Parting Words of Counsel to Members and Friends of Trinity Baptist Church Part 2

At the annual church business meeting of Trinity Baptist Church in January of 2006, Pastor Martin announced to the congregation that it was his intention to relinquish his place as one of their pastors and to relocate to western Michigan some time in the year 2008. An approximate date of June 15 has now been set for that move and relocation.

Since his arrival in Caldwell, NJ in July 1962, nearly forty-six years have passed in which Pastor Martin has sought to serve His Lord by serving as one of the under-shepherds and pastors of Trinity Baptist Church. In the remaining weeks, he intends to highlight those biblical truths and perspectives which have constituted the dominant and all-encompassing passion of his labors for these forty-six years. Under the general title of “My Parting Counsel to the Members and Friends of Trinity Baptist Church.”

#6:Parting Words of Counsel to Members and Friends of Trinity Baptist Church Part 6

#7:Parting Words of Counsel to Members and Friends of Trinity Baptist Church Part 7

#8:Parting Words of Counsel to Members and Friends of Trinity Baptist Church Part 8

#9:Parting Words of Counsel to Members and Friends of Trinity Baptist Church Part 9

Part 1

Coupon Christianity

These are penny pinching days.  The wise consumer is looking for many different ways to save on necessities.  If gas is ten cents cheaper down the street, why pay the higher price where you are?  If there is a coupon to save five or ten dollars on an item, why pay more?  In regard to consumerism, the coupon mentality is a good one.  The ability to get the exact same thing at a reduced price is wise stewardship.  My problem is when professing Christians apply that mindset to their faith.   People say that they want to have patience, they want to be godly, they want to have peace, they want to have joy, etc.  The problem is there is a price to be paid.  There is a way to have these things, but there can be no reduction in cost to obtain them.  They come in the way of trials, they come in the way of warfare, they come in the way of prayer, and attendance upon the means of grace.  Can’t I grow in grace and not pray and not read my bible and not set my mind on things above?

We live in a time of ‘costless’ Christianity.  As has often been said, it will cost you nothing to become a Christian, but it will cost you everything to be a Christian.   In our attempts to be more palatable, to reach more people, to ‘have more consumers’, we have sought to reduce the cost.  Is evening worship too much for most people?  Let’s drop it.  Is prayer meeting too much for the modern American family on the go?  Let’s drop it.  Expectations of members?   No such thing!   In some cases, people are finding simply going to church at all too much to ask.  Why worship God congregationally when I can be fed at home with my laptop?  The findings of recently held Southern Baptist Convention stated that of the nearly 17 million members on church rolls that less than 7 million actually attend church.  I’m not a math whiz, but I believe that’s what we call a disparity!   With the rise in gas prices, many people are considering not attending church more than once a week to ‘save on gas’.  But at what cost?   Will I deny God His worship for 10 or 15 extra dollars a month?  When some people have an extra unexpected bill come in, they will cheat on their tithes and offerings to make up for it.  Why?  Because God does not send them a bill every month?   A recent study found that only 5% of professing Christians tithe.  Why is it that when ‘sacrifices’ need to be made that God is the one who is shortchanged?   Why not cut back on internet, cable or satellite TV, magazine subscriptions, eating out?  What we sacrifice or refuse to sacrifice is an excellent indicator of the heart!  Professing child of God, what and where are your treasures?

James Savastio

ParaChurch—Does the end justify the means?

What is a ‘parachurch’?  It would be any ministry or religious organization that is Christian in doctrine and practice, yet is not an official Church with a pastor/elders and deacons, and a congregation that meets regularly for worship (Fred Butler).  It could also be described as an organization, independent of the church, coming alongside the church for the purpose of assisting the church to accomplish its mission.

Recently, while studying 2 Peter 1, the ‘parachurch’ came to mind.

There is a burden on the heart of the Apostle.  Peter knows his days on earth are short (v14).  The Apostolic age is drawing to a close.  Peter writes with the post-apostolic church in view (v15).  His desire is to protect and build up the believers who are at present (or soon will be) coming in contact with false teachers-those who would endanger the church and seek its downfall (2:1ff).

So what does the soon-to-be-departed Apostle tell the soon-to-be-post-apostolic church?  “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him…” (1:3, NIV).

First, note the source:  God and His unlimited, inexhaustible power.  It does not originate in us or in the church.

Second, note God’s activity:  ‘has given’ is a perfect tense verb, emphasizing the continuing nature of that which was given; a past act with results ongoing to the present.

