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Romans 1: The Gospel for All the Nations (15:24)

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Introduction

The book of Romans is a first century, apostolic fund-raising letter, and the fact that it almost never strikes us this way simply demonstrates how divergent our practices are from the biblical practices. The apostle Paul was seeking to minister in Spain, and he wanted the help of the Roman church. As part of this, he determined to set before them a clear statement of the gospel as he preached it, so that they would know the nature of the ministry they were helping.

The Text

“Whensoever I take my journey into Spain, I will come to you: for I trust to see you in my journey, and to be brought on my way thitherward by you, if first I be somewhat filled with your company” (Rom. 15:24).

The Background to Romans

The letter to the Romans was likely written from Corinth in early A.D. 57. Although Paul was a Roman citizen (Acts 22:28), there is no record of him ever visiting Rome before this. The fact that he wanted to establish churches in Spain gave him the perfect opportunity to visit Rome, and to make the acquaintance of the Christians there. He had no desire to usurp the ministry of others, no desire to build on another man’s foundation.

The church in Rome was established in the capital city of the empire, and all the temptations you might expect came with that privilege. Paul was acutely aware of this, and he warns the Roman Christians of these temptations discretely but clearly. But he does so in a way that is woven together with his larger argument. There had been “visitors from Rome”present at Pentecost, and there had likely been a church there very early.

Priscilla and Aquila were part of this early Roman church, and Paul befriended them when the Jews were expelled from Rome under Claudius (c. A.D. 49). Suetonius (70 years later) said that it was because the Jews were constantly rioting at the instigation of a man named Chrestus, a variant Latin spelling of Christus. But if this referred to Christ, it would be odd for the Jews in Rome at the end of Acts not to know anything about this “sect” (Acts 28:22). At any rate, after the death of Claudius in A.D. 54, there was a thriving Jewish community in Rome, and when Paul wrote in 57, he could speak of the faith of the Roman church as a matter of universal knowledge. In short, Rome was a happening place.

An Overview of Romans

Most of Paul’s letters are responding to particular situations on the ground, and Paul is responding to them pastorally. Of necessity, this means that his teaching in the bulk of his letters is generally speaking ad hoc. In this letter, he does not have pastoral responsibility in Rome, and he is not responding to a crisis. Rather, he has the opportunity to go to Spain, and he is setting forth his gospel as clearly as he can. The result is that the book of Romans is far more systematic than most of his other writings.

In taking an overview of the book, we have to pass over a number of nooks and crannies, but we will address those as we proceed through the book. So take this as the broad overview, and remember that the original book did not have chapters and verses. In the first chapter, Paul shows that the nations are trapped in sin. But lest the Jews vaunt themselves, in the second chapter, he shows that they are under sin as well. In the third chapter, he summarizes by showing that Jew and Gentile are both in bondage to sin. Thus far we have a statement of the problem—the problem of universal sin that the gospel addresses.

In chapter four, he gives us an exegetical basis for justification by faith alone, found in the example of Abraham. In chapter five, we have more of a theological statement of the same truth.
Given that we are justified by faith alone, apart from works of the law, Paul turns (in a refutatio) to address a number of objections to his gospel. If we are justified by faith apart from the law, then doesn’t that mean that we get to sin up a storm? In chapter six, Paul answers no. If we are justified by faith apart from the law, then what was the law given for then? Paul answers that question in chapter seven.

In chapter eight, Paul begins his glorious discussion of the relationship of God’s sovereignty to God’s covenant promises and commitments. Chapter eight gives us a discussion of God’s commitment to the entire created order. Chapters nine through eleven describe God’s saving work within the covenant made with the Jews, and how the Gentiles were brought into that.

And then, in accord with his custom, Paul gives the Romans a series of ethical exhortations, all of which line up with the gospel that has been articulated. Chapter twelve addresses body life within the congregation. Chapter thirteen has to do with our relationship to the unbelieving civil order. Chapter fourteen concerns debates about questionable matters. Chapter fifteen addresses the subject of missions (and remember the purpose of the letter). And chapter sixteen largely consists of greetings and a few remaining exhortations.

