Yes, We Have All Quarreled with God
Henry David Thoreau was an eccentric 19th century American author, philosopher, and naturalist. He spent 2 years, 2 months and 2 days living in a small cabin he built himself outside of Concord, Massachusetts. He chronicles his reflections during that experience in his 1854 book, Walden. He explains the rationale for his exile in the wilderness in the following words.
I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practice resignation, unless it was quite necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms, and, if it proved to be mean, why then to get the whole and genuine meanness of it, and publish its meanness to the world; or if it were sublime, to know it by experience, and be able to give a true account of it in my next excursion.
Thoreau commendably wanted to live life to the fullest, to experience its richness at its deepest levels so that when he died, he could die without regret. Eight years after publishing Walden, on May 6, 1862, after a lingering case of tuberculosis, he did die. While on his deathbed, his Aunt Louisa asked him if he had made his peace with God. Thoreau’s response was, “I did not know we had ever quarreled.”
Those words, no doubt spoken in sincerity, reflect the kind of willful ignorance that has tragically plagued mankind since our first parents turned away from our Creator. I call it “ignorance” because it reflects a lack of knowledge about the way things actually are.
The Bible teaches us that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 6:23) and that because of sin we are all “by nature children of wrath” (Ephesians 2:3), that is the wrath of God. The Apostle Paul says that we are all naturally “enemies of God” (Romans 5:10).
That is undeniably the way that life is now. But it is not the way it was in the beginning. Originally, God made Adam and Eve “upright” (Ecclesiastes 7:29) and enjoyed perfect fellowship with them. Sin caused them to be separated from Him and at odds with Him. Failure to acknowledge that is to be ill-informed. It is ignorance.
Such ignorance is willful because, as Romans 1:18-20 says, “the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.”
So yes, we all have quarreled with God—including those who, like Thoreau, are willfully ignorant of it. Sin has placed everyone in jeopardy and exposes us all to His wrath. The result is that, left to ourselves we cannot ever have peace with God.
But the good news that is revealed to us in the Bible is that God has not left us to ourselves. On the contrary, in our weakness and helplessness, He has come to us. Through His Son, Jesus Christ, He has provided salvation for us—a way for us to be restored to Him; to have our sin forgiven and to experience genuine peace with God.
Because of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God now reconciles to Himself all who turn from sin and trust in Jesus as Lord.
That truth is what empowered the Apostle Paul to live the way that He did as a minister of Jesus Christ. And that truth is the very foundation of His church throughout the ages. It is what Christians live for; what we stand for. It is the one message that we have that we must declare to men, women, boys and girls today: “in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself” (2 Corinthians 5:19).
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Is Anything Needed More than Christ has Given?
Summary Discussion of Paragraphs 7-9 and 11-13 of Chapter 26 of the 1689 Confession.
Paragraph seven of chapter 26 highlights the independence and spiritual-giftedness of every local congregation—”To each of these churches.” Each has been given “power and authority” for executing biblically required worship and discipline. They need no interference from outside on matters of discipline, though they may request wisdom from other congregations (paragraphs 14, 15). Nor is their worship mandated from an outside source of human generation such as The Book of Common Prayer. The local congregation may carry out fully the elements of church life as required by Scripture. Every member of the body is gifted for particular functions within the body and “as each part does its work” the entire body is edified (Ephesians 4: 16).
These local congregations, when organized in a fully scriptural manner “according to the mind of Christ” will be constituted by members and officers (8). Members already have been described in paragraph 6 as “Saints by calling” who evidence their desire for holiness of life, fellowship with other believers and submission to the intent of the ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s Supper (described in chapters 28-30). All believers should see membership in a local body as a spiritual privilege and duty (12). Being admitted to the privileges of worship granted to the church by Christ himself, everyone who embraces membership also commits to be under the instruction, censure, and government of the church executed “according to the Rule of Christ.”
