As aspens reveal hidden fall glory, unexpected faith transforms astonished sinners. Formerly tarnished outlaws interiorize/showcase/reflect Redeemer God’s brilliant love/truth stashed in Christ! Jesus tells Son-drenched new creations: “You are the light of the world!” (Matthew 5:13) “The ultimate experience of life is knowing God.” (Billy Graham) Who would have guessed? Hallelujah!

Friend, let’s contemplate fall. Fall’s colors remove a shroud and reveal hidden glory. What veiled glories will God reveal to you and in you?
First, some personal history. For the past eighteen years, the West has been home. It is my treasured birthplace and Via’s chosen adopted abode. Still, for the prior thirty years, God gave us a home among the Southeast’s multi-hued fall grandeur and – here I must pile up adjectives – its redolent floral spring exuberance.
Such spring and fall triumphs are now muted – fond memories.
But here, fall after God-given fall, we have mostly brilliant yellow and evergreen green – with a few splashes of orange among humble bushes and a few unusual aspen. Not much? Not so! Here simplicity bespeaks and magnifies beauty.
Casting our eyes along roadside rivers, well-hydrated deciduous leviathans display their fall golden yellow – adding wonder to the river’s gun-metal hue and the vast expanse of Cerulean blue sky.
But up in the mountains, Fall, we delight to discover your awaited royal golden yellow – ASPEN! – especially along the forest edge – or in secluded pockets, here and there. Suddenly, Fall you transform timid isolation into strikingly bold expression. Glowing aspen, you beguile us by your luminous virtuosity. No yellow compares with your sun-drenched, stunning-yellow. Great Emancipator God, you stashed improbable glory in aspen! Who would have guessed? Hallelujah!
Note: aspens mean “young forest.” These white-with-random-splashes-of-black barked beauties make way for shade-tolerant evergreens which eventually choke-out their vibrant hosts.
But, until that final day, Fall, aspens radiantly answer your call to reflect the sun’s splendor. Creator God, these bewilderingly spectacular martyrs bear witness to your uncommon/common grace.
One October, so I could preach at Covenant Presbyterian in Lander, Wyoming, Via and I traveled six hundred miles from presbytery in Kalispell, Montana, to Lander. Such windshield time reinvigorated our souls! Stretches around Polebridge, Seeley-Swan, Big Sky, Yellowstone, the Tetons, and Dubois took our breath away. Marvelous!
And there is more.
While other trees perform photosynthesis through leaves, aspens’ thin white bark allows sunlight to pass through to the chlorophyll containing cortex. Thus, aspens thrive in tough snowy conditions when other trees remain dormant.
Also during winter, sugar in the aspen’s bark sustains wildlife – deer, elk and rabbit. What a lifeline!
And, here we pause for a story. When Via and I first moved to Helena, we lived in town. Eight years later when our youngest graduated from high school, we found a fixer-upper-with-a- view halfway up a small mountain. We named our new home Starfall.
As we prepared to move, I took some aspens I’d planted at our in-town home and transplanted them to a grassy meadow at the base of Starfall’s hill. I bucketed water so they would survive.
And they did – until one morning I discovered deer had eaten them off at ground level. Ouch!
Later that summer when everything else turned brown, the meadow where I planted the aspens remained green. Reader, most likely you have connected the dots. This was our septic field! God knew we didn’t need aspens and their extensive root system there! So, he sent deer to overcome my ignorance.
Friend, perhaps you can identify. In your naivete, you rejoiced in something. Then God uprooted or cut it down. You mourned. But, at last you understood God meant such pruning or more for good, and you rejoiced in God’s wise Providence!
Now, more about aspens. Surprisingly, aspen roots sprout to produce a genetically identical replica of the mother aspen tree. An entire clump of aspen trees can be a single tree’s clone. Thus, all leaves in the clump synchronize with each season. Reportedly, an aspen clone in Utah spread over 100 acres. Such interconnected aspen root structures make aspens one of the largest organisms on earth.
Such physical fullness prompts another spiritual analogy: “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the Gentiles will rally to him.” (Isaiah 11:9, 10) Jesus, Root of Jesse, you are the “firstborn among many.” (Romans 8:29)  Reduplicating your magnified LIFE, whole people groups reunite in you.
Consequently, Jesus, you declared: “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)
Once more, back to aspens. Individual aspens can live 150 years. Groupings of aspens are some of the oldest living organisms on earth.
And to the aged trusting God, Scripture gives honor/hope:. “The righteous flourish like the…tree…They are planted in the house of the LORD; they flourish in the courts of our God. They still bear fruit in old age; they are ever full of sap and green, to declare that the LORD is upright; he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.” (Psalm 92: 12-15)
One final word. “Aspen” comes from Old English “aespe,” “shaking tree.” Growing up, I heard this tale:  Embarrassed aspen leaves perpetually shook at the slightest hint of wind because – somehow – most improbably/incredibly – aspen wood composed Jesus’ cross.
Aspen lovers, notwithstanding shady legends, ponder Jesus’ cross. There we find a compelling connection. Holy Spirit, your Wind moves our hearts. Embarrassed by our sin, we shake. Then, most improbably/incredibly, despite crucifixion brutality, we witness the Son’s deep compassion followed by his incandescent resurrection splendor. Many bask in his shine.
Friends, as aspens reveal hidden fall glory, unexpected faith transforms astonished sinners. Formerly tarnished outlaws interiorize/showcase/reflect Redeemer God’s brilliant love/truth stashed in Christ! Jesus tells Son-drenched new creations: “You are the light of the world!” (Matthew 5:13) “The ultimate experience of life is knowing God.” (Billy Graham) Who would have guessed? Hallelujah!
Steve Bostrom is a Minister in the Presbyterian Church in  America and lives in Helena, MT.
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The Christian knows that his ultimate joy is found in a saving relationship with God through Christ Jesus. The joy that the Christian knows in daily communion with God is greater than anything the world could offer (1 Peter 1:8) and provides the Christian with the ability to enjoy all of life’s good gifts in proportion.

