Who 'Runs' The Church?

Who runs the church of Christ? Is it one man at the top, or is it the whole congregation? Here at Providence, we agree with those who say that Christ alone is the head of the church. (Eph. 5:23) How exactly, though, does the Lord Jesus govern his church as he is now at the Father's right hand in heaven? As you might have guessed, we believe that the Bible answers this question.

Years ago a pastor named Thomas Witherow (1824-1890) wrote a piece on this very subject. In his work is entitled, 'The Apostolic Church, Which Is It?' he notes that some form of church government is inevitable, and that through the ages, there have been three recurring forms: Prelacy, Independency, and Presbyterian. One need not look for long in Cumming to find Lutheran, Episcopal, Methodist, Baptist and Presbyterian churches, all of which fall into one of these forms of government. To Witherow's point, even non-denominational churches have some sort of structure.

'Prelacy' refers to rule through a line of individuals such as archbishops, bishops, deacons, archdeacons. Historically these have been Roman Catholicism, the Church of England, and Methodists, to name a few. Churches that have followed the independent model include congregationalists and Baptists, although our Reformed Baptist brethren often are elder rule and sometimes are members of associations that are similar to Presbyterian governments. The Presbyterian form of government is one ruled locally by its elders (a session), regionally by its presbytery (the elders who assemble regionally), and nationally by its general assembly (the elders who assemble nationally.) Obviously, Presbyterians hold to this form, as well as other Reformed churches.

Witherow explains that there are six principles found in Scripture concerning the government of the church, and then argues that the presbyterian form best meets those principles. (What did you expect?)

Here are those principles:

1. The office bearers were chosen by the people. (Acts 1:13-26; 6:1-6; 14:23. 'Appointed in Acts 14:23 refers to a vote by stretching out the hand.)

2. The offices of bishop and elder are identical. (Titus 1:5-7 'elders/overseer' are the Greek words 'presbyter' and 'episkopos.' Acts 20:17, 28-32; Philip. 1:1. It's been pointed out that the different terms describe the character of the man fulfilling the office, and the function of the office, namely that he is to be a 'mature' man, and that the function is 'rule.' The practical result is that of parity between all the men who hold this office.)

3. Each NT church had a plurality of elders. (Titus 1:5; 14:23; Phil. 1:1; Acts 20:17)

4. The act of ordination was performed by the presbytery. (I Tim. 4:14; Acts 13:1-3)

5. The privilege of appeal was to the assembly of elders, and the right of government was exercised by them in their corporate character. (Acts 15:1-23; Acts 16:4)

6. Christ is the King and Head of the church. (Ephesians 1:20-23; Eph. 5:23; Col. 1:18; Mk. 12:17)

Hopefully this will give some rationale as to why we are 'Presbyterian' in government. In a later post, I hope to demonstrate some of the practical benefits of such a government. Until then, the Lord Bless you! -Pastor Kevin

The Flesh's Counteroffensive

 'It is every man's duty to endeavor to repent of his particular sins, particularly.'                                    -Westminster Confession of Faith 15.5 

For the past few months our ladies' fellowship has been trekking through Lundgaard's 'The Enemy Within,' a book about the power and defeat of sin.  The work serves as a practical help in the Christian's fight against the flesh.  The chapter entitled 'Loving God With All Your Mind' struck me in particular.  

After challenging readers to think carefully about what it means to love God with our minds as we engage in the battle against sin, Lundgaard raises the issue of the flesh's counteroffensive, with which every Christian will be familiar. Once we determine to fight against sin, the flesh will tempt us to the following:  

1.  Don't get specific.  "The flesh wants your mind to be content to think in general about what please God," Lungaard explains.  "For example, sin tries to persuade your mind to be happy with having a general aim of doing things to the glory of God, without ever considering particular ways to glorify God in your marriage or your work or in a conversation."

2.  Be content with naked duty.  'The deceitfulness of the flesh says, 'You ought to pray, so pray; you ought to tithe, so tithe; now you've done your duty, so go and do what you want.'   

3.  Get into a routine.  "The ultimate success of the flesh," says Lundgaard, "is to get you to obey perfunctorily."  In other words, the flesh would be just fine with us 'going through the motions.'  (Amos 5:25-26 addresses such a mechanical, heartless and outward conformity to God's word.)       

We need to realize that the flesh will resist our Spirit given desire for Christ likeness, in these specific ways.  The solution, as Lundgaard later shows, is to keep our eyes and affections focused on the cross of Christ!  (Heb. 12:1,2). 

Surviving In Ministry

Recently at Providence we had the privilege of studying Acts chapter 7.  It is in this chapter that Stephen answers the false claim of the unbelieving religious authorities that he has blasphemed Moses and God (Acts 6:11; 7:1).  If found guilty, this would of course mean the death penalty for him.  In a time such as ours, when opinions are forbidden and deemed Fascist even if they are true, I thought it might be helpful to write a piece entitled, 'Surviving In Ministry.'  After all, our beloved brother Stephen was murdered by what was an apostate ecclesiastical court.  Here are several things to do, to ensure a life of ease as a layman, and especially as a pastor.  

