 The Southern Baptist Convention starts on Tuesday, June 11. Robb and I plan on going to Indianapolis for a couple of days to get our latest taste of what life is like in the SBC. We’re looking forward to reporting what we experience.
But by now you may have seen the headlines in places like WTHR or even in the Shelbyville News that the SBC plans on banning women pastors. There is absolutely no truth to that whatsoever. Why? Because the SBC already does ban women pastors. The headlines are just some spin. What’s going on is that there are churches wanting to say that “pastor” is a spiritual gift and not an office of the church, which is patently false. Yes, Christ gives pastors and teachers as gifts to the church, but “pastor” is not a spiritual gift. It is and has always been understood by the historic Christian church, in every tradition until the Enlightenment, as an office, along with the office of deacon. It’s just deceptive language used by some churches with the intent of effectively having women pastors without saying they have women pastors. This is an attempt to be reconciled to the spirit of the age rather than the truth. Now, there are some SBC churches who have ordained women to office of pastor in the past several years. But the SBC has removed those churches from their roster after a proper investigation, never based on hearsay. The SBC believes in church autonomy and liberty of conscience, as long as those matters do not stand in contradiction to Scripture or their confession. Those churches who are Baptist in governance and belief but still want to ordain women to the pastorate can do so, but they are in contradiction of the Baptist Faith and Message, the confession of the SBC, and as far as they’re concerned, Scripture, as well. Some are arguing that the SBC is just a missions organization and that there shouldn’t be any significant reasons for removing congregations. But that also is simply false. The SBC is a convention of churches for missions, yes, but also for pastoral education, church planting, etc. To say we only organize around missions is either naive or intentionally misleading. When we send missionaries, they have to be of one mind around what it means to be a Baptist. This is one reason that we (Mt. Pisgah) also adopted the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith. Baptists didn’t begin with the SBC. They go all the way back to the 17th century in Britain, and they were ardently confessional. To be a Baptist didn’t mean only that you cared about missions, although that was a significant part of it. To be Baptist was a whole identity, something that we are regaining a sense of. The short version is that there are good people, Baptists actually sticking to the Baptist Faith and Message, trying to make an amendment to their constitution that explicitly says women can never hold that office. It passed by almost 90% last year, and it has to pass again this year for it to be a change to the constitution. It’s already a part of the SBC confession (which is part 2 of Mt. Pisgah’s confession), but they’re trying to shore up the actual clear statements of practice and as many places as they can. Side note: There are also those who are now trying to add the Nicene Creed to the Baptist Faith and Message, something we already did! Are women being held back by this? Absolutely not. The apostle Paul always roots his arguments for having the pastorate held by men as qualified by Scripture in creation order, not mental capacity or competency. Qualified men as pastors is a sign pointing beyond itself. Let me tell you, having just gotten home from Fuge in Louisville on the campus of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary that there were some amazing women serving in every capacity. The camp director was a great women who was incredibly smart and compassionate. She held the whole camp together with great integrity. Besides, there were group leaders, both male and female, who any of us would be happy to trust with our own kids. But, the camp pastor was a male, clearly qualified by Scripture. His teaching was filled with redemptive-historical, typological, and theological fruit. He clearly showed how Daniel was a type of Christ, a man used by God to create an expectation of one who would enter into the earth, sealed by a rock, facing an enemy whose teeth posed no threat. Glory to God! This post isn’t about debating whether or not women can be pastors. The point of this post is to show you that there are bad actors who want to subvert the plain meaning of the Scriptures. And there are those who unwittingly play into their hands, like those who write articles who have no idea what their headlines actually mean. Each and every one of us needs to do the hard work of thinking critically about what we see and hear. Don’t be fooled, God is not mocked. And those who twist the Scriptures, those who twist the facts, will be held accountable.
