Month: January 2008

Unity: The Fifth Mark of the Church

/ Dennis Griffith / Leave a comment

by James M. Boice

The divisions that exist today are too obvious to need comment. They lie both on the surface and within. Battles rage. Even highly praised church mergers not only fail to heal these divisions but also usually lead to further breakups involving those who do not like the new union. So far as Christ’s reasons for praying for unity go, it is simply that he foresaw these differences and so asked for that great unity which should exist among his own in spite of them. 

All the marks of the church concern the Christian’s relationship to some thing or some person. Unity is to be the mark of the church in the relationships which exist between its members. Joy is the mark of the Christian in relationship to himself. Holiness is the mark in relationship to God. Truth is the mark in his relationship to the Bible. Mission is the mark in his relationship to the world. In this mark, unity, and the last, love, which in some sense summarizes them all, we deal with the Christian’s relationship to all who are likewise God’s children. 

What kind of unity is this to be?

One thing the church is not to be is a great organizational unity. Whatever advantages or disadvantages may be involved in massive organizational unity, this in itself obviously does not produce the results Christ prayed for, nor does it solve the church’s other great problems. Moreover, it has been tried and found wanting. In the early days of the church there was much vitality and growth but little organizational unity. Later, as the church came to favor under Constantine and his successors, the church increasingly centralized until during the Middle Ages there was literally one united ecclesiastical body covering all Europe. Wherever one went – whether north, east, south or west – there was one united, interlacing church with the Pope at its head. But was this a great age? Was there a deep unity of faith? Was the church strong? Was its morality high? Did men and women find themselves increasingly drawn to this faith and come to confess Jesus Christ to be their Savior and Lord (for that is what Christpromised, namely, that if the church were one, men and women would believe on him)? Not at all! On the contrary, the world believed the very opposite. 

Another type of unity that we do not need is conformity, that is, an approach to the church which would make everyone alike. Here we probably come closest to the error of the evangelical church. For if the liberal church for the most part strives for an organizational unity – the evangelical church for its part seems to strive for an identical pattern of looks and behavior among its members. This is not what Jesus is looking for in this prayer. On the contrary, there should be the greatest diversity among Christians, diversity of personality, interests, life style and even methods of Christian work and evangelism. This should make the church interesting, not dull. Uniformity is dull, like row upon row of cereal boxes. Variety is exciting! It is the variety of nature and of the character and actions of our God. 

But if the unity for which Jesus prayed is not an organizational unity or a unity achieved by conformity, what kind of unity is it? The answer is that it is a unity parallel to the unity that exists within the Godhead; for Jesus speaks of it in these terms – “That they all may be one, as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they may also be one in us… I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one” (John 17:21, 23). This means that the church is to have a spiritual unity involving the basic orientation, desires and will of those participating. Paul points to this true unity in writing to the Corinthians, saying, “Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God who worketh all in all (1 Corinthians 12:4-6). 

The various images used of the church throughout the New Testament help us understand the nature of this unity. For instance, Christians belong to the family of God, and therefore they are rightly brothers and sisters of one another. We begin with this image because these terms, brothers and sisters, are the most common terms used by Christians of one another in the New Testament. 

The unique characteristic of this image – that of the family, or of brothers and sisters – is that it speaks of relationships and therefore of the commitments that the individuals must have to one another. The relationships are based upon what God has done. Salvation is described as God begetting spiritual children, who are therefore made members of his spiritual family through his choice and not through their own. 

This fact has two important consequences. 

First, if the family to which we belong has been established by God, then we have no choice as to who will be in it or whether or not we will be his or her sister or brother. On the contrary, the relationship simply exists, and we must be brotherly to the other Christian, whether we want to be or not. 

The second consequence is simply that we must be committed to each other in tangible ways. We must be committed to helping each other, for example. For we all need help at times, and this is one clear way in which the special bond among believers can be shown to the watching world. 

The second important image used to portray the unity of the church of Christ is a fellowship, which the New Testament normally indicates by the Greek word koinonia. The word at its base has to do with sharing something or having something in common. In spiritual terms koinonia, or fellowship, is had by those who share a common Christian experience of the gospel. In this respect the New Testament speaks often of our fellowship with the Father (1 John 1 :3), with the Son (1 Corinthians 1:9), which is sometimes described as a fellowship in the blood and body of Christ (1 Corinthians 10: 16), and with the Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 13:14). 

But fellowship is not only defined in terms of what we share in together. It also involves what we share out together. And this means that it must involve a community in which Christians actually share their thoughts and lives with one another. 

How is this to be done practically? It will probably be done in different ways in different congregations depending upon local situations and needs. Some churches are small and therefore will have an easier time establishing times of sharing. Here church suppers, work projects and other such efforts will help. Larger churches will have to break their numbers down into smaller groups in various ways. 

The third important image used to stress the unity of the church is the body. Clearly, this image has many important connotations. It speaks of the nature of the Christian union – one part of the body simply cannot survive if it is separated from the whole. It speaks of interdependence. It even suggests a kind of subordination involving a diversity of function; for the hand is not the foot, nor the foot the eye, and over all is the head which is Christ. 

However, the one function of the body which is unique to this image is service. For just as the family emphasizes relationships, and fellowship emphasizes sharing, so does the body emphasize work. The body exists to do something and, since we are talking about unity, we must stress that it exists to enable us to do this work together. 