The Gospel for All Nations

Evangelical Christians are accustomed to think of Romans as a tract outlining the way of individual salvation. This is certainly something that can (and should) be derived from this book, but it is important for us to note that Paul is proclaiming his gospel to the church at Rome, so that they would help him proclaim it to the region of Spain. The tribal nature of man is apparent throughout this entire book. It concerns individuals, of necessity, but we have to begin where Paul begins. “By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name” (Rom. 1:5).

You cannot talk about omelets without including eggs. But you can talk about eggs, and never get to the omelet. You cannot talk about nations without including men and women, boys and girls. But you can talk about men and women, boys and girls, and never get to the nations. This individualization is one of the devices that we use to keep the gospel from getting us into trouble.

As we study this book, we will discover that God’s plan of salvation is far greater than a simple plan to save Smith, if Smith believes. God loves the world, the Jews, the tribes, the cosmos, and fully intends to save all of it . . . and that includes Smith.

 

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Pomosexuality

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Introduction

As we look around us, we see nations and cultures in disarray. There are so many things going wrong, that is would be quite easy to despair. Where to start? What battles should we fight, and what should we let alone? This is itself quite an important issue, as Martin Luther once wisely noted. “If I profess, with the loudest voice and clearest exposition, every portion of the truth of God except precisely that little point which the world and the devil are at that moment attacking, I am not confessing Christ, however boldly I may be professing Christ. Where the battle rages there the loyalty of the soldier is proved, and to be steady on all the battle fields besides is mere flight and disgrace if he flinches at that point.”

The Text

“Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands. They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not: They have ears, but they hear not: noses have they, but they smell not: They have hands, but they handle not: feet have they, but they walk not: neither speak they through their throat. They that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them” (Ps. 115:4-8).

“But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Cor. 3:18).

Summary of the Texts

We have noted this principle from Scripture before, but it is necessary to state it again in order to make a particular application. We are seeking to understand the disintegration of the culture around us, and in order to do this rightly we have to keep coming back to the foundational principle. Worship drives and shapes all of human existence, and it does so according to this principle: you become like what you worship. Note this principle in our texts. The idolaters in Psalm 115 are worshiping idols that have mouths, but no ability to speak (v. 5). They have eyes, but are blind (v. 5). They have ears, but they are deaf (v. 6). Their noses don’t enable them to smell (v. 6). Their hands cannot handle, and their feet cannot walk (v. 7). Those who make these idols are just like these idols (v. 8). You become like what you worship.

In the other direction, with regard to salvation, we see the same thing. As we behold the glory of the Lord (which we do in worship), we are changed into the same image, from glory to glory. We become increasingly like what we worship (v. 18). Because we worship Jesus Christ, the true and final man, we are growing back up into our full humanity. The image of God is being restored in us by this means. At the coming of the Lord, the capstone of this process will be placed at the top of the living temple. We will become like Him, and why? Because we will see Him as He is (1 Jn. 3:2).

Malleable Worlds

Now what does this mean for the materialistic atheist, or for the new age neo-pagans? Both of these groups believe that ultimate reality is infinitely malleable. The materialist believes that matter is eternal and that, given enough time, anything can turn into anything else. In the beginning was an enormous amount of hydrogen, with lots of potential. This is what evolution is all about. Anything can morph into anything else. And for the neo-pagans (and the ancient ones too , the same basic process is occurring, just with a different explanatory mechanism. For Ovid, chaos gave birth to the gods, and they in turn shaped other stuff. And for the rest of his book Metamorphoses,

shape shifting was the order of the day. This is basic to the unbelieving mind. And it is the theological/religious explanation for all forms of gender bending, not to mention Michael Jackson’s face. People today genuinely believe that it is possible to “reinvent oneself.”

