Well, please turn with me in your Bibles to 1 Timothy chapter 3. 1 Timothy chapter 3. Our focus this evening will be verses 14 to 16. At this time of the year, we more often than not remember the Reformation. And the 16th century Reformation was a reformation of the church.
Now certainly political activism and social justice are noble causes among God's people, but the Christians in the 16th century sought to reform the church. And it seems to me the best thing the church can do in the world is to be the church. And if we sacrifice our calling to be something that we're not, then we do not please the Lord God, and in essence, we are not effective with reference to the people of God or to those outside of the church that we are supposed to be reaching. But I do want to read the larger context, beginning in verse 1.
This is a faithful saying. If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work. A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach, not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous, one who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence. For if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God?
Not a novice, lest, being puffed up with pride, he fall into the same condemnation as the devil. Moreover, he must have a good testimony among those who are outside, lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil. Likewise, deacons must be reverent, not double-tongued, not given to much wine, not greedy for money, holding the mystery of the faith with a pure conscience. But let these also first be tested, then let them serve as deacons, being found blameless.
Likewise, their wives must be reverent, not slanderers, temperate, faithful in all things. Let deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well. For those who have served well as deacons obtain for themselves a good standing and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus. These things I write to you, though I hope to come to you shortly.
But if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. And without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifested in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen by angels, preached among the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up in glory. Amen.
Well, let us pray.
Opening Prayer
Father, we thank You for the Word of God. We thank You for the rich heritage that we have as Reformed believers. And we ask God in heaven that You would cause us to learn from Scripture and to learn from history and to continue to emphasize those things that were brought out in the 16th century. God, help us to be faithful.
Help us to always be reforming. Help us to obey the Scriptures and all that we seek to do as a church and as individuals. Again, we pray for the ministry of the Holy Spirit as we look at the apostles' teaching here. We pray for the forgiveness of all of our sins so that we may receive with thanksgiving that Word of God that is able to equip us thoroughly for every good work.
And we pray these things through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Introduction
Well, I basically want to just highlight what's going on in this particular section of 1 Timothy 3, verses 14-16. I want to look at the identity of the church in the first place, and then secondly, the confession of the church. and then finish with some Reformation emphases and their continuing relevance for us. Some of the things that were brought out in the 16th century debates and discussions concerning the reform of the church and why those things continue to be relevant for us today. But
The Identity of the Church
note in the first place, with reference to the identity of the church in verses 14 and 15, Paul highlights his plan for ministry. He says, these things I write to you, though I hope to come to you shortly. The apostle was instrumental in the founding of the church where Timothy was. Remember that Timothy is in Ephesus, where Paul has left him to wage the good warfare, where Paul has left him to silence the false teachers, where Paul has left him to take care of business in that particular situation.
The visit or the desire to visit him is to provide assistance to Timothy and encouragement to Timothy and as well to the church in Ephesus. Also, we need to understand that Paul's purpose for Timothy specifically. Notice in verse 14, but if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God. That is the purpose for which Paul writes to Timothy.
You need to appreciate the divine necessity involved here, the oughtness. Timothy is not called to be creative. Timothy is not called to be innovative. But rather, Timothy is called to be obedient.
Paul writes, so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself. In other words, Timothy, you need to obey God. You don't obey the prevailing winds of change in the society or the culture around you. You don't obey the sorts of trends that may lead to church growth.
But rather, Timothy, you are to obey the living God, who has spoken authoritatively in His Word. Paul writes to Timothy so that he may indeed know how he ought to conduct himself in the house of God. This goes, I think, backwards and forwards. The necessity of corporate prayer in chapter 2, verses 1 to 7.
Paul wrote to Timothy so that Timothy would indeed make sure that corporate prayer was being conducted in the life of the church. In fact, notice in 2.1, I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men. When we gather together for prayer, it's to pray. We are to come prepared.
We are to come ready. We are to come with a desire to call upon the living and the true God. This is the backbone of the church of Jesus Christ. A prayerless church is not going to go far.
A prayerful church isn't necessarily always going to reap benefits, but a prayerful church is an obedient church and seeks power from on high where power is granted. Paul says the first order of business with reference to the church gathered is prayer. I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men." So Paul writes to Timothy so that Timothy can make sure that there is a fervent, earnest prayer meeting in the context of the church. As well, Paul writes to Timothy to give him instruction concerning the role of women in the worship of God, specifically in verses 8 to 15.
