The Old Orange Flute

Long live Irish and Presbyterian flutes and fifes!

In the county Tyrone, in the town of Dungannon

Where many a ruction myself had a hand in

Bob Williamson he lived, a weaver by trade

And all of us thought him the stout orange blade.

On the twelfth of July as it yearly did come

Bob played on the flute to the sound of the drum

You can talk of your lyre, your piano or lute

But there's none could compare to the Old Orange Flute.

But Bob that deceiver he took us all in

For he married a Papish named Bridget McGinn

Turned Papish himself and forsook the Old Cause

That gave us our freedom, religion and laws.

And the boys in the place made some comment upon it

And Bob had to fly to the province of Connaught;

he left with his wife and his fixins, to boot,

And along with the latter, the Old Orange Flute.

At Mass the next Sunday, to atone for past deeds,

Said Paters and Aves and counted his beads

Till after some time at the Priest's own desire

Bob went with his flute for to play in the choir.

Bob went with his flute for to play in the mass

But the instrument shivered and cried "O Alas!"

And try though he would, though he made a great noise,

The flute would play only "The Protestant Boys."

Well up Bob he jumped with a start and a flutter.

He threw the old flute in the blessed holy water;

He thought that this charm would bring some other sound,

When he tried it again, it played "Croppies Lie Down!"

Now for all he would finger and whistle and blow

For to play Papish music, he found it "No Go"

"Kick the Pope" and "Boyne Water" it clearly would sound

But one Papish squeek and it could'nt be found.

At a council of priests that was held the next day

They decided to banish the Old Flute away;

They couldn't knock heresy out of its head

So they bought Bob a new one to play it instead.

Now the poor flute was doomed, and its fate was pathetic

'Twas fastened and burnt at the stake as heretic.

As the flames soared around, you could hear a strange noise

'Twas the Old Flute still a-whistlin' "The Protestant Boys."

The Chief End of Man

Question 1, The Westminster Shorter Confession:

Q. What is the chief end of man?

A. Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever. 

The question of man’s purpose is one that is often asked, but rarely answered in a right manner. For many people, this question is asked only in its immediate application: What should I do right now? Instead of working out a general principle for life, many will choose some limited goal, like getting to the next level on a computer game or getting a raise at work. Some will rise higher and pick some vague principle like “love.” Why? Well, it sounds nice, doesn’t it? While Christians occasionally fall into these traps, they should have a much greater reason, one that ties all of life into one grand unity: to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever.

This “chief end,” of course, presupposes that man has a purpose to begin with. While this may seem like an obvious point, it is only obvious to one who is used to a culture that once was Christian. Does man have a purpose? Perhaps man is an accident, a random combination of various elements. That man is purposeless, except for some purposeless pragmatic goal, is perfectly consistent with atheism and evolution. This doesn’t seem to fit with man’s self-consciences, his ethical capacity, the order of the universe, and basically everything, but that is only because any religion besides Christianity will not fit with God and the way He made this world. The only way to make sense of this world and to find meaning in our tasks is to submit to our eternal Creator. Because God is independent of His creation and limitation, because He alone is before all things, and because all His creation is dependent on Him, He is the key to the purpose of our existence. Any purpose outside of Him is doomed to fall short.

This question seems to have two parts, and indeed it does, but they are not as separate as one might think. First, we are told to glorify God. This is obvious from the Bible. As God’s creatures, made in His image, our created purpose is to reflect and proclaim God’s glory, His glory being the brilliance and manifestation of His nature. This is our purpose as humans. In everything we do, we are His image and ought to act like it. Second, we are told to enjoy God. Some people mistakenly have the idea that enjoyment and service to God are two separate things, but, as Calvin says, the devotion of our life to God’s glory is “the highest good of man.” It doesn’t get better than this! We can enjoy nothing so much as when we enjoy our God. All other things are limited and fade away. The music to which we listen, the food which we eat, are the most enjoyable, nay, only enjoyable, when they are received in a way that glorifies God, in thanksgiving and righteousness before His face. Fulfilling our purpose of glorifying God is enjoyable; to do otherwise is vanity and manifestly unenjoyable. Furthermore, God is most glorified in us when we enjoy Him, reflecting and proclaiming His “wondrous works to the children of man” (Ps. 107:31).

What a glorious purpose! What a life this sets before us! How we fall exceedingly short of this grand intent! This is the first question of the catechism and it sets the stage for the rest. While we have indeed fallen from our intended role, Jesus Christ, the only mediator of God’s elect, restores us by grace to fellowship with God. As we are sanctified in this salvation let us continue to strive in Christ for this chief end of man.

