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The Glory of Being (Biblical Sexuality Sunday 2023)

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INTRODUCTION

Last year Canada passed the C4 bill. It put churches and pastors in the crosshairs by penalizing attempts to confront or contest the GQBLT dogma. Similar legislation is being considered throughout the US and elsewhere. A group of Canadian pastors invited churches around the world to join them in setting aside this Sunday as both a formal protest of these rebellious laws, and an affirmation of Biblical Sexuality. Some might object and say that the pulpit isn’t the appropriate place for such a political topic. But the answer to that is that the pulpit is the battleground for all politics. For it’s here where we declare that Christ is King, His Word is truth, and we are summon all men everywhere to faith, repentance, and obedience.

THE TEXT

For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device. And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead (Act 17:28-31).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

The Apostle Paul, in his sermon to the Athenians on Mars’ Hill, has provoked them with rebuking their idolatry and superstition. He goes on to proclaim to them the Unknown God which they sought to appease. While their conscience bore witness to this God, Paul sets forth, in the plain words of the Gospel, the God they knew was there.

From this God we receive our life, live our life, and sustain our life (v28). Even the pagan poet Aratus could tell you that (v28). God has made us, not we ourselves (Ps. 100:3). This should make it plain that God isn’t found in our carvings. Whether those carvings were, like in ancient times, in the form of gold, marble, or wood, or in our own time in the form of plastic surgery, hormone treatments, and Instagram filters (v29).

Those who worship the creation are ignorant (literally agnostics). But God, in His patience, bore with mankind until the day His redeeming purposes had fully come; we now live in dawning of that day and all men are summoned to repentance (v30). The reason for this repentance is that God has appointed a day of worldwide judgement. God has appointed a man to sit as judge, presiding over this global judgement. The man ordained as God’s judge is the man who once died but God raised from the dead: Jesus (v31).

THE BODILY RESURRECTION

Notice Paul’s tactic. Rampant idolatry is confronted with the bodily resurrection of the Incarnate God. We live in a world which is governed by a man, a resurrected & glorified man. Christ is bodily at the Father’s right hand. This confronts modern idolaters with (at least) two problems.

First, it rebukes the escapist fantasies brought to us by the digital age (but whose taproot reaches further back into ancient mystery religions). Second, it reaffirms God’s creational decree that all He made was good, not icky as the gnostics imagined.

God declared His creation good; even after the first man shipwrecked the world by sin, God set about to rescue man & all creation from the wreckage. God saw all He’d made and it was very good. The resurrection is God repossessing His creation from Satan’s dominion, and restoring it to the creational good.

Idolaters want the world to be other than it is. They want a god of convenience. A god which holds up a mirror so man can admire himself. A world that is infinitely malleable to whatever whim or vice predominates. Modern ideas of sexuality & gender are nothing less than a reanimation of the corpse of ancient idolatries. The gods still lust for blood. The worshippers of sexual fulfillment as the greatest good carve themselves (and their unborn offspring) to appease these gods. Meanwhile, the priests of the pharmaceutical companies gladly line their pockets with the tribute of the devout.

The resurrection is the gavel summoning all mankind to live in the good world God made, and live in it as He made it.

THE WONDER OF MUNDANE

While the symptoms of our cultural idolatry are plain to see, underneath the skin the central corruption is that of ingratitude. Sheer, willful ingratitude.

The heavens declare God’s glory. The trees applaud their maker. The hills stand aside out of reverence for the approach of their Lord. Rocks would break forth in praise. The lightning & thunder provide the stage lights and the soundtrack for the divine drama, while the clouds are a celestial fog machine creating a show beyond anything Broadway can produce.

For all this, mankind has opted to not only complain that he wasn’t made some other way, but he has refused to note that his very being is a gift. This is what Paul is getting at in the text. God made us, and all things, and this should lead us to humble reverence before our Maker and Judge. It should lead us to see glory in patterns of the wood-grain & the galaxies, the wonder of microwaves, and the miracle of music.

The “there-ness” of creation is intended to lead us to bend the knee in worship, forsaking all idols, forsaking all manner of remaking the world according to our grasping lusts. Modern sexuality identity dogma insists on defiantly asking, “Why am I thus?” As Isaiah points out there is immense silliness in pots poising themselves as critics of the potters.

THE REBELLION RUNS DEEP

One avenue where Christians can make incursions against the gender madness which has possessed our culture is an appeal to the fifth commandment. Here is Paul’s recitation of it in Eph. 6:2 “Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise.”

