Pastor George Grant, Parish Presbyterian Church, recently posted this kurdish proverb:
“A thousand friends are too few; one enemy is one too many.”
As the hostile situation in the Middle East continues to escalate, our Christian brothers and sisters are being killed for taking the name of our Lord. Each day we read reports of violent deaths, beheadings, and the desolation of Christian communities throughout Iraq. In the northern region of Kurdistan, home to the Kurdish people, our Christians brothers and sisters have become refugees sheltering in besieged villages and towns.
Kurdistan, very nearly the last sanctuary for Christians in the Muslim Middle East, is now under siege by the Ji’hadi terrorist forces of ISIS. Tens of thousands of refugees from the rest of Iraq and Syria are now threatened–along with the dynamic Kurdish Christian communities.
The Nuun Fund has been established to speed urgently needed gifts to our friends at the Classical School of the Medes in the cities of Erbil, Dohuk, and Sulaymaniyah. Thanks to the work of the Nuun Fund relief supplies are starting to make their way to our brothers and sisters and the refugees they are caring for in Kurdistan.
Will you be a friend to the Christians in Iraq? Will you commit to prayer and to giving? Click here to give today!
Hear this plea from Pastor George Grant,
There are now more than a million refugees crowding into the schools, churches, and streets of Kurdistan. Having fled from the terror of ISIS, most have nothing more than the clothes on their backs. Please pray. And, give if you can: https://www.crowdrise.com/nuunfund
Dr. Peter Kreeft keynoted the Anglican Way Institute this past weekend for a conference on The Inklings. I know that many of us here at Kuyperian Commentary have been profoundly shaped by the work of theInklings: C.S Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, Charles Williams, and Dorothy Sayers.
His first few lectures are already available at the Church of the Holy Communion website including a talk on Tolkien’s Silmarillion, a two parter on Lewis’s “Till We Have Faces” and “Creed or Chaos” based on the work of the same title by Dorothy Sayers.
Peter Kreeft, Ph.D., is a professor of philosophy at Boston College and at the King’s College (Empire State Building), in New York City. He is a regular contributor to several Christian publications, is in wide demand as a speaker at conferences, and is the author of over 67 books including Handbook of Christian Apologetics, Christianity for Modern Pagans and Fundamentals of the Faith.<>стоимость обслуживания апродвижение а топ 10 цена
There are few ideas as likely to breed contention as the two I intend to discuss below. Both relate to how a Christian is counted in the body of Christ and both speak to how we understand the Church’s catholicity. The first idea, sure to cause a stir anywhere it may appear, is the notion of hierarchy. Merely mentioning the existence of such a dirty thing as hierarchy comes across as un-American and surely anti-Christian in many modern circles, but if we take our Bibles seriously, we must recognize that hierarchy is inescapable. The second idea, which sorely needs to be discussed in Christendom, is the pernicious heresy of individualism. An idea which again brings forward, in American Christians, a tenet that may be seen as central to our faith and devotion. Yet despite the number of “Independent Bible Churches” erected, the nature of this oxymoron remains glaring. A Christian cannot be born, exist, or grow independent of the body.
These two concepts, hierarchy and individualism, are often given the syncopated resolution of the “priesthood of all believers.” In the minds of many, this doctrine is understood to mean that all the priestly functions of the clergy are available to all those who are believers, that our equal access to God means that we all have equal roles and rights in the Church. I believe much of this is due to our strong apprehension to any thing “Roman Catholic-y.” The result is the deletion of any distinction between the ordained ministry and the laity. This flattened view of the Apostolic order either obliterates the concept of ordination or undermines the meaning of the sacraments, oftentimes accomplishing both.
Understanding the “priesthood of all believers” begins with recognizing what this concept is not.
The priesthood of all believers in NOT the Papacy of all believers.
The Papacy does not have its own direct divine revelation from God, the Pope is not infallible, the Pope does not have universal jurisdiction, and neither do we. The priesthood of all believers is not an opportunity for each individual Christian to develop their own theology. No believer today comes to Christ through their own innovation, for we all must come to Christ through the historic community of believers. Too often have I heard, “All I need is my Bible.” This is the formula for a new cult, not orthodox Christianity. “My Bible” through the work of the Holy Ghost was given to the care of the Church. As the body of Christ, the Church has recognized, preserved, taught, translated, printed, and distributed “my Bible” to the Christians of the world throughout history.