What is to be your part in this area? What will you do? Obviously you cannot change the whole church, but, first, you can become aware of that great family, fellowship and body to which you already belong, and you can thank God for it. Second, you can join a small group, where the reality of Christian unity is most readily seen and experienced. Third, you can work with that group to show forth Christian love and give service. If you are willing to do that, you will find God to be with you, and you will be overwhelmed at the power with which he works both in you and in others whom he will be drawing to faith. 

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This is the fifth in a series of six posts by Dr James M. Boice concerning the characteristics of a healthy church.

Walk in the Light – Studies in 1 John

/ Dennis Griffith / Leave a comment

If it is true, as they say, that one is known by the company he/she keeps, then the first epistle from the Apostle John is really good news for Christians. 

In the prologue of this letter John talks about Christian Fellowship.  He tells us that, if we are in Christ, not only do we have fellowship with other Believers, but with God Himself!   

In the following verses John explains how we experience that fellowship. That’s what he is talking about when he writes about “walking in the light…” (See v. 5-10) 

John begins by talking about God: “God is light; in Him there is no darkness at all. 

John is here succinctly expressing a few important things.   

1.      Theology is important.   

Theology, in the proper sense, is the study about God.  And John demonstrates here that theology, at its best, is practical.  For John, knowledge of God is not an optional accessory for the Christian life; theology is not something that is left for the professionals.  Theology comes first, as a foundation upon which we build our lives, our churches, and our relationships. 

2.      Fellowship begins with considering God.   

John has already expressed that his purpose in writing about our fellowship is “to make our joy complete.”  Here, again, he elaborates about how we experience that fellowship – and he begins by talking about God. 

Wisdom, true spirituality, and real fellowship (that produces joy) always begin with our understanding of who God is. 

This may seem obvious to most of us. But, as Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones suggests:  

“Most of our problems occur precisely because we don’t begin at this point.” 

3.      God is Holy 

J.I. Packer says: “Those who know God have great thoughts of Him.” 

John describes God as being “light”.  Again, it is helpful to remember that John uses word pictures to help us grasp concepts that are important but difficult to define. 

By describing God with the metaphor light, John opens us to consider a wide range of God’s attributes. But while “light” may illustrate many of God’s attributes, most scholars seem to agree that what John has in mind, primarily, is God’s holiness. 

Recognizing, and contemplating God’s holiness is essential to having a relationship with God, and according to John understanding God’s holiness is important for our relationships with others.  

For more reading about God’s Holiness, I suggest: 

Holiness of God by R.C. Sproul 

The Knowldege of the Holy   by A.W. Tozer 

Mission: The Fourth Mark of the Church

/ Dennis Griffith / 2 Comments

A number of years ago, when the well-known conference speaker Ralph L. Keiper was preaching at a missions conference in Deerfield Street, New Jersey, he told about a little girl who had come to see him early in his ministry. She was about eight years old.  She had been to the church’s daily vacation Bible school. And when she came into his study she asked, “Mr. Keiper, is it all right if I commit suicide?” 

 The young pastor was startled. But he had learned never to give a quick Yes or No answer to a child’s question without first discovering why the child is asking the question. So he countered,“Mary, why would you ever want to commit suicide?” 

 “Well,” Mary said, “it’s because of what I learned in Bible school this morning.” 

 Keiper wondered to himself, “What was this child told?” 

She said, “We were taught that heaven is a wonderful place – no fear, no crying, no fighting, just to be with the Lord. Won’t that be wonderful! We were taught that when we die we will be with Jesus. Did I hear it right, Mr. Keiper?” 

“Yes, you did, Mary. But why would you want to commit suicide?” 

“Well,” she said, “you have been in my home. You know my mother and daddy. They don’t know Jesus. Many times they are drunk. So we have to get ourselves up in the morning, get our own breakfast and go to school with dirty clothes. The children make fun of us, and when we come home again we hear fighting and things that make us afraid. Why couldn’t I commit suicide?” 

It is clear that Mary did not believe in theoretical theology; she believed in practical theology, and she was facing a very practical problem. What she was really asking is why are we in this world anyway. If this world is such a sin-cursed place and heaven is such a blessed place, why do we have to stay here? Why does God not take us to heaven immediately upon our conversion? Or, failing that, why do we not all take our own life and so speed up what is an inevitable ending anyway?

Keiper answered by saying, “Mary, there is only one reason in God’s world why we are here. And that is that through our testimony, by life and by word, we might have the privilege of bringing people to the saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus.” He then indicated that, as Mary did this, it might be in the Lord’s providence that her parents would come to know the Lord as their Savior. Later, her mother did. 

Keiper’s story is important in light of the fourth mark of the church.

Up to this point we have been talking about those things which concern the church itself or which concern individual Christians personally. We have looked at joy, holiness and truth. But while these are important and undoubtedly attainable to a large degree in this life, nevertheless it does not take much thinking to figure out that all three of them would be more quickly attained if we could only be transported to heaven. Here we have joy; that is true. But what is this joy compared to the joy we will have when we see the source of our joy face to face? The Bible acknowledges this when it speaks of the blessedness of the redeemed saints, from whose eyes all tears shall be wiped away (Rev. 7:17; 21:4). Again, in this world we undoubtedly know a degree of sanctification. But what of that day when we shall be completely like him (1 John 3:2)? Or again, here we are able to assimilate some aspects of God’s truth and know truly. But in the day of our final redemption we shall know fully. “Now we see in a mirror, darkly; but then, face to face; now I know in part, but then shall I know even as also I am known” (1 Corinthians 13:12). If this is true, why should we not go to heaven immediately? 