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 Isaiah 8:11-13
For the Lord spoke thus to me with his strong hand upon me, and warned me not to walk in the way of this people, saying: “Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread. But the Lord of hosts, him you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. And he will become a sanctuary and a stone of offense and a rock of stumbling to both houses of Israel, a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And many shall stumble on it. They shall fall and be broken; they shall be snared and taken.” Did you guys know there is a solar eclipse happening in April? Of course you did, because people are making ridiculous predictions about it. Every instance of something supernatural happening in the Scriptures is by nature unpredictable. God sovereignly administered a supernatural event which either no one predicted or he spoke of through a prophet. And most importantly, not only does the supernatural event happen, but there is a revelatory explanation that goes along with it. By that I mean, for example, that when the sun stopped in the sky so the Israelites have more time in battle, the prophetic meaning of the event was given, as well (Joshua 10:12-15). It was not left up for interpretation. There are several passages that speak of signs in the sky, such as the sun and moon going dark and the heavens shaking. Before we make any claims about the end of the world, read those passages in context! They are plainly speaking of God's judgment on a specific place at a specific time. But some teachers or influencers think they sound smart or insightful when they rip passages from their context. These same people who claim they speak for God are more than happy to insert their own meanings into His word. Here are the passages where these things are mentioned. Ezekiel 32:7-8, God is judging Egypt, not America When I blot you out, I will cover the heavens and make their stars dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give its light. All the bright lights of heaven will I make dark over you, and put darkness on your land, declares the Lord God. Amos 8:9, God is judging Israel, not America “And on that day,” declares the Lord God, “I will make the sun go down at noon and darken the earth in broad daylight. Joel 2:10, God is judging Zion/Jerusalem, not America The earth quakes before them; the heavens tremble. The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining. Joel 2:30-31, Peter says this was fulfilled (at least initially) at Pentecost, not April 8, 2024 “And I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. Joel 3:15, God is taunting the nations to come fight him while he protects Jerusalem The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining. Matthew 24:29-31 (Mark 13:24-27, Luke 21:25-28), Jesus has been describing the judgment on Jerusalem, which culminates with this. Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. What exactly does a natural event such as an eclipse have to do with God’s judgment? What do the cicadas have to do with God’s judgment? The locusts of Revelation are not Apache helicopters, and the fact that the eclipse will be visible in a town with a biblical name carries no revelatory significance. If a so-called teacher can explain the eclipse passing through Nineveh, Kentucky, then they are also responsible for explaining why it passes through Shelbyville, Indiana. Or might you think that they're only satisfied by cherry-picking biblical-sounding names that support their conspiracy? Might they be tickling ears? There are no prophets (at least, true prophets) with a new revelation about the meaning of the eclipse or migration habits of animals which are entirely predictable. Making non-existent connections is more dangerous than we might think at first. We must test the spirits. We must go to the law and the testimony, not our imaginations. Just because we want a connection does not mean there is one. It is dangerous. It is enough that God's Word tells us not to do so. Do not call conspiracy what the world calls conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear. I have heard of people not making plans after April 8 because of their fear that the world is ending. People that I know, people that you know, people that we both think are too sensible to do so. Scripture plainly tells us not to make such conspiratorial claims. Does Jesus not give us three teachings in Matthew 25 that are explicitly about the surprising nature of his return and the commencement of God's judgement? The parable of the 10 virgins teaches that the five wise virgins had their lamps full of oil so that when the groom arrived, they could go immediately to the wedding feast, leaving the five unwise virgins in darkness. The parable of the talents teaches us to use our time wisely because we do not know when our master will arrive back home. The third section is not exactly a parable, but it does teach us that we are to be faithful during the first and second comings of Christ, because it is actually Him that we are serving. Stop it. Stop the conspiracies. Honor the Lord as holy. One of the ongoing issues in the church is how the church relates to the state. Should the church set up a theocratic government like Israel, or not? Those who argue in favor of Christian states are often called “theonomists,” but they don’t always assume the title for themselves. That makes it difficult to know how to argue.
