The Unrepenting Repenter
If a man turns from sin without turning to God, he will find his sin has only changed its name and is hidden behind his pride. Now it will be harder to rout for its subterfuge. You have loved others but not God. And you have loved yourself most of all. Lot’s wife left the city of sin at the insistence of an angel and for the love of her family, but turned back. She had left her heart. “Remember Lot’s wife.” (Gen. 19:12-26; Lk. 17:32)
The believer in Christ is a lifelong repenter. He begins with repentance and continues in repentance. (Rom. 8:12-13) David sinned giant sins but fell without a stone at the mere finger of the prophet because he was a repenter at heart (2 Sam. 12:7-13). Peter denied Christ three times but suffered three times the remorse until he repented with bitter tears (Mt. 26:75). Every Christian is called a repenter, but he must be a repenting repenter. The Bible assumes the repentant nature of all true believers in its instruction on church discipline. A man unwilling to repent at the loving rebuke of the church can be considered nothing more than “a heathen and a tax collector.” (Mt. 18:15-17)
What is Repentance?
Repentance is a change of mind regarding sin and God, an inward turning from sin to God, which is known by its fruit—obedience. (Mt. 3:8; Acts 26:20; Lk. 13:5-9) It is hating what you once loved and loving what you once hated, exchanging irresistible sin for an irresistible Christ. The true repenter is cast on God. Faith is his only option. When he fully knows that sin utterly fails him, God takes him up. (Mt. 9:13b) He will have faith or he will have despair; conviction will either deliver him or devour him.
The religious man often deceives himself in his repentance. The believer may sin the worst of sins, it is true; but to remain in the love of sin, or to be comfortable in the atmosphere of sin, is a deadly sign, for only repenters inhabit heaven. The deceived repenter would be a worse sinner if he could, but society holds him back. He can tolerate and even enjoy other worldly professing Christians and pastors well enough, but does not desire holy fellowship or the fervent warmth of holy worship. If he is intolerant of a worship service fifteen minutes “too long,” how will he feel after fifteen million years into the eternal worship service of heaven? He aspires to a heaven of lighthearted ease and recreation—an extended vacation; but a heaven of holiness would be hell to such a man. Yet God is holy, and God is in heaven. He cannot be blamed for sending the unholy man to hell despite his most articulate profession (Heb. 12:14).
What are the Substitutes for True Repentance?
1. You may reform in the actions without repenting in the heart. (Ps. 5 1: 16-17; Joel 2:13) This is a great deception, for the love of sin remains. (I Jn. 2:15-17; Acts 8:9-24) At this the Pharisees were experts. (Mk. 7:1-23) The heart of a man is his problem. A man may appear perfect in his actions but be damned for his heart. His actions are at best self-serving and hypocritical. What comes from a bad heart is never good. “Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening? Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh.” (Jas. 3:11-12)
2. You may experience the emotion of repentance without the effect of it. Here is a kind of amnesia. You see the awful specter of sin in the mirror and flinch out of horror yet immediately forget what kind of person you saw (Jas. 1:23-24). It is true, repentance includes sincere emotion, an affection for God and a disaffection for sin. Torrents of sorrow may flood the repenter’s heart, and properly so (Jas. 4:8-10). But there is such a thing as a temporary emotion in the mere semblance of repentance; this emotion has very weak legs and cannot carry the behavior in the long walk of obedience. Your sorrow may even be prolonged. Yet if it does not arrive at repentance, it is of the world and is a living death—and maybe more (2 Cor. 7: 10). It is an old deceiver. Judas had such remorse but “went and hanged himself.” (Mt. 27:3-5)
3. You may confess the words of a true repenter and never repent. (Mt. 21:28-32; 1 Jn. 2:4, 4:20) Confession by itself is not repentance. Confession moves the lips; repentance moves the heart. Naming an act as evil before God is not the same as leaving it.
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The Heart of the Home
The Reformed tradition, with its rich legacy of psalmody and hymnody, offers a vast reservoir of spiritual songs that teach theology, recount God’s mighty acts of creation and redemption, and express the joys and sorrows of the Christian life. Singing these truths embeds them deeply in our hearts, often becoming a source of comfort and strength in difficult times. Moreover, family worship serves as a vital tool in countering the toxic influences that pervade our culture. In a world where families are often fragmented and isolated, this practice provides a much-needed space for connection, conversation, and spiritual growth.
In the quiet corners of our homes, where the light of the gospel meets the daily rhythms of life, lies the sacred practice of family worship. Rooted deeply in the Reformed and Presbyterian heritage, this practice is not merely a tradition, but a profound means of grace, a spiritual lifeline connecting families to the very heart of God.
The Scriptures, our ultimate authority for faith and godliness, lay the foundation for family worship. Deuteronomy 6:6-7 exhorts us to diligently teach God’s commandments to our children, talking of them when we sit in our houses, walk by the way, lie down, and rise up. This holistic approach to discipleship underscores the necessity of integrating our faith into every aspect of life. It is within the confines of our homes that the seeds of faith are sown, watered, and nurtured.
In the Reformed and Presbyterian tradition, family worship is not an optional addendum, but an essential component of our Christian walk. John Calvin, a pillar of Reformed theology, emphasized the need for Christian instruction in the home. The Westminster Confession, a cornerstone of Presbyterian doctrine, echoes this sentiment, underscoring the duty of heads of households in nurturing their family in the grace and admonition of the Lord. Presbytery candidates and examining committees are wise when they inquire into the daily practices of private devotion of prospective candidates for ministry.
At its core, family worship is beautifully simple, yet profoundly influential. It typically involves three key elements: reading the Scriptures, praying, and singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. This triad forms a balanced diet for the soul, fostering a holistic spiritual development within the family.