“Me and my Bible” individualistic Christianity does not promote the purity of the Gospel, but serves instead to create mini-popes. If we are entitled to our own interpretation, who is to say what is correct? Like the Pope, we don’t speak ex cathedra. We have the received faith of the Bible, of the Creeds, and of the Church. Which in the progression of history have served to conciliate each other against individualism.
The priesthood of all believers in NOT the Presbytery of all believers.
What is the true Church? Who are the True Christians? Are Roman Catholics Christians? How about Mormons?
The priesthood of all believers is not an invitation for Christians to sit in judgement of the salvation of other Christians or to develop their own standards for what constitutes a Christian Church. For those unfamiliar with the term, a presbytery (or classis) is a leadership council of higher ranking clergy that rule over various issues that may arise from the church. As a human institution, the Church will always face a degree of scandal throughout history, but Christ appointed Apostles who appointed Overseers, Presbyters and Deacons to handle human conflict that may arise in the church.
This hierarchy was established to protect the unity of the Church and the verity of the Holy Gospel. Returning again to the idea of a received faith, the Bible serves as the ultimate authority in establishing the various Church officers and our historic faith outlines the basics of what it means to be a Christian. It is this emphasis on our continuity with the historic Church that explicitly limits women and homosexuals from serving as Overseers, Presbyters and Deacons. To ordain a woman or a homosexual not only serves as a contradiction to the Bible, but is also against the accepted order of ministry we have in the writings of those serving at the time of the Apostles through the Ecumenical councils and to very recent Christian history.
Remembering that the intention of the Reformation was to restore the Holy Catholic and Apostolic church, not to create a new Church. Their goal was to return to the undivided Church of the Creeds. No Christian alone acts as an Ecumenical council and cannot impose their particular dogmas upon the conscience of otherwise faithful Christians. The “priesthood of all believers” does not give me the authority to excommunicate a papist unsubmissive to the five points of Calvinism, and it does not give Rome the right to excommunicate me for refusing to acknowledge the immaculate conception of Mary. Yet, refusing to recognize a Biblically ordained hierarchy creates this exact situation. To receive the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church is to recognize that the councils of the first five centuries have spoken to all things necessary to salvation and upon these I can add no extra burdens.
The priesthood of all believers in NOT the Piety of all believers.
Authority and hierarchy were quickly challenged after the establishment of the early Church. Roman persecution tested the integrity of the men assigned to protect the faith and while many were heroically martyred – some fled or gave over Bibles to the Romans. These leaders were then labeled, “traditores” and their entire ministry was called into question. Was their ordination invalidated by their lack of moral character? Was someone baptized by one of the “traditores” really baptized? In the 4th century, a group under the leadership of Bishop Donatus leveled such a charge and denied the ordination and authority of a Bishop who didn’t meet their new standard. This small North Africa sect inserted a division in a way that many modern Christians seem to employ regularly: priesthood by piety.
Against the Donatist idea of the priesthood by piety, St. Augustine drew a distinction between the visible and the eschatological church, not as two churches but rather as two moments in one and the same church. His position was that here on earth the church is holy, but not all its members are holy; it is the Body of Christ, but still having wheat and tares. Instead of deriving the piety of the Church from the level of virtue of its individual members, he maintained that the piety of the Church is based entirely on the holy nature of its Head, Jesus Christ.
In it is this framework that we can trust nothing more than the authority and hierarchy of the Church. In the balance of authority between the Overseers, Presbyters, Deacons of the universal Church against the Councils and Creeds in light of the Holy Writ, there is the surest form of appeals we can hope for on Earth. Every just sphere of authority whether it be civil or familial follows the church’s example in this hierarchical process of appeals. Our faith is then put into the received faith and order of Christ and his Apostles and not the trust of mere men. Modern individualism imbibes all the dangers of Donatism by refusing either the authority of Ancient Christianity and the hierarchy of its living church.