There are two sides of the issue: 1) If we’re to be considered elect exiles and are to be on the lookout for a better, heavenly country, and if Jesus is building the Israel of God (Galatians 6:16, which I take to be the church, though others do not) apart from any national borders and governments, does the progressive revelation of Scripture make it possible to call any nation a Christian nation? 2) But then, you have to ask yourself, why would Christians not lobby for godly legislation? Why would we not fight and preach against laws that permit abortion, euthanasia, human trafficking, etc.? Does the Bible not command us to preach righteousness, pray for the emperor, and call our contemporary Herods to repent like John the Baptist? All men and women have the law written on their hearts, and that we call natural law. Humans are moral creatures, even though we regularly depart from those morals. We have a divine command for human government from the covenant with Noah in Genesis 9. In addition to the call to be fruitful and multiply, God tells Noah, “[5] And for your lifeblood I will require a reckoning: from every beast I will require it and from man. From his fellow man I will require a reckoning for the life of man. [6] “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image.” Right here we have a call for justice. We have a call for human watch-care over other humans. “By man shall his blood be shed.” We need godly government that is dependent on divine revelation, not vengeance or vigilantism (no matter how much I want to be Batman). But that is not the same as a theocracy. That is yet to come. When Nineveh repented at the preaching of Jonah, the physical borders of Israel did not expand to include Assyria. We can affirm several things: Jesus Christ reconstituted Israel to include Gentiles; the Mosaic law was good and necessary; the church is the culmination of the covenant with Abraham, not the covenant made at Sinai under Moses; and ethnic Israelites will be ingrafted once more both during the church age and predominantly before the second coming. Wow, can you see how all these issues are interrelated?! One of the ways that Christians can love their neighbors is by fighting for the place of natural law in our legislation. Godly governments are made up of godly people. So, Christians can and should take part in politics. The Confession continues, It is lawful for Christians to accept and execute the office of a magistrate when called thereunto; in the management whereof, as they ought especially to maintain justice and peace, according to the wholesome laws of each kingdom and commonwealth, so for that end they may lawfully now, under the New Testament wage war upon just and necessary conditions. There have been Christian groups that did not permit their adherents to hold public office. One example is the Mennonites who formed in the 1500s. The Anabaptists (who were not the forerunners of the Baptists) also formed in the 1500s and went so far as to call government diabolical. If the covenant with Noah is still binding on all his offspring (Genesis 9:9), how can we call human government devilish? I am of the mind that some Christians are actually obligated to hold public office. The exiles from Judah living in Babylon in Jeremiah’s day were told to work for the welfare of the city, not abandon it and let Babylon run roughshod. Jeremiah 29:4-7 [4] “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: [5] Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. [6] Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. [7] But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.” Paul says that public servants are appointed by God (Romans 13:2), God’s servants (Romans 13:4), and God’s ministers (Romans 13:6). That does not mean we obey ungodly commands. Think of Daniel and him disobeying the king’s edict commanding idolatry. Speaking of Daniel, men like him and Joseph were used by God in mighty ways serving in civil, non-Israelite, quite unholy governments. Proverbs 14:34-35 says, “[34] Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people. [35] A servant who deals wisely has the king’s favor, but his wrath falls on one who acts shamefully.” God’s people must unequivocally fight for righteousness. But we do so, in one sense, from within the belly of the beast. That doesn’t mean there are never times to retreat or flee persecution if the opportunity avails itself, much in the same sense as Paul tells slaves to gain their freedom if they are able. But in principle, Christians should have no reservations about the Christian holding the office of a public servant. We didn’t get to touch on the issue of waging war, but that’s quite a heavy topic best suited for another day. Perhaps we will next time, as well as how the ordinary Christian citizen can pray for those holding public office, regardless of office holder’s spiritual state. The past few years have been a strain on the relationship between the citizenry and the state in many nations. Some citizens have interpreted the actions of their governments as overreach while others have waited with bated breath for the next federal dictate. This boundary-pushing exercise was felt acutely in the church. Can our federal overlords tell the church they cannot meet? Is there any authority overlap between the church and state? What is the nature of this relationship?
