The church is being built at exactly the rate that Jesus wants it to be built. Not one person faster or slower. Hell has not slowed the construction by even a second. Not one person whom Jesus wants included will be excluded.

“I’m frightened.” These were my Pop’s last words. I saw him just after death, and his face and body evinced struggle. He did not profess to be a Christian, and I asked my pastor whether this struggle was perhaps a sign that God was working on his spirit, and that perhaps he could have come to salvation in his last hour?
My pastor, knowing that Pop had not professed faith, answered with a straightforward “No.”
I was a little shocked. How could he speak with such certainty?
Matthew 16:13-19 explains how, a passage that Michael Green rightly calls “the hinge on which the whole Gospel turns.”

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” (Matt. 16:13-14; all Scripture passages from NIV version)

Caesarea Philippi, at the foot of snow-veiled Mount Hermon (the source of the Jordan river) is in the picturesque northern extremity of Palestine. In Matthew’s day it was the famously pagan center of pan-worship. Jesus probably retreated there with his disciples for a time of rest and instruction.
The lessons begin with this vital question: “Who do the people say the Son of Man is?”
“Son of Man” is Jesus’ favorite designation for himself. It captures both his humanity and, from Daniel 7:13-14, both his divine nature and divine destiny of universal and eternal rule (see Matt. 26:64).
Jesus knows exactly who he is. And by his authoritative teaching, healings, domination over the demonic realm, and supernatural command and control over nature, he has categorically revealed his identity and mission.
Having seen and heard this, what conclusions have the people drawn? “John the Baptist, Elijah, or Jeremiah …” Perhaps these great prophets had been resurrected in the person of Jesus. Without doubt he reprised the spirit of their ministry.
Is there a common thread? Were these three not the more poignant and pessimistic of the prophets? Certainly they were very exalted Jewish figures. Should not Jesus be flattered by the comparison? Not at all. None of them, like Jesus, claimed a divine identity and mission—nor proved it with supernatural acts of power. They were as inferior to Jesus as the ambassador is to the King, as the creature is to the Creator (Matt. 23:37).
What may have been meant as a compliment was in truth a profound denigration, a patronizing and willful denial of Jesus’ manifest identity.
The patronizing has never paused. A person with a passing knowledge of Jesus may perhaps deign to grant his existence, or even his importance as “a great moral teacher.”
Beyond excuse, however, are those New Testament scholars who shut their eyes to the arc-lamp of his glory that blazes from every paragraph of the Gospels, and who demote and disqualify and denigrate Jesus as “a very fine example.” J. Gresham Machen described this:

The modern liberal preacher reverences Jesus; he has the name of Jesus forever on his lips; he speaks of Jesus as the supreme revelation of God; he enters, or tries to enter, into the religious life of Jesus. But Jesus for him is an example of faith, not the object of faith. (Christianity and Liberalism, p. 85)

Any conception of Jesus that falls short of what Jesus revealed himself to be is not only an error or lie—it is perverse idolatry. It is to concoct a false image and to call it “Jesus.”
“But what about you?” Jesus asked.
“Who do you say I am?” The NIV captures the urgent personal emphasis and the life and death probing of the original. What do you yourself think? Your answer to this question fixes your eternal destiny!
Notice also how important it is to say what we think about Jesus. Heart and mouth must work together, for a merely inward faith is no faith at all (Rom. 10:8-11).

Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (Matt. 16:16)

The Christ is the Messiah, the Anointed One, the Divine and Saving Prophet, Priest, and King promised on every page of the Old Testament (Luke 24:27). And Jesus is the eternal “Son of the Living God” in a way that no one else is or ever can be (John 1:1-3).
Like King Josiah before him, Peter smashes down the idols to leave nothing but the One True Jesus Christ.

Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven.” (Matt. 16:17)

The makarios, the blessed, is the one who should count themselves truly happy. This is the person the world should congratulate (see Matt. 5:3-10).
Why is Peter so blessed? Because, literally, no “flesh and blood” had brought him to this truth, least of all himself. He was blessed because the truth he had owned and expressed had been revealed (apokalyptō) by “my Father.” He had only believed and said what the Father had, first of all, placed there.
“You are one of the happy ones, Simon, whose father is Jonah, because my Father in Heaven has come and opened your eyes and mouth to say what you have just said.”
Just as Jesus prayed in Matthew 11:25-26,

I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure.

And now Jesus, just as he did with Jacob after wrestling with him at Peniel (Gen. 32), confirms a new name upon Peter (John 1:42).

And I tell you that you are Peter (petros), and on this rock (petra) I will build my church. (Matt. 16:18a)

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The major lesson from this assembly on this matter is that we need to double down on our Presbyterian principles. Witnesses and evidence with biblical process for those who are guilty and vindication for those who have been falsely charged. This has always been the Presbyterian way and is doubly necessary in the negative world.