In my work with pastors and Christian leaders, we talk about all the challenges that come with leading organizations. These discussions usually end up touching on the need for Christians to deal with powerful and conflicting emotions in a godly way. But for many of the men I work with, a basic biblical understanding of emotions is something they’ve never even thought about. So when the topic of emotions comes up, I often get the question, “What are the basic (or core) emotions?” I answer with my working list: fear, loneliness, anger, sadness, hurt, joy, disdain, guilt, and shame. The response to this list is usually, “Well, how can I feel as much joy and as little of the rest of the list as possible?” It is that question that often leads Christians into the despair of hedonism or cynicism.
Definitions of Despair
Hedonism is a philosophy of living—sometimes adopted explicitly and sometimes implicitly—that places the pursuit of pleasure as the highest good. Because pleasure typically produces (momentary) joy, hedonists think they have found a way to maximize joy. But in the end, this way of living ends in despair.
Researchers have two ways of describing the despair that hedonists eventually experience. The first is hedonic adaptation. This is what hedonists experience when they adapt to their current level of pleasure, resulting in both a malaise and a need to pursue even more pleasure. The cycle is never-ending and ultimately unsatisfying. The second term that describes the eventual despair of the hedonist is anhedonia. This is more of a medical term that describes the apathy and numbness that some hedonists experience after the unbridled pursuit of pleasure. It turns out that God did not design our bodies to experience nonstop worldly pleasure without becoming numb to it.
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You are not perfect. Own it. See your deep weakness….We acknowledge our sin, and then we press on. We don’t roll over and give up. We don’t hide our faces. Instead we draw nearer to Christ through the cross. We pick up our Bibles and show up to the gathering of the saints. We press on.

As I hung up the phone, I realized how impatient I had sounded. Yes, this was the third phone call about the same thing. Yes, they were unwilling to process paperwork that had been previously submitted. Yes, it was going to take more time out of my day to do a frustratingly simple task. And in the middle of it, instead of having my mind set on things above, I decided to get frustrated. Just one example of how I’m not like Christ. I hate it, but it’s true: I’m not perfect.
And to be fair, neither are you. You might say, “You don’t know me!” I don’t have to. God has let me into an open secret: “None is righteous, no, not one…No one does good, not even one” (Rom 3:10, 12). You and I belong to the category of “none” in that sentence. And we belong in the “all” of the next group: “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23). Each of us have sinned against a holy God, and none of us are where we would like to be. We have not been perfect.
“But,” you protest, “Jesus saved me.” And by God’s grace, I pray that’s true. And yes, God’s grace to Christians is that we are a “new creation” (2 Cor 5:17), “dead to sin” (Rom 6:11), and now “slaves of righteousness” (Rom 6:17). Real sanctification is happening for every true Christian. The Christian’s relationship with sin is different now. But even still, until heaven Christians have to deal with a flesh that wars against the Spirit (Gal 5:17). And though we are being conformed to the image of Christ (Rom 8:29), we are not completely like Christ yet. Even still it is right to say, “I am not perfect.”
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Written by Simon P. Kennedy |
Wednesday, September 11, 2024
As the world closes in on the Church in the West, and politics becomes a more hostile space for Christians, sphere sovereignty offers an explanation of how the Christian life can be carried on in a meaningful way beyond the public square. Christ’s rule, and our response to that rule, is not limited to earthly politics. Even when the kings of this world do not “kiss the Son,” as they so often don’t, Christ still reigns.

