Toby J. Sumpter's Blog, page 12

Masculine & Feminine Repentance & Virtue

One of the ways the heresies of egalitarianism and feminism have seeped into the church has been in our assumptions about what piety and repentance look like. Frequently, we have made feminine piety and feminine repentance the rule for what real piety and repentance are. And if a man or a boy doesn’t look like a woman or a girl while repenting, we tend to be doubtful. But when men and women put off the old man and put on the new man in Christ, they ought to do so as men and women, male and female. 

Of course repentance is fundamentally just complete humility before God and so we really shouldn’t overthink it. But for example, when a man humbles himself before God and repents, he begins taking responsibility for himself and others, which in some ways will make him more assertive than he was before. Humility doesn’t mean mousiness. When a woman humbles herself before God and repents, she begins caring more about true Christian beauty and hospitality than before. But of course, you might mistake the responsible assertiveness as pride in the man, and you might mistake the concern for beauty and hospitality as vanity in the woman. And of course it could be.

But for a husband who repents, putting on Christ will mean loving his wife more like Christ loves, which is truly sacrificial and efficacious, but isn’t necessarily doing whatever his wife prefers. Likewise, when a wife repents, putting on Christ means that she respects her husband, looks up to him, admires him, praises him, and maybe when it would appear to some close friends that not a lot has changed with him. 

But virtue and piety and repentance are not dependent on other people changing. Putting on Christ is something each individual does before God, as a man, as a woman and in so doing, you become what God created you to be: a man, a woman, male and female in His glorious image. There certainly are common elements to repentance: true hatred of sin, true sorrow over sin, real zeal for change and new obedience. But those realities will often look different in men and women, boys and girls. As God renews His image in us, He is not renewing a sexless, androgynous image. He is renewing something radically more feminine, more masculine than any of us can imagine. 

Photo by Ben White on Unsplash

Christian Nationalism & Chastened Kuyperianism

Introduction
The challenge with these things is naming, which includes actual definitions, plus connotations and denotations. If Christian Nationalism is the QAnon Shaman from January 6th, then no thanks, deal me out. But if Christian Nationalism is simply the idea that among our tasks as Christians is to disciple our nation, teaching it to obey everything that Jesus has commanded – what all Christians everywhere believed until about 15 minutes ago, then every Bible-believing Christian is a Christian Nationalist. 

But we need to recognize that our enemies are constantly trying to get us to slip and fall: either by backing into something that is unbiblical or else by backing away from obedience because of our fear of being associated with zealots that wear buffalo hats. So our task is to be obedient and faithful in both directions. We must not back into disobedience, and we must not back away from obedience, even if Simon the Zealot joins our church, and he has two gigantic Trump flags flying off the back of his F-350. 

Scottish Presbyterian John Buchan who served as a member of parliament for the Scottish universities and later as the Governor General of Canada wrote in the 1920s: “I believe as firmly as ever that a sane nationalism is necessary for all true peace and prosperity, but I am equally clear that an artificial nationalism which manifests itself in barren separatism and the manufacture of artificial difference makes for neither peace nor prosperity.” This establishes both the credibility of a “sane nationalism,” which we assume would necessarily be very Christian, as well as the possibility of an artificial nationalism that is utterly barren and belligerent.

Bible-believing Christians are behind the eight-ball, and we have our work cut out for us in this land. We are not likely to be in significant positions of power nationally any time soon, although we may have opportunities locally to work for the peace and prosperity of our local cities and counties (and perhaps some states). The first and primary question when it comes to this topic is simply whether Jesus is Lord of the public square. Does He in fact have all authority in Heaven and on earth? If so, that should be publicly affirmed in the public square, and it must not be an empty affirmation. It must mean that whatever Jesus says, we will do. This is nothing less than the Great Commission. To explain away this clear commission as only applying to individuals is simply disobedience. And regardless, what happens when the individual you’re discipling becomes a senator or president?

A Chastened Kuyperianism
Jesus says in the Great Commission that our task in addition to preaching and baptizing is teach every convert to obey everything He has commanded. I want to argue that this means that we must embrace what I would call a “chastened Kuyperianism.” Abraham Kuyper Dutch Reformed theologian and statesman of the 19th century famously asserted that there is not one square inch in all of creation over which the Lord Jesus does not cry, “Mine!” 

The problem is that some of Kuyper’s descendants (and maybe Kuyper himself to some extent) seem to have had a far too optimistic view of human nature and not enough of a biblical-cynicism (or theonomic backbone) to keep human hubris chained to the rock of God’s Word. Remember, the house that is built on the rock is built by the man who hears the Word of God and obeys; the house built on the sand is built by the man who hears the Word of God and does not obey (Mt. 7:24-29). These houses equally apply to nations, churches, and families. 

What Kuyper helpfully pushed forward is the notion of division of powers and sphere sovereignty. The founders of our nation had already established this in our civil government, and this was because they already had a strong notion of the other spheres (family and church). Since Jesus is Lord, all other human authority is derived and delegated power – all power is from the Lord Jesus. And therefore, the particular assignments Jesus gives are essential to obeying Him. Only Jesus has absolute authority. All other authority and power is limited by Him. 

While we grant that there will be matters that fall on the line between jurisdictions, or where there are legitimately overlapping responsibilities, the Lordship of Jesus begins with centering our assignments in the clear instructions given by the Word of God. The explicit commands given to the three main governments are as follows: the church is tasked with the government of worship through the Word and Sacraments (Mt. 28:16-20); the civil magistrate is assigned the ministry of criminal justice through punishment of crimes (Rom. 13:1-5); and the family is assigned the ministry of health care decisions, mercy ministry, and education (Dt. 6, Eph. 5-6, 1 Tim. 5). This is a “chastened” Kuyperianism both because it insists on beginning with the explicit commands of Jesus and because it acknowledges that this cannot account for every need of human society and some matters will need to be figured out by “the light of nature and Christian prudence” as the Westminster confession says regarding worship. 

Theonomic Federalism
Theonomy simply means government by God’s law. Although some caricatures imagine that this must mean copying and pasting Deuteronomy into the local municipal code, everyone who favors some form of theonomy recognizes that the particular laws of the Old Testament code were applied to a particular culture and nation and must therefore be applied as principles or what the Westminster Confession calls the “general equity.” 

