The Forest is covering up all the Trees

There are Christians who hold to a view of family in which the father is always in charge of his children. Even when the children grow up dad's the boss. These Christians go to the Old Testament saints to prove that their view is biblical.

But we must be careful...just because we can see the Old Testament saints practicing something doesn't make it right.

Many of the Old Testament saints also had more than one wife.

The same passage of Scripture that defeats many wives also defeats having the father in charge of his adult children.

Matt 19: 5

For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.

My Covenant View, Arguments Against Infant Baptism

Arguments Against Infant Baptism

I did not always hold to the belief of “infant baptism”. I was once a Baptist and was brought to see the truth of infant baptism through God’s word. When I came to hold to infant baptism I had many opportunities to defend my new position. Many of my closest friends are Baptist pastors, and they came to me with their arguments. The arguments against infant baptism are very similar to those against infant communion. Our Baptist brethren will tell us that infants cannot repent and believe therefore they cannot be baptized [Acts 2:38]. At this point we take our Baptist brother back to the Old Testament and show him that this command was for adults and that children of believing adults were admitted into covenant without repentance and faith, but were instead to be raised and nurtured by their parents, to daily repent and trust God. Many in the Reformed camp will use this argument for infant baptism but will then stand in the place of the Baptist in their arguments against children coming to the Table. They will say that children cannot examine themselves therefore they shouldn’t partake. At this we take our brothers back to the Old Testament and show them that children did partake of spiritual food and drink in the Old Covenant [1 Cor 10]. This command [examine yourself] is primarily to adults [as repent and believe was before baptism]. Children may not be able to examine themselves with the maturity of an adult but they are still to take the Table of the Lord and grow in maturity in this area.
We can see in many areas of God’s Word that what is commanded of adults does not hold for children. God commands that if a man doesn’t work, he doesn’t eat. Does this mean my young children have to go out and find jobs or they are not allowed to eat? That is ridiculous! We understand that this commandment is for adults and young children are exempt from it.
My children eat at my table because they are my children. They do not have to take a test to prove they understand that am really their dad, or how I provide for them, they are my children so they eat at my table. What would we think of a dad who did put his children through adult test in order to eat at his table, or a dad who made his children work [as an adult] so they could eat at his table? This is the kind of dad we portray God the Father to be to our children.
They do not have to earn the right to eat at the Table, they eat because they are a part of the family.

As Christians we should never base our beliefs on mere feelings or traditions of men. God’s Word is our ultimate and final authority and we are obligated to base all of our beliefs and practices upon God’s infallible Word.

I know that this paper is not exhaustive. I know that it doesn’t answer all the questions. I do hope that it has answered some questions and that it encourages the reader to diligently study the Word of God on this issue.

Closed Ears

I fear for the man who has closed ears.

The man who can sit under God's word...have God's voice command him what to do...

and then walk away and continue to harden his heart against the Lord.

God is merciful and forgiving...but often times Christians are not.

Some Christians want to freely receive...but the freely giving part they conveniently put aside.


Have you ever prayed and asked God to not to forgive you?

Have you ever prayed and asked God to be lacking in mercy and long suffering toward you?

Have you ever come right out and asked God to damn you, to send you to the flames of hell?

If you are in the practice of not forgiving others their trespasses [no matter how great you view these sins] that they have committed against you...then when you pray the Lord's prayer this is exactly what you are asking of God.

I am trying to get a hang of putting pictures on the blog...here is one of my son and David and I. This was taken a year ago so he has grown quite a bit. 

My Covenant View, Church Authority and Individualism

When we look to the culture around us we should not be greatly surprised that the unbelieving world has no respect for the Churches teachings, government, and judgments. Jesus said that His people were the salt of the earth, but if the salt loses its saltiness it is good for nothing, except to be trampled down by man. It is obvious that the Church in North America, for the most part, has lost its saltiness and is getting trampled down.

What does not seem so obvious, to many Christians, is ‘why’ we are getting trampled. Why has the Church lost its power in our culture?