The fifth commandment poses a real hurdle for those who would set about to redefine gender & sexuality while also trying to maintain any semblance of fidelity to Scripture. Notice what is presupposed in this commandment: male & female, covenantal union, and hierarchical duty.

These are the precise things which men, given over to their lusts, have laid siege to. Rebelling against the 1st & 2nd commandment will lead to breaking the 5th commandment. This commandment not only presupposes these vital creational truths, it forces us to either affirm that God’s law is holy, good, and wise and thus submit to both the explicit command and the implicit creational good, or else adopt the serpent’s line of questioning: did God really say?

This is why faith in the resurrected Christ, followed by Spirit-born obedience is a potent refutation of the lies which surround us. Faithful fathers and mothers, nurturing their children in the fear and admonition of the Lord, are a shield-wall against the madness. God made fathers, and mothers, and this is how we each came into being, by God’s decree. You didn’t come into being outside of the story, but as part of a long line of stories. Trying to live outside this story is to live in the madness of nightmares.

GOD MADE YOU

The application is this. God made you. And God made all things. Combat the lies by looking to the cross. There is a man. A male human. There He is bleeding. There He is enduring the wrath of God for all your damned idolatries, all your lusts, your puffed up pride, every bitter gripe, every sexual kink. He did it all to redeem the world. Including you. All of you.

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A Snake-Handling Church (Authentic Ministry #19)

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INTRODUCTION

When preachers preach about money, it is too often the case that they focus on how the rank-and-file believers ought to be handling their money. But if we follow the lead of Scripture, and especially Paul, we will find ourselves talking about how preachers ought to collect money. And how they ought not to.

THE TEXT

“And herein I give my advice: for this is expedient for you, who have begun before, not only to do, but also to be forward a year ago. Now therefore perform the doing of it; that as there was a readiness to will, so there may be a performance also out of that which ye have. For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not . . .” (2 Corinthians 8:10–24).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

Against the background of “get to, not got to,” Paul is now willing to give some advice on giving to the Corinthians, who had a year before indicated their eagerness to give (v. 10). As you were willing a year ago, now would be a good time to execute on that commitment (v. 11). Paul wants them to give from what they have (v. 11), and he lays down the principle—if there is a willing mind, God reckons the gift according to the resources available (v. 12). Remember the widow’s mites (Mark 12:42). Paul’s intention is not to burden them in order to ease others (v. 13). The principle is one of reciprocity—what goes around comes around. He wants their current abundance to be a blessing for the saints in Jerusalem, and another time it can run the other way. This is what Paul means by equality (v. 14). He then quotes Ex. 16:18, where in the gathering of the manna there was always enough (v. 15). Paul then returns to the eagerness of Titus to return to Corinth (v. 16). He was exhorted to go back to Corinth, but he didn’t require persuasion (v. 17). Paul then introduces two (unnamed) brothers. The first is a famous brother (v. 18), of great reputation among the churches, and elected by them to escort the gift to Jerusalem (v. 19). The reason is so that everything might be above reproach (v. 20), doing what is prudent and honest in the sight of both God and man (v. 21; Prov. 3:4). Paul then mentions a man we might call the “earnest brother.” Paul knew him, and apparently had selected him, but both men in v. 23 are called messengers (lit. apostles) of the churches, and so they both had official status. Paul then strongly commends all three men to the Corinthians (v. 23). This passage then concludes with Paul exhorting the Corinthians to show these men the proof of their love, and for them to vindicate Paul’s boasting on their behalf (v. 24).

THE MONEY TRAP

There is an old warning for Christian leaders that cautions them about the 3 G’s—glory, gold, and girls. This portion of 2 Corinthians is about the gold. A story is told of a time when Thomas Aquinas called upon the pope, and came in upon him when the pontiff was counting out a large sum of money. “You see,” the pope said, “the church can no longer say, ‘silver and gold have I none.’ Thomas replied, ‘True, holy Father, and neither can she now say, ‘Rise up and walk.’” The point here is not that mammon is an idol out in the world—everyone knows that. The point is that it is a snare within the church, and is particularly a snare for leaders within the church.

You cannot serve both God and mammon (Luke 16:13). Because of this teaching, we are told the Pharisees scorned Jesus because they were lovers of money (Luke 16:14). “For we are not, as so many, peddling the word of God; but as of sincerity, but as from God, we speak in the sight of God in Christ” (2 Corinthians 2:17, NKJV). Christian elders must not be covetous (1 Tim. 3:3; 2 Tim. 3:2). When Paul thanks the Philippians, he is careful to let them know that his desire for them is not grasping (Phil. 4:17). False teachers according to Peter are cursed children, with hearts “exercised with covetous practices” (2 Pet. 2:14). There is a certain kind of teacher who supposes that godliness is a means of financial gain (1 Tim. 6:5).

