setting themselves up as superior, even teachers of righteousness to the rest of humanity, yet, they are failing to be righteous under the law as well.

Chapter 2 is important in another way, because Paul starts by laying down the general principle of doing what’s right causing things to go well for you and doing what’s wrong causing things to go bad for you. Then he defines the law as the ultimate standard of righteousness and takes it further, pointing out that if you obey it as you should, it leads to justification and eternal life, but if you obey unrighteousness, you get God’s wrath. These are the terms of the covenant of works.  

Then you have the great separator verse in 2:13 “For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified.”

This verse is a sort of litmus test to see if someone tends to head back towards a Roman Catholic view of justification, or if they follow Calvin and the majority in Reformed history and understand this is not pointing out a condition of obedience added to our faith in order to attain final justification (heaven).

Here Paul is pointing out to the Jews who thought they were doing okay with God, because they were a Jew, they had been circumcised, and they had the law. But Paul points out that it’s not just hearing the Law that would justify a person, you’d have to do it, and as Jesus points out, you’d have to do it better even than the Pharisees to attain heaven (Mat 5:20). You’d have to do it perfectly! (Mat 5:48), so Jesus points out that the law is bad news to those who are not perfect, those who fail to perfectly fulfill it, in thought, and deed. 

But back in Matthew, Jesus himself points out the gospel that Paul is keen to teach later in Romans. That Christ is the one who came to fulfill all righteousness under the law for us. (Mat 5:17).

In the later part of Romans 2 Paul continues to bounce back and forth between talking about how Gentiles, when they do, the right thing are responding to the law written on their hearts (Rom 2:14-16), which is an important point, because he is still in the process of making a great argument that he finishes up in chapter 3, starting at verse 9.

In comparing the situation, the Jews and Greeks (aka the rest of humanity) are in, under God’s condemnation for being law breakers, he says “are we Jews any better off?”. Then with an emphatic “NO”, he goes into that famous quote of Psalm 53, “no one is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks God…”

This is such a harsh set of accusations made here in Romans 3 that our tendency is to think that, since we ourselves are pretty good people, it’s reserved for the really bad people in the world. The Adolph Hitlers of the world, the really bad “given over” Gentiles in chapter 1. Yet, Paul makes no distinction like that, his point is that it is about Gentiles and Jews, that “no one is righteous”.

His argument all along includes the visible church (or the OT equivalent), and I would say even the invisible church are included in this, because in and of ourselves, we have earned God’s wrath (though we are not under the Law as a Covenant of Works), and Paul makes it all very clear, what he has been setting up all along that “whatever the law says, it speaks to those under the law.”  (Rom 3:19) He is including Jews and Greeks as being under the law, and under condemnation. [Note: we could certainly read Romans 3:9-20 in our churches today for the first use of the law part of the liturgy, and even make the pronouns personal. That would certainly be quite a blow against our own tendency to self-righteousness.]

Again, how are the Greeks under the law, since they did not have it taught to them as a Jew did? Well, remember in chapter 2, Paul points out that they have it written in their hearts, and so it is the law of the conscience. Everyone being offspring of Adam, we (all humanity) have the law written on our consciences.

Romans 3:19 Paul makes clear something has been building up to and trying to point out. That the law shuts every human being’s mouth if they try to declare they are righteousness, and makes us accountable to God. In verse 20, the point is that no one will be justified in God’s sight by personally fulfilling the laws requirements. We are all therefore under condemnation, according to the standard of the law.

This is the guilt section of Romans, as Paul establishes the guilt, grace, gratitude pattern of argumentation that we see the Heidelberg catechism arranged in.

Continuing his argument of everybody being condemned into the gospel, stating in verse 23 that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (all humanity) he then turns and says the good news that “all are justified by His grace as a gift”.  Then he says how that gift is appropriated in verse 25 “by faith”.

All are condemned under the law, and all are given what Paul later in Romans 5:17 declares as “the gift of righteousness” through faith alone in Christ alone. That is faith apart from works, because remember, by works we stand condemned. Our works are never added to faith, but faith is the alone instrument given. Faith in Christ is the alone way of attainment of the righteousness that God requires, because Christ is the only one who has fulfilled all righteousness. This is the good news.

I think one of the hardest sells for us Christians to make to unbelieving world is the fall of all mankind in Adam as our representative. Why, over simply eating a fruit from a tree was there such a fall, such a curse? 

