Paul’s Farewell Address to the Ephesians
The secret to continuance in Christian service is found in serving others with transparency, diligence, and tears. It is also in recognizing the dangers that face us when we fill roles of leadership in the church. Most significantly, it is based on remembering that God has called us to serve those Jesus purchased with His own blood on the cross.
I had a mentor who once told me, “It’s easy to start something in ministry, but it is very difficult to follow it through to the end.” This is so very true. Many enter ministry service or projects without considering what it will cost to see it through to completion. This challenge was not something foreign to the apostle Paul. As he pressed on toward the end of his ministry, Paul told the elders that he had trained in Ephesus, “My purpose is to finish my course and the ministry I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of God’s grace” (Acts 20:24). Paul knew that it took resolve to finish the course and ministry he had received from the Lord.
Paul had spent three years in Ephesus. He had set up a theological training institute there. He had planted the church and he had put leaders in place to care for the people. As he readied himself to depart from there and to head to Jerusalem, in order to preach the gospel, Paul called the elders together and gave a farewell speech.
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Church and State − Not Church versus State
Written by Anthony J. DeBlasi |
Friday, September 3, 2021
What surprise can there be that churches have been shut down, burned, their icons wrecked, their congregants scattered, demonized, and persecuted, their leaders pressured to turn against their own religion and their own church? Could it possibly be that Christ and His church still, after 2000 years, are mortal enemies not of the state but of malfeasance at top levels of society and government? Is it why they were never excluded from public affairs by the founders of the United States of America?Whenever false liberals and allied progressives were cornered with the facts about their de facto subversion of Christianity (this was before “woke times”) they countered with egalitarian clichés like “who is to say” and “opinions are equal.” The Christians-in-Name-Only (CINOs) among them agreed. Now, from the ramparts of the wall they erected between church and state, “liberals,” “progressives,” and the fully brainwashed shoot down everyone who dares challenge their rant against Judeo-Christian teaching.
Christ spoke and the church was formed; so much for “who is to say” regarding Christianity. It was He and His apostles who had the say, meaning that whoever would be Christian either follow or not follow Christ and His church and accept the consequences of that choice. The teachings of Christ and His church are the backbones of Christianity, hence a firm Gospel for true Christians.
As for the notion that opinions are all equal, it must be pointed out that if all opinions were equal, no opinion would be worth taking seriously. Comparing the opinion of one who is addicted to drugs to the opinion of one who is unaddicted or comparing the opinion of a mentally ill person to that of a mentally well person indicates the flaw in the alleged equation. “Equality of opinions” is a fallacious notion. I touched on extreme cases to suggest the immense range of inequalities in judgment among people, including professionals and experts in their respective fields.
Big deal? In a democracy, where issues are settled by a vote of the majority, this is a huge deal. Cutting to the quick: Can a majority of voters be wrong? The honest answer, yes, resonates with Christians, remembering that a majority voted to crucify Christ.
The tendency of majoritarian rule toward mob rule by vote alerted America’s founders to configure a system of government that would make it hard for any faction to dominate and take control. The prerequisite for prior open and rigorous debate, followed by responsible action, was taken as self-evident. The “checks-and-balances” system of government crafted by the architects of the American government is intended to maximize cooperation and minimize selfish interests in the governance of the nation.
In a chronically wicked world, as proven over and over again in history, wisdom is not a luxury but a necessity. That is why morality must inform the conduct of government and why the founders of this nation did not exclude Providential wisdom from the conduct of government.
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There Are Arrogant Arguers among Us
I had posted a terrific meme about prayer on the social media. Who could get upset about that? Indeed, never in a million years would I have imagined that anyone could possibly take offence at it or want to pick a fight over it. Yet sure enough, that is just what happened.
Some folks just love to argue. It happens all the time, and it can result in a lot of bad outcomes. Yet sadly there are also people who claim to be Christians who are in this camp – they can be so very carnal and fleshly. We all have had to deal with them, and it is so grievous to see it happening.
For example, you can be sharing wonderful and powerful biblical truths and one of these folks will come along all bent out of shape, completely missing out on what the Spirit of God is seeking to achieve. One especially finds this on the social media.