Political Theology in the Reformed Tradition: Past and Present
Christian political thinking is marked by a struggle between two seemingly opposing principles. On the one hand, the rulers of the kingdoms of this world are required to submit to the authority of Jesus Christ, to “serve the Lord with fear and trembling,” and to “kiss the Son.” (Ps. 2:10-12) On the other hand, Jesus said to Pilate that his “kingdom is not of this world.” (John 18:36)
There is a challenge here for Christians, an ethical tension built into Christian political theology. The world, including the politics of this world, is a space where Jesus Christ rules. But the question is: what is the nature of that rule? How can Christ be both the King of Kings, and simultaneously not have a rule that is political? How should Christians live in the world here and now in light of the reign of Jesus Christ?
One tradition that offers distinct answers to these questions flows from the sixteenth-century reformations in Switzerland, England, and Scotland: the Reformed Protestant tradition. This article will explore three important politico-theological ideas that flow from the Reformed tradition: two kingdoms theology, sphere sovereignty, and political realism. Each of these ideas offers us ways of answering those big ethical questions that flow from the reality of Christ’s reign and his otherworldly kingdom.
A. Two Kingdoms Theology
In 1520, the German reformer Martin Luther first outlined the doctrine of the two kingdoms. The basic idea, articulated in his 1520 tracts The Freedom of the Christian and the Letter to the German Nobility, as well as later works like Temporal Authority, was that the Christian lives in two kingdoms. One is the “spiritual kingdom,” the kingdom of the soul, which is ruled by God alone. This is the realm of the person’s spiritual standing before God. According to Luther, nothing can come between God and the individual soul, who stands naked before he Lord either justified or unjustified. The other, “temporal kingdom,” is the realm of external relations, and takes in all of life in the world.
Luther argued that, because of the Christian’s simultaneous placement in these two distinct realms, Christians were both entirely free from all earthly obligations and servants of all. Christians, he argued, are free from obligation to the law, both divine and civil, and yet are motivated by their justification to be all the more obedient to earthly authorities.
John Calvin (1509-1564), the great reformer of Geneva, picked up this motif of Luther’s and developed it as he considered the relationship between the conscience, political obligation, and a Reformed understanding of political institutions. Towards the end of Book III of his 1559 Institutes of the Christian Religion, Calvin addresses the distinction between the spiritual and temporal kingdoms and the way this distinction impacts Christian freedom. He says that the doctrine of Christian freedom is “a matter of primary necessity, one without the knowledge of which the conscience can scarcely attempt any thing without hesitation.” Calvin argued that the Christian life in the world cannot be attempted with any certainty unless we understand the meaning of the freedom Christians have in Christ.
This question ultimately pertains to the conscience, according to Calvin. Humans are liable to be bound to the dictates of man, dictates which they have no spiritual obligation to attend to, dictates that have no bearing on one’s standing with God. He says, “as works have respect to men, so conscience bears reference to God.” Outward works, the works of the temporal kingdom, are directed towards our fellow humans in an external sense. Our conscience is different, though, as it pertains to our standing before God. Calvin’s of framing helps us understand what the Apostle Paul says in Romans 13:5, that we ought to obey the magistrate “for conscience’s sake.” According to Calvin, we obey because God requires it, for the sake of our conscience, not because the magistrate requires it, that is for the sake of pleasing people with our works.
At the end of Book IV of the Institutes, Calvin finally deals with politics. At the beginning of Chapter 20, the final chapter of the Institutes, Calvin returns to the concept of Christian freedom, and to the doctrine of the two kingdoms. Calvin’s two kingdoms are not, as some have argued, the church and the state. They are the internal forum of the conscience, and the external forum of the world, of works, and of outward behaviour. Does this mean that politics does not matter for the Christian? Does doing good in the external sphere of politics make any difference? If the person’s standing before God is completely separate to their external political life, why should the kings of the earth “kiss the Son”? Perhaps merely to gain salvation and go to heaven? Or does David’s second Psalm also assume that their political rule is to be submitted politically to the true kingship of the Son?
Our answer to these questions depends in part upon how we understand the nature of the institutional church and other external, political institutions. For Calvin, the institutional church and political institutions are all part of the temporal kingdom. The temporal kingdom is the realm where Christians work out their Christian freedom. At the same time, it is also a realm where the moral requirements of God’s law are to be enacted. And part of that law entails, for Calvin, protection of true religion. Governments have a duty to protect the church and the purity of worship and doctrine. Civil magistrates are not preachers, nor ministers of the gospel. However, as Paul makes clear in Romans 13, they are “ministers” (a διάκονός, or diakonos) of God. Further, Calvin says that the office of the civil magistrate is “in the sight of God, not only sacred and lawful, but the most sacred, and by far the most honourable, of all stations in mortal life.”
Does this mean those in political authority are required to submit their rule to Christ? Yes. The temporal kingdom is not a realm free from ethical obligation. On the contrary, it is because of our spiritual freedom and our conscience that all Christians have a duty to honour and obey the magistrate. Those who do not follow Christ are bound by their duties before God’s moral law, manifest in their consciences, to do the same. So, too, those in political authority are required to offer themselves to His service. The civil magistrate rules in the temporal kingdom with the ultimate goal of ordering the lives of their subjects to the highest good, which is worshipping and pleasing God. This means that political rule aims, among other things, at the spiritual liberty of the conscience.
B. Sphere Sovereignty
The form that this political rule takes, and the shape of the ensuing society, is generally an open question to any Reformed thinker. There have been Reformed social and political theorists, though, and one of the most brilliant was Abraham Kuyper (1837-1920). The Dutch polymath was the definition of the active life. He was a historian, pastor, theology professor, churchman, journalist, activist, politician, and prime minister. He lived out the kind of Christianity that he preached—one that was engaged with the world and in the issues of the world. Many of his ideas were original and insightful, and he offered a distinctively Reformed approach to politics and political thinking.
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The most important thing is that we are gathering regularly as God’s people to seek His face, ask His blessing, and thank Him for the manifold gifts He has given to us as a church. A right view of God assisted by the Holy Spirit will lead to warm, joyful, and vibrant practice, which includes regular evangelism, a commitment to world and domestic missions, church planting, and vibrant prayer meetings.