OUR RIGHT OT TALK ABOUT THIS

One of the abuses Paul had apparently been accused of by his adversaries at Corinth was the sin of fleecing the flock financially (see 12:14-18; 2:17; 7:2; 11:7-12). That is why he is at great pains to explain his financial precautions to the Corinthians. And as the great apostle has set us a good example in this, let me take this opportunity to do the same thing.

In the history of our congregation, we have never once passed the plate. The offering box is in the back, if you can find it. We present the offering during worship, but we do not gather it then. And you may have noticed that after the service the offering is counted, on the premises, by a team of men, not one man. When that offering is deposited in the bank by the church office, it is walked to the bank by a team of two staff members. The person who does our bookkeeping has no authority to cut checks. And so on. Now we do not do this because we are in a constant state of suspicion, but rather because—like Paul—we know that we live in a fallen world, and like Paul we want to do what is right in the sight of God and all men (v. 21).

A SNAKE-HANDLING CHURCH

There are two kinds of idols. One kind of idol is simply a false god, a carved piece of wood or stone that you bow down to, light candles or leave baskets of fruit in front of, and so on. This kind of idol must simply be toppled, in the most literal sense. But there is another kind of idol—where a legitimate part of your life assumes an importance it ought not to have. In this case, repentance means restoring that person or thing to their proper role. For example, Paul teaches us that covetousness is idolatry (Eph. 5:5; Col. 3:5), but after repentance, a man must still handle money. That means he must learn how.

Some misguided brethren have thought that the promise of Mark 16:18 means that handling rattlers ought to be incorporated into the liturgy. Although we do not agree with that interpretation, we are nevertheless a snake-handling church. We have an offering box in the back, and after the worship service men take it out and count it. Thus far, thanks to God, we have been spared.

THE GLORY OF CHRIST

The only way it is possible for this to happen is by the grace of God found in Christ. And when this happens, it happens in such a way as to magnify, not the church where it happens, but rather the reason it happens. Notice the phrase Paul uses to describe the team of three men who are coming to collect the offering at Corinth. What does he call them? He calls them “the glory of Christ” (v. 23). And that is what a worship service is all about, the presentation of the offering included. The whole thing is calculated to glorify Christ.

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Epiphany: Simeon (Profiles in Christmas #5)

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THE TEXT

And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. So he came by the Spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought in the Child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the law, he took Him up in his arms and blessed God and said:

“Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace,
According to Your word;
For my eyes have seen Your salvation
Which You have prepared before the face of all peoples,
A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles,
And the glory of Your people Israel.”

And Joseph and His mother marveled at those things which were spoken of Him. Then Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary His mother, “Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against (yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed” (Luke 2:25–35).

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State of the Church 2023

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INTRODUCTION

As you all know, it is our custom sometime around the first of the year to give a “state of the church” message. Sometimes it relates more to the condition and challenges of the national church, and other times the emphasis is more local. This year, for reasons that should become obvious, the observations and exhortations will be more local.

THE TEXTS

“But against any of the children of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue, against man or beast: that ye may know how that the Lord doth put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel” (Exodus 11:7).

“When a man’s ways please the Lord, He maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him” (Proverbs 16:7).

“And through the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were done among the people. And they were all with one accord in Solomon’s Porch. Yet none of the rest dared join them, but the people esteemed them highly” (Acts 5:12–13, NKJV).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXTS

I have selected three texts that all have a common theme. When the children of Israel departed from Egypt, they did so with the rank-and-file Egyptians respecting them highly. “And the Lord gave the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they lent unto them such things as they required. And they spoiled the Egyptians” (Exodus 12:36). Pharaoh was hostile to them, but others around him could see the bigger picture (Ex. 10:7).

Too many modern Christians believe that the Lord’s requirement to love our enemies somehow means that we are not supposed to have enemies. But a simple glance at Scripture (not to mention church history) should show this to be false. Nevertheless, the fact that we must have enemies does not mean that we must be perpetually belligerent. Just the opposite, if we believe ourselves to be under the Lord’s favor, then we should seek for that favor to grow and increase. One tell that this is happening is that the Lord grants a measure of stability, and even our enemies get tired of the hostility. And then last, right after Ananias and Sapphira were struck dead by the Lord for lying about their generosity (Acts 5:1-11), we are told that the attitude toward the Christians held by the general population was something that ran along the lines of whoa.

