Bulletin for November 17, 2024

In Adam, All Die

Q. 15. What was the sin whereby our first parents fell from the estate wherein they were created?
A. The sin whereby our first parents fell from the estate wherein they were created was their eating the forbidden fruit.

Q. 16. Did all mankind fall in Adam’s first transgression?
A. The covenant being made with Adam, not only for himself, but for his posterity; all mankind, descending from him by ordinary generation, sinned in him, and fell with him, in his first transgression.

Last week, we talked about the nature of sin. Remember that sin doesn’t consist in merely singular acts; it also includes any non-conformity to God’s law. The Children’s Catechism summarizes this well:

Q. 29. What is meant by want of conformity?
A. Not being or doing what God requires.

This is important as we consider what question 16 of the Shorter Catechism is saying.

First, the catechism tells us that the covenant of works or life was not made not only with Adam, but with all of humanity after him. Adam was our covenant head, our representative and mediator, in the covenant of works. Romans 5 is the clearest statement of this principle.

“Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man [Adam], and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned.” (Rom 5:12)

Adam, standing in as the representative head of all people, sinned for all people, bringing all his children under the judgment of God. Later, we’ll unpack this in more detail, but this is what we call original sin.

It’s a common error to think that we’re born in a morally neutral state, like Adam in the garden. Some preachers say that children are born sinless and remain that way, until they commit their first intentional sin, but this is unbiblical. Remember the definition of sin includes not only acts, but states. To use the analogy of the forest path again, because of Adam’s first sin, we are all born off the track. And, as Paul points out, the evidence of this fact, the innate sinfulness of all human beings, is that all die. God is just, and he only extends judgment to those who deserve it. But, sad as it may be, young children sometimes die, and this is evidence that they are under the judgment of God.

This is part of the reason we baptize the children of believers. The Children’s Catechism is helpful here as well:

Q. 130. Why should infants be baptized?
A. Because they have a sinful nature and need a Savior.

Of course, when we lose children to death, we have confidence that they are in the arms of Christ, but that’s not because they’re sinless, instead, they are like all people. Our Confession of Faith summarizes:

Elect infants, dying in infancy, are regenerated, and saved by Christ, through the Spirit, who worketh when, and where, and how he pleaseth: so also are all other elect persons who are incapable of being outwardly called by the ministry of the Word. (WCF 10.3)

The point is this: the Word of God is true when it says,

“For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith.” (Rom 3:22-25)

Either you are in Adam and subject to death, or you are in Christ and given the gift of eternal life. There is no distinction. There is neither Jew for Greek, slave nor free, male and female, but we are all one in Christ Jesus.

Updates

1. As of today (Thursday), we have packed 63 Operation Christmas Child boxes! If you’ve packed your own boxes, please bring them Sunday so we can pray for all them in worship. I’ll also have a link for additional online boxes shortly.

2. Next Sunday, we’ll be having communion in the morning with Rev. Ron Pierce, and then we’ll host the community Thanksgiving service at 5 PM. Be preparing for communion, and be prepared to be good hosts for our community!

3. Don’t forget the congregational meeting scheduled for December 8th.

Your friend in Christ,
Reid

Bulletin for November 10, 2024

What is Sin?

In the last question, we began working on the topic of sin. But before we move on, we need a definition of sin.

Q. 14. What is sin?
A. Sin is any want of conformity unto, or transgression of, the law of God.

Let’s work through this backwards. First, we see that sin is defined in terms of the law of God. Beginning in question 39, the catechism goes into great detail about the law, but for now, we can simply say that the law is both a reflection of God’s own holiness and his requirements for men. These are summarized in the Ten Commandments, but Jesus summarizes them even more into the laws of love: we are to love God and love neighbor. So sin is what happens when we live in a way contrary to the law.

That can happen in two ways. One way is transgression. This is drawn straight from 1 John 3:4, which says, “Sin is the transgression of the law.” To transgress means to go across something. In this case, transgression is walking across the law. Imagine you’re following a trail through the woods. If you decide to walk off the trail and start carving your own path, you have transgressed the trail. In the same way, when we transgress God’s law, we leave his marked out path of righteousness.

But when you leave the path, while that is a singular action, it puts you in a different state. This is lack of conformity. If you wander off into the woods, each additional step takes you further and further away from where you’re supposed to be. While you’re wandering through the woods, you remain out of conformity with the path. When we transgress God’s law, we find ourselves not only doing something wrong, but being something wrong. We remain in sin until we return to God’s path.