As Reformed and Presbyterian Christians, we believe in prayer. We may not be as good at it as we want to be, but every true believer will yearn to spend time with the Lord. This is true of private prayer, but it it’s also true of corporate prayer.
The early church is a good example of this. On the day of Pentecost, we see the church “with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers” (Acts 1:14-15). Later on, we see them praying again, this time in the face of persecution: “And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness” (Acts 4:31). Thus, we are not surprised to find out that corporate prayer was one of the distinctives of the early disciples: “And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers” (Acts 2:42).
Although corporate prayer has always been an important element of the church, it is no secret that many of our prayer meetings are boring, dry, and slow. It is also no secret that they are typically very poorly attended. We can’t help the latter, but we can certainly do something about the former. And who knows, maybe implementing a few tips or rules just might help the attendance factor.
Below are nine helps that have guided our prayer meetings for the last several years, with more or less “success.” I use the word success loosely, knowing that ultimately the Holy Spirit must bless our meetings with His presence if we are to truly call it a success. After all, we aren’t just lobbing up words into the void in order to check a box. The purpose of corporate prayer is to meet with God as His people. However, that doesn’t mean we can’t use a little sanctified common sense when approaching such meetings. If you find these helps useful, great. Use them as you wish. If they’re not helpful, that’s okay too. There is no hard and fast rule when it comes to such meetings, so long as we are doing it. But these pointers have come from both experience (good and bad) and my personal study of the subject.
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The result of yielding to Satan’s temptation is always destruction. But wielding the sword of the Spirit fends off the thoughts and impulses that the enemy plants in our minds to lead us into death. The Word of God brings life.

