(Continued from part one)...Do we have to submit to the government?  What if the government is stupid?  “There was an Idaho sheep rancher, that was approached one day by a stranger in a suit. The stranger told the sheep rancher, “If I can guess how many sheep you have, could I have one of them?” Thinking this was impossible the rancher agreed. “1795 sheep” the man in the suit said. The rancher was stunned, because the man in the suit was right. The rancher told the man in the suit to pick it out. The man in the suit selected the animal and he slung it over his shoulder and started to walk away. The rancher then said, “Hey if I can tell you who you work for can I have that animal back?” The man in the suit said, “Okay.” The rancher said, “You work for the government.” The man in the suit said, “How did you know?” The rancher said, “Put my dog down, and I’ll tell you.”⁷ We don’t think too highly of the government and sometimes rightfully so. Here is where most people will ask the question, “But what if the government wants me to do something wrong?” That’s the question I had. What if I have to do something wrong? What if they command me to do something wrong? And I’m not sure if we will actually ever experience a government telling us to do something that is wrong. But what if we do? NIV Acts 5:27…Having brought the apostles, they made them appear before the Sanhedrin to be questioned by the high priest. 28 ʺWe gave you strict orders not to teach in this name,ʺ he said. ʺYet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this manʹs blood.ʺ 29 Peter and the other apostles replied: ʺWe must obey God rather than men! I think Peter is clear enough. If we are ever commanded to do something that is contrary to God’s clear commands, we are to “obey God rather than man.” There may come a day, when our government tells us to stop preaching this message. If they do, we must “obey God rather than man”. If anyone ever tries to stop us from preaching Christ and Him crucified, we won’t stop. We will “obey God rather than man”. Now, we may have to suffer for it. Sometimes Christians, because of the gospel, have to do the hard thing. If the government ever commands us to perform immoral, non ‐ Christian, unbiblical acts, we will say, we must “obey God rather than man.” For instance: During the Nazi reign of power, Christians in Germany were told by the German government to have no dealing with the Jews. They weren’t allowed to do business with them, or to be friends with them, or to even acknowledge them. The Christians who refused to obey were right. Sometimes, because of the gospel, Christians have to things that are hard. Corrie ten Boom and her family were right to hide Jews. Many people suffered great loss in doing right in that era. And sometimes, Christians, because of the gospel have to do things that are hard . Sometimes, we must “obey God rather than man.” That is the grid that we must use. But if the government commands us to do something that is not against the clear teaching of scripture, we must obey it. As a matter of fact, if they are obeyed, Paul says, we don’t have much to worry about. Look at verse 3 of Romans 13. NIV Romans 13:3… For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. Generally, speaking there is no reason to be afraid if we are doing the right thing. Now, I said, generally speaking. (Usually, it’s true.) It’s a general rule of thumb here for Paul. It’s almost proverbial, which means (it’s usually the case.) If we obey the speed limit, it’s a rare thing to get a speeding ticket. Usually, when I see those blue and red lights suddenly flashing behind me, and my heart skips a beat, it’s usually because, I was speeding. But if we don’t speed, generally speaking we don’t have to worry about speeding tickets. That’s the principle here that Paul is talking about. Obey, and most of the time, you will be treated as if you obeyed. Disobey, and then you should expect consequences. This is generally true, and Paul is making this point because the government exists for our good. Look at verse four. NIV Romans 13:4… For he is Godʹs servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is Godʹs servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. The government is for our good. How is the government for our good? The wrong doer gets punished, and justice is carried out. Imagine a world, where the evildoer had no one to restrain him. As poor a job as it seems our government does sometimes, they do restrain evil. You see God uses the state as a means of carrying out His justice. The government is God’s servant. One of the ways God carries out his justice is through the government. The proof: there are people on death row, and there are thousands and thousands of people in prison.