They are to be modest in the corporate worship. Paul says, this is how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God. Modesty is imbibed or envisaged by the apostle with reference to corporate worship. We struggle enough in the world, we ought not to have to struggle when we come to the house of God.
We ought to engage in modesty. It doesn't mean men can show up naked. Men must indeed put on clothes and be modest as well. But the specific direction is men praying in the prayer meeting, and then women in their particular role.
They are to dress modestly, and as well, there's a prohibition against leadership for women in the church. This does not mean that God is anti-woman. It certainly does not mean that Paul is anti-woman. It simply means that in God's world, Swim, birds fly, men lead in the house, and men lead in the church.
And that is the specific emphasis of the apostle in this section in chapter 2. So Paul writes to Timothy, so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God. as well with reference to the eldership. It's not a popularity contest. It's not the man or the men that has the most gift.
It is rather a spiritual calling. The man must in the first place desire the position of a bishop or an overseer. This is synonymous with elder. He must desire and he must be qualified such that the church is able to objectively see that these things are fleshed out in his life.
And then with reference to the deacons, the selfsame list, a very similar list given in terms of spiritual qualification. So Paul writes to Timothy so that Timothy may know how he ought to conduct himself in the house of God. But it also points forward to the things that Paul is going to say in chapters 4, 5, and 6. This is conduct necessary in the church that is according to the will and mind of God.
It is not conduct necessary in the church that is according to the will and mind of man. We don't have better ideas. We don't have better ways. We are not more, you know, wise than God in terms of how we are to do church, and how we are to approach the Lord God, and how we are to function in the world that we find ourselves.
And then
Paul's Three Descriptions of the Church
notice, Paul's portrayal of the church. This is the reason why the conduct necessary is given. But if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself. And then he gives three descriptions of the church.
In the first place, it is the house of God. Secondly, he says it is the church of the living God. Thirdly, he says it is the pillar and the ground of the truth. So you see his logic.
You see the trajectory or the progression of thought. I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God. You're not dealing with your own house here. You're not dealing with someone else's house here.
You're not free to come in and do whatever it is you like. Use the illustration before. If you came over to my house and you started swinging off the furniture, I'd be a little perturbed by that. That's not our house rules.
That's not the way we function. We don't swing off the furniture. And so when you come to my house, I would gladly ask you not to swing off the furniture. The same is true with reference to the church.
We're not to engage in entertainment. We're not to engage in rock bands. We're not to engage in a whole host of things. Why?
Because it's the house of God. It's God's domain. It's God's dominion. It's God's place of residence.
The Lord Christ, by His life, death, and resurrection, has made us adopted sons and daughters unto His God. And He has brought us together into the church. And the church is His house. He presides over it.
He is the ruler over it. John Calvin says, there are good reasons why God bestows this name on the church. House of God. He says, for not only has He received us to be His children by the grace of adoption, but He also dwelleth in the midst of us.
This idea of house of God not only argues for His rule, His authority, and His government, but it also indicates that He dwells with us. He is present among His New Testament people when they gather together in the church. This is the house of God. Certainly, if it was a Friday night and you were invited over to a friend's and somebody saw you on the way, they said, my, you look happy.
Well, I've been invited to go to my friend's house. That bespeaks fellowship, it bespeaks communion, it bespeaks intimacy. Well, certainly on the Lord's Day Sabbath, we are getting to go be with our God in His house. We get to cease and desist from our worldly activities, and we get to come into the presence of our great and our glorious God.
We ought to appreciate, before we move on, the divine necessity imposed upon Timothy, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself. Dale Ralph Davis in his commentary on Joshua 22, we'll refer to that a little bit later in a few moments, but he says with reference to the church, he says, part of the problem in our day is that many erroneously assume that the church is a democracy. That is an erroneous idea, isn't it? The church is not a democracy.
It really isn't. He says, therefore pluralism, even in essential doctrines, is to be expected, allowed, and welcomed. For after all, who are we to judge others or bring them under discipline? We must be nice to people, you know, or they will leave the church.
He says, but the church is not a democracy. Rather, she lives under the kingship of Jesus. This house of God concept gives the impetus for the divine necessity, the oughtness of how we conduct ourselves in the house of God. She lives under the kingship of Jesus, who has entrusted the care of His flock to elders who are to guard, protect, and discipline it.
