Of the Same Mind
Hopefully, I will get to writing some thoughts on the recent decision by the Free Church of Scotland to allow musical instruments and doctrinally-sound hymns in public worship. In the meantime, I thought I would share an exhortation with all Free Church (and non-Free-Church) ministers.
From the ESV Study Bible notes on Philippians 2:1-2:
As Paul emphasizes, [the Philippians believers] must be of the same mind. This does not imply a drab intellectual uniformity; rather, the Philippians are to use their diverse gifts (cf. 1 Corinthians 12) in an agreeable, cooperative spirit, with a focus on the glory of God.
I like these two sentences but especially that last phrase — “with a focus on the glory of God”. It won’t do the Free Church any good if hymns are introduced and the glory is given to man for what he can accomplish with his guitar skills. It also won’t do the Free Church any good if dissenting ministers start jumping ship because they are so dead-set on the sacred traditions of the Free Church. We must remember the words of the Westminster Shorter Catechism: “Man’s chief end is glorify God and to enjoy him for ever.”
Debating with Charity – The Free Church of Scotland
For those who are not familiar with the Free Church of Scotland, it is the church, led by Thomas Chalmers, who broke away from the state-run Church of Scotland in 1843. The Free Church is Reformed, evangelical, and presbyterian. There have been splits and reunions in the Free Church since that time, but you can read more about that here.
Since I moved to Scotland in the summer of 2008, I have seen many positive and negative things in the Free Church of Scotland, as one would in any American church denomination. Some of the positives include an unmatched hospitality, the love of Scripture and preaching of the Word, and the singing of the Psalms. I will not make a list of negatives, but I will say that one glaring negative is that the Free Church sings Psalms* exclusively and unaccompanied by any musical instruments. While their motives are pure (see The Regulative Principle), I believe the Free Church is reading a bit into the text of Scriptures to come to their conclusions.
But my point in writing this article is not to start a debate on acceptable forms of worship. My point is to praise the Free Church for their unity in such a matter. Today and tomorrow (17 & 18 November), the Free Church is holding, for the first time since 1843, a plenary assembly of ministers and elders across Scotland. The purpose is to debate and vote on whether to allow “uninspired” hymns of praise and musical accompaniment in Free Church public worship. This is monumental, as the Free Church has sung only unaccompanied psalms since 1900. Many will scoff at the Free Church and say they are just “stuck in the past”, but I think that, in an age where churches give more weight to the personal feelings and experiences of men and women than the Bible, the universal church should take note and be encouraged by the Free Church’s unwillingness to change anything that they deem to be unscriptural.
It’s a fascinating debate, and both sides on the issue have sound, theological, and biblical points for their position. But what I really admire is how charitable the ministers are in their discussion and debate. They all genuinely want what’s best for the Free Church and the Church of Jesus Christ. Ultimately, unity is at the center of this debate. Professor Donald Macleod of the Free Church College has gone on record as saying, “The big fear is discord and fragmentation. Let there be no threats to secede nor to expel.”
However, it’s times like these that the devil is just waiting to get a foothold. Whether you’re in the UK or America or anywhere else around the world, be in prayer the next two days for the Free Church plenary assembly — that the Spirit of God would work mightily amongst these faithful ministers of the Word, that they would vote based on their understanding of Scripture and not of traditions of man, and that, in the end, unity under the banner of Christ would not be compromised.
For more information on this debate, go here and here. John Ross has also written an excellent article on the plenary assembly here. You can find an excellent book on the history of the Free Church here (thanks, Peter!).
* What’s interesting is that exclusive Psalmody is not prescribed in the Free Church directory of worship. It is “inspired materials of praise,” which would allow for hymns from other portions of Scripture as well.
Atheism and the Clarity of Scripture
Last night, I taught the doctrine of the Clarity of Scripture at our youth fellowship. I spoke briefly as an introduction, then the youth split up into their small groups for Scripture reading and discussion. Most of what I used for the teaching is from Wayne Grudem’s Systematic Theology, which is in itself an excellent example of the clarity of Scripture — deep truths written in an understandable language. So the doctrine of the Clarity of Scripture simply means that Scripture is plain and clear and is able to be rightly understood by common man, especially that which must be known for the salvation of man.
However, even though Scripture is clear, that doesn’t mean it is easy to understand. And, though all men and women everywhere can understand Scripture, it takes the Spirit of God to open the eyes of their hearts. In fact, as Grudem says, it is impossible to understand Scripture rightly if you are not seeking God and willing to submit to the teachings of his Word. Enter Sam Harris and his band of New Atheists.
Harris has promoted “Project Reason” (which, as you’ll soon find out, is quite an ironic name), which, according to their website, is “a 501(c)(3) nonprofit foundation devoted to spreading scientific knowledge and secular values in society. The foundation draws on the talents of prominent and creative thinkers in a wide range of disciplines to encourage critical thinking and erode the influence of dogmatism, superstition, and bigotry* in our world.” I inserted the asterisk after the word “bigotry”, because they should have added, “Except, of course, bigotry toward Bible-believing Christians.”
Project Reason recently released an infographic called “Contradictions in the Bible.” While the infographic is attractive to the eyes (and many commenters on the site have gotten very excited about printing high resolution posters), Project Reason has (and this is where the irony kicks in) done very little thinking in promoting this infographic.