Third, note his readers:  ‘us/we’.  We must not make the mistake of reading this as merely referring to the individual believer.  Though true for the individual believer, Peter has in view the corporate body; the church collectively.

Fourth, note the sufficiency of this supply:  ‘everything needed’ is supplied.  Nothing is or ever will be lacking or neglected.  Not one item necessary for the church to function as the glorious body of Christ has been withheld or has to be earned.

Peter’s statement is clear:  God’s divine provision for His church is all encompassing.  The church has been given all the resources it will ever need to: operate in a way that is pleasing to God, defend and protect itself from all enemies, accomplish the eternal purposes of God, spread the gospel of Jesus Christ locally and globally and be pure and holy in a pagan, sin-filled world.

Peter makes clear that not only did the 1st century church have all it needed, but the church in every subsequent generation already had been given all it would ever need to do the will of Christ, the Head of the church (Eph. 1:22).  This divine provision for Christ’s church transcends time and culture.

So what does this have to do with the parachurch movement?

We are being told that the parachurch is essential to the church (though it has only recently shown up as a blip on the radar scope of church history).

Parachurch ministries are described anywhere from ‘God’s gift to His church’ to ‘necessary evils in the 21st century’.  Examined more closely, the parachurch philosophy is nothing but pragmatism.  “We (the parachurch ministry) are able to transcend denominational boundaries and are therefore more effective.  We have professionals to fill niche ministries that the typical pastor is just not capable of fulfilling.  We are not bound by the pressure of ‘doctrinal differences’ so we can appeal to a broader base, etc., etc.”

Is the parachurch beneficial to the body of Christ or a symptom of a deeper flaw?  If the parachurch is so essential and necessary to Christ’s church, where was it in the 2nd century? 12th century?  16th century?  Why in the 21st century (and why in North America especially?!) can’t the church function without professional help from ‘outside’?

Peter, by divine inspiration, declared that, in his day and in every subsequent generation, Christ’s church had already been given what it needed, with no lack of any kind, no shortage or meagerness in the outpouring of divine provision.  There is no need for Christ’s church to seek for some missing element from any ‘outside source’.

Is not the rise of the parachurch phenomenon a declaration by the church (and the parachurch) that God’s provision for His church is inadequate?  And is it not a declaration of the church’s abdication of its God-given responsibilities?

Let’s face it:  Do I really need to listen to a football coach with 50,000 other men to learn how to love my wife as Christ commands me to?  Do I really need to fly half-way around the world to sit with 30,000 other women to learn how to be the submissive wife Christ commands me to be?

Does the same truth the church has proclaimed for 1900+ years all of a sudden become more believable or ‘doable’ when Promise Keepers shares it? Or is the issue the church faces one of unbelief in the pulpit and pew?

There is no need for the church to look to contemporary trends or the latest innovative brainstorming technique to fulfill its God ordained mandate.

Christ declared:  “I will build my church” (Mt. 16:18), not “I will build my parachurch.”

How do we appropriate and apprehend this divine, all-sufficient supply?  “through (by means of) our knowledge of Him…”  The authoritative and sufficient Word is the God-ordained means of the churches sufficient supply!

The words of Jeremiah 2:13 to the people of Israel are sadly, for the most part, appropriate for the church in our land:  “My people have committed two sins:  They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.” (NIV)  Oh, that the church would see in Christ and His word her all-sufficient supply for life and godliness.

Darrell Fletcher, Elder

Covenant Reformed Baptist Church

Warrenton, VA

What is the Chief End of God?

( originally written in 1998 )

While watching television the other evening, I came across what I can only call a Christmas Spectacular presented by a well-known evangelical megachurch in San Diego.  It was a very impressive production indeed.  At the center of the platform was a “Living Christmas Tree,” that is, a set of choir risers made to resemble the shape of a fir tree, staffed on eight or nine levels by singers in altar-boy type robes.  In front of this massive structure two highly skilled singers, a man and a woman, performed several powerful numbers, often accompanied by a dance troupe of men and women, or at times a children’s choir.  The production values were excellent, both in terms of the staging, the talent, and the television presentation-Hollywood or Las Vegas could not have done better.