Two kinds of discipline will characterize a healthy New Testament congregation. The first is formative discipline. Each member will receive regular instruction from called and qualified teachers—normally, but not limited to, elders—in sermons preached to the whole congregation in corporate worship. In addition, special times of instruction in smaller groups may occur in ways consistent with the needs of various segments of the church’s membership “which are to be ordered according to the light of nature, and Christina prudence according to the general rules of the Word, which are always to be observed” (I. 6). Formative Discipline is the most common kind employed by the church in accordance with apostolic principle. It includes prayer, worship, giving, taking the ordinances, reading the Scripture, and learning how to detect and mortify the jealous struggles of the flesh against the working of the Spirit and truth. Paul wrote frequently to give encouragement and substantial teaching in this process of formative discipline. To the Colossians, a church that he had not visited as yet, he instructed, “Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving” (Colossians 2: 6). As he continued, Paul wrote, making specific applications of doctrine: “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive” (Colossians 3: 12, 13). At the end of the letter Paul insisted, “And when this letter has been read among you, have it read in the church of the Laodiceans; and see that you also read the letter from Laodicea. And say to Archippus, ‘See that you fulfill the ministry that you have received in the Lord’” (Colossians 4: 16, 17). Such kinds of insistent apostolically-generated instruction could be multiplied greatly. This instruction, the ethical and practical application of doctrinal truth, gives godly formation to the attitudes and actions of Christians. Rescued from the power of darkness, we must now be transformed by the power of the word, the renewing of the mind, in order to be able to test and prove the will of God for a life of worship and obedience. This is formative discipline.
A second type of discipline is corrective discipline. Its first manifestation deals with private offenses that might escalate into the necessity of discipline of a more public nature. The confession refers to 1 Thessalonians 5:14 and 2 Thessalonians 3: 6, 14, 15. Both sternness and gentleness befit pastoral involvement: “Warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all.” These Scriptures highlight the importance of apostolic teaching in saying, “But we command you, brethren, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, that you withdraw from every brother who walks not according to the tradition which he received from us.” Also, Paul reminded the church, “And if anyone does not obey our word in this epistle, note that person and do not keep company with him, that he may be ashamed.” Both in conduct and in belief the apostolic practice and word was to govern the congregations established under apostolic missionary labors.
In cases of private offense, the rule of Matthew 18: 15-17 is to be followed. If an understanding and restoration of confidence, trust, and fellowship is achieved in the private meeting, nothing further needs to be done. If such resolution cannot be reached, it then becomes a church matter. In such a case, the person who initiated the attempt at resolution should not “disturb church order, or absent themselves from” church attendance or partaking of the ordinances. They must wait patiently on the will of Christ as executed through the “further proceeding of the church” (13). There are times when difficult circumstances in a local congregation can be aided by consultation with another congregation of like faith and order, but the final policy and action in all such cases is a matter of the authority of the local congregation itself. [Tom Hicks dealt with this in his discussion of paragraphs 14 and 15 in another issue of the Founders Journal]. Each congregation must test all counsel and advice in light of the word of God as it speaks to the particular situation under consideration.
Within the church, God has given some of whom is required the “peculiar administration of ordinances, and execution of power, or duty” (8). The leadership in the use of means for both formative and corrective discipline falls largely on the shoulders of those so gifted. The members of each congregation search out and call those who have been gifted as officers. The two officers of the church are bishops and deacons. These offices, “appointed by Christ,” are to execute their duties in the church, for the benefit of God’s people and the glory of God, continuing in them “to the end of the world” (8). The common suffrage in electing these officers also is extended to the practice of corrective discipline, a “punishment by the majority” (2 Corinthians 2: 6). Though elders and deacons lead, the final application of discipline is to be done “when you are assembled in the name of the Lord Jesus,” at which time they are to “purge the evil person from among you.” Disciplinable offenses are listed by the apostle: “anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler.” The purpose of the discipline is reclamation in light of the coming final judgment (1 Corinthians 5: 4, 5, 15). The purpose and prayer in such cases is for repentance and exuberant restoration so that the disciplined person will not be “overwhelmed by excessive sorrow.” The church is to “reaffirm your love for him,” “to turn to forgive and comfort” such a one (2 Corinthians 2: 6-8).
These officers are set apart by the church. While the ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s Supper are given to every member, the “laying on of hands” is reserved for those biblically-mandated and qualified leaders of the congregation—“fitted and gifted by the Holy Spirit.” The words bishop, elder, and shepherd all designate a single office from different perspectives of function and character. The Savoy Platform of Polity lists “Pastors, Teachers, Elders” as separate offices. The Baptists, who depended on this statement of polity for much of their wording departed from the Congregationalists at this point. The elder so qualified is “chosen thereunto by the common suffrage of the church itself” (9). This is a solemn, soul-shaping congregational responsibility and so should be accompanied “by fasting and prayer.” When elders are tested and elected, they are set apart for the service by laying on of hands. The confession references 1 Timothy 4: 14: “Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership.”
