Ephphatha Blog

How to Avoid Nominal Christianity

by Stephen Rhoda

There are at least two verses in the Gospels that ought to make all church-goers stop and ponder long and hard about their faith and the faith of their children.  The first verse is Matthew 7:21, in which Jesus says, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven.”  The second verse is Mark 8:38, in which Jesus says, “For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

Notice in the first of these two verses that some will say, “Lord, Lord.”  The double form of “Lord” indicates that such persons are sincere, perhaps even passionate, about their faith.  Yet the teaching of Jesus is that their faith is not real and that they are not saved.  And notice in the second verse that one must stand for Christ before the world without shame if Christ would smile upon them in the day of His coming again.  Therefore, Jesus’ reference is at least to those who are mere church-goers and to those who are unable or unwilling to name the name of Christ in their conversation with others.

Both of these verses give fair warning of the deficiency and grave danger of “nominal Christianity,” and our response to such warning should be to “examine [ourselves], to see whether [we] are in the faith,” as we are specifically called to do in 2 Corinthians 13:5.  And as we long and labor to see faith formed in the hearts of our children, we ought to beware lest they attain only to a nominal faith.

What is a “nominal Christian”?

So first of all, let’s define “nominal Christianity” more carefully.  Most literally, a “nominal Christian” is one who is Christian in name only.  They may call themselves a Christian and others may think of them as a Christian because of the customs they keep and the general morality of their lives, but they lack a relationship of loving and joyful dependance upon Christ for their salvation.

Therefore, “nominal Christians” may perhaps be defined more pointedly by what they don’t do.  They don’t acknowledge the just judgment of God for sin.  They don’t cling to Christ for salvation.  They don’t love Christ as shown by their lack of time spent in the Word seeking to know Him better and spending time with Him in prayer.  And maybe the most observable characteristic of a nominal Christian is that they don’t speak of Christ in their conversation with others.  They may speak of “God” and “the Lord.”  They may claim to be “Spirit-filled” according to some definition of that expression.  But they are unable or unwilling to name the name of Christ eagerly and joyfully before others, even before other Christians.

Now, if they are unable to name the name of Christ, perhaps they need to grow in their knowledge of Christ in order to possess true faith.  Faith requires knowledge because you can’t believe in something or someone that you don’t know.  So those who are unable to name the name of Christ need to know and understand that Christianity is about Christ and that saving faith is not just a matter of faith in “God” but faith in Christ.  But if they are unwilling to name the name of Christ, then it’s likely that they are ashamed of Christ.  Either way, they are “nominal Christians” and still without saving faith.

Is this diagnosis too harsh?  Only if it’s wrong.  If it’s a correct diagnosis according to God’s Word, then is this not the most loving ministry you could provide someone, to help them see that they are “so close and yet so far”?  Even more, we ought to ask whether Jesus was being harsh and unloving when He issued the clear warning, “For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes…”

Avoiding Nominalism

So here is the way to avoid “nominal Christianity.”

First, get into the Word of God and don’t quit reading and studying until you have a clear understanding of the Gospel and what true faith is.  If someone says, “But I don’t have time,” my answer is that this is too important not to make the time!  If you were diagnosed with some disease that threatened to kill you, would you tell your doctor, “I don’t have time for the treatment”?  Wouldn’t you cancel a vacation, take leave of your job if necessary, and devote yourself fully to getting better?  Would you skip treatments in order to watch television or go golfing?  But even more, understand that nominal Christianity will kill you in the worst possibly way.  Here your eternal salvation is at stake.  The outcome is heaven or hell.  You must believe in Christ to be saved, and you must know Christ and the Gospel in order to believe.  So study the Word of God and pray fervently for the knowledge, understanding, and conviction of true and saving faith.

Second, avoid spiritual jargon and mere “God-talk.”  Christianity is about Christ, and saving faith is faith in Christ.  So confess Christ and name His name in your conversations with others.  Instead of saying things like, “I love the Lord,” say, “I love Christ,” exactly because Christ is your Lord and without using His name no one will necessarily know who your “Lord” is.  Instead of just talking about “God,” talk about Christ, exactly because Christ is your God and without using His name no one will necessary know who your “God” is.  Remember that nominal Christianity is marked by spiritual generalities and not specific confessions of Christ.  So name the name of Christ!