Certainly the under-shepherds of Christ's flock must apply New Testament principles of discipline in the church. They will find the proper attitude toward their task in Joshua 22. Essentially what Joshua 22 records. is that the eastern tribes went back to the east, the east side of the river Jordan. And when they got over there, they built an altar.
The people in the west got wind that they had built an altar. Now, if you lived in Israel in this particular time, you were governed by the dictates of Deuteronomy 12, the centralized sanctuary. There wasn't supposed to be sanctuaries all over the land. There was supposed to be a central sanctuary to protect and to guard against the encroaching idolatry that would certainly affect the children of Israel and the land of Canaan.
So they get wind that there's this altar over on the east and they arm up for battle. They're going to wage war against the persons in the East. Well, when they get there, they first tried diplomacy, thankfully. And they asked the people in the East why they did such and such.
And they said, well, we didn't build this to sacrifice. We didn't build this for burnt offerings. We built it as a witness. And thankfully, the people of God dwelt in unity and in peace and in harmony, and there was no war waged at that particular time.
But you see the concern in the West. They understood the problem. If they just start throwing up altars in any old place, they're going to start worshipping any old god. And we can't have that.
And that's the reference there to Joshua 22. So, Paul's portrayal of the church. It is, in the first place, the house of God.
The Church of the Living God
Notice, secondly, it is the church of the living God. The church of the living God. The church is God's special possession. The church is God's special possession.
You remember the language imposed or stated concerning Israel in Exodus chapter 19. They were God's special possession when they went into the land. They were His privileged people. They were His chosen nation.
Well, all of that is appropriated by the New Testament apostles and applied to the church of the living God. It is the church of the living God. We read at the outset, Psalm 87, 2, Yahweh loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob. Spurgeon comments that God delights in the prayers and praises of Christian families and individuals, but He has a special eye to the assemblies of the faithful, and He has a special delight in their devotions in their church capacity.
He loves the dwelling places of Jacob, or He loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob. He certainly loves the dwellings of Jacob. God is an anti-family, and He's certainly not anti-individual, but He loves the gates of Zion. He loves it when God's people gather together.
He loves it when God's people sing and pray and worship and adore Him. This is God's special possession. As well, the church is that blessed entity that Christ died to save. Remember that admonition from the Apostle Paul to those Ephesian elders in Acts chapter 20.
He says, therefore, take heed to yourselves and to all the flock among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. He says, to shepherd the church of God which he has purchased with his own blood. Do you understand that? On the Lord's Day Sabbath, we are going to a place that is described as the house of God.
It's the church of the living God. That means that we have been bought with a price. We have been saved to serve. We have been saved to worship.
We have been saved to glorify and honor Him. And then as well, the church is the dwelling place of the living God, not the place of dead idols. If we were the pagan, we would serve gods who had mouths but could not speak. We would serve gods who had eyes but could not see.
We would serve gods who had ears but could not hear. So it really doesn't matter what we do when we gather together to worship, because that idol is dumb, that idol is deaf, that idol is mute, that idol is no living authority in his so-called churches. Not so with us. We serve the living God.
He doesn't die. He doesn't not hear. He doesn't not see. He doesn't not speak.
But we're always and forever under His binding authority. And as a result, we are to imbibe the truth as it's been revealed to us in Scripture. And then
The Pillar and Ground of the Truth
in the third place, he describes it as the pillar and ground of the truth. This word pillar means ground, or seat, or even protector. It has the idea as well of foundation. Fairbairn remarks that the truth is not of the church's making, but of God's revealing.
All that to say, notice what the church is the pillar and ground of. Truth. See, the church really betrays its calling when it becomes the place of entertainment. The church really betrays its calling when it becomes the place of political activism.
Again, I think the Word of God certainly lends itself to our view of politics. But, when we come together as a church, the center focus is God Most High and the glory of the Christian gospel. If we become something other than the pillar and the ground of the truth as it's revealed to us in the Scripture, then we have betrayed our calling. The church's primary task is the propagation and defense of God's truth.