Confusion Below

Sexual boundaries follow the same kind of pattern. The revolt of our current generation against the triune God (who made heaven and earth) is a revolt in the direction of a pagan polytheism—multiple gods, multiple voices, multiple laws, and a general clamor out of which it is possible to select whatever suits him at the time. The political name for this is pluralism, and the philosophical and cultural name for it is postmodernism. Radically relativistic (whether it means to be or not), it has fallen off the cliff and cannot be prevented from eventually hitting the craggy rocks below—nihilism and despair. But while falling, a number of people have the temporary sensation of absolute freedom, and they seek to use that freedom in the creation and pursuit of various sexualities. And that is why we are now dealing with metrosexuals, sodomites, catamites, lesbians, virtual perverts, bisexuals, and transgendered individuals—not to mention the ecclesiastical variants, the lesbyterians. Sometime in the next ten years, look for more to push to the front of the line, all demanding societal respectability—pederasty and bestiality included. But because all this is a function of sexual postmodernism, we should simply call all of it pomosexuality. You cannot believe that ultimate reality is ultimately malleable, and yet not believe the world we live in is equally malleable.

And God Divided Everything

But in the world created by the triune God of Scripture, the boundaries don’t blur—like a watercolor left out in the rain. God divides, and He loves to call those divisions good. God created heaven and earth, which created the fundamental division between that which is God and that which is not God. The gulf there is an infinite one, and God called what was on the other side of the divide from Him good (Gen. ). Having done this much, God was on a roll, and He divided the sun and moon, the sea and dry land, the earth and sky, and He kept calling all of it good (Gen. 1:4,10, 18). And then, at the pinnacle of creation, male and female He created them, in the image of God He created them (Gen. 1:27). God made Adam into two, so that He could bring Adam and Eve back into one— with a richer unity this time, one that presupposes genuine division.

Worship Shapes Culture

If you want to be healthy, you should eat three good meals a day. This is generally true. But if you apply the rule when you are in the grip of the flu, all you are doing is giving yourself something to throw up. In this fallen world, should the laws reject pomosexual marriages, liaisons, and perverse unions? Of course. But should we fight the battle there when the general pattern of worship is given over to pagan assumptions? You are only giving the culture something to throw up. This does not mean that there is no Savior for our culture; it simply means that our culture is not that savior. It means further that our culture is the skid row bum needing to be saved. And so what should we do? Worship the Father in the power of the Spirit in the name of the Son.

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Post Tenebras Lux

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Introduction

The title of this message is a phrase that has been used to describe the great work of the Spirit in the Reformation, and that Latin phrase means “after darkness, light.” It is the purpose of this sermon to focus on one particular manifestation of that transformation, which was the musical transformation which occurred. Post silentium cantus. After silence, song.

The Texts

“And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Eph. 5:18-20).

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord” (Col. 3:16).

Summary of the Text

We too often assume that this phrase “with the Spirit” means that the Holy Spirit is the substance with which we are filled. A better rendition of this would be “by the Spirit,” meaning that the Holy Spirit is the agent who does the filling, not the substance with which we are filled. But if that is the case, then what are we to be filled with. The answer to this comes from the parallel passage in Colossians, which tells us that it is the word of Christ. Putting this together, we are to be filled with the word of Christ, an action performed by the Holy Spirit, and this has certain observable results which follow. What are they?

The command is to be filled with the word of Christ by the Spirit, and then this command is followed by a series of participles—speaking, teaching, admonishing, singing, making melody, giving thanks, and submitting. The structure would be something like this: Cook the turkey (imperative), keeping the oven at 350 degrees, basting as necessary, and removing when done. The imperative tells you what is to be done, and the participles describe the doing. In this case, we are told to be indwelt by the word, and to allow the Spirit to accomplish this. How do we allow the Spirit to accomplish t his? The answer is not limited to music, but the answer certainly begins with music.

Dwell in You Richly

The word of Christ is something that in its very nature is potent and pervasive. It will dwell in us richly unless we take active steps to prevent it from doing so. In order to remain unaffected, we have to develop some countermeasures, some workarounds, to keep God from messing with our lives. It is unfortunate, but many professing Christians do just this—and the opposite effect happens. That would be the real day the music dies.

The illustration may seem irreverent, but it is not intended that way. Picture the word of Christ in your life as a powerful and aromatic cheese. A workaround would be to wrap it in tin foil and put it in the back of your freezer. It is in your house, but it is not in your house richly. But if you bake a dish in your oven, using that cheese, the cheese is in your house, and it is in your house richly. What is that aroma? In these texts, it begins with the music.

Gospel Reformation

There are a number of things that go together here. We begin with the objectivity and truth of the gospel—it has to be the word of Christ, and not the words of human traditions, or the words of some idol. The imperative has to be observed. But at the same time, the imperative cannot be observed “raw,” with no participles following.