On the one hand, many theonomic types are more like engineers than pastors, seeming to imagine that if we only get the right laws, utopia will break out, while many among the current Christian Nationalist types seem to be too much like modern politicians than pastors. And the reason why I press the contrast between these and “pastors” is because it is the God-given task of pastors to disciple the nations by teaching them the whole Word of God for all of life. Far too many theonomy types are perfectionistic idealists and don’t understand the real life needs and challenges that face communities, but far too many Christian Nationalist types haven’t spent much time studying biblical law in detail to see what it has to teach modern civics. If we take biblical law seriously, we will arrive at something that will sound a lot more libertarian than many modern conservative statists think is possible, but if we take biblical law seriously it will have plenty of covenantal poison pills for true-blue libertarians who are often just as perfectionistic and idealistic in their own ways. So the church must return to teaching, preaching, and declaring the whole counsel of God (Genesis-Revelation): All of Christ for all of life. No problem passages. No apologies. Obedience to all of the commands of Christ, with the full authority of Christ. 

Conclusion: Self-Government & Self-Control
Often, the missing element in all our theorizing and theologizing is the foundation of all the governments: self-government or self-control. Part of what often paralyzes Christians with fear and despair is the feeling that nothing can be done. What can ordinary people with ordinary jobs and ordinary families do? But the answer is here: Obey your King. Is He the King of America? Is He King of the World? Than trust Him. Believe Him. Begin with you. Confess your sins to God and anyone you have wronged. Is Jesus Lord or not? Do you want your leaders to change? Do you want them to repent? Then show them how. Walk in repentance. 

The joy of the Lord is your strength. And the joy of the Lord flows principally from forgiven hearts and walking in the Light. But you cannot have the joy of the Lord and walk in the light with a backlog of sin and guilt (Ps. 32, 1 Jn. 1). When you are walking in sin, you are walking in the dark, and you can’t see clearly. You can’t see yourself, you can’t see the people around you, and you can’t see our world clearly. Jesus says you have a California Redwood lodged in your eye, and you’re swinging your chainsaw around at other people. First remove your own log. Confess your own sin. And this includes your bad attitudes about other peoples’ sin. If you’re fussing and fuming and angry; you can’t see clearly. Whether it’s your children or your spouse. 

Then in that joyful clarity, teach others the way (Ps. 51), beginning with those closest to you, in your family and church and business. And when God blesses those endeavors with growing joy and fellowship and productivity, and you get accused of being “Christian Nationalists” then just grin and shrug. If that’s “Christian Nationalism” then let’s have some more. 

Photo by Samuel Schroth on Unsplash

Self-Defense & Just War

Introduction
The most basic principle that lies at the foundation of just war and righteous self-defense is the image of God and the prohibition against the illicit destruction of that image. While there is a sense in which we may speak of the “sanctity of human life,” it is more properly the sanctity of God and His Word and His image that is to be held in high esteem. Therefore, with God’s permission, human life may be taken for the protection of human life and the righteous retribution for life that has already been unjustly taken. Failure to defend human life may therefore itself be a failure to honor the holiness of God, His Word, and His image. Our duty to God includes pursuing this justice. 

The Death Penalty
While God intimates the first death penalty in the Garden, threatened for Adam’s disobedience, the initial theological lesson is one of grace (Gen. 2:17, 3:21). Likewise, God spares Cain for his fratricide, but the blood of Abel cries out from the ground for justice (Gen. 4:10). When God destroyed the world with the flood, it was for the great wickedness and violence that had filled the earth, and it is therefore presented as a just death penalty (Gen. 6:11-13). Therefore, it does not seem like an accident at all that it is after the flood that we have the first explicit statement of the human duty of protecting human life and punishing those who take it unjustly: “Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man” (Gen. 9:6). The institution of capital punishment is therefore a societal-cultural commitment to self-defense and the protection of human life, and the wholesale abandonment of capital punishment is likewise a cultural abandonment of self-defense and the value of human life. Arguably, the same principle is the ethical foundation of the right and duty to personally defend our lives and families as well as for communities and nations to defend themselves, with lethal force if necessary. 

Castle Law & Proportionality
“If a thief be found breaking up, and be smitten that he die, there shall no blood be shed for him. If the sun be risen upon him, there shall be blood shed for him; for he should make full restitution; if he have nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft. If the theft be certainly found in his hand alive, whether it be ox, or ass, or sheep; he shall restore double” (Ex. 22:2-4). 

Here, God establishes several additional principles related to self-defense in particular and just war in general. In the case of a break-in, there is an ordinary presumption of guilt on the part of the trespasser and innocence on the part of the home owner. There is no blood guilt if the home owner defends himself and the trespasser is killed. However, the law adds that if the sun is risen, the home defender may be held liable for the blood shed of a thief, since justice demands restitution for theft not a death penalty. The principle is one of knowledge of intention; this is what is meant by the “sun be risen.” If the guy is loading a box of your power tools into the back of his truck, you may not shoot him dead. However, if it is unclear what his intentions are (“the sun is not risen”), and a home owner may reasonably fear for his safety and/or the safety of his family, there is no blood guilt, if the trespasser is killed or harmed. This principle is applied in Western law codes under the name “Castle Doctrine” and can apply to wherever people have a right to privacy and security and may reasonably fear for their safety.  The Fourth Amendment is our constitutional witness to this principle.

The other principle at work in this text is that of proportionality and restitution based on the lex talionis: “Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe” (Ex. 21:24-25). Lex talionis means law of reciprocity: what was intended to be done to you is done to the perpetrator: since he intended to deprive you of your table saw, he must return your table saw and be deprived of the same item or its equal value (double restitution). This principle is therefore one of proportionality: if some guy steals your table saw, you may not justly hunt him down and shoot him. If he knocks out your tooth, you may not take off his head. Therefore the lex talionis limits vengeance and blood feuds and restores an approximation of societal “balance” after a crime has been committed. This is symbolized in images of Lady Justice with scales in her hand. 