The answer is in the mark of the church to which we come now. For the church is not only to look inward and find joy, to look Christ-ward and find sanctification, to look to the Scriptures and find truth. The church is also to look outward to the world and there find the object of her God-given mission. 

The word “mission” comes from the Latin verb mitto, mittere, misi, missum, which means “to send” or “dispatch.” A mission is a sending forth. “But to whom is the church sent? Where are we sent as Christian missionaries?” The answer is, into the world. Jesus says quite clearly, “As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world” (v. 18). 

Here is why the evangelical church in the U.S. is not as much of a missionary church as it claims to be. It is not that the evangelical church does not support foreign missions. Rather it lies at the point of the evangelicals’ personal withdrawal from the culture. Many seem afraid of their culture. Hence, they try to keep as far from the world as possible lest they be contaminated or polluted by it. Thus they have developed their own subculture. As some Bible teachers have pointed out, it is possible, for example, to be born of Christian parents, grow up in that Christian family, have Christian friends, go to Christian schools and colleges, read Christian books, attend a Christian country club (known as a church), watch Christian movies, get Christian employment, be attended by a Christian doctor, and finally, one may suppose, die and be buried by a Christian undertaker on holy ground. But this is certainly not what Jesus meant when he spoke of his followers being “in the world.” 

What does it mean to be in the world as a Christian? It does not mean to be like the world; the marks of the church are to make the church different. It does not mean that we are to abandon Christian fellowship or our other basic Christian orientations. All it means is that we are to know non-Christians, befriend them, and enter into their own lives in such a way that we begin to infect them with the gospel, rather than their infecting us with their worldliness, which is the wrong way around. 

The second thing the text talks about is the character of the ones who are to conduct this mission. The point here is that we are to be as Christ in the world. This is made clear both in verse 18 and 19, for Jesus compares the disciples to himself both in the area of his having been sent into the world by the Father and of his being sanctified or set apart totally to that work. He says, “As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself that they also might be sanctified through the truth.” In other words, we are to be in our mission as Jesus was in his mission. We are to be like the One whom we are presenting. 

Perhaps you are saying, “I do not know if I am like Jesus or not. In what areas should I be like him?” Obviously we are to be like him in every way. In other words; as his life was characterized by joy, so is our life to be characterized by joy. As he was sanctified, so are we to be sanctified. As he was characterized by truth, so are we to be. 

We are also to be like the Lord Jesus Christ in our unity. The world is fractured in a million ways. It is the logical outcome of the work of Satan, one of whose most revealing names is the disrupter (diabolos). If Christians would win the world, they must show a genuine unity which is in itself desirable and winsome and which at the same time points to the great unity within the Godhead, which is its source. 

Finally, the church must be marked by love, if it is to be as Christ in the world. Jesus loved the world; he really did. It was out of love for it that he died. Consequently, if we would win the world, we must love the world too – not the world’s system or sin, of course, but rather those who are in it. 

Once my family was eating in a restaurant, and my youngest daughter knocked over her glass of coke for about the thousandth time. I was visibly annoyed, as I always am (since we never seem to get through a meal without the identical accident). But we cleaned up and shortly after that left the restaurant. My daughter walked along in silence for awhile; but then she said, “You really hate it when we spill our cokes, don’t you?” I replied that I certainly did. She looked serious, but then she brightened up as if a particularly happy thought had just passed through her mind. She threw her arms around me in a big hug and added, “But you love me!” 

She knew the difference between love of the sinner and hatred of sin. And so will we if we look to Jesus. We must be like him in love, knowing that if we are, the world will see it and be drawn to him.  

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This is the fourth in a series of six posts by Dr James M. Boice concerning the characteristics of a healthy church.

Sin Boldly

/ Dennis Griffith / 1 Comment

lutherwoodcut.jpgI’m going to start a new category: Graffiti. This categtory will offer some great quotes.   I don’t know many that would top the following from Luther:  

“If you are a preacher of grace, then preach a true and not a fictitious grace; if grace is true, you must bear a true and not a fictitious sin. God does not save people who are only fictitious sinners. Be a sinner and sin boldly, but believe and rejoice in Christ even more boldly, for he is victorious over sin, death, and the world.

As long as we are here [in this world] we have to sin. This life is not the dwelling place of righteousness, but, as Peter says, we look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. It is enough that by the riches of God’s glory we have come to know the Lamb that takes away the sin of the world. No sin will separate us from the Lamb, even though we commit fornication and murder a thousand times a day. Do you think that the purchase price that was paid for the redemption of our sins by so great a Lamb is too small? Pray boldly—you too are a mighty sinner.”

 -Martin Luther, in a letter to Phillip Melancthon 

Truth: The Third Mark of the Church

/ Dennis Griffith / 2 Comments

by James M. Boice 

It is a striking thing that nearly all that God does in the world today, he does by the Holy Spirit through the instrumentality of his written revelation. This is true of sanctification. Sanctification means to be set apart for God’s use. So our text tells us that the only way this will ever happen to us is by an appropriation of God’s truth as that is recorded for us in the Bible.  

If we are to receive the blessings God has for his church, we must receive them in the way God has planned to give them to us, and this means that there are many ways in which holiness will not come to us.

First, It will not come through preaching or listening to preaching, for instance. Most of us know people who have specialized in Bible conferences and conventions to such a degree that they are fully aware of what a speaker is going to say before he says it. But this alone does not produce holiness.