Why should the unbelieving world respect and honor the Church when so many Christian’s do not? Yes, many will give honor and respect with their lips, but their heart is far from this verbal profession.

Jesus Christ is the Head of His Church! Jesus rules in His Church through His Word and Spirit. So far so good, most Christian’s won’t have problems with the above statements.

Next.

God’s word commands Christ’s Church to appoint elders to teach and rule. God gives authority to these leaders [authority that it tied to God’s Word]. Members of a local congregation are commanded by God to submit themselves to the elders among them.
There are many Christians who acknowledge that Jesus has the right to reign in their lives, but then by their actions they deny this truth. How do they deny it? They refuse to place themselves under the authority of Christ’s Body, His Church. They show by their actions that they think that they have the ultimate say in the Church.
Christ manifests His authority “through” His Church. The Word of God, faithful administration of the sacraments, and church discipline are all interconnected.

How are they interconnected?

When God’s people assemble together to worship the Lord, God instructs and strengthens His people through His Word being preached [teaching elder/Minister].
If one of God’s people rebels and refuses to repent of their rebellion then this will lead to Church discipline. What does Church discipline look like? Does it mean that the rebellious person is no longer allowed to come to Church? If this were so then no unbeliever would ever be allowed to come to Church for a second visit. If they were allowed it would have to be asked why they were allowed to come to hear God’s word, in their rebellion against God, and the disciplined Church member is not allowed to come. So if its not being forbidden to attend Church service what exactly is Church discipline?

It is being refused the Lord’s Table. The person under discipline would be reminded of their “state” every time God’s people ate the Lord’s Supper. On the Lord’s days that the supper was not being served they could try to “blend” in with everyone else sitting under God’s Word that day. In their mind they could tell themselves that they were no different then anyone else gathering together to worship the Lord. This is why the three are so connected. God’s Word is preached every Lord’s Day. These are words of life to those who believe but are also words of Judgment [words commanding repentance] to those who do not believe [and obey].

When the Lord’s Supper is absent then God’s word goes forth and the unrepentant can deceive themselves into thinking that “they do believe and that they are just like everyone else here”. But when the Lord’s Supper is connected weekly with God’s word, then the Church discipline is a continual reminder that if the unrepentant one does not repent then they have no part of Christ [because they have no part of the Body and Blood of the Lord] [John 6]. When repentance comes God’s word proclaims forgiveness, cleansing and restoration and the sacrament is the second witness affirming this truth. God says in His Word, you are forgiven and restored, now come partake of My Son’s broken Body and shed Blood.

How would many Reformed Churches discipline a covenant youth [16 years old] who is involved in unrepentant fornication? Many Churches do not have profession of faith until 18 years old. What could the elders do to show that this covenant member was actually under discipline? They could use God’s word. But that is all they could do. They could not cut the youth off from the Table of the Lord because the youth has always been cut off.

Many Reformed Churches do not have effective discipline [among their young people] because they have not seen the importance of connecting the Proclamation of God’s Word [weekly] with the Lord’s Table [weekly]. For years the youth have been sat in the seat of the rebellious and unbeliever because even though they have been baptized they have not been allowed to partake of Christ’s Body and Blood.

The blessings of the Lord’s Supper come from actually partaking of it. There are some Reformed Christians who “feel” that even if they allow the bread and wine to “pass by” them that they still partake of the blessing in their hearts. There are a few problems with this understanding. First, they have placed themselves in the position of authority [instead of Christ, working through the elders of the local church], allowing or disallowing themselves access to the Lord’s Table. Second, they separate the blessing of the Lord’s Table from the bread and wine, but Jesus said that life came from eating His Body and drinking His Blood. There is no inherent “power” in the elements themselves but the Holy Spirit works through the elements that He has commanded we use, and not just the thought of them. If a member in good standing can refuse the Table and yet in his mind “feel” that he still is receiving the blessings from the Lord then why could not the man next to him, who was under church discipline, say the same thing in his heart? The man under discipline could say, “if this guy next to me can receive “life” and blessings from the Table without actually partaking, then so can I”. He could go on to reason that if there are certain members of the congregation who have greater authority then the elders of the church, and decide for themselves whether or not they take the Lord’s Supper, then he need not worry about the Churches disciplining him either. Certain members of the congregation [those who decide for themselves whether they will come to the Table or not] have taught him [by their actions] that the Church [elders] really doesn’t hold the “keys” like Jesus said. Each individual “holds the keys”. Each individual can decide whether they come to the Table or not. Each individual can decide on how they receive the blessing, sometimes via the elements, and sometimes via their just “feeling” like they are partaking of the blessing in their heart.