The Duty of Home-Defense
The duty of protecting human life is enshrined in the Sixth Commandment: “Thou shalt not kill.” The death penalty is mandatory for murder, and a possible maximum penalty for other crimes, including adultery, manstealing, sodomy, rape, and high-handed abuse of the elderly (Mal. 2:16, Mk 7:10, Dt. 24:7, Rom. 1:32). Therefore, while not always required, we should understand those crimes as often approaching the same harm as murder and therefore may sometimes be justly defended against or punished with lethal force. However, even during the days of Moses, God was phasing out familial criminal punishment (e.g. Avenger of Blood) and establishing civil magistrates and judges to bear the sword, for example in the law that allows the death penalty for a rebellious son, a father may not take a criminal penalty into his own hands, but must together with his wife take the matter before the judges of the city (Dt. 21:19). 

Related, is the duty of a man to love his wife as himself and his own body (Eph. 5:28-29). Likewise, raising up children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord includes providing for them and keeping them safe (Eph. 6:4). A man who does not provide for and therefore protect his own household is worse than an unbeliever (1 Tim. 5:8). By extension, under certain circumstances, our duty to love our neighbors, may include our common defense of our neighbors and nation. 

Just War Theory
The criteria are often divided into two categories: jus ad bellum (“right to go to war”) and jus in bello (“right conduct in war”). While Aristotle considered this topic, Augustine is widely recognized as the first to give it serious thought, focusing primarily on the necessity of just cause and authorized magistrates. While individuals are the magistrates of their own home and familial safety, God has authorized civil magistrates to bear the sword of His wrath (Rom. 13:4, 1 Pet. 2:13-14). Thomas Aquinas came later adding a third principle of personal intention to promote good and avoid evil. Other criteria often included: war should be a last resort, the force/violence/cost ought to be commensurate to the threat/evil committed (principle of proportionality), the violence should avoid non-combatants, and some have added the necessity of some measure of hope for success. Finally, during the Reformation, the doctrine of the lesser magistrate was also developed, arguing that lower magistrates had not only a right but also a duty to defend the populace from tyrannical and abusive higher powers. 

Conclusion: A Couple of Common Objections

What about Jesus’ teaching about turning the other cheek?
Christ’s teaching must be held together with all of Scripture. Jesus also teaches that we must hate our families to be His disciple (Lk. 14:26). When the soldiers asked John what they must do, they were not prohibited from continuing their military duties (Lk. 3:14). Putting these passages together, it has widely been concluded that Jesus is talking about our personal dispositions (no hatred, bitterness against even enemies and honestly wanting their good) and wise/prudent action when we are in positions of weakness willing to suffer but not prohibiting self-defense, just punishment by authorized magistrates, or just war. Parents may not take personal offense at their children, but this doesn’t prohibit judicious corporal punishment. Romans 12 prohibits Christians from taking vengeance into their own hands and requires personal charity, and then Romans 13 immediately explains that magistrates are God’s ministers of wrath. Likewise, Hebrews 11 describes those who “by faith… subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness… waxed valiant in fight… and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance… had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings… were stoned… slain with the sword.”

What about the whole sale destruction of cities in Canaan?
The Bible teaches that God commanded the entire destruction of cities in Canaan for their hard-hearted wickedness and evil (Gen. 15:16). However, the Old Testament teaches that God does not destroy the righteous with the wicked (Gen. 18:23-32). And even in Canaan, Rahab and her family escaped the destruction of Jericho, and Achan was utterly destroyed for acting like a Canaanite (Josh. 6-7). This indicates that the utter destruction of certain cities was on entirely moral and ethical grounds, and therefore it was not ethnic genocide but supernatural just punishment. Joshua says that none of the nations that were utterly destroyed were interested in peace but their hearts were hardened like Pharaoh’s so that their destruction was thoroughly just (Josh. 11:20). And even in the conquest God made a distinction between the cities of utter destruction and ordinary just war (Dt. 20:10-18).

Photo by Joel Moysuh on Unsplash

Punching Partiality

Introduction
A number of folks on the right are waking up to the way much of our American system has been rigged at least since World War 2 and in various ways prior to that. And basically it has been rigged by a pile of disingenuous refs and a rule book that is hard distinguish from “Calvin Ball.” Conservatives, and Christian conservatives in particular, have long assumed that we were all playing by what used to be known as “rules.” You know equal weights and measures and that sort of thing, where the same standard applies to everybody. Turns out the Left was happy to pretend that and let us think that, but in reality, they only cared about the rules when it condemned the right and when some darling on the Left broke the rules, there was always some excuse, some explanation, and why are you being so judgmental, you bigot. And since it was believed that “being judgmental” was against one of the rules, the Right has generally tended to slink back into their corner, tail between their legs, feeling a bit sheepish. And the Leftists have generally carried themselves with such prodigious moral indignation, this has gone a long way toward covering up the fact that under those sanctimonious skirts is a foul, hypocritical rot.

But a number of folks on the squishy right have essentially bought the narrative that the Right really is cranky, judgmental, and divisive, and while the Left has their issues, they are elites, the gatekeepers, and the aristocracy, and therefore if we want to “engage” with our culture, they say, you have to cozy up to the Left. They may not always be right, but you have to (what did the apostle say?) become all things to all men in order to win some to Christ. And so the Russell Moores of the world express their deep appreciation for various Lefty causes that, if you squint, you might be able to get them to look vaguely like something you can find in the Bible (also, if you’re squinting and not looking too closely). Meanwhile, in order to really win their confidence and approval, these same squishy so-called conservatives believe they must also signal their disdain for the masses of benighted fundamentalists with their guns and Bibles and obsession with Donald Trump. So the modus operandi has been “coddle left; punch right,” “comfort left; kick down the stairs right,” “wash the feet of the left; throw into the path of a speeding train right.” And this has also included cancelling speakers, doxxing certain figures, and exerting pressure not to read, share, or endorse the writings of whoever-must-not-be-named.

No Enemies to the What?
Now a bunch of true blue conservatives have had it up to here with these games, and a bunch of them have determined to have “no enemies to the right” (NETTR) and have taken oaths to only punch left and never punch right. But if you’re paying attention at home, you should recognize this motto as a sort of inversion of exactly what the Left has been doing to us over the last 75 years. Turns out, they’ve been playing Calvin Ball with the unspoken rule of “no enemies to the left” (NETTL). Now, I have no problem with conservative shrewdness, choosing battles wisely, and I don’t even have any problem with tricking our enemies into doing what it is right.