You see the government’s job is to do justice. One man said, “What the individual Christian must not do what they do out of a motive of revenge, the state may legitimately do in the pursuit of justice.”⁸

Now, why in the world is Paul spelling all this out for us? Because, you see sometimes, because of the gospel, Christians have to do things that are hard. Some of the things that are hard are to submit to authority, even the government. Remember, we have a good reason to submit to authority. We should because God has ordained the government, for our good, to bring about justice and to carry out his purpose. We have to keep that in mind. But most of all, even when obedience is hard to do, even when submission to the government seems hard, we must submit, because of the gospel. Look at verse five. NIV Romans 13:5… Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience. Our subjection to the state should be for more reasons than for fear of punishment, because we know that the state is playing its part in God’s eternal purposes. But Paul also says here that we should submit to authorities because of conscience. Listen to how Augustine explains this verse. I think he says it pretty well. “…for the sake of conscience. That is to say, you should not submit simply to avoid the authorities anger, which can be done by pretense, but so that you might be assured in your conscience that you are doing this out of love for him. For you submit at your Lord’s command.”⁹

You see we have to obey and submit ourselves to the state, because negatively, we will be punished when we don’t, and positively, because… well, because of the gospel. Christ has put the government into place as a means to accomplish his eternal purpose, and we need to keep that in mind when we think about disobeying the government. We’ll come back to that point in a moment, but I think it’s becoming clear beloved, that, because of the gospel, Christians have to do things that are hard. It’s hard to submit to authority, I know, I don’t like to do it. But, I do know that Christ, came and submitted himself to the Father and he took on flesh, and even endured and submitted himself to a government that he was sovereign over. He “humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.” (Phil 2:8b). He left his throne and the worship of thousands of angels and he came and submitted himself to His Father. He said in John 6:38, “For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me.” He did that for me and for you, and as a result of his obedience, as a result of the gospel, I should submit myself, and I should obey. You see, beloved, because of the gospel, Christians have to do things that are hard. One of the reasons I have never robbed a bank is because I might get 25 years to life. Right? If I get caught, I will go to prison. But that’s not enough reason to obey is it? I should be so grateful for Christ sacrifice for me that it would prick my conscience, even to think of such a sin. That’s what Paul is driving at when he says for the “sake of conscience.” We should have more to motivate us to righteousness, than the fact that we might go to jail or get a ticket if we don’t. What is it that drives a man to drive the speed limit? What is it that taxes a man to pay his taxes? What is it that motivates us to obey and to submit? We should be motivated by the gospel. Beloved, because of the gospel, Christians have to do things that are hard. Look at verse six. NIV Romans 13:6… This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are Godʹs servants, who give their full time to governing. Obviously, the Apostle Paul was not a very good republican. He says nothing here of a limited government, or the idea that an oppressive government should be fought against. He doesn’t say, “If you don’t like your taxes, start a tax revolt”. He doesn’t say, “if you think you are being treated unfairly by your government, just get on a ship and move across the pond to a New World”. He says, “Pay your taxes.” Are you serious? Yes! Paul says pay your taxes because the government is a servant of God, and they receive their pay by taxes. Even Jesus said to pay our taxes. Mark 12:14 ‐ 17. NIV Mark 12:14… They came to him and said, ʺTeacher, we know you are a man of integrity. You arenʹt swayed by men, because you pay no attention to who they are; but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not? 15 Should we pay or shouldnʹt we?ʺ But Jesus knew their hypocrisy. ʺWhy are you trying to trap me?ʺ he asked. ʺBring me a denarius and let me look at it.ʺ 16 They brought the coin, and he asked them, ʺWhose portrait is this? And whose inscription?ʺ ʺCaesarʹs,ʺ they replied. 17 Then Jesus said to them, ʺGive to Caesar what is Caesarʹs and to God what is Godʹs.ʺ And they were amazed at him. Jesus affirmed here the lawfulness of paying taxes as not only legitimate, but actually, it’s one of the means that God uses to sustain and rule his creation. You see the government is ordained by God to maintain order, to restrain the wicked, and to further the purposes of God. Colossians 1:16 is clear. NIV Colossians 1:16…For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. 1 Peter 2:13 ‐ 14 seems to echo Romans 13 as well. NIV 1 Peter 2:13… Submit yourselves for the Lordʹs sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, 14 or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. You see even if it’s taxes we should pay those taxes, because, Christians, because of the gospel, have to do things that are hard. Even if it’s just regular obedience to the government, beloved, Christians, because of the gospel, have to do things that are hard . Let’s finish up now. Look at Romans 13:7. NIV Romans 13:7…Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor. You see when Paul wrote this, “Taxes were everywhere. There were taxes on Land, there were poll taxes, there were royalty taxes, taxes on produce, taxes on imports and exports… you name it, and it was taxed.”10 And Paul says, pay all of those taxes. As a matter of fact, pay anything you owe. Whatever it is you owe, pay it! If it’s respect, pay it! If it’s honor, pay it! Even if it’s hard, do it. You see, it’s because of the gospel, that Christians have to do things that are hard.