Keeping the Law in the Covenant of Grace

“The whole commandment that I command you today you shall be careful to do, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land that the LORD swore to give to your fathers. And you shall remember the whole way that the LORD your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not."

-Deuteronomy 8:1-2

This passage (and all of chapter 8) is very helpful in understanding Deuteronomy and the law. Many Christians have a hard time with God's constant admonitions to hearing His voice and obeying His law and figure that the Mosaic Covenant must have been a covenant of works. But I disagree. Here we see that keeping (or not keeping) the commandments of God is important because it it a sign of one's heart commitment.

If one is a child of God by faith, he will hear the voice of His Father, he will heed his Father's law. And the Father loves giving His gifts to His children. Rebellious children are cut off (Deut. 21:18-21). The child does not earn his Father's gifts (or sonship) by his obedience, especially in our case when we are unnaturally adopted as sons by grace. Our obedience always is deficient, and a life of love is also a life of repentance, but obedience and repentance must be apparent in a son. This is what is called a relationship. It is vital to the idea of covenant. This is all over Deuteronomy and the whole Bible.

This is the same as 1 John constantly points out: we love God and our brother because God has loved us (i.e. brought us out of bondage and sin, Ex. 20:2) and loving means keeping God's commandments (1 John 5:1-3). In the Covenant of Grace, whether in the Old or New Testaments, we should be careful, as sons, to do God's whole commandment, that we might receive God's blessing. God's blessing is not a reward for our acts of obedience, but is given to us as His children. And we are the children of God only in Christ alone, by grace alone, through faith alone. Praise God!

"But to all who did receive him [Christ], who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God."

-John 1:12-13

John Calvin on the Holy Calling of Motherhood

"For Adam was formed first, then Eve; and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor. Yet she will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith and love and holiness, with self-control" (1 Timothy 2:13-15, see also Genesis 3:15-16).

"'Through child-bearing' To censorious men it might appear absurd, for an Apostle of Christ not only to exhort women to give attention to the birth of offspring, but to press this work as religious and holy to such an extent as to represent it in the light of the means of procuring salvation. Nay, we even see with what reproaches the conjugal bed has been slandered by hypocrites, who wished to be thought more holy than all other men. But there is no difficulty in replying to these sneers of the ungodly. First, here the Apostle does not speak merely about having children, but about enduring all the distresses, which are manifold and severe, both in the birth and in the rearing of children. Secondly, whatever hypocrites or wise men of the world may think of it, when a woman, considering to what she has been called, submits to the condition which God has assigned to her, and does not refuse to endure the pains, or rather the fearful anguish, of parturition [childbirth], or anxiety about her offspring, or anything else that belongs to her duty, God values this obedience more highly than if, in some other manner, she made a great display of heroic virtues, while she refused to obey the calling of God. To this must be added, that no consolation could be more appropriate or more efficacious then to shew that the very means (so to speak) of procuring salvation are found in the punishment itself." (Commentary on Timothy, Titus, Philemon)

Biblical Directions for Art and Pleasure

Ever since Adam was created, man has had to deal with his earthly surroundings. God created man as one to subdue and interact with the world around him, and this interaction was at first perfectly righteous. Since man’s fall into sin, his relations to the world around him have been corrupted. As the Christian experiences Christ’s renewing power, he is forced to consider in what a right relation to this world consists. Especially difficult in Christian history has been our relation to those things that are not necessary for existence variously known as pleasure, art, decor, entertainment, and civilized culture. Even in the days of the Apostles there was conflict over ascetic practices of abstinence (1 Tim. 4:3, Rom. 14). Many extremes can be found in history from Christians who were very strict in prohibition of entertainments, to Christians who were very indulgent in all sorts of excess, although the former has tended to be more common. As we look at what the Bible says concerning earthly pleasures, we will find that it directs us in finding godly enjoyment in them.

Perhaps the most obvious direction we have concerning these pleasures is that they must be used with faith in Christ. Speaking of eating food, Paul teaches, “whatever does not proceed from faith is sin” (Rom. 14:23). Without faith in God, our pleasure will be idolatry. We will look to something else as the provider of blessing. We might look at the pleasure itself as the object of our faith. Without faith in God, the blessings that God sends will actually only increase our accountability and judgement. God is the one from whom all blessings flow, and to deny this is to deny His deity. On the other hand, when we have faith in God, our enjoyment becomes a way to praise and worship Him. These blessings then are truly blessings, for our good, because they build up our enjoyment of our relationship with God. With faith in God’s power and goodness through Christ even the littlest pleasure is recognized as a gracious gift from our Father.