I actually agree that if it was just a simple touching of a tree or a little bite of fruit, it seems excessive. But if we look at the biblical text it was far more than that. It was a complete betrayal of God, and an agreement with the deceiving enemy. It was a failure to do what he should do and a taking and doing what he should not do.

To understand the scope of the sin we need look no further than the biblical text itself, but not just at the text of the event itself, but the greater context of the environment, situation and duty Adam had in the garden that shows this was much more than an issue of intemperance. Which is exactly the point that John Calvin makes:

We must, therefore, look deeper than sensual intemperance. The prohibition to touch the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil was a trial of obedience (obedientiae examen), that Adam, by observing it, might prove his willing submission to the command of God (Institutes,2.1.4)

Calvin points out that Adam’s situation was that he was undergoing a “trial”. It was a “trial of obedience”.  We know that in Romans 5, Paul tells us that Adam was a type of the one to come (Christ) -Romans 5:14.

We can understand a lot more about how this was a trial by looking at a the testing that Jesus went through in the wilderness in Matthew 4. Immediately at the start of Jesus ministry he is led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. How this parallels with Adams’ temptation is not a coincidence, but this is actually at the heart of Christ’s mission on earth. Christ is the promised Seed of the woman, and this battle with Satan is exactly what Christ came to succeed at where Adam failed.

We may note that Christ came into a fallen world, into a harsh wilderness instead of a safe garden, and with intense suffering and hunger instead of a full stomach. He endures, he succeeds, and does what Adam should have done. He faced the tempter three times! Each time, Christ obeyed God. Instead of agreeing with the tempter, Christ vindicated God, and sent the serpent way! This is what Adam should have done. 

If we look earlier in Genesis we see that in Genesis 1:27-30 that God made Adam in His own image, and gave him dominion over everything. Adam was God’s great creation, created above the rest of the creation on earth and given dominion over it. He had a job to do.

God also put the Tree of Life in the garden along with establishing the Sabbath rest. These are signs relating to eternal life, a rest or competition of the probationary trial and entry into consummation.

We see the environment of the trial of obedience starting with Genesis 2:15, which most of our English translations don’t do a good job of translating the word “keep it” in relation to the garden. 

The Hebrew word “shamar” there is actually better translated to “guard”. It’s used that way in Genesis 3:24 describing the action of the cherubim with the flaming sword that turned every way to “shamar” (guard) the way to the tree of life. Adam should have guarded the garden from the invading serpent. 

This same word is used of the Levites who were to “shamar” (guard) the whole congregation, the furnishings of the tent of meeting, and the people of Israel:

Numbers 3: ⁵ And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ⁶ “Bring the tribe of Levi near, and set them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister to him. ⁷ They shall keep guard over him and over the whole congregation before the tent of meeting, as they minister at the tabernacle. ⁸ They shall guard all the furnishings of the tent of meeting, and keep guard over the people of Israel as they minister at the tabernacle. ⁹ And you shall give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they are wholly given to him from among the people of Israel. ¹⁰ And you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall guard their priesthood. But if any outsider comes near, he shall be put to death.”

Based on the understanding of the scope of duties assigned to Adam, God’s representative on earth, given dominion over everything and being given the duty to guard the garden, instead of killing the serpent on sight, or at the very least kicking him out of the garden, we find Adam fails to do his duty from the very first moments of the incident.

Even more, he tolerates this invading creature as he starts spouting anti-God propaganda, calling God’s word and character into question, as if God were keeping something good from man by prohibiting him to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil!

It’s not as if Adam were taken off guard, which he was indeed off guard, but He is present as this happens to and through Eve, as if standing over the situation in silent approval, He goes along with the whole thing, and then eats the fruit himself.

To use a military example, this would be as if the captain of a battleship with all of his orders and vows, and duties, allowed a foreign enemy to come onto the bridge of the ship in his presence, and then start speaking of how his home country was really betraying his interests and that He should disregard his vows duties and orders and instead do the opposite.

Of course, in a war costing everyone under him their lives, that traitorous Capitan should be court marshaled and given the death penalty. Which is exactly the promise given by God for touching or of eating of the tree. It was exactly what Adam deserved, and worse Adam ,was a representative of all humanity in this.

But God….