If we ever wonder why the Church is losing [lost] its stand in the world, we need not look any further than this. Until Christians begin to honor and respect Christ’s church and its government we shouldn’t expect the world to.

How True

I borrowed this from Doug Wilson's blog;

One More Clown
Topic: Chrestomathy

"In our postmodern culture, the polytheism inherent in the diverse culture can certainly accommodate one more clown in the circus ring. What they cannot accommodate is a true alternative, which is starting to take shape. Christians have not presented a true cultural alternative until recently, when they began to provide their own children with an education consistent with what they believe. The reaction of the secularists to all of this shows that the children of this generation are often shrewder than the children of light. They know -- far better than we do -- what is actually at stake. They fear, rightly, the paideia of God" (The Paideia of God, p. 15)

Posted by Douglas Wilson -

My Covenant View, Theological Hoops

Many in the Reformed camp have set up theological hoops for all those wishing to partake of the Lord’s Supper. Hoops that are based on the traditions of men and not on the Word of God.

We say that someone should have a certain level of “maturity” in the realm of theological knowledge before they come to the Table. A child could not possibly partake of the Lord’s Supper because they don’t really understand that Jesus Christ died for them as their substitute. They don’t really understand that Jesus rose literally, physically from the dead.

Interestingly enough, neither did any of those who partook of the first Lord’s Table. None of the disciples really understand that what Jesus was about to do. None of them really understood that Jesus was about to suffer and die as their substitute and was going to raise from the dead in three days. If they did, then they would never have forsaken Him. And yet they all did forsake Him, and one even betrayed Him. And Jesus knowing their ignorance and future unbelief and disobedience allowed them all to partake of the supper.

And yet God has promised that He will be a God to us and to our children. And instead of taking God at His word and feeding His children with His food, at His table, we distrust God’s promises, and use the excuse of our children’s “possible” future unbelief and rebellion to keep them from the table. Jesus feeds His followers “knowing” their sins, and we keep God’s children from the table “not knowing” if our children will forsake Him.

What is wrong with this picture?

There is more.

We starve God’s little ones, keeping them from the “spiritual” nourishment that is to strengthen them in their faith, and then when they grow to act as we treat them [as hypocrites, rebellious, and unbelieving] we say to ourselves it is a good thing we didn’t feed them because look how they turned out to be. It would be like a man making his children work on his farm but not feeding them. Finally when the children died of starvation the farmer says to himself “it was a good thing I didn’t waste food on them because, in the end, they died and it would have gone to waste”.

Dethrone Wannbe "king" Absalom

How does the spirit of Absalom continue to live on, even though Absalom himself has been dead for thousands of years?

When we read through Second Samuel we are shown Absalom's "shifty" ways.

Absalom wanted to be in "the" position of authority and power, he wanted to be king.

Absalom conceived of a way to get this authority and power...a way of deceit and craftiness.

Absalom became the peoples friend...he became their listening ear, their shoulder to cry on.

Absalom also was careful to subtly promote himself while being that helping hand for the people.

You might hear him say "If I were a leader then I would be quick to help in your problems and I would make sure things would get dealt with properly".

I am sure Absalom had many other campaign promises that he fed to the people while he "stole the hearts of the men of Israel".

How can you tell if someone is 1. Just being helpful or 2. Is coming to you as an Absalom?

You need to be discerning and careful in your listening.

