Under the Sycamore Tree

Pastor Eggebeen, You Missed One

noreply@blogger.com (Barry York) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:37:00 +0000

Having commented previously on worship services involving pets in our community, I could not help but notice this article on doggie services. The church featured, Covenant Presbyterian Church of Los Angeles, is at least honest about its original purpose for having services where dogs are welcomed, prayers are offered for them, and the coffee and donuts are replaced with water bowls and doggie treats. The church was dying, and they needed to figure out a way to get more people to come.

But Pastor Tom Eggebeen (that's his real name) is a little less than honest when he pretends to give Biblical justification for the practice, and shows he has much in common with former President Bill Clinton in that they both have a problem understanding the simple word "is." For he states, "The Bible says of God only two things in terms of an 'is': That God is light and God is love." To make this untruth (see below) even more than a doggone lie but a blasphemy, he then tries this application: "And wherever there's love, there's God in some fashion. And when we love a dog and a dog loves us, that's a part of God and God is a part of that. So we honor that."

The problem with Pastor Eggebeen's eggegesis is that there is another "is" he overlooked. Sure, one could say it is from the Old Testament, but the problem is that it is also quoted in the New. "Our God is a consuming fire" (see Hebrews 10:29; also Deuteronomy 4:24 and 9:3). This statement is made in the context of God detesting the false worship practices of the world, which certainly would include services saying a dog's love is a part of God.

Certainly there are good dogs whose proper place is by their master's side and, save perhaps for the occasional seeing eye dog, would not include worship. But there are also evil dogs who, according to Jesus, have no place in the worship of the Lord. Their lying behavior means they belong where all bad dogs go - "outside" (see Revelation 22:15).

In Memory of Dr. J. Renwick Wright

noreply@blogger.com (Barry York) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 16:55:00 +0000

On Monday I participated in the funeral of a beloved seminary professor and pastor, Dr. Renwick Wright. The eulogies of the men who served at the Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary with Dr. Wright, his sons and his grandsons captured so well this man's love for God, His Word, his wife, his family and others. Read this well-written obituary by Pastor Doug Comin to learn more of Dr. Wright's life and ministry. Below is the message I gave based on II Corinthians 5:8 as requested by his family.

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II Corinthians 5:1-10

At Home with the Lord

The Funeral of Dr. J. Renwick Wright

October 12, 2009

Dear Mrs. Wright, Jonathan & Christopher and your families, our heartfelt condolences go out to you as feel acutely this day the separation from your beloved husband, father, and pastor. When Dr. Wright entered the pulpit, or when the Spirit of the Lord in him turned a classroom lectern into a pulpit, he would look at a congregation or his students with a penetrating gaze, speak in a pleading voice, often with his arms outstretched, and he would decrease and Christ would increase. I know that especially on this occasion he would want nothing more than that, for the focus to be on his beloved Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. So we turn to the Word of God. Yet even so it is not wrong for us to reflect further on the life of Dr. Wright as we do, for there was so much of Christ in him. With that in mind, let us go to II Corinthians 5:1-10.

II Corinthians 5:1-10

For we know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For indeed in this house we groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven, inasmuch as we, having put it on, will not be found naked. For indeed while we are in this tent, we groan, being burdened, because we do not want to be unclothed but to be clothed, so that what is mortal will be swallowed up by life. Now He who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave to us the Spirit as a pledge.

Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord— for we walk by faith, not by sight— we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord. Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.

“At home with the Lord.” For the family and friends of Dr. Wright, we have great confidence that these words at the end of verse 8 accurately describe his current state. He is at home with the Lord. Yet what is it in this text that, exemplified in the testimony of Dr. Wright, gives us that confidence? Paul says “we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and at home with the Lord.” The word translated “prefer” is rather a strong word. Paul is saying to be absent from the body and be at home with the Lord seemed good to him, that it was pleasurable, something he was eager, ready and willing to do. How does one achieve that state of heart, where you can honestly say, “I would prefer to leave this earth now and be in heaven with the Lord?”

The answer begins with realizing, on the one hand, that life in this present world is temporary at best. To emphasize this, Paul compares our earthly existence to living in a tent.

· In verse 1, he states that we are like an earthly tent which will soon be torn down.

· While we live in this tent, we groan for a more permanent, heavenly dwelling as he says in verse 2.

· Then he goes on to explain in verses 3-4 that we groan because we are burdened with this body, for it suffers the pains and the tears of this world. Indeed, we carry our own mortality around in this body.

In his New Testament class, Dr. Wright commented on this passage. In my visits with Dr. Wright in these last years, he clearly echoed these same thoughts about his own life: “Paul can read his own situation: he is getting older and his body is beginning to fail. The body is a temporary structure, adequate to shelter us during our earthly pilgrimage, but as vulnerable to the winds of circumstance and the wear and tear of everyday life as a tent. This earthly house will certainly be dissolved. But this fact does not trouble Paul; he is even looking forward to the dissolution of this body.” (New Testament History and Theology: The Pauline Epistles, p.27)

As we saw a beloved man growing ever so weaker, as we know that later this afternoon we will be returning the body in the casket to the dust from which it came, these are reminders to us all that we are living in a tent. We are not in a permanent structure. The outer man is decaying. This present world is not our home. As Dr. Wright said, it is but the place of our earthly pilgrimage. We are traveling through it.

At the end of his life, the apostle Paul, knowing this, could then say these words in II Timothy 4:6, “I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come.” He not only wrote of this life being transient in nature but saw his own life as one of journeying toward eternity. Again, in his New Testament class, in his typical way of unpacking truth after truth from a Greek word or phrase, Dr. Wright said this about the word analusis (analusis) translated here “departure:”

· He said this word describes “the unyoking of an animal from the shafts of the cart or plow; death to Paul was a rest from toil.”

· But it was “also the word for loosing fetters; death to Paul was a release and liberation.”

· Then (listen to how it relates to the II Corinthians 5 passage) “it was also the word for loosening the ropes of a tent, symbolizing the time for striking camp once again.” (Now this next sentence is so like Dr. Wright, as he connects the author’s life with the words he wrote.) “Many a journey this tentmaker (Paul) had made across the roads of Asia Minor and Europe; he would be setting out on his last and greatest journey.” That’s what Dr. Wright has done.

· Finally, he goes on to comment “it was also the word for loosening the mooring ropes of a ship setting sail. Paul was ready to cross the waters of death in order to arrive at the heaven of heavens. In all cases, Paul gives the church here a beautiful view of Christian death.” (New Testament History and Theology: The Pauline Epistles, p.79)

So how is one made ready to cross? Please note that is a different question than “how to cross.” I know Dr. Wright would not want anyone of you here today to leave without being sure you know how to cross and, indeed, knowing that you will cross. You must know that regarding this journey there is One that has made it first for us, and blazed the trail we are to follow. For God sent His Son into this world, and as His divine glory took on human form He tabernacled among us – He shared this tent-like, temporary existence! Then He died on our behalf, was raised three days later, and ascended into heaven. Jesus entered heaven as a forerunner. He went there to prepare a place for us. Do not leave this funeral without believing in Christ. How Dr. Wright would be pleading for you to trust Christ to take you home! Believe upon Christ as your Savior and Lord.

Yet are you living ready to cross? Is it your desire to depart from this world? Do you have good courage in this? If we are honest with ourselves, too many of us have too great a fondness for this world and even a fear of being in the immediate presence of the Lord. We are intimidated by the thought of appearing at His judgment seat (5:10). How can we ready ourselves? The answer to this dilemma is found in verse 9. “We make it our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him.” “To be pleasing to Him” is the answer. Reflect with me on three chief ways He has given us in His Word to be pleasing to Him, how Dr. Wright used those so wonderfully in his life, and how they prepare us to be at home with the Lord.

It is our ambition to be pleasing to the Lord when we turn our hearts heavenward in sincere prayer. When I came to the Reformed Presbyterian Seminary in 1988, I had only been in the RP church for 3 years. I did not know anyone, my father had just died that summer, I was a new father myself, and [though I had had a good start in the summer with another Irish Greek professor -Ted Donnelly] I was still scared to death of studying languages. I also just did not like the big city of Pittsburgh. So I was intimidated by the whole prospect. Yet that fall Dr. Wright was my teacher, and what a comfort that was. I could go on for hours about my experience in the classroom with him as he moved us on in our studies with patience and a spirit that encouraged success.

But what I want to relate, though, is how the seminary wisely put us students in groups under a faculty advisor, which for me was Dr. Wright. Every Friday he would gather us in what is now the computer lab but back then it was known as the “porch classroom.” For me, it became a sanctuary. I had prayed with other groups of men before, but when I first heard Dr. Wright pray I felt like I was beginning all over again. There were no ostentatious words, just the tender closeness of Dr. Wright to Christ that made each Amen seem like such a sure promise of answers to come. God’s throne had always been holy to me, and became even more so during this time, but it was being led by Dr. Wright there week after week those three years that Christ’s throne became the seat of mercy and love it is to me today. Hearing his unashamed expressions of love for God, for me, and for others; listening to his passionate pleas for more grace and more love for us all; how I saw in him where his heart’s true home was! That this could be the experience of every seminarian! His heart was at home before the Lord’s throne here on earth. So what must it be like for him at this very moment as he sees that throne? He is at home with Lord now because his heart rested in Christ here. Pleasing God with sincere prayer is a good way to prepare for an eternity of praising Him.

It is our ambition to be pleasing to the Lord when we shepherd others with tender care. Our Good Shepherd, who is tenderly guiding us to green pastures and still waters, delights when He sees us caring in a like manner for others. When we make it our goal to help others travel to their home in the Lord, certainly it concentrates our minds wonderfully on the same goal.

Several years after I graduated from seminary, Miriam and I were struggling in church planting. But Dr. and Mrs. Wright came to our home to visit us as part of his new job with a title that only a very few men could carry with truth and honor – the “Pastor’s Pastor,” given to him by the leaders in our denomination. In those two days in our home, Dr. and Mrs. Wright took two discouraged and beaten up people and buoyed us with their prayers and tender care. Afterwards, even years later and still today, we commented on how a precious aroma of Christ remained in our home for days after they left. We experienced the love of God through them. They brought our true heavenly home into our home. I know this room today is filled with others who have had this same experience. He lived with his heart at home with the Lord seen in his care for people. This example ties into the third way we can live in a manner pleasing to God.

It is our ambition to be pleasing to the Lord when we die even while we live. That’s the gospel. Die to live. In Philippians 1:21 we hear Paul again saying, “For to me, to live is Christ (to crucify my desires, to die for the sake of others), and to die is gain.” Again Dr. Wright said, “To live is Christ: Paul’s first thought when he woke in the morning, and his last when he went to sleep at night. Christ, Paul’s Lord and Master whom he served from dawn to dusk, his friend with whom his fellowship was indescribably blessed.” (New Testament History and Theology: The Pauline Epistles, p.47) Fellowship with Christ gave Paul the desire to live in this world in service to Him and others, and count all else as rubbish (Philippians 3:8).