The 88th Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC) General Assembly  has happened.
There were many things that occurred at that meeting, one of which has gotten the attention of the NAPARC social media sphere. I am talking of course about the accusations of racism made at the 88th GA. As one who has been burned by social media in the past and as a commissioner to the 88th GA, I think some perspective is in order. I offer this commentary to set the record straight and to point out to my brothers in the OPC, officers and congregants, that what we need now, more than ever, is to double down on our Presbyterian principles. These episodes will happen again. It is only by walking in God’s ways that we will be able to see a path through.
If we take Aaron Renn’s “negative world” interpretation seriously, we need to take this lesson seriously as well. His negative world interpretation sees American culture as negatively disposed to Christianity. The previous generation was neutral towards the church. The generation prior to that was positive. Now, America sees being a member of the church as a negative thing and in some cases, a moral fault. Evil, one might say. I agree with Renn’s interpretation. But more than that, his interpretation helps us understand the lay of the land and enables us to understand how things operate in the world. It helps us understand what happened on the campus of Eastern University.
When the Assembly gathered for our first business session (Thursday afternoon) we were greeted with a sobering announcement. Eastern University reported to us four instances of racial disparagement committed by members of our group. They informed us that if this happened again, they would pull the contract and kick us off campus. This would have been the first time in the history of the OPC that a GA was suspended midway. Bewildering to say the least.
The moderator held us in recess until after the dinner break for the purpose of prayer and conference. In this announcement we were told the substance of the four instances. As has been recounted elsewhere, one of the four was so beyond conception that no one at the Assembly gave it any credence. The other three were probable.
Many of you have already read the Christianity Today article about this Assembly. In that article, the author characterized the first two incidents as joking about “slave labor.” Here is the first lesson for all OPC members. While the CT article is not outright lying, it is presenting the incident in a deceptive frame. The instance we were told about was that a commissioner made two jokes about the 13th amendment. This is the amendment that outlawed slavery. The essence of the joke was that since slavery is no more, don’t work too hard. This was a case of wrong place, wrong time. The term “slave labor” wasn’t used, as far as I can tell. The CT article uses the term “slave labor” in its reporting for the emotional effect. That term evokes all kinds of visceral responses. Hence the author uses that term, which was never reported to us at the GA. Thus, we have a case of deceptive framing in the CT article.
The lesson here is to recognize how words are used in the negative world. They are used, more often than not, to manipulate emotion rather than to convey reality. This is a principle of the post-modern world we live in where truth is nothing, power only is the object of speech. Hence, in the negative world “speech is violence.” Most Christians do not think this way as a matter of course. We tend to think of words as communicating reality (either of our own hearts or of God and His Gospel). Thus it may come as a surprise when less than good faith actors use language in less than good faith. This is becoming more and more common within the church. The lesson here is to recognize that this is going on.
I do not fault the moderator nor the other men who represented us in our interactions with Eastern University. They were between an eight ball and a bowling ball, trying to avoid a crushing. I do take issue with the posting of our statement on social media during the assembly.
This statement was approved without dissent. Whatever breaches of order that occurred to accomplish that are not the point here. The larger point was the posting of that statement to social media. The Assembly approved that statement to be given to Eastern. The decision to post it to social media was never brought before the Assembly. I voiced these concerns to the parties responsible and am satisfied with their reasons, though I disagree with their decision. Here is the second lesson.
If words are bullets in the negative world, social media is gunpowder in the casing. As far as the situation was concerned, there was no need to post the statement to social media. The party that complained was being dealt with. That was as far as it needed to go. This is due to the unsubstantiated nature of the accusations. Not being confirmed, there was no need to publicize.
For my OPC brothers, consider an issue on your own session. Let’s imagine a man is accused of beating his wife. Let’s say that the woman’s father is the one making the accusation to you. He is furious. All understandable. Let’s further imagine that in order to placate the father, you make an announcement to the congregation, post it on your church’s website and socials denouncing wife beating. What would the effect be? People will draw the conclusion that your church is a hot bed for wife beating.
All of that could be avoided if you deal with the father in private, assuring him that you take this as seriously as he does and that you will investigate. After an investigation, you are then able to proceed wisely and properly. Before an investigation any admission of guilt or hint thereof will damage the reputations of the parties involved.
The major lesson from this assembly on this matter is that we need to double down on our Presbyterian principles. Witnesses and evidence with biblical process for those who are guilty and vindication for those who have been falsely charged. This has always been the Presbyterian way and is doubly necessary in the negative world. Take it from one who has been on the receiving end of false accusations, no amount of apology for mere accusations will satisfy the mob.
All those who are calling the OPC racist are slandering her. All those who are accepting those slanders at face value are parties to gossip. As the testimony of Eastern University shows, the only real instance of a GA commissioner giving offense was the instance of a bad joke made at the wrong time. He intended no offense. Rather he intended encouragement and rapport with the student helpers. To call this racist is to succumb to the verbal weapons of the post modern negative world.
Recognizing that we live in the negative world is imperative for all shepherds today. Daniel was able to persevere in Babylon because, at one level, he recognized that the culture of Babylon was opposed to the culture of Judah. And the culture of Judah was based on the religion of Jehovah. Many, many OPC members and officers have grown up in and known nothing but the culture of Judah, as it were. I praise the Lord for this. And it is to these that would simply say, “Look around. You are not looking at Mount Zion when you look at America in 2022. You are looking at the Hanging Gardens. You are not in Judah anymore. Don’t eat the kings meat (don’t adopt the cultural concerns of post modern America as Christian concerns).”
The OPC is better than this. We need to be better than this. For the warfare has just begun and the weapons of our warfare are mighty in God for pulling down strongholds. We need only to use them and to behold the salvation of Jehovah.
Bennie Castle is Pastor of Grace Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC) in Lynchburg, VA.
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Following military service, David served as the Executive Director of the Presbyterian and Reformed Joint Commission on Chaplains and Military Personnel (PRJC) and Coordinator for Chaplain Ministries, Mission to North America (MNA), Presbyterian Church in America (PCA).  In these roles, David recruited, sponsored, and mentored dozens of Chaplains who served in multiple branches of the military and communities of service.  He retired from this ministerial role in 2010.