After Adam’s eyes were opened, he was afraid of God. Rightly so, his nakedness was more than physical. He was morally naked, and exposed before a Holy God as a traitor. He was a transgressor under penalty of death.

But out of sheer mercy, God didn’t kill Adam immediately as He deserved. In Genesis 3:20 we read that God took some animal skins and covered Adam and his wife. Then the real weighty promise God makes in Genesis 3:15. There is a seed of the woman, an offspring that will bruise or crush the serpent’s head.

This of course begins the story of redemption after the fall, and of course the promised offspring is Christ. God is going to take on our nature in the person of the son and fulfill what Adam did not. We find in the gospels that Christ came to accomplish two things on earth. In John 1, we see his work is to be the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, and starting in Matthew 3, we see that he comes to be the obedient one that fulfills all righteousness.

These two tasks, of obedience and sacrifice are the mission, and Christ perfectly fulfills both, turning away God’s wrath, and also meriting a righteousness beyond any probation for a people He represents, God’s elect, all who will believe, and put their faith in Christ alone.

Unlike the first Adam, who’s sin is imputed to mankind, on the cross, Christ bears away or is imputed our sins, and we receive (have imputed) His righteousness, the wonderful consequences of His obedience. This is the basis of our Justification before God.

Our hope of eternal life is secured. Heaven is secured by Christ, whom Paul calls the last Adam (1Cor 15:24). By His obedience and sacrifice, Christ has secured eternal life and the heavenly rest that Adam failed to secure. This is good news for all who rest their faith on Him.

Adam’s transgression was heinous, it was cosmic treason. The promise of death and perdition that hung over the trial were equal to their opposite, of eternal life and the blessings of God. If we do not like the fact that God imputes sin to mankind, then what do we say of his imputation of our sins to Christ on the cross, or even more, the imputation of Christ’s record of righteousness to us? 

We can rejoice in the good news of what Christ has secured by knowing more how amazing it is, what a great salvation we truly have. We, sinners who deserve condemnation are instead made sons of God in Christ, and given eternal life and an eternal inheritance. This is good news that almost seems too good to be true. Christian, our salvation in Christ is secured by Christ.  What an amazing savior we have.

I’m not trying to pick on John Piper, or disparage anyone who has been helped by his ministry, but I think it’s important to point out some very important differences between his views and a more classic Christian view. His ministry is a great example of a larger trend from vertical to horizonal focused Christianity that I think is not going to do so well in the future.  

John Piper has a kind of overarching philosophy he calls: Christian Hedonism, which is different from what I would argue is the theologically Reformed view of things. So, really, I’m not picking on John Piper himself or certainly not all the good things he has said and done, but just his Christian Hedonism doctrine.

I believe that a fair and basic summary of Christian Hedonism is this. Piper takes the Westminster Shorter Catechism, question and answer one, and makes a whole Christian philosophy based on it.

Since man’s chief end is “to glorify God and enjoy Him forever”, Piper fits human nature into this view and concludes that is the model God created for the church.

He argues that since we’re all ultimately focused on our own self and pleasures, he finds a way to reconcile this with the fact that as a Christian, we are now new creations created to glorify God by following and obeying Christ.

So, he concludes that this following and obeying Christ gives us joy, and so we should seek to “maximize” our joy (which, remember, all humans want to do) by focusing on following and obeying Jesus. So, all the pieces fit.

This view hits all the major pieces of biblical Christianity, and yet I would suggest that it is the moving of the center of gravity from one thing to another that the bible does not do, nor do the Reformed confessions, or historic Reformed Christianity.

The bible puts the objective gospel of what God has done for us in Christ as our joy, not our self-focused obedience to God. The gospel being the person and work of Jesus Christ, securing forgiveness, eternal life, and ultimately an eternal inheritance as sons of God in Christ.

This is the Christian hope. It’s future life focused, and it’s sure because it’s all been secured by Christ for us. It’s not something we qualify for or maintain over time to ultimately attain. It’s promised in Christ, received by faith, and we rest on the righteousness of Christ secured for us. So, we rejoice over what His obeying secured. We are justified, and there is no such thing as final justification, unless we use the definition of justification being to be vindicated, or shown to be truly in Christ.

In this Biblical/Reformed model, good works, and obedience are consequential fruit of the new creation life already received.