It is in that capacity that I heard from Dr. Wright only one godly hesitation to his desire to leave this present world for heaven. At the 60^th anniversary remembrance for Dr. and Mrs. Wright in 2004 at the RP International Conference at Calvin College, his family and some friends gathered and reflected on the goodness we had witnessed in their marriage. After several had shared, Dr. Wright was given the opportunity to respond. He spoke and had only one request. He told us that it was clear that their days were drawing to a close, and that most likely one would leave for home before the other. So because they have always been so inseparable, he pled for us to pray for the one left when the other died. It was so like him, always looking ahead but at the same time also looking out for others, especially for the one clearly most dear to him. We are and will keep praying for you, Mrs. Wright.

Again Dr. Wright said, “To die is gain: how good it must be to die, because it is so good to be alive in Christ.” The one he was named for, Covenanter Pastor James Renwick, said in his prison cell as he looked at the prospect of dying soon, “O Lord, thou hast brought me within two hours of eternity, and this is no matter of terror to me, more than if I were to lay down in a bed of roses…O! How can I contain this, to be within two hours of eternity?” Then later, as he was led to the scaffold, he cried out, “Yonder is the welcome warning to my marriage; the Bridegroom is coming; I am ready, I am ready.”

He was ready to go home. Dr. Wright was ready. Are you? Christ expects us to be and, praise be to His name, He has given us examples showing us both how to live and die ready to be at home with the Lord.

The Beauty of Holiness

noreply@blogger.com (Barry York) — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 19:43:00 +0000

Interesting how a theme of Scripture, running like a thread of gold through Holy Writ, can also run through your life. At first glance the painting of a sanctuary, sitting by the shore of Lake Michigan, the placing of new psalters in our pew racks, a trip to Atlanta, and a three-day youth service project (most participants pictured to the left - I'll leave it to you to distinguish the youth from the non-youth) could seem to be all unconnected. Yet these experiences of mine over the past month have reminded me of the beauty of holiness.

God's holiness is certainly a Scriptural theme. It's as basic as ABC and 1-2-3, featured prominently in the first three books of the Bible, from His casting the fallen couple out of Eden and guarding it with the angels' flaming sword, to His declaration of holiness at Sinai, to His levitical call to Israel to be holy. This thread runs unbroken through the Bible and alongside though always far above man's sinfulness, until the two ultimately converge violently at the cross. Our sinfulness Christ bears; His holiness becomes our garments. From the moment the sinner receives this divine exchange, he is then forever called by a name emphasizing his new identity - a saint, or a holy one. If the saint but follows the Lord, then whereas before everything he touched he polluted, he now begins to see the beauty of the Creator's work wherever he travels.

Such has been my experience this month. Our sanctuary's peeling plaster and dirty green-tinted paint have given away to beige and hues that highlight its architecture and creates a warm and lighter environment for worship. Yet the true transforming holiness was seeing an ex-prisoner, redeemed by Christ, wanting his painting work to "glorify God in this sanctuary." Watching waves pound the shore of the lake brought to mind Psalm 93:4-5 and the power of His holiness, "More than the mighty breakers of the sea, The Lord on high is mighty....Holiness befits Your house." Singing from the new psalters and seeing more of God's Word come alive in His people is an experience of His sanctifying holiness. Being in Atlanta and watching a church planter lead an inner city Bible study to the downtrodden reminded me of how His holiness, as proclaimed in the gospel, separates His people from the world. Seeing nearly two dozen youth work both hard and cheerfully for three days serving our congregation and others brought to life Psalm 110, "our youth arrayed in holiness like morning dew shall be."

In the midst of Jericho's destruction, nothing good may have looked possible. Yet to those who knew to look, a scarlet cord tied to a window meant a prostitute and her family were being saved and cleansed from the rubble of sin. His holy hand is always at work, weaving beauty in the midst of this troubled world, if only we have eyes to see the thread.

Kingdom Sowing

noreply@blogger.com (Barry York) — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 14:05:00 +0000

Last Friday we watched through tears as Bill & Rebecca VanDoodewaard and their children, Anna & Matthew, drove away. Below is the short tribute I gave at the seminar we had in their honor last month that helps explain to a degree the tears.

Bill & Rebecca hearken from Grace Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church of Woodstock, Ontario in Canada. They along with their daughter Anna began worshiping with us three years ago when Bill was teaching at Huntington University. Their commitment to God’s Word and willingness to sacrifice in traveling to be with us each Sabbath day quickly endeared them to us and deepened our bonds in Christ. Two years ago, through a generous gift we were able to offer Bill a pastoral internship, which he readily accepted and has prospered in outstandingly. Through the time he has served us here and taught at the academy in our congregation, he continued work on his PhD, which is entitled "The Marrow Controversy and Seceder Tradition: Marrow Theology in the Associate Presbytery and Associate Synod Secession Churches of Scotland (1733-1799)." Bill successfully defended his thesis in May of this year and will have his PhD officially bestowed on him in November. His family will be moving to Virginia at the end of this month, as he begins teaching at Patrick Henry College.

From Bill’s warm-hearted teaching and gentle spirit which inspires devotion to Christ; to Rebecca’s creativity seen in such things as beautiful picture cards, sewing skills, and her superb and intriguing cooking; to witnessing their cheerful daughter Anna grow and their son Matthew be born here; to their gracious hospitality and their serious-minded pursuit of Christ, this family has become dear to us in so many ways, and we will miss them so very dearly.

Though it is with a great deal of sadness we sent them away, we thank the Lord for this special family He brought to us for this season, for the relationship our congregation will continue to enjoy with them, and for the confidence we have that there will be joyful reaping through their ongoing ministry elsewhere.

The psalmist says in Psalm 126 that we "sow in tears and reap in joy." We are also thankful for the reminder in going through this sending of the VanDoodewaards of a special kingdom truth. Investing in and then sending laborers forth hurts, yet it is the very pattern the Father and Son have set for us in the gospel. Our congregation will need to remember this, as plans call for more not less of it in the future.

Calvin and the Awful Doctrine of Presdestination

noreply@blogger.com (Barry York) — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 17:35:00 +0000

The following article was presented at a seminar we hosted called "Hearts Aflame" on July 17th in honor of Bill VanDoodewaard. Bill has completed his PhD in church history and, after being with us for three years, is headed with his family to Virginia where he will begin teaching at Patrick Henry College in the fall. Bill, pastor-elect Jason Camery, and I each gave presentations on John Calvin as explained here.

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If there is one teaching that the name of John Calvin invokes, it is that of predestination. When even Wikipedia, certainly no theological publication, begins its definition of predestination by mentioning only one name right at the beginning, saying, “Those who believe in predestination, such as John Calvin,” then the association of his name with the teaching is sealed. You hear predestination, and you think John Calvin.

In this short time, I cannot begin to develop fully his teaching on it. There are books that do that with more pages than Bill’s PhD (about 325 pages, which I’m still working on). But I would like you to focus with me on the following three clarifications regarding it.

1) His definition - What Calvin said predestination is. In Book 3 of The Institutes of the Christian Religion in chapter 21, he says, “By predestination we mean the eternal decree of God, by which he determined with himself whatever he wished to happen with regard to every man. All are not created on equal terms, but some are preordained to eternal life, others to eternal damnation; and, accordingly, as each has been created for one or other of these ends, we say that he has been predestinated to life or to death.” (21:5)*

To give you a summary of Calvin’s Scriptural support for this definition, in this chapter of The Institutes note that Calvin traced the development of this doctrine through the increasing revelation of the Bible.

· He began with Abraham, showing how the Lord chose this man to be His special representative out of all the people of the world. Most Christians do not struggle with accepting the truth that Abraham was chosen by God.

· Consequently, Israel, descended from Abraham, was also then chosen by God. He quoted verses such as Deuteronomy 7:7-8 which says, “The Lord did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because you were more in number than any people: for ye were the fewest of all people: but because the Lord loved you.”

· Calvin then goes on to speak of a deeper dimension of predestination, that in the Old Testament we see a more special election still of God saving certain ones from the nation of Israel. Calvin says that we must see how “the grace of God was displayed in a more special form, when of the same family of Abraham God rejected some,” and then he refers to Malachi 1:2-3 which explicitly states, “Was not Esau Jacob’s brother? saith the Lord: yet I loved Jacob, and I hated Esau.” (21:6)

· Finally, Calvin brings us into the New Testament, and show how the Apostle Paul in Romans quotes this very text from Malachi to substantiate predestination. He then quotes from Romans 9:15, itself another quote from the Old Testament: “For he (the Lord) saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.” Calvin then later asks, “And what pray, does this mean? It is just a clear declaration by the Lord that he finds nothing in men themselves to induce him to show kindness, that it is owing entirely to his own mercy, and, accordingly, that their salvation is his own work. Since God places your salvation in himself alone, why should you descend to yourself?” (22:6)

So important was it to believe this doctrine he said,“We shall never feel persuaded as we ought that our salvation flows from the free mercy of God as its fountain, until we are made acquainted with his eternal election.” (21:1) Yet eventhough he saw eternal election this way, he also stressed a need for caution.

His caution - How Calvin was far more careful with this doctrine than his critics were and are. Calvin understood men would react strongly against this doctrine. “The human mind, when it hears this doctrine, cannot restrain its petulance (i.e. tantrums), but boils and rages as if aroused by the sound of a trumpet” (23:1). Hearts do war against this teaching. As I said in the article I wrote for the newsletter, “people who hear his teachings rarely remain unaffected by them. Their hearts too become enflamed –either with these teachings or against them.” This is especially true with predestination. So Calvin offers many cautions, of which I will mention three.

1) Calvin cautions those who would make anything else but God’s will their ultimate trust. “The will of God is the supreme rule of righteousness, so that everything which he wills must be held to be righteous by the mere fact of his willing it. Therefore, when it is asked why the Lord did so, we must answer, ‘Because he pleased.’ But if you proceed farther to ask why he pleased, you ask for something greater and more sublime than the will of God, and nothing such can be found.” (23:2) His will is to be our resting place.

2) He cautions those trying to go beyond the limit of their understanding. When men hear of election, they immediately want to ask, “Why would God choose some, and not others?” To this Calvin replied: “When they inquire into predestination, let then remember that they are penetrating into the recesses of the divine wisdom, where he who rushes forward securely and confidently, instead of satisfying his curiosity will enter in (an) inextricable labyrinth.” God’s thoughts are higher than ours, and we will be trapped in a mental maze if we try to understand things that are beyond our human comprehansion. Especially remember this when you hear the ending story I want to share.

Calvin goes on to say, “Let it, therefore, be our first principle that to desire any other knowledge of predestination than that which is expounded by the word of God, is to be no less infatuated (or crazed) than to walk where there is no path, or to seek light in darkness.” (21:2). For Biblical support, he quoted Deuteronomy 29:29, “The secret things belong unto the Lord our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us, and to our children for ever.” (21:3)

3) A third caution I would mention Calvin gives is the mistaken notion that election removes human responsibility. Many today associate John Calvin with an aberration of his teaching called Hyper-Calvism, which is a doctrine that emphasizes divine sovereignty to the exclusion of human responsibility. Among other things, Hyper-Calvinism would deny:

· that gospel invitations are to be delivered to all people without exception;

· that men can be urged to come to Christ;

· that God has a universal love.