What is it that motivates a man to do the hard things? For Paul, it’s the gospel. You see he spent the first eleven chapters explaining, and preaching, and teaching who we are and what we are, because of what the Lord Jesus Christ has done for us in the gospel. Because Christ, came in utter submission to the will of His Father, I should be motivated to obey and submit to authority. Because Christ, came humbly and even bore in His body the sin of those who don’t like to submit to authority, I should respond gratefully by doing things that are hard like submitting to the government. Christ came in full submission and obeyed even to the death. And he did it for you and for me, and as a result of that, we beloved, we have to do things that are hard. Obedience is hard. Submission to authority is hard. Yes, we have to submit to the government. We have to pay taxes. We have to do all that. There are many hard things that we must do. For instance, because of the gospel we may have to endure a mate who is not a believer, or who is not very good to us. We may have to endure regular ole’ persecution. Paul doesn’t allow lashing out in vengeance when we are being oppressed. Even if it’s hard, we must obey. Let me ask you this morning, what is it that motivates you to do the hard things? What is it that motivates a man to take a $70,000 dollar pay ‐ cut to find a teaching job so he could go to Bible College? What is that motivates a mother to take care of 15 kids so that she could stay home with her own kids? What is that motivates parents to forgo buying themselves Christmas or birthday presents just so their kids could open presents on Christmas and could have good birthdays? What is that motivates parents to make sacrifice after sacrifice for a son who at the time is so ungrateful, but wishes now that he would have been more grateful? What is that motivates a man to teach school all day, and then go to seminary in the afternoon to study the Bible, to come home and be with his kids, and to then study late at night to only get a few hours sleep? And then to do that all over again day after day for some 20 years? What is that motivates a man to forgo money, a comfortable existence, and ambition, just to become a passionate teacher and preacher of the Bible? What is it that motivates a man and wife to endure heart attacks, to endure the loss of a mother, and now to even endure cancer with dignity, while maintaining a passionate love for each other? What is it that motivated my Mom and Dad to do those things? A lot of things motivate my Mom and Dad, but the one thing I know for sure… the overwhelming motivation for my Mom and Dad is a love for the gospel. That’s how they can endure and even do the hard thing in hard times. What is that motivates you to obey? What is that motivates you to do the hard thing? Beloved, it’s because of the gospel Christians have to do things that are hard.

SDG

Gage Browning 04’

1 From the website – http://usinfo.state.gov/usa/infousa/facts/democrac/23.htm

2 Taken verbatim from the PBS television series, “The Civil War” read and produced by Ken Burns‐ also found on the web site: http://usinfo.state.gov/usa/infousa/facts/democrac/23.htm

3 The Date for Nero’s reign came from the online version of the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia‐

4 Tacitus Annals xv‐44.2‐3 ‐ All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free documentation license.

5 Christian History Institute – an article “Nero unleashed First Wave of Terror”

6 A sermon at a Ligonier Conference‐ “The blood of the martyrs” by Sinclair Ferguson

7 Sermon by Guy McGraw, “You and Your Government”‐ taken from sermoncentral.com

8 New Geneva Study Bible‐ from the study note on verse 4, page 1790

9 Quote taken from – Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture Volume 6 on Romans, IVP,page 328 – also from P.F. Landes, ed. Augustine on Romans, Chico, Calif.: Scholars Press 1982.

What if Obama is elected President? I have been thinking about whether or not I would have to submit myself to his governing our country. What is the Christian response to such a thing? A few years ago I gave a lecture at my former Church about this topic. It comes from Romans 13. What are your thoughts?