So sin is when we are not being or doing what God commands. Repentance from sin is returning to the law of God, stepping back onto his path. As we continue in the next few questions, we’ll learn about how we got off the path in the first place, the origin of sin.

Updates

1. Wednesday’s prayer meeting was fantastic, and the children packed a whole lot of Operation Christmas Child boxes! If you missed either of those things, we’ll be back at it this week, so be sure to join us!

2. Next week, our youth membership class meets Friday evening and Saturday morning. If you haven’t already, let me know if your child will be joining us.

3. Mark your calendars for the congregational meeting on December 8th.

Your friend in Christ,
Reid

Bulletin for November 3, 2024

Christianity in Public

Melchior Hofmann, an increasingly popular Anabaptist lay preacher, arrived in the bustling city of Strasbourg in 1533. He had received a vision from God and was coming to preach his vision to the people there. He and his followers believed that Strasbourg was the city where Jesus would return to establish his kingdom, and they wanted to be there when it happened. Hofmann began to prophesy that he would soon be imprisoned and that six months later, Jesus would come again. The followers of God would then be asked to take up arms to defeat the forces of darkness!

Hofmann was promptly thrown in jail for preaching such revolutionary ideas, and his followers prepared for a fight. Six months passed. Nothing happened. “He must have simply gotten his calculations wrong!” they thought. Two of Hofmann’s followers, John Matthys and John of Leiden studied the issue and determined that Hofmann had simply gotten the wrong location. Jesus was returning to Muenster! They quickly gathered their things and headed to Muenster to make preparation for the return of Christ.

Soon after arriving there, the group managed to take total control of the city and expel the Catholic bishop, starting a war. Catholic armies quickly surrounded the city, and the Anabaptists in Muenster took up arms to defend God’s kingdom. John Matthys was killed in battle, and John of Leiden was declared king of “the New Jerusalem.” As food became harder to find, more and more of the people began to see visions and give prophecies. The new “king” decreed that polygamy was now allowed, following after the pattern of the Old Testament patriarchs. Abuse ran rampant. Soon enough, some of the citizens grew tired of the siege and opened the gates for the armies outside. Muenster fell back into the hands of the Catholic bishop, and Jesus did not return. “King” John was captured and executed, and his followers were faced with violent persecution.

In the aftermath, the Anabaptists were forced to reevaluate, and a new leader emerged, Menno Simons, father of the Mennonites. He believed that all oaths were sinful, and Mennonites were therefore barred from holding public office. Persecution faded, but the influence of the Mennonites did as well. In all but a few regions, the Anabaptists became quiet pacifists with little impact in the broader society.

Two Ditches to Avoid

The story of the Muenster and the Anabaptists offers us helpful instruction for how we ought to engage politically. Interestingly, the Anabaptists have historically fallen into two errors: they have attempted to impose Christianity by political and military might, and they have withdrawn from society so far that they have lost all their influence in the culture. In order to avoid falling into these ditches, we need a clear path forward. We need to learn how to engage our societies in a godly way so that the gospel can be proclaimed to every creature, and we need to understand how governments and political systems fit into God’s larger plan for the whole earth.

It Starts With You

I want to frame our discussion in terms of what you must do, what you may do, and what you may not do. This helps us distinguish between areas of law and areas of wisdom and determine how we ought to behave as Christians. Ultimately, you can only control your own actions, so we should seek to have those actions guided by the Word of God and the Holy Spirit. When dealing with politics, Christians need a biblical rudder to guide their actions in such a high tension environment. The Westminster Standards offer us some answers to this dilemma and give us a solid, biblical approach for engaging in politics.

What You Must Do (WCF 23.4)

The Westminster Confession of Faith identifies four duties the people have to the civil authorities.

1. Pray for the governing authorities. 2 Timothy 2:1-4 gives us two reasons for this. First, our goal should be to live peaceful and quiet lives. The civil government facilitates this in providing things like national defense and police forces. So we ought to pray that the governing authorities are successful in maintaining peace. Second, our ultimate goal should be that the gospel of Jesus Christ be received by all people. So we pray that the governing authorities would receive Christ and, in turn, create an environment where the gospel message can be freely proclaimed.

2. Honor the authorities. When Peter says, “Honor the emperor” (1 Pet. 2:17), he is making a connection to the value of civil offices. When we honor someone or something, we are recognizing that there is some value in that thing. But where does this value in the civil authorities come from? It comes from God! “[There] is no authority except from God… Therefore, whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed…” (Rom. 13:1-2).