To Calvin these teachings were monstrous distortions of truth! “Another argument which they employ to overthrow predestination is that if it stand, all care and study of well doing must cease. For what man can hear (say they) that life and death are fixed by an eternal and immutable decree of God, without immediately concluding that it is of no consequence how he acts, since no work of his can either hinder or further the predestination of God?” (23:12) What was his answer? He reminds us what the predestinated are predestined to do! He points out what the Apostle Paul said in Ephesians 1:4, where he reminds us that the end for which we are elected is “that we should be holy, and without blame before him.” “If the end of election is holiness of life, it ought to arouse and stimulate us strenuously to aspire to it, instead of serving as a pretext for sloth.” (23:12) Predestination should lead us to fear God all the more, and consequently should both comfort us and spurs us on even in the worst of times.

This is how we see Calvin applying this doctrine.

His application – Calvin’s pastoral use of this doctrine, patterned after Christ and the apostles. Christ and the apostles used this doctrine in two chief ways - to humble the proud, and to comfort the humble. It is this latter use or application by Calvin I want to show you in conclusion.**

In Volume 4 of John Calvin’s Tracts and Letters, a letter written by Calvin in April 1541 can be found. It is a fairly lengthy letter written to Monsieur de Richebourg because his son Louis, a young man, had died. Louis had been a student of Calvin at the Academy in Geneva, and the impact of his young friend’s death can be heard at the beginning of this letter to the deceased’s father:

“When I first received the intelligence of the death…of your son Louis, I was so utterly overpowered that for many days I was fit for nothing but to grieve…I was somehow upheld before the Lord by those aids wherewith he sustains our souls in affliction, …however, I was almost a nonentity.”

Then listen to how Calvin uses the doctrine of predestination to minister to this grieving father:

“There is nothing which is more dispiriting to us than while we vex and annoy ourselves with this sort of question – Why is it not otherwise with us? Why has it so happened that we came to this place? [In other words, why has God allowed this to happen to us?] ...It is God, therefore, who has sought back from you your son, whom he committed to you to be educated, on the condition, that he might always be his own. And therefore, he took him away, because it was both of an advantage to him to leave this world, and by this bereavement to humble you, or to make trial of your patience. If you do not understand the advantage of this, without delay, first of all, set aside every other object of consideration, and ask of God that he may show you. Should it be his will to exercise you still further, by concealing it from you, submit to that will, that you may become the wiser than the weakness of your own understanding can ever attain to.”

Did you hear that last sentence? “Should it be his will to exercise you still further, by concealing it from you, submit to that will, that you may become the wiser than the weakness of your own understanding can ever attain to.” How much wisdom and comfort can be found in submitting to His divine will, trusting Him regardless of how much of that will He reveals unto us.

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*These references are found in Book 3 of The Institutes of the Christian Religion.

**I am indebted to Robert Godfrey’s article “The Counselor to the Afflicted” in the book John Calvin: A Heart for Devotion, Doctrine & Doxology for this section.

Do Not Get a Few

noreply@blogger.com (Barry York) — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 18:35:00 +0000

As a widow, she had grown so destitute in caring for herself and her two sons she had nothing but a jar of oil left. Yet it was enough for the Lord. His prophet Elisha said, “Go, borrow vessels at large for yourself from all your neighbors, even empty vessels; do not get a few. And you shall go in and shut the door behind you and your sons, and pour out into all these vessels, and you shall set aside what is full.” Every vessel they borrowed was filled, and she used the proceeds from its sale to support her family.

This Biblical account came to mind during the report on our church's global missions a few weeks ago at our Synod meeting. We were informed of a tremendous shortfall in support and warned that missionaries could be pulled off the field. At that time Pastor Don Piper told of being in Pastor David Hanson's home recently. He observed his young children doing odd jobs and placing their money in a jar marked with the name of an African country where we have people serving. These young children were working and saving so those missionaries would not have to come back and the people there could keep hearing about Jesus!

That brought to mind a memory. One of these missionaries used to be in our congregation as a child. Later on, at the time when we were seeking to buy our church building in Kokomo, he and his siblings asked that instead of Christmas gifts that year the money would be given to us. Their sacrificial gifts, along with many others, have us now in the tenth year of enjoying our facility.

So with all these things in mind, now you know why this past Lord's Day, as we began a summer class on missions, we handed out to each family a mason jar with the name of that African nation on it. How even more desirous we are to do this after recently hearing of 44 professing Christ and being baptized! We are asking the saints, both young and old, to fill their jars and then bring them to put into a large container at the church. We are praying that it will be filled to overflowing by the end of the class in September.

The Lord willing, I will tell you then what our congregation brought in. And the Lord willing, I hope perhaps some of you might go hunting for some jars of your own.

Hearts Aflame

noreply@blogger.com (Barry York) — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 15:32:00 +0000

He was born on July 10, 1509, meaning this month marks the 500^th anniversary of his birth. His life’s prayer, symbolized by a heart on fire being held out by an open hand, was “I offer my heart to you, O Lord, promptly and sincerely.” The impact of his life centuries later bears a strange witness to this prayer. For people who hear his teachings rarely remain unaffected by them. Their hearts too become enflamed –either with these teachings or against them.

I speak of John Calvin, and the response to his name or teachings (known as Calvinism) invokes the same reaction five centuries later as it did in his age. Many loved Calvin in his day. One called his academy at Geneva, Switzerland, as being “the most perfect school of Christ since the days of the apostles.” One of his successors, writing a biography of Calvin, compared him and other godly men to stars, “since they by their brightness show the way of happiness to others.” Yet many in Geneva scorned Calvin, believing that their happiness was the last thing Calvin desired. So despised was he that the most popular name for dogs in Geneva became “Calvin” in order to ridicule him!

If nothing else can be agreed upon about Calvin, most anyone will acknowledge his influence. He wrote thousands of tracts, letters, commentaries and books that are still widely translated and read today. One of his books, The Institutes of the Christian Religion, is still considered to be one of the clearest defenses of Protestant theology ever written. His teachings helped spread the Reformation throughout Europe like wildfire, and were brought to colonial America by its founders. He is credited for such things as bringing a healthy separation between civil and church authority that were influential on the democratic view of government; transforming care for the poor from almsgiving to vocational training; returning congregational singing, study of the Bible and access to the sacraments to the lay people (which had been forbidden to them in the medieval period).

Indeed, pastors and rulers from many European nations sought Calvin out; yet through it all he lived modestly to the point that, when he died, he even insisted his grave remain unmarked lest it be venerated wrongly. One of his chief denouncers, Pope Pius, said: "The strength of that heretic, consisted in this, that money never had the slightest charm for him. If I had had such servants my dominion would extend from sea to sea."

On Friday, July 17^th, our congregation invites you to come and learn more about this incredible man. We will have three short presentations of John Calvin, done not only in honor of his birthday, but also in celebration of Bill VanDoodewaard’s recent accomplishment. Bill is a pastoral intern at Sycamore Reformed Presbyterian Church who has just completed his PhD in Church History from the University of Aberdeen in Scotland. After being with us for three years, Bill and his precious family are moving away later this month as he takes up a teaching assignment at Patrick Henry College in Virginia.

As you hear of Calvin’s life, ministry and teaching, we can promise one thing. Your heart, one way or another, will start burning!

Hearts Aflame:

A Seminar on John Calvin

In Honor of His 500^th Birthday

and in Celebration of Bill VanDoodewaard’s PhD

Friday, July 17^th

7:00 P.M.

Sycamore Reformed Presbyterian Church

7:00-7:30 Calvin and His Fascinating History

Bill VanDoodwaard

7:45-8:00 Calvin and His Tireless Ministry to the Poor

Jason Camery

8:15-8:30 Calvin and the Awful Doctrine of Predestination

Barry York

Refreshments & Nursery Provided! Questions Invited!

See more at Sycamore RPC Newsletter.

A Work of Art

noreply@blogger.com (Barry York) — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 20:19:00 +0000

The Song of Solomon is getting a great deal of attention as of late. It's meaning, once shrouded in the mystery of allegorical interpretations preferred by many of the Puritans, had many of God's people simply not knowing how to read and understand it. Yet this poetic book, containing a running, romantic, Romeo-&-Juliet-style dialogue between a groom and his bride (punctuated by a chorus urging them on to wedded bliss), has had an unveiling of sorts in recent times. Many contemporary interpreters have seen it to be what it appears to be - a highly charged, sexual interplay between a man and his wife. Perhaps none have done more so than Mark Driscoll, the charisma-filled, Calvinistic pastor of the megachurch known as Mars Hill Church in Seattle.

Indeed, Mr. Driscoll has been so explicit in his teaching about sexuality, particularly from the Song of Solomon, that he even has warnings about the mature content on his website; a Nightline report on him said two words are associated with his name - "sex and Jesus;" Pastor John McArthur has responded with a series of articles whose main title let's us know what he thinks of Driscoll's interpretation - "The Raping of the Song of Solomon;" an article in WORLD magazine similarly questions the wisdom of Pastor Driscoll being so specific in his instructions on sexuality. Others defend him, citing the open sexuality of our culture demands that we need pastors like Driscoll giving specific instructions on these issues. With his boldness in testifying to Christ and his giftedness in teaching and reaching thousands for Him, we certainly should be thankful in many ways for how the Lord is using Driscoll's ministry.

In God's providence, having read again through this book in my daily reading program recently, I wanted to add this thought or two to this discussion based on a verse I meditated on that day. It is from Song of Solomon 7:1, where Solomon says to his bride:

The curves of your hips are like jewels,
The work of the hands of an artist.

Just as the Lord fashioned Eve for Adam (Genesis 2:22), so the Lord shapes each man's wife for his enjoyment. When one thinks of how a master craftsman pays close attention to every detail of his creation, we would do well to recognize that a display of the Lord's master handiwork, attentive care, and gracious nature is the designing of a wife as a gift to her husband. And remembering that the Song of Solomon is poetry describing a work of art might guide us in how we are to teach it, as well as how we are to practice its teachings.

For have you ever noticed in art museums how quiet it is? Why does loud noise always seem out of place? Does not a reverent hush fall over the admirers when they encounter a glorious piece of work because they are quietly, appropriately appreciating the genius of the sculptor or painter? And are not the best works of art, poetry, music and stories those that reveal - but not too much? That create suspense and mystery? That encourage a maturing wait for the unveiling?

Like the work of art it is, pastors and teachers should treat the Song of Solomon and its teaching with awe, not coarseness; with quiet appreciation, not raucous description; with careful handling, not crude references. Hearing things from the pulpit that would make us blush in a men's locker room is not manly boldness with the Scriptures, but a teenage handling of them. A pastor should recognize there are quiet places to counsel on necessary specifics, whereas in more public venues he can speak in such a way as to leave things to people's imagination. He needs to handle his messages like a work of art if he wants the men to do the same with their wives.