Has the person who is now so interested in your life always been so? If not, why the sudden change?
Has the person who is busy helping you in your struggles always been there to help you with your problems? If not, why the sudden change?

Has the help you received come without an additional message.

The message of 1. The existing leaders aren't doing it right, 2. If "I" were leading then these problems of yours wouldn't be happening.

It looked like Absalom's plan was going to succeed...except for one obstacle...a Holy God who hates flattery and rebellion.

It is a wonderful thing to help people in their need, to be a servant to God's people.

But our service and helping is to be without hidden agendas, without a price tag. We are never to help others...SO THAT...they will see how helpful we are and put us into a place of authority.

This is putting the cart before the horse [in a hidden and deceitful way].

A man should want to love and help God's people regardless of if he is ever called to a place of leadership.

The Apostle James warns us "For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there".

Beware, the spirit of Absalom is always looking for followers.

May we all be discerning to hear his voice...

In Christ, dale



loversofwisdom.blogspot.com

My Covenant View, God's Word, and the Lord's Supper

It seems like sometimes people set up for themselves a double standard. What they use as a standard for one area they choose not to for another. Both the Word of God and the sacraments are “means of grace”. Both are not only something that we must have faith “in” [the object of our faith] but also something that works faith in us [instrument or means of faith]. God’s word is not only something I must believe, it also is the instrument that God uses to work this faith in me [Romans 10:17]. The Lord’s Supper brings blessing when it is taken in faith, but it is also a “means” in which God builds and strengthens faith. Why is it that we refuse to allow our children to come to the table because of their presumed “lack of faith”, and yet we allow them to sit under the teaching of God’s word, pray, say the Apostles Creed, sing praise to God? All of these things if not done in faith are not pleasing to God [Romans 8:7, Hebrews 11:6].
If I used the same type of thinking I could say [God forbid] “Well the Lord told me that the servant in whom was given much and rebelled received greater punishment, so because I am not sure if this child will grow to believe this Word I will keep him as ignorant as possible to lessen his punishment.” That type of thinking would be absurd wouldn’t it? It is that same type of thinking that keeps believers children from the Lord’s Table. It is called unbelief. God has given us promises and we must trust God. When we look at ourselves and our children do we see “giants in the land”? Yes, but God promises us that if we trust Him He will take care of the giants. But what we do is NOT trust God, and then look at the results [giants remaining] and blame it on God’s promises instead of on our unbelief.
We need to teach our children that God loves them, teaches them, forgives them, feeds them.
We teach these things by our words and actions, trusting that the Word of God that is to build them up in the faith will do so. That the Table of blessing will actually work out for blessing.

Awake To The Issues At Hand

Whenever we face differences in the Christian church we need to understand that we are dealing with more then just a lack of information. The Christian heart can still be deceitful [the flesh wars against the spirit]. Unbelievers are "self" deceived [Romans 1] but we also see that Christians are warned against "self" deception [James 1].

When a man's livelihood rests upon a certain doctrinal position...and deviation away from that certain position would most certainly lead to his dismissal, then this doesn't encourage open study and eager searching for the truth.

On the contrary...it can lead to self deception. It can lead a man to not study that certain issue because it has already been studied by others.

Or when I have time I will study this topic...the time never comes.

When I moved from "believers baptism" to "infant baptism" it was one of the hardest things I have ever done.

Most of my friends held to "believers baptism" and to move into the other camp felt like I was becoming Roman Catholic [even though I wasn't]. But within the denomination I belonged to I had the freedom to study without penalty. They held to infant baptism but didn't forbid "believers baptism".

I believe that there are pastors out there who are forced to hold to their views, and are restricted from freely studying out issues because they know that if their views change...change to such a degree as to no longer agree with their denomination...then they are on the unemployment line.

My Covenant View, Parallel or Contrast?

Many Christian’s place a stark contrast between the Old and New Covenants, and this contrast is one of the main causes for their erroneous interpretation of the Bible. [New Testament only].