What drives a man to drive the Speed limit? Romans 13:1-7

Sometimes, just because they are citizens of a country, men and women have to do things that are hard. That is true whether a man is an American, a Russian, an African or a Spaniard. It certainly was true of Sullivan Ballou. Sullivan Ballou was a major in the Second Regiment of the Rhode Island Volunteers. Sullivan only thirty ‐ two years old had overcome being an orphan and had built for himself a promising career as a lawyer and as a congressman. He was also building a good life with his beloved wife Sarah and their two young sons. Sullivan was an ardent union man and a devoted supporter of Abraham Lincoln. In the spring of 1861, Sullivan and his regiment left Providence for Washington D.C. to try to help save the Union. He wrote the following letter to his wife from a camp outside the nation’s capital and it is an extraordinary letter. It is a passionate love letter as a well as a profound meditation on his willingness to do whatever was required of him. This wonderful letter remained obscure however until 129 years later, when Ken Burns used it on the amazing series “The Civil War.” Sullivan wrote his letter on July 14th, while awaiting orders.¹ Now, while I read this letter, ask yourself this question: What is it that motivated him to do something so hard?

My very dear Sarah:

The indications are very strong that we shall move in a few days – perhaps tomorrow. Lest I should not be able to write you again, I fell impelled to write lines that may fall under your eye when I shall be no more. Our movement may be one of a few days’ duration  and full of pleasure – and it may be one of severe conflict and death to me. Not my will,  but thine O God, be done. If it is necessary that I should fall on the battlefield for my  country, I am ready, I have no misgivings about, or lack of confidence in, the cause in which I am engaged, and my courage does not halt or falter... And I am willing— perfectly willing—to lay down all my joys in this life, to help maintain this Government… My dear wife, …I cannot describe to you my feelings on this calm summer night, when  two thousand men are sleeping around me, many of them enjoying the last, perhaps,  before that of death – and I, suspicious that Death is creeping behind me with his fatal  dart, am communing with God, my country, and thee. Sarah, my love for you is deathless,  it seems to bind me to you with mighty cables that nothing but Omnipotence could break… The memories of the blissful moments I have spent with you come creeping over me, and I feel most gratified to God and to you that I have enjoyed them so long. And hard it is for me to give them up and burn to ashes the hopes of future years, when God willing, we might still have lived and loved together, and seen our sons grow up to honorable manhood around us. I have, I know, but few and small claims upon Divine Providence, but something whispers to me – perhaps it is the wafted prayer of my little (boy) Edgar – that I shall return to my loved ones unharmed. If I do not, my dear Sarah, never forget how much I love you, and when my last breath escapes me on the battlefield, it will whisper your name.Forgive my many faults, and the many pains I have caused you. How thoughtless and foolish I have oftentimes been! How gladly would I wash out with my tears every little spot upon your happiness…to shield you and my children from harm. But I cannot. I must watch you from the spirit land and hover near you, while you buffet the storms with our precious little freight, and wait with sad patience till we meet to part no more. But, O Sarah … do not mourn me dead; think I am gone and wait for thee, for we shall meet again. As for my little boys, they will grow as I have done, and never know a father’s love and care. Sarah, I have unlimited confidence in your maternal care and your development of their characters. O Sarah, I wait for you there. Come to me, and lead thither my children.²

Sullivan Ballou wrote the letter on July 14th, while awaiting orders that would take him to Manassas, where he and twenty ‐ seven of his men would die one week later at the Battle of Bull Run. What drives a man to do such a hard thing? What is it that drives a man, to leave house and home, wife and kids, security and future, what drives a man to leave those things behind, and to go and do something so hard? What is it that drives a man to do the hard thing? That’s the question we are going to answer in our text this morning. This morning we are going to look at Romans 13:1 ‐ 7 and what we are going to see is this: sometimes Christians, because of the gospel, have to do things that are hard. Now, we remember from our last two studies, that we are to present our bodies as living sacrifices, and that we should live the way we live, because of everything Christ has done for us. Well, since we have to present our bodies as a living sacrifice, one of the ways we do that is to not take vengeance into our own hands. We may not get even. Although it may seem fair, although, it may make us feel better, and even if it seems like someone is extremely deserving of our wrath and indignation… We cannot, we may not, lash out in vengeance toward anyone, although they may even deserve it. Individuals are forbidden to lash out in wrath. Wrath is left for God. We can’t be impatient and take out vengeance on our own even if it seems that God is a little slow in doing justice. The Bible says that, “He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generation. (Jer. 34:7) Punishment is God’s job. So, when Paul takes us to the first part of chapter 13, he says, that God uses the government to carry out his own will when it comes to the execution of wrath and justice. God uses the government to do justice. Justice and wrath are not for us, even though there are times in everyone’s boy’s life, when he meets a bully.