The finale was especially impressive.  A swinging rendition of the Hallelujah Chorus was presented by the assembled company.  A choir processed up the aisles, while the dancers (who had quickly donned white robes-though they were unfastened in the front) surrounded the Christmas Tree.  The two lead singers took center stage in the midst of the dancers, and everyone was swinging and swaying to the jazzy beat. The choir and dancers sang the various parts of the (upbeat) Hallelujah Chorus while the soloists improvised several inspirational slogans, inserting them into the rendition at diverse places.  As the song reached its climax, balloons were released from the ceiling over the heads of the audience, and fireworks exploded from the stage.  A rousing good time was had by all of the participants.

I should mention that there was an attempt at a spoken message, just before the finale.  A man stood up-I do not know who he was-and addressed the audience.  He stated that the theme of the evening was this-”He [meaning God] did it all for you.”  All of the singing and dancing was simply a celebration of the fact that Christmas was a demonstration of God’s great purpose, namely, that men and women, boys and girls, might have a good and enjoyable life here and forever.  The speaker (I cannot call him a preacher, for he did not preach) took about five minutes to explain his point, and then told his listeners that God was waiting for them to call upon Him so that He could have a relationship with them.  This was followed by an interesting evangelistic tactic.  The gentlemen told the audience that he was going to pray, and he wanted all of them to pray along with him audibly.  He instructed the people that he would utter a phrase, and he wanted all of them to follow along, verbally repeating each of his phrases.  After everyone was instructed to bow their heads and close their eyes, he led them in a typical prayer not unlike this: “Dear Jesus, thank you for your love for me.  I realize now that I need you.  Come into my life and save me.  In Jesus Name, Amen.”  As he concluded, the lights went out and in a moment the finale began.  It was breathtaking.

But as I viewed this spectacular, I was grieved in my heart.  The longer that I watched, the more that I realized that this production was exactly the opposite of everything that I understand the Gospel of the Scriptures to be.  It all culminated in the brief time of sharing towards the end.  I realized that if the speaker had written the Shorter Catechism, the first question would have been phrased like this: “Q.: What is the chief end of God?  A.: God’s chief end is to glorify you and to enjoy you forever.”  In an engaging style, this man had indicated that the Gospel was ultimately man-centered.  It is not that God is an offended and wrathful Deity who requires propitiation as a result of humanity’s blasphemies, but rather that He exists waiting expectantly for us so that He can satisfy our needs in this life.  Everything about the evening was calculated to appeal to the emotions of the members of the audience.  The holidays are a time of sentiment as it is, and this church was blatantly capitalizing on this disposition in order to cast the Gospel in a most attractive garb.  How could anyone be offended at such a message?

I was reminded of Paul’s words about the foolishness of preaching.  From a human perspective, there is no doubt that the approach used in this performance must have an enormous popular appeal.  People are willing to attend these productions.  They are comfortable.  They are tremendously entertaining.  And they require nothing of the audience beyond observation.  All that one must do is sit back and enjoy the sumptuous blend of color, motion and sound.  But what do they have to do with preaching the Gospel?  Is this evangelism as we find it in the Bible?

I have sometimes walked away from the pulpit after preaching knowing exactly what Paul was describing when he called preaching “foolishness.”  I have wondered why God would choose such a method, especially in a culture that seemingly cannot concentrate on any subject for more than five minutes.  Yet that is what He has done, and that is the method we must pursue.  It is the bold declaration of the Word of God, the offensive Cross of Christ, the thunderings of the Law of God, the balm of the Gospel by appointed men that God has promised to bless.  It is not the stage but the pulpit that must be at the center of our evangelism.

There is a double problem in productions like these: message and method.  Clearly, the message presented was not the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  While it was shrouded in religious, even Gospel, language, it was perniciously different.  The preaching of the Cross is not a soft and cuddly attempt to manipulate men and women into a relationship with the Almighty God.  Rather it humbles them as they understand their desperate plight as sinners, and begin to comprehend the grandeur of God’s provision in Christ.  Paul’s method has no popular appeal.  At times it landed him in jail, or on the wrong end of a whip, or under a pile of stones.  But it was, and is, the power of God for salvation.  We must not abandon it for the whims of popular culture.  To the contrary, we need to engage in it all the more.  These types of productions ought to make us stand up and, with more vigor than ever before, do what God has called us to do-preach the gospel to men and women.  There is one advantage to the old way-God has promised to bless it.  Relying on the Holy Spirit, let us resist the trends around us and declare boldly that men and women are lost, wicked, evil, and condemned.  Let us tell them that they are God’s enemies. And above all, let us tell them about Christ.  let us preach His active and passive obedience.  Let us proclaim his love and mercy and kindness.  Let us call sinners to bow down and kiss the Son.