Author, David Jeremiah observes,
The biblical context for viewing all of life’s events is called spiritual warfare—the age-old conflict between the kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of light….Biblically and practically speaking, we are in a spiritual war. The Christian’s spiritual enemy is not in uniform, and he doesn’t meet us on an identifiable battlefield. He uses ruthless and unconventional tactics such as deceit, deflection, and disguise…. The church of Jesus Christ needs to know its enemies and his strategies. Above all, Christians need to know how to gain victory over this enemy.(The Spiritual Warfare Answer Book).
In this episode, we take a practical look at HOW YO USE the sword of the Spirit to resist thoughts and temptations that seek to entice us off of the path of life and onto the road of destruction. As we continue the series, Winning Spiritual Battles Because We Use Our Spiritual Weapons, we come today to Paul’s admonition to take up… the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God (Eph 6:17). One of the best things about this weapon is that unlike the others, we actually get to see Jesus using it in Scripture. We’ll dig into a study of Jesus’ combat with Satan, in a moment but lets first get to know a bit about this weapon.
This weapon is the Word of God, which is so powerful for transforming human minds and hearts that it is called “living.” For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.  (Heb 4:12-13). As we will see, even Jesus did not battle Satan with his own thoughts but only by quoting Scripture.
The Greek word for sword, MACHAIRA does not describe the swash buckling kind of sword used by Zoro. Rather, it was quite short, more like a dagger. It was used by the Romans in close hand-to-hand combat. This weapon is for personal attacks. This truth is underscored by the Greek word Paul chooses for Word (of God). It is not LOGOS, which connotes broad, general principles. Rather, Paul chooses RHEMA, which refers to specific “utterings.” NT scholar W. E. Vine writes,
The significance of RHEMA as distinct from LOGOS is exemplified in the injunction to “take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” Here the reference is not to the whole Bible as such, but to the individual Scripture passages, which the Spirit brings to our remembrance for use in time of need, a prerequisite being the regular storing of the mind with Scripture (An Expository dictionary of NT Words).
Identifying the word of God as the sword of the Spirit is consistent with what we know about the work of the Holy Spirit. Not only does He indwell Christ-followers so they have the presence of Christ with them at all times (abiding in Christ), the Holy Spirit’s work is to help us overcome our sinful nature and transform our hearts into Christ-like attitudes—love, Joy, peace, patience…etc. So, the Holy Spirit is right inside us to help us when thoughts come into our minds, designed by Satan to lead us away from Christ and his righteous path. He is there to help us recall the right truth in Scripture to combat Satan’s lies. But of course, we can’t recall, what we have never read or committed to memory. Let’s zoom in to the wilderness of Judea and watch Jesus wield the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
First Temptation: Use your power to command these stones to be bread.
Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ (Matthew 4:1-4).
Satan begins the temptation by appealing to Jesus’ power, If you are the son of God use that power to turn stones into bread. What many don’t realize is that Jesus’ hunger after a long fast meant that he was close to death. Those who have practiced long fasts point out that after 6 or 7 days, hunger pains go away. If they have water, a human can fast about 40 days, but when his hunger pangs return, he must eat soon, or he will die. Jesus was being tempted not to have to depend upon his heavenly father, but to use his spiritual power to take care of his own needs. The passage he cites is Deut 8:3. The verse before it provides important context.
And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord (Deuteronomy 8:2-3).
Dependency upon God for your daily bread reflects the humility that is vital for depending upon God’s moral law every day. Jesus refused the temptation to stop depending in humility upon his heavenly father. The first Adam refused to depend upon God to satisfy his hunger for food, failing to trust God’s instruction not to eat of the tree in the middle of the garden. Instead, he allowed the delicious fruit to entice him into rebellion against God. He violated God’s restriction and ate. The first Adam put his physical appetite ahead of obedience to God. The Second Adam, though at the point of dying because of his need for food—refused to take matters into his own hands. He humbled himself depending on God. In quoting Deut 8:3, man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord, Jesus is saying real life comes not just through physical sustenance but also by obedience to God. That is the lesson God wanted to teach the Israelites in the wilderness.
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“Postmodern witchcraft, then, is in one sense a kind of secular substitute for organized religion, and specifically for the Christian faith. With its focus on self-empowerment, self-care, and identity politics, you might even call it neopaganism for the “nones.” It is easy to see the appeal of all this to young people in a post-Christian society, to understand it not just as a coping mechanism for the vicissitudes and alienation of modern life but also as a substitute for the community, identity, and connection to something larger and transcendent— all of which Christianity once provided.”

Many Christian observers of the West have noted for quite some time now that we are seeing a real reversal. The paganism of two millennia ago was basically wiped out by the spread of Christianity. Sure, it took some centuries to happen, but it took place nonetheless. However, the West is now quickly reverting back to what was the norm twenty centuries ago.
There is no question that we have moved from being a Christian West, to a post-Christian West, and now an anti-Christian or pagan West. While Christianity is thriving and growing in much of the non-Western world, here in the West it seems to be on its last legs.
Plenty of books have appeared of late making this case. One of the most recent is Pagan America. Those who have been following these matters over the years will find much familiar material here. But when your country is going down the tubes, we need to keep speaking about it in the hopes of turning things around.
His first paragraph clearly lays out what the book is all about:
The argument of this book is straightforward. America was founded not just on certain ideals but on a certain kind of people, a predominantly Christian people, and it depends for its survival on their moral virtue, without which the entire experiment in self-government will unravel. As Christianity fades in America, so too will our system of government, our civil society, and all our rights and freedoms. Without a national culture shaped by the Christian faith, without a majority consensus in favor of traditional Christian morality, America as we know it will come to an end. Instead of free citizens in a republic, we will be slaves in a pagan empire. (xiii)
Of course trying to live on borrowed spiritual capital can only last for so long. The more the Christian roots of America and the West are attacked and removed, the less the benefits of the faith will last. What we are seeing now is clear proof of this reality.
As such, the usual examples are presented here, be it the culture of death, the radical sexual revolution, the war on the family, and the rise of the transhumanist future. It all makes for scary reading, but we can no longer keep our heads buried in the sand. We either face this crisis head on, or we will lose it all real soon.
Trans madness is of course a major problem in America and the West, and is as good an indicator as any of the rapid decline and deterioration we see all around us. A few quotes from Davidson:
Every major medical institution in the United States now subscribes to the theory that children can meaningfully consent to irreversible medical treatments that involve castration, sterilization, and the removal of healthy organs and body parts—all in the name of “affirming” their identity as a member of the opposite sex. What’s more, these institutions and the doctors and administrators who run them have concluded that these kinds of treatments and procedures are not just beneficial but necessary for the well-being of the patient. Sometimes they do so over and against the wishes of parents. The so-called “affirmative model,” in which medical professionals accept the expressed “gender identity” of the patient and his or her desire to transition, has replaced the once-standard process of clinical assessment and diagnosis. (p. 200)
And again:
Fifteen years ago, there were zero pediatric transgender care clinics in the United States. Today there are more than a hundred. An entire medical industry—and a lucrative one, since patients who undergo costly transitions will be patients for the rest of their lives—has sprung up over the last decade, doling out powerful prescription drug regimens and performing irreversible surgeries while raking in profits from insurance companies. And make no mistake, the profit motive is nothing to dismiss lightly. In 2016, the Obama administration prohibited health insurers and medical providers from denying care based on gender identity, prompting health insurers to begin covering more treatments that fall under the category of “gender-affirming care.” Today more than half the states cover gender transition as part of their Medicaid programs, which serve low-income families and are funded with taxpayer dollars. As private and public insurance coverage has expanded, more providers have begun offering their services. And no wonder: the profits on the table are considerable. A year-long regimen of puberty-blockers alone can cost tens of thousands of dollars. All of this has been endorsed and promoted by the medical establishment. (p. 201)
We are reminded how fully in bed the Democratic Party in the US is with all this. And with ‘Tampon Tim’ Walz parading around the stage at the Chicago Democratic National Convention as I type this, it all hits home so much more.
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Elder, it is your job to make sound moral judgments, to shine light into dark places. Morality is an invisible reality and the sheep under your care are looking to you for moral clarity. They look to you to speak with clarity and conviction on what is right and what is wrong. This is not optional; it is a duty. Therefore, you must learn God’s law intimately so that you may judge rightly, both for your sake and for the sake of the sheep under your care.