But if the problem is partiality, putting your fingers on the scale for some folks, using a broken scale for others, then the answer is not another form of partiality. You can’t fight partiality with more partiality. That only encourages them. That is what Jesus would call returning evil for evil, cursing for cursing. And good guys do not have the option of using the evil tactics of bad guys as though we can do so and remain good guys. In a strange twist, it’s just another form of squishy conservatism, acting like leftists, only with more angst and foam. And it really doesn’t matter even if someone says that this is a temporary necessity in order to grow and consolidate “the movement,” and assuring you that they only do this with “bad guys” and people who don’t fight fair.

This was all addressed by God many centuries ago: “Thou shalt not raise a false report: put not thine hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness. Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil; neither shalt thou speak in a case to decline after man to wrest judgment: neither shalt thou countenance a poor man in his cause… thou shalt not wrest the judgment of the poor in his cause” (Ex. 23:1-3, 6).

It’s striking that these prohibitions all come together in this one place. Slander and spreading questionable reports are not acceptable whether the person is on the Left or the Right. Christians may not follow a multitude to do evil, not even if that particular “multitude” promises to overthrow the deep state. At the same time, Proverbs says not to grab a stray dog by the ear, and sometimes stray mobs may run by you on their way to burn down the FBI and you are not morally obligated to try to stop every stray rabid dog. But there’s a massive difference between getting out of the way and joining the mob. And when you get out of the way, you should be under no illusions that you are safe for very long. This is because rabid dogs are well trained in the DEI handbooks and are therefore equal opportunity attackers and because you have to realize that the deep state and all of its corrupt machinations *is* a mob in slow motion. The revolutionary fervor is like the two daughters of the horseleech, and they are never satisfied (Prov. 30:15).

Not Even For the Poor
But the other point worth making from Exodus 23 is the fact that immediately after that general prohibition against joining mobs to do evil, it specifically prohibits doing injustice on behalf of the poor. Conservatives have rightly decried socialistic and statist policies levered off the backs of the poor for decades. The Left has run this play so many times and has slowly but surely coerced America into the harsh shackles of a semi-welfare state, all in the name of helping the poor, the elderly, and minorities. And of course this has all resulted in the enslavement, mistreatment, and abuse of the poor, the elderly, and minorities. God established the government of the family as the central institution for caring for the health, welfare, and education of individuals and churches and private charities as the fallback safety net (Eph. 5-6, 1 Tim. 5). Civil government was never intended by God to provide for the poor and needy, apart from guaranteeing them the same principles of justice that apply to the rich and powerful. Civil magistrates deliver the poor and needy when they refuse to allow the rich and powerful to take advantage of them.

But now that we live in what Aaron Renn calls “negative world,” a world in which Christians and white evangelical Christians in particular are something of the hated, despised, poor, and minority class, the temptation is to “countenance a poor man in his cause.” And the Bible prohibits that. Of course Moses comes right back a couple verses later and insists that the poor man’s cause not be perverted. But this is what is called impartiality. Good people, God’s people, are required by God to be impartial. God hates unequal weights and measures. He hates all perversion of justice, whether the perversion that favors the poor white evangelicals and gives them a pass because they’re poor white evangelicals or the perversion that despises the poor white evangelicals because they’re poor white evangelicals. And participating in either form of perversion is just joining the socialistic statists.

No Respect for Persons
Elsewhere Moses puts it like this: “Ye shall not respect persons in judgment; but ye shall hear the small as well as the great; ye shall not be afraid of the face of man; for the judgment is God’s” (Dt. 1:17). The temptation is often to prefer the “great,” but when the great are in power and oppressing the “small,” it is the temptation of the “small” to prefer whoever else they perceive as being “small” like them. The temptation in other words is to have “no enemies below” or an unjust commitment to never “punching down.” But justice means not respecting persons in judgment. Justice means punching all partiality. And I’m happy to make a distinction here between natural affections, knee-jerk loyalties, and friends on the one hand, and our natural enemies, opponents, and adversaries on the other. But those natural loyalties may not be the basis for our dealings in the public square as we fight for true biblical justice. Again, this is something that God specifically prohibits: “If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, which is as thine own soul, entice thee secretly, saying, let us go and serve other gods, which thou hast not known, thou, nor thy fathers… thou shalt not consent unto him, nor hearken unto him; neither shall thine eye pity him, neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal him” (Dt. 13:6, 8, see also Dt. 19:15-21).

Notice that litany of prohibitions: you shall not consent, you shall not listen, you shall not pity, you shall not spare, and you shall not conceal. Now wisdom certainly requires us to understand the difference between the multitude of sins that Christian love covers routinely (nickel and dime infelicities) and the kinds of sins that must be addressed (deep seated hatred, deception, theft, infidelity).

Conclusion
None of this is meant as playing anything remotely coy about what we are aiming for. We want a Christian Republic that publicly acknowledges Jesus as Lord. We want His law clearly reflected in the laws of our land. It is a great blessing when Godly Christian men are in power. But if we want true justice in the public square and in the laws of our land, we must be men of integrity now. We must be like David whose conscience smote him when he cut the edge of the wicked king’s robe. No doubt there were some sons of Belial gathered at the cave of Adullam who thought David was just trying to cozy up to the king, appease the elites, and maneuver his way back into the good graces of the palace. But David cared about true justice, and he knew that it was possible for him to turn into a Saul if he was not determined to play by God’s rules.

If Jesus is Lord, and we are seeking to honor Him as a nation, then we must honor Him now and we must honor Him in how we take this nation back. Jesus was no respecter of persons, and He is still no respecter of persons. And all the governments are upon His shoulders. He is establishing true justice in the world, and you cannot win if you find yourself fighting against Him, even if you’re on the right. This is because the judgment is God’s.

Photo by GR Stocks on Unsplash

Faith Abounding in Thanksgiving

Why have Reformed churches been so weak and impotent over the last hundred years or so? With some striking exceptions, the Reformed and Presbyterian churches have repeatedly capitulated to the cultural winds, from feminism to no-fault divorce to the sexual revolution, how do Reformed churches so often end up ordaining women and flying rainbow flags? 