Notice several passages just in these pastoral epistles concerning the emphasis upon truth. 1 Timothy 1, verse 10. 1 Timothy 1, verse 10, for fornicators, for sodomites, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers, and if there is any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine. This is what Paul emphasizes in these pastoral epistles. Notice in verse 6. If you instruct the brethren in these things, you will be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished in the words of faith and of the good doctrine which you have carefully followed." Notice 4.13, "'Til I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine." Notice in 4.16, "'Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine.
Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you.'" Notice in 6.3, 6, 3, if anyone teaches otherwise and does not consent to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which accords with godliness. You see, do you want to be godly? It's doctrine, it's truth, it's scripture, it's knowledge, it's understanding. Isn't this what Jesus prays in the high priestly prayer?
There is this mindset out there that doctrine is somehow opposed to practical godliness. That is the furthest thing from the truth. I see it on the internet. Oh, you know, I spent all this time studying and my practical desire for holiness has waned.
That has nothing to do with the reception of the truth. The problem is with you. The truth ought to always spur us on to godliness and righteousness. What does Jesus pray in John 17, 17?
Sanctify them by what? By thy truth. I would submit that without sound doctrine, there will not be practical holiness. There will not be godliness.
There will not be righteousness. There will not be practical fruit of your Christian profession. It is the truth that fuels the man to pursue and fear the living and true God. But this is out there.
Well, you reformers, you spend all this time studying and your religion is only cerebral. That is absolutely not the connection that we find in the Bible. Now, I don't doubt that that happens to persons. They get caught up in study and they forget to pray.
They get caught up in reading books and they forget to commune with Christ. That's certainly a problem. In fact, B.B. Warfield wrote a little booklet concerning the religious life of seminary or theological students to address that very issue.
You're parsing Greek verbs, you're dealing with Hebrew grammar, you're dealing with the intricacies of the hypostatic union. Remember to worship the God whom you serve. So certainly there is the tendency, or perhaps the temptation, but to argue that somehow theology deadens practice is to miss the emphasis of God's holy work. My people are destroyed for what?
According to the prophet Hosea, for a lack of knowledge. They don't know God, they don't serve God, they don't fear God, and they live like it. It is the truth of God's Holy Word that fires up a man to pursue practical holiness and righteousness and godliness. There is a doctrine which accords with godliness, according to 1 Timothy 6.3.
Notice 2 Timothy 1.13. 2 Timothy 1.13 Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, and faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. That good thing which was committed to you, keep by the Holy Spirit who dwells in us. 2.15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed. Rightly dividing what? The word of truth.
Do you see the emphasis? We can multiply text at this very point, but you get the point. It is the pillar and the ground of the truth. This is the rationale for Paul's commands to Timothy.
The reason why Timothy is to root out false teachers, 1 Timothy 1.3. The reason why Timothy is to teach the right use of the law, 1 Timothy 1.8. Why Timothy used to proclaim the Gospel, 1.11, and wage the good warfare, 1.18? Because the church is the pillar and the ground of the truth.
Paul's argument seems to be that when men take their battering rams of heresy and assault the church, then the men of God who are faithful ought to combat it with the truth. Meet that resistance with the truth of Holy Scripture and do not shrink back. Gordon Clark comments concerning this section. He says, in less metaphorical language, this means that the church proclaims, defends, and propagates the Gospel.
Its task is to declare all of God's revealed truth. George Knight, in his excellent commentary on 1 and 2 Timothy, says on the whole, in summary, Timothy and the church will conduct their lives appropriately if They remember that they are the home built and owned by God, and indwelt by Him as the Living One, and also remember that they are called on to undergird and hold aloft God's truth in word and deed." So that's the identity of the church.
The Confession of the Church
Notice the confession of the church in verse 16. There's a close connection here. The church exists to confess this. This is what the church is about.
Christ. It's about the Lord Jesus. The church exists in order to make known the truth that it confesses. The confession of verse 16 points us forward and backwards.
The truth concerning Christ is the basis for all that Paul writes. Again, Knight says, the preceding and following instructions have as their theological basis, this great truth concerning the cosmic Christ, who is Lord and Savior of His church. Look at the language. And without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness.
The ESV translates it. Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness. And even better, the New American Standard. By common confession, great is the mystery of godliness.
This is the church's confession. And notice that the church's confession is all about the Lord Jesus. The church's confession isn't about their experience. The church's confession isn't their testimony.