Similar to faith, joy is another aspect of what should be our relation to pleasure. When we receive something good and reject it as “earthly vanity,” or as a mere temptation, we are being ungrateful for what God has made for us. “For, although all the imperfections in culture are exclusively due to the sins of man, nevertheless, all that is really good and true and pleasant in culture is due solely to the grace of God” (Lee). Paul harshly condemns this attitude of abstinence, saying, “For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer” (1 Tim. 4:4-5). It is not the pleasure (marriage and food, in this case) that is evil, but the way we might use it. When we receive it with thanksgiving, praising God in prayer and using it according to His word, it is not only not evil, but good and holy. Paul also got upset at the Roman Christians who were dividing themselves by disputes over food. Food is supposed to increase, not decrease, faith, love, and joy. The food (or similar pleasure) is not an end it itself. The “kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Rom. 14:17). Many people do become absorbed in the pleasures themselves so as to lose sight of God the giver. As John Calvin colorfully describes, “many are so delighted with marble, gold, and pictures, that they become marble-hearted—are changed as it were into metal, and made like painted figures” (471). Instead, “the object of creating all things was to teach us to know their author, and feel grateful for his indulgence” (470-471). When we eat, drink, dance, and sing with righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit, our enjoyments are actually expressions of the kingdom of God.

One of the blessings that God gives, to be received in faith and joy, is beauty. Beauty comes from God; it is an aspect of His glory. To seek the source of beauty somewhere else (e.g. in ourselves or the creation) is a form of idolatry. God proclaimed that He would take away and defile Tyre’s beauty because the king of Tyre had set himself up as god, saying, “I am perfect in beauty” (Ezek. 27:3, 28:6-7). On the other hand, God gives beauty to His people. God gave extraordinary physical beauty to Job’s daughters as a blessing (Job 42:15). He describes His salvation in terms of beautification, as in Isaiah 28:5, 62:3. He promises that the beauty and glory of the nations shall come “to beautify the place of my sanctuary” (Is. 60:13, also Rev. 21:24, 26). God’s beauty is all around us in His creation and, as we have said, to ignore it would be wicked ungratefulness (Ps. 19:1, Rom. 1:20). As the heirs of the world (Rom. 4:13, Gal 3:29) we are to rejoice at the beauty that God has made, claiming it as His sons.

Not only do we receive beauty, but we also imitate God in making beauty ourselves. Adam and Eve were created perfectly in God’s image, reflecting Him by taking dominion of the earth in ordering and, among other things, beautifying it. The creation was good already, but it was not developed and needed to be brought into its potential. Since man’s fall, both we and the creation have been negatively influenced by sin. As we are now being renewed into the image of Christ (Rom. 8:29, Col. 3:10) we must once again learn to obey God by imitating our Creator (albeit imperfectly) by beautifying the world, engaging both the work of dominion as well as the additional work of reversing the ugly effects of the curse.

As Zechariah 9:16-17 says, we are made beautiful because our Savior is great in beauty. We engage in this pursuit of beauty by reflecting the source of beauty, God. I would suggest we define beauty as that which is the earthly reflection of God's nature. As R.C. Sproul Sr. has said, "God is the ultimate standard of beauty, just as He is the ultimate standard of truth. Works of art that somehow reflect His nature are more beautiful than works that do not" (60). There are several aspects of this. For example, order as well as zeal are attributes of God (1 Cor. 14:33, Is. 42:13) and both add beauty, especially when entwined together. Our Triune God is both one and three, bringing aspects of unity and diversity in perfect harmony. God is also ethically pure, and true beauty will reflect this. Since God’s beauty is revealed in His creation, we can study patterns and values in creation, recognizing that we are to take these primitive elements of nature and develop them. It is in this rewarding pursuit of beauty that much of art consists. When we are engaging in painting, music, dance, and poetry we are taking color, sound, bodies, and words and subduing them to God’s beauty. Art, then, is to be God-centered.