Evil is Inconspicuous
What does evil look like? If you are reading this you are probably a fan of Lord of the Rings (LOTR). Part of what is so appealing about LOTR is that the bad guys look like bad guys. They are dark, slimy, hideous creatures and when you see them you have no doubt, “That is evil!”
Sadly, the moral landscape for us humans is much less obvious. In fact, the moral landscape is not a landscape at all. There is no material reality that you can appeal to in order to make moral judgements. To say that another way, morality is not a material or physical reality, it is a spiritual and invisible reality.
I am not saying that morality is not real, it is quite real. I am simply saying that any moral standards that you live by are not based primarily on anything material. And yet, everyone, even your friendly neighborhood materialist-atheist, lives by a set of morals which are not grounded by any physical reality but are based on a set of invisible and spiritual beliefs.
This stands in stark contrast to Tolkien’s middle earth which is filled with witches, orcs, or some other dark creature creeping in the shadows. Sadly, as they have been played and replayed on our TVs, these fantasy worlds have taught us to believe one powerful lie: “If you ever saw something truly evil, it would be obvious.”
This has been proven false time and time again in Scripture. The pharisees were revered by men like you, good men who feared the LORD and longed for the Messiah, and yet Jesus identifies the Pharisees as children of Satan. In contrast, John the Baptizer was a dirty, smelly, and grimy looking man who eventually wound up in prison. Looks can be deceiving.
Let’s go back to the beginning. The book of Genesis, Chapter 3, the fall of mankind. 3:1 “Now the serpent was more crafty…”
Pause there. Here we have the Serpent, the incarnation of Evil, and the father of lies. How is he described? Crafty, cunning, shrewd. He is a master of disguise, father of lies, and much smarter than you and me. The crafty one will not let himself be exposed. Unlike a movie villain, you will never hear a cruel monologue from Satan. He will not wear devilish horns. His strategy is much more subtle than that.
Instead, over the course of the next 6 verses Satan uses very precise words to break down Eve’s belief that God is for her. Everything he says has some piece of truth in it, and nothing he says makes Adam or Eve suspect his evil intentions. “[the Serpent] said to the woman, “Did God actually say, you shall not eat of any tree in the garden?”
The point is this: evil is not obvious. Satan is a strategic mastermind – he will never raise a flag above his head that says, “I AM EVIL.” Why does this matter?
Elder as Judge
It matters because as Christians (and especially as elders) we have a duty to make righteous judgments. In 1 Corinthians 6:2-3 Paul rebukes the Corinthian church for their unwillingness to judge saying, “Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases? Do you not know that we are to judge angels? How much more, then, matters pertaining to this life!”
Not only are we commanded to judge matters in this life, but we will be tasked with judging the world and the angels. If we are going to be faithful to our calling as judges, we MUST understand what righteous judgement looks like. Thankfully God’s word has much to say about it.
Principles of Righteous Judgement
What is the Basis of righteous Judgment?