The Priesthood is His Priesthood
The Priesthood of All Believers is to be primarily understood in relation to worship. The Reformation wrestled some very important aspects of worship back from Rome. The first is the participation in worship, much of the medieval mass is done at the altar by a particular priest at the exclusion of the congregation. Even singing and the recitation of scripture was taken over by lectors and choirs. The reformers gave the music, singing, and scripture responses back to the church and returned congressional participation to the liturgy. The priesthood must be more than simply participation for it to be a true priesthood, it must have initiation and rites attached to its purpose. Like the Aaronic line, we are brought into the priesthood through a rite of baptism. Through baptism one is granted the authority to come to the Lord’s table and commune with Christ. This idea of eating the “sacrifice” should in itself remind us of the priestly language of the Old Testament. We are made partakers of the Sacrament by the nature of our priesthood. Thus, the nature of the “priesthood of all believers” is primarily sacramental.
By partaking of the sacramental body of Jesus Christ, we are exercising the true meaning of our priesthood. By eating his body together, we become part of the one body of the Church with Christ as its head. The sacramental meal in the Eucharist is the ultimate rejection of the individual as we all partake of one body together and in subordination to the hierarchy as our pastor acts as Christ feeding us the body of Christ. As we all partake of the one loaf, we become one body, one priesthood of all believers.<>siteаудит а онлайн
Steve Macias: Will Smith’s Son Slams Education System
In the late 80’s, Will Smith made his career with the hit, “Parents Just Don’t Understand” but today the hip-hop and Hollywood superstar’s son is making headlines over his criticisms of the government education system.
Jaden Smith, Will Smith’s son, is himself now homeschooled and represents a growing unrest among mainstream thinkers in regard to the failure of socialized government schooling.
Here in California our state is literally going broke trying to fix government education by throwing more money onto the fire. For decades the teachers, parents, and education unions have promised that more money would equal a higher quality education. Billions of dollars and programs from both Democrats and Republicans have failed. Both Bush’s “No Child Left Behind” and Obama’s “Race to the Top” proved of no benefit to the dying education system.
Where the Twelve-term Texas Congressman, Presidential candidate, and Liberty-minded bulwark promotes his ideas to fundamentally change the way we think about America’s broken education system in order to fix it.
In his introduction, Dr. Paul begins, “A free society acknowledges that authority over education begins with the family.” What a radical statement today, when the state claims ownership over everything from your private property to your own flesh-and-blood children.
Ron Paul: The School Revolution
As an advocate of homeschooling, I stand by Dr. Paul and give a hearty amen when he claims education as the “second wave” of the liberty revolution. I hope that “conservative” parents would awaken to the reality that government schools have one true purpose: “School Is The Tool To Brainwash The Youth.”
Our role is to take back education with the Christian optimism that Dr. Paul has,”We will win the battle for the minds of men and women. We will win it student by student.”
The megalomaniacs at the NSA have come up with a new way to, “proudly flaunt their warped imperial hubris” with their own Star Trek room, reports the Guardian (link).
The article includes this snippet from the PBS’ News Hour:
“When he was running the Army’s Intelligence and Security Command, Alexander brought many of his future allies down to Fort Belvoir for a tour of his base of operations, a facility known as the Information Dominance Center. It had been designed by a Hollywood set designer to mimic the bridge of the starship Enterprise from Star Trek, complete with chrome panels, computer stations, a huge TV monitor on the forward wall, and doors that made a ‘whoosh’ sound when they slid open and closed. Lawmakers and other important officials took turns sitting in a leather ‘captain’s chair’ in the center of the room and watched as Alexander, a lover of science-fiction movies, showed off his data tools on the big screen.
‘Everybody wanted to sit in the chair at least once to pretend he was Jean-Luc Picard,’ says a retired officer in charge of VIP visits.'”
H/T to the Patriarch who added, “These are not even mentally healthy people.”