Another important direction given to us concerning enjoyment is that it should be relational. The Bible doesn’t really talk much about “me time.” There are times when a person is away from other humans but only to be more focused on God (e.g. Matt. 14:22-23). As we have already mentioned, our enjoyments are always to be done in relation to God in faith, joy, and thanksgiving. To enjoy things purely by one’s self is selfishness. Moreover, the Bible places a high priority on enjoying God’s gifts in community with other people. In the Old Testament thanksgiving feast of the tithe it was important that the intense celebration be done by “you and your household,” incorporating into the household celebration the Levite, widow, orphan, and stranger (Deut. 14:26, 15:20, 26:11). Jeremiah proclaims that the prosperity that God’s salvation brings shall include the dancing of the young and old, men and women, all together (Jer. 31:13). In the parable of the prodigal son, the celebration described, which included feasting, dancing, music, and rich attire, was done in community, celebrating the love of the father for his son (Luke 15:22-32). The Philippian jailer and his household rejoiced together that he had believed in God (Acts 16:34). Hospitality and the sharing of our blessings with others are encouraged and commanded in many places in Scripture (Heb. 13:2, Rom. 12:13). The list could go on and on, including every section of the Bible.

This community in which we enjoy God’s blessings and create beautiful culture is a complex thing. The basic social unit seems to be the family, or more properly, the household. This is the group of people, tied by the natural ties of blood and time, and more importantly, under the protection of the marriage covenant with strict commands to obey father and mother. Death is the punishment in biblical law for the undermining of the family, i.e. adultery or incorrigible rebellion (Lev. 20:9-10, Matt. 15:4). It is to this unit, under the headship of the husband, that the dominion mandate was primarily given (Gen. 1:26-28). The household is in a manner saved as a unit (Acts. 16:31) and covenantally unified in its aim to glorify God (Gen. 17:7, Acts 2:39). It is here, in (what should be) the strongest of relationships, that culture and pleasure is primarily enjoyed and developed. It is in the family in which you have the elements of the rest of society: male and female, young and old, with differing gifts. Thus, a culture that is operating biblically will have distinct ethnic, folk, and traditional elements.

Included in the family, and beyond, are the elements of personal community and generational continuity. While the family is basic, it ought not be ingrown. These principles express themselves in the local community in which the family lives, creating nations and their cultures. Both the culture and the medium in which it is conveyed is important, and they actually influence each other. In fact, in today’s situation, “the forms of our popular culture may well have a more significant effect on our perceptions than the content” (Myers, 16). In modern society, culture and its popular forms have been uprooted from the family and become individualistic, impersonal, and revolutionary. As Christians, not only must our motive and standard of enjoyment be right (i.e. thanksgiving and God-defined beauty) but also the situation of our enjoyment. Our enjoyment becomes richer when it is shared by a community, transcending the individual, where each can contribute his/her gifts. It becomes more excellent when it is shaped and built upon by the generations, transcending the moment, where each generation adds more experience and perspective to our enjoyment. And the interaction of people, when done in Christ, is itself something to celebrate. “Like feasts and holidays, celebration in lovemaking is about remembering. It is a love of history, a couple’s history of good times, of positive personal knowledge shared by no others, of refuge from a crazy world” (Jones, 86-87).

While there is much more that could be said concerning our enjoyments, we can see that the Bible does give us good, and comprehensive, directions. Our motivation must be faith in Christ and joy for what God has given us. We must measure our (puny) achievements not only by their usefulness, but by the beauty and glory of our God, submitting our work to His nature. Our medium of pleasure and enjoyment must be rooted in the family and community, sharing God’s gifts and our work with one another. As we have mentioned, this godly culture should not be ingrown, but should grow into our communities and nations. Discipling the nations is our “Great Commission” and includes the art and culture of the nations. The Christian family disciples the nations by its dominion work in its vocation and cultural relations to its neighbors. The Church as an institution also changes culture. Through the preaching of its pastors, a Christian culture is indirectly founded when men are made new creatures in Christ (Van Til, 225). The Scripture which the Church teaches equips us for “every good work” (2 Tim. 3:17). While the exact application is usually left to the families in their vocations, the families of the earth are coming to the Church, the New Jerusalem, to learn the ways of God and to learn to walk in its light (Is. 2:3, Rev. 21:24). May we show the world a culture of delight and hope amid its gloom of death. May we learn to exalt in the goodness of our God who causes

“the grass to grow for the livestock 

and plants for man to cultivate, 

that he may bring forth food from the earth 

and wine to gladden the heart of man, 

oil to make his face shine 

and bread to strengthen man's heart.” 

(Ps. 104:14-15) 

----------

Calvin, John Institutes of the Christian Religion. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2008.
Jones, Douglas and Douglas Wilson Angels in the Architecture. Moscow, ID: Canon Press, 1998.
Lee, Dr. F.N. “Lecture 1: The Roots of Culture” PHL110 Foundation of Christian Culture. Lakeland, FL: Whitefield, 2007.
Myers, Kenneth A. All God’s Children and Blue Suede Shoes. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 1989.
Sproul Sr., R.C. Tabletalk 36.9, Sep. 2012: 60
The Holy Bible (ESV). Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2003.
Van Til, Henry R. The Calvinistic Concept of Culture. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2001.