When I was about 6 ‐ 7 there was a kid who lived across the street from me, and his name was Nelson. Nelson was 10 and he used to beat me up about every day. Every day, I would come home crying, and hurt, because Nelson liked to beat me up. Well, my mom I think, got sick of it. So, she gave me a pep talk, you know, the kind. She told me that boys had very sensitive heads of hair, and Nelson, had a very thick, curly head of jet ‐ black hair that would fit nicely in my 6 year old hands. So, my Mom told me that next time Nelson hit me, that I should grab his hair and hang on for dear life, or until at least, I had a lot of hair in my hands. A few days later, it happened. I was riding my bike, and Nelson started to pick on me, and he wanted me to get off of my bike. I refused, and the fight was on. The next thing I knew, I had all this hair in my hands, and I was swinging him around like a merry ‐ go ‐ round. Finally, I let go… and Nelson went flying… and Nelson never bothered me again. Now, obviously, that is the negative example. Individual vengeance is forbidden. As a matter of fact Paul is going to say that justice and revenge is the job of the government. Now, if you are like me, you like to see bullies get what they deserve. I don’t know if I’m the only one, but I like to see people get what they really deserve, (except me of course). But Paul says, No! That’s God’s job, and in our section this morning Paul is going to say that God has even chosen the government to carry out justice and vengeance. So we have to abstain from carrying out our own brand of justice. Even if it’s hard, we have to obey. You see because of the Gospel, Christians have to do things that are hard. The hard thing that Paul has in mind here is this idea: Christians must be subject to the governing authority . Let’s look at Romans 13:1 ‐ 7. NIV Romans 13:1… Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. 2 Consequently, he who rebels against the 2authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. 3 For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. 4 For he is Godʹs servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is Godʹs servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience. 6 This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are Godʹs servants, who give their full time to governing. 7 Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.

You see as a result of the gospel, Christians have to do things that are hard . But who in their right mind wants to submit to the government? Let’s take our government for instance. Without stating any political affiliation, I believe, quite sincerely, that I pay too much in income taxes. I pay too much in property taxes, too much in sales tax. I pay all these taxes all to support a government that protects a woman’s “right” to murder her unborn child, and it keeps alive men and women who deserve death. (As I said, I’m not stating my political affiliation.) But, do I really have to support and even submit myself to that kind of government? Paul’s answer… Absolutely.

(No, really do I have to actually submit myself to that type of government? They don’t for the most part, have a Christian worldview, they don’t support us, and they are sometimes antagonistic to us. Do I really have to subject myself that type of government’s authority?) The answer is yes! Think for a minute who it is the apostle Paul is writing to. He is writing to a church in Rome. That church was under the rule and persecution of Nero, Rome ’s worst Emperor. Nero came into power in October of 54 A.D.3 Nero hated Christians. In 64 A.D., a great fire ravaged Rome. Historians suspect that Nero had the fires set, so that he could start an ambitious building campaign. We don’t know if he had the fires started or not, but what we do know is that he used the fires to stir up hatred toward Christians. He blamed the Christians for the fires. Tacitus, a Roman historian in 116 A.D. said, “the blaze came to be believed to be an official act. So in order to quash the rumor, Nero blamed it on and applied the cruelest punishment to those sinners, whom ordinary people call Christians, hating them for their sinful behaviour. The originator of this name, Christ, was sentenced to torture by Procurator Pontius Pilate, during the reign of Tiberius, but although it checked for a moment, the deadly cult erupted again, not just in Judea, the source of its evil, but even in Rome, where all the sins and scandals of the world gather and are glorified.” ⁴

The Christians were hated. They were tortured for their faith. Nero wanted to find scapegoats, and he did. The Christians experienced every imaginable torment. Some were burned alive. Some were sewn into the skins of wild animals and given to dogs to tear into pieces. Some were crucified. Some martyrs were tortured and put on display in a circus with Nero on a throne watching with great amusement. Nero also used Christians to light up his gardens in the evenings. Some form of accelerant would be put on the martyr and then the martyr would be hoisted onto a pole and then it would be lit, so that Nero could walk through his garden with his admirers. The brutality done to the Christians actually backfired a little. The crowds who once laughed and scoffed at the Christians actually began to feel sorry for them. Sympathy began to swing in favor of the martyrs. The people of Rome began to realize that Christians were being put to death not for starting the fire but to cover Nero’s crimes and to fill his appetite for utter cruelty. One historian said, “that compassion for the meek followers of Jesus, whose blameless conduct was apparent to many, led to a new wave of conversions”.⁵