SUMMARY OF OUR SITUATION

For a number of complicated reasons, Moscow, Idaho has made a series of splashes. Something is going on here, and seemingly unrelated events are conspiring to turn it all into one big something. I am talking about Meet the Press, other international news organizations showing interest, the reach and influence of Canon+, the international news created by the horrific and sensational murders, the national controversy over Christian nationalism, and the fact that our disintegrating national culture has decided that the conflicts in our small town are a microcosmic representative of the larger chaos. That is where we are. Like it or not, that is where we are.

HOW SHALL WE THEN LIVE?

When we come to the realization that a bunch of people are staring, a natural question is “what are we supposed to be doing?” While I have a few specific suggestions for you, the main things we should be doing in this unique circumstance are all the things we should be doing in all the mundane circumstances. That is, worship the Lord—every Lord’s Day, come before His presence with singing (Ps. 100:2). Love your family and hang together with them (Josh. 24:15). Work hard at your vocation and seek to bless the city (Jer. 29:7). Use all the content that has been generated here over the decades as a force multiplier—do what it takes to get up to speed (1 Chron. 12:32).

And then just a few unique things . . .

  • The Moscow Police Department: It should be possible for you to pray for two distinct things at the same time. The first is that you be praying earnestly for their success in capturing the one responsible for the recent murders. This is the job that God has assigned to them. At the same time, you should also remember that they are currently being sued (rightly) by one of our deacons for an unlawful arrest, and in another suit (rightly) by one of our elders for a host of tangled and incompetent corruptions. You can pray that the extra scrutiny that has resulted from the murder cases might be used by God to bring about some much-needed reforms. Remember the spirit of this proverb: “Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth: Lest the Lord see it, and it displease him, and he turn away his wrath from him” (Prov. 24:17–18).
  • Don’t get conceited or giddy: The fact that God can work through insignificant people does not make them important or significant in their own name or in their own right. “For who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?” (1 Cor. 4:7). If God is just giving us Warhol’s fifteen minutes of fame, we shouldn’t be acting like we are a new Geneva. If we were to be privileged to be part of something like that, it won’t happen through us plumping it up. “For three things the earth is disquieted, and for four which it cannot bear: For a servant when he reigneth; And a fool when he is filled with meat; For an odious woman when she is married; And an handmaid that is heir to her mistress.” (Proverbs 30:21–23). In short, focus on your assigned duties, and don’t act like an idiot with a full tank of gas.

CHRIST BUILDS HIS KINGDOM

As we are engaged with all these different issues, with moving pieces everywhere, it is easy to find yourself chasing squirrels, all of which are faster than you. Let me return to the earlier point that we should keep the main thing as the main thing.

And worshiping is always the main thing, and it is something that cannot be approached or done apart from the mediatorial work of Jesus Christ. We gather here on the Lord’s Day in the name of Jesus Christ. And that is the name that has authority over every other name.

“Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

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State of the Church 2023 (CCD)

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INTRODUCTION

It is our custom to have this first sermon of the new year be a “State of the Church” address. To riff off of the Apostle Paul’s word to Timothy, “This is a good idea and worthy of all acceptation.”

THE TEXT

A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one’s birth.  It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart. Sorrow is better than laughter: for by thesadness of the countenance the heart is made better. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house ofmirth. It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise, than for a man to hear the song of fools. For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is thelaughter of the fool: this also is vanity. Surely oppression maketh a wise man mad; and a gift destroyeth the heart. Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof: and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit. Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger resteth in the bosom of fools. Say not thou, What is the cause that the former days were better than these? for thou dost not enquire wisely concerning this (Ecclesiastes 7:1-10).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

The Preacher gives us a diamond-mine of wisdom here. The main thrust of this passage is that we must live out our days with eternity in view. A good name isn’t established overnight, which is why you should live so that your eulogy will be full of faithfulness not just polite clichés (v1). This is why going to a funeral is better than going to the carnival; for wise men will be instructed to keep their own mortality in view (vv2-4). Godly sorrow is good for the heart (v3). Stern rebukes from the wise will do more for you than a Disney Musical, or a trending TikTok dance (v5).

Solomon offers a striking metaphor for the cackling laughter of fools, it is like burning up weeds; gone in a flash with no lasting warmth (v6). But in the heat of the moment, the wise might be tempted to forsake wisdom and “go mad” by playing by the rules of the fools; which is seen particularly in the practice of “bribery” (v7).

Thus, we are cautioned to keep the end in mind, not just the beginning, and this demands patience and long-suffering humility (v8). If follies prevail around us, we must not give way to a shrill anger or resentment, otherwise you’re setting out on a fool’s errand (v9). Pining nostalgia is not the course of the wise (v10). Instead, we must see that “God draws straight with crooked lines” (v13), and we must live like dying men (v14). Or as Sproul used to say, “Right now counts forever.”