So, what differs is the focus, and emphasis, or center of gravity. His view of self-pleasing by being Christ focused, ultimately it places the center of gravity on self. On the Christian life on what we do in it. His sermons and his teachings reflect this emphasis.

I would point out that his view of Christian motivation is taught nowhere in the scriptures, which is one reason it’s not found anywhere in Reformed teachings or confessions. It also takes the center of gravity off of the gospel, our eschatological hope, and what all Christ has secured for us.

Now, importantly Piper does not stop preaching the gospel himself. As the leader of this movement, he does so quite a bit, or at least has in the past, but it’s not the center of gravity, it’s not the center of the Christian life. Remember, in His view you maximizing your joy through following and obeying Christ as your central focus. 

So, what we have here in Piper’s view is something that has become very popular in Christian circles in the last 20 years or so. To many, the biggest problem in the world is all the Antinomians. All those people who love the gospel but aren’t putting enough feet to the faith. They’re not obeying God, and taking what they do as Christians seriously. 

In recent years similar focused models suddenly took hold in the Churches, be they Neo-Calvinistic Transformationalism, Federal Vision, N.T. Wright’s Covenantal Nomism, or John Piper’s Christian Hedonism, they all are movements that put more emphasis on Christians doing more, obeying more, bearing more fruit through emphasizing our responsibility to do so. 

So they all moved the center of gravity off of the vertical emphasis on Christ-for-me, His person and work securing forgiveness, righteousness and eternal life, with good works as the consequential fruit, to a horizontal emphasis of Christ-in-me and me and either focused on personal or world transformation. 

They have most of the same biblical components, but the difference is mainly emphasis based on a few theological tweaks. They don’t abandon the gospel. It’s often proclaimed by the heads of the movement more than those who follow. This is one reason those adhering to these movements are not charged with abandoning the gospel doctrinally. Yet functionally, as churches follow these models, you hear less gospel, and even now the ears of people are attuned to where many have no great appetite for it. They see no point in the gospel, but just a mention and something they agree with and believe in very much.  

I would argue that all of them are also theologically or functionally monocovenantal, and therefore lack (or see as mostly irrelevant) a view of Christ’s active obedience, and therefore Christ’s perfect righteousness under the law securing an advancing of us beyond any probation, and a call to rest on that righteousness, and the eschatological future that is secured.

It is my position that this correct doctrine and emphasis is enough for the Holy Spirit to work in us to sanctify us on this earth and enable us to seek to obey and do good works, even bearing much fruit. I would argue that this is in fact the superior, and even the only biblical and proper view that does so. That the other views are actually counterfeit, human inventions that need to be abandoned if not condemned.

That even if there are antinomians, and you find some problem with fruit bearing, or sanctification it is because they are not believing in or hoping in what is secured by Christ in the life to come. That it might very well be a consistently anemic gospel that is the point of failure in churches. Because they have not got a big enough vision or understanding consistently drummed into their dull ears as to what their true hope is, so they cling to what is presently before them with fingers clutched too tightly.  

However, I believe and see some evidence that there is a shift happening in Churches. It’s really also a shift from the cultural maintainer, cultural influencer Christianity back to a Salvation, eternal life focused Christianity.

Basically, it’s back to what the bible teaches front and center, which some of us never wanted to leave in the first place. So, I believe that these hastily adopted views and their less-gospel (Christ for us) more fruit-of-the-gospel (me for God and neighbor) emphasis are not going to do well moving forward.

Of course, we need the Lord to do this work. Because churches failed to take the gospel seriously God must work to make hearts embrace it. This is what I believe is meant  by a lampstand being removed, the gospel starts to disappear. The gospel was once more popular in churches, and yet it became redefined, used and backgrounded. Then end result of its second place status or balancing-act status will be its complete loss. Repentance is in order by the Churches who did so. But one has to at least acknowledge that they did not take the gospel seriously first before they can repent of having done so.

I believe that a Christocentric Christianity, and therefore a Gospel-centric Christianity with an eschatological hope is the Christianity of the future. It’s the only way forward for the Church. That most will have claimed to have been doing that all along will be a hurdle and hinderance to Reformation. They have not. Far too many Reformed churches, teachers, writers, thought leaders, elders, seminaries, professors and teachers in America have not taken the gospel seriously. Humble repentance is in order for not having done so. A return is in order to consistently and clearly proclaiming the gospel to help tune ears to understand it’s centrality.