The church's confession isn't entertainment, but rather the church's confession focuses upon the Lord of glory, Jesus Christ. Fairbairn says, this was the thought in St. Paul's mind, that the great revelation of the religious life is Christ. In other words, the church is defined by its Christology.
And very intriguing, what's Ephesus in the book of Acts? It's the city of Diana worshipped. What was the common confession prior to the reception of the Gospel? They said, great is Diana of the Ephesians.
But when Paul and his companions come in there in Acts chapter 19, and they preach the Gospel, we find people who have their books of black magic burning those books, destroying that occultic literature, confessing the greatness of the Lord Jesus Christ instead of Diana. What else happens? The idol makers are being put out of business. They have a little meeting together.
It's a trade, a union meeting. They essentially say, if this Paul keeps preaching, we're going to be out of business. Imagine that. You're a fashioner of idols, and they sell quite well, because everybody's duped into thinking that Diana somehow is a god who could provide benefit and blessing and boons for your life.
So you go to the market, and you sell your wares, and you peddle those things. Then Paul and his companions in, they start preaching Jesus Christ, and persons get their idols of Diana, and they throw them in the fire alongside of their books of magic, black magic. So these men are concerned. These men are upset.
Paul's going to put us out of business. The economic impact of the truth of God's holy gospel. I always love to reflect upon that. Preach the gospel and God will deal with the marketplace.
Notice,
Christ's Work Accomplished, Proclaimed, Believed
specifically, the confession speaks of Christ's work accomplished, Christ's work proclaimed, and Christ's work believed or embraced. Notice, God was manifested in the flesh. This refers to the incarnation of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. John Calvin helpfully notes there are three things to observe here.
There is the expressed testimony of both natures. God was manifested in the flesh. As well, there is a distinction between the two natures, and thirdly, the unity of the person. In other words, this is a great Christological confession concerning the hypostatic union of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Christ was justified in the Spirit. The word justified here has the idea of vindication, not at the right hand in terms of the judgment that He brought upon Jerusalem, say, in the first century, but the vindication that when He was raised from the dead, He was, in the language of Romans 4, declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. Notice His work proclaimed. He is seen by angels.
He was seen by angels, the fallen angels, Colossians 2, 15. He triumphs over those wretched angels. The elect angels saw His work. Christ is preached among the Gentiles.
Knight says it is the universalism demanded and promised by Jesus that is confessed here. Not a universalism the way that liberal theologians teach, that every single human being will be saved. But there is a biblical universalism, and that's what we find at the end of Matthew 28. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations.
In other words, leave the tribes of the land and go to Africa. Leave the tribes of the land and go to Europe. Leave the tribes of the land and go to America. Go all over the earth and preach the glorious Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
He is preached among the Gentiles in order for the salvation of a great multitude that no man can number. And then notice, His work is embraced. Christ was believed on in the world. Love that statement.
He's believed on in the world. Christ didn't come to help us save ourselves, Christ didn't come to make men save a bull, but Christ came to save His people from their sins. And that gospel, that atonement, that sacrifice, that redemptive act is proclaimed and it's believed on. Brethren, this is what we ought to pray on a Lord's Day morning.
We have unconverted people that visit with us and we pray to God Almighty, open their eyes, open their hearts, cause them to see the glory and the majesty of Jesus Christ and cause them to believe. I hope that you join with us in prayer. I hope that that is something that drives you on a Lord's Day morning. There is something bigger than just our attendance here.
Certainly that's something that is commanded and it's something that we ought to imbibe. But brethren, What about our kids? What about the young people? What about those who have yet to profess saving faith in Christ?
We believe in the preaching of the Gospel as a means of grace. For since in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through what? Through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. Certainly we encourage persons to read the Scriptures on their own.
We're not always with them. We can't make sure they do that. We don't hold rubber hoses and beat them on the head if they don't read, you know, Romans chapter 1 to 3. But when we come to church, very few people will just actually get up and walk out.
I've seen it happen before, but very few people over the 20 years that I've been here. For some reason, and thankfully so, people feel a bit nervous to get up in the midst of a social gathering like this and walk out. So pray. Pray that God will open their hearts.
Pray that the Spirit will attend. Pray that they'll pass from darkness into light. Pray that they'll move from death into life. Pray that God Most High would rend the heavens and come down.