Although God may not call them as elders to exercise authority over the flock, he gives ability and unction of proclamation to others. Both Stephen and Phillip, two of the first deacons, were gifted as preachers and evangelists and God pressed them into service. The confession points to the scattering of the church after the persecution that arose over Stephen. At that time, those who were scattered were “preaching the word to no one but the Jews only.” Others went to Antioch and engaged the Hellenists “preaching the Lord Jesus.” God blessed the effort “and a great number believed and turned to the Lord” (Acts 11: 19-21). Considering this phenomenon, the writers of the confession said, “Yet the work of preaching the word is not so peculiarly confined to them; but that others also gifted, and fitted by the Holy Spirit for it, and approved, and called by the Church, may and ought to perform it” (11).
Christ has provided for his churches all that is needed for their knowledge of his word and their conformity to his image. The functioning of the church in accordance with the loving regulations given in Scripture under the guidance of the officers that he has set in place will cause us to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” “Christ also loved the church and gave himself for her, that he might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that he might present her to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such things but that she should be holy and without blemish” (Ephesians 5: 25-27).Tweet Share
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Rejoicing in the Overturning of Roe v Wade
More than a decade ago I stood in a square in old Boston listening to a very passionate guide talk about July 18, 1776 when the Declaration of Independence was read from the balcony of the Old State House there for the first time. One of my historical heroes, First Lady to be Abigail Adams, stood in the crowd that had gathered to hear the declaration read that day. She, an intelligent and thoughtful patriot, understood as much or more than anyone else in the square the significance of the moment.
As I listened to our guide and felt the momentary shadow of the importance of that moment years ago I briefly wondered what it would be like to experience such a day myself. To feel the weight of joy at the hand of God acting through the work of men for the good of a nation and to know the sober reality of the task now ahead. I did not really think I would see such a day in my lifetime.
But then yesterday, June 24, 2022, arrived and I sat awash with emotions at the news of the Supreme Court’s overthrow of Roe v Wade, declaring that the wicked decision which granted national legality to the murder of unborn children nearly 50 years ago was, in fact, not Constitutional after all.
The joy is weighty, overwhelming, deep. It erupted yesterday in happy tears in the middle of shopping and singing psalms at the top of my lungs while running errands. It exploded in thrown together plans for ice cream sundae celebrations with friends last night and the kind of bellylaughing that overflows from an abundance of joy. It was a good day. A feast day. A day that I will happily still be talking about when my hair is grey and my hearing is going. June 24 is a day that deserves the celebration and remembrance of generations to come.
This is a time for praise and thanksgiving to God who has used the work of men to bring about good for a nation who does not deserve His favor and grace. He has given us mercy once again and acted to stay the hand of those who wickedly participated in legalized murder, often gleefully. Mere hours after the decision abortion mills in Texas, Missouri, Louisiana, Alabama, Arkansas, South Dakota, and Wisconsin had halted their activities and closed their doors. There are children who were scheduled for death yesterday who are still alive today. Praise the Lord! Praise, oh servants of the Lord! Praise the name of the Lord!
This is a time for praise and thanksgiving to God who has used the work of men to bring about good for a nation who does not deserve His favor and grace.
It is also a time for solemnity. For repentance for the national sin of abortion that has been allowed to stain our land for so long. For mourning over the 60+ million lives that have been snuffed out in the womb, little image bearers whose slaughter should take our breath away and drive us to our knees. For recognition that the work of complete abolition is ongoing and that the struggle will be fierce and, likely, bloody before it is done. But this is a good work, a work that honors God, and a work from which His children must not flinch. Our God is a God of life and calls us to courage in the face of all adversity. The words of Proverbs are instructive to us as we look to the days ahead.