One of the central reasons has been a failure to apply God’s Word to specific issues in our churches and in our culture. Reformed pastors and teachers have failed to do this out of fear and cowardice: once you start applying God’s Word, you run the risk of offending people and getting in trouble, like in the book of Acts. But that kind of fear demonstrates a failure of nerve, or a failure of faith. And so the question is: what is it about our faith that has been lacking?

It’s striking that Jesus repeatedly points to young children as the models for the kind of faith His people need. Unless you become like a little child, Jesus said, you cannot enter the Kingdom. While it is certainly not true for all, many in the Reformed churches have effectively said the exact opposite: unless you become grown up and mature, you cannot come to the Lord’s Table. 

And the defense for this reluctance to welcome young children is fear that they might not believe, fear that they might not really understand, but Jesus says that they understand better than many adults. I suspect that this same fear and doubt is why many Reformed types are reluctant to apply God’s Word to all of life. What if it doesn’t work out? What if we’re wrong?

But God promises to be our God and the God of our children after us. And faith means simply saying, “thank you.” In Colossians 2:7, Paul warns against being tricked by enticing words (think of feminism or Marxism), and says that instead we must be rooted and built up in Christ, established in the faith, abounding in thanksgiving.

And so this is the charge, come with believing faith: which is to say, come with faith abounding with thanksgiving for the way God promises to work in the details of your life: your kids, your family, this world. And so come and welcome to Jesus Christ.

Photo by Jonathan Borba on Unsplash

In Which Joel McDurmon and a Bunch of Reformed Dudes Defend Slavery

Introduction
Well this certainly feels a bit awkward. Usually, it’s the Moscow crew that’s being accused of defending slavery, but now the shoe seems to be on the other NAPARC foot. Here I am arguing against slavery just like we always have here in Moscow.

On Friday, I tweeted “A “Reformed” ministry that is not regularly preaching against the bloated idolatry of the state, the self-deification of government programs, welfare, and redistribution of wealth — the pagan shrine of our day — that ministry is not Reformed in any meaningful sense of the word.” 

Among many distraught replies, was a thread from Joel McDurmon, quoting approvingly one “Ann” who lamented my tweet thusly: “This absolutely frustrates me because SOOOO MANY in his “camp” receive “welfare” that is obtained through wealth redistribution. I have posted before about being shocked to learn so many in the MAGA crowd, the CREC crowd, so so so many families with stay at home moms and 4+ children are getting government funded healthcare for their children, WIC, food stamps etc…”

McDurmon polished his PhD for a dozen tweets or so in order to clear his throat and point out that in his vast reading of Reformed pastors, very few of their sermons have been taken up with government welfare policies. To which I would simply say that is utterly and entirely beside the point. I doubt one can find many references to iPhones either. The center of “Reformed” theology is the Lordship of Jesus Christ mediated through the supremacy of His Word. Many glorious truths were recovered during the Protestant Reformation, but the central, driving engine for the whole project was the unleashing of the Word of God into every area of life setting men free. In those days, the Great Slaver of Babylon was the Roman Catholic Church, buying and selling the souls men at her pagan shrine of the Mass.  

Jesus & the Idols
The central proclamation of the gospel is Jesus is Lord, which is a slightly shortened version of Jesus is Lord of lords and King of kings. And of course someone out there in my replies (maybe with a PhD) will point out that the Bible does not say anything about Supreme Court justices, Presidents, Prime Ministers, or Attorney Generals. To which, I will smile serenely and carry on like a happy mallard on a placid pond. To say that Jesus is Lord is to say that “all authority in heaven and on earth” has been given to Him. Someone else in my replies will no doubt pop up to say that they’re going to need a citation for that tenuous claim and someone else will arrive breathlessly to say that the Bible says that “nowhere.” Many such puffs of brilliance have appeared in my replies over the last few days. But my primary concern is with those within the Reformed Tradition who want to preach a “gospel” that does not collide with any idols, at least not any idols that exist in our day, not any idols that the idols themselves haven’t given us permission to object to, and certainly not any idols that have any physical manifestation in our world. Perhaps the bravest of my detractors will occasionally stand for a tentative objection to some shadowy idol in somebody’s heart (somewhere), but always phrased with qualifiers like “maybe” or “perhaps” or “consider.”

But Jesus Christ died and rose again in order to set the captives free. The center of that freedom is the forgiveness of sins, the gift of a new heart of flesh (regeneration), and the gift of the Holy Spirit. And for the three Reformed OPC Bros who are about to accuse me of the “Federal Vision” boogey-man: these gifts are irrevocable, are entirely grace (having nothing to do with our works whatsoever) and are not tied to the moment of baptism. But the point is that when this new life comes into existence it immediately collides with the works of the flesh, the machinations of the world, and all the tyranny of the devil. And what are the works of the flesh, the machinations of the world, and the tyranny of the devil? I’m glad you asked. It looks like sin – every want of conformity to the law of God: lack of conformity in sexual ethics, economic ethics, political ethics, theological ethics, and everything in between. “Jesus Christ is Lord” means war with every humanistic impulse: from the toddler’s pitched fit in the Walmart toy aisle to the gyrating drag queen in Dodger Stadium to the concupiscent politician crushing the faces of the poor through confiscatory taxation and so-called welfare programs to the angry ruling elder gnashing his teeth on the social media formerly known as Twitter. 

Jesus said that He came in order to bind the Strong Man and plunder his house. It is not “off the point” when the gospel collides with idols. It is not “off point” when the resurrection of Jesus Christ collides with false gospels. The central most blasphemous idol in our land is the idol of the state, the false gospel that the government will save you, the government will provide for you. If “Reformed” means anything, it means the Lordship of Jesus Christ and the necessity of submission to His Word in every area of life. Unfortunately, many in the Reformed Tradition treat the doctrines of grace and the Lordship of Christ as museum pieces to be polished and kept behind glass. But if Reformed Theology is just the faithful systematic summary of the truth of God’s Word, then Reformed Theology is a sword, a weapon, a cannon for firing at all unbelief, every form of humanistic tyranny. The Reformed museum curators have been polishing the Canons of Dort for the last century or two, but it is high time we started firing those babies. But of course we have now come into a different captivity: the church and God’s people are held captive by a new Babylon, our Leviathan Welfare State, our modern anti-Christ. 