3. Pay your dues. “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s” (Matt. 22:21). This verse is often used to demonstrate our need to pay our taxes, but it is actually far more expansive than that. Our confession says that we are to pay taxes “and whatever is owed them.” For example, in America, when men turn eighteen, they are required to register for the draft. This is something owed to the civil government that we are bound to honor.

4. Submit to all lawful orders. Note the word “lawful.” Remember, the authority of the government ultimately comes from God, so if the government commands something contrary to God’s commands, you are not obligated to submit. That being said, this is no license to rebel. In any instance where we feel compelled by God to disobey, we must be wholly convinced in our hearts and minds that we are doing the right thing. Christians, in an effort to honor their Savior, ought to be model citizens, honoring and serving the civil government in whatever ways it asks of us.

What You May Do (WCF 23.2)

Next, we are permitted, but not required, to accept and execute offices, given that we exercise those offices under the direction of God. Psalm 2:10-12 tells kings and rulers to “serve the LORD with fear” and to “kiss the Son.” If this is the command to rulers generally, how much more does it apply to Christian rulers? Also, we must acknowledge that citizenship is an office. Historically, it is a unique privilege to be afforded citizenship, and it carries with it the responsibilities that God places on every political office.

Today, many make the claim that our personal faith should play any role in the public sphere, but this totally misses the point of our faith. As a Christian, I belong to Christ, and not just on Sunday morning. Christ owns all of me. When we enter public life, when we accept civil offices, we must give those to Christ just as we offer our whole lives to him (Rom. 12:1-2). This means that we have the same zeal for the gospel and God-honoring ethics in public as we do in private. This also means that we are required to execute public in accordance with God’s prescription, by honoring those who do good and punishing those who do evil (1 Pet. 2:14).

What You May Not Do (WLC 128)

Larger Catechism 128 gives us several “sins of inferiors against their superiors.” So these apply not only to civil authorities, but also to all authorities that God has placed over us. So what may we not do? You may not (1) neglect your duties, (2) rebel, (3) curse or mock. You’ll notice that these are mostly just negations of what we must do.

The opposite of paying your dues is neglecting your duties. When the civil authorities require something lawful and we fail to do it, we are in sin and dishonoring God. The government is God’s servant “for your good” (Rom. 13:4), so when what they require aligns with what God requires, your duty is obedience.

The opposite of submission is rebellion. Paul calls the civil authorities “ministers of God” (Rom. 13:6). They bear his authority. When we submit to our rulers, we are ultimately submitting to God. Therefore, when we rebel against our rulers, we rebel against God. This is a very dangerous place to be.

The opposite of honor is cursing. Perhaps, of all of these things, cursing and mocking is the easiest to do. In fact, it’s becoming more and more common and even applauded in our culture. Politicians on both sides of the aisle engage in name calling and mocking and, yes, even cursing. In all of this, you may be tempted to join in, but understand that every human authority, besides bearing the image of God, is a minister of God for your good.

Also, if you choose to take on a public office, you are required to operate within God’s prescribed boundaries for the civil authorities. Public officials may not interfere with church government (2 Chr. 26:18). That is the realm of the elders (Eph. 4:11-12). Public officials may not hinder the worship of God in any way (2 Chr. 19:8-11).

What About Voting?

Now, you may be thinking, “Yeah, this is all great, but tell me who to vote for!” I understand the desire to get a straight answer, but I unfortunately can’t do that for you. I can, however, offer some advice. Kevin DeYoung describes four options for what you can do with your vote. Here they are:

1. Vote for the best candidate of all the candidates.
2. Vote for the best (or least bad) candidate of the two major parties.
3. Vote for the best candidate—of all the candidates, or of the two leading parties—so long as the candidate meets a certain threshold for character and ideology.
4. Vote in a way that you believe best advances the long-term interests of your policy goals and convictions.

Now, which course of action you take requires wisdom. We can’t just pick one of these options and make blanket application to every election. Local elections are different from statewide or national elections. School boards and judges have different jobs. Even where you live matters. The fact that we live in a solidly Republican state means we may vote differently from people in swing states. The important thing is that Christians walk into the voting booth with prayer on their lips and the Word of God on their hearts.

Updates

1. Prayer meeting starts this Wednesday, Nov. 6, at 6:30 PM! We’ll meet in the sanctuary while the kids start packing Operation Christmas Child boxes in the fellowship hall.

2. Our youth membership class is November 15-16. We’ll meet Friday afternoon and Saturday morning. If you haven’t talked to me about your child participating, let me know ASAP.