Hark! The Herald Christians Sing

Go on up to a high mountain,

O Zion, herald of good news;

lift up your voice with strength,

O Jerusalem, herald of good news;

lift it up, fear not;

say to the cities of Judah,

“Behold your God!”

Isaiah 40:9

Christmas caroling is arguably the greatest of the Christmas traditions, and, regrettably, one of the least practiced. In the last two years we have gone caroling several times in December, usually on which seem to be the coldest nights of the month. In fact, we went caroling within a week of moving to Colorado. The way we have done it follows a pretty basic procedure. One family usually hosts it, and everyone invited meets at their house. We then go out, either in hay-ride fashion or in cars, going to neighboring houses (the houses are usually too far apart to walk from house to house, especially in the cold and wind). At each house we sing two or so carols, the amount usually depending on how cold the inhabitants are getting standing at the door. Some standards we usually sing are "Joy to the World," "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen," "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing," and "Silent Night." We usually leave singing "We Wish You a Merry Christmas," singing the figgy pudding verses after we get out of ear shot. 

This tradition seems to be in everyone's consciousness. Everyone "knows" that this is supposed to happen, at least in the movies or the books. But yet few people actually do it. This is probably because our culture emphasizes listening to music more than singing it, and the Christian music that most people sing would require a moveable rock band to go door to door. But I digress...

What other tradition can you think of that has real people singing to their real neighbors solid and robust hymns of the victory and authority of Jesus Christ? When else do even unbelievers welcome the sight of people singing,

"Joy to the world! the Lord is come;
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare him room,
And heaven and nature sing"

What a light this is among the hopeless, dark, depersonalized, lonely, and lost world we live in! How different this is from the groups of little zombies and firefighters looking for candy! How great a contrast to the earbud culture of individualistic escapism! And these carols are not only some of the most victorious and hope-filled hymns we have, but are also usually 150-250 years old, with rich harmonies and flow, some even going back to Medieval times. They have been pressed into the fading conscienceness of Christendom and it's high time we let people know that their beauty and hope is as true as ever. Let us proclaim the praises of our God who took on flesh, the Savior of the nations, the Light to the Gentiles, Jesus the Christ.

I sit here typing this at our kitchen counter waiting for the return of the carolers. Several families from church in the Elizabeth area are driving around, caroling for each others' neighbors in a long train of vans. They will end up here and this house will be full of joyous commotion. I had to stay home this time because my recent cold took out my singing voice for today. I sit here remembering that the colds and flus that frequent this time of year give us even more reason to celebrate and proclaim our Savior's birth. Our sicknesses are part of the curse that came upon our world because of our sin, but Christ came as the Lord who healed the sick. Indeed,

"No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found."

He took on our nature, kept the law for us, died on the cross for our sin, and then rose to new life, therefore death and sickness will not win! We are the ones with hope. The ungodly are those who are imprisoned by sin and death. They get sick and don't have a substantial reason why getting better is better. Let us not keep this hope to ourselves. Get out there and sing!

Good Christian men, rejoice, with heart and soul and voice;

Give ye heed to what we say: News! News! Jesus Christ is born today;

Ox and ass before Him bow; and He is in the manger now.

Christ is born today! Christ is born today!

Good Christian men, rejoice, with heart and soul and voice;

Now ye hear of endless bliss: Joy! Joy! Jesus Christ was born for this!

He has opened the heavenly door, and man is blest forevermore.

Christ was born for this! Christ was born for this!

Good Christian men, rejoice, with heart and soul and voice;

Now ye need not fear the grave: Peace! Peace! Jesus Christ was born to save!

Calls you one and calls you all, to gain His everlasting hall.

Christ was born to save! Christ was born to save!

The Joy of the Light

See the house of days gone by, decked out in greenery fine 

The cold, sharp wind about it rolls with specks of glimmer and shine 

Outside is quiet, only the wind, and trees that are moved to and fro’ 

Stir gently the stillness that lays all around the valley now covered in snow 

Inside there is merriment, laughter, and joy–the sound of the fiddle and flute– 

The lads and the lasses are dancing a jig, their tongues and feet are not mute 

The companions of work, of worship and thought, they now enjoy what they’ve won 

Relationships firm, founded on time, now exalted through music and fun 

Oh praise the Lord Christ! He re-made us to show this joyful and most loving way 

Who, when we were in darkness, came as the Light and delivered us unto His day 

Though days be dark, sharp, windy, and cold, we dare not submit to their gloom! 

