The culture which rejects Almighty God must resort to listening to the voice of man. But the voice of man vacillates and wavers, whereas God’s Word is certain, true, and unchanging. Election Day is mankind’s pretense of letting the god known as “the will of the populace” speak. In a godless democracy, casting your vote becomes a sacred act.

As Christians, we reject any such notion. Instead, we should treat it like an important chore, like taking out the garbage. Christians should neither elevate voting to a revered act of religious piety, nor should we consider it pointless.

This Tuesday is Election Day, with a number of local/state matters on the ballot. As Christian citizens, it’s our task to defend our liberties not just in this civic activity, but by being a people whose consciences are free. 

Only those whose minds have been renewed by the grace of the Spirit will be able to think clearly at the ballot box. The mind corrupted by lust, greed, envy, racial enmity, or vanity won’t vote with clarity. Sin clouds the mind. Sin is self-delusion. Sin in the heart leads to sin in our legislation.

True civic duty isn’t confined to Election Day. Our culture is woefully in need of a people zealous for righteousness. Righteousness in public & private. Righteousness before all men & when no one’s watching. Righteousness in the town square & in the living room. Despising government overreach while regularly losing your temper with your family is a sure fire way to get more government overreach.

Your freedom isn’t secured by a constitution. It is founded on your standing before God. Are you washed clean by Christ? Have you come to Him with all your sin? Are you free because the Son has set you free? If so, go and vote with a clear conscience. If not, repent.

Contrary to the message we hear from the media, it is only a people whose God is the Lord which can be a truly free people. For in Christ alone is the remission of sins, the power for good works, and the clear standard for justice, peace, and truth. We must go to God for forgiveness for our individual and national sins. We have encoded sodomy, usury, abortion, and many instances of unjust weights and measures. We know that all these national sins have arisen from sin which the church tolerated first. May God grant us eyes to see where we have deluded ourselves with our own sin. Then we must trust Him to wash us clean as we confess our sins to Him and those we’ve wronged. We would strive to have our families, cities, and nation truly honor and glorify God, so may we implore our Father to grant us a true heart of contrition & repentance.

The Scriptures tell the story of God delivering His people from their sins, so that they might be at liberty to serve Him rightly. This deliverance always is preceded by God humbling His people. So humble yourselves before Him, and then hear His words of deliverance: Your sins are forgiven through Christ.

Ben Zornes – November 5, 2023

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Last week in my exhortation I extolled the efficacy of the Word of God and its centrality in the work of the Reformation. This was a reminder to all of us of our need to keep the Word at the center of our lives. Today I want to apply this high view of God’s Word to our Lord’s Day worship service, specifically the Word preached in the sermon.

When you gather on the Lord’s Day, you are not coming here as mere spectators, looking for free entertainment. The sermon isn’t a classroom lecture or some kind of talk you can find on YouTube.

Rather, you are coming to hear from the living God. For in His wisdom, God has called feeble and weak men, to be His very own mouthpieces, speaking His words to His people. We see this in Scripture when the Apostle Paul wrote that he and his co-laborers were “ambassadors for Christ” with God making His appeal to men through them (2 Cor. 5:20).

And so consider the sermon like this: When an ambassador relays accurately the word of a king, it is no less the word of the king even though it comes through the mouth of a messenger. And though the word of the king is mediated through a much inferior man, it still carries the authority of the king.

The message proclaimed each week to you by a minister of God is one of life for the dead. It is a message that reconciles the world to Christ. For it is an authoritative message from the very Word of God.

And so the Westminster Larger Catechism lists a number of duties for the listeners of the preached Word, which include receiving it as “the truth with faith, love, meekness, and readiness of mind, as the Word of God.”

Now I recognize that you won’t hear all the sermon, let alone understand or remember it. You are human. God made you that way and He knows your frame. And He has given many of you tiny distractions with mouths and legs.

But know that each week, the Lord is adding to the soil of your heart exactly what you need from His Word. And trust that out of that fertile soil, the Spirit of God will cause the fruit of righteousness to grow.

Shawn Paterson – November 5, 2023

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Looking back on all that had been done for the reformation of the church over the course of his ministry, Martin Luther had this to say: 

“I simply taught, preached, and wrote God’s Word; otherwise I did nothing. And while I slept, or drank Wittenberg beer with my friends, the Word so greatly weakened the papacy that no prince or emperor ever inflicted such losses upon it. I did nothing; the Word did everything.” 