3. The community Thanksgiving service will be Sunday, November 25, at 5:00. Be ready to host our guests!

4. A congregational meeting is scheduled for Sunday, December 8, immediately following the worship service.

Your friend in Christ,
Reid

Bulletin for October 27, 2024

Innocence Lost

In the last question, we left off with Adam being placed in the covenant of works. God gave him some commands, and he was promised life if he fulfilled those commands. But we all know what happened next:

Q. 13. Did our first parents continue in the estate wherein they were created?
A. Our first parents, being left to the freedom of their own will, fell from the estate wherein they were created, by sinning against God.

Make note of the phrase “the estate wherein they were created.” This is drawing on a very old distinction (going back at least to Augustine) between the four estates of man. They’ll be unpacked as we work through the catechism, but here’s a quick summary to get you started.

1. The State of Innocence: Man is able not to sin.
2. The State of Sin: Man is not able to not sin.
3. The State of Grace: Man is able to sin and not to sin.
4. The State of Glory: Man is not able to sin.

Each of these states speaks to the degree of freedom the human will has at each point in redemption. Adam and Eve were in the state of innocence, which means that they were “left to the freedom of their own will.”

A frequent accusation that is thrown at Reformed or Calvinistic theology is that it denies free will. You may hear someone say, “You believe people are just robots.” But this is not true of Reformed theology (the Westminster Confession has a whole chapter on free will), and it’s certainly not biblical!

This is a very fine distinction, and it’s beyond our understanding, but we have to hold two things together. First, we can’t forget what we’ve already learned–that God decrees all things, including the Fall. God didn’t simply permit the Fall to happen; instead, the Fall is part of his eternal, divine plan for creation. At the same time, the Bible teaches that Adam and Eve alone were responsible for their sin. God gave them freedom of choice; they could obey or disobey. It’s not as if God put something in Adam that said, “You must eat of the forbidden fruit.” No, that decision belongs to Adam alone. Consider James 1:13…

“Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am being tempted by God,’ for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one.”

So when Adam was created he had perfect freedom to do good or evil, and he chose evil. Our situation, however, as a result of Adam’s decision, is different. Our freedom has been limited because of the Fall. But more on that in the coming questions.

Updates

1. Be sure to join us for our Reformation Youth Fellowship Sunday afternoon! We’ll have games from 3 to 6, then we’ll eat supper at 6 PM. (I got this wrong in the bulletin last week!)

2. Our Youth Membership class will be on the weekend of November 15-16. Don’t forget to let me know if your child will be joining us!

3. Remember to mark your calendars for our congregational meeting on December 8th.

Your friend in Christ,
Reid

Bulletin for October 20, 2024

The Covenant of Life

Q. 12. What special act of providence did God exercise toward man in the estate wherein he was created?
A. When God had created man, he entered into a covenant of life with him, upon condition of perfect obedience; forbidding him to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, upon pain of death.

At its most fundamental level, a covenant is an agreement between two parties. Throughout Scripture, covenant is the way that God interacts with his people. This is how the Westminster Confession of Faith summarizes it:

The distance between God and the creature is so great, that although reasonable creatures do owe obedience unto him as their Creator, yet they could never have any fruition of him as their blessedness and reward, but by some voluntary condescension on God’s part, which he hath been pleased to express by way of covenant. (WCF 7.1)

Previously, we talked about the Creator-creature distinction, and here we have one of its many implications. Because God and man are so different, there is no way for man to interact with God unless God meets us in the middle, and covenant is his prescribed way of doing that.

The very first covenant between God and man has taken many names. In the Shorter Catechism, it is called the covenant of life. More often, it is called the covenant of works. Even in his perfect state of innocence, Adam was unable to access God, so God immediately meets him in covenant from the very beginning. The word “covenant” never appears in the Genesis narrative, but Scripture elsewhere speaks of this relationship as a covenant (Hosea 6:7). In the Genesis story, we can also detect each part of a covenant: parties, stipulations, and blessings and curses. Consider Genesis 2:16-17.

And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

The two parties are God and man, but God is clearly in charge of the situation. Most of the time, when agreements are made, someone has the advantage in terms of strength, power, and authority. The covenant of life is no different. God is the sovereign here, and so he is the covenant initiator.

Next, we see stipulations, what Adam is required to do. God singles out the tree of the knowledge of good and evil from the rest of the trees and tells Adam not to eat it. But this specific command is just a sign of the whole of what Adam is expected to do. It’s not as if Adam can commit all sorts of other sins as long as he doesn’t touch the tree! So we say that perfect obedience is the standard, including obedience to this specific command.