Who would’ve guessed that the final frontier would turn out to be my personal internet browsing history?<>создать интернет магазин цена
According the Washington Post, “President Obama is weighing a military strike against Syria…”
Over a decade ago, then Senator John Kerry supported the effort to invade Iraq over WMD’s. The next decade was democrat pundit after pundit decrying the prolonged war in the Middle East-even Kerry claimed that Bush had mismanaged the new conflict. As Saddam died, so did the anti-war left. Yet, the war raged on.
Now Secretary of State Kerry has found a new pie for his warmongering thumb: Syria. Syrian President Hassad has also been on our President’s radar for some time, perhaps even back to his Nobel Peace Prize days, by calling for his resignation, freezing all assets of the Syrian government subject to U.S. jurisdiction and prohibiting Americans from engaging in any transaction involving thegovernment.
The talking points have shifted from, “Saddam has WMDs” to “Assad has WMDs.” These acts of war are now going be justified, along with new crimes, by another WMD conversation. But that makes perfect sense right? These tyrants might hurt innocent people. That is unacceptable, we will send in some cruise missiles to ensure that if anyone gets hurt, it will be on our un-stainable American “freedom fighting” hands.
A group of Eastern Orthodox Christians are getting excited for the launch of a new project called, “Drop The Filioque.” One can presume it will intend to encourage the Western world to ditch the ancient creed’s inclusion of the “Filioque.” The new site is http://www.dropthefilioque.org.
The single Latin word means “and the son,” and is cited by many as one of the events leading up to the East-West Schism. Leading the charge, or at least purchasing the domain, is Gabriel Martini, an Eastern Orthodox blogger and marketing product manager for Logos Bible software. I first got wind of the project through Jamey Bennet, who put the project on twitter looking for allies in the Western tradition.
Do you know any prominent clergy of Roman Catholic or Protestant vintage who support the removal of the Filioque? If so, hit me up, homeboy.
The Western Church has held to the Filioque since its inclusion to the latin text of the Nicene Creed in the 6th Century. Maintaining that the Spirit proceedeth from the Father and from the Son as the standard view of the Trinitarian relationship. What theological implications does removing the Filioque have for our Trinitarian theology? In summarizing Abraham Kuyper’s thoughts, Edwin Palmer points to many.
“Abraham Kuyper has incisively pointed out, a denial of the filioque leads to an unhealthy mysticism. It tends to isolate the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives from the work of Jesus. Redemption by Christ is put in the background, while the sanctifying work of the Spirit is brought to the fore. The emphasis is more and more on the work of the Spirit in our lives, which tends to lead to an independence from Christ, the church, and the Bible. Sanctification can loom larger than justification, the subjective communion with the Spirit larger than the objective church life, and illumination by the Spirit larger than the Word. Kuyper believes that this has actually been the case to some extent in the Eastern church, as a result of the denial that the Spirit proceeds form the Son as well as from the Father.” (Thanks for this Greg Uttinger)
St. Augustine’s reasoning is more than adequate,”Why, then, should we not believe that the Holy Spirit proceeds also from the Son, when he is the Spirit also of the Son? For if the Holy Spirit did not proceed from him, when he showed himself to his disciples after his resurrection he would not have breathed upon them, saying, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit’ [John 20:22]. For what else did he signify by that breathing upon them except that the Holy Spirit proceeds also from him” – Homilies on John 99:8 [A.D. 416].
It is important to remember that there is only one way to approach God – through the Son. Come to the Son, have him breathe the breath of the Spirit, so that you may be held in the arms of the Father. The difference between West and East remains an idea of “incarnational” living. The East prides itself in the traditions of monasticism and mysticism as attempts to escape the flesh, while the West models itself after the God made Man. The God-man who came into our reality to set the perfect example of righteous obedience. The Filioque centers our theology around the Spirit’s true purpose in filling the earth with the Kingdom of the Son. For dominion, not escapism.
The Orthodox “Drop the Filioque” website is set to launch in just over a week, perhaps we need to remind them why this creedal affirmation is so important.<>рекламa в директ
An encrypted email service used by political refugee Edward Snowden has been forced out of existence by the heavy hand of the U.S. Government.
Ladar Levison of Lavabit said the following:
“This experience has taught me one very important lesson: without congressional action or a strong judicial precedent, I would strongly recommend against anyone trusting their private data to a company with physical ties to the United States.”