As an example to the flock, he also should treat his wife like the work of art she is. Those who think they can talk or write openly about sex with their wives because of what is contained in the Song of Solomon miss a basic, important aspect of its interpretation. It is a dialogue between the groom and bride. Keep it there! I said recently to a group of men that many books and talks on this subject need to be labelled "TMI" for "Too Much Information." Men are unnecessarily revealing intimate details about being with their wives. Just because the culture is crass does not mean we need to be. Perhaps they are afraid of being viewed as puritannical.

Why not just tell men to go home and, without telling another soul, run their hand gently over God-designed curves and whisper what great works God has done? I think their people are "hip" enough to figure out the rest.

Summer Fun

noreply@blogger.com (Barry York) — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 12:41:00 +0000

Nothing like the warming days and sticky nights of summer to encourage us to slow down a bit and see all the blessing and chuckles the Lord has bestowed upon us.

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My summer started with our church's annual Memorial Day Picnic, which despite the showers did not keep us from enjoying a cookout, remembering those in our armed services, and playing a vigorous and slippery soccer game. The next day I took off with Dave, Jack and Jared to the Banner of Truth Minister's Conference in PA. Three days of great discussions, fellowship, and buying books! Yet the highlight was the searching and masterful preaching. Alistair Begg's messages on "Persuasive Preaching" had us at times laughing uproariously (Can Reformed folk do that?) over his insights into Biblical characters even as he fired our hearts to be clear, authoritative and bold in our own preaching; Sinclair Ferguson had me in tears as the Holy Spirit applied his teaching on our union with Christ to sensitive areas in my own life. Thank you, Lord, for starting my summer this way.

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A baby robin fell from a neighbor's tree and was adopted by my daughter. Emory researched on the internet how to care for it, learning to feed it sugar water with a syringe and, of all things, moistened cat food. He began chirping and opening his mouth when she came near, and we laughed because Emory's nickname has always been "Birdy." Over a period of a few weeks it went from being barely alive to being able to fly, of living in a cardboard box to having its own birdcage (donated by Emory's violin teacher).

However, this robin apparently was born with one deformed leg (perhaps the reason it was pushed out of its nest) and broke the other in its fall. So it had to flutter around quite a bit just to gets its balance. Various names were given to it, such as Squirt (don't ask) or Winchester, but it was eventually dubbed Mephibosheth for obvious reasons. Spiritual lessons were gained from Mephibosheth. He served as an object for a children's sermon: "Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father...So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows." Twice while caring for him outside he flew away and escaped, and was thought to be lost. Yet within an hour or so he was relocated and returned to his cage, begging for more cat food. The sparrow has her place of rest...Thine altars as my rest I sing, O Lord of hosts, My God, My King.

Rightly knowing Mephibosheth would be neglected by me when she went to Michigan with the children last week, Miriam took him with her. A wildlife enthusiast neighbor of her parents was going deep into the woods to release some box turtles he had raised, and offered to release Mephibosheth there as well. Despite a tearful protest or two, we concluded this would be in Mephibosheth's and our best interest. Just as his name sake enjoyed, what better place to sit at the King's table than the swamps of northern Michigan?

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Ran across this this short poem from Robert Frost called Fragmentary Blue. Reminded me of Colossians 3:2, which encourages us to set our minds on heavenly things, not earthly ones.

Why make so much of fragmentary blue
In here and there a bird, or butterfly,
Or flower, or wearing-stone, or open eye,
When heaven presents in sheets the solid hue?

Since earth is earth, perhaps, not heaven (as yet)--
Though some savants make earth include the sky;
And blue so far above us comes so high,
It only gives our wish for blue a whet.

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Lizards have returned to our household. Hopefully Scooty and Sneaky will last longer than Spiffy, Squishy, Speedy and their other predecessors. But it will take some doing. Besides trying to keep them off exercise bikes and trees, sometimes they have to be saved from attempts of too much care. Yesterday Scooty was shedding his skin, and I had to admit he did look rather silly with it flopping about. Celia, abhorred by its looks, asked - no begged! - to please let her peel it off. Foreseeing that perhaps a leg or tail might come off with her attempts to peel the lizard, only telling her that it would be more fun to watch Scooty eat its skin convinced her to leave things well enough alone.

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One of the things I dislike most is for people to ask me to smell something. Nine times out of ten it is to sniff something disgusting, such as whether the milk is spoiled or food has rotted in the frig. Usually it is Miriam that asks me, and I would much rather walk by faith than by smell in these situations. "Honey, I love you and utterly trust you that it stinks. Consider the length of my nose and how much bad smells especially pain me." So when Miriam called me to one of the closets and asked me to smell it, I knew it was not the odor of perfume or roses that would greet me. And was I correct! The sharp, acidic aroma brought to mind P.G. Wodehouse's description of the smell of Lord Emsworth's prized pig: "Emperess' rich bouquet." We concluded this rich bouquet must have been from the cat secretly urinating in the closet, and so we quickly ripped out the small piece of carpet that covered the floor and I took it out to the trash.

However, upon returning to the room Miriam asked me, to my utter dismay, to employ my nose once again. Seems that the aroma was wrongly labeled "Cat on the Closet Carpet." Instead, it should have born the tag "A Certain Son's Soccer Shoes." A shoe bin we had taken out of the closet to rip out the carpet had a pair of soccer shoes in it that were rain-soaked, sweaty, and smellariffic. But with every cloud of odor comes forth a rainbow. The floor underneath the carpet proved to be hardwood, so a certain son is helping us refinish it today.

Dr. William Provine

noreply@blogger.com (Barry York) — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 13:24:00 +0000

Earlier this year, our apologetics class watched parts of the movie Expelled in order to discern the presuppositions people use in explaining their worldview and to discuss how we might respond. During one clip, producer Ben Stein interviewed Professor William Provine of Cornell University. Dr. Provine explained his evolutionary views, but it was the personal conclusions he drew from them that shocked our class. We were grieved to hear him say that if a brain tumor he had successfully fought off a decade earlier returned and was inoperable (which the movie said had returned), he would take a gun to his head and blow his brains out. Since there is no afterlife, he stated, it made little sense to him to prolong his suffering.

As my class of high school students discussed this, we decided we ought to write Dr. Provine, express our concern, and ask him to reconsider his worldview. To our further surprise, he ended up calling the church, getting my e-mail address, and responding to me and the students. What follows is first his letter, which despite his atheistic worldview reveals through his "gracious inconsistencies" he is made in the image of God. Then I have posted a letter my daughter Emory wrote in return (reviewed but unedited by me) after I assigned my students to read and review the chapter of the book Dr. Provine sent.

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Dear Pastor York,

I have received 10 lovely letters from the following students:

Gabrielle Schwartz, Andrew Swinehart, Rachel Visser, Orlena Faris, Emory York, Trevor York, Moriah Fisher, Grace Harmon, Melanie Marcisz, and Abbie Marcisz.

I wish to thank you, and each of these wonderful students, for caring about me.

I gather that you showed the movie, Expelled, to these students. The folks who made this movie did so under false pretenses. They promised a movie with no bias. But the ID view dominates the movie. Had I known this, I would have refused to participate. The moviemakers cut the video shot to place all the evolutionists as mean and nasty people. I had to call them, and threaten a lawsuit, before they put in, near the end of the movie, that I never discriminate against any student, including the most religious. I adore my students, one and all. I work with Cornell United Religious Work to be a part of a secular group devoted to sane and equal society.

I hold atheism the same way I hold biological theories: as the best hypotheses we can see right now. I do not know that all gods are impossible.

My brain tumor, at the end of the editing of the movie, seemed to be growing fast to a neurosurgeon in Rochester, NY, and he recommended immediate chemotherapy in May, 2008. I did not trust him very much, because he said the tumor had been growing since 2004, and many neurosurgeons had told me that was untrue. My usual neurosurgeon in Syracuse retired, and I found another one there who actually was part of my operation in 1998. He asked for an MRI in October, 2008, on the same machine and gadolinium dye used from 2002 to 2006. The result was that he could not tell the difference between this scan and the one in 2006. There was no evidence of growth.

I still plan to teach my last semester before retirement in the fall of 2009 (retirement scheduled for June 30, 2010, when I will be 68 years old. I never expected to live to 65.

So your students can understand why I believe as I do (no gods that count, no life after death, no ultimate foundation for ethics, no ultimate meaning in life, and no human free will, same as Charles Darwin), I attach an article I wrote for the Handbook of Religion and Science, published by Oxford University Press in 2006. I wrote this for high school students who can read it easily. If any of your students wish to answer that document, I would be delighted to reply.

Thank you again,

Will Provine

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Dear Professor Provine,

Greetings! I must first say how delighted and overjoyed I was to hear that you had responded to our letters! Your schedule must be full and it was very thoughtful of you to take time to reply. Rest assured that your kindness did not go unappreciated. Thank God that He has spared you from the possible growth of your brain tumor! I pray that His provision of your life will give you time to rethink your beliefs. You most graciously invited us to respond to your article and my fellow classmates and I are going to happily take up this offer. Thank you for this wonderful opportunity to practice our apologetics!

As I stated in my previous letter, you must realize that my commitment to Christ and His saving grace is at the core of my being and argument. You were quite correct in saying that my belief in an intelligent designer, namely God Almighty, stems from my religious beliefs. I in turn can say that your evolutionist/atheist beliefs come directly from your refusal of God. In your considerate letter, you wrote that we were wonderful students, a very true statement. But sir, later you state that you believe in no ultimate foundation for ethics. Was not this previous statement concerning us rather ethical? What basis/foundation did you have for saying this? Also, I would like to ask, if there is no foundation for ethics what exactly is your idea of a sane and equal society? Towards the middle of your letter, you make this statement, “I do not know that all gods are impossible.” Yet, all your arguments are based on the fact that you believe or rather state there is no God. Excuse me for asking so boldly, but are you not grasping after straws?

In your article, you use the argument that the loss of species and bacterial attacks point against Intelligent Design. But how in the world can this be pointing to evolution? My understanding of evolution was that through natural selection, the species on this earth would be perfected. The strongest and fittest would survive, leaving us with a ‘super’ society. This idea is embodied in Darwin’s On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life. (Few people know this full, racist title.) Your argument claims the exact opposite, that there is a decline. In fact, this seems to fit better with the picture of Christianity than anything. All of creation groans under the affects of the Fall and sin. The whole earth longs for the second coming of Christ and His salvation.

Sir, with all due respect in mind, why are you so adamant in your arguments when there is no “Ultimate meaning in life”? If you did not know deep in your heart that there is a God who judges and rules his people, you would not be trying to defend your position. It is completely futile. There is nothing after this life in your empty beliefs. Though I am just a child before you, I have to say you are being arrogant, wanting to be in control of your life, but not wanting to be held responsible by an awesome Being. You cannot escape His righteous judgment no matter how much you reject Him. Professor, say you witnessed your one and only beloved son suffer an agonizing death to save the life of someone else. Then this rescued person turned around and despised the life that had been offered freely for him. He was thankless for what your son had done. Can you honestly tell me you would not have any feelings, any ethical pains? Well, this is a small-scale example of what you are doing to God and His Son, Christ Jesus. He is longing to bring you to Himself, yet you revile this offering. Please, repent from this denial and turn to Christ.