Finally, there are blessing and curses associated with Adam’s obedience. The curse is laid out as death. If Adam disobeys, he will surely die. But one principle of Scripture interpretation is that whenever a promise is given, the opposite threat is implied, and vice versa. In other words, when God says Adam will die if he eats the forbidden fruit, he is also saying that Adam will not die if he does not. In fact, he will live forever.

One thing to notice is that Eve is not yet present when this covenant is made. This helps us understand the concept of covenant headship. In the garden, the covenant was not only made for Adam, but for all people in Adam. That’s one reason Eve was made from Adam’s rib instead of being individually created, because she was under the covenant headship of Adam. And since we are all descended from Adam, he is our covenant head as well. He is our representative before God.

As a result, in man’s natural state, he is born into this covenant of works. God requires all people in all places to be perfectly obedient to all his commands. The same promise of eternal life and curse of eternal death applies to us all. But as we know, Adam did not continue in obedience to God, and neither do we. But we’ll unpack that in the next questions!

Updates

1. Next week, we’ll be having our Reformation Day Youth Fellowship! Be sure to invite children and youth who may want to join us!

2. Starting November 6, our adult Bible study is going to transition into a weekly prayer meeting. If you haven’t been joining us for Bible study, this is a great opportunity to join in on our midweek fellowship.

3. The Session has scheduled a congregational meeting for Sunday, December 7. More details are forthcoming, but be sure to mark your calendars!

Your friend in Christ,
Reid

Bulletin for October 13, 2024

The Providence of God

Q. 11. What are God’s works of providence?
A. God’s works of providence are his most holy, wise and powerful preserving and governing all his creatures, and all their actions.

The Shorter Catechism here lists two actions of God directed toward two objects.

First, God preserves all things. We have a tendency to think like the scoffers in 2 Peter 3:4, who say “all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.” We take for granted the fact that the sun will rise, that the ground will hold our feet, and that our lungs will breathe. These are just facts of life; even the atheist believes them. But rarely do we ask the question, “Why?” Hebrews 1:3 gives us one answer:

[The Son] is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.

The Universe is held together by the word of Christ. There are some significant things to unpack there, but it suffices to say that the world only continues to exist, you only continue to exist, because Jesus says so. This becomes even more clear when we look at God’s judgments throughout Scripture. When God judges, he stops preserving; judgment is decreation. What happened when God judged the earth in Noah’s day? He removed the firmament that divided sea from sky, and he removed the land that divided the seas, and all flesh was destroyed. When God removes his preserving presence from humans, they lose their humanity and become like beasts (see Romans 1). Therefore, the inverse is true as well. When things are working the way we expect them to, it’s because God is holding them together by his grace.

Second, God governs all things. We talked about God’s decrees previously, but government is how a king executes his decrees. Just like a king has servants and officers, so does God. In Romans, Paul tells us that the civil government is God’s minister, and Jesus himself gave the apostles and their successors–church elders–the keys to the kingdom. He also places fathers as heads over households. In this way, God reigns and rules through appointed servants. But, at times, God also directly intervenes. When Sennacherib threatened King Hezekiah, God personally destroyed the Assyrian army without the help of any earthly servant. He caused the Sun to stop its course in the sky while the Israelites were in battle under Joshua. These are just a sampling of how God governs.

Finally, there is nothing outside of God’s providence. When the catechism uses the term “all creatures,” it’s just not referring to what we normally refer to creatures. It is talking about all created things. That includes men and angels, beasts and plants, and seas and mountains. Even Satan himself is under the control of God’s providence. The book of Job makes this clear. But Job also indicates that God is not merely in control over creatures generally; he is also in control of their specific actions. In Job 1:11, God sets clear boundaries on what Satan is and is not able to do.

In the past and even in our day, some have skewed this doctrine to make God seem tyrannical, but this is far from the truth. Remember that God providentially orders things so that they work together for the good of those who love God (Romans 8:28). God’s providence is not arbitrary; instead, it is most exemplified in his tender care for his people. God’s providence is why you are able to believe. It’s why the church of God is not crushed. It’s why we can have hope, even when we are oppressed from evil within and without.

A Word on Miracles

It’s worth mentioning that we often use the term “miracle” when we should really be talking about God’s providence. Strictly speaking, a miracle is something that God does against the laws of nature, and usually through a mediator. Their main purpose in Scripture is to confirm the authority of one who claims to speak for God. It may not seem like it, but if you pay attention, miracles in Scripture are exceedingly rare. Only a handful of people are able to perform them, and they are almost always prophets of God.