Pray that the Lord of Glory would see the travail of His soul and be satisfied. Saturday night, Sunday morning, prayerfully go into the house of God. Pray that the Lord of the harvest would indeed save souls. This is what it says.
Believed on in the world. And Christ was then received up in glory. The resurrection, the ascension, the exaltation, and the current session of our Lord Christ. All of these things confessed by the early church, still confessed today by the 21st century church.
Reformation Emphases and Continuing Relevance
Let's move quickly and finally to some Reformation emphases and the continuing relevance for us. Now, this is an exhaustive list and it's probably not even the best list. I was thinking about this and I thought about, you know, the Reformation and why we like it. I thought, well, these were some of the things that we appreciate.
Sola Scriptura
First is the authority of Scripture. the authority of the Word that governs the church. Now certainly the Romish church, popery, the papistical ones, they had a different view of authority. They had the Word of God as an authority, but they also had papal infallibility. That means the pope could sit ex cathedra and make declarations that were on par with Scripture.
As well, traditions that were encapsulated in creeds and confessions and whatnot were on par with those particular pronouncements. The Reformers insisted on sola scriptura. Now, sola scriptura does not mean the scripture only. It means the scripture alone in terms of authority.
But consider our confession of faith. They're not against confessions of faith. It would be interesting for a confession of faith to be written that takes an anti-confession of faith position. It doesn't do that.
Here's chapter 1, paragraph 10. The Supreme Judge, by which all controversies of religion are to be determined, and all decrees or counsels, opinions of ancient writers, doctrines of men and private spirits are to be examined, and in whose sentence we are to rest can be no other but the Holy Scripture, delivered by the Spirit, into which Scripture so delivered our faith is finally resolved. You see, it's not saying we ought not to have confessions, we ought not to have creeds, we ought not to have church councils, we ought not to have Calvin's Institutes, we ought not to have John Gill's Body of Doctrinal and Practical Divinity, we ought not to have Calvin's Commentaries or John Gill's Commentaries. It's not saying that.
It is saying that ultimately all those things must be measured by and tested by and they're metal-proved by the Word of God. Sola Scriptura. Doesn't mean the Bible only. but it does mean the Bible alone as the absolute authority in the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. A second emphasis, well, before we move on, why is that continuing in relevance for us?
Because men don't like the Bible, do they? I'm not even talking about godless men. I'm talking about in the church at times. Our experience, more often than not, trumps the Word.
Well, you know, my Uncle Chewy lost his salvation, so that must mean you can. But the Bible says Uncle Chewy, if he's actually saved, can't lose his salvation. Do you see that experience trumps the Word of God in our lives? It's not supposed to do that.
Our experience is to be regulated by the Word of God. If your Uncle Chewy lost his salvation, he was never saved to begin with. Because Paul said, I'm confident of this thing. He who began a good work in you will complete it to the day of Christ.
Paul says in Romans 8, I am persuaded that none of these things that he describes can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Jesus Christ himself says, no one can pluck you out of the hand of my Father. Can you imagine a salvation where we're saved on Monday and lost on Thursday? Is there comfort there?
Is there stability there? Is there peace there? Spurgeon says of such a gospel, I abhor. We're going to actually posit the thought that Jesus Christ came into this world, sinners to save, and He saves them for a time, but boy, He just can't hold on to them.
Your experience is subject to the Word of God. As Luther said, feelings come and feelings go, but feelings are deceiving. My warrant is the Word of God. None else is worth believing.
It's one of the reasons why we sang 582. I love that emphasis. I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus' name. We're prone to and inclined to trust sweet frames.
If my frame is sweet on a Tuesday, I really feel close to God. But if my frame is particularly sour on a Thursday, I feel like I'm an Esau. I feel like I'm a reprobate. I feel like I'm cast off.
Well, brethren, feelings come and feelings go, but feelings are deceiving. My warrant is the Word of God. None else is worth believing. There is continuing relevance for us as the Church to maintain this emphasis upon sola scriptura.
Sola Gratia, Sola Fide, Solus Christus
Secondly, the doctrine of salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. It's interesting how each of these are affixed or attached in some sense to this particular text. The question as to who is a member of God's household was emphasized. Who's a member of God's household?
Who is a participant in the redemptive benefits of Christ? Who is it that's going to go to heaven? Is it the one who pays the money for the indulgences? Is it the one who fulfills the sacramental obligations toward the Church of Rome?