Can we convince Kim Dotcom of Mega (https://mega.co.nz) to get us an out of the country encrypted email service?
There was a time when your credit score wasn’t rated by a numerical value, your “credit” worthiness was determined by a variety of human-based interactions. A quick look into pre-FICO score ratings would reveal a world unknown to our digital report age. There once was a time when “Welcome Wagon representatives” and “mutual protection agencies” collected and sold information about your business dealings for banks and other creditors. As America grew, so did the need for precision in credit scores; this grown-up version of a permanent record now follows the responsibility of consumers in their financial commitments. It is a beautiful private system that rewards good behavior and makes us better borrowers–it tells the truth about how we behave in society.
The business world expanded its review of credit worthiness to address actual issues. The issues they were facing had been in the making for decades, mainly the growth of communities and a greater latitude in societal compositions. The early American practice of running a tab at your local general store was based on the individual’s reputation in the community. As the community grew, this became impractical: how can one general store track and lend credit to a major metropolitan area? The 20th century was also marked by tremendous advances in travel. Cars, planes, and bullet trains made it possible for families to lives cities apart, for men to pick and start a new career more than once in their lifetime. There are obvious credit-worthiness issues here: how does the creditor in the new town(s) know if someone is trustworthy if they have no reputation or history that is available? How does one handle multiple lending institutions?
Churches and Credit Worthiness
The church today has some of the same issues in dealing with church discipline. We have a precious commodity extended to those who are in good standing with the Body of Christ. The church unites those baptized into the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit into a covenant contract for the blessings and benefits of the kingdom. We offer the very blood and true body of Christ to those who are worthy to receive it, feeding and nourishing their mind, body, and soul. How are these precious sacraments to be protected from wolves and the sacred table fenced from those who may take it unworthily?
The Christian church throughout the entirety of its history has used church discipline to regulate the credit worthiness of its members, but for same reasons the business world needed to expand its rating system, the church must address the needed changes in managing its membership. Imagine for a moment that a consumer were to default on his mortgage; the creditor could rightly hold the individual to his contract in repossessing property, imposing penalties, and even initiating civil litigation. Now imagine if this defaulted borrower’s next step was to go to the bank down the street and apply for another loan? How foolish would this second creditor be to not investigate the applicant’s history, or as in is the common case in the modern church, to ignore the warnings of past creditors?
A Pound of Flesh?
In an America with thousands of denominations, this becomes more difficult as we discover many have completely ignored the biblical command for formal discipline and excommunication (1 Cor. 5:5). God’s use of discipline is an act of grace and mercy to those who refuse to hear the elders’ call to repentance. Impenitence, not any individual sin, is the only outstanding debt that the church has the authority to collect on. Repossession of a member’s place at the Lord’s table is “for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved,” says St. Paul. When churches act biblically in their protection of the Lord’s table they are showing a loving-kindness, grace, and mercy to those who are caught in grievous sins. When churches ignore the Apostolic order to not recognize those who have placed themselves outside the congregation, they hurt that individual the most. Just a verse later, St. Paul goes on to explain why we need to separate the covenant keepers from the covenant breakers, “Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Therefore purge out the old leaven” (vv. 6-7)
Obviously, the first step is to reinforce the biblical commission to practice the grace of church discipline. There will always be some confusion when tackling the issue of church discipline, and attacking churches that are weak on this issue will not fix everything. We have to acknowledge that excommunication is difficult even in churches that hold it consistently. The reality of sin doesn’t prohibit our actions to kill sin, but rather it should encourage our devotion to prayer, to Christian conduct, and to utter and complete dependence on our triune God.
The Role of Shepherds
Our duly ordained ministers and elders are called to be shepherds of Jesus’s flock. John MacArthur’s Shepherd’s Conference is iconified by a pastor’s staff in its logo. I think this imagery is wonderful in so many ways. The pastoral staff is used to delicately wrangle sheep, and it ensures that particular ewes (mother sheep) and lambs don’t lose each other in large flocks. I’ve been told in a number of sermon illustrations that in some cases the human handling of a lamb can cause the mother to refuse to feed it.
