How Good It Is to Thank the Lord
How good it is to thank the Lord,
and praise to Thee, Most High, accord,
to show Thy love with morning light,
and tell Thy faithfulness each night;
yea, good it is Thy praise to sing,
and all our sweetest music bring.
O Lord, with joy my heart expands
before the wonders of Thy hands;
great works, Jehovah, Thou hast wrought,
exceeding deep Thine ev’ry thought;
a foolish man knows not their worth,
nor he whose mind is of the earth.
When as the grass the wicked grow,
when sinners flourish here below,
then is their endless ruin nigh,
but Thou, O Lord, are throned on high;
Thy foes shall fall before Thy might,
the wicked shall be put to flight.
Thou, Lord, hast high exalted me
With royal strength and dignity;
With Thine anointing I am blest,
They grace and favor on me rest;
I then exult o’er all my foes,
O’er all that would my cause oppose.
The righteous man shall flourish well,
And in the house of God shall dwell;
He shall be like a goodly tree,
And all his life shall fruitful be;
For righteous is the Lord and just,
He is my rock, in Him I trust.
– Ernest R. Kroeger, 1862–1934 –
(Based on Psalm 92, #179 in the Psalter, Tune: CHRISTINE)
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A Profile in Fortitude: Edmund Grindal
The name of Edmund Grindal does not immediately capture attention as a historically relevant figure, at least for most. Given the world in which we currently live, however, his relevance might well be increasing by the day.
Various dates are given for the birth of Edmund Grindal in St. Bees, England, but 1519 or 1520 is the usually accepted date.[1] As a young man he studied and advanced in Pembroke Hall, Cambridge, becoming president of his college in 1549.[2] He was ordained a deacon in 1544, at a time in which the Church of England was separate from Rome but not yet fully Protestant.[3] He would later express his sentiments for his ministry in the old church by saying, “I have said mass; I am sorry for it.”[4]
When the Reformation made greater in-roads into England during the reign of Edward VI (1547-1553), Grindal became a sincere Protestant. Heinrich Bullinger’s work De origine erroris had led him to embrace the Reformed doctrine of the Lord’s Supper somewhere around 1547.[5] Though Grindal never met Bullinger in person, he did become personally acquainted with the German Reformer Martin Bucer during Bucer’s final days as a professor at Cambridge. He was even one of Bucer’s pall bearers.[6] During the reign of Edward, Grindal also served in the church under the bishop of London and later Protestant martyr Nicholas Ridley. During the years when English Protestants were persecuted during the reign of Mary Tudor (1553-1558), he fled to continental Europe, to the city of Strasbourg, for refuge.
When Elizabeth ascended to the throne after the death of her half-sister Mary, Grindal and a host of other Protestant English exiles returned to their homeland and began occupying positions in the Elizabethan Church. Grindal himself laid aside his personal scruples about episcopacy and certain church ceremonies for what he saw as the greater good of the church, lest it should fall into the wrong hands.[7] Even prior to his exile, Grindal had been nominated to become bishop of London, and when the Elizabethan Church was being established, he was again chosen for that office. In 1570, Grindal was promoted to become Archbishop of York. Following the death of Matthew Parker, Archbishop of Canterbury, in 1575, Grindal was translated to succeed him the following year. As Archbishop of Canterbury, Grindal was now the leading pastoral figure in the Church of England.
As archbishop, Grindal’s “chief interest was in the improvement of the education of the clergy and their consequent ability to rightly proclaim the Word of God.”[8] He wanted the Word of God to preached faithfully for the cause of Christ.
And it was Grindal’s concern for the proclamation of the Gospel that would be at least one of the reasons for his falling out with Queen Elizabeth. In 1576 the queen ordered Grindal to suppress an exercise known as the “prophesyings” that were taking place in some parts of England. In our terms, we would more likely call them “preachings,” for that is what they were. Essentially, what would happen is that several ministers would gather together in a given town on a given day, perhaps a market day, a few sermons would be preached before an audience of laymen, with two or three of the more senior ministers serving as moderators. After the sermons, the ministers would retire together for a sort of service review, to talk about the sermons in order to help the preachers improve, perhaps discuss other matters of ministerial concern, and have a meal together.[9] Queen Elizabeth was not too thrilled at the reports she received about these “prophesyings”. To her they seemed to be tending toward too much democracy and anarchy, and so she commanded the Archbishop to circulate an order for their suppression.