Reading the Scriptures together as a family anchors our lives in God’s truth. It allows every member, from the youngest to the oldest, to hear the voice of God speaking through His Word. The practice of daily Bible reading as a family instills a deep reverence for the authority of Scripture and equips every family member with the wisdom and guidance needed for life’s journey.
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Does the Bible Support Female Deacons? No.
The church’s deacons must identify, encourage, and promote the exercise of the gifts of men and women. They must acknowledge, with Paul, that aspects of the church’s diaconal ministry call for the contribution of the gifts, wisdom, and labor of believing women. And, as Luke and Paul routinely did, deacons must recognize and honor both men and women who selflessly and fruitfully minister to the needs of the saints. To aim for anything less would be unbiblical.
Does Scripture permit women to hold the office of deacon? In addressing this important question, we must bear a couple of things in mind. First, Reformed pastors and theologians, fully committed to the authority and inerrancy of Scripture, have disagreed about what the Bible teaches concerning women and the diaconate. This state of affairs calls for particular humility in discussing this question. Second, all sides recognize that women in some way have served in the diaconate in various periods of church history. Believers who argue for women in the diaconate, then, should not be automatically accused of sneaking the Trojan horse of modernity into the church.
We must be clear as to what the question is and is not. The question is not whether the Spirit gifts women to serve in the church. He manifestly does, a point the New Testament underscores by way of principle (1 Cor. 12:7; Eph. 4:7) and example (e.g., Rom. 16:1–5, 6, 12). The question is not whether women may actively participate in the church’s service ministries. The New Testament highlights the hospitality of the women mentioned in Luke 8:1–3, of John Mark’s mother (Acts 12:12), and of Lydia (Acts 16:14–15), even as it commends the charitable service of Dorcas (Acts 9:36). The question is whether the Bible permits women to serve in the office of deacon. The Bible opens the office of diaconate to men only.
The Case for Men Only
The diaconate is one of two ordinary offices the New Testament prescribes for the church. The diaconate is an office of “service both to the physical and spiritual needs of the people,” and the eldership is an office of ruling and teaching (The Book of Church Order of the Presbyterian Church in America, 7-2).
While deacons are not tasked with governing the church, they possess and exercise authority to carry out their calling of serving the church. We can see this point, for instance, in what is likely the establishment of the office of deacon in the church, Acts 6:1–6. The deacons take up from the apostles the work of daily distributing food to the church’s widows (Acts 6:1). The details of this kind of work find elaboration in 1 Timothy 5:1–16. Here, Paul’s instructions regarding diaconal ministry to widows assume spiritual authority on the part of the deacons. These deacons, after all, are charged with determining which widows qualified to receive the church’s benevolence. As officeholders in the church, deacons possess and exercise God-given authority to serve the congregation’s needs.
The New Testament limits the holding of office in the church to men. Paul writes to Timothy, “I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet” (1 Tim. 2:12). To be sure, the context of Paul’s statement is the church gathered in worship, and particularly the work of preaching (1 Tim. 2:8–15). Paul’s statement, however, is not limited to the preaching of the Word in public worship. Paul here forbids women from exercising authority in the church. The fact that proper household management—the due exercise of authority in the home—is a qualification for men seeking both the office of elder (1 Tim. 3:5) and also deacon (1 Tim. 3:12) indicates that Paul’s prohibition in 1 Timothy 2:12 concerns the offices of the church generally.
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Simple Words of Faith
In this portion of 2 Kings there is a slave girl who upon hearing that the commander of the army suffered from leprosy told him of a prophet of the LORD in Israel, a man by the name of Elisha. Her simple faith and willingness to share the good news with a man of his stature cannot go unnoticed. The world would say that she should show spite to this man who had caused her repression, yet her first impulse is to gently help her captor with the problems he had.
It’s interesting how many times gentile military leaders are used to give an example to the grace and mercy of God, which brings me to one of my favorite stories in the Bible, the healing of Naaman the Syrian General. So many “oppressors” are granted a place in Jehovah’s providential care, which makes Naaman’s entrance into the story of salvation all the more amazing. In this portion of 2 Kings there is a slave girl who upon hearing that the commander of the army suffered from leprosy told him of a prophet of the LORD in Israel, a man by the name of Elisha. Her simple faith and willingness to share the good news with a man of his stature cannot go unnoticed. The world would say that she should show spite to this man who had caused her repression, yet her first impulse is to gently help her captor with the problems he had. This act of affection for a neighbor should be instructive to us, especially when we live in and time and place that thinks returning evil for evil is the name of the game in seeking “justice”.
In some ways she has a lot in common with the words of the woman at the well in John 4 when she goes and tells her friends about this man who told her everything she had ever done, the testimony of the women who report the resurrection to the disciples, and Rhoda’s work in Acts 12:13. Each in their own way are conduits to God’s grace by their willingness to speak in love. Much of the Lord’s purposes in His creation are accomplished through avenues we least expect.
There are so many elements to the girl’s testimony to Naaman that are worth looking at that it could fill a whole volume (indeed it has). There us, as noted, a seemingly random interaction (though we know there is no such thing in God’s providence) between a servant and a man of place. There is should be no sense where this lamentable action, the enslaving of those grabbed in war, could be a scene of God’s gracious love, yet it seems like it is especially in these types of situations where the LORD particularly enjoys expressing His goodness and mercy. Similarly with the gentile woman whom Christ speaks to in Matthew 15, the Centurion in Mark 15, and the other Roman soldier in Luke 7, and of course the care of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10 there are many instances where the very folks that the people of God are found to be disliking shame them in their faith and trust in the promises of Jehovah, even if at the time they are not the focus of it.
But back to Naaman for a second. It’s not just the 1 Peter 3:15 work of the slave girl that is worth highlighting in the passage.
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