This is why we can’t simply use our own human means, or our own human hands, to tend the flock, but must trust in God’s staff in the hands of his anointed shepherds. Too often we try to insert ourselves into disputes, and this subverts the authority of the church leadership, it shows a lack of faith in God’s biblical prescribed pastoral structure. Using human means of reconciliation is rebellion against the Holy Spirit. We need to work on trusting God more. Praying more, gossiping less. More divine intercession, less human meddling.
The second use of the shepherd’s staff is using the end to butt a sheep in the side. As sheep are moved about, they tend to wander off, and the rod is used to keep them in line. I imagine that very few sheep enjoy being poked or jabbed by the shepherd’s staff, but it’s done frequently to keep the flock moving in the right direction, for its safety. The minister does this from time to time in his sermons. Have you been offended by the minister’s righteous jabbing in his preaching? Perhaps that was his staff causing discomfort against an unruly sheep’s ribs? Or has a member forsaken the assembly by placing other pleasures over the Lord’s Day worship service? We should be thankful when the pastor pulls us aside and uses the staff to nudge us back to regular fellowship and communion with believers. Our shepherds use this gentle guidance to keep us from the jaws of wolves or an angry God’s rod of judgment.
The Hooky Hook for Hucksters
The shepherd’s staff is also used to hook a sheep for inspection. A disease in one sheep can quickly spread to a flock of thousands. This means that shepherds are constantly checking up on their flocks. A shepherd who merely puts out food and water will see his flock diminishing. This sort of animal husbandry requires the shepherd’s attention for missing sheep, for sick ones, and for the dangers in the pasture. As he practices church husbandry, the minister is to care for the Bride of Christ in much of the same way. At Church of the King, we expect regular visitations from our elders. This is a time when the elders meet with individual families in private to hear any concerns that a family may have with the church or with their own spiritual life. I know my wife and I look forward to having our elders visit us. It gives us a chance to express any questions we have with them or others in our flock.
At a recent visitation, I expressed our difficulty with the cost of some of the meals we were assigned to bring for our church’s fellowship meals. This is a conversation that would be difficult and even inappropriate to corner an elder with at church, but talking out little problems regularly like this helps develop a healthy relationship between the members and elders. Having the elders over also helps give them a glimpse into our home life. Is Steve Macias giving his wife the respect and honor she deserves? It can be hard to tell during the few hours we meet together throughout the week, but one-on-one with the elders can help them be more prepared if issues do arise. It also gives the elders a time to get a snapshot on how the family is doing in daily life.
My elders ask about our finances. There are no spreadsheets or 1040 forms, but they need to be involved if a family is in need of diaconal assistance. Is this man in need of pastoral guidance in his vocation or even in seeking employment? Are they practicing good Christian stewardship? This is not to place the church at the head of a man’s finances, but rather to recognize that the church is here to serve all of the man. What good is the good news of Jesus, if the families in your church are starving or being abused? The elders ask about marriage. They did this before we were married and check in often to keep in front of marital hardships that will inevitably come to some degree in all unions between sinners. The elders ask about our devotion. Are we growing in the Lord? Is the husband leading the family in home worship and devotion? They can then help shepherd out issues that need to be addressed.
The Problem of Camp Followers
Last March, Rev. R.C. Sproul Jr tweeted, “Those who refuse to join a local church are not soldiers in the Lord’s army, but camp followers.” Developing a proper view of church discipline requires us to take our vows and commitments to the body of Christ seriously. Too many Christians are in open rebellion to their husband Jesus by refusing to subject themselves to a local body in the Bride of Christ. Their resistance to shepherding is, as we’ve seen above, to their own disservice. The Bible explicitly commands believers to submit to a local church’s elders (Heb. 13:17). The Scriptures warrant no such title as “member-at-large” or “long-term visitor,” and these camp followers are refusing to either serve the local body or submit to elders, or both. Camp followers who find themselves connected to weekly bible studies, church events, worship services, and even leadership roles are required to covenant their membership with that local church.