Chaplain (COL) David Peterson, retired, age 81 of Sturgis, SD, died Wednesday, October 19, 2022 at his home, surrounded by his loving family.
Peterson was born on January 4, 1941 in Lemmon, South Dakota.  He graduated from Lemmon High School in 1958 and received his BA degree from Covenant College, St. Louis, Missouri in 1962.  He continued his studies at Covenant Theological Seminary, St. Louis, Missouri, receiving a Master of Divinity in 1965 and was ordained as a Presbyterian Minister in July 1965.   While at Covenant, David met the love of his life, Sandra, and they married on June 9, 1964.
As a Chaplain in the U.S. Army, David ministered to soldiers of all ranks for 30 years.  David was as equally concerned about ministering to enlisted soldiers and non-commissioned officers during two combat tours in Vietnam as he was about ministering to the most senior commanding officers during Operation Desert Storm.  In his assignments throughout the United States, David positively impacted soldiers and their families with his living Christian testimony.  He provided comfort, wisdom, and encouragement to everyone he knew.   He retired from active-duty service in 1995 and moved to Sturgis, South Dakota.
Following military service, David served as the Executive Director of the Presbyterian and Reformed Joint Commission on Chaplains and Military Personnel (PRJC) and Coordinator for Chaplain Ministries, Mission to North America (MNA), Presbyterian Church in America (PCA).  In these roles, David recruited, sponsored, and mentored dozens of Chaplains who served in multiple branches of the military and communities of service.  He retired from this ministerial role in 2010.
While David had many significant professional accomplishments, his source of joy was serving God, serving others, and uplifting his family.  He and his beloved wife, Sandra, created a refuge for family gatherings where wonderful memories were created for his children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, extended family, and so many others.  He fixed four wheelers, saddled up horses, guided pheasant hunts, prepared the swimming pool, jumped on trampolines, and refereed family skeet shooting competitions.   He did all this with contagious enthusiasm, a fun-loving attitude, and an endless supply of “grandpa sayings” that endeared him to all.   He never faced a task too great that he couldn’t complete for the enjoyment of his family.  The love he showed and generosity he shared left a legacy of happiness, joy, and love.  His life will continue to be an inspiration for many generations.
David is survived by his wife, Sandra of Sturgis, South Dakota; son, Jeffrey (Lili) Peterson of West Point, New York, daughters, J’Lane (Peter) Dunning of Beaufort, South Carolina, and Julie (Paul) Durfield of Hattiesburg, Mississippi.  David’s grandchildren include Jessica (Joshua), Kayci, Sydney (Ian), Olivia (Blaine), Benjamin, Joseph, Anna, Stephen, Clara, Meghan, Faith, Ginny, Caleb, Hudson, Heath, Colter, and Jeremiah, as well as great-grandchildren James and Elizabeth.   He is also survived by brothers Robert (Karen) Peterson of Lemmon, South Dakota, Rolland (Jane) Peterson of Lemmon, South Dakota, Kenneth (Pauline) Peterson of Aberdeen, South Dakota, and sister Delores Long of Lemmon, South Dakota.
David was preceded in death by his parents, Robert and Winnie Peterson, his brother, Charles, brother-in-law Art, and sisters-in-law, Rosemary and Ruth.
A funeral service will be held 11am Thursday, October 27th, 2022 at Foothills Community Church in Sturgis.  There will be no visitation.  A second service will be held 11am Monday, October 31, 2022 at the Reformed Presbyterian Church in Lemmon.  Interment will take place in Greenhill Cemetery in Lemmon, with Military Honors provided by the Brattvet-Green American Legion Post #66.
At the family’s request, please do not send flowers.  In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred to the Foothills Community Church: 3501 Avalanche Road; Sturgis, SD  57785 or the Reformed Presbyterian Church: 500 First Ave; Lemmon, SD  57638.
Arrangements are with Leverington Funeral Home of the Northern Hills in Belle Fourche, South Dakota.
Both services will be available to view online.  Please look for the two weblinks at the bottom of this obituary.  David’s video tribute will be also made available here as well. (Hopefully by Tuesday)
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