It’s certainly true that the 16th century Reformers teamed up with their magistrates to throw off the shackles of the Papist Ecclesiocracy. Where the Pope had become anti-Christ assuming totalitarian authority and power over the lives of Christians, the Reformers defied both the theological as well as the social and political claims of that beast. And they often did so by urging civil magistrates to assert their God-given authority. At various points, the earliest Reformers over-corrected, which is completely understandable when you’re in a pitched battle. Yes, I’m fully aware that you can supply me with quotations from Luther and probably Calvin that invite the magistrates to do things the Bible does not actually invite them to do. This is partly because the Protestant churches and families and magistrates needed to team up against the Papal beast (all three were being crushed), and this is partly because Reformation is messy and it often takes time to untangle jurisdictions. I certainly wish they had built some stronger firewalls at various points. But our Puritan forefathers developed the separation of powers and jurisdictions even further in Great Britain, and by the time of the founding of America, the jurisdictions of family, church, and state were far more clarified. 

A Few Representative Objections
Objection #1: The Bible has no conception of the modern welfare state. Ha. It also has no conception of race-based chattel slavery. So what are we going to do? I would insist that if we can find the biblical grounds for abolishing the latter (which we can), we most certainly have the biblical grounds for abolishing the former. 

Objection #2: This is hatred of the poor. No, it is not hatred to preach freedom to the slaves. It is not hatred to see the manifest malfeasance and incompetence of the DMV caring for our elderly, orphans, and widows. If the C0v1d clownery taught us anything it’s that government bureaucracy can only be trusted to lock our grandparents in their rooms until they’re dead. Closely related, I certainly do want to lay a large portion of responsibility for this state of affairs at the feet of families and churches. The church has not preached the whole counsel of God on these topics, and families have abdicated their responsibility to provide for themselves. To Ann’s point above, anybody advocating for large families and expecting them to be supported by the welfare state is just a socialist shill.

Objection #3: There is nothing about welfare in the Bible. Again, I say ha. The Bible teaches that a man who does not provide for his own family is worse than an unbeliever (1 Tim. 5). And that is in the context of the church considering the possibility of caring for widows. The first line of defense is the family, and the church is the backup (see also Acts 6). Likewise, Jesus cites the Old Testament death penalty when confronting the Jews for how they had arranged their building fund campaigns to displace the ordinary care of children for their aging parents (Mk. 7). The particular culprit is the “traditions of men” that subvert the Word of God. By that same principle, our modern traditions of Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, welfare, and food stamps have done the same thing. And Jesus calls this a murderous path of disobedience. Again, see Covid nursing homes for Exhibit A.

Objection #4: But if you abolish welfare slavery, the slaves will be homeless and starve. First off, I’m not sure you want to defend slavery like that, but second, I’m not advocating a revolutionary abolition of welfare slavery overnight. I’m advocating that government slaves work for their freedom by taking responsibility for their own families, by working hard, and gradually gaining as much freedom as they can. Many Christians are banding together to help pay one another’s medical bills through healthcare sharing programs and some doctors and surgery centers are beginning to opt out of the insurance pyramid scams in order to provide direct primary care at an enormous cost savings, all part of the great welfare prison break. And in some situations, the Egyptian insurance plan will be your only recourse, but that doesn’t mean you should want to stay in Egypt (or go back). Families caring for their own parents and relatives, with occasional church assistance as needed, is obedience to God and the foundation of true Christian love and liberty. 

Conclusion: The Regulative Principle of Power
One of the great restorations of the 16th century Protestant Reformation was the Regulative Principle of Worship, the crucial biblical principle that we are only to worship God in those ways prescribed by His Word. While there are certain narrow readings of that principle that I differ with, the principle is entirely correct. Worship should be according to God’s Word.

And we are in dire need of a new magisterial reformation in which the same principle is embraced with regard to all earthly power and authority. If Jesus Christ is Lord of all lords, if all authority and power belongs to Him, then all earthly authority is limited by the Lord Jesus Christ. No earthly power has unlimited authority. That impulse to unlimited earthly authority certainly is anti-Christ, denying that Christ has come and therefore that Christ is Lord. Only Jesus Christ has all authority. This means that all earthly authority is delegated by Jesus Christ – all power is from God. Therefore, every human authority must understand exactly what authority has been delegated to him. To say that you have authority to do “whatever you think is best” as a pastor, a husband or father, or magistrate is to already be on the slippery slope of imperial monstrosity, the certain path of blasphemous self-deification and slavery, even if you do it in the name of conservative or Christian values. 

In one of my replies, I pointed out that in the Bible, political power is often pictured as a monster full of fangs and horns. Pharaoh is pictured as a sea dragon that God holds by the tail and wields like a rod (pictured by Moses’ staff). And the kingdoms of Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome are likewise sketched as beasts that rise out of the sea of the nations full of horns and teeth (see the book of Daniel). And of course John sees the same imagery in Revelation. While there are some glorious images of righteous civil rule (see Psalm 72), the humane rule of civil government quickly turns to beastly madness with the flick of humanistic hubris and pride (see Nebuchadnezzar). The righteous duty of civil magistrates is to wield the sword of justice, punishing evil doers, and thereby protecting and delivering the weak and the poor from their “benevolent” slavers. 

When civil power is limited by God’s Word, it wields that sword of justice in righteousness, but when that power begins to be abused, usually in the name of “compassion” and “prudence” and the “general welfare,” the beast is beginning to emerge. All human power must be chained to the Word of God. This is the regulative principle of power. The Bible teaches that our submission to legitimate authority is only “in Christ,” and that means in obedience to Christ. But where authorities defy the Word of God, Christians must obey God rather than man because Jesus is risen from the dead (Acts 5:29). Every inch we get away from God’s Word, the more enslaved and less free we become; but the opposite is also true: every inch we can further embrace and apply God’s Word, the more free and less enslaved we become.