Refusing to submit to a church that you are regularly communing at, fellowshipping with, and benefiting from is a sin. This is a sin that good shepherds will recognize and deal with in accordance with the Gospel. (Matt. 18:15-20) A pastor should explain to the camp followers that they are expected to submit to the Bible’s standard of church membership and privately shepherd them into their calling for the body of Christ.
Camp followers who refuse to submit to the elders should be removed from the Lord’s table for impenitence. The bar for receiving communion is set at the child-like faith of baptism. As First Corinthians 12:13 says, “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.” By our baptism we are made to drink in unity, but the camp follower who refuses to submit to the elders will, as St. Paul declares, “eat and drink judgment on themselves. (1 Cor. 11:29). To protect these straying sheep, the shepherd removes them from communion and toward the hope of repentance in excommunication. Camp following should be called out for the sin it is: church harlotry. The bride of Christ deserves our full allegiance, not just a series of one night stands.
More From The Merchant of Venice
In the famous play, Shakespeare’s Shylock extended credit to the reckless Antonio knowing his full credit report, knowing that he wasn’t likely to keep his financial commitments. The Christian minister is to extend the sacraments of baptism and communion liberally, without regard of whether the individual will be able to perfectly keep their covenant. Much like Shylock, the minister extends those means of grace knowing that his sheep will fail to uphold their side of the covenant. This is not an invitation for a legalistic guarding of the table, but rather an understanding that the table is a place of confession and forgiveness. Each Lord’s Day, the forgiveness of the Gospel is to be offered to all who would confess and forsake their sins, clinging only to the blood of Jesus. Shylock demanded a pound of flesh when Antonio couldn’t pay, but in Christ we are forgiven our debts and we are nourished on the new riches of Christ’s flesh. The “fleshly” demands of the enemy are consumed like wine swallowed in the grace of our Lord’s blood. While we suffer through the uncertainty of excommunication, through the real pain, and broken relationships–there is a hope that amid the storms of sin in our life, that by church discipline Christ will bring our ships home.
A Sanctuary From Sanctification
Credit ratings fail to mean anything if other lenders refuse to heed their warnings, and church discipline is the same. If a church refuses to recognize the legitimate discipline of an individual who attempts to join their congregation, they make their house of prayers into a sanctuary away from sanctification. Not only do they open their congregation up to a toxic leaven left to the buffeting of Satan, but this also prevents this sinner from reconciliation and repentance with Christ’s church, which they have spurned. Welcoming excommunicated Christians to another church is harmful to the individual, to the body, and the unity of the Church.
Excommunications aren’t perfect, and everyone has a story about some mistakes or abuses. But the key point is, because the church is God’s biblical model, we should strive to reform our churches to better serve our members. There is also a shield in place to fix errors: the Holy Spirit. No pastor wants to excommunicate a father or mother of a family he loves or have a false accusation on his conscience when he is promised to be judged more strictly by God Himself (James 3:1).
Christian Credit Score System
When a member moves to another church, which happens for a number of valid reasons, he should have his membership transferred to the care of the new church. The old and new pastors should discuss the move and ensure that it was done with the best intentions, communicating any pastoral knowledge that would help the next minister in his shepherding duties. He should mention if this member had been disciplined in the past, what the elders noticed during visitations, and so on. This is just like Bank of America communicating with Wells Fargo about how you kept up with your mortgage, before they give you a bank loan for a new car. Christians should expect something like a permanent record to follow them throughout their care from a pastor to the next pastor that ministers to them.
Imagine if each of our ministers kept a record of members’ status in the church; we wouldn’t have to include much, just 1. Good Standing since xx/xx/xxxx [Church] or 2. Excommunicated on xx/xx/xxxx [Church]. Remembering of course that FICO is a private credit rating system, the same would be true of a Christian credit score system. When an individual seeks membership in a new church they simply have their name run through our newly conjectured “Christian Faithfulness Index.” And so, if you are in good standing, it is noted. If you skipped out on your last church, it is noted. If you are under discipline, the minister knows you need to reconcile with a previous church, and it is there in black and white.