We strike up a tune and go gallantly forth, proclaiming Him ris’n from the tomb! 

Thus the darkest of days 

Will submit to this praise 

And become the sunrise of morn! 

The darkness takes flight 

This day, our delight! 

For Christ the world’s Savior is born!

Guilt

Guilt is a universal problem of mankind. Except for the grace of God, man is in rebellion to God and cannot completely escape His wrath. Everything man does and everywhere man goes he runs into God's creation and providence. The question for man is how he will deal with his guilt.

Various cultures and religions have dealt with the problem in diverse ways. Some try imputing the guilt of sin to other men, creatures, the environment, and evolutionary processes. Some try to atone for the guilt of sin themselves by self-mutilation, asceticism, suicide, and the like. Some try to atone for the sin by good works. Some try penance to priests. Some try to atone for sin by action, apology, and education by the state. Some try to ignore it and distract themselves with materialism. Still others try to escape the reality of guilt and God's world through fantasy, virtual worlds, computer games, certain music, etc... Many people try combinations of the above attempts, and there are no doubt many others, but through all of these human attempts the guilt remains. Man cannot free himself from his sin and is miserable. Stress and hopelessness eventually prevail, with good reason, for real future judgement awaits.

True life, both in time and eternity, can only be received when we have our guilt taken away and we are reunited with our Creator God. Thus, by ourselves we are doomed to death. But thanks be to God! He is gracious and sent His Son, Jesus Christ, who is fully God and fully man, to take His people's sins upon Himself. He gave Himself as the only, perfect, and complete sacrifice for us and our guilt. By faith in Him we received this forgiveness and true life to the fullness. No longer are we consumed in atoning for our sins. No more do we have reason to be stressed or hopeless. Instead we believe in Christ's work for us and live a life of joy, peace, and righteousness in the Holy Spirit, a life filled with purpose and meaning.

It is true that trials may come and our doubts may arise, but not only may we rely on the Holy Spirit's power to overcome by our faith, but God has also given us help through one another. If you are cast down or doubting, confess to and pray for one another (James 5:16) and use the gifts of the body of Christ.

"Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God." -Romans 5:1-2

"Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near." -Hebrews 10:19-25

The Deadly Fruit of Darwinism

The following quote is taken from Robert L. Dabney's article, "The Influence of False Philosophies Upon Character and Conduct" (1896):

"The old saw, "Extremes meet," was never truer than it is of pantheism and atheism. The latter says: 'There is no God at all'; the former: 'Everything is God.' But the moral results of both are closely akin. In this, my indictment includes genuine Darwinism; for there is now no doubt that Dr. Darwin, like his most consistent pupils, Haeckel, Buchner, etc., believed that the doctrine ought to exclude both spirit and God. Their logic is consistent; for if all teleology is banished out of nature, and if that in man which thinks, feels, and wills is but an evolution of brute impulses, inherent in sensorial matter, there is no spiritual substance. We must have materialistic monism. Then every moral restraint arising out of the expectation of future responsibility, rewards, and punishments, is utterly swept away. Why should men conclude anything but. "Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die?" To borrow Carlyle's rough phrasing: 'If mine is a pig's destiny, why may I not hold this 'pig philosophy'?' Again, if I am but an animal refined by evolution, I am entitled to live an animal life. Why not? The leaders in this and the sensualistic philosophy may themselves be restrained by their habits of mental culture, social discretion and personal refinement (for which they are indebted to reflex Christian influences); but the herd of common mortals are not cultured and refined, and in them the doctrine will bear its deadly fruit."

Faith and Good Works

I have been reading through The Institutes of the Christian Religion by John Calvin for the second time and just finished the third chapter of the third book, which especially is excellent. It is entitled, "Regeneration By Faith. Of Repentance." Here is one quote from it,

"...for repentance being properly understood it will better appear how a man is justified freely by faith alone, and yet that holiness of life, real holiness, as it is called, is inseparable from the free imputation of righteousness, viz. that we are not without good works, and yet that we are accounted righteous without works." (3.3.1)

In other words, we are justified by faith alone, which faith is not alone in the person justified. This is basic to life in Christ's kingdom. Without justification by faith alone, we have no peace or joy. Without holiness of life coming with that faith, we have no righteousness. 