Based on God’s moral law [10 Commandments] (Exodus 20, Mark 7:8) and not on man-made or personal rules (Mark 7:8ff).

What exactly is being judged?

Judgment is based on real actions, not assumed or imputed motivations. Judges the deed, not the man (1 Cor. 2:11, Rom 14:4).

Who is in a position that should be judging?

Ordinarily from a superior to an inferior within a legitimate authority structure. i.e., parents to kids, judge to accused, elder to church member. (James 3:1)

What is the end goal of righteous judgment?

End goal is to glorify God, restore the sinner, while clearly articulating the truth of what happened (Gal 6:1, Matt 18). It should not be done in order to humiliate and assert dominance, although a guilty verdict will bring some level of humiliation. (Matt 20:25)

What is the Ethos of righteous judgment?

Motivated by love/care (1 Cor. 13:1-3) and carried out with gentleness & patience (Gal 6:1) rather than ruthlessly and to grab power. It is blind, AKA it does not give preferential treatment based on ethnicity, status, gender, etc. (John 7:24).

Other categories for elders to consider:
Christian vs. Outsider – Are they claiming the name of Christ? The rebukes and corrections from an elder should primarily be directed towards those who claim the name of Christ.

1 Cor. 5:11 -12 “I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler – not even to eat with such a one. For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? God judges those outside. Purge the evil person from among you.”

Sheep vs. Wolf – Is the individual simply wandering, or are the actively bringing others with them to destruction? A wolf should be corrected more directly, publicly, and severely than a sheep, in order to protect the sheep from destructive lies.

Galatians 1:8-9 “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed.”
James 3:1 – “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.”

God’s Judgment vs. Man’s Judgment

Never forget that ultimate justice is in God’s hands. Any judgement you carry out will be imperfect and foreshadow the final judgement that God will administer perfectly since he alone has complete knowledge of the deeds and the motivations. “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” (Rom 12:19)

Why is judgment so important for elders? Because Satan is a master deceiver and his lies are not easy to spot. Evil is not obvious. In this world, evil is not an orc or a goblin. It is far more subtle and will not label itself as evil. In fact, it will claim the moral high ground. Elder, it is your job to make sound moral judgments, to shine light into dark places. Morality is an invisible reality and the sheep under your care are looking to you for moral clarity. They look to you to speak with clarity and conviction on what is right and what is wrong. This is not optional; it is a duty. Therefore, you must learn God’s law intimately so that you may judge rightly, both for your sake and for the sake of the sheep under your care.
Brandon Hawkes is a Minister in the Presbyterian Church in America and is Assistant Pastor in Christ PCA in Clarkesville, GA.
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The Eucharist is a true participation in Christ’s body and blood (1 Cor. 10:16). So to fake communion with Christ while having no saving interest in him is sacrilegious. We must examine and judge ourselves, respecting church leaders who either invite us to the Supper or insisting that, for now, we abstain (1 Cor. 11:28, 29, 31). Scripture requires us to heed warnings about the Lord’s Supper. But we mustn’t only focus on the negative. There are several things we must do to receive what Christ wants to give us in this meal.

After three years of walking with Jesus the disciples were about to face their greatest trial. God would strike the Shepherd and scatter his sheep (Matt. 26:31). Spiritual darkness would place the disciples under extreme pressure. They would not completely fail. But they would falter.
Knowing all this, how did Jesus prepare them for this dark hour? He instituted a special meal meant to remind them of who they were in him. This meal, called the Lord’s Supper, is also for us. The apostle Paul received from the Lord and delivered unto the church, the same institution that the first disciples received from Jesus shortly before his death (1 Cor. 11:23). Until he comes Jesus intends this meal to preserve our bodies and souls unto everlasting life.
What Is the Lord’s Supper?
The Lord’s Supper is “the sacrament of his body and blood.” “Sacraments are holy signs and seals of the covenant of grace” (WCF 27.1). This sacrament reminds believers of Jesus’ shed blood, and assures them that they possess all the benefits which his sacrifice secures. The Supper takes the place of the Passover which confirmed to believing Israelites that God had graciously spared them from the angel of death (Ex. 12:7–13). Since we, like the disciples, often suffer from many doubts and weak faith, the Lord’s Supper must be a regular part of congregational life. John Calvin thought the Supper so important, much like ordinary eating, that it should be celebrated “very often, at least once a week.” He thought that “no meeting of the church should take place without” it. [i] His conviction is worth our consideration. But however frequently we celebrate the Supper in terms of the its role in the Christian life we should think of it less like a birthday celebration and more like a family meal.
Scripture teaches us how to observe this meal. First, the church must hear Jesus’ words of institution. About the bread and wine we hear, “This is my body, which is for you, do this in remembrance of me. …This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me” (1 Cor. 11:23, 25).
Second, the minister follows Jesus’ example and prays for the Lord to “bless the elements of bread and wine, and thereby to set them apart from a common to an holy use.”
Third, the bread is broken and the wine poured, and both are distributed to the professing members of Christ’s church. The result is a congregational celebration of the real, gracious presence of Christ among his beloved people. The Supper is not a mark of our obedience or personal worthiness but a testimony to the inherited riches that believers have in Christ.
Because this meal is so sacred we must approach it with care. 
How Might I Misuse the Supper?
Paul wrote 1 Corinthians 11 to correct the church’s table manners.
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Written by Ben C. Dunson |
Tuesday, September 10, 2024
Spiritual independence is the notion that the church must resist all attempts, no matter where they originate, to prevent it from faithfully carrying out its divinely ordained ministry. “When it is faithful in this duty” of preserving its independence, “the benefits of union [of church and state] can be appreciated and, if and when necessary,” the union of church and state “will be abandoned . . . in the interests of truth” (Age of Revolution, p. 22). That is to say, as long as the church’s independence is preserved, there are times when circumstances will dictate that a union of church and state is to be rejected, even if it is legitimate in principle.