In the fuller quotation, he also humbly calls himself a “poor stinking bag of maggots” – but that is beside my point. 

What I want us to consider this Reformation Sunday is this – what gave life to the Reformation? What renewed the church in Europe? Was it the genius of man? Was it mere politics or statecraft?

No, not at all. The Reformation was simply the result of the Word being freed to run wild and hit the hearts of men. This is because the Word is efficacious. The Word gives life. As Scripture testifies of itself, the Word is living and powerful (Rom. 1:16), able to save souls (Jas. 1:21), at work in those who believe (1 Thess. 2:13), and will not return void (Isa. 55:11). 

Isaiah said that the Word of God is like water which gives life to the earth (Isa. 55:10), David likened it to a lamp casting light upon the path (Ps. 119:105), Jeremiah compared it to a hammer that shatters rock (Jer. 23:29), and Paul called it the sword of the Spirit, able to pierce the innermost man (Eph. 6:17, Heb. 4:12). 

It was the Word spoken through Ezekiel that called the dry bones to life (Ezek. 37). And it was the Word spoken through the incarnate Word that called forth Lazarus from the tomb (Jn. 11:43). 

This is simply what the Word of God does. Ever since the beginning – when God spoke and light came forth (Gen. 1:3). And so on this Reformation Sunday, we are reminded of our need to keep the Word at the center of our lives. Let all that you do be according to the Word, and there, in families and in a community where the Word is received and believed, the Spirit of God promises to be at work again.

Shawn Paterson – October 29, 2023

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There is a magnetic pull, especially for men, to long for glory. The boy in the yard with his football imagines himself throwing the winning touchdown for the Super Bowl. This longing for glory doesn’t leave as we mature into manhood. Instead, it seeks it in academic degrees, promotions at work, esteem from colleagues, or a yacht collection.

Seeking for glory is not wrong. In fact, you were made for glory. The problem is that, due to sin, we seek glory in our shame. Glory is not found in the skyscrapers of the Tokyo business district, or in the halls of Congress, or in viral Social Media accounts. 

The Psalmist gives us the path to glory. He instructs us with this truth: “Surely [the Lord’s] salvation is nigh them that fear him; that glory may dwell in our land (Psa 85:9).” If you desire glory to dwell in the midst of our land it begins with the salvation that comes from bending the knee to Almighty God.

If your life has felt like a slog recently, and glory is the last thing you would describe your life as a good question to ask yourself is whether you are walking in the fear of the Lord. Have you allowed grumbling to be the undertone of your conversations? Have you allowed your contempt for others to bubble at a low simmer? Have you been rejoicing in evil, and resenting righteousness? Have you gotten good at hiding sin? Well then, glory will not dwell with you. It will elusively remain just past your fingertips.

Therefore, bend yourself before God. Bow before His every Word. Study to put all His commands into practice. Confess your sin. Forsake your evil ways. Break your vile habits over your knee. And then, know that the Lord’s glory shall rest in the land.

Ben Zornes – October 29, 2023

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Proverbs 15:4 says, “A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit.” As Christians we must bring our body under submission. The apostle Paul said, “I discipline my body and keep it under control.” We must do this with our hands, to the point of cutting them off if they cause us to sin. We must do this with our eyes, to the point of plucking them out if they cause us to sin. But the tongue is so unruly, that James says if you tame the tongue, then you are also able to keep the whole body in check. There is no shortage of ways to sin with the tongue. Do you gossip behind a person’s back? Do you talk down to people? Do you exalt yourself? Do you mutter under your breath? Do you keep your mouth open when you should be shutting it? Do you use it to revile the President of the United States? Ephesians 4 talks about coarse jesting; do you use it for that? All of these things break the spirit within a person. Listening to someone brag is not fruitful, and it’s certainly not fun to find out something that was said behind your back. So how do we combat this? A gentle tongue implies a tame tongue. There’s a wild beast in your mouth and it must be bridled. If you can focus on any part of yourself for spiritual growth, focus on your tongue. And if you can do that, then you’ll be in a position to build your brother up rather than tear him down.

Daniel Namahoe – October 29, 2023

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