The Confession addresses this very issue, which is tied closely to the issue of religious liberty. In fact, religious liberty was a key tenet of early Baptist life. While the Anglican Church formed somewhat apart from the wider Reformation of the 1500’s and 1600’s, it did undergo a reformation of its own. There were those who sought to purify the Church of England from the remnants of Catholicism who were later known as Puritans. Out of this group formed a few others. One such group saw that there was no biblical support for a state-sanctioned and state-supported church. They believed that only the presence of the Holy Spirit made one a Christian, not the government. What business does a civil government have in ordering the church? All of these issues and more were deeply interrelated. This group could agree on the freedom of the church to operate according to biblical commands apart from state intervention, but they disagreed on other matters. The Congregationalists continued the practice of infant baptism, and the Baptists reintroduced the practice of believer’s baptism. In this regard, it is not difficult to argue that the Baptists carried this conviction to its logical conclusion. The Second London Baptist Confession is a baptized version of the Westminster Confession of Faith, which is of Presbyterian heritage. In the Westminster Confession, there is a paragraph under this chapter that calls upon the magistrates and governments to exercise their power to preserve the order and discipline of the church. That paragraph is conspicuously absent from the Second London. This conviction gave rise to the 24th chapter of the Confession, Of the Civil Magistrate. It begins: God, the supreme Lord and King of all the world, hath ordained civil magistrates to be under Him, over the people, for His own glory and the public good; and to this end hath armed them with the power of the sword, for defense and encouragement of them that do good, and for the punishment of evildoers. This first paragraph is nothing more than a mediation on Romans 13. Verse 1 is a masterclass on declaring two things to be true at once. “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.” Yes, we are, by divine providence, under the authority of our governments. Also, those governments are under the authority of God. Local, state, and national governments’ authority is not to go unquestioned. Their authority is derived from God’s sovereign authority. This chapter begins by outlining the nature of God. He is the sovereign of all creation, full stop. Any lesser authorities proceed from his ultimate authority. While the Confession does not advocate any particular form of government, it does assert that governmental authority is not the product of majority rule or the consent of the governed. Government is not a human invention. The very fact that Adam was called upon to take dominion implies a magisterial order to human life. That being said, all lesser authorities, including federal governments, are not free to make the people bend to their whims and wishes. Governments are bound by the same will of God that all individuals are. As Romans 13:4 says, “for he (the ruler) is God’s servant for your good.” And “because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending o this very thing” (v.6). So how is the civil magistrate, or governmental authority, “over the people”? Romans 13:3 tells us, “For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval[.]” The role of civil authorities is to reward good conduct and punish evil. This also tells us what will happen when governments abdicate their divinely given authority and become a terror to those of good conduct instead of bad. When governments neglect their own laws and act by the opinions and impulses of their own parties, when governments neglect their citizens, and when governments advocate for perversions, abominations, and the neglect of any human life, said governments are under the condemnation of God. Why do we pray for those in authority? Because it is all to easy for them to cave to the darkest impulses of human depravity. Paul encourages us to pray for those in high positions so that “we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:2b-4). We must pray for our civil servants. Sometimes, God gives us the leaders we deserve. What does that tell us about our own country? It tells us that is why Paul continued in verse 5-6. “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.” The only government that will last is the kingdom of God. God has appointed civil servants in this age to bring about his will, which will be accomplished regardless of whether we have leaders who seek to serve God or not. With all this weighing on the mind of those in government, can Christians serve in high offices? Should they? We will turn to paragraph two of this chapter next time. The end of one year and the beginning of another is a regular time of reflection. As time ticks on, we grow more aware of how quickly it does so. That awareness has a way of making us soberly assess what’s important and what’s not. Often, when we identify what is eternally important, we are content to let many other things go undone without any sense of guilt. Those things don’t matter like they used to.