Elevating it and our eternal life in the world to come, making that message central to our faith and the Christian life. Returning to a  humble trust in the Holy Spirit to work faith in us through that and to therefore sanctify us by that good news preached as our great hope and the light of our lives, placing our hope in what Christ has secured for us in the world to come is in order.  We should repent for not taking the gospel seriously, repent from not trusting God to accomplish His purposes on earth through the good news and hope in the life to come. 

What many claim about taking the gospel seriously and what they practice has been inconsistent. Which, wasn’t that the whole issue their new self-focused teachings were supposed to cure in others in the first place?  Therefore some will need to take King Jesus and His already accomplished work seriously and repent of their failure to take the gospel seriously. This is what I think the church should be doing at this time. Repenting and asking the Lord to restore the gospel to its right place in the churches today. 

The Biblical External / Internal distinction correlates with the Administrative / Substantive distinctions recognized in the Covenant of Grace

Presbyterians doctrinal standards called the Westminster Confession of Faith (WCF) recognizes 2 of the 3 main covenants. Other documents (Such as the Sum of Saving Knowledge, and Savoy Declaration) that followed make clear what was implied in the Westminster standards the third overarching Covenant of Redemption.

However, the WCF has dedicated an entire chapter (Ch 7) discussing both the Covenant of Works, and the Covenant of Grace under the title “Of God’s Covenant with Man”.

The Covenant of Grace is described as being set forth in the time of the law and under the gospel under the name of “Testament”. These comprise the Old and New Testaments (OT,NT) which the Covenant of Grace spans across, but in distinctly different administrations.

Two important distinctions are made in regards to the Covenant of Grace in WCF 7.5 & 6. The distinction of Administration and Substance. This is key to understand, and in fact there is much misunderstanding of it that has led to confusion among Baptists, and errors of the Federal Visionists and others.

What is too often misunderstood is that someone can receive the administrative sign of the Covenant of Grace without participating in the substance of the covenant.

The WCF explains that the Covenant of Grace is administrated during the time of the law (in the OT) through things like: promises, prophecies, sacrifices, circumcision, the Passover lamb meal, and other types of ordinances. The Covenant of Grace is administered under the gospel (in the NT) through the preaching of the word, the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper. There are not two Covenant of Grace, but one, and substance of the Covenant of Grace is Christ.

Biblically speaking from Paul’s teaching in the book of Romans we can say that the administration of the Covenant of Grace is done externally, and participation in the substance is done internally. Paul describes this important external/internal distinction in Romans 2:28-29, where he speaks of circumcision being of the heart, not merely outward and physical, but inwardly (Also see Colossians 2:11) made without hands, but by God. He continues in the first part of Romans 3 to describe the benefits of being a Jew and of circumcision by describing the benefits of one being surrounded by the oracles of God. That this was an entire belief system to be inculcated into the life of the household of faith in which the covenant child was raised as a Jew.

Paul continues later in Romans with contrasting Jacob and Esau in Romans 9. Paul describes the differences between Jacob and Esau ultimately being God’s election of one and reprobation of the other. In other words, though both were circumcised, and participated administratively in the Covenant of Grace promises, both did not internally have faith, and so we could also say that because of that both did not participate in the substance of the Covenant of Grace. Esau forsook his inheritance because he simply did not internally believe. Esau was never in the Covenant of Grace substantively, but merely received it administratively.  

Because there is this external/internal distinction, because not all who claim to believe really do believe, we can also say that all in the visible church are not elect.  We can say that all in the visible church are members of the Christ professing community of believers, yet unless they inwardly have faith in Christ, that they’ve never been legally united with Christ, they’ve never been justified. Unless at some point in God’s timing they are born again and then believe internally, they have never participated substantively in the Covenant of Grace.

In the case of pedobaptism, Calvin argues that unless at some point that is joined with faith that baptism is of no use to them. Because a sacrament does not constitute the spiritual reality that it points to and is given the name of, but there must also at some point be an internal faith, which ultimately the timing and the grace offered and promised in the sign is conferred, or not, according to the counsel of God’s will.