Well, I have bothered you long enough. Thank you once again for your cordial response. I hope that none of the contents in this letter have seemed too forward or brash. I mean no disrespect, but merely seek to share God’s wonderful gift with you. You are ever in my prayers.

In His Incomprehensible Love,

Emory York

Apologetics Projects

noreply@blogger.com (Barry York) — Wed, 13 May 2009 13:37:00 +0000

This year at Sycamore Covenant Academy I have had a great time teaching presuppositional apologetics. In response to a year end assignment that required the student to engage 50 people or more with the apologetics we had learned this year, two of my students, Andrew Swinehart and Trevor York, put the following video together. The amount of time, boldness they demonstrated in meeting with even pastors, and the response to be creative and make their presentations high quality surprised and encouraged me. Though I had hoped to be in this video only by virtue of an "Alfred Hitchcock-like" appearance (the bald-headed guy way in the back in the scene with the pro-choice gal is yours truly), alas, I'm in a full-face clip or two also. I guess their boldness also meant they did not take my threat to lower their grade to heart!

SCA Apologetics Project from SycamoreRP Church on Vimeo.

The Exhaustion of Mushgod

noreply@blogger.com (Barry York) — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 13:41:00 +0000

Years ago I heard a pastor in Pittsburgh preach about Mushgod. Mushgod is the civic god of our nation, the uniting god of our culture. She/he is the god referenced at the end of every politician's speech though, as they dutifully quote on cue their statement of faith at the very end, they always use the cute nickname they have for him/her: "god bless America." Likewise, every service organization from the Rotary Club to Little League Baseball prays to her/him and justifies their existence by him/her. Mushgod thinks nothing of her/his own glory, but rather is here just for you. Like a can of child's Play-Doh, Mushgod takes the shape of his/her worshiper's wishes. A while ago, one described the knowledge of her/him in a way we can all understand (or at least I can, seeing that I had this for breakfast this morning): "Cream of Wheat" divinity. For Mushgod is beyond definition, preferring an amorphous, rounded existence to the edges and corners that most theologians employ. If on occasion he/she gets mistaken for Santa Claus or Mother Nature, that does not bother her/him. And according to many of his/her followers, like the significant gods of other cultures now long dead, such as the Greeks and Romans, Mushgod also has a son. His name is Myjesus.

Myjesus is the god of personalized salvation of the Mushgodites. Legend has it he did great wonders but then died on a cross, which in itself sounds like a wretched end. But Myjesus followers have made this a beautiful symbol of their faith. They do so by using it as an example of how we should live, wearing gold crosses, singing love ballads about it, and pointing out that the legend also says Myjesus rose from the dead so we too can rise above all our difficulties. Rather than demanding any change of lifestyle from his followers such as found in legalistic religions like Christianity, Myjesus accomodates whatever lifestyle the believer chooses or was helplessly born to follow. His followers are allowed to use any of Myjesus' favorite quotes, such as "God so loves the world," "Love one another," and "Do not judge" as support for any of their actions. The only word they are not allowed to use is "sin," unless used for civic purposes that would, in their opinion, serve the public good such as in the "sin of intolerance." Myjesus followers usually worship in big places like crystal cathedrals and even New York Stadium.

Though this religion of Mushgod and Myjesus continues to grow in numbers, there are signs that they may be running out of resources, perhaps even getting a bit tired. Afterall, no one ever claimed they were infinite. Why do I say this?

For a long time the Mushgod devotees promised that because Mushgod would always bless America, our nation would always be able to provide a growing economy, plenty of jobs, affordable education, ready healthcare, inexpensive housing, free childcare...I do not have times to list all the blessings. These blessings, so they told us, would come as long as Mushgod was satisfied with three things: 1) "Mush-tithes" collected by the government and given willingly by the people, which are usually in the neighborhood of 40% or more of your income (it's just a little hard to figure out how much to give sometimes); 2) "Mush-shifts" which is the peaceful distribution of this money by the priests in Washington to whomever Mushgod deems worthy of his/her beneficence, be it single mothers or banks needing a little extra; and 3) "Mush-money" which is the one miracle Mushgod does as she/he creates money ex nihilo by causing printing presses magically to turn on and start printing more bills when they are needed.

Though these conditions are all still in place, Mushgod seems a bit exhausted in keeping up with all of the blessings that were promised. Or I wonder if it just that he/she is displeased because 1) people are starting to protest giving their Mush-tithes, 2) they seem to be having more difficulty in doing the Mush-shifts, and 3) some of the other unenlightened countries who have yet to come to believe in Mushgod do not like using our Mush-money as ~~mush~~ much anymore? Usually when Mushgod is unhappy (note: she/he never gets angry), there are signs indicating it. Start listening for words such as "sacrifice," "redistribution," or "universal." They'll be in those speeeches that end with the mushy "god bless America."

Of Pigs and Pearls

noreply@blogger.com (Barry York) — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 14:00:00 +0000

A growing number of debates featuring atheist Christopher "Note-the-Irony-that-My-Name-Means-Christ-Bearer" Hitchens have been popping up all over the internet. Hitchens, a journalist, TV pundit, and author of the book God is not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything, has been debating men such as Douglas Wilson, Dinesh D'Souza, Frank Turek, Al Sharpton (Oh help us!) and even his own brother. Hitchens is professorial, extremely intelligent, humorous, and, I am beginning to believe, more cunning than believers. How so?

When his God is not Great book was published, according to his own words Hitchens told the publishers that he did not want his book tour to take him to the typical liberal bastions on the East Coast or college campuses. Instead, he wanted to go to the Bible Belt, to churches, Bible colleges and seminaries. Consequently, that is where many of these debates have been held. At least to this pastor's way of thinking, I believe this welcoming of Hitchens is at best an act of incredible naivete and at worse one of gross unfaithfulness to Christ.

For did not our Lord instruct us not to cast our pearls before pigs, unless they trample both the pearls and those who cast them underfoot (see Matthew 7:6)? A pearl in Biblical parlance is the teaching of truth, and in the context in which Jesus spoke these words He is referring to the corrective teaching of the gospel. In the words of The New Geneva Study Bible's comment on this passage, "believers should not continue to preach to people who have rejected the gospel with contempt and scorn," which is exactly what Hitchens is doing. By inviting Hitchens to a church or seminary, knowing that he is going to blaspheme our Lord and Savior - laughing and getting others to laugh as he does so (albeit a bit nervously as you see on some of these videos) - seems to be a gross violation of this injunction of Christ. It is one thing for a believer to write against him or go head-to-head with him on some talk show. I applaud those believers that have done so for their courage. Yet it is an entirely different matter to be chummy with him in a church sanctuary or seminary before young believers and seminarians.

Jesus told us that the sons of this age are more cunning than the children of light. That Hitchens wanted to debate with Christians (people that he believes are poisoning the world) in their devoted places, and Christians are receiving him warmly, only proves it. For make no mistake about it, he is preaching his atheistic gospel to win converts. Hitchens is casting those stumbling blocks that the mature in Christ are supposed to be clearing out of other's path, rather than giving him an invitation to do so. Has the church really begun to yearn for relevance so much that we will accommodate him, and spend money given by saints for gospel ministry to pay his honorarium for his blasphemies? Rather than desiring the great show that Hitchens promises to put on and yearning for the praise of the world about the church's "open-mindedness" in inviting him, the bride of Christ better look to the Lord of the church.

For another verse about pigs and jewelry is found in the Bible. Proverbs 11:22 says, "As a ring of gold in a swine's snout so is a beautiful woman who lacks discretion." The bride of Christ, made beautiful by His blood, is showing this lack of discretion in this matter. So rather than holding up Hitchens for the pig that he is showing himself to be in defaming our Lord Jesus, the church is wallowing in the sty with him. That's no place for Christ's bride to be (II Peter 2:22).

Church Discipline

noreply@blogger.com (Barry York) — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 16:37:00 +0000

As I am planning soon to begin a preaching series on the marks of the church, one of which is church discipline, I have reflected over our experiences here. Over the lifetime of the Sycamore congregation, we sadly have had many cases of church discipline. Below is the body of a letter written by our elders some time ago to a particular individual (the fifth one we had given him), with his name and a few of the details having been changed for this display. I offer this to serve as a reminder of the church's duty to apply Biblical discipline to wandering sheep, a testimony to the lengths we took to recover this person, and, as you read at the bottom of this post what ultimately resulted, a warning to heed the Word of God and the shepherds He has placed over the church.

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Dear Esau,

The Session of Sycamore Reformed Presbyterian Church has made repeated efforts to restore you to our fellowship, as listed below:

Last summer in July we rebuked you for your failure to participate in worship and observe the sacraments. We also warned you about your relationship with the widow in whose home you were staying and called you out of that situation. You made an initial confession in August and returned for two weeks to the church. However, since August 31^st you have not attended a worship service at Sycamore.
Even after seeking counsel from the Session on September 3^rd and being warned not to go, you purposefully chose to move out of town and live with the widow there. On October 1^st we again rebuked you for “showing contempt for the counsel of the court and the appearance of immorality,” as was communicated to you in a letter dated October 26^th. This letter was hand-delivered to you by the pastor.
On December 14^th we sent another letter to you when you were in the Howard County Jail. The pastor visited you and explained that this letter indicated our numerous attempts to restore you and informed you that you had been suspended from the privileges of church membership.
Last month you received a certified letter dated February 2^nd that called you to respond to our letter of suspension as you had promised you would do. This letter was signed by the widow. We gave you a deadline to respond of February 10^th, which you ignored, despite the fact that this letter threatened that we would proceed officially as the court of the church towards conducting a trial of excommunicating you from this congregation if you did not.
Last Sunday, February 29^th, Elder Bob McKissick and Pastor Barry York appeared at the address listed above as your official residency. When we asked the widow if you were there, she indicated you were. She returned after talking with you and claimed that because of allergies you did not want to see us that day. She assured us you had received our certified letter and that she would tell you that we wanted to hear from you before or during our Session meeting on March 3^rd. Once again this date came and went, and we never heard from you.

Esau, how we have pursued you and sought to love you in Christ! Recall all that we did to counsel with you, to provide work opportunities for you, to bring you into our homes and into our hearts when you were still with us. We wept and welcomed you as our brother as we listened to your testimony the day you stood in the sanctuary and told of God’s grace. We have instructed you in the word of God and prayed earnestly for you. But you have spurned both God’s love and ours.

You may still claim to love God, but honestly, Esau, by the most basic measure can you say that you are demonstrating that by your actions? Jesus said, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments” (John 14:15). Yet you made vows to attend the worship of God and have missed them for months on end. You promised you would heed the counsel and discipline of the church when you joined, but within a few months you disdained it by putting personal pleasure and aspirations above the kingdom of God. Even now the widow claimed you were attending church together elsewhere, but your broken relationships with us coupled with your living with this woman outside marital bonds makes your church attendance abhorrent to God. Your stubbornness and refusal to listen to godly counsel has caused you to wander into grave spiritual danger, where you no longer are even able to discern the deceitfulness of your actions.

