The recent Supreme Court ruling and the Church

Scott Brown of the NCIFC has written an article entitled: How the American Church Paved the Way for ObamaCare.

As the church has handed over more and mroe of its responsibility to the state should we really be surprised by what has happened?

Scott says:

"The United States Government has done it again! With the recent Supreme Court validation of ObamaCare, it has usurped the role of individual citizens to care for themselves and will punish them through taxation if they try. The “Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave” has taken another giant leap towards the “land of the oppressed and home of the coward.” However, hope for America does not depend on Republican control of the White House and Congress, but instead in the rising awakening of churches and families to stand up for truth and right in our land.

First, let’s examine what just happened. The Supreme Court’s validation of the Affordable Care Act can seem confusing, but it boils down to a simple fact. Under the Constitution, Congress cannot compel you to buy something, but it can tax you for not complying. Passing this law means that the Court creatively justified something that is wrong in principle. They used the Constitution to abuse the Constitution.

But all of this is nothing new!

Government healthcare is logically consistent with our headlong sprint toward socialism in America. We are systematically surrendering every personal responsibility………. read the rest of the article."

A Stance of Advance not Retreat

I was listening to a talk by Dr. Joe Morecraft from the Love the Church Conference where he mentioned Matt 16:18 where Peter is told that “the gates of hell shall not prevail” against God’s church. This is one of those verses that I think the defeatist mentality of many of the church today, often created by faulty eschatology, has influenced how it is interpreted. I say this as I have been there and seen this verse incorrectly for far too long.

What do gates speak of but a stationary edifice, an immovable object? So often this verse is seen from a defensive position in that it is interpreted that Satan’s attacks will not prevail. While that is true the picture this paints is of the church being holed up in the fortress and trying to hold back Satan at the gates. But gates do not attack they protect and in ancient times would be a line of defense in a fortress and often a weakness as they were a means of entry. The picture we should see is more rightly that the church which is to advance Christ’s Kingdom will not fail to do so no matter the attempt of Satan protecting its doomed fortress. In truth the fortress of Satan was already defeated at the cross and will come to final defeat at Christ’s return.

We are to gain confidence in our advance of Christ’s Kingdom in the here in now as the Apostles were to gain hope. We are to truly see the church as victorious and not as some blip on an historical timeline as many paint it. The church, the bride of Christ, is to be on the offensive and not simply sitting back waiting for His return. Let us be the one that storms the gates knowing they will not prevail, that they cannot hold up. Let us not cower in a corner waiting for help when it is here with us to empower us to advance and not retreat. Let us seek to live out Matt 6:10 and not only cry out that “His Kingdom come and His will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” But let us be used by God’s as His means for doing so. Let us not only speak as if we have hope but live as if we have the hope Christ left in such verses as Matt 16:18.

We are called to be a set apart people of God, let us be so. The gates of hell will not prevail because God has already in effect torn them down. Let us not fear a defeated foe but advance to further Christ’s work in this world He has placed us in. A world that is His already. A world that we are to work to glorify Him in. Retreat does not speak well of our taking God’s word seriously so let us do so and ADVANCE His Kingdom.

Denominations or Associations?

I recently finished reading Denominations or Associations?: Essays on Reformed Baptist Associations edited by James M. Renihan and highly recommend this book .

I have always struggled with the autonomous view of ecclesiology that many Baptists hold to. To me it never seemed to hold up to what we see of the early church in Acts 15. It seems from scripture that while the local churches were not dependent on other churches they were in some fashion interdependent as Acts 15 shows. This interdependency is sadly lacking in the Baptist church today and even in Reformed Baptist circles. I have for some time thought that there needed to be a manner in which churches interacted that was more scriptural. That manner of interaction is clearly put forth in this book.

The book is made up of a number of essays that touch on various aspects of how Reformed Baptist churches should associate and most involve the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith and article 26 that deals with The Church, specifically section 15:

26:15. In cases of difficulties or differences, either in point of doctrine or administration, wherein either the churches in general are concerned, or any one church, in their peace, union, and edification; or any member or members of any church are injured, in or by any proceedings in censures not agreeable to truth and order: it is according to the mind of Christ, that many churches holding communion together, do, by their messengers, meet to consider, and give their advice in or about that matter in difference, to be reported to all the churches concerned; howbeit these messengers assembled, are not intrusted with any church-power properly so called; or with any jurisdiction over the churches themselves, to exercise any censures either over any churches or persons; or to impose their determination on the churches or officers.
( Acts 15:2, 4, 6, 22, 23, 25; 2 Corinthians 1:24; 1 John 4:1 )

In looking at this section it becomes clear that the word “communion” used in the context of the time refers to an association of churches that went far beyond simply eating together or partaking in some variety of activities. This association, or communion, instead extended to the he health and vibrancy of the church by having a mutual association that in many ways contradicts the often over emphasized autonomy of the local church we see today.