Jesus told us that we were to evaluate whether teachers were false or true by means of the fruit that followed their ministry. This is because an evil tree cannot bear good fruit, and a good tree cannot bear evil fruit (Matt. 7:16). In these texts, what accompanies the work of the Spirit in causing the word of Christ to dwell in us richly? The answer is pretty plain in the text—singing with grace, mutual submission, musical instruction, giving thanks, and singing in your heart to God.

A Little History

Measured by these criteria, the Reformation was clearly a glorious work of the Holy Spirit. It exhibits signs of His characteristic work everywhere, and in particular we see this in the music that came out of the Reformation.

Before the Reformation, there was a sharp divide between the clergy and the laity. The clergymen did all the worship work up front (sometimes behind a screen), and the laity gathered out in the nave of the sanctuary to watch and listen. One of the fundamental movements of the Reformation was that of reincorporating the laity back into the life of the Church. This was done in numerous areas—for example, in the government of the churches, the ruling elders meant that the laity was now included. But one of the biggest and most obvious transformations was the explosion of music, and the inclusion of the congregation. Words were made plain, and put in the vernacular. The melodies and settings were made accessible so that the average Christian could learn to sing them. The publication of psalters and hymnals was extremely widespread. The people found a voice again, were included in the worship of God again, and they used their voice to sing.

When You Say ‘Calvinist,’ They Say . . .?

How did you fill that sentence in? Was it with any words like music, thanks, or grateful submission? In the first century of the Reformation, at least, it was very much that way. But today, too many Calvinists or Reformed theology wonks are without musical soul. Their cry is “O for a thousand tongues to parse my great Redeemer’s decrees,” which doesn’t even scan or rhyme. When the Holy Spirit is present in a work or a movement, one of the first things that happens is a restoration of joy, and a restoration of joy in the music of the psalms. “Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms” (James 5:13).

Reformational Music

None of this means that the music floats in our midst mystically, or in a way that makes all the joys of earthly accomplishment moot. It is not the case that when Reformation arrives, the tone deaf will suddenly start finding their pitch. The thing that changes is the exuberance of heart attitude. The word of Christ dwells in us richly, and we enjoy the rough and tumble lessons that follow. When the Holy Spirit finds our hearts, we find our voice.

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The Hand of God, Wall Street, and You

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Introduction

When God shakes the nations, or we think He is about to shake the nations, He does so in order that we might return to the basics.

The Text

“But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work: (As it is written, He hath dispersed abroad; he hath given to the poor: his righteousness remaineth for ever. Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness;) Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God” (2 Cor. 9:6-11).

Summary of the Text

In this section of 2 Corinthians, the apostle Paul is outlining the basic laws of generosity. First, the one who sows sparingly will reap in the same way (v. 6). The one who sows bountifully will reap bountifully. This should proceed from an understanding of the way the world is (because it was made by God, and He is a certain way). This means that generosity should not be grudging or because it is required, because God loves cheerfulness in generosity (v. 7). However your financial future goes, it will never be the case that God leaves you without the means to be self- sufficient, and—this is key—to abound in every good work (v. 8). As Scripture says, God has dispersed abroad; He gives to the poor; His righteousness is not like the stock market (v. 9). God governs the world this way. He gives seed to the sower, and He gives bread to you, and the opportunity for you to multiply your seed sown—through generosity (v. 10). We are enriched through His goodness, and enabled to multiply, which in turn enables us to multiply thanksgiving to God (v. 11). And that summarizes how our life together should be—in flush times and in hard times. We must be a grateful people, and we must be an openhanded people.

Why Is This Happening?

Like the rest of our lives, our financial lives are governed by certain, fixed inexorable realities. God is not mocked, and if a man sows morning glory, he will reap morning glory. If a nation sows morning glory, they will reap morning glory. If financial markets sow leveraged stupidity, then they will reap leveraged stupidity. If giant corporations bet the farm in the hope that the laws of farming will not apply to them, then they will lose that farm. The first principle for us to remember is that this is God’s governance of the world. This is the way He does it, and as His people, we must stand back and say amen. The judge of the whole earth shall do right. It should delight us that He does what is right. Note in our text that His “righteousness remaineth forever.” Delighting in what the Lord has determined to do with us is not masochism. We know that this is a hard providence for many, and we are not without natural affection. But we know that we are a stupid and foolish race, and that there are times when we need hard providences to prevent us from destroying ourselves.