Therefore, in a final attempt to restore you, we took the following action at our Session meeting of March 3^rd:

Because of your contempt for the established order and worship of the church, and your dwelling with a woman outside marriage bonds against the Session’s particular counsel, the Session has set the date of March 17, at 5:00 p.m. at the pastor’s office of Sycamore Reformed Presbyterian Church to hold a trial to excommunicate Esau unless he presents to the Session a valid objection or repents of his actions.

Esau, please understand that if you do not leave this situation and return to us, we will have to conclude that by your own deeds you no longer are walking in a manner worthy of the kingdom of God. If you continue to ignore us and do not contact us by this date, we will be forced to excommunicate you. By that action we will be declaring that you are no longer to be considered a Christian and that your soul is in danger of the eternal flames.

Yet our heart’s desire is not your condemnation, Esau, but your restoration. Please heed the word of God, Esau, who said to Lot through the angels sent to rescue him, “Escape for your life! Do not look behind you!” Leave this situation immediately, and seek refuge in Christ and the church.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sadly, Esau did not come to the meeting to which he was summoned and was excommunicated. Tragically, soon after this action he was stricken with a massive heart attack and died in the home of the aforementioned woman.

Small, Quick & Loving

noreply@blogger.com (Barry York) — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 14:38:00 +0000

On Friday I will be travelling with several other pastors to attend an annual dinner hosted by the Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary. The seminary will award a "Faithful Servant Award" to Dr. Roy Blackwood. Many were asked to write a tribute to Roy. Here's mine.

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After my first year as a student at the Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Pittsburgh, I went to Indianapolis in the summer of 1989 to do an internship under Dr. Roy Blackwood. Following a day of driving with my pregnant wife and young son, and then moving into the third floor apartment of the church building, Roy and Margie came to greet us that first evening. After a few minutes of checking that we had everything we needed, Roy asked me to sit down at the kitchen table because he had something he wanted to show me. Soon, on an unfolded napkin taken from a nearby drawer, circles and Latin words began to form a diagram as Roy explained in earnest a concept to me. I realized I had just been introduced to Roy’s teaching on the Mediatorial Kingship of Christ. How many more times that summer and since I have seen - and used - that picture!

During that internship, I thought I would spend less time studying and more time doing “practical” ministry. Yet not only did I feel I was in “summer seminary” those three month, but I realized more than ever how studies and practical ministry go hand-in-hand. For under Roy’s tutelage I read the seminal work upon which he had developed his ministry, Messiah the Prince by the nineteenth century Scottish pastor William Symington, as well as studied through Roy’s doctoral work he had done on Symington’s ministry and theology. Far from dry academia, Roy’s studies came alive as I saw them lived out firsthand through his life.

That summer I witnessed warm-hearted, reference-filled, faith-building preaching from Roy, be it from a pulpit or at the bedside of the elderly. I saw how he had taken these doctrines and applied them in the development of a ministry that had seen hundreds converted to Christ, churches planted in other areas of Indiana whose pastors had been influenced greatly by Roy, and relationships that extended around the world. Roy’s heart-filled vision of the kingdom of Christ, a kingdom that knows no limits, no person outside its reach, no unconquerable enemies, propelled him to extend that kingdom wherever he went. That summer I saw federal and state legislators contact him, businessmen open their offices and schedule to him, and fathers and sons (the next generation) taught by him. What I both heard and saw left an indelible mark upon me, and it has only increased through the following two decades of ministering with this man in our presbytery.

On one occasion that summer, as Roy and I were traveling, he shared with me his testimony of how his mother had died when he was but a young child, and of a hard-pressed father who had to send him out of his home to be raised by nearby aunts. At that time, Roy said in great tenderness that he could not remember his mother, but had been told that she was “small, quick, and loving.” That description has stuck with me, for it also describes Roy well.

On several occasions when we have ministered together, Roy will stand next to me, look up, and say with that ever-present smile on his face, “Here’s Barry York, a man I look up to.” One day I responded, “Roy, the only reason you will ever look up to me is because I am standing on your shoulders.” He may be small in stature, but he is a giant of a man.

How quick Roy is in mind and body! Roy is a perpetual motion machine, constantly engaged in whole-hearted kingdom living. Even now, as he spends his twilight years caring for his beloved bride Margie, his mind is always at work. Roy is always seeking to be a kingdom-catalyst by seeing people in the body of Christ brought together who Roy always seems to know could work better together than apart. He has connected me to countless people in innumerable ways that have enriched greatly my life and ministry. One example is in the area of Greek. Believing in my Greek abilities far more than I did, he recruited me years ago to come down to Indianapolis every weekday for six weeks one summer (only Roy could have gotten me to do this!) so I could spend time in a Greek classroom with Dr. Renwick Wright. That time proved influential, as not only did that training help me to grow in my competency to teach Greek, but a number of men have gone onto seminary and the pastorate with the confidence of knowing this language.

With all these attributes and abilities one might overlook the chief quality about this man. Like his mother, he is loving. Many times during my ministry, Roy has helped sustain me through trials by his expressions and acts of love. Perhaps none have been so personal and powerful to me than just a few weeks ago. For some time, Roy, Pastor Rich Johnston, and the elders of the church have discussed with me coming to serve as pastor there. In December, they finally led the congregation to make out a call to me. When I received the call, seeing the names of so many friends tugged at my wife and my hearts, but seeing Roy and Margie’s signatures made us weep. Yet after much prayer and deliberation, in light of things including some deeply personal matters involving family, I was led to decline this call. When on the phone with Roy telling him my answer, to be honest I was scared. I could not bear the thought of disappointing him. But when I began to explain these personal matters, Roy began weeping for me and offering tender encouragements. Our conversation ended with one of the most powerful and caring prayers I have ever experienced. As we hung up, he was not the only one crying.

On occasion, I have heard some, who must not know Roy very well, describe him in ways that make it sound as if they think Roy must dominate people in the church in order to see the things happen around him that he has. Indeed, some have even called the pastors in Indiana “Roy’s Boys,” speaking as though he controls us like a bishop would do in other ecclesiastical settings. Not only would that thought be anathema to Roy, but it misunderstands both the power and love of God at work in Roy and in the church. If any of us have sought to imitate Roy’s example, or leapt when he asked us to do something, or spoken reverently of him, it is the power of love and not fear that you see. And as for me, call me Roy’s Boy if you will, but please understand if I’m given that title I would wear it with honor and with a smile. For it only serves to prove that God has fulfilled, in answer to Roy’s prayers, the truth of II Timothy 2:2, “The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” How thankful to God I am to know the life, ministry and love of Roy Blackwood.

Cuddle Up Like the Moon

noreply@blogger.com (Barry York) — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 16:51:00 +0000

Through the window we see the wintry sky,
The curve of the waning moon
Bright against its black cold;
A silent reminder of the One
That governs over the darkness.

It casts a warming glow on the bed inside,
The wiggling of a young girl fighting sleep
Brings smiles to a slumbering father lying near,
Thankful for the gift of a daughter's love
In this dark generation of icy hearts.

Her sudden request opens his tired eyes,

"Da-da, will you cuddle up like the moon with me?"
The meaning remaining a mystery,
Until he sees again from her pillow perspective
The ruler of the nighttime sky.

In response the father becomes a crescent

As she snuggles her little body against his,
The chattering fading and sleep triumphing again.
Yet not before she says in faith not yet full,
"It's hard to say I love God more than you."

So as she closes her eyes to enter sleep’s peace,

He whispers again of One unseen,

The Giver of all love and seasons;

And reminds her that one day she will awake

Beyond the moon in her true Father's embrace.

If Nothing Else, the Picture is Cool

noreply@blogger.com (Barry York) — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 15:01:00 +0000

This Saturday, February 7, the First Reformed Presbyterian Church is hosting their Conference on Practical Theology. Entitled The War for Poverty: Reclaiming and Restoring the Ministry of Mercy in the Local Congregation, little ole me will be speaking three times that day, with a question and answer period following each talk. I'm looking forward to the fellowship with the saints at First RPC, one of our newest congregations. I'm also thankful that several of our members, including two of our deacons who practice this subject far more than I do, will be traveling there to support me and help in answering questions that may arise.

As I have not only been buried in my study in preparation for it, but also involved in numerous pastoral situations trying to live it even this week, I have not had much blogging time. But I thought any readers of this blog would enjoy seeing the neat picture some creative person at First RPC came up with to advertise the conference (please click it to see further information), and that I could use this as a last minute plea for you to pray for our time.

The name of the conference is of course a play on President Johnson's words. But the change in the preposition highlights the Biblical truth that mercy ministry is a responsibility the mighty God who loves the orphan and widow gives to the church, and how we must fight to re-establish our position as the true dispensers of mercy. Indeed, as I will be showing, God will judge us if we fail. Hence the need for prayer!

My Decision

noreply@blogger.com (Barry York) — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 15:27:00 +0000

This blog has purposefully been quiet this past month.
I have spent the time seeking the Lord's will
about a call from the Second Reformed Presbyterian Church.
Below is the letter I sent to them in answer.

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January 22, 2009

Second Reformed Presbyterian Church

4800. N. Michigan Road

Indianapolis, IN 46228

To the Saints of Second RPC,

Having received the call made out to me on December 14^th, 2008 to join the pastoral staff of the Second RPC congregation, please know that I have been in much prayer and deliberation before the Lord regarding it. As you can imagine, having to come to a decision where I know I would have to either leave a congregation that is family to us or decline an offer by one that I also love has not been easy. Yet the Lord has used the means of His Word, counsel, providences and prayers to draw near me and to make His will known to me at this time.

Though it brings me sadness, I now inform you that I must respectfully decline this call. On Thursday, January 22^nd, I came and met with your pastor and elders to tell them of my decision and explain the reasons, many of which are very personal. Please indulge me for a moment as I assure you what were not factors in this decision.

Please know that it was not a lack of desire to help or concern for you all at Second RPC that led to this decision. Having been an intern at Second RPC in 1989 means that I have been blessed with a special relationship to Dr. Blackwood, Pastor Johnston, and many of you there for twenty years and even longer. Seeing so many names of people we love signed to the call did tug at our hearts, and to be honest seeing Roy and Margie’s there made me cry. As the call was extremely generous, the potential for ministry there is great, and the history of the Lord’s using Second RPC undeniable, please know that questions regarding these matters did not lead me to this conclusion.

The congregation of Sycamore and I will continue to uphold you in prayer, knowing that the Lord will keep building the church of Second Reformed Presbyterian. In the Spirit of Christ, who is the head of the church and places each member in the body just as He desires, we trust this interaction will only create greater love between us not less. Indeed, I pray that we might find other ways to cooperate in the gospel and support one another in the faith, building on the years of joint partnership that we have had. Thank you for the love you have shown through the consideration of me, and may the God of peace continue to bless you richly.