Is it the one who mingles works with faith in order to present themselves to God? No. It's by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ Jesus alone. This was an emphasis that came out during the Protestant Reformation, and an emphasis that we need to hold on to.
Because man continues to have a very difficult time with the aloneness of faith in Christ, doesn't he? Even us, brethren. I've got to do more. Well, you've got to do more, but if you think it's going to commend you to God, in terms of acceptance, then you've got a faulty view of justification and sanctification.
Justification is about Christ. Sanctification is the Spirit's work in us, and we bless God for that. Justification is Christ's work for us, and we bless God for that. It is because of the active and the passive obedience of Jesus Christ.
It is through the forgiveness of sins and the imputation of righteousness received by faith alone. Not word alone, blessed. That word alone is glorious. That word alone should speak comfort to the hearts of God's people throughout the ages.
We're justified by faith alone. It's not by works of righteousness. It's not the deeds that we do. It's all that Christ has accomplished on our behalf.
This is relevant because Roman Catholicism continues, the covenantal nomism of the new perspective on Paul, and as well the covenantal nomism of the federal vision, where they essentially Romanize the Christian faith and they conflate or they break down or they put into one big glob justification and sanctification. That's a very problematic way to live. It's not only my faith in Jesus, but it's my faithfulness to Jesus. No, it's faith alone, and in this we greatly rejoice.
Sola Fide.
The Regulative Principle of Worship
A third emphasis was the regulative principle of worship. The regulative principle of worship. They fought against those popish abuses. They fought against those popish impositions upon the church.
And they had biblical warrant to do this, the first and the second commandments speak to the worship of God. The first commandment defines for us, or prohibits to us, the worship of false gods. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall have no other gods besides me.
In other words, you're not supposed to go after Moloch. You're not supposed to go after Baal. You're not supposed to bow to Asherah. You're not supposed to worship your money.
You're not supposed to worship your things, your stuff. The first commandment defines or prohibits us from worshipping a false god. The second commandment forbids us from worshipping the true God falsely. God is different.
God is unique. God is incomparable. Therefore, you're not supposed to make images. You're not supposed to take creative license.
You're not supposed to, you know, just sort of disengage and paint a picture and bow to it. No, that's the way Asherah and Baal and Molech are worshipped, but not Yahweh. You saw no form. You saw no thing.
You're supposed to worship in spirit and in truth. The express statement in Deuteronomy 12.32, whatever I command you, be careful to observe it, you shall not add to it, nor take away from it. A young man recently said that as he reads through the Old Testament, he understands the regulative principle of worship. That basically means we do nothing more, nothing less, and nothing else than what God has commanded.
Or as Terry Johnson says, we sing the Bible, we pray the Bible, we read the Bible, we preach the Bible, and we see the Bible in the sacraments. This young man said, as I go through the Old Testament, I see the high places that weren't completely obliterated by certain kings, and, you know, what do I do with that? Or the Feast of Purim that's instituted at the time of Esther, and it seems that Jesus even followed that particular feast. I said to him, there are certain anomalies in the scripture.
We need to understand that the scripture reports what is. It doesn't always report what ought to be. The scriptural writers understand that you are to be governed by what ought to be. 2 Kings 17, when Assyria repopulates Samaria, there are still some Israelites in the land. And we read that the Assyrians that came there brought their gods.
That's what they would do, and they would worship or set up these gods. And so the Israelites that had remained, it says that they were, along with the fear of Yahweh, worshiping these gods. Now the author is not telling you that this is legit. He expects you to reflect upon the first and second commandments and say, they're really not fearing Yahweh, because Yahweh Brooke's no rival.
Yahweh doesn't share himself with Yim and Baal. There's no approach to Yahweh and Nimrod. There's no sort of harmony betwixt the two. The author assumes that you will be regulated and governed by those clear declarations concerning what ought to be in worship.
So as you read through the Old Testament, you see those high places that weren't obliterated. You see some of the anomalies. Do not say, well therefore we can do whatever we want in the church. No, we cannot.
We are to do what God commands. That is in essence what the regulative principle of worship states. The practical situation in Joshua 22, I referred to that earlier. Here's Davis' comment, and I think this hits at the crux of the issue.