What is wrong? Quite simply, they are looking to men for their teaching, rather than to God.  

A second way in which we will not find holiness is through prayer or, still less, through prayer meetings. Prayer is most important in the Christian life, but it is not the God-ordained means for growth in holiness. Prayer is preparation for such growth. But at what point in prayer does God actually speak to us and direct us in the way we should go? Only when God the Holy Spirit brings the words of Scripture to our minds for the direction we need.  

Third, we must not expect to find holiness through a special experience.

Whenever you find yourself looking for an experience, you are on the wrong track and in spiritual danger. Sanctification comes rather from seeking always and increasingly to have the Lord Jesus Christ (a person, not an “it”) exalted in our lives. And the way to do that is by discovering what he desires of us and for us as that is revealed in his Word.  

This brings us back to the central point. Growth in holiness is through Bible study, that alone. And therefore, the third mark of the church must be God’s truth. David asked about it, saying, “Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way?” He answered, “By taking heed thereto according to thy Word. With my whole heart have I sought thee; oh, let me not wander from thy commandments” (Psalm 119:9-10).  

What does this mean practically?  

Let me suggest some areas. 

1) We must let it be known that we do what we do because the Bible says so. It is our authority. We must be men and women of “the Book.” We have to recover the biblical standard. We have to get to what the Word of God says. We have to study it, do our homework, and then we must ask: On the basis of this Word, what does God want for the church in this age?  

2) We need to be distinct in our theology. This pays off, because where it is done those who hunger for the truth of the Word of God will come to it.  We need to articulate the great biblical doctrines, not just adopt the theology of our culture. We need to speak of the depravity of man, of man in rebellion against God, so much so that there is no hope for him apart from God’s grace. We need to speak of God’s electing love, showing that God enters the life of the individual in grace by his Holy Spirit to quicken understanding and draw the rebellious will to himself. We must speak of perseverance, that God is able to keep and does keep those whom he so draws. All these doctrines and all the supporting doctrines that go with them need to be proclaimed.  

3) We have to be distinctly different in the area of our priorities. Our priorities are not going to be the world’s priorities but the priorities of the Word of God. This does not mean, let me say, that we will therefore neglect social concerns. That is part of the priority of the Christian life. But it does mean that we will not reject the gospel of salvation through faith in the vicarious atonement of Christ either. And we will make the proclamation of this gospel our number one priority.  

4) We need to be distinctly different in the area of our lifestyle.   

One of the priorities we must have concerns our time. Sport has almost become the religion of America. It is what many people do on weekends. And there are evangelicals who find their time so taken up with sports that Christian activities are crowded out. Is that right? Is this not an area in which we have to say that the drift of our day is not in the direction we want to go?  

The second area where I raise the question of proper priorities is the amount of time spent watching television. The average American watches television over four hours every day. These figures are true, I am convinced, of Christian people also. Is the tube worth that time? The Bible says, “Redeem… the time, because the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:16).  

How about the use of Sunday? I do not believe in proscribing what is proper and improper Sunday activity for anybody. But how do we use Sunday? Do we want to worship God? Is sixty minutes, seventy or eighty minutes, on Sunday morning really the whole of our Sunday commitment?  

Public schools are increasingly scheduling school events for Sunday, and this is having its effect on our children. We are going to see more of that, and Christian people are going to be confronted with it again and again. Are these activities more important than having our children in church? Even if it means that our children are not going to be as popular as we would like them to be – we must say, “But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD” (Joshua 24:15). These are areas where Christians are going to have to show that they are distinct.  

Perhaps the most pressing area in which we have to be distinct is sexual ethics, particularly in our conception of marriage and the way we conduct our marriages. It is not easy to have a Christian marriage today. Everything in the world works against it. The great and overriding concern of our time is for personal satisfaction, and there is always that in marriage which does not seem personally satisfying. We wish things could be different. But the question is: What are we in the marriage for? Are we in it for personal satisfaction above all? Or are we there because we believe that God has brought us together with our spouse to establish a Christian home in which his truth can be raised high, Christian values demonstrated, and children raised in the nurture and admonition of the Lord?  

Finally, we must be distinct in our use of money and other resources. How do we use our money? All of us are hit by inflationary times. But if we compare our standard of living in the United States with the rest of the world, compared to most others we are all millionaires. All of us have money we could use in the Lord’s work. Do we thus use it? Are we faithful in that area? Some of us do not even give the Old Testament tithe, let alone our life and soul and all that we have to be used in the Lord’s own way.

I have given four areas in which we need to be distinctly different: the areas of our authority, theology, priorities, and life style. All these correspond to the areas of secularization delineated earlier. But there is a fifth point which we need to add.

5) We need to be distinctly different in our visible dependence upon God. I am convinced that nothing less than this will capture the attention of a secular world.  

How can Christians change the world? The Lord Jesus Christ gave the answer in the Sermon on the Mount. He did not say that we are to maneuver the world. He did not say, “Get elected to high positions in the Roman Empire. See if you can get an evangelical to be promoted to emperor.” Not at all! It could happen, of course. He did not forbid it. But that is not the option he gave. He said, “Ye are the salt of the earth” (Matthew 5:13). Then he said, “Ye are the light of the world” (v. 14).  

Salt does a great deal of good, but it does no good at all if it has lost its saltiness. It is only when it is salty that it is effective. So, if we are those in whom the Spirit of God has worked to call us to faith in Jesus Christ, we must really be Christ’s people; and it must be evident that by his grace we are not what we were previously. Our values must not be the same values. Our commitments must not be the same commitments. Our theology must not be the same theology. Rather, there must be a new element in us and, because of us, in the world.  