The book looks at the time of the LBC and shows the thinking of such associations as the Abingdon Association (1652). It is in looking at scripture the LBC and the associations of the time that we get a clear picture that the Baptist church, particularly Reformed Baptist churches, of today has moved away from its moorings. It is a move that needs to be reversed for the church to be what God intendeds it to be; an interdependent family of believers and not the independent autonomous group it often is. I think this independence not only affects the church as a whole but the mindset begins to filter down to the individuals and creates issues at that level as well.

I highly recommend this book and would pray that this is the direction the church, and especially Reformed Baptist Churches, would head.

NCFIC Articles on the Church as a "Family of Families"

The NCFIC has added some articles on the often complained about saying that the church is a “Family of Families”:

Here is the series of posts to date on this subject:

The Church is a “Family of Families” A History -- Part 1
The Church is a “Family of Families” -- Part 2
Did the Puritans have a “Family of Families” Ecclesiology?
“Family of Families” in the News
The Church is a “Family of Families” -- Part 3
The Church is a “Family of Families” -- Part 4
The Church is a “Family of Families” -- Part 5

The Church: Its Place in the World

As I look around at the church today what strikes me more often than not is how similar the church looks to the world. So this begs the question” Why is there such a similarity?”

I think this comes from a misunderstood concept of what God’s purpose and place for the church is. For many the sole purpose of the church is evangelism, for others it is to care for the needy while others simply think it is a place to be refreshed for another week of living in the world, I would add living like the world. I am sure there are others but these are what come to mind right now.

The mistaken idea that the church is here solely for evangelism comes from a misunderstanding of the Matt 28:19-20. The call in Matthew is not to evangelize but to disciple and not only disciple but to teach those that are disciples to obey all that God commands. While it sounds spiritual to be all about evangelism it often leads to a truncated Gospel that stops at the cross. Often this view stems from an eschatological view that sees the end coming soon and thus saving souls is of prime importance but I can assure you over the course of history many have thought the end was near. Another issue that can stem from this view is that churches will do whatever it takes to have people make a verbal profession of faith even if it is not a true profession. In doing this, the church becomes more focused on the desires of the world than God so as to accomplish its desired result, professions. So while seeing evangelism as important is a good thing it is not to be the sole focus of the church.

How about the call to care for the needy? Well that is also an area the church is to be involved in but not at the exclusion of other things. As with evangelism it is not to be our sole goal. Some have even minimized the sharing of the Gospel so as to have the ability to get into areas to help those in need. The issue here is that helping one with physical nourishment is of little effect if their spirituals needs are not taken care of. The result here has been seen before and leads to the social Gospel and again truncates the Gospel. So we as believers should be intent on caring for the needy, first in our local church and then outside the walls of our church. Remember that when we read the NT the letters we read are in large part written to local churches and it is in those letters that the writers deal with caring for those in the local church and then moving to others

As far as the church being a place of refreshment, it should be. But as with the others if this becomes the main focus the Gospel and teachings of Christ will be marginalized or softened. There are churches and pastors that have stayed away from talking about sin due to a concern that it may upset their flock and in the process truly hindered the sanctification process of those they are to build up for the work of the ministry. This in the end makes the church more of a social club than a gathering of those called out by God to be separated from the world in both thought and deed. When the goal of the local church is to have its members and attendees feel good about life and themselves there are many difficult and convicting parts of scripture that will be avoided.

I do not want this to simply be about bashing the church but to help us see we have such a great purpose and calling in this world that to miss it is to miss the greatest joy we can have. So again what is the place of the church in this world, It is the same as the first calling of all those who are truly children of God and is stated most clearly in the answer to question one of the Westminster Shorter and Longer Catechism: Man’s chief end is to glorify God (Psalm 86; Is 60:21; Rom 11:36; 1 Cor 6:20,31; Rev 4:11) and enjoy Him forever(Ps 16:5-11; Ps 144:15; Is 12:2;Luke 2:10; Phil 4:4; Rev 21:3-4).

This glorifying of God is a result of living as He calls us to live by the power He supplies to live as such. When we live as we are called we will be the light we are called to be. Yes, we will often be disliked as we dispel darkness and make those that enjoy darkness begin to squint at the glory of God. This living is not to be by our finite understanding but is to be guided and directed by the law of God, yes the law of God. Many people are intent on saying the law is not relevant to the NT believer but that misses the beauty of the law. The beauty is that when we live by God’s standards as expressed in ALL of His word we will be used by God to change the world we live in.