It was good for me to watch this show.  It deepened my commitment to do God’s work in God’s way-preaching the Gospel.  I prefer the Shorter Catechism as it is: we exist for God’s glory and not vice versa.

James M. Renihan 

More can be found at http://www.reformedbaptistinstitute.org

 

So, Who’s Your Pastor?

The question of the identity of your pastor may seem strange.  You say, he is the man I hear preach every Lord’s Day.  His name is on our church’s web site or letterhead.  That is an easy question to answer!  But is it really?

For hundreds of years the average Christian could easily and readily identity that person appointed by Christ to shepherd and overseer their souls.  By the 1600’s many Christians however were able to read the sermons of a multitude of other people’s pastors that were being printed.  They could also read the writings of well respected theologians whose writings were beginning to be placed into print.   In the 1900’s writings were supplemented with radio and eventually television and cassette recordings.   By the dawn of the 21^st century one would be able to add to their spiritual diet, the teaching and preaching of  hundreds of thousands of  other pastors and theologians and conferences speakers by means of the internet and MP3’s.  I imagine that there are more than a few of us with hundreds of sermons by many different preachers on our Ipods or similar devices.

Some years ago I realized that there were some folks in our church who were listening every day to sermons from a pastor in a another city.  There is nothing in and of itself wrong with that, but I soon realized that it was this man and not our own eldership that was truly guiding and pastoring this family.   By simple virtue of the hours spent under this man and others ministry his perspectives and theology were being shaped to such an extent that they eventually moved to sit under this man’s ministry.    I also began to notice this with numerous seminary students who would visit our assembly.  For them, their professors were the main source of spiritual food-the students were under the professor’s ministry for hours upon hours every week and I was with them only on the Lord’s Day.  I found that they were more drawn to, more receptive of, and had far more confidence in seminary professors than in their own elders.

Now, I want to make it clear that the problem I see in this is not personal.  I am glad to have God’s people read widely and to have their souls well fed by a multitude of faithful men.  But I do see a biblical problem in all of this.   The writer to the Hebrews wrote in Hebrews Hebrews 13:17 Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.

There are numerous points that can be made here.  The first is in regard to the word translated as, ‘obey’.  The word means far more than simply listen to and follow instructions.  It’s primary meaning has to do with trust or persuasion.  It speaks of one who has your confidence and your heart.  It can be translated as, ‘be induced to believe’.  Note that this text has reference to a specific group of men-those charged with the oversight of your souls.  Though I may gain much help from numerous authors and preachers contemporary and dead, none of those men will give an account for my soul.  That is the task of my four elders.    When Paul wrote to the church in Thessalonica, he said to them 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13 And we urge you, brethren, to recognize those who labor among you, and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake.

My question is, do these men have this special esteem and this unique place in your affections.  Your elders are most likely very ordinary men (unless you are a member of a church like Bethlehem Baptist or Grace Community!), whose sermons don’t travel far outside the doors of your church.  Their words are not listened to by thousands, but they do have a unique role in your life and a unique accountability for your soul.   They may not possess the gifts of others, but they, and they alone are your true shepherds.  As much as you love and esteem other men, allow your elders to have a special and God appointed place in your heart.

James Savastio

Parting Words of Counsel to Members and Friends of Trinity Baptist Church

At the annual church business meeting of Trinity Baptist Church in January of 2006, Pastor Martin announced to the congregation that it was his intention to relinquish his place as one of their pastors and to relocate to western Michigan some time in the year 2008. An approximate date of June 15 has now been set for that move and relocation.

Since his arrival in Caldwell, NJ in July 1962, nearly forty-six years have passed in which Pastor Martin has sought to serve His Lord by serving as one of the under-shepherds and pastors of Trinity Baptist Church. In the remaining weeks, he intends to highlight those biblical truths and perspectives which have constituted the dominant and all-encompassing passion of his labors for these forty-six years. Under the general title of “My Parting Counsel to the Members and Friends of Trinity Baptist Church.”

#1:Parting Words of Counsel to Members and Friends of Trinity Baptist Church Part 1

#2:Parting Words of Counsel to Members and Friends of Trinity Baptist Church Part 2

#3:Parting Words of Counsel to Members and Friends of Trinity Baptist Church Part 3

#4:Parting Words of Counsel to Members and Friends of Trinity Baptist Church Part 4

#5:Parting Words of Counsel to Members and Friends of Trinity Baptist Church Part 5