Guillaume Groen van Prinsterer (1801–1876) was a Dutch Reformed Protestant historian and politician who founded the political party Abraham Kuyper would eventually join and serve in as Prime Minister.
Against Political Atheism
Numerous themes show up repeatedly in Prinsterer’s writings. Two central ones were the danger of the revolutionary ideology unleashed by the French Revolution and the relationship between church and state. These two themes were integrally connected in Prinsterer’s mind: he saw the radical separation of church and state in France as a great peril to the survival of the church in that nation (or any that followed its example).
Prinsterer summed up his basic position on the relationship between church and state in his published lectures entitled Unbelief and Revolution (p. 32, n. 22) like this:
Church and State should not be separated but kept distinct, united in joint consultations from a position of mutual independence . . . . If the Christian church loses it priority, freedom of conscience is without defenses against the intolerance of unbelief. Unbelief becomes the civic religion of a secular state.
Later in this same work he refers to the default position of France as one of state-sanctioned “political atheism” (Unbelief and Revolution, p. 33). France, despite the claims of some at the time, was not a neutral ground on which all religions could compete, but itself had an official religion, albeit an atheistic one. All state institutions (including primary education) were forced to deny the truths of Christianity. In France, “no positive religion whatsoever,” he continued, “shall be tolerated in opposition to the requirements of revolutionary sociability”(Unbelief and Revolution, p. 103). This is not at all dissimilar to what we see in Western nations today regarding moral issues like abortion and sexuality. Religion may be tolerated as long as it remains a purely inward and private affair, but if at any point it threatens the (sexual) revolutionary sociability an attempt will be made to suppress it ruthlessly.
Prinsterer believed firmly that church and state were divine institutions with distinct spheres of authority. The church does not have the right to usurp the power of the state, nor the state the power of the church. Distinction does not entail radical separation, however.
On the Necessity of Political Prudence
Although maintaining such a distinction, Prinsterer’s articulation of the ideal relationship between church and state is not wholly compatible with the contemporary political theory of liberalism. In another work, entitled Christian Political Action in an Age of Revolution, he develops an additional insight of relevance to ongoing discussions in Christian “post-liberal” circles about the relations of church and state.
In this book Prinsterer says emphatically, in response to a critique: “I am an ardent opponent of the separation of church and state, though not as ardent as Mr. Trottet imagines.” What Prinsterer takes issue with in his opponent’s criticism is, as he says, that Trottet advocates “an absolute separation,” of church and state “as a universal truth . . . thus raising it to the rank of an article of faith” (Age of Revolution, p. 21). In his critic’s understanding any formal relationship between church and state is ruled illegitimate as a matter of absolute and inflexible moral principle.
This is similar to the position of many today, even among Protestants who come from a tradition that for centuries vigorously supported a specific kind of formal connection of church and state. It is one thing to say that it is unwise to seek such a relationship today; it is quite another thing to say that that position is categorically wrong. The Reformers and their heirs and not infallible, but one does need to grapple with their actual arguments on church and state instead of superficially dismissing them.
Here is where I think Prinsterer is most interesting and potentially helpful. He argues that there are times when the very “interests of religious freedom” (here understood as the freedom of true Christians to worship freely) necessitate restricting “the exercise of [some] political rights . . .  to members of the State Church” (Age of Revolution, pp. 21-22). As examples of such times he lists the Saint Bartholomew’s Day Massacre (1572) and the Catholic League (1576), both of which set out to murder Protestants and eliminate Protestantism in France, as well as the violent attacks on Protestants during the Thirty-Years War and the revocation of the Edict of Nantes (1685), which had granted Protestants toleration in France since 1598.
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