So to take one example, on July 13, 2024, when an assassin’s bullet narrowly missed the head of former President Trump, many were lauding it as a miracle. Now, I am not for a minute suggesting that God was not governing that situation. He most certainly was. Everyone and everything was under God’s governance. Everything that happened that day was determined before the foundation of the world and executed according to God’s plan. But was it a miracle? No. It doesn’t meet the standard. No laws of nature were violated, and no prophet of God was confirmed.

So I would simply urge you to consider how you use these words. I would love to see the word providence reappear in our Christian vocabulary because I think when we see how God’s providence is at work in these extraordinary situations, it helps us to see how God’s providence is at work in ordinary situations. Our God is alive and active in the world, and we ought to pray for eyes to see his work in all things.

If you want to read more about God’s providence, I highly recommend a look at Thomas Watson’s Body of Divinity. This book is an extended commentary on the Shorter Catechism, and on this question, he gives a superb explanation and application of this doctrine.

Updates

1. Don’t forget our fellowship lunch after worship this Sunday, and be sure to bring a dish to share!
2. Operation Christmas Child is coming up! See the note in the bulletin for more information.

Your friend in Christ,
Reid

Bulletin for October 6, 2024

Presbytery Updates

Last weekend, Madeleine and I attended the 31st Stated Meeting of the Gulf South Presbytery at Hope Church in San Antonio, TX. By far, the most important thing we did all weekend was examine three ministers for transfer into our Presbytery. First, I’ve made mention a few times of the planned church plant in Hattiesburg, and at this meeting, we received the church planter, Rev. Ro Taylor, from the PCA. He has spent several years serving in RUF ministries at various universities, most recently at Delta State, but now we have extended a church planting call to him. An installation service is scheduled for January at Covenant Presbyterian in Jackson, MS. We also interviewed two pastors coming to us from the Los Pinos Nuevos denomination in Cuba. (Our church is already connected with churches in Los Pinos Nuevos through Living Waters for the World.) Both men have over twenty-five years of pastoral experience, including teaching and training pastors in Reformed theology. Rev. Miquel Broche has been called as an Assistant Pastor at Hope Church in San Antonio, and his ministry will be focused on the Spanish speaking community there, especially the Cuban refugees who are already a part of Hope Church. Rev. Alfredo Forhans, previously the president of their seminary in Cuba, will be joining the EPC Church Planting Network team in their work.

How to Help Hurricane Helene Victims

There are several good organizations that have been mentioned in various channels this week, but I just want to highlight the EPC’s own efforts. In this video, Dean Weaver gives some information on what our churches are dealing with in North Carolina.

Click on the button below to go to the donate page.

This afternoon, we’re in Brookhaven for Madeleine’s brother’s wedding, but we are very excited to be back with you tomorrow!

Your friend in Christ,
Reid

Bulletin for September 29, 2024

Created in the Image of God

We dealt last week with creation generally. Now the catechism deals with the creation of man specifically.

Q. 10. How did God create man?
A. God created man male and female, after his own image, in knowledge, righteousness and holiness, with dominion over the creatures.

There are four basic propositions in this answer. First, man (that is, mankind or humanity) was created male and female. For most of human history this fact was obvious, but in our culture, this truth has come under attack. Our culture wants to dissolve gender differences, making men and women interchangeable, but the very nature of God’s creation makes this a futile effort.

In Genesis 2, we see Adam in a sad state. The first thing that God calls “not good” is Adam’s loneliness, so God sets out to make a “helper fit for him.” (Genesis 2:18). To call Eve a “helper” is not to diminish her, but in fact, to elevate her. In the Bible, nearly every other instance of the word help or helper is used in reference to God. Whenever man is insufficient for something, God provides help. In creation, Adam is insufficient for the task set out before him, so God sends help in the form of Eve. Eve fills up something lacking in Adam. She is also fit for him in a way that the moon is fit for the sun, the sea for the sky, and the land for the sea. Throughout the creation, God makes pairs, and man is no exception. Man and woman need each other to carry out God’s commission. This is true in marriage, but it’s also true in the church and in society generally. No sphere of human life, family or church or society, functions without men and women working in tandem.

Of course, this is a distinction in role, not value. As Matthew Henry notes that Eve was “not made out of his head to rule over him, nor out of his feet to be trampled upon by him, but out of his side to be equal with him, under his arm to be protected, and near his heart to be beloved.” In fact, if anything, woman is accounted more precious than man. Adam was created out the dust as the glory of God, but woman was created as the glory of man (1 Corinthians 11:7). She is the glory of the glory, the dust double refined.