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Elder Home Visits

The King’s Cross elders and deacons met yesterday for our annual vision meeting. This is an annual opportunity to review the previous year and make bigger picture plans for the coming years. One of the significant items to be thankful for is how many more of you there are this year, about 140 new members since this time last year, including 66 baptisms. And with that, God has raised up 5 new elders, 2 new deacons, as well as 2 new deacons in training. God is very good. 

Related to that, one of the things we discussed yesterday was how we can continue growing in our elder care for you. As you hopefully know, when you become a member of King’s Cross, you are assigned an elder. You’re always welcome to talk to any of the elders or pastors about anything, but this is our way of making sure that at least one elder is keeping an eye out for you and occasionally checking in. The King’s Cross elders meet every Monday afternoon, and once a month one of the elders gives a short report on the folks on his list. With 8 parish elders, we get through the lists about 1.5 times per year. Elders have historically reached out via email, phone call, or offered to take folks out to lunch or coffee, or sometimes schedule a visit in your home. 

The elders specifically asked me to give you all a heads up that you should be expecting more requests for home visits. Some of you come from backgrounds where this has never happened, and if an elder reaches out to schedule a visit in your home, you don’t need to panic as if you’re trouble (unless you are). Others of you come from traditions where you might be used to a pretty regimented schedule of elder visits, perhaps with your name even printed in the bulletin for that week’s elder visit with everyone praying for you. We’re definitely aiming for something less rigid, but we really do believe that it will help us know you better and pray for you and shepherd you better. So be on the look out for that. And lastly, if you think you might have fallen through the cracks and can’t remember if an elder has ever reached out, please send up a flare. 

A Taste of Sovereign Grace

One of the most precious Christian doctrines is the doctrine of election or predestination. It is sometimes mocked and rejected, even by Christians, but the mysterious glory is that before the foundation of the world, God chose from Adam’s impudent, rebellious race a fixed but vast multitude to save. There was nothing in us that made us worthy of His grace, nothing in us that made us even likeable. It was not even foreseeing what we might be or what we might do if He saved us, as though He picked the people who respond best to His grace. No, it was sheer grace, pure kindness and mercy, in order to display the riches of his glory and mercy. He chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world, and the way we know we are among the elect and chosen is because when Christ is proclaimed we love Him, when the Cross and resurrection are declared, it fires our hearts, and when this doctrine is preached, it makes us fall down in worship and repentance. We were not worthy. We are not worthy. And so we rejoice with trembling.

But this doctrine doesn’t stop there. This doctrine of election and predestination means that God not only chose us, but He chose us to be conformed to the image of His Son throughout the course of our lives and to finally be glorified with Christ Jesus forever and ever. This means absolutely nothing can separate us from His love. This election is written in the granite of God’s eternal counsel and might. And this election was forever confirmed in the nails that were driven through the hands and feet of our Lord. Nothing can stop His purpose and plan: not your sin, not Satan, not demons, not political madness, not heresy, nothing at all. Everything in this world, everything in our lives must serve God’s purpose. The doctrine of election means that the children of God are utterly safe in His hands. Nothing can touch us without His will, and everything that touches us must serve His purpose to display His glorious grace and bring us to glory. And this meal proclaims that sovereign grace. 

So come and welcome to Jesus Christ.

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Living in Tumultuous Times

In God’s providence we live in tumultuous times. We are some of the most blessed human beings who have ever lived, with the technologies and conveniences and wealth we enjoy. And we live in corrupt and degenerate times. As Cotton Mather once said, “Religion begot prosperity, and the daughter devoured the mother.” God warned Israel of this very thing in Deuteronomy, saying that their great temptation with all of God’s blessings would be to forget God and think they had gotten all their prosperity themselves. And the greater the blessing, the greater the disaster when a people forget God. 

And we live in those calamitous times. The madness that we are seeing around us is no accident at all. When you sow the wind, you always reap the whirlwind. We’ve already seen the opening convulsions in 2020, politically, economically, culturally, and 2024 is shaping up to be another rodeo. How should Christians think about this? How should we prepare?

First, remember that human beings are the most precious created resource. Think of preparing for tumultuous times like a Christian. Which means get your heart clean before God first. You will be in no position to be helpful if the wheels come off if your heart is clogged up with all kinds of lusts and bitterness. If you want to see clearly to know what to do, get rid of the logs in your eyes. Then make sure you’re in fellowship with as many people around you as possible, beginning with the people you live with. Confess your sins, get rid of your grudges, forgive freely. 

Finally, one of the great lessons of the Old Testament is that God is just, and He does not destroy the righteous with the wicked. He would not have destroyed Sodom if there had been 10 righteous, and he still delivered Lot and later He delivered Rahab and her family from Jericho. God’s judgments fall with laser precision. When there was nothing but darkness in Egypt, there was light in Goshen; when the angel of death passed over, there was blood over the doorposts of those who believed. So do not fear the judgments of God. He is Your Father. He counts every hair on your head. Remain faithful at your stations, serving your people, trusting your God. 

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The Pride of Women & Cowardice of Men

Biblical Sexuality Sunday 2024
Ezek. 23:31-49

Prayer: Most Holy God, we tremble before You because we know that our land is under Your just judgment. We have defied You and Your Word. And our nations deserve to be utterly destroyed. But we know that in Your wrath, You remember mercy. So as we gather before Your Word now, we plead on behalf of our nations the blood of Jesus Christ the righteous, and we ask You to remember Your mercy and grant us thorough repentance for our great sins through this particular Word. And we are bold to ask for this because we ask for it in the name of the King of the Universe, the Lord Jesus Christ, and Amen.   

Introduction
In January 2022, the Canadian government enacted Bill C-4, effectively criminalizing Christian preaching, teaching, and counseling that upholds Biblical morality for human sexuality. Many pastors in Canada have determined to preach messages annually until the law is repealed and have invited American pastors to join them in proclaiming God’s truth about sexual sin and the gospel of grace. 

The Bible teaches that when God judges a people, it often comes as a kind of suicidal sexual madness. Apart from God there is only sorrow and destruction, but sometimes when people defy God for a while, He turns them over to their degrading demands. Ezekiel describes the fruit of this “sexual liberation” as self-mutilation, murder of children, and complete destruction. 

The Text: “Thus saith the Lord God; thou shalt drink of thy sister’s cup of astonishment and desolation, with the cup of thy sister Samaria…” (Ez. 23:32-49).