In the Love of Christ,

Barry York

The Snake Hunter

noreply@blogger.com (Barry York) — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 15:39:00 +0000

You have to admire the men pictured here. They are returning home from hunting an African Rock Python. Seeing how its jaws can expand wide enough to swallow an antelope, one might consider them brave in just carrying a dead one. In saying they hunt them you probably picture them surrounding one in a tree or on the ground, then using weapons to kill it or clubs to beat it. Remove that picture from your mind and read on. These men are much braver (or crazier, depending on your perspective) than that.

Adult pythons, usually 18-20 feet in length but which can get up to 28 feet and over 250 pounds, use the burrows of other animals to nest. These burrows can go down into the ground nearly 20 feet. The mother python will lay up to 100 eggs in her cache and then spend the next few months in her lair aggressively protecting them. This is where these men hunted. Again, you may imagine they smoked her out then beat her when she emerged from her tunnel. Keep reading.

To hunt this python, one of the men tied a leather coverings to his forearm and then held a bundle of lit twigs in his other hand for light. After securing a rope around him, he was lowered head first into the python's burrow, barely able to squeeze down. As he approached the snake face-to-face, he waved his leather-covered hand by the the python's mouth. The snake, already upset, struck the hand and began to swallow it. The hunter then quickly dropped the twigs, and with his other hand choked tightly the snake's never-ending throat right behind where his other hand was being swallowed. (This prevented the hunter from becoming its next meal.) At this point he undoubtedly yelled and kicked so his friends would pull him out of the hole. As he was extracted from the hole, the python was choking to death from the leather covering that had slipped off his hand combined with the choke hold of the hunter. The snake's body, naturally used when it falls on its prey with its weight and then crushes it with the strength of its death coils, was rendered useless by the narrowness of the burrow. Thus the snake, usually the predator, suffocated and became the prey. And yes, these men are taking this snake home to eat.

My job as a pastor regularly involves dealing with sin. Being it my own holed up in my own soul, working with others who have lived long in Satan's lair, or trying to hunt out the deadly lusts with searching preaching, the stubborn fierceness of sin confounds and (I must admit at times) scares me. Though these python hunters may get a certain adrenaline rush as they go down into that hole, I find little pleasurable or exciting in dealing with sin. I can even reason in my own mind, "If we are to let sleeping dogs lie, why not sleeping snakes?" Yet that's the problem. The serpent of old never sleeps, for he admits in his own words that he "roams about on the earth" (Job 1:7). And we know why. He is seeking someone he may devour (I Peter 5:8) through continually enticing them to follow their lusts. How tiring it can be to try to handle the slippery serpent and ceaseless sin. This "snake hunter" often wonders what the outcome is going to be.

Yet that's where this metaphor must go further. What encouragement can be found in turning again and again to the reminder from the Bible of the One who went into the snake pit for me! That dragon of old, with his jaws on the heel of the Savior, thought in his cunning he had brought an end to Christ at the cross. Little did he know his death bite was his own death warrant. That cross silenced forever his venomous accusations, and Jesus arose to crush his head. No wonder the Bible tells us we can see the devil flee when we resist him in Christ! Seeing salvation granted to the repentant, watching sanctification occur in His people, achieving reconciliation, witnessing an evil be used for God's purpose - these things and more remind me of the victory of the Lamb over the dragon.

O Lord, hear me pray what you have promised: "The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet!"

A Confession with My Tongue (in My Cheek)

noreply@blogger.com (Barry York) — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 14:58:00 +0000

December 10, 2008

President Kenneth A. Smith
Geneva College
Beaver Falls, PA 15010

Dear Dr. Smith,

Though I know you are a very busy man, I hope you can find just a few moments in your day to hear these confessions from a father of one of your students.

First, I swiped the photograph which you see in this letter, taken at your Family Day back in November, from Geneva's website. I am ashamed to admit that not only have I posted it here, but also on my computer desktop and my blog where this letter can also be found. (As Augustine in his Confessions shows, identifying particular vices and making them public is good for the soul's cleansing.) Though I should have asked permission, the beauty of the picture was too great to resist. Certainly you can sympathize with my weakness and find it in your heart to absolve me? Especially when you consider that I had even contemplated - but then strongly resisted the temptation! - asking you for a tuition break for helping advertise your fine institution in such a lovely way?

My second confession is that I grew a bit angry with you, as the head of Geneva, back in August. After leaving my little girl at your college, the next three days I literally felt like my heart had broken. It was like someone had died! This sweet daughter of mine, who for nineteen years had filled our home with joy, music, and love, was now gone. That I could have borne. Yet when I called her during those dark days of my soul, her voice did not sound quite like mine did. Oh, sure, she said she missed me, but she kept giggling afterwards which I did not think was very funny. She could not quite hide her excitement over such things as the new roommates she had, dining on a riverboat in Pittsburgh, or the classes she was looking forward to taking. Since I could not blame her, I blamed you for making the transition so painless. So please excuse my anger. But could you not at least consider instituting a two-day period of mourning for incoming students?

Having sat under your father's preaching for three years, I know the importance of heart applications of the law as is especially taught in the final commandment. So my final confession (I hope you are sitting down at this point) is that I secretly hoped Geneva might fail for my daughter. I had a black little hope that she might be so homesick, not like her classes, or at least miss the pastor back here so much that she would want to come back to Indiana. Instead, she has so many new friends we cannot remember all their names, has loved her courses and especially the music program, and is actually growing amazingly well in the church out there.

Thank you for reading my confessions. I know that looking at these things is never pretty. But, as Augustine explains it, neither was the desire for the pears that he stole.

Sincerely Thankful,

Barry York

Putting the Twig to the Nose

noreply@blogger.com (Barry York) — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 19:39:00 +0000

When my daughter Lindsay, home for the Thanksgiving break, asked me a question the other day, at first I wondered what they were teaching her at college. "Dad, what does 'putting the twig to the nose' mean?" she asked.

Then she told me she was reading Ezekiel for her Bible class, where the angel of God points out in Ezekiel 8:17 that men in Judah were guilty of "putting the twig to their nose." Considered the family's resident Bible expert, I enjoy it when my children ask me questions. Yet I had to admit to being a bit baffled by the expression, as I had not thought about it before. As our family happened to be traveling at the time, we discussed the context a bit, I told her it sounded like a pagan ritual to me, and then promised to look it up later.

What I found was interesting and (not surprising with the Word of God) fear-producing.

This verse with its expression is from a scene where the angel of God is showing the prophet why destruction is about to come upon Jerusalem. In the vision Ezekiel is shown 25 men worshiping in the courtyard of the temple. The problem is, however, that they are prostrated with their backs against the temple, praying to the sun in the east (Ezekiel 8:16). The angel then says,

"Do you see this, son of man? Is it too light a thing for the house of Judah to commit the abominations which they have committed here, that they have filled the land with violence and provoked Me repeatedly? For behold, they are putting the twig to the nose. Therefore, I indeed will deal in wrath."

My research showed that my hunch was right. Often found in pagan worship was the practice of gathering a branch or bundle of twigs and then the worshiper would put them before his face near the mouth and nose as he prostrated himself and prayed to his idol. For these Jews worshiping the sun, it could have served as a type of veil to show respect to the sun-god, and it may have been a symbol of their recognition that life was dependent upon the light of the sun.

However, there is a powerful double entendre in this expression that only the Hebrew reveals. The word for "nose" in the Hebrew (אַף -"aph") can also be translated as "anger" or "ruin." The snort of emotion from the nose and the flaring of the nostrils provide the reason for this association. Sometimes scholars in different English versions can translate a verse using these two different meanings with the same effect, as in Job 4:9.

"By the blast of God they perish, and by the breath of His nostrils they are consumed" (KJV).
"By the breath of God they perish, and by the blast of His anger they come to an end" (NASB).

With this in mind, John Calvin said that by God describing them as putting the twig to the nose, they were in effect putting the twig to their ruin. In other words, by putting the twig to their nose, they were putting the twig to His nose. They were arousing His burning anger, which is why He follows this expression with these words, "Therefore, I will indeed deal in wrath."

How careful we must live! These Jews who thought they were being trendy by using a worldly worship practice were in reality putting more wood on the fire of God's anger by the very act. As Paul said in Romans 2:5, "Because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God."

Perhaps from this we could develop a new proverbial warning when we see a believer pursuing evil things or churches turning their back on God's Word as they embrace worldly goods? "Don't put the twig to your nose!"

Offering Thanks Like a Pilgrim

noreply@blogger.com (Barry York) — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 13:49:00 +0000

Around 200 people gathered last night at Sycamore Reformed Presbyterian Church for a Thanksgiving Service. Brethren from the Elkhart, Lafayette, and West Lafayette RP congregations joined us for this annual event, along with friends from other churches and the community.

With the title above serving as our theme, the evening began with the following explanation:

The roots of Thanksgiving in our nation are found in those first Pilgrims who crossed the Atlantic Ocean aboard the Mayflower in 1620. After 66 days at sea, they arrived at what would be called the Plymouth colony on November of that year in what is today Massachusetts. Right before they landed, 41 persons on board gathered and signed the Mayflower Compact, which was a document explaining how this new colony would be governed. It was a covenant that spoke of how they would order and preserve themselves in order to accomplish the goal of their voyage, which was done (I quote from the Compact) “for the Glory of God and advancement of the Christian Faith and Honour of our King and Country.”

They would need their faith in God. William Bradford, the eventual governor of the colony, suffered the tragedy of having his own wife drown while the Mayflower was still anchored in the harbor and unloading passengers and supplies. On land, harsh weather, lack of food, and threats by Indians met them. Despite their best efforts to build shelter quickly and to endure the winter, by April of 1621 half of the original 102 people had died.

Yet through the spring and summer of that next year their fortunes turned. Crops began to grow. More permanent housing was built. Peace occurred with the Indians native to the region. So in the fall of 1621, Governor William Bradford proclaimed a day of thanksgiving to be shared by all the colonists and the Native Americans who had helped them. The thanksgiving turned into a three day event filled with feasting and laughter, and games and races took place.

During it all, whether laying a loved on in a freshly dug grave or rejoicing over a birth or harvest in the new land, the Pilgrims continually turned to the psalms of the Bible to express their heart cries and joys to the Lord. Being of Puritan belief, they had set aside ceremony in worship so common in their homeland for the simplicity of worshiping God in spirit and truth. As such, the Pilgrims used the psalm-book written by Henry Ainsworth in 1612, believing that the singing of the Word of God was commanded in the Scriptures and exemplified in the life of Christ and His apostles. They used the Ainsworth Psalter because they believed it to be a more true and literal translation of the Psalms. We are going to begin our service tonight by singing Psalm 100 from this psalter (Note: A page featuring a portion of this psalm from the 1612 Ainsworth Psalter is pictured above.)