As Nebuchadnezzar knew, no one can stay the hand of God and ask what He is doing.

The Nature of Panic

When financial markets tumble, as they have in recent weeks, the panic is often driven by each person assuming that the disaster looms largest for them. In other words, they isolate and detach themselves from everybody else, assume that the worst will land on them (with whatever happens to others not really being relevant), and then they take (frenzied) steps accordingly. But in our text we see that, as we are called to life together, we will be equipped to weather this and other storms in koinonia fellowship. We are a community.

Near and Clear

We have previously studied the spiritual law that our duties, including our duties in the realm of generosity, are near and clear. And this is qualified, of course, by the recognition that “near” is not necessarily on your street, and that “clear” is not But the principle is that we must start where we live; we must start with our neighbor, which “neighbor” being defined as whatever person God has put in front of us.

Sufficiency for Every Good Work

If you lose your shirt, and you are sitting down to a meal of stewed carrots, and there are not very many of them, you need to remember that God has equipped you to abound for every good work. Now God adjusts according to scale, which means that if your only possession is that carrot stew, you are admirably situated to share your carrots. God sees this; He delights in it.

The Basic of Blessed Wealth Creation

When a believer gives of his substance, in imitation of the God who gives from His bounty, God has arranged the world in such a way that what he has given is treated as seed. If you did not know how crops worked, putting edible seed into the dirt would not seem to make much sense. But putting seed into the dirt is not to be done grudgingly, or of necessity—such a person is just following a formula by rote, and does not know how God delights to govern the world. And when you don’t know how God governs the world, it is perilously easy to lose sight of where you are in that world. Open-handed giving is the best way to have an open hand available when God wants to return to you. Having a tight, closed fist is the best way to have a tight, closed fist when God would be willing to bestow on you.

So Let Him Give

We are still in the early stages of this roller coaster ride. We do not know what will happen to global markets. We do not know what will happen to our stock market. We do not know what will happen to our auto industry, and so forth. We do not know. This means that we do not know where we will be in all this turmoil. At the same time, we can (and should) determine what kind of people we will be in all this turmoil. That means are two basic questions that we should settle in our hearts and minds. First, as individuals and in our families, will we respond to all this with a tighter first, hoarding and grasping? or will we be open-handed and generous? Second, will we navigate this difficult period as members of a community? Or will it be every man for himself, and devil take the hindmost?

Every man, as he purposeth in his heart, without being second-guessed by generosity nazis, should determine to overflow. You may not have much, but you can alway arrange to overflow with it.

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Psalm 50: Rite and Ritual

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Introduction

This is the first of twelve psalms ascribed to Asaph. Mostly likely this is the Asaph who lived at the same time as David (2 Chron. 29:30), although that name does appear later (2 Kings 18:18). This psalm is a wonderful illustration of how thoroughly the godly saints of the old covenant understood true worship.

The Text
“The mighty God, even the LORD, hath spoken, and called the earth from the rising of the sun unto the going down thereof. Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined. Our God shall come. . .” (Psalm 50:1-23).

Summary and Outline of the Text

According to theme, the psalm should be divided in this way. The first section represents the Lord summoning the entire earth to hear what He has to declare (vv. 1-6). This is a message for all men in all times—the times of the new covenant included. In the second section, He defines the sort of worship that is acceptable to Him (vv. 7-15), and closer to the point, the kind that is unacceptable to Him. The third section outlines the moral misbehavior of religious hypocrites (vv. 16-21). The conclusion then comes with a savage warning (v. 22) and is then followed up with a very gracious offer (v. 23).

The Lord speaks—the Hebrew has “El, Elohim, YHWH says . . .” The entire earth is summoned to come (v. 1). God shines out of Zion, His select city (v. 2). As God comes, a fire and tempest come with Him (v. 3). He will call heaven and earth as His witnesses in the judgment of His people (v. 4). He gathers His holy ones, those who have made covenant by means of true sacrifice (v. 5). The heavens will say amen to His righteous judgment (v. 6). Think on this.