“If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small. Rescue those who are being taken away to death; hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter. If you say, ‘Behold, we did not know this,’ does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who keeps watch over your soul know it, and will he not repay man according to his work?” (Proverbs 24:10-12)
And it is a good time to remember that we are not the first to have stood in the weight of joy and solemnity, in the day of great matters and in the face of hardships in the struggle to come. John Adams wrote to Abigail on July 3rd, after the Continental Congress had finalized the draft of the Declaration, with this same mix of joy and resolve that all who love the cause of life should feel today.
“I am apt to believe that it [the date of the adoption of the Declaration] will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance by solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more.
Our God is a God of life and calls us to courage in the face of all adversity.
“You will think me transported with Enthusiasm but I am not. — I am well aware of the Toil and Blood and Treasure, that it will cost Us to maintain this Declaration, and support and defend these States. — Yet through all the Gloom I can see the Rays of ravishing Light and Glory. I can see that the End is more than worth all the Means. And that Posterity will tryumph in that Days Transaction, even altho We should rue it, which I trust in God We shall not.”
May God give us this same spirit of rejoicing as we celebrate the overthrow of Roe now and in coming generations, and equal courage and conviction to give our toil, blood, and treasure in a cause that is more than worth all the means, the rescue of those being taken away to death and the full abolition of abortion in every State in this Nation of ours.Tweet Share
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Lessons from Hurricane Ian
On September 28, 2022, Hurricane Ian slammed the coast of Southwest Florida with a fury not seen in nearly a century. In the immediate aftermath, our county sheriff’s office reported hundreds of fatalities from the storm. Fortunately, those numbers were not confirmed, although currently, the death toll has risen to 60 in my county and 100 in other areas. Property damage has been conservatively estimated to be in the tens of billions of dollars.
Due to a late jag to the southeast, the storm came right over my city of Cape Coral and the barrier islands to the west of us, Pine Island and Sanibel. Both the church I serve (Grace Baptist), and Founders Ministries were significantly affected. Some Grace members suffered significant loss. Nearly all suffered some loss. Businesses have been destroyed, homes devastated, families displaced, schools closed, and hospitals rendered inoperable.
I have lived through several serious storms during my 36 years in Cape Coral, including the last direct hit, Hurricane Charley, in 2004. Ian’s impact exceeds them all by far. In God’s providence, Donna and I were out of town when the hurricane landed. By his providence, the kindness of Delta Airlines, and the help of a good friend, we were able to get back to Cape Coral September 30. What I experienced in watching the storm from afar and seeing the aftermath up close has taught me several lessons.
Lessons About Grace
It is impossible not to see God’s grace in the storm. I write that fully aware of the deep grief that many are experiencing because of what they have suffered. Yet, grace is on display everywhere. From tens of thousands of linemen from across the country who staged just outside the storm’s path and deployed as soon as possible to get electrical services back online to trauma surgeons on standby to assist in medical emergencies, help has been extended to the people of SW Florida from all over.
There are dozens of examples of specific ways that I have seen God’s grace displayed in and after the storm. A few of them will suffice to make the point.
Within hours of the storm’s impact, I started receiving texts, phone calls, and emails from family, friends, and strangers with offers to help with relief and recovery work. Churches and individuals gathered food, water, and other supplies and sent them to us. Financial gifts were sent not only from people we know but from those we have never met. This outpouring of generosity enabled our church to distribute supplies to people in our community who were devastated by Ian. In addition to this, through the tireless work of Southern Baptist Disaster Relief and the Red Cross, we were able to provide hot meals to people for several days. Some of the recipients wept with gratitude.
Under the leadership of the deacons and elders, the members of Grace have poured themselves out in serving one another and our larger community. I long ago lost count of the number of houses that have had roofs tarped, drywall cut, mud raked out, and other repairs done by willing volunteers.
Speaking of volunteers, I must mention the teams of workers that have come to help us with such work. Men and women, including young people, have traveled hundreds of miles with a willingness to do whatever they can to help. Through a previous connection with our church, Sheepdog Impact Assistance staged in our facilities and was still at work serving our community nearly a month after the storm.
In addition to these more visible and obvious displays, God’s grace has been steadily at work in more covert, “behind-the-scenes” ways. Homes have been opened to those who have been displaced from their own homes. Meals have been shared and practical hospitality has been multiplied. Counsel, personal encouragement, and prayer have been readily and effectively offered by those who themselves are dealing with difficult challenges left in Ian’s wake.