As Sinclair Ferguson said, when quoting Tertullian, “You see the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.” ⁶ Now, why have I labored this point? Brothers and sisters, it was to this church, that Paul says in Romans 13:1…. NIV Romans 13:1… Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. The church in Rome received a letter from Paul and they were being persecuted, hated, and despised and Paul says, “Oh yea, by the way”, that government has been established by God, and, you must submit to that same government. What? Are you kidding me? I have to submit to that kind of government? Paul says, yes! You must. You must and there are two reasons why. The first reason is that God establishes the government. That’s a positive reason. Governing authorities are established by God and that includes just and unjust governments. God’s ultimate purpose in justice may be hard to see but it is still true. God allowed Pharaoh to rule tyrannically over his people and He allowed Pilate to sentence Christ to death. Therefore, individual rebellion against these authorities is the same as rebellion against God. Which leads us to our second point of why we must submit ourselves to the government. It’s a negative reason. Look at verse two. NIV Romans 13:2… Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. If you resist authority you are actually resisting God. If we do that we can expect to be punished. But what if the government is stupid? (Part 2 next time).

Footnotes...

1 From the website – http://usinfo.state.gov/usa/infousa/facts/democrac/23.htm

2 Taken verbatim from the PBS television series, “The Civil War” read and produced by Ken Burns‐ also found on the web site: http://usinfo.state.gov/usa/infousa/facts/democrac/23.htm

3 The Date for Nero’s reign came from the online version of the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia‐

4 Tacitus Annals xv‐44.2‐3 ‐ All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free documentation license.

5 Christian History Institute – an article “Nero unleashed First Wave of Terror”

6 A sermon at a Ligonier Conference‐ “The blood of the martyrs” by Sinclair Ferguson

"When we believe that we should be satisfied rather than God glorified in our worship, then we put God below ourselves as though He had been made for us rather than that we had been made for Him." -Stephen Charnock

Sunday morning was glorious. I heard Christ exalted in singing and in the proclamation of His glorious gospel. The Sabbath is oftentimes refreshing when you see God glorified in Word and Sacrament. Word and Sacrament has traditionally been the emphasis in Worship for Presbyterians. But maybe that idea is falling on hard times.

I recently have had some email correspondance from a Baptist friend of mine who visited a local Presbyterian Church that I know. He said they looked and smelled like a “Seeker” Church. Of course I asked what he meant, and some of the things he described bothered me. But of course there are all sorts of things that Presbyterians may do that could bother me. Whether or not something bothers me is not the acid test for anything to be sure. But I do tend to think that there is somewhat of an acid test for what makes someone Presbyterian. For instance there is a very popular Church in Atlanta that has skits, “drama”, etc…incorporated into their worship, and the singing wouldn’t look anything like what I would call “Presbyterian”.

But when my friend visited this Presbyterian Church, he said some things looked odd. He said, the Pastor didn’t wear a tie. No tie huh? Historically Presbyterians have worn the Genevan robe, or at least a suit. Why would a Pastor not wear a tie? If we aren’t going to wear a robe or a tie, should we go ahead and do what Driscoll does and just wear whatever? Bust out the Mickey Mouse Shirt! Sorry I digress.

He also said He didn’t preach. He said what that preacher did is what I would call, “a talk”. What my friend meant was the Pastor wasn’t doing any exegesis; there was no exposition of the text, just a mere mention of it. And he said there was no liturgy. I emailed him back and said, “everyone has a liturgy”, and he said, “well they didn’t.” I asked what he meant. He said they “sang and sang and sang and sang.” I asked my friend, so there was quite a large amount of music? He replied, “Wow! 12-13 songs before the sermon. Haven’t seen that much music since I left the Assemblies of God”. He went on to say,“They did no confession of sin, no reading of the confession or a creed, and no sacrament.” In other words he said, “They looked like a regular, evangelical, Southern Baptist Church.” Then he said, “maybe it’s because they are Baptist and just don’t know it.” Ah hah! My friend is on to something.