Summary of the Text
God calls the northern kingdom of Israel (Samaria) and the southern kingdom of Judah “harlots” (Ez. 23:3) whom He names “Aholah” and “Aholibah” (Ez. 23:4, 36), which mean “her tabernacle” and “my tabernacle in her.” Samaria had built her own sanctuaries in Dan and Bethel with golden calves (1 Kgs. 12:28-29), imported from her adultery with Egypt (Ez. 23:8), and God delivered her into the hands of her Assyrian lovers (Ez. 23:9-10). But God says that Judah (Aholibah) was even worse, lusting after the Assyrians and the Babylonians (Ez. 23:11-31). 

So God declares that Judah will drink the same cup of judgment as her harlot sister (Ez. 23:32-33). The effect of God’s judgment will be a kind of violent, drunken madness that will result in them breaking the cup into pieces and cutting off their own breasts (Ez. 23:34-35). This madness also included murdering their own children in service to their idols, even while continuing to pretend Sabbath keeping and worship (Ez. 23:36-39). And even while these judgments were falling, Judah had the audacity to put on her makeup and get dolled up for additional rounds with other lovers (Ez. 23:40-44). God says that the just penalty for this kind of high-handed adultery is death so that all women may be taught not to act with such lewdness (Ez. 23:45-49).    

The Fruit of Feminism
While God is certainly using symbolic language to condemn the idolatry of His people, the conclusion is not at all symbolic: “Thus will I cause lewdness to cease out of the land, that all women may be taught not to do after your lewdness” (Ez. 23:48). While men were responsible for and contributed significantly to the idolatry of Israel and Judah, women played a significant role. There is perhaps a foreshadowing of this in the harlots who came before Solomon, fighting over a baby (1 Kgs. 3:16ff), but of course Solomon went after many women who turned his heart away from the Lord to other gods (1 Kgs. 11:1ff). Ahab married Jezebel who imported Baal worship into Samaria (1 Kgs. 16:31ff). By the time of Josiah’s reformation, the houses of the sodomites were “where the women wove hangings for the grove” (2 Kgs. 23:7). And there were many wicked mothers in Israel (1 Kgs. 15, 21:1, 19, 23:31, 36, 24:8, 18, 2 Chron. 24:7). 

Feminism is no new heresy. It began in the Garden of Eden when Eve ignored God’s clear word and led her husband into temptation. And the fruit of feminism is elective mastectomies and abortion (Ez. 23:34, 37). Feminism always destroys women, children, families, and nations.

Handed Over To Our Idols
Ezekiel says that God gives wicked people over to this judgement. He causes them to drink this cup of madness (Ez. 23-32-34). We see this also in Proverbs with the sin of adultery: “The mouth of strange women is a deep pit: he that is abhorred of the LORD shall fall therein” (Prov. 22:14). When God is angry with a man, he lets him fall into the pit of significant sexual sin. Likewise, Romans 1 says that God gives people over to uncleanness and lusts to dishonor their own bodies with one another in sexual perversion because of their idolatry (Rom. 1:24-27). In other words, pervasive sexual perversion is a sign that a people are serving other gods, and the perversion is the judgment. If we are to repent of our sexual sins, we must repent of our idols. And what are those idols? They often incarnate in images of wealth and power, but they can often be boiled down to two fundamental sins: the pride of women and the cowardice of men. 

Scripture says that Adam was not deceived in the garden, but the woman was deceived (1 Tim. 2:14), and this is one of the reasons given for why a woman may not have authority over a man in the church and be an elder or preacher (1 Tim. 2:9-14). What is it that causes a woman to dress immodestly, to try to use her body to manipulate men, or to usurp true masculine authority? It is the blindness and deception of pride – often pride in beauty, power, or smarts, verbal prowess. 

But if Adam was not deceived, then why did he accept his wife’s offer? The most likely answer is that he despaired. Instead of fighting the dragon for his wife, instead of offering to die for his wife, he chose the cowardly path. Husbands and fathers who do not protect their wives and daughters continue in the same path of cowardice as Adam. We live in a nation overrun by male fear of female sin. But we ought to take a lesson from King Asa whose own mother made an idol, and Asa removed her from being queen and destroyed her idol (2 Chron. 15:16).

Applications
Jesus said He came for prostitutes and tax collectors. He did not come for those who think there is still time to fix things, time to make some minor adjustments. He came for the blind who knew they had no hope of receiving their sight. He came for sinners who know they deserve the full wrath of God (Rom. 6:23). He came for those who know that pride and cowardice are destroying them. 

Think of your idols of pride and cowardice like a lethal poison you’ve already swallowed. God’s judgement is a cup: “Thus saith the Lord God; thou shalt drink of thy sister’s cup deep and large: thou shalt be laughed to scorn and had in derision; it containeth much. Thou shalt be filled with drunkenness and sorrow, with the cup of astonishment and desolation” (Ez. 23:32-33). 

Our families, our churches, our nations are full of drunkenness and sorrow. The corpses of our babies make the Nazi’s look tame. And now we have young boys being given puberty blockers and girls mastectomies. And all of this is come upon us because of our sins, and our sins are a lethal poison working death in us. 

When a culture gets to this point there is no going back. There is no political solution. There is no structural solution. We have driven the train off the tracks and into the canyon and we are in freefall. It is in this place of absolute inability and powerlessness that the announcement of the gospel comes. 

And as a minister of the Gospel, this is the announcement: Jesus Christ the Righteous drank the cup of God’s wrath for you. Either we will drink the cup or Christ already has. These are the only options: either you drink death or Christ does for you. The glorious news is that if you will surrender all your pride, all your cowardice before Him, if you will acknowledge that you deserve His judgment, you will find that He has already suffered for all of it in your place. And you are forgiven and set free to be the man or woman God created you to be.  

Prayer: Father and God, have mercy upon us. Wherever there is any of this sinful rot in us, deliver us. Set us free by the blood of Christ. Have mercy upon us, and have mercy upon our neighbors, our families, and our nations. We know that there is no human hope, but Christ is no mere man. And so we hope in Him and trust in Him. And we pray to You as He taught us to pray, singing… 

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