Are the Old and New Testaments in contrast with one another or are they to be viewed more as parallels?
When I ask this question I am not saying that the Old and New Covenant are exactly the same. We are told that the New Covenant is a better covenant founded on better promises [Epistle to the Hebrews].

The New Covenant is the fulfillment of the Old. In the New Covenant, the long awaited Savior has come. He has accomplished the work of redemption. He has died for His people, rose again, ascended into heaven and now sits at God the Father’s right hand, where He [Jesus] now reigns.

What I want to talk about here is the similarities or parallels between the two covenants, to show that they are not two totally different, or contrasted creatures.

Both the Old and New covenants were sovereignly instituted by God Himself. Both covenants contain God’s promises, commands, and warnings. Both covenants contain blessings [for faith and the obedience that flows from it] and curses [for unbelief and the disobedience that flows from it]. Both covenants require an adult to profess faith before entering the covenant. Both covenants have the household of a believer enter the covenant as well [including infants]. The Old Covenant had an initiatory sign in which all covenant members were to take [circumcision]. And the New Covenant likewise has an initiatory sign that all covenant members are to take [Baptism]. The Old Covenant included believers’ children into the covenant even though they could not yet exercise their own faith. Instead they were to receive the covenant sign and be raised and nurtured into a mature faith by means of God’s word, and the sacrificial ceremonies and festivals [including spiritual food and drink], prayer, and fellowship in the covenant community.

Because God has not annulled this commandment, we are to view it as still binding. Children of believers’ are to receive the covenant sign [which is now Baptism, circumcision has been done away with], and are to be raised and nurtured into a mature faith by the means of God’s word, the Sacraments, prayer and fellowship in the Church.
Both Old and New Covenants reveal to us that it is possible for a person to be really “in covenant” with God, and yet not receive the blessings of that covenant. Both Covenants require faith from its members in order to receive the blessings of that Covenant. If a person does not trust in God’s promises, follow God’s commands, and take heed to God’s warnings, then they will not inherit the blessings of the Covenant [Old or New]. It is important to note that faith to believe God’s promises, obey God’s commands and heed His warnings are a gift from God, and not something that inherently comes from within man]. Both the Old and New Covenants deal with the whole man. Both have commandments that deal with the outward actions as well as the inner hearts motivation.

I have talked to some of my Baptist brethren who tried to free themselves from the Old Covenant’s obligations by saying that Old and New are totally different. The Old dealt with the outward and the New deals with the outward and inner. To quickly deal with this I will only give a few passages. In the 10th commandment [given to the Old Testament people] God tells His people not to “covet”. This is a command that deals primarily with the inner man. When Jesus was asked what is the greatest commandment in the Law He quoted from Deut 19 “to love the Lord your God with all you heart, soul, strength and mind.” In both of these passages we see that the Old Covenant did not deal with the outward only.
Finally, when we read Hebrews 3&4 and 1 Cor 10 we are encouraged [as Christians] not to follow the same “bad” examples as Old Covenant saints. We are not to follow in their unbelief, complaining, lusting, etc. But we are also shown in these passages that they received the gospel [as did the Christians], they were “all” baptized [as were the Christians], they “all” [children included] ate and drank “spiritual” food [as did the Christians], they had Christ [as did the New Covenant people of God]. We are not told to stop baptizing and taking the Lord’s supper but we are told not to be unbelieving as Israel was, not follow in their sinful lusts. It is interesting to note that the only ones who entered the Lromise land [from those who left Egypt] would have been the children who were now grown. So they ate the spiritual food and it strengthened them to eventually receive the promise land. While the rebellious, disobedient adults took the same spiritual food and drink and were destroyed because of their unbelief and sinful lusts.

In God’s covenant of blessing He gives “means” or instruments to bring forth this blessing. He gives His word, prayer and the sacraments as instruments of blessings. Unfortunately, the very things that God gives for blessings can become the very opposite if they are received in unbelief, unthankfulness and rebellion.

But this does not take away from the goodness of the gift, it merely shows the lack of goodness in the receiver of that gift.