The curse disrupts this pattern. Eve is told:

“Your desire shall be for your husband, but he shall rule over.” (Genesis 3:16)

The curse pits men and women against each other. Instead of coming together side-by-side, woman seeks to rule over man and man seeks to crush woman. Instead of working with another for greater glory, the curse degrades both men and women, blurring the distinction. As Christians, we are called to something higher. We are called to love and respect one another as in original creation. This means men ought to be men and women, women. Men are called to cherish women like the glory they are, and women are called to be a help to men because men are incomplete without women’s help!

Second, man is created after the image of God. The word for image is most commonly used in the Old Testament to refer to idols. These idols are intended to be representative of pagan gods. But the true God is not worshipped by these false images. Instead, he creates his own image to represent him; that image is mankind. (This, by the way, is one of the reasons both the early church and the Reformed churches oppose the making of images to represent God.)

Third, since man is created in God’s image, he shares in some of God’s attributes. Namely, he shares in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness. Historically, the image of God has been understood as our rationality and moral responsibility. Animals don’t think like we do. Humans can think in abstractions and produce things. That’s why you’ll never find animals writing books or building houses beyond the rudimentary. God as creator has endowed man with the ability to create after him. Animals also are not capable of sin. They don’t have moral responsibility. Humans do, and we are called to righteousness and holiness.

Finally, God created man in his image, sharing in his attributes, for a purpose: to have dominion. Throughout history, God has worked through mediators. Of course, at times, he intervenes directly, but he primarily calls men and women to rule over the world for him. Man is the vice-regent of God. The pinnacle of this is found in Christ, the God-man who is crowned the true king over all creation. That’s why Jesus leaves his Church with the Great Commission:

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20)

Since Christ has come, what does it mean to have dominion over the world, to reign with him (2 Tim 2:12)? It means we call all creatures into subjection, proclaiming the gospel to all who will hear. This is what the Church is for.

Updates

This weekend, I’ll be in San Antonio for our Gulf South Presbytery meeting. Please be in prayer as we consider how best to carry out God’s mission through home and foreign missions, and be sure to give a good welcome to Pastor Ron Pierce as he fills our pulpit this Lord’s Day!

Your friend in Christ,
Reid

Bulletin for September 22, 2024

The Work of Creation

Last week, we considered the decrees of God, his eternal plans for all things. Now we come to a natural follow-up:

Q. 8. How doth God execute his decrees?
A. God executeth his decrees in the works of creation and providence.

These two things, creation and providence, are distinct ways that God works, so the Catechism treats them separately. One way to think about it is that God starts things off in creation so that things move forward according to their natural processes. But in providence, God intervenes in the world to ensure that all things finish where they’re supposed to. Let’s start by looking at creation in detail.

Q.9. What is the work of creation?
A. The work of creation is God’s making all things of nothing, by the word of his power, in the space of six days, and all very good.

There are five propositions here. First, God made all things. In popular evolutionary theory, “things” (like trees and bird and us) were not distinctly made. Those who hold to this theory say that all life has a common biological ancestor. But Christians cannot affirm this for a variety of reasons. In Genesis 1, we see God making things “according to their kinds.” God created a plethora of distinct species, distinct things. The Bible is crystal clear on this:

“All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.” (John 1:3)

“For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities–all things were created through him and for him.” (Col 1:16)

Second, God made all things of nothing. The fancy term you may have heard is ex nihilo. When you and I make things, we have to use pre-existing materials. If you’re going to build a house you need wood and concrete. That’s how the laws of physics work: matter cannot be created or destroyed. But God is not like us. He didn’t create out of some primordial goop; instead, he simply brings things into existence. In some ways, the fact that God made all things proves this immediately. If God made all things, he also made the things that all things are made from!

Third, God created by the word of his power. Normally, when we make things, we use our hands. On occasion, we can make things with just our words (like speeches and marriages), but God is even beyond that. When we speak, words come out. But when God speaks, creation comes out. Even now, God is speaking through Christ, “upholding the universe by the word of his power.” God’s word also brings about new creation. When we are saved, it is by the Word of God calling us and creating faith in us (but we’re getting ahead of ourselves there).

Fourth, God created in the space of six days. There is obviously much debate about this, but I believe (along with the vast majority of the church down through the ages) that we’re talking about six literal, twenty-four hour days. Of course, God didn’t have to do this, but he had a purpose. The pattern of six days of work and one day of rest is built into creation for the good of man. As Jesus said, the Sabbath is for man, not man for the Sabbath. In God’s creation in six days, we already see God’s heart of love toward his creation in giving us rest. If you deny that God created in six days, you deny the basis for God’s gift of Sabbath.