One major form this carnality takes is that of bickering, arguing and quarrelling over biblical and theological matters. Some folks just seem to thrive on picking fights and starting arguments. Never mind all the biblical warnings against this, such as 1 Timothy 6:4.
There Paul says that we must avoid those who have “an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension…” Such folks need to be reminded “not to quarrel about words, which does no good, but only ruins the hearers” (2 Timothy 2:14).
And again: “Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful” (2 Timothy 2:23-24). Yet some believers seem to absolutely love to argue.
Just hours after I posted an article yesterday titled “You Might Not Be a Christian If…” I got someone on the social media saying something so silly and unedifying and so carnal that I could easily have added it to my article as another indication of where a person is at spiritually. I could have said this: ‘You might not be a Christian if want to start a war over a basic biblical truth.’
Another way of putting it would be this: ‘You might not be a Christian if while all others are spiritually blessed and encouraged, but you are not.’ Or this: ‘You might not be a Christian if you want to pick a theological fight over something that every other Christian is being fully blessed by.’
I have written on these sorts of things before, calling it an example of ‘leaning on the arm of flesh.’ Let’s say you are at church and a powerful and anointed sermon is being preached. Everyone there is being blessed and encouraged and spiritually ministered to. But one guy is sitting there all grumpy and ornery, missing out on what God is seeking to do and say.
He would rather find fault with something than let God’s Spirit speak to him and convict him. In that situation he is simply living in the flesh. He is being carnal, and not spiritual. At that point he is so far from where God wants him to be. Sadly I encounter folks like this far too often.
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Images of Christ, Part 3
Whether ministers recognize it or not, the reformed tradition has always seen the real correlation between superstition and idolatry and images of God’s being (for all persons of the trinity). Images of Christ are antithetical to what is at the heart of the reformed tradition which focuses on the audible rather than the visible. Portraying God via images is essentially pagan and the means by which the pagans worship their gods (Amos 5:5-27).
This is the third and final installment of this series. You can find part 1 here and part 2 here.
Having laid down the foundation for how allowing for images of Christ indeed strikes at the vitals of various reformed doctrines, let us consider some common objections:We do not use images in Lord’s Day worship but simply in teaching children. Answer. The second commandment of the Decalogue and the Standards do not forbid making images of Christ simply in public liturgy but rather the making of images of any kind (as it pertains God’s essence and any person).
I am not worshipping the image; it is simply about Christ in a pedagogical manner. Answer. All knowledge of Christ is unto the end of worship and doxology (Ephesians 1:3-18) and therefore, to learn of Christ pedagogically but not doxologically is not Christian pedagogy. Furthermore, the scriptures and confession not only forbid worshiping images, but also worshiping Christ in and by and through the image. In addition, if people truly do not worship the image of Christ why has it often been the case when such images are removed from nativity sets, windows, and other places on church property that people are deeply troubled, angered, divisive, and demanding that such images remain?
This logic leads to the rejection of the Christian arts. Answer. Christians are free to depict the Christian story, events, and concepts visibly; however, God’s being and essence are not to be visibly depicted. God commands His people to remember Him and His acts of redemption with stones and various visible monuments and yet condemns them for visibly portraying His essence.
This logic would make the incarnation impossible as the incarnation indeed makes Christ visible. Answer. God made His Son visible by His own prerogative and He never told anyone else to do the same or imitate Him.
Jesus took on flesh and so it is that we can physically portray Him. Answer. You do not know what He looks like therefore, such portrayals are idolatrous projections. Jesus is God and man in one flesh and portraying one nature and not the other truncates the hypostatic union.
Images are only for Children in their early years. Answer. The proverbs say that one is to raise up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it. If you train children in the way of images, then they will very likely not depart from knowing Christ through images. The thousands of adults in the visible church (reformed and all others) who have and use images attest to this.
In the OT God appeared visibly in various ways (fire, smoke, bushes, temple) and so it is that it is appropriate to portray God visibly. Answer. In all the visible manifestations of God His essence remains hidden. Notice how on Sinai and the temple, God’s naked essence is hidden in smoke. God’s visible manifestations portray His essence and being as hidden.Having considered the common objections and answered them, let us conclude with some further considerations and conclusions.
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