God is the one who elects or not, and so we can say that the participation in the substance of the Covenant of Grace (Christ) is ultimately contingent upon God’s secret election. God is the one who from eternity chooses all those who are elect unto salvation. We are chosen in Christ in eternity, and therefore God unites us with Christ, makes us born again, grants us faith and repentance, and preserves us into glory. Salvation is wholly of the Lord. God must grant us faith, so that inwardly we truly believe.

So, the external / internal distinction can be said to corollate to the administrative / substantive categories of the Covenant of Grace, which can also be said to corollate to participation in the visible / invisible church.  

A child baptized in the Presbyterian church is considered a member of the congregation and yet not a communing member until they profess faith, because the bread and wine are to be received only in faith. The sign of Baptism is still to be seen as a sign and a seal of the Covenant of Grace, of our ingrafting into Christ. Yet it’s the outward sign of a spiritual reality based on the promises of God, and we are given the honor and solemn responsibility of raising our children in the faith. 

The children of believing church members, being baptized are also made members of the Christ confessing covenant community of believers, and so they are made members (yet not communing members until they exhibit faith) of the visible church. We their parents have the full hope and expectation that they will not as Esau did, forsake their inheritance promised in their (external administrative participation in the Covenant of Grace) Baptism into Christ.

We know that our confession teaches that: “The efficacy of baptism is not tied to that moment of time wherein it is administered; yet, notwithstanding, by the right use of this ordinance, the grace promised is not only offered, but really exhibited, and conferred, by the Holy Ghost, to such (whether of age or infants) as that grace belongeth unto, according to the counsel of God’s own will, in his appointed time.” ~ WCF 28.6.

Based on that, it’s clear that we already teach that the baptism itself does not constitute the reality, but that it points to a real spiritual reality as a promise that crosses time. It is really exhibited and conferred by the Holy Spirit (or not, if the person is not elect) in God’s timing.

So, it’s not like a magic spell done by a village shaman, but that it is an ordinance given by God, who is not bound to elect someone to salvation in Christ because they receive the sign, but that God grants an internal faith, or not, in His own timing, based on what we learn earlier in the confession.

That it’s all ultimately based upon Him having predestined some to life before the foundation of that world. That “they who are elected, being fallen in Adam, are redeemed by Christ, are effectually called unto faith in Christ by his Spirit working in due season” ~ WCF 3.6.

We do not consider baptism to be baptismal regeneration the way Rome and the Federal Visionists do. We also do not consider it as Baptists do to be about the sign being only for those who have believed internally showing with their testimony about their changed nature and external commitment to follow and obey God in church membership. 

All of these views deny in some ways what I have argued here exegetically, doctrinally and confessionally as external-internal, administrative-substantive, and visible-invisible-Church distinctions.

The “Permesso Soggiorno” (permission to sojourn) is something that we’re looking forward to getting here next week in Italy. It’s essentially our residency permit which will cause us to be able to attain our work permit, our tax id, our health cards, etc… Everything is contingent on getting this official permission to essentially be pilgrims here. I think that’s such a telling name that we Christians who were born in America seem to have lost touch with. That this life here is temporary and like our father Abraham (Gal 3:29) we’re not city builders, we’re tent dwellers looking for a city whose architect and builder is God (Heb 10:11).

That was the whole promised inheritance that God promised him and His offspring (his seed) in a covenant ceremony where the smoking cauldron passed between the cut pieces of animal over. (Gen 15:15-21) The promised inherence of the land (Gen 15:3-8). That promise to Abraham and his offspring was not simply for some small piece of land in the Near Middle East, but Paul makes it clear that what Abraham only understood in that typological form was actually the whole world (Rom 4:13). Paul explains in Galatians 3 that the singular offspring is Christ (Gal 3 16,19).

I mention all of this to give context of our move to this part of the world where some people who are fixed on their best life now come to retire. It’s not that I’m opposed to good times, or living in a safe, comfortable place where I don’t get the sense that my government or my culture hates me. I’m a firm believer that if people feel like the place they live is oppressive, holding them back, or that it’s dangerous that there is not necessary a Christian virtue in sticking around that place. There is nothing wrong or un-Christian about seeking to improve your lot in life, and if a move does that, then there’s nothing inherently wrong with asking the Lord to make an opportunity to do so. 

The problem comes with the fact that, “no matter where you go, there you are”. In other words, most of our problems are not outside of us, but are us. I’ve often told my wife Cheryl that I could be sitting on the finest and most pristine beach, both of us in super-model shape, millions in the bank, living in a great house and still find a way to be absolutely miserable. In other words, I’m the cause of my own sin and misery.