As Matt Perman and Douglas Wilson have already pointed out, this infographic on errors in the Bible is (more irony) full of errors! Not only are there duplicated “contradictions”, but many of the alleged contradictions aren’t even close to how one would define a contradiction. In fact, as any expositor of the Bible will know, you must consider the context of each verse and passage in Scripture. Otherwise, you could take any verse in the Bible and make up your own form of thinking or even your own religion or cult (oh wait … some people have already done that).
An example of a “contradiction” in the infographic is from the book of Genesis, where God tells Abraham to sacrifice his “one and only son”, Isaac. Is this a contradiction to the text that narrates the birth and life of Ishmael, Abraham’s other son? If Harris and his Project Reason crew had done just a small amount of research in Genesis (isn’t that what critical thinkers do — research?), they would know that Ishmael was born to Hagar, his wife’s maidservant. Then they would be able to deduce that the text is implying that Isaac is Abraham’s one and only biological son, because God had promised Abraham offspring as numerous as the stars through his wife, Sarah.
This brings us back to the doctrine of the Clarity of Scripture. When men and women read God’s Word with doubt (James 1:5-6), trying to support their own unbelief, they will never be able to rightly understand the message. Their hearts will always be veiled. (2 Corinthians 3:13-18). This is why I have always said we must not get caught up in debates with atheists or other doubters who are just looking for a fight, because they will not be able to see or hear the truth (Isaiah 6:9-10).
If this is what we can expect from Sam Harris, Project Reason, and the New Atheists, we are in for a world of humor. Appropriately, I have dropped this post in the “humor” category, because … well … it’s just silly!
The Power of the Message
I think more often than not, we’ve come to this understanding that since evangelism is a spiritual gift and there’s nothing in me that would make me believe it is my spiritual gift, then I should just leave evangelism to those who are good at it. Those who are more articulate with their words. The more knowledgeable or those who are extremely confident in telling others about Jesus.
Would it surprise you to know that the Apostle Paul was not a gifted speaker? In the Greco-Roman world there were professional orators who would travel about to large cities like Corinth and entertain and instruct people with their dynamic speaking abilities. But Paul wasn’t a great speaker. He wasn’t a gifted orator. He couldn’t measure up to the standards of the professionals. However, Paul knew that it’s not about the power of the messenger, it’s about the power of the message. In 1 Corinthians 1:17, Paul says, For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.
Evangelism is not about us, it’s about God. Christ himself charged us to take the message of the cross into the world, and he gave us the Holy Spirit to work mightily in us. So that we know it’s not man who saves but God. It’s not your exhaustive knowledge of the Bible that will convince your friend to believe. It’s not your skills in debating Creation/Evolution that will convince your co-worker to believe. Salvation belongs to the Lord!
Follow Up on the Coral Ridge Controversy
One of the top posts on this blog has been the article I wrote on the Coral Ridge controversy last September. Though I’ll admit my readership of this wee blog is not at the level of Tim Challies, the Coral Ridge post has generated a large percentage of the hits on my site, with the next top post generating just under half the amount of hits. So this is obviously a topic that many in the Christian blogosphere are interested in.
With that said, I just wanted to quickly revisit Coral Ridge and comment on the current state. Since Pastor Tullian Tchividjian won the vote to remain as lead pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, a separate church has formed, made up of many who had left Coral Ridge during the controversy. The New Presbyterian Church worships at a high school gym in Pompano Beach, Florida, and has already purchased space for ministry and church offices. They have also elected a new senior pastor, formed leadership, and applied for membership within a denomination.
On the other hand, it seems as though Coral Ridge is flourishing as well. Membership classes are up, attendance is up, and, most importantly, the gospel is being preached. This is one thing that I was really excited about when Tchividjian took over as senior pastor — gospel proclamation. Don’t get me wrong, I would never undermine the ministry Dr. D. James Kennedy did for the city, for the country, and for the world. His influence was great, and his message never strayed form the truths of Scripture. However, politics often played a large role in Dr. Kennedy’s ministry, and I’m glad to see Tchividjian steering clear of preaching on politics. In my opinion, and I think Tchividjian would agree, politics can best be served by preaching the Word and affecting change through the gospel, not a Religious Right platform.
So what can we learn from all of this?
First, it is important that the two churches be reconciled. I’m not saying they have to re-join into one church. There are obvious differences in philosophy of ministry and many scars that are still on the mend. What I am saying is that our reconciliation to God by the death and resurrection of his Son should spur us on to reconciliation with our fellow man. It doesn’t matter who was right or wrong in the split, but both sides must decide that the advancement of God’s Kingdom is much more important than past hurts. Though both churches may never physically be united as one local church, they must realize God calls them to unity as the universal church.
Second, we learn just how deadly the effects of sin are and our constant need for a Saviour. By this I mean that both sides wanted what is best for Coral Ridge and what is best for the Kingdom. Both sides proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. But the church is made up of broken people. Both sides are made up of sinners who are still being worked on by the Holy Spirit. Sanctification is a process, and Christians will still continue to sin in this fallen world. How amazing is grace that, even though we continue to hurt and sin against one another, our God never loosens his grip on us? That’s why, as Tchividjian has preached time and time again, we never graduate from the gospel. We must continue to run to the cross each day.
May God’s grace and mercy be upon both of these local churches.
The Future of this Blog
I’m not sure how many people actually read my blog … not many, probably. But for those who do, thank you for spending time here. I’ve considered shutting the blog down, mainly because I just haven’t had time to write quality posts. I will keep it open for a now, but I’m not sure how often I will be writing.
Another reason things have been slow here is because I have been writing more for parents and families. If you would like to read those posts, feel free to head on over to that blog site.
Soli Deo Gloria!
Ethan