People often remark that the church is always one generation away from decimation. While that may be true of any local congregation, we can rest assured that the gates of hell will not prevail against the church of Christ. There is, however, some truth to the sentiment. Institutions of all stripes destroy themselves when they fail to communicate their core values and concepts to the next generation. Why are many churches hemorrhaging membership, especially among the generations under 55? I offer that we (meaning many in the American church) have misidentified our core values and concepts for too long. While many churches have focused on building good relationships and therapeutic preaching and teaching, there are many concepts that have collected dust. Some have grown a little mildew, and others could gag a maggot. I was talking just this morning to a friend about the importance of writing things down. Sometimes writing or journaling is like talking to someone else (in the non-schizophrenic sense). You get a lot of clarity, as if you’re playing Plinko with your thoughts. You're throwing all of them down from your brain and funneling your thoughts down through your fingers. By the time they settle on the screen or paper, they're neat and orderly. The following reflection is a result of trying to think myself clear. What values and concepts do I need to both live by myself and make sure I pass on to the next generation? What about you? Do the following values and concepts seem familiar to you, or do you need to commit to establishing these in your life in the coming year? Do I believe in justification by grace through faith? That we are declared righteous based on the merits of Christ? That his righteousness is imputed to us only by the good pleasure of God the Father? That our sins were imputed to the crucified Christ as he substituted himself on behalf of God’s people in every age? Do I believe in the necessity of the new birth? That Christ calls us to faith and repentance? That salvation is entirely of God’s mercy? That good works are evidence of saving faith? That the Christian will fight sin and temptation throughout all of his or her life? That spiritual warfare begins at conversion? That no one but God alone—not the state, the family, or even the church—can do the work of conversion? Do I believe historic theology proper? That God is three persons of one substance? That the Trinity is the bedrock of our faith? That each person of the Godhead participates in creation and redemption? That the Father decrees redemption, the Son purchased redemption, and the Spirit applies redemption? That the Father and the Son agreed in eternity past that the Father would send the Son to redeem a people for the Father and the Son would receive a kingdom in return for his faithfulness? Do I believe in the glory of God? That God is perfectly good without any defect or imperfection? That we must be hidden from his glory or perish in his presence? That he is beautiful beyond comparison? That heaven and earth teach us that God is glorious? That God will not share his glory but is jealous for it above all else? That everything we do should be done in order to glorify him? Do I believe in the authority of Scripture? That Scripture dictates not only the way of salvation but also the law of God? That the law of God is good for teaching us the righteous demands of holiness? That God is the ultimate author of Scripture? That it speaks with one voice? That every word is necessary and true? That the Bible is the highest authority for the Christian and is to interpret itself? Do I believe that worship is not a service to me but to God? That God determines what happens in worship? That it’s not about entertaining the lost but calling them to repentance and faith and edifying the believers? That anything that distracts from blessing God through hearing and obeying his word should be eliminated, no matter how precious it is to us? Do I believe biblical anthropology, or what the Bible teaches about mankind? That man is not inherently good but is by nature an enemy of God? That the heart deceives itself and is not to be trusted? That every individual is accountable for his or her life before a righteous, transcendent God? That every part of us—mind, body, and soul—is affected by sin? That God gives rebellious mankind over to the sins we love so much as his judgment upon us? Do I believe that Jesus is coming again? That he will exhibit his dominion over creation and every man and woman who’s ever lived? That every knee will bow to him as king? That he will separate the righteous and the reprobate and send them to their eternal destinies, whether it be with him in the new Jerusalem or in the lake of fire? That everyone will stand before him and give an accounting of their deeds, whether their own deeds performed in sin or the righteous deeds of Christ performed on their behalf? That judgment day determines an unchangeable sentence? Do I believe in a grace and mercy that is beyond finite, human comprehension? That God loves his enemies? That Christ died for us while we hated him? That he reconciled us to the Father and took the initiative in salvation when we were without the strength or desire to do so? That God has spared us from an eternal demand of justice and instead poured out his mercy with such liberality that we will never grasp the height, depth, width, and length of it? That he is responsible for salvation from beginning to end? That he rejoices when a sinner repents and adopts us into his family? That he accepts such meager, laughable good works with the joy of a loving father toward his child? That he withholds nothing from us that is for our good and his glory? Maybe we shouldn’t be surprised if people don’t find the church-at-large compelling, especially if the church looks like the world and has nothing to say to the culture. Maybe a little clarity about our core values and convictions is just what we need, no matter if people like it…at first. Nobody is glad to hear that they’re diabetic or have cancer or can’t button those jeans anymore. But a little courage and a commitment to the truth pays dividends in this generation and the next. Let’s commit to passing on core values and convictions to those coming after us. That starts with you and me believing these things and holding to them firmly. |
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