Sure, at first it sounds a bit strange to our modern sensibilities. But it is nearly the same as we imagine it will be once we stand before the great throne of judgement. Do you chafe at the idea that then all deeds will be exposed? Shouldn’t we welcome the kind of covenant community that not only involves the “fun” parts of fellowship, but also dealing properly with sin, including our own? This system would tell the truth, which could go well for you, or not, depending on what is true. All that a negative report that is accurate can do is to encourage you to repent. This is entirely reasonable. We can hold more conferences on church membership, write more books on repentance, give lectures on character, but if we fail to uphold the Bible’s prescribed means of discipline, it will all be for naught.
Reformed Christians can take the lead and build a reformed network accepting submissions for a “Christian Faithfulness Index.” Incrementally, the Kingdom will incentivize and consistently apply church discipline by preventing ”Joe-Bob” from escaping discipline from First Presbyterian Church by showing up at Second Reformed Church down the street. Churches that practice discipline will see the fruit of Christ’s mercy. Those who find no sanctuary from Satan in anti-sanctification churches will have no choice but to look for new life in our risen Savior.
As a Christian with Bible-based optimism, I believe we will see unity of believers, of denominations, of schisms, of sects, under the present reign of King Jesus. And I believe discipline is a vital part of the sanctification of the bride of Christ.
In closing, I am reminded of a hymn we sing often at Church of the King. As you read the lyrics of “How Sweet and Awful is the Place,” pray that the Lord brings the strangers home.
There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, ‘Mine!’Abraham Kuyper
To understand our money, we first must understand, the US Constitution’s the Supreme Law of the land.
There was a time when your credit score wasn’t rated by a numerical value, your “credit” worthiness was determined by a variety of human-based interactions. A quick look into pre-FICO score ratings would reveal a world unknown to our digital report age. There once was a time when “Welcome Wagon representatives” and “mutual protection agencies” collected and sold information about your business dealings for banks and other creditors. As America grew, so did the need for precision in credit scores; this grown-up version of a permanent record now follows the responsibility of consumers in their financial commitments. It is a beautiful private system that rewards good behavior and makes us better borrowers–it tells the truth about how we behave in society.
The church today has some of the same issues in dealing with church discipline. We have a precious commodity extended to those who are in good standing with the Body of Christ. The church unites those baptized into the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit into a covenant contract for the blessings and benefits of the kingdom. We offer the very blood and true body of Christ to those who are worthy to receive it, feeding and nourishing their mind, body, and soul. How are these precious sacraments to be protected from wolves and the sacred table fenced from those who may take it unworthily?
Last March, Rev. R.C. Sproul Jr 
In the famous play, Shakespeare’s Shylock extended credit to the reckless Antonio knowing his full credit report, knowing that he wasn’t likely to keep his financial commitments. The Christian minister is to extend the sacraments of baptism and communion liberally, without regard of whether the individual will be able to perfectly keep their covenant. Much like Shylock, the minister extends those means of grace knowing that his sheep will fail to uphold their side of the covenant. This is not an invitation for a legalistic guarding of the table, but rather an understanding that the table is a place of confession and forgiveness. Each Lord’s Day, the forgiveness of the Gospel is to be offered to all who would confess and forsake their sins, clinging only to the blood of Jesus. Shylock demanded a pound of flesh when Antonio couldn’t pay, but in Christ we are forgiven our debts and we are nourished on the new riches of Christ’s flesh. The “fleshly” demands of the enemy are consumed like wine swallowed in the grace of our Lord’s blood. While we suffer through the uncertainty of excommunication, through the real pain, and broken relationships–there is a hope that amid the storms of sin in our life, that by church discipline Christ will bring our ships home.
Credit ratings fail to mean anything if other lenders refuse to heed their warnings, and church discipline is the same. If a church refuses to recognize the legitimate discipline of an individual who attempts to join their congregation, they make their house of prayers into a sanctuary away from sanctification. Not only do they open their congregation up to a toxic leaven left to the buffeting of Satan, but this also prevents this sinner from reconciliation and repentance with Christ’s church, which they have spurned. Welcoming excommunicated Christians to another church is harmful to the individual, to the body, and the unity of the Church.