We are also “light.” If salt speaks of what we are, light speaks of what we do. The purpose of light is to shine, to shine out. So the Lord said, “Look, nobody lights a candle and puts it under a bushel. It is to be set up on a candlestick where all will see it.”  

What are we to be? We are to be lighthouses in the midst of a dark world. Being a lighthouse will not change the rocky contours of the coast. The sin is still there. The perils of destruction still threaten men and women. But by God’s grace the light can be a beacon which will bring the ships into a safe harbor. That is what it means to be set apart unto God, to be sanctified. We are to be a beacon, knowing that as we are that, there will be cause for great rejoicing, and the evangelical church will be blessed by God and thanked by those who have found the Lord Jesus Christ through her witness. 

This is the third in a series of six posts by Dr James M. Boice concerning the characteristics of a healthy church.

Holiness: The Second Mark of the Church

/ Dennis Griffith / Leave a comment

 by  James M. Boice

 Holiness is the characteristic of God most mentioned in the pages of the Word of God and is therefore, quite rightly, that which should characterize God’s church. We are to be a “holy” people (1 Pet. 2:9). We are to “follow” after holiness. Indeed, without it “no man shall see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14). Jesus speaks of this characteristic of the church in our passage (John 17) by praying – it is his second petition combined with the third – that God would keep it from the evil one. 

ansel-adams.jpg

But what is holiness? Some people have identified holiness with a culturally determined behavioral pattern and so have identified as holy those who do not gamble or smoke or drink or play cards or go to movies or do any of a large number of such things. But this approach betrays a basic misconception. It may be the case that real holiness in a particular Christian may result in abstinence from one or more of these things, but the essence of holiness is not found there. Consequently, to insist on such things for the church is not to promote holiness, but rather to promote legalism and hypocrisy. In some extreme forms it may even promote a false Christianity according to which men and women are justified before God on the basis of some supposedly ethical behavior. 

The Apostle Paul had found this to be true of the Israel of his day, as Jesus had also found it before him. So he distinguished clearly between this kind of holiness (the term he used is “righteousness”) and true holiness which comes from God and is always God-oriented. He said of Israel, “For they, being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God” (Romans 10:3). 

This biblical idea of holiness is made somewhat clearer when we consider those words that are synonyms for it in the English language, namely “saint” or “sanctify.” Christ uses the second one in verse 17. What is a saint? A saint is not a person who has achieved a certain level of goodness but rather one who has been set apart to himself by God. 

But now we need to ask this question: If holiness has to do with separation (or, better yet, consecration) and if believers are already holy by virtue of their being set apart to himself by God, why does Christ pray for our sanctification? Why pray for that which we already have? The answer is obviously that although we have been set apart to himself by God we often clearly fail to live up to that calling. 

We are worldly in the sense that the world’s values often remain our values and the world’s priorities our priorities. 

First of all, there is the matter of the world’s wisdom. The old wisdom of the church, in every age and in every denomination, was the wisdom of the Scriptures. Christian people stood before the Word of God and confessed their own ignorance in spiritual things. They even confessed their inability to understand what is written in the Scriptures except for the grace of God through the ministry of the Holy Spirit who opens the Scriptures to us. Christian people confessed their resistance to spiritual things and the fact that, if left to ourselves, we always go our own way. But what has happened in our time is that this old wisdom, the strength of the church, has been set aside for other sources of wisdom with the result that the authoritative and reforming voice of God through the Scriptures is ignored. 

Second, it is not only in the area of the world’s wisdom that we are faced with secularism; we are also faced with it in the area of the world’s theology. The world’s theology is easy to define. It is the view that man is basically good, that no one is really lost, and that belief in the Lord Jesus Christ is not necessary for salvation. 

Finally, secularism in the church is seen in the world’s methods. God’s methods are prayer and the power of the gospel, through which the Holy Spirit moves to turn God’s people from their wicked ways and heal their land. That has always been the strength of the church of Jesus Christ. But today that power is despised. It is laughed at, because the methods that those laughing want to use are politics and money. 

Well, the secularism of the church is bad. I will be considering the cure for it in our study of the church’s next distinguishing characteristic: truth. But, of course, we must notice the cure even now.  Jesus makes it clear in his prayer by saying at the beginning of this section, “I have given them thy word” (v. 14), and then again at the end, “Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth” (v. 17). It is by means of the Bible, then, by the Word of God, that we are to become increasingly separated unto God and grow in practical holiness. 

Without a regular, disciplined and practical study of the Bible the church will always be secular. It will fall into that state described by Paul for Timothy, when he warned that in the last day “perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, truce-breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God, having a form of godliness, but denying the power of it” (2 Tim. 3:1-5). That is the secular church: “having a form of godliness, but denying the power of it.” But on the other hand, by means of the Bible, God’s people will become the opposite. For if the secular church employs the world’s wisdom, the world’s theology, the world’s agenda, and the world’s methods, the true church will invert it. It will employ the wisdom of God, the theology of the Scriptures, the agenda of God’s written revelation, and the methods that have been given to us for our exercise in the church until the Lord Jesus Christ comes again. 

This is the second in a series of six posts by Dr James M. Boice concerning the characteristics of a healthy church.