And Grindal could not in good conscience comply with the order. He felt that there needed to be more preaching in the church and not less. And so on December 20, 1576 he wrote a long letter to the queen giving his reasons. He wrote,
With most humble remembrance of my bounden duty to your Majesty: It may please the same to be advertised, that the speeches which it hath pleased you to deliver unto me, when I last attended on your Highness, concerning abridging the number of preachers, and the utter suppression of all learned exercises and conferences among the ministers of the church, allowed by their bishops and ordinaries, have exceedingly dismayed and discomforted me…
But surely I cannot marvel enough, how this strange opinion should once enter into your mind, that it should be good for the church to have few preachers. Alas, Madam! is the scripture more plain in any one thing, than that the gospel of Christ should be plentifully preached; and that plenty of labourers should be sent into the Lord’s harvest; which, being great and large, standeth in need, not of a few, but many workmen!…
Public and continual preaching of God’s word is the ordinary mean and instrument of the salvation of mankind. St Paul calleth it the ministry of reconciliation of man unto God. By preaching of God’s word the glory of God is enlarged, faith is nourished, and charity increased. By it the ignorant is instructed, the negligent exhorted and incited, the stubborn rebuked, the weak conscience comforted, and to all those that sin of malicious wickedness the wrath of God is threatened. By preaching also due obedience to Christian princes and magistrates is planted in the hearts of subjects: for obedience proceedeth of conscience; conscience is grounded upon the word of God; the word of God worketh his effect by preaching. So as generally, where preaching wanteth, obedience faileth…
I trust, when your Majesty hath considered and well weighed the premises, you will rest satisfied, and judge that no such inconveniences can grow of these exercises, as you have been informed, but rather the clean contrary. And for my own part, because I am very well assured, both by reasons and arguments taken out of the holy scriptures, and by experience, (the most certain seal of sure knowledge,) that the said exercises, for the interpretation and exposition of the scriptures, and for exhortation and comfort drawn out of the same, are both profitable to increase knowledge among the ministers, and tendeth to the edifying of the hearers,—I am forced, with all humility, and yet plainly, to profess, that I cannot with safe conscience, and without the offence of the majesty of God, give my assent to the suppressing of the said exercises: much less can I send out any injunction for the utter and universal subversion of the same. I say with St. Paul, “I have no power to destroy, but to only edify;” and with the same apostle, “I can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth.”…
Bear with me, I beseech you, Madam, if I choose rather to offend your earthly majesty, than to offend the heavenly majesty of God.[10]
Grindal concluded his letter by making two petitions to the Queen and exhorting her to remember her humanity and to continue on in the ways of God. The first petition was that she refer all ecclesiastical matters to the church to be dealt with by the church, as they were matters that were to be judged, borrowing the words of an ancient writer, “in ecclesia, seu synodo, non in palatio” (in the church, or a synod, not in a palace). His second petition was that when she dealt with matters of faith or religion or matters touching the church, that she would not make pronouncements on them as the authority, as she did in civil and external matters; “but always remember, that in God’s causes the will of God, and not the will of any earthly creature, is to take place… In God’s matters all princes ought to bow their sceptres to the Son of God, and to ask counsel at his mouth, what they ought to do.”[11]
Grindal was willing, if need be, to be kicked out of his office as archbishop rather than comply with the queen’s order to suppress these preachings. Officially, he remained in office until his death in 1583, nevertheless the queen placed him under house arrest and he was unable to fulfill many of his functions as archbishop.[12] The queen directed the other bishops to suspend the prophesyings in their dioceses.[13] For Grindal, however, faithfulness to Christ and obedience to the Word of God far outweighed the treasures of earth and whatever earthly benefits he might gain by retaining the favor of the queen. He regarded faithfulness to God as more important than earthly success in his undertakings.
Who knew? The life and example of Edmund Grindal might be more relevant to the present day than any of us, myself included, had ever thought.[1] Patrick Collinson, Archbishop Grindal (1519-1583): The Struggle for a Reformed Church, (London: Jonathan Cape, 1979), 25.
[2] Ibid., 41.
[3] Ibid., 36.
[4] The Remains of Edmund Grindal, ed. by William Nicholson, (Cambridge University Press: Parker Society, 1843), reprinted 1968, Johnson Reprint Corporation, 211.
[5] Collinson, 44.
[6] Ibid., 50.
[7] Ibid., 90.
[8] Powell Mills Dawley, John Whitgift and the Reformation, (London: Adam and Charles Black, 1955), 148-149.