When He comes in the fire and tempest, what does He say? Come, and listen up. I will testify against you (v. 7). They had not failed in the outward requirements (v. 8), and so that is not why they were reproved. God does not want our sacrificial animals (v. 9). He already has plenty of wild and domestic beasts (v. 10). He owns all the wild fowl and the beasts of the field already (v. 11). If God were hungry, He wouldn’t tell us about it (vv. 12-13). Offer thanksgiving to God (v. 14). Pay your vows, sincerely and from the heart (v. 14). Then God will deliver you in the day of trouble (v. 15).

But what does the showboating hypocrite do in worship? First, he declares God’s statutes, and takes God’s covenant into his mouth—and God doesn’t like it (v. 16). He knows the liturgy, and so therefore he hates true instruction (v. 17). He connives at theft (v. 18), consents to adultery (v. 18). He gives his mouth to evil and deceit (v. 19). He slander’s his own brother, a thing not to be borne (v. 20). On top of everything else, he misinterprets delayed judgment to mean no judgment, thinking God to be as fickle as he himself is (v. 21).

Those who forget God need to think about it because God will tear them into little bits (v. 22). But the one who praises God, and orders his life rightly, this person will see the salvation of God (v. 23).

The Great Summons

True worship begins with a right vision of who God is. Isaiah sees the Lord, high and lifted up. Moses saw the glory of the Lord on the mountain. The apostles called upon the one who had made the sea and sky and dry land. If you don’t start there, you have never started. When we look at the disparity between the “fire and tempest” and the complacency of many worshipers, the surprising thing is that more worshipers are not struck dead by lightning every Sunday. The mercies of God are remarkable. Note this: God summons (v. 1); God shines (v. 2); God comes

in tumult (v. 3); He calls heaven and earth to witness (v. 4); He gathers His true saints (v. 5); and the heavens declare His righteousness (v. 6). Now is it possible to talk about rites and liturgy. Anyone who moves straight to liturgics is a fool and a spiritual imbecile.

Rite and Ritual

In a remarkable turn of events, I believe this is the first time I have ever quoted Ambrose Bierce in two sermons running. That able lexicographer defined rite as “a religious or semi-religious ceremony fixed by law, precept or custom, with the essential oil of sincerity carefully squeezed out of it.” And as for ritualism, he said this: “A Dutch garden of God where He may walk in rectilinear freedom, keeping off the grass.” However much we might want to chafe under such definitions, Asaph would have grasped this point immediately.

God does not rebuke them for messing up on the externals (v. 8). Notice that God is bringing a case against them, an accusation (v. 7). The spiritually stupid think that God requires certain things of us because He somehow needs them, which is crazy (vv. 9-13). What does He really want? He wants gratitude and integrity (v. 14). If you have those, you may use a formal service to call upon God—and He will hear (v. 15). If you don’t have those, then save your breath for something else.

Whited Tombs

God asks the wicked why they came to think that He wanted them to talk about His word (v. 16). God never asked thieves, homos, or adulterers to become chancel prancers. Neither did He ask them to become covenant theologians. What is their problem? First, they are unteachable (v. 17). Second, they consent to thievery and adultery (v. 18). Third, they love to lie (v. 19). Fourth, they slander their own relatives (v. 20). And last, they reveal that they worship a god created in their own image (v. 21). Over all of it is a beautiful white robe and stole, like two inches of snow on a dung heap.

God Under Glass

The hypocritical liturgist believes that he has God under glass, God in a box, God under control. He knows the magic words, many of them in Latin. He knows the magic dance steps. He has flowing robes, and greetings in the market place. He loves religion, and all the trappings of religion, but he forgets God Himself. A man in such a position is in for a rude awakening. Like Belshazzar, he does not know what his cup contains until it is full and about to overflow. The only alternative is gratitude and thanksgiving, coupled with honest Christian living.

This Word For Us

We are involved in the work of liturgical reformation, and we thank God for it. But never forget God in the service of God, and never forget that the characteristic sin associated with this form of worship (over millennia) is going to magically disappear in our day.

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