Practical (& Humorous) Laws for Young Children

/ Dennis Griffith / 2 Comments

The following are Levitical-style Commandments for families with young children. These “Laws” are taken from an episode of A Prairie Home Companion.

 Our children are out of the life-stage where these are applicable, but to pass along “wisdom” for parenting – and to get a chuckle – I post these laws here. 

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Laws of Forbidden Places 

Of the beasts of the field, and of the fishes of the sea, and of all foods that are acceptable in my sight you may eat, but not in the living room.  

Of the hoofed animals, broiled or ground into burgers, you may eat, but not in the living room.  

Of the cereal grains, of the corn and of the wheat and of the oats, and of all the cereals that are of bright color and unknown provenance you may eat, but not in the living room.  

Of quiescently frozen dessert and of all frozen after-meal treats you may eat, but absolutely not in the living room.  

Of the juices and other beverages, yes, even of those in sippy-cups, you may drink, but not in the living room, neither may you carry such therein.  

Indeed, when you reach the place where the living room carpet begins, of any food or beverage there you may not eat, neither may you drink.  

But if you are sick, and are lying down and watching something, then may you eat in the living room.  

Laws When at Table 

And if you are seated in your high chair, or in a chair such as a greater person might use, keep your legs and feet below you as they were.  

Neither raise up your knees, nor place your feet upon the table, for that is an abomination to me. Yes, even when you have an interesting bandage to show, your feet upon the table are an abomination, and worthy of rebuke.  

Drink your milk as it is given you, neither use on it any utensils, nor fork, nor knife, nor spoon, for that is not what they are for; if you will dip your blocks in the milk, and lick it off, you will be sent away from my presence.  

When you have drunk, let the empty cup then remain upon the table, and do not bite it upon its edge and by your teeth hold it to your face in order to make noises in it sounding like a duck: for you will be sent away from my presence.  

When you chew your food, keep your mouth closed until you have swallowed, and do not open it to show your brother or your sister what is within; I say to you, do not so, even if your brother or your sister has done the same to you.  

Eat your food only; do not eat that which is not food; neither seize the table between your jaws, nor use the raiment of the table to wipe your lips. I say again to you, do not touch it, but leave it as it is.  

And though your stick of carrot does indeed resemble a marker, draw not with it upon the table, even in pretend, for we do not do that, that is why.  

And though the pieces of broccoli are very like small trees, do not stand them upright to make a forest, because we do not do that, that is why.  

Sit just as I have told you, and do not lean to one side or the other, nor slide down until you are nearly slid away. Heed me; for if you sit like that, your hair will go into the syrup. And now behold, even as I have said, it has come to pass.  

Laws Pertaining to Dessert 

For we judge between the plate that is unclean and the plate that is clean, saying first, if the plate is clean, then you shall have dessert.  

But of the unclean plate, the laws are these: If you have eaten most of your meat, and two bites of your peas with each bite consisting of not less than three peas each, or in total six peas, eaten where I can see, and you have also eaten enough of your potatoes to fill two forks, both forkfuls eaten where I can see, then you shall have dessert.  

But if you eat a lesser number of peas, and yet you eat the potatoes, still you shall not have dessert; and if you eat the peas, yet leave the potatoes uneaten, you shall not have dessert, no, not even a small portion thereof.  

And if you try to deceive by moving the potatoes or peas around with a fork, that it may appear you have eaten what you have not, you will fall into iniquity. And I will know, and you shall have no dessert.  

On Screaming 

Do not scream; for it is as if you scream all the time. If you are given a plate on which two foods you do not wish to touch each other are touching each other, your voice rises up even to the ceiling, while you point to the offense with the finger of your right hand; but I say to you, scream not, only remonstrate gently with the server, that the server may correct the fault.  

Likewise if you receive a portion of fish from which every piece of herbal seasoning has not been scraped off, and the herbal seasoning is loathsome to you and steeped in vileness, again I say, refrain from screaming.  Though the vileness overwhelm you, and cause you a faint unto death, make not that sound from within your throat, neither cover your face, nor press your fingers to your nose. For even I have made the fish as it should be; behold, I eat it myself, yet do not die.  

Concerning Face and Hands 

Cast your countenance upward to the light, and lift your eyes to the hills, that I may more easily wash you off. For the stains are upon you; even to the very back of your head, there is rice thereon.  

And in the breast pocket of your garment, and upon the tie of your shoe, rice and other fragments are distributed in a manner beyond comprehension.  

Only hold yourself still; hold still, I say. Give each finger in its turn for my examination thereof, and also each thumb. Lo, how iniquitous they appear. What I do is as it must be; and you shall not go hence until I havedone.

Various Other Laws, Statutes, and Ordinances 

Bite not, lest you be cast into quiet time. Neither drink of your own bath water, nor of the bath water of any kind; nor rub your feet on bread, even if it be in the package; nor rub your feet against cars, not against any building; nor eat sand.  

Leave the cat alone, for what has the cat done, that you should so afflict it with tape? And hum not the humming in your nose as I read, nor stand between the light and the book. Indeed, you will drive me to madness. Nor forget what I said about the tape.  

Complaints and Lamentations 

O my children, you are disobedient. For when I tell you what you must do, you argue and dispute hotly even to the littlest detail; and when I do not accede, you cry out, and hit and kick. Yes, and even sometimes do you spit, and shout “stupid-head” and other blasphemies, and hit and kick the wall and the molding thereof when you are sent to the corner. And though the law teaches that no one shall be sent to the corner for more minutes than he has years of age, yet I would leave you there all day, so mighty am I inanger. But upon being sent to the corner you ask straightaway, “Can I come out?” and I reply, “No, you may not come out.” And again you ask, and again I give the same reply. But when you ask again a third time, then you may come out.  