So much of life is how you look at it. I think this is one reason that Christians are called to set our mind on the things above (Col 3:2), where Christ the securer of our eternal inheritance is preparing a place for us (Jhn 14:3), and why in Philippians 4 Paul exhorts them with these words “whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”.

Is Paul just telling us about the power of positive thinking? No, not in the means-to-its-own-ends sense that little children are told that Santa Clause says “you’d better be good for goodness sake”. In other words, it’s not an end to itself, or some Christian practice hollowed out of any meaning other than being Pollyanna like. Some might even seek to use positivity in some system to attract the world to make converts.

Christians should be optimistic, not to drive some earthly result, but I believe its simply one of the gifts of God to us who are sojourners. That we have a hope that does not fade like the grass, or wilt like the flower of the field, but we have eternal treasure in heaven where moth and rust don’t destroy (Mat 6:19:21). We’re to fix our eyes on Christ, and the eternal, immutable promises made to us in Him who secures them for us.

The fact remains however that our move to Italy partly for our own mixed motives. It’s true, that in part I desired to do it for purposes of my own blessing and that of my family. I thought it would be good, and still do think that. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that, other than what I might import in my own potentially sinful and idolatrous thoughts about it.

Also however, we did it to potentially help a church plant, where the pastor was willing and even desirous to have us come and help how we could. So, we humbly have that goal and pray that God would use us for His glory here and that we might help make the gospel clear to those who either don’t know it, or who don’t understand the heights and depths of the good news of what we have in Christ.

Ultimately, I only have perhaps thirty more years on this earth, and I don’t know if there will be great suffering and malady during that time. Jesus tells us that the world hates us and to expect suffering. (Jhn 15:18; 16:33),  so I might also suffer more in Italy than I would in the US. I hope not, but since I’m not God, I don’t know. I don’t know why many things happen in my life, but I do know that often things that seem bad wind up for my good.

I can tell you that through some frustrating stumbling and bumbling God took us to the exact right place to meet with the exactly right people on the first day available to schedule the meeting to receive our Permesso Soggiorno about a week later. From all I have read this advanced scheduling is not normal, and we have been greatly encouraged by it.  That was just one in a long list of blessings where the Lord not only opened a door, but blessed us, even in the middle of our move when there was suffering and heart ache of leaving our church, loved ones, our house, our friends and our country for a place where we don’t even speak the language and have never even visited before.

Yes, that’s true, while we’ve all visited cities in Italy before we never had been to Lecce Italy before determining to sell or give away everything and move here. We tried to visit before hand, but lockdowns because of Covid and limited funds caused me to decide to call off the trip. So, our faith was stretched even further by that uncertainty, yet God used our saving those extra funds to be able to put them into fixing up our house, and we wound up getting way more for it than we thought we could. Yet again, another providence that seemed bad, yet God made it for our good, and we were encouraged by it.

I’m not giving these anecdotal stories to teach some sort of faith/blessing doctrine, but I’m also not going to deny what happened. God grants and withholds blessings at His will.

This church in Lecce Italy that we want to help might not even grow, we might not learn the language well enough to feel like we fit, I hope not, but Romans 8:28 is still true. That ALL things work for our good, even things that seem like failures. The question there I think we should ask is “What is for our good?”. Paul completes his thought from that in verse 30 ending on our being in glory. That is I think the ultimate ends that God works for our good, which is consistent with our being sojourners here. So, even if we eventually become citizens of Italy the most important thing is that we are citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven because of and in Christ Jesus, the one who secures eternal blessings, and eternal land, and eternal life for all who put their hope in Him.

In 1 Peter 2:11, Peter refers to believers as sojourners, which we truly are, because our eternal home the Christ secured for us is with God in heaven. This reality awaits us, who while we are here are witnesses to the saving work of Jesus Christ for sinners like us. This is why we can and should help plant churches, not to help build great earthly cities or to influence cultures, but that proclaim the good news that God causes to bring about and increase faith in Christ alone. So, this is our hope, and this is why we can say that our household has simply moved from sojourning in Texas to sojourning in Italy, because wherever a Christian is on this earth, he is a sojourner. That’s ultimately good, because we have an eternal home far better than the best Italian city ever could be.