Sadly this seems to be the case in some Presbyterian Churches. 18^th Century Revivalism, and the theology of “New” methodology introduced to us by Charles Finney, (a former Presbyterian) has so influenced churches that if you walk into some random, “Reformed” Presbyterian Church, you might not know they were Presbyterian, unless of course they had a baptism. But Paedo-baptism alone does not a Presbyterian Make! Methodists are paedo-baptists...

What causes this type of thing? I mean what is it that causes a Presbyterian Church to look Baptist or at least generiacally evangelical? I love the Baptists and have many, many friends who are Reformed and non-Reformed Baptists. But being Presbyterian is a little different than being Baptist or a Non-denominational evangelical. How is it possible that a Presbyterian Church, a conservative, Bible-believing, Westminster Confession of Faith holding, PCA Church could ever be accused of being “Seeker Sensitive”? I’m not talking about the PCUSA; they are likely to do anything. But how is it possible that a conservative Presbyterian Church could be accused of being Seeker?

In my opinion Seeker Sensitive Methodology is based on two fundamental errors. (From Sproul)

1. People seek God.
2. Purpose of Corporate Worship is to reach the lost.

Now I understand when Arminians and Semi-Pelagians miss the boat on #1, they are at least being consistent. But no Reformed Church, of any kind could possibly misunderstand the idea that only those who are regenerated by the Spirit have the capacity to seek God. Some people may say, “Yea but I have seen lost loved ones, try to find meaning in life, or try to find their purpose in life etc..” There is a distinct difference between those who seek God and those who seek the benefits that only God can give. Reformed Churches know this. I don’t blame my Arminian friends when they get this wrong. But how can a Reformed Church get this wrong?

Now on point #2 I simply wish to say that I don’t think that the general purpose of Worship is to reach lost people. Good reformed churches know that Worship is the gathering of the people of God, not a gathering of the lost. Because it is a gathering of God’s people, the Reformed Church has traditionally worried about what pleases God in Worship, not what pleases Man. God is the audience, and not we ourselves. Now when Reformed Churches look “Seeker Sensitive” I’m not convinced they are doing so because they feel that Worship should be about reaching the lost. I think non-reformed churches do think that way much of the time, but not Reformed and/or Presbyterian Churches. When Presbyterian Churches incorporate “Seeker” principles, I wonder if they do it for the sake of numerical growth? Isn't it merely pragmatism? One brother told me that his Church incorporates some of the “Seeker Model” ideas because they want to attract “Christians” who have never been exposed to the Reformation. “ When we get them in, then we will make them aware, slowly but surely, of the Reformation.” A few years ago you could go to many evangelical churches and find two types of services: 1) Traditional at 11:00 am and 2) Contemporary and 9:30 am. But now you find conservative PCA Churches following along in this type of thing. Brothers and sisters that is not Presbyterian. It is 18th Century, revivalism.

Recently I heard a discussion by RC Sproul on one of Luther’s last sermons. In that discussion he said that Luther spoke against looking for “Joseph’s Pants.” I was intrigued. “Joseph’s Pants”? Dr. Sproul went on to say that during Luther’s last days, he was still concerned with his people’s fascination with relics and the power that they thought came with it. Despite the awakening of the Reformation, people were addicted to relics. They were addicted to relics like Jesus' Dad's pants, “Joseph’s Pants” or “Mary’s Milk” because in them they thought there was power.  Dr. Sproul pointed out that we no longer look for “Joseph’s Pants”, today we look for PROGRAMS and TECNIQUES, not the passionate proclamation of God’s glorious gospel. The power is in the telling of the Gospel.

I’m afraid that we don’t believe that the power is in the proclamation of the Gospel and we show our unbelief in spades when we pattern our worship services after those who decry the Reformation. I expect such things from Arminians and Semi-Pelagians, but not Presbyterians. To be “Seeker Sensitive” is not Presbyterian. It is revivalistic and suffers from being overly influenced by Finney. But this seems to be the growing trend in conservative Presbyterian circles. It shouldn’t be.  To hold to Westminster on paper but not in practice is also not Presbyterian. To supposedly preach, but not do “Exposition” is not Presbyterian. To view music as equal to the Preached Word in Worship is not Presbyterian. To change the empahsis of "Word and Sacrament" to "Music and Uplifting talks" is not Presbyterian. If it doesn't look like, act like, or smell like a Presbyterian, then my guess is it is not Presbyterian.

Gage Browning

Post Tenebras Lux