Hear me, O my children, for the bills they kill me. I pay and pay again, even to the twelfth time in a year, and yet again they mount higher than before.  For our health, that we may be covered, I give six hundred and twenty talents twelve times in a year; but even this covers not the fifteen hundred deductible for each member of the family within a calendar year.  And yet for ordinary visits we still are not covered, nor for manymedicines, nor for the teeth within our mouths. Guess not at what rage is in my mind, for surely you cannot know.   

For I will come to you at the first of the month and at the fifteenth of the month with the bills and a great whining and moan. And when the month of taxes comes, I will decry the wrong and unfairness of it, and mourn with wine and ashtrays, and rend my receipts. And you shall remember that I am that I am: before, after, and until you are twenty-one. Hear me then, and avoid me in my wrath, O children of me.

Joy: The First Mark of the Church

/ Dennis Griffith / 1 Comment

by James M. Boice

That most of us do not think of joy as a primary characteristic of the Church probably indicates both how little we regard it and how far we have moved from the spirit of the early Church. For if anything characterizes the early Church it is that it was a joyous assembly. 

When the Jerusalem Church sent a letter to the churches of Antioch, Syria and Cilicia after the first Church council, they began their announcement of the momentous decision regarding Gentile liberty from law by the word chairein – “Joy be with you”  (Acts 15:23).  James begins his letter in the same manner – “Joy be with you” (James 1:2).  In Paul there are many such greetings. Thus, when in a letter literally flowing over with joy, the Apostle wishes to give final admonitions to his friends, the Philippians, he writes, “Rejoice in the Lord always; and again I say. Rejoice” (4:4). 

But is the Church today joyful?

Are Christians? 

No doubt we think of joy as something that should characterize the Church ideally and will doubtlessly characterize it in that day when we are gathered together around the throne of grace to sing God’s glory. But here? Here it is often the case that there are sour looks, griping, long faces and other manifestations of a fundamental inner misery. 

We should be joyful, but often we are not. We are depressed. Circumstances get us down. Instead of the victory we should experience, we know defeat and discouragement. 

Since none of us wants to remain gloomy, let us see what we can find as a remedy. 

The first remedy for a lack of joy is on the surface of the text. Jesus says quite clearly, “These things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy” (John 17:13). This means that in one sense the basis for joy is sound doctrine. Earlier in these final discourses Jesus declared, “If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love, even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full” (John 15:10, 11). Joy is to be found in a knowledge of God’s character and commandments, and these are to be learned through his Word. When we are settled in our knowledge of God, his will and ways, we can trust him peacefully and joyfully whatever the circumstances. 

Does someone say, “Oh, but that is easy for you to say, but you don’t know my circumstances. I am thirty-two years old and unmarried. My parents are dead, and I am so lonely. I don’t know what I’ll do if I have to go on this way for thirty or forty more years…” Another says, “But I’m an invalid. I can’t get about. My circumstances are so hard…” If you are speaking this way, you are indicating your practical ignorance of the sovereignty of God and are confessing that your thoughts are not really settled in him. Instead of this, recognize that he has planned those circumstances and look for his purposes in them. 

Let me say something about circumstances, which we often think are so bad. Circumstances refer to things that are without. The word itself is based on two Latin words: circum, which means“around” (as in the word “circumference”), and stare, which means “to stand.” So circumstances are the things that are standing around us. They are external. But where is the Lord in this picture? Is he without? No, by contrast he is within. It is a case of “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col. 1 :27). So why worry about what is without, if Christ is within? To know that he is within and that he is directing us moment by moment, day by day, is the secret of that super-natural joy which is our rightful birthmark as God’s children. 

The second remedy for a lack of joy in the believer’s life is fellowship, and that in two dimensions. There is a vertical fellowship: fellowship with God. And there is a horizontal fellowship: fellowship with one another. Jesus is the pattern for us in both cases. 

One thing we are going to notice in these six marks of the Church is that Jesus is the pattern for each one. And that is certainly the case here. For Jesus was joyful, even though we call him (rightly, but perhaps one-sidedly) “a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.” We know this from our text, because he speaks here, not just of “joy,” but of “my joy.” It is this that he holds out to us. What is his joy? It is the joy of moment by moment contact and fellowship with the Father. This is what sustains him in this prayer. It is what sustained him on the cross. 

It will sustain us as well, if we will only enter into the reality of that fellowship. Do not say, “But that is for Jesus; he was the Son of God, and I am just I.” Are we not also sons of God? Is it not Jesus himself who has taught this to us? He taught that we could be born into God’s family (John 3:3, 7). He taught that God could become our Father (John 20:17). Therefore, we can enter into the joy of Christ even as he entered into it – by constant fellowship with the Father. 

Moreover, we can enjoy it on the horizontal level also. In fact, we must enjoy it on the horizontal level, for fellowship with the Father and with one another always go together. So if you are not joyful, it may be that you have cut yourself off from other Christians, perhaps even with the thought of establishing your own private fellowship with God. It does not work that way. You need other believers, and they need you. Without them your fellowship with God will be diminished and your joy will not be full. 