Lessons About Sin
While the displays of God’s grace in acts of kindness and generosity can be traced to His saving work in Jesus Christ as well as to the fact that even unbelievers bear the image of God, Hurricane Ian has also provided opportunities to learn more personally the truth of the Bible’s teaching about sin. The world, obviously, is not the way that it is supposed to be—not the way it was originally designed to be and one day will be. Hurricanes, tornados, and floods are all part of what the Apostle Paul calls the “groaning” of creation as it awaits release from being made “subject to futility” (Romans 8:18-23). There will be no hurricanes in the new heavens and new earth.
Nor will there be looters or liars. Immediately after Ian’s winds subsided, some people began to ransack what was left of local businesses. Fortunately, both Governor DeSantis and our local sheriff publicly declared such wickedness unacceptable and warned looters that engaging in such activity could, and in some cases, likely would—result in death. From indications that I received, that message spread quickly among opportunistic thieves and most businesses did not suffer much loss from looting.
People who lost their homes on the barrier islands (which were hit the hardest) did not fare so well. Due to bridges being washed out to Pine Island (near our church) and Sanibel, the only access in the immediate aftermath was by boat or helicopter. The latter almost exclusively was limited to government officials or local news crews. Stories abounded of thieves in boats surreptitiously invading the islands, rifling through the remains of families’ possessions, and spiriting off with their stolen booty. It is a tragic display of Romans 3:10-18.
We saw similar, albeit less flagrant, expressions of human depravity in the conduct of some who received direct help from our church. Because of the generosity of so many from around the nation, our church quickly became a distribution point for much-needed basic supplies in our community. Most of those who came for help were deeply appreciative. Some had to be persuaded to take more than they originally planned to take (fresh water doesn’t last as long as you might think in Southwest Florida heat).
But others expressed frustration as if they had been mistreated when they weren’t given more or when supplies ran out. The creativity of depravity was also on display as various schemes were employed to get double, triple, and quadruple supplies. This occasionally resulted in tensions (“The greedy stir up conflict,” Proverbs 28:25) that had to be resolved by the wisdom that comes from above.
Lessons About Government
The last few years I have given more attention to the role of government in God’s world. There are a few reasons for this, not the least of which include the response to the Covid pandemic, the Black Lives Matter riots, and my study of Romans 13:1-7 as part of my regular exposition of that letter in our Sunday morning worship times at Grace.
Every thinking American Christian recognizes displays of failed government leaders and policies that are currently all around us in this nation. From President Biden’s promise to make abortion-on-demand the law of the land if Democrats control the legislature to the Supreme Court decision that undermines the institution of marriage and defies that God who instituted it, wickedness and corruption are evident in the halls of government. Examples could be easily multiplied.
So it has been refreshing to see government work in positive ways—ways that God intends and the Bible prescribes. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has done an exemplary job in marshaling resources for and giving help and encouragement to the parts of the state that were ravaged by the hurricane. Under his leadership, over 40,000 electrical linemen were staged just outside of the storm’s path and deployed as soon as possible to begin rebuilding electrical infrastructures and restoring power for over 2.5 million people. He also cut through governmental red tape when federal officials said that it would be “months” before bridges to the barrier islands could be rebuilt. He helped unite efforts to get two bridges built in 14 days. I told one of his staff that the governor is a poster-boy for what the Bible means in Romans 13:4 when it says that the civil magistrate “is God’s servant for your good.”
I attended a town hall sponsored by my congressman, Byron Donalds, and was greatly encouraged by the practical help both he and Cape Coral Mayor, John Gunter, were providing in their official capacities to serve our city. Everything from expedited trash collection to Federal Emergency Management Agency resources was quickly made available to residents of Lee County and Cape Coral.
As I have reflected on these lessons, I am reminded that a stable government, kind and generous neighbors, and churches uniting to serve devastated communities are blessings that God has showered on our nation, state, and community. I have been to other nations in the wake of natural disasters. The contrast between those places and people who have benefitted from the blessings that flow from biblical truth and those places and people where that truth has never been known or has been forgotten is stark. Today, in America, even with the manifest wickedness in many of our cultural, economic, educational, and political institutions, we still have much for which to be thankful. There are still blessings of common grace that flow through and to those who hate the very God who is their source.
Hurricane Ian did not make that so. But it has certainly made it evident.