1.  Don't try to reason with people about truth.  What was true about Lt. Kaffee years ago, according to Col. Jessup, is true about people today:  'They can't handle the truth!'  This definitely got Stephen into trouble.  He was obviously a man of 'wisdom' and full of the Spirit (6:10).  The Synagogue of the Freedmen was unable to resist his line of reasoning  (6:9-10).   

2.  Don't use or appeal to the Bible.  Surely this was Stephen's second mistake (7:2-50).  After all, those religious leaders were more concerned with their status among the community than this 'Jesus.'  Perhaps for them, the Old Testament was an outdated book, only to be used when it was convenient for their own cause and agenda.  

3.  Don't preach against human traditions not ordained by God.  After all, the leaders to whom Stephen preached had latched on to the Temple and the City of Jerusalem, as if God only adored the people in those places.  Stephen's main argument was that God had appeared to the patriarchs long before God's people settled into Jerusalem, even in pagan lands such as Mesopotamia, Haran, Egypt, and the wilderness, and so Jerusalem was not the only place where God had met with His people.  In fact, Abraham was from the land of the Chaldeans.  This must have hurt their pride, and that would not make things easy on Stephen.  

4.  Don't preach about one's need for Jesus (7:52).  Preaching about the biblical Jesus reminds men that they are sinners and that Christ came to save men from their sins.  Men don't like to be told they are sinners, and doing so will no doubt lead to anger on the part of the hearers.  

5.  Don't include application in your sermons or gospel presentations (7:51-53).  Stephen's sermon was bound to make life hard on him.  After all, calling someone 'stiff-necked' and 'uncircumcised in heart and ears' is the equivalent to telling someone that they are not born again and that they are rebellious.  Oh, wait, Stephen said that too (7:51).  

I think you get my drift.  Stephen was a man of God, and his concern was for biblical truth and the souls of those who heard him.  He held nothing back because he knew that he had one shot with these people, and that they needed to repent of their sins and trust in Christ. As M. Lloyd Jones used to say about preachers, Stephen was 'a dying man preaching to dying men.' Surviving in ministry wasn't really on his radar.  Faithfulness to Christ was his concern.  May the Lord give us boldness along with our humility, so that we might speak truth into the lives of those the Lord has put into our path!  

Anger: Attacking The Problem Not The Person

Your spouse leaves articles of clothing on the floor...again.  You child tells you 'No!' or worse, you discover that someone has 'lied' about you.  Then it happens.  You feel your blood pressure rise.  You..are...angry! 

So what should you do with that anger?  In Ephesians 4:26 the Bible says, “Be angry and do not sin.”  Anger is sometimes the emotional response to wrongdoing because it indicates that one has perceived a wrong doing.  But the Bible reminds us to 'be angry and sin not.’ In other words, in our anger, we are not to sin. God is not impressed with our anger (James 1:20; Matthew 5:22).    

Jack Kinneer, author of How To Grow In Christ, (Copyright 1981, P&R), offers us words of wisdom.  When it comes to anger in our marriages, he writes, “Solve problems by attacking problems, not your spouse." This principle applies to all of our interpersonal relationships.  Granted, there are some circumstances that will involve civil authorities, but even then we are to do everything we can to be at peace with all men (Romans 12:18).      

If you've been wronged you are to be ready to forgive the wrongdoer (Eph. 4:32; Colossians 3:13-15).  We are to be ready to 'cover a multitude of sins' (I Peter 4:8).  However, if you can't 'cover' the sin, meaning that it must be addressed for the relationship to continue, then go to the one who has done the wrong.  Graciously spell it out for the person (Matthew 18:15).  When you handle the situation biblically, you will have already identified the specific wrongdoing or 'sin,' and be able to communicate to the person that their action has harmed the relationship.  If he or she admits wrong doing and asks forgiveness, then you are bound to forgive the person. 'So watch yourselves. If your brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them' (Luke 17:3). In order to do this graciously, you will need to realize that you are not free from sin yourself (Matthew 7:1-5).  To grant forgiveness is not only biblical, it takes great humility given by the Spirit of God (Galatians 5:20-22).   

What if you are the one who has done wrong?  There are no loopholes with God. You are to take action.  You are to go to that person, confess the offense and seek his or her forgiveness (Matthew 5:23-24).  In addition to saying 'I'm sorry', you are to ask the one you've offended for 'forgiveness.' 

Remember this. The pattern for our forgiveness is God's forgiveness!  When God forgives, He doesn't hold it against the person in the future! (Isaiah 43:25) He forgives completely and graciously-we do not deserve His forgiveness! (Eph. 2:8-9) This is why Jesus is called the 'Prince of Peace,' (Isaiah 9:6), because it is only through Him that we have peace with God (Romans 5:1)

So when your wife makes you late, when your husband leaves his dirty pants on the floor, when your child ignores your simple command, and your parents loose their cool, what are you going to do?  Will you scream?  Will you recite the recurring list of wrongdoings?  Will you attack the person, or will you attack the problem and seek reconciliation? If you are unwilling to forgive, then the words of Jesus should cause you to pause.  He says that if we are not willing to forgive the one seeking forgiveness from us, then neither will we be forgiven by His Father in Heaven (Matthew 18:34-35).