Finally, God created all very good. In talking about creation, we can’t forget about God’s decrees. God’s work in all things is for his glory and our joy. Sin may mar the creation now, but it wasn’t that way from the start, and it won’t be that way in the end. That means that we can affirm the goodness of creation, even while sin reigns. Just as an artist’s painting is still good art despite years of wear and tear, God’s creation is still good while it awaits the day of restoration.

This reminds us that creation is going somewhere, just as we are. As the Apostle Paul says:

“For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.” (Rom 8:20-23)

This Week’s New Song

This week, we’ll start learning a new song, Psalm 100. This version of Psalm 100 comes from the 1650 Scottish Psalter and is the most common setting of the Psalm is churches around the world, but especially in Presbyterian churches. Be sure to listen and get ready to sing!

Your friend in Christ,
Reid

Bulletin for September 15, 2024

The Sweet Flower of Providence

Having discussed the nature and persons of God, we now move onto his works.

Q. 7. What are the decrees of God?
A. The decrees of God are his eternal purpose, according to the counsel of his will, whereby, for his own glory, he hath foreordained whatsoever comes to pass.

Q. 8. How doth God execute his decrees?
A. God executeth his decrees in the works of creation and providence.

The answer to question 7 draws heavily on Ephesians 1:11 which tells us that God “works all things according to the counsel of his will.” So let’s consider that text in detail.

First, Paul points to God’s work. The Greek word there is energeo from which we get our word energy. To work is to apply one’s energy or power to something. Some Bible translations say that God “works out” all things, but this doesn’t capture the meaning of the word well. God is not simply given a problem that he has to solve; he is actively engaged as the first cause of all things. This work is divided into three categories by the Shorter Catechism: foreordination, creation, and providence. We’ll consider creation and providence in the next few questions. But in foreordination, God voluntarily binds himself to carry out what he wills. This is the exactly what the divine decrees are: God’s commitment to execute his plan for creation.

That brings us to the phrase “all things.” Of course, that includes everything! God’s decree extends even to things like sparrows and the number of hairs on your head (Matthew 10:29-30). When a bird dies or when a hair falls out, it is because God has decreed it from before the foundation of the world and is now working out that decree. But the primary concern biblically is about how God’s decree effects salvation. In context, Ephesians 1:11 is about how God in complete control of our salvation: he has predestined/foreordained us to salvation. The inverse is also true (and this is a difficult pill to swallow for people today): God is also in complete control of reprobation. The Bible tells us that some are “destined” to fall (1 Peter 2:8), that the wicked are made for the day of trouble (Proverbs 16:4), and that God hardens the sinners for judgment (Romans 9:10-33). There is absolutely nothing, good, bad or in-between, that is outside of God’s control.

Finally, Ephesians 1:11 tells us that God works all things “according the counsel of his will.” The word “counsel” here refers to the plan of God. A lot of people think of God as a big version of us, and that he’s just playing with us like a toddler plays with his toys. But nothing could be further from the truth. God’s activity in the world isn’t random; it’s all going somewhere. There are two main things God is aiming at. First, Ephesians 1:12 tells us that God is working for his own glory. Second, in Romans 8:28, Paul uses almost an identical phrase as the one he uses in Ephesians:

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

In other words, God’s eternal purpose and plan for all creation is that believers would glorify God and enjoy him forever! God works all things for his glory and our good!

At the end of the day, although it is often difficult to understand, the doctrine of God’s divine decrees is intended to be a comfort and hope for Christians. Note how the Westminster Confession of Faith speaks of of this doctrine:

The doctrine of this high mystery of predestination is to be handled with special prudence and care, that men, attending the will of God revealed in his Word, and yielding obedience thereunto, may, from the certainty of their effectual vocation, be assured of their eternal election. So shall this doctrine afford matter of praise, reverence, and admiration of God; and of humility, diligence, and abundant consolation to all that sincerely obey the gospel. (WCF 3.8)

As one last closing remark, I encourage you to listen to or read this talk on the life of William Cowper. Cowper, a close friend of John Newton, lived a miserable life. He even spent time in an insane asylum. But in all of his struggles he took great comfort in the doctrine of God’s complete providence. This attitude is best encapsulated in his famous hymn, God Moves in a Mysterious Way. Here’s a sample:

Your friend in Christ,
Reid

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