There is one final part to God’s remedy for lack of joy. It is that we must live holy lives; for sin will keep us from God, and the fellowship with him that we need will be broken. In John 17 this thought is suggested by the sequence of the verses. For immediately after speaking of our need for joy, Jesus goes on to speak of our need for holiness, adding, “Sanctify them through thy truth” (v. 17). The same thing is suggested in Romans 14:17, where Paul says, “For the kingdom of God is not food and drink, but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.” 

Many Christians do not have the joy that they ought rightly to have because they go their way, rather than God’s. They disobey his commandments. How much better to go God’s way in holiness, to rest in him, and thus allow him to “fill you with all joy and peace in believing” (Rom. 15:13). 

This is the first in a series of six posts by Dr James M. Boice concerning the characteristics of a healthy church.

Marks of a Healthy Church

/ Dennis Griffith / Leave a comment

Over the next several weeks the leaders of Walnut Hill Church will engage in a number of discussions concerning the health and direction of our church.  These discussions will cover a wide range of considerations. 

Walnut Hill, though a smaller church is in many respects already a healthy congregation.  I believe that if we were to compare ourselves with the majority of churches around the country, we would find that we are doing quite well.  But such comparative health is not our aim. Instead we want to be faithful to all that our Lord calls us to be and to do. We want to be and do everything that we were designed for; we don’t want to just be (or seem) better than some others.

Toward that end…

  • Our Elders will be going to Birmingham, AL in a few weeks to participate in the Embers to Flame Conference, which I expect will provide some common ground for our discussions.  The key concepts emphasized by the Embers Conference will then serve as a sort of “scaffolding” as we labor to strengthen and build and our various ministries.  
  • We will continue our process of moving from a church that prays toward becoming a House of Prayer for all Nations.  Already Walnut Hill displays a priority of prayer that is very encouraging to me as the pastor.  But we want to explore how we can still grow in this area. (I’ll compose several posts that I hope will clarify some of the distinctions between a Praying Church and a House of Prayer.) 
  • We will explore the Gospel, and its various aspects. And we will consider how the Gospel applies to us each day as followers of Christ, and not just as a plan of salvation to be explained to those who do not (yet) believe. (See Colossians 2:6, Galatians 3:1-3, and 2 Peter 3:18)
  • We will reflect on the Core Values, or the DNA, of our church, so we can build on those things that make Walnut Hill unique. And we anticipate developing a clear and comprehensive philosophy of ministry – which we will put in writing. Much of this is already in place, but still needs to be clearly articulated so we can communicate it to those who will be – and already are -joining us. 

These are a few of the things that we will be undertaking, and obviously only a broad sketch. But I wanted to share it with you so you will know how to pray for us. And I also wanted to provide an open door for you to consider some of these same things along with us. 

As part of our discussion I will also post a series of articles by Dr. James M. Boice from his series: How to Have a Healthy Church.  While these are not exhaustive, I find these insights to be very helpful and, as I look at Walnut Hill, encouraging.   

Dr. Boice suggests there are 6 Marks, which will be published in six subsequent posts: 

I invite you, the Walnut Hill Church family, to reflect on these marks, and consider to what extent they are evident at Walnut Hill, corporately; and in our own lives, personally.

To any degree you find us lacking, please pray that, by God’s grace, these marks would become increasingly evident in and among us. 

Signs of Living to Please God

/ Dennis Griffith / Leave a comment

In Galatians 1:10, the Apostle Paul asks a semi-rhetorical question: “Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God?”   

 At this time of the year most of us see the opportunity for a new start. Whether you are one who makes New Year’s Resolutions or not, there seems to be a sense of a“Do Over” that comes almost as soon as that ball drops in Times Square, and the Bowl season begins to make way for the roundball & puck.   

The Apostle’s question raises another, more fundamental question: Who is it that we are to live to please?  

I want that to be a question that will be given consideration for this new year (… and every year).  

It would not be appropriate to suppose Paul suggests affirmation from the people around us is a bad thing. On many occasions Paul expressed his thankfulness for having been well received, for the friendships he enjoyed with many among whom he had lived and labored.  Yet his question should remind us: “The primary purpose of man is to glorify and enjoy God”. (Westminster Shorter Catechism, Q. 1)

While earning esteem at work, in your neighborhood, or among family members may often be a good thing, Paul reminds us that it is when this is our driving motivation that we may be out of accord with the very purpose for which we are created, and for which we are redeemed.   

So how do we know when we are falling into this? (Yes, when, not if.)   

The great English Puritan, Richard Baxter, provides us with some thoughts, and exhorts us: “See therefore that you live for God’s approval as that which you chiefly seek, and as that will suffice you.”

You may discover yourself by these signs: 

  1. You will be careful to understand the Scripture, to know what pleases and displeases God
  2. You will be more careful in the doing of every task, to fit it to the pleasure of God rather than men.
  3. You will look to your hearts, and not only to your actions; to your goals, and thoughts, and the inward manner and degree.
  4. You will look to secret duties as well as public, and to that which men do not see as well as those which they see.
  5. You will revere your conscience, paying close attention to it, and not slighting it; when it tells you of God’s displeasure, it will disquiet you; when it tells you of His approval, it will comfort you.
  6. Your pleasing men will be charitable for their good, and pious (holy) in order to please God, not proud and ambitious for your honor among men, nor impious against the pleasing of God.

Baxter Goes on to say:

Whether men are pleased or displeased, how they judge you or what they call you, will seem a small matter to you, as their own interests, in comparison to God’s judgment. You don’t live for them. You can bear their displeasure, and comments, if God is pleased.