[9] Collinson, 233-234.
[10] The text of Archbishop Grindal’s Letter to the Queen can be found in The Remains of Edmund Grindal, ed. by William Nicholson, (Cambridge: The University Press, 1843), 376-390.
[11] Ibid., 387-389.
[12] Though his refusal to suppress the prophesyings was the official reason for which he received such treatment from the queen, it seems there was also another reason, if not more than one. Thomas Fuller, the seventeenth century church historian referred to Grindal’s “sharp reproving of Julio, the Italian physician, for marrying another man’s wife; which bitter but wholesome pill the physician himself not being able to digest, incensed the earl of Leicester, and he the queen’s Majesty against the good archbishop. But all was put on the account of Grindal’s nonconformity for favouring the factious meetings called prophesyings.” Collinson states broadly that Grindal was the victim of “courtly intrigue.” (See Collinson, 253 ff.)
[13] Nick Needham, 2000 Years of Christ’s Power, Vol. 4, (Christian Focus, Fearn, Ross-shire, 2016), 198.Tweet Share
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2023 SBC Resolution On The Office Of Bishop/Elder/Pastor
I have submitted the following resolution to the 2023 Resolutions Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention for adoption at the annual meeting scheduled for June 13-14 in New Orleans, Louisiana. My hope is that the committee will recommend it to the convention and give the messengers an opportunity to vote on it. From their beginning in 1845, Southern Baptists have been clear about the nature, qualifications, and function of the office of Bishop/Elder/Pastor. All three designations are used for the same office. It is only in recent years that Southern Baptists have begun to speak on this issue equivocally. Though some contemporary Southern Baptists may be unclear on what a pastor is, our heritage is free from such uncertainty. May this resolution provide the messengers gathered in New Orleans the opportunity to reaffirm that heritage and speak with clarity on this unambiguous New Testament teaching.
2023 SBC Resolution on the Office of Bishop/Elder/Pastor
Tom Ascol
Whereas, The Baptist Faith and Message that was adopted by the Southern Baptist Convention in 1925 was identified in its preamble as the “New Hampshire Confession of Faith, revised at certain points, and with some additional articles growing out of present needs”; and
Whereas, The revision of the Baptist Faith and Message in 1963 was led by a committee who declared that it “sought to build upon the structure of the 1925 Statement” while “in no case [seeking to] delete from or to add to the basic contents of the 1925 Statement”; and
Whereas, The committee that revised the Baptist Faith and Message that was adopted in 2000 stated in its preamble that it “respects and celebrates the heritage of the Baptist Faith and Message, and affirms the decision of the Convention in 1925 to adopt the New Hampshire Confession of Faith, ‘revised at certain points and with some additional articles growing out of certain needs . . . .’ and further affirmed their “respect the important contributions of the 1925 and 1963 editions of the Baptist Faith and Message”; and
Whereas, Article XIII of the New Hampshire Confession states that in a gospel church the “only scriptural officers are Bishops, or Pastors, and Deacons”; and
Whereas, Article VI of the 1925 Baptist Faith and Message states that a church’s “Scriptural officers are bishops, or elders, and deacons”; and
Whereas, The same article (VI) in the 1963 Baptist Faith and Message substitutes the word “pastors” for the words “bishops, or elders” in the 1925 Baptist Faith and Message, so that it says that a church’s “Scriptural officers are pastors and deacons”; and
Whereas, The same article (VI) in the revision of the 2000 Baptist Faith and Message retains the exact language found in the 1963 version when it states that a church’s “scriptural officers are pastors and deacons”; and
Whereas, The New Testament uses all three titles that the Baptist Faith and Message has used to describe the one office of bishop (ἐπίσκοπος, episkopos; Phil. 1:1; 1 Tim. 3:2; Titus 1:7), elder (πρεσβύτερος, presbuteros; Acts 14:23, 20:17; 1 Tim. 5:17, 19), and pastor (ποιμήν, poimēn; Eph. 4:11; 1 Pet. 5:1-5), thus demonstrating that from its first expression in 1925 through its revisions in 1963 and 2000, the Baptist Faith and Message has affirmed that, along with deacon, the only other office in a New Testament church is that of bishop/elder/pastor; therefore, be it
Resolved, That the messengers from Southern Baptist churches convening in the annual meeting in New Orleans on June 13-14, 2023 affirm that the only officers of a local church that the New Testament recognizes is that of deacon and of bishop/elder/pastor; and be it further
Resolved, That Southern Baptist churches be encouraged to remember our biblical heritage and teach that these are the only two officers appointed by Christ to serve along with all the members of a New Testament church and to insist on all the biblical qualifications that the New Testament requires of all those who would hold either office of bishop/elder/pastor or deacon.