"For the kingdom of God is…a matter…of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit." ~Romans 14:17

The Importance of the Visible Church

The organized, visible Church is looked down upon by most people today. Especially in America, individualism has infiltrated our thinking, and the Church has suffered for it. While this is not a new problem for us, recent years have seen a greater move from fracturing the Church to simply leaving it. The younger generations especially are seeing the hypocrisy of the Church and want nothing to do with it. It is considered a burden and a waste of time. In some respects they are right. The Church is in a sad state today. Nevertheless, it is not going to get any better by our abandoning of it. The Bible puts a great deal of importance upon the Church, including its visible aspects, and must have its reasons for doing so. When we see it for what it truly is, it is clear that the visible Church is vitally important and should be enthusiastically embraced by the believer.

The Church is not a voluntary society created by men but is created and maintained by Christ its Head. As the Head of the Church, Christ organizes and directs its workings. He sets up its government in His word, and it cannot operate apart from His commands; it is subject to Christ in everything (Eph. 5:23-24). The place of the Church cannot be taken by any other institution, but it has been given certain authority that it wields on behalf of its Head. Moreover, Christ not only organizes the Church, but also gives it life and ability. As Paul explains,

“we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love” (Eph. 4:15-16).

This body which is mentioned here is visible, with pastors and baptism (Eph. 4:5, 11). It is Christ that gives His Spirit to His people so that they may believe in Him and minister to one another. This union that the Church has with Christ is not merely theoretical, but real and living. “An organic and Spirit-produced relationship exists between Christ and His Church, more intimate than that of a husband and wife, and more complete than that of the head and the body” (Morecraft, 382). How dare we think lightly of the Church when Christ nourishes it with this special care? If we are to be built up in love, we must be in the Church, because the Church is where Christ gives life and growth.

Not only is Christ the Head of the Church, but the Church is His body. If we have union with our Head, we must have communion with His body. We are renewed by Christ into this communion. Our gifts, which are given by the one Holy Spirit, are meant for the body. They have little or no use besides. As a church we are “the body of Christ” and are each “individually members of it” (1 Cor. 12:27). We all need one another. “The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I have no need of you,’ nor again the head to the feet, ‘I have no need of you’” (1 Cor. 12:21). These gifts covers all sorts of needs, spiritual and material. To abandon this body of visible believers is an amputation of Christ’s body. Instead we ought to use the gifts that Christ has purchased for us by His humiliation and ascension (Eph. 4:8-9). When we use what Christ has given us in the Church, then the body will be “joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped” (Eph. 4:16). It is when we are equipped by the gifts of the visible leadership that Christ has ordained in the Church, that we will “attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Eph. 4:12-13).

This visible leadership of the Church is instituted by God with real authority and power. The elders of the church have a duty to teach and preach the Word and guard it from falsehood. We are not left completely to ourselves to learn God’s Word, but have been given the ministry of the Church to teach us. Right after describing the officers of the Church, Paul declares that the Church is “a pillar and buttress of the truth” (1 Tim. 3:15). He also exhorts Titus to “teach what accords with sound doctrine” and to “exhort and rebuke with all authority. Let no one disregard you” (Titus 2:1, 15). The elders of the Church in council also have valuable authority. In Acts 15 the Jerusalem council takes up a problem and renders a decision, one that was reached by the council and “the Holy Spirit” and lays down a “burden” upon the Church. The preaching of the Church is also vital. It is in the preaching of those sent by Christ for that purpose that Christ is heard (Rom. 10:14-16). Preaching is the “power of God” to those who are being saved, and God is pleased to save those who believe through preaching (1 Cor. 1:18, 21). Christ calls specific men to preach His Word. He started with the Apostles (Mark 3:14, 2 Tim. 1:11), and continues to call preachers for, and by, His Church in our time (1 Tim. 4:11-16, 2 Tim. 1:6, 2:2). While the individual Christian does benefit much from his own study of Scripture, he ought not ignore God’s ordained preachers and teachers of His Word, through whom God works in His people.

The elders of the Church also have authority concerning the sacraments of the Church. The Church’s mission of discipleship is not only accomplished by teaching, but also by baptizing (Matt. 28:19). This Christ-ordained baptism is very connected to the visible aspect of the Church because we are baptized into a body of visible believers (1 Cor. 12:12). When Peter says in Acts 2:38, “Repent and be baptized every one of you...and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” we not only see that baptism is commanded, but also that baptism is connected with this “gift of the Holy Spirit.” As we have discussed above, the Spirit unifies us to Christ and His redemption and thus also to Christ’s people, His Church. Thus the close connection between “one body and one Spirit” and “one baptism” (Eph. 4:4-5). And not only is baptism a bond of union with Christ and His Church, but the Lord’s Supper is as well.