Even as early as Genesis 12 we see how Abram lived in such a way to make a statement as he set up altars to the one true God in a land that was intent on worshiping a multitude of non-existent god’s. It was this living differently that God was to use to both condemn and reveal Himself to the world Abram pilgrimages in. God does that today and I think this leads to the place of the church today.

The church is to be a people that stands out and in doing so is used by God to call others to Himself. We are called to be pilgrims and a peculiar people. We do this simply by being obedient to the call of God and in doing so we will be the light we are called to be. The actions of the church will not change people’s hearts but is a means by which God changes people. So when we become involved in the world we are in (the City of Man) but live by the standards of God (The City of God) God will be most glorified and His name will be magnified.

So the place of the church is to change the world. Not by our power but by God’s power. To be used by God we need to be obedient and follow His law. The Apostles lived by the word of God they had and that was the OT so we are not to minimize or worse discount all that it says but to realize that the NT lets us see that we, by the New Covenant spoken of in Jer 31:31-34, are able to live as God calls us to live. Let us be the change agents that God desires us to be. Let us realize that this is God’s world and live as such. Lastly, let us live as a church that truly sees itself as the bride of Christ.

I pray this was clear as I have such a great love for the church, as we all should. My desire is not for the church to conform to my view but to be conformed to the One that we are called to be the bride of. We need to see that it is not the place of man to dictate what the church should look like but it is our job to see what scripture, again ALL of it, dictates the church is called to be. So let us be a church that changes the world and not one that is changed by it. Let us proclaim the victory of Christ and not live as if we have been defeated and thus need to live by the rules of the world.

Also, let me add, I do not have this all figured out and am constantly finding myself doing what I think is best and not necessarily what God commands. Even though I did not grow up in the church and actually was not called by God until later in life (28) I have ideas and concepts of the church that have come from what I have seen and experienced that often do not align to God’s call for His church. So it takes a constant, conscious effort to change those default concepts that have become ingrained and one way to do this has been to write on the church.

This link goes to a post that has links to other posts on the: The Church

Is the Church a Family of Families? Dr. Baucham Comments

I am very thankful for Dr. Voddie Baucham and his writing. I have recently heard numerous complaints about the term regarding the FIC as it being a “Family of Families.” Usually many that have this complaint have other issues as well with the whole idea of the Family Integrated Church but this is one of the supposed theological angles they often latch onto. Voddie recently wrote a two part series on this and does a great job of explain this term: Is the Church a Family of Families? & Is the Church a Family of Families? 2

He makes the distinction, that many miss, that the term speaks to the “distinctive structure of the FIC” and not the nature of the church. As I have said and many others have said when the FIC looks at the nature of the church it is nothing but orthodox and thus the structure of the church is how we view the outworking of the nature of the church. I encourage you to read Dr. Baucham’s articles and see that the FIC is simply a move to find the most orthodox structure of the church by using scripture as the guide and not man’s ideas of how church should function. Scripture gives us all we need to function, it is sufficient, as a church and that is where we need to look first and foremost.

The Church

Some time ago I wrote a series of posts on the church and various aspects of it. In September of 07’ I wrote The Church- A Multigenerational Gathering and on that post I linked to the other articles I had written on the church. I have noticed over time that often these articles are being read through searches on the church and more specifically on the Family Integrated Church. Due to this I have put the links below with a few additions.

Over the next year I will get back to my writing on the church, as God leads. It seems that we have lost the love for the church that we should have. After all, the church is seen in scripture as the Bride of Christ and while this can refer to the “invisible church” its “visible” manifestation is in the local church. So we need to see the local church as more than some sort of ritual or event we take part in but something we participate in out of our love and devotion to and for Christ. We often claim love for Christ but show no love for His church and from what I see in scripture those are not compatible attitudes and we need to ask God to give us the love for His church that He desires of us.

The Church:
The Local Church Pt1
The Church Pt 2 - Ekklesia
The Church Pt 3: Church Local or Universal
The Church, Where? Part 4
The Church - Part 5
The Gathered Church - Pt 1
The Gathered Church – Pt 2
The Gathered Church - Pt 3
Some Random Thoughts on the Church

A Series on how I see the Family Integrated Church:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7

Some General Thoughts on the Family Integrated Church:
Family Friendly?
Family Friendly II
Family Integrated Church is not new
More on Family Integrated Church
Some Random Thoughts on the Church
More Thoughts on the Family Integrated Church
Some More thoughts on the Family Integrated Church
There is Nothing New About Family Integrated Worship

Additional Posts:
The Church: Its Place in the World
The Church – A Multigenerational Gathering
Evangelism and the Local church
Sacrificing Church for Family
The Sacrifice of the Family for Ministry
Family Integrated Church – 1 Year Later
Review of: What is a Family Integrated Church? By Scott Brown