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Faith Forged in Fire: Modeling Trust in Menacing Times
The call of pastoral ministry should never be taken lightly. Certainly, this does not mean we should look for perfect men to fill our pulpits. Only One lived perfectly and then died for sinners, including pastors, and rose again to justify us by His grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.
Nevertheless, it is a high and serious calling to be a pastor. There are many reasons this is true, but one significant purpose is because pastors are to model what an active living faith looks like before their people. Consider Hebrews 13:7 –
Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.
God has appointed qualified men to shepherd His churches, in part, so that His people could have a tangible example of what it looks like to trust the Lord. This type of example is important in every season but is particularly necessary in tumultuous days like the present.
In these menacing times, brother pastors, we must seek God’s grace in order to give our people a faith worth imitating. In today’s post, I have four areas of exhortation whereby pastors can better model a tangible faith to their people. I believe the Scriptures warrant these four areas as having particular importance to the life of the church and even more so during seasons like these.
In the crucible of perilous seasons, where flames of doubt, fear, and lawlessness seem to portend our doom, godly pastors must stand as steadfast beacons of faith, their lives and teaching a testament to trust in the face of menacing times.
Where must pastors particularly model trust before their people? Here are four areas:
The Sufficiency of Scripture
From the beginning, Satan has attacked the Word of God (cf. Gen. 3:1). In every century, God’s people have felt the unrelenting barrage of the Evil One seeking to minimize the power and efficacy of the Bible. Our day is no different.
Thus, pastors must have a ready response to the devil, to the culture, and even to the church, when asked, Hath God really said?. That answer is, “Yes He has! Here is chapter and verse.”
Pastors must demonstrate to their people that the Bible really is the inerrant, infallible, authoritative, necessary, clear, and sufficient revelation of the triune God. They do this by not only preaching weekly what the Bible says in its context, but also by seeking to have the structure, worship, ministry, fellowship, and entire life of the church conformed to the Scriptures.
We must show the world (for truly, it is watching) and broader evangelicalism, that the Word of God does not change and sufficiently addresses every issue the church may face until our Lord Jesus returns. The qualifications for a pastor do not change in any age. The definition of the church does not change. Sin always has the same remedy: repentance and faith in Christ. We have a sufficient Bible.
Pastors must demonstrate to their people that the Bible really is the inerrant, infallible, authoritative, necessary, clear, and sufficient revelation of the triune God.
Pastors must not only carry the Bible with them into the pulpit, but into homes, alongside hospital beds, and in their hearts in such a way that their people truly believe, “these men really believe this Book and I should too!”
The Suitableness of Christ
Secondly, pastors must show their people what it looks like to rest wholly upon King Jesus for the forgiveness of sins. A pastor is not more acceptable to God because of his pastoring. He, as much as any other person, stands in need of the grace of God in the gospel.
Christ shed His blood for sinners’ redemption (cf. Eph. 1:7). Thus, a pastor must never seek to be Jesus to anyone – he could never be! He too stands in need of the justifying work of Jesus as applied by the Holy Spirit.
This means pastors can and must model what it looks like to humbly rest in Jesus as our only suitable and all sufficient Savior. They are to model repentance before others and forgiveness to others. They are to model evangelism as they show forth the suitability of Christ for any sinner who will call upon His name.
And they must never forget the great love God has for them! The pastor’s identity is not first and foremost in his pastoring. It is securely in our victorious Savior. So, while a pastor cannot be Christ to anyone, he is to be in Christ to everyone.
And when Satan shoots his fiery arrows at a pastor (cf. Eph. 6:16) – and he will – we do not seek to defend ourselves by pointing to our accolades or making paltry excuses for our failures. Rather, we hold up the shield of faith, singing, “upward I look and see Him there, who made an end of all my sin. Because the sinless Savior died, my sinful soul is counted free, for God the just is satisfied, to look on Him and pardon me!”
The Sovereignty of God
In seasons of prosperity, it seems easy to say that God is on His throne. But it is all the more necessary to show our people the sovereignty of God when the days are dark.