“The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread” (1 Cor. 10:16-17).

Our communion with Christ in the Lord’s Supper is affected by our relations with others in the Church (1 Cor. 11:17-34). Thus the Church has a duty to guard the Lord’s Supper against those who would corrupt the Church. If a church does not judge and purge the evil person from itself and its communion, Christ will judge that church (1 Cor. 5, 11:31-32). The Church has authority from Christ to define the membership of Christ’s body, out of which there is no ordinary forgiveness (Matt. 16:19, 18:17-20, John 20:21-23). And to voluntarily seek Christ apart from His visible people and communion is to excommunicate one’s self. As The Catechism of the Church of Geneva says concerning the sacraments of the Church,

“M. Were any one to despise the use of them, in what light should it be regarded? S. As an indirect denial of Christ. Assuredly such a person, inasmuch as he deigns not to confess himself a Christian, deserves not to be classed among Christians” (Q. 363). 

With this discussion of the importance of the Church it is easy to become too inwardly focused. The Church is not important merely for the sake of Church members, but also for the sake of the world. Its visible purity and unity is not only for avoiding the judgement of Christ, but also so that it might be a bright light to the world. Christ prayed to the Father that those who believe in Him may be one “so that the world may believe that you have sent me” (John 17:20). Because Christ is the light for the Gentiles (Luke 2:32), so also is His people, that they “may bring salvation to the ends of the earth” (Acts 13:47). As prophesied in Isaiah 2:1-5, the nations will learn the ways and law of the Lord from the Church and will walk by its light (Rev. 21:24). From the Church we will see “the whole Word of God going out as the universal principle of righteousness, encouraging prosperity and peace in the world” (Gentry, Lecture 5). While we each ought to faithfully serve God and bear witness to the gospel, we do that as individuals and families who are members of the Church and who bear good witness, in part, by loving one another as the Church.

When considering the “Great Commission” of Matthew 28:18-20 we ought to pay attention to the thing upon which Christ bases the commission: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore...” In Christ’s resurrection and ascension, the Father “put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church” (Eph. 1:22). All things, then, are subservient to Christ and His purposes. He cares for His Church and directs all things for its good and the good of its members. His enemies and the enemies of His Church shall be shattered (Ps. 2, 110). It is the Church that Christ said He would build and “the gates of hell shall not prevail against” (Matt. 16:18). This is also how Christ ends the Great Commission, “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matt. 28:20). Because Christ has all authority, and because He will not abandon us, we may work in hope of victory for Christ and His Church and Kingdom. “With the power and authority of Christ the King behind the command, and with the outcome resting in His hands, ultimate failure is not possible” (Mathison, 116). Why would one not embrace the Church when Christ’s universal authority over the world is for its sake and victory?

The Church in its visible manifestation is dear to the believer. As 1 John 4:20 points out, how can any man love God whom he has not seen if he does not love his brother whom he has seen? It cannot be. Because we love Christ, we love the Church He died for. We love the Church because it is Christ’s body. We love the Church because it is where Christ has established His Word and sacraments, by which, through the Spirit’s work, we are bound tightly to Him and His people. We love the Church because we understand that its purpose is beyond itself. It seeks the dominion of Christ’s Kingdom in all areas of life, in all the world, and in this mission Christ promises protection and victory. As John Calvin said concerning the “visible church,”

“let us learn, from her single title of Mother, how useful, nay, how necessary the knowledge of her is, since there is no other means of entering into life unless she conceive us in the womb and give us birth, unless she nourish us at her breasts, and, in short, keep us under her charge and government, until, divested of mortal flesh, we become like the angels” (Institutes, 674).

Thus may we live in constant union with Christ and His Church, always seeking the Church’s good and building up one another in love. May we hold on to one another with tenacity and fervor. May we ever submit to one another, not letting difficulties and trials separate us, but ever growing up together in Christ.

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Calvin, John The Catechism of the Church of Geneva. http://www.reformed.org/documents/calvin/geneva_catachism/geneva_catachism.html
Calvin, John Institutes of the Christian Religion. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2008.
Gentry, Dr. Kenneth. “Lecture 05” SYS 106 Christian Doctrine III. Lakeland, FL: Whitefield,
2008.
Mathison, Keith A. Postmillennialism. Phillipsburg, New Jersey: P&R Publishing, 1999.
Morecraft, Dr. Joseph C. Authentic Christianity, Vol. 2. Powder Springs, GA: Minkoff Family; American Vision, 2009.
The Holy Bible (ESV). Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2003.