BEGINNING WELL

In many respects we are a group marked by new beginnings. There are many new marriages, with (by the sound of things) a lot of new babies. Many of you are students just beginning your studies and preparing to establish careers and homes in the near future. This service is a new work of our church. And more broadly, our church community has a lot of new folks. There are new businesses and ventures all around us. New friendships. And new temptations in all these arenas.

The instruction from Solomon is that we should begin well by considering what it means to end well. You raise your children not to hold onto them well into adulthood, but to shoot them out like arrows to cut down the ranks of darkness. The parent who tries to grasp at their adult children will likely find the adult children less and less fond of coming around. The image of an aged miser comes to mind, counting his coins as a death-fit of coughing takes hold of him. He departs but all his accumulated wealth remains for his embittered inheritors to squabble over.

Too often, time turns people bitter and miserly, resentful over an accumulated horde of slights. The warning of Solomon here is to refrain from being hasty to anger. A parent can grow quick to blow up at a child when they aren’t obeying the command to clean up the legos, even after being told seventeen times. A new husband or wife can grow prickly because their spouse forgot to take out the garbage, or neglected some duty.

A church can grow full of spitefulness. He was asked to pray more times than me. She got thanked by the pastor for baking the treats, and I didn’t. Others got invited over to dinner, but we didn’t.

NOT A NOSTALGIA PROJECT

The other aspect is that God’s people, who are to walk in the Wisdom of the Word, can fall into the trap of laboring to recover some nostalgic version of their culture. But our task is not a backward looking project of simply being more “based” than our degenerate culture. Our task is that of Gospel dominion across nations, tribes, and tongues. Our task is bigger than recovering an American Golden Age. It is bringing America out its fever dream, and up into greater glories than the 1950s could have ever envisioned.

We live in a culture which is tangled up with all manner of godless doctrines. If we would establish a lasting work, we must begin by renewing our minds according to Scripture. Carl Trueman helpfully paints a picture of the maddened thinking we are confronting in our culture:

“Nietzsche’s thinking is reflected in current social attitudes: living for the present. When teleology is dead and self-creation is the name ofthe game, then the present moment and the pleasure it can contain become the keys to eternal life.”

“By Marx’s account, the family and the church exist to cultivate, reinforce, and perpetuate bourgeois values. In today’s world, this thinking helps explain why everything–from the Boy Scouts to Hollywood movies to cake baking–has become politicized. And one does not need to be an ideological Marxist to be pulled into this tussle, for once one side gives a particular issue or Organization political significance, then all sides, left, right, and center, have to do the same.”

A DOSE CHESTERTON

GK Chesterton can help us out on this point in particular. He points out that “progressivism” (even in his day) was really just a project in futility. This is because there was no fixed point which society was progressing towards. To quote the man himself: “Here comes in the whole collapse and huge blunder of our age. We have mixed up two different things, two opposite things. Progress should mean that we are always changing the world to suit the vision. Progress does mean (just now) that we are always changing the vision.”

The commission of the Church is this, in Chesterton’s words: “We see a certain thing out of shape, and we mean to put it into shape. And we know what shape.” That shape is that the things of Old, the truths of eternity, the mystery hid for ages and generations has been made manifest.

Our end goal is to tell the world the Old, Old Story about how all things will be made New in Christ. The duty of the Church is that Christ is King, and we must summon the World to get with the program. Not with the simmering anger of partisan fools, but, as the hymn puts it, “with deeds of love and mercy.”

NOW FOR US

We have had a wonderful beginning here at CCD. God has blessed us with a great facility. There is a zeal for good works in this group ofsaints. The saints here could be given high marks for hospitality and joyful fellowship.

These sort of virtues are the mortar which should bind together the living stones built on the Chief Cornerstone. But remember, our goal is to establish a work that will outlast any of us here, and remain faithful for generations by God’s grace.

To do that, we must heed Solomon’s wisdom. Do not let small gripes become big ones. Do not grow discouraged at the folly all around us in our culture. Don’t get flustered or shrill or  exasperated if the progress towards Christ’s total dominion on earth seems slow in coming. Do not measure success from a quick start, but from deep roots. It takes time for the leaven to cause the dough to rise.

This all must be done by being rooted and grounded in Christ. All of Christ for All of Life. That is the shape we are bending things to. It starts in you. Is Christ all to you? What about your home? How about here in the congregation of saints? The end of the matter is better than it’s beginning. And the end of it all will be Christ all in all.

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