It is a shame that the sovereignty of God is a source of contention for many professing Christians and churches today. The sovereignty of God is not revealed to the church for her to squabble about it. It is revealed for our comfort. For our pillow at night. For our defense. For our shield (cf. Gen. 15:1).
Church members need to see what it looks like for a pastor to really believe in the sovereignty of God. Has God really chosen a people in eternity past despite their unworthiness? Then missions and evangelism will be a priority! We are guaranteed ultimate success in gospel ministry because God is sovereign (even if we do not see immediate results always in the here and now).
Has God really decreed all things and is He presently working all things out according to the counsel of His will (cf. Eph. 1:11)? Then away with all cowardice. We can stand confidently in the midst of every storm because we have a sovereign God who is in complete control and His Word reassures us that He will never leave us or forsake us.
Thus, while pastors should be good citizens of our country, and know what’s going on in our world today, they must never be immobilized by fear. They do not have to spend hours upon hours in the latest news cycle because they already know the most important thing: Christ is king! And all things are under His sovereign feet.
We can stand confidently in the midst of every storm because we have a sovereign God who is in complete control and His Word reassures us that He will never leave us or forsake us.
Further, we demonstrate trust in the sovereignty of God when we do things as He has shown us in His Word. We do church discipline, for example, because we trust a sovereign God. Obedience to God demonstrates our belief in His sovereign rule. Even when the world may say we are foolish, we do what God says because He is God and we are not.
The Success of the Church
Finally, pastors must show their people what it looks like to really believe in the importance of the local church. Whatever your eschatology may be, every pastor ought to be unremittingly committed to the local church and her success.
Christ is head of the church (cf. Col. 1:18). If Christ is the head of the church, and not the pope and not any human institution, entity, or committee, then how can the church not have victory? She is already seated with Christ (Eph. 2:4-6)! If Christ is the head and the church His body, do we think somehow the body of Christ will be defeated while the head prevails? No!
Christ will never be severed from His Body. The Bridegroom will never be separated from His Bride. The Cornerstone will never be removed from the Building.
The church ultimately prevails because the Jesus prevails! Christ wins and so His body wins with Him and will be presented before God holy and blameless (cf. Eph. 5:25-27).
Now, it is true that individual churches may shut their doors. Conventions or denominations may cease to exist or even apostatize. Christians may face martyrdom. But the point is, as a collective whole, local churches win because they are united to Christ and He is King of kings and Lord of lords.
Friends, the church is not an afterthought to God. She is not a parenthesis to His plan. She is His plan! From the beginning, we see her, though not in her fullness, in the Old Testament saints and prophecies. We see her more clearly revealed in the New Testament. And we see that she is what God is doing in the world today (cf. Matthew 16:18).
The church ultimately prevails because the Jesus prevails! Christ wins and so His body wins with Him and will be presented before God holy and blameless.
The church is winning now. Christ is reigning now. Christ is building His church inside the enemy’s camp now. Society may be crumbling. Morals may be declining. Nations may faulter. But the Church is enduring. She is not forgotten. She is the apple of God’s eye. Local churches are enduring. The Spirit of God is working in them. The Kingdom is not retreating but advancing.
Consider that for the last 2,000 years Satan and this evil world have sought to snuff out the church. Constant berating. Constant persecution. Constant warfare. For 2,000 years. But where is the church today compared to the book of Acts? She is thriving. Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the uttermost parts of the earth have received the gospel, and the church continues to march forward making more and more disciples for the glory of God.
The church wins. She will always face persecution in this life. She will always meet resistance. But God is building His church in the face of His enemies. No matter what may happen to one particular local church, the church as a whole, local churches as a whole, will endure.
Pastors, our people need to see this kind of belief in the church. And this is not because the church is worthy in and of herself, but because Christ holds her dear to His heart.
Conclusion
These are not the days for retreat. Before closing, let me offer these thoughts to you in a different way. Pastors,
We model trust in the sufficiency of Scripture so there is No Rerouting.
We model trust in the sovereignty of God so there is No Rattle.
We model trust in the suitableness of Christ so there is No Replacement.
We model trust in the success of the church so there are No Regrets.
The Bible is sufficient, we will walk in the way of the Lord and no other (cf. Jer. 6:16). God is sovereign, we will not be afraid. Christ is enough and there is no other. The church wins, so we will gladly spend and be spent for her sake.
Keep pressing on, brother pastors. Rest your failures in the glorious gospel. Let your people see a faith worth imitating. Christ is worthy. To God be the glory.