He says, a look at Deuteronomy 12 answers this, the idea of centralized worship. So the West hears the East erected an altar, and the West arms for battle to go and obliterate them. A look at Deuteronomy 12 answers this. There Israel is commanded to offer their only sacrifices only at the place that Yahweh your God will choose out of all Israel's tribes.
This place stands opposed to all the places where the Canaanites had customarily conducted their orgies. The restriction of sacrifice to one sanctuary was preventive theology, intended to preserve the purity of worship. To oversimplify it meant one altar, one faith, and one people. but allow such worship wherever folks hankered to experience God, and it would soon take on a Canaanite color, soak up Canaanite belief, sport Canaanite practices, adore Canaanite gods. In short, it would at one blow kill both fidelity to Yahweh and the unity of Israel.
So to the Western tribes, wind of another altar suggested man-chosen worship and sacrifice and reeked of the first step toward apostasy. You see, we are to do what God says, because if we don't, no doubt will we stray. The New Testament expression here, the oughtness, the necessity ought to be apparent. Hebrews 12, 28, 30, Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace by which we may serve God acceptably.
God defines acceptable worship. The confessional expression, but the acceptable way of worshiping the true God is instituted by Himself. So they fought against this popish sort of imposition upon the church to do a whole host of things that God had never commanded. And
Christology and the Lord's Supper
in the fourth place, the doctrine of Christology. The doctrine of Christology seen in the debates about Communion or the Lord's Supper. Richard Barcelos in his book, On the Lord's Supper, makes this observation. He says, more ink was spilled over the issue of the sacrament of Communion or the Lord's Supper at the time of the Reformation than over the issue of Sola Fide.
Did you know that? More ink was spilled over the doctrine of the supper than over faith alone. Now, that doesn't mean faith alone isn't important. You see, what happens with reference to our view of the Lord's Supper impinges on Christology.
Rome transubstantiates Jesus into bread and wine. Lutherans consubstantiate Jesus by divinizing his humanity. You see, we need to make sure that we have a proper understanding of Christology. We need to understand the one person and the two natures.
We can go from nature to person, nature to person, but we don't go nature to nature, because then we'll end up with consubstantiation or transubstantiation. If you have more questions about that, you can ask Pastor Cam later. But all that to point out that what we see here, with reference to the common confession, with reference to the common confession concerning the mystery of godliness, these things, touching on who Jesus Christ is, is most important for the Church. So those are some emphases that came out in the Reformation and why they ought to have continuing relevance for us.
We ought to guard against pragmatism. Pragmatism doesn't ask, is it true? Pragmatism asks, does it work? This is where we're at in the 21st century.
This is what it's about in church growth circles. Does it work? Did it bring people in? What happened?
Is it true? J. Gressom Machen said, in the first place, a true Christian church, now as always, will be radically doctrinal. It will never use the shibboleths of a pragmatic skepticism.
It will never say that doctrine is the expression of experience. It will never confuse the useful with the true, but will place truth at the basis of all its striving and all its life. into the welter of changing human opinion, into the modern despair with regard to the meaning of life, it will come with a clear and imperious message. That message it will find in the Bible, which it will hold to contain not a record of man's religious experience, but a record of a revelation from God. As the Church imbibes the Apostles' instruction here, as we do what we are commanded, as we accept the oughtness and the divine necessity behind God's commands to us, then, and only then, brethren, will we see the growth of God's people being conformed unto the image of Jesus Christ, And when truth is at a premium, and truth is proclaimed, and the Spirit of God attends it, then we will see the conversion of sinners.
It's not through experience. It's not through disengagement. It's through engagement with the Word of the Truth by the power of the Holy Spirit that sinners are brought effectually out of darkness into marvelous light. And if you are not a believer tonight, great is the mystery of godliness.
This blessed Christ was manifested in the flesh. He lived in obedience to the Father. He died as a sacrifice and a substitute at Calvary. He was raised the third day.
And all those who look to Him in faith will have everlasting life. Well, let us pray.
Closing Prayer
Our Father, we thank You that we are a part of a tradition of Reformation. I pray that You would help us, Lord God, to see the continuing relevance of each of these doctrines, and help us, God, to be regulated by the Word of Truth. We ask that you would go with us now, we ask that you would watch over us in this coming week, that you would bless all those in our church with special needs, and watch over all of us with the spiritual needs that we have. Go with us, we pray, through Christ our Lord.
Amen.