Yet we are singing this psalm and others for more than sentimental reasons. The Pilgrim’s example and story are worth noting, for we are to see ourselves as on a pilgrimage to a better country. Those who have been brought out of the death and destruction of sin and into the kingdom of the eternal God by the work of Jesus Christ are like Israel of old - we are on a pilgrimage through this world's wilderness to our heavenly destination. The Psalm book is written for pilgrims, and as the structure of this service will show, gives us:

the cries we need to express in our distress,
the direction we need for our journey,
the redemption we need as found only in Christ,
and the promise we need that heaven indeed will be granted to those who walk by faith.

We then enjoyed a service of singing these types of psalms, reading of relevant Scripture, and prayers of gratitude. Toward the conclusion, we also sang Psalm 23 from the 1640 Bay Psalm Book (the first book published in America), as its familiar words of the Good Shepherd leading His sheep along a path that passes through enemies and dark vales ends with the assurance that He will bring us to His home - a true pilgrim's anthem! For our final selection, we sang from Psalm 84 and experienced in our hearts this truth that it contains:

Blest are they who in Thy Strength confide, and in whose heart are pilgrims' ways!

All A-Twitter

noreply@blogger.com (Barry York) — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 15:16:00 +0000

Yet another technological wonderment has hit the internet. This will be old news for the young people, I'm sure, but hang in there for a moment while I explain it to my generation. It's a service called Twitter that has a little bluebird as its logo. Basically put, it is like making the wall of Facebook instantaneous without all the dressings. Oops! That still won't explain it to most of my middle-aged friends. Let me be a bit more specific.

Rather than a blog like you are reading now, Twitter is a micro-blog that allows a constant updating of thoughts (limit of 140 characters) from the Twitter subscriber and those he allows to respond. These mini-posts can either be read on the Web as a continuous list of comments or sent via e-mail or text message. As the developers state, Twitter answers the basic question, "What are you doing?" Friends can post what they are doing or thinking at any moment and, wham, all those who care can receive the news on their cell phones or computers. Major corporations and news agencies are using Twitter to give people instant updates (called "tweets" in Twitter Land) on exciting new products or breaking stories.

And, yes, the church has "flocked" to the action. WORLD magazine reported on Westwinds Church in Jackson, Michigan, that has used Twitter in their worship services. As the pastor preaches or the musician performs, the congregation has had services where they can post their thoughts on a Twitter site that is being projected on large screens in the sanctuary. Though the pastor recognizes not everyone will appreciate this innovation (he has even had to deal with inappropriate things being said on the screen), he believes these concerns are outweighed by the way Twitter gets everyone to participate more greatly in the service. He claims the Twittering they do through the week helps the church body stay connected.

As you may have anticipated, for all of its technological glory and I'm sure helpful applications in certain areas, I am now getting ready to tell you that I have concerns about a casual use of Twitter. But please listen to me before you accuse me of being as afraid of technology as a yellow-bellied sapsucker, mad as a wet hen that I did not think of it first, or trying too hard to be wise as an owl. On its website, Twitter itself points out the problem when it says this about its own service: "With Twitter, you can stay hyper–connected to your friends and always know what they’re doing...Twitter puts you in control and becomes a modern antidote to information overload." These paradoxical statements point out my dual concern.

On the one hand, do we need to be hyper-connected to our friends? Do not cell phones, e-mails, Facebooks, text messaging, etc., have us so hyper-connected already that we are being constantly interrupted by others? Besides, do I always want to know what you are doing? Better yet, do you always want to know what I am doing? I hope not! Do you not have better things to do? Like thinking about what you were doing before you were interrupted by yet another "tweet?"

Then on the other hand, is not their own description a bit delusional? How is getting constant information an "antidote to information overload?!?!" We think we are in control, but does this not lead us more toward a life of being controlled by friends who want to tell us instantly what's on their mind, no matter when or what it might be? In normal conversations, are we not bothered by those who constantly "crow" about their accomplishments, "chirp" with the latest gossip, or "squawk" about their problems?

And using Twitter in worship? C'mon! This is Quakerism run a muck! How can you truly listen to the Word of God when you are constantly glancing at the latest cool comment someone posted or trying to think of one of your own? Guys, make a date with your wife or girlfriend at a nice restaurant in order to have a meaningful conversation with her. But before you order your food, encourage her to use her cellphone and text her best friend during the meal about what you are doing and saying. Then you'll have the just the faintest of an idea of how the jealous God feels about this latest idolatrous distraction modern man has introduced into His worship.

All this reminds me of the men of Athens. When Paul arrived, the Scriptures in Acts 17 say that "all the Athenians and the strangers visiting there used to spend their time in nothing other than telling or hearing something new." They were all a-twitter over anything new they could hear. But when Paul began speaking the gospel, what did they think of him? They called him the "babbler." This word babbler in the Greek is literally "seed-picker," and was used to describe birds as they flitted here and there picking up and dropping seeds. So the babbler goes about, picking up and dropping news wherever he goes. Ironically, though the Athenians were the ones guilty of constantly tweeting with new news, they viewed the one with Good News as the babbler in the bunch.

Sounds a bit bird-brained to me.

Forgiving Yourself?

noreply@blogger.com (Barry York) — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 19:31:00 +0000

Imagine having witnessed the following:

A man came running up to a police officer standing on a corner. "Sir," he shouted desperately, "someone just stole my wallet. You have to arrest him before he gets away."

The policeman responded, "Now calm down, sir. When did this happen?"

The man replied, "Just five minutes ago, officer. Please hurry!"

The officer held his hand up patiently to quiet the man. "Now, sir, can you describe the thief to me?"

Hurriedly, the man spurted out, "He is about five foot ten, 180 pounds, wearing a blue button-down shirt with khaki pants and running shoes. He has light brown hair, blue eyes, and a mustache. Oh, and a large mole on his right cheek."

As the man who lost his wallet was describing the thief, the officer was busy looking him up and down. He then said to the man, "Excuse me, but that description describes you exactly."

The man nodded eagerly. "Exactly! I stole my wallet. Now hurry!"

At that point, I doubt the officer would arrest him, though he might have the man committed to a psychiatric hospital. You cannot steal your own wallet. Yet, spiritually speaking, many sound as confused as this man.

How many people, seeking counsel for some difficultly or trauma in their life, have said to me, "I'm having trouble forgiving myself." Undoubtedly, in the process of recounting their own contribution or response to the problem, they mean by that they are having difficulty shaking guilt and shame over their sin. Yet this language is unhelpful and untrue, and is actually a sign of the deeper problem the counseled one has.

For you cannot forgive yourself. You cannot steal your own wallet. You cannot write yourself an IOU. You cannot be indebted to yourself. Forgiveness implies that an offense, a spiritual crime, has been committed against another. Either God or another person - or both - is the one who has to release you from your debt.

Is this not what we express in the Lord's Prayer? "And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors." No self-forgiveness heard there. Indeed, nowhere in the Scriptures are you encouraged to forgive yourself. Is it not for obvious reasons? You cannot steal your own wallet. Any debts you must pay are held by others. One cannot be indebted to self, just as one cannot truly give himself a gift on his birthday.

Usually I find that those who use this language of self-forgiveness have a greater problem. They are morbidly self-centered. Using the language of "I cannot forgive myself," they are seeking pity for themselves rather than taking responsibility for what they have done to others. In vain human pride they consider more greatly the embarrassing shame of their actions on their own reputation than the painful hurt their sins have brought to God and their fellow man. Those that go down this path find it is an endless cycle of trying to reassure themselves that they are not as bad as they feel. The problem is, that is a lie. They are actually worse than they are making it out to be.

Indeed, "forgiving myself" is the language of self-salvation, an expression of justifying one's self by works rather than by faith in Christ. Nothing is more odious in the eyes of God than wretched sinners ignoring the cross work of His Son in a vain attempt to forgive themselves. As the Lord's Prayer teaches us, there is a better way. Through the blood of Christ we can ask God to remove the penalty for our sins from us. Living under the blood of Jesus, we can maintain a posture of willingness to release any who might have hurt or offended us.

To paraphrase John Newton, great sinners need a Great Savior. I have yet to find a person who can forgive himself like Jesus can.

Differing Weights & Scales

noreply@blogger.com (Barry York) — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 15:22:00 +0000

Though I missed it, I guess this past Sunday was "Pulpit Freedom Sunday," as some ministers decided to tell their congregations for whom they should or should not vote. In response, Cal Thomas, a Christian political commentator, has made it quite clear that pastors and churches are really not to be involved in the business of addressing political matters. The great pastor and theologian Martyn Lloyd-Jones would seem to agree. In urging the preaching of Christ rather than politics, he said, "I am in no position to stand and address a company of Christian people as to whether I think the Government has acted rightly or wrongly. That, I repeat, is not the primary business of the Christian minister."

I find myself drawn to the spirit of Thomas and Lloyd-Jones' point, as our focus in the pulpit should always be in the exaltation of Christ. Certainly turning the pulpit into a place for political stumping is foolish at best and idolatrous at worst. Yet I still find that I cannot agree with the gagging effect on the preacher these men's chief idea if practiced would bring. At key times and issues, pointing out the rightness or evil of our governing leaders and their policies is how we exalt Christ.

For instance, take the current financial chaos our nation is facing. Our government is voting whether to give these failed financial institutions an incredibly large bail-out - $700 billion! You do not have to be a mathematician to know 700,000,000,000 dollars is a lot of money. Neither do you have to have a PhD in economics to understand why we are in this crisis. You just need to understand two things. 1) Money is printed at the will of the government and therefore its value is changed as they try to control the economy. This is akin to having a yardstick that is one day 34 inches and the next 41. 2) On the insistence of the government, through its making of laws and regulations to promote "equality," this money has been loaned out by banks and loan institutions (i.e. Fannie May and Freddie Mac) to thousands and thousands of people that you or I wouldn't even loan a shovel to based on their reputation, much less the amount of a house.

And I'm not supposed to say anything? What did the prophets do when confronted with corrupt rulers and practices? What did Jesus say to those who suppressed the poor through evil monetary policies? Does the Bible say anything about changing scales and differing weights? Consider:

"You shall not have in your bag differing weights, a large and a small. You shall not have in your house differing measures, a large and a small. You shall have a full and just weight; you shall have a full and just measure, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the LORD your God gives you. For everyone who does these things, everyone who acts unjustly is an abomination to the LORD your God." Deuteronomy 25:14-16

This is not only law. It is basic wisdom:

"Differing weights are an abomination to the LORD, and a false scale is not good." -Proverbs 20:23

"A false balance is an abomination to the LORD, but a just weight is His delight." -Proverbs 11:1

We have grown so accustomed to an economic system based on differing weights and measures that when things grow haywire and unbalanced, our collective response is to take from one side (tax, increase money supply, borrow) so we can put more on the other side (entitlements, loans, grants). We have forgotten that slightly more than a century ago the chief campaign point was the money system we would use. We need to see that the problem is not so much that the balance is tipping, but that differing scales are causing the tipping.

With that in mind, might I add that those telling pastors to be quiet are just part of the same problem? For at the same time they are instructing preachers not to speak about politics, politician and pundit alike see no irony in moralizing, using the church, and invoking God's name when it serves their cause. Talk about differing scales!