Third, be prepared to suffer for Christ.  Jesus warned His disciples, “A servant is not greater than his master.  If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you” (John 15:20).  The question is not whether believers in Christ will suffer for their Master, but when.  And be prepared that the most intense and pointed ill-treatment may even come from other “Christians.”  In the same sermon, Jesus also told His disciples, “Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think He is offering service to God.  And they will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me” (John 16:2).  As one moves from nominal Christianity into true faith, it will highlight the hypocrisy and error of others, and they will not take kindly to it.  Don’t expect to keep every friendship you have, but do expect that God will use you to save others as well, some perhaps who have already lived a long life in the church but apart from Christ and true faith.

Fourth, teach your children what they need to know to believe in Christ as well.  It’s not wrong to make use of the ministry of others to help train your children, but it is wrong to turn over the instruction of your children to others, even if it’s good instruction.  So instruct your children diligently in the Word of God (Deuteronomy 6:7).  Teach them the meaning of their baptism, which is to say, teach them the Gospel and the covenant faithfulness of God to His people from generation to generation, but teach them as well the absolute necessity of their own faith in Christ.  Warn your children of God’s judgment for sin, and call them to flee to the cross and believe in Christ.  Point out the difference between a nominal Christian and a believer of Jesus Christ.  And don’t be surprised by their resistance and how slow they are to believe, but see such things as indicators of the truth of God’s Word: “Folly is bound up in the heart of a child” (Proverbs 22:15)and “it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy” (Romans 9:16).  So teach your children about Christ and pray for them every day, because only by God’s Word and Spirit will they come to faith in Jesus Christ and be saved.

Finally, continue in the Word of God.  Study to teach your children, and study to hold yourself accountable to the Word.  Read and study not

to be spiritual and to get “fulfilled” but to be a faithful disciple of Christ and to preserve your soul (1 Timothy 4:16).  And beyond your personal study of God’s Word, study with others as well in the church.  Approach a more studied brother or sister in Christ and ask if they will study with you to teach you.  Or approach another believer for the sake of mutual discipleship.  Remember that even as God works in us by Word and Spirit, the Spirit draws us into community with other believers, so that “iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another” (Proverbs 27:17).

Conclusion - Now What?

If you’ve read this far, perhaps you’ll consider further this conclusion.  None of this will matter if pride controls us.  It’s pride that leads us to say, “Never mind.  I’ll do it my way.”  It’s pride that insists on picking and choosing what to receive and what to reject from God’s Word, which is exactly what nominal Christianity does.  It’s pride that says, “I’m in good company, and I don’t care to lose my place of favor with others and the opportunity to pursue my own goals.”  But once again, a gracious God has not left us without warning and truth.  Proverbs 14:12 says, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.”  And in John 14:6, Jesus makes it clear- “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.”

How So Like Children?

by Stephen Rhoda

“Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”  Matthew 18:3

As Scripture interprets Scripture, Matthew 18:3 must be heard as teaching us about the nature of true faith.  Not that this verse uses the word “faith,” but entering the kingdom of heaven is certainly a reference to salvation and God’s Word is clear that sinners are saved by faith.  So Matthew 18:3 is teaching us that we must become like little children in order to have saving faith.

But how so like children?  The question is important to answer rightly because Matthew 18:3 has been detrimentally misinterpreted in our day.  When Jesus called His disciples to become like little children, He was referring specifically to the humility of children and not to being simple and uneducated.  Regrettably it’s the latter interpretation that some have used to support their preferred version of the Christian faith which jettisons doctrine, diminishes Bible study to “sharing,” and puts an ultimate premium on sheer emotional experience.

In order to understand rightly what Jesus was teaching, we need to include the verses before and the verse after this statement from Jesus.  In verse 1, we are given the context of this teaching.  “At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, ‘Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’”  Notice that they weren’t asking, “Who is the smartest in the kingdom of heaven?” thus prompting the call from Jesus to be uneducated like a child.  The context is a moment of overt pride and self-exaltation based on their relationship to Christ as His disciples.  So to call His disciples to humility — not to childish ignorance — Jesus called a child to Him, stood the young lady or young man before them, and said, “Unless you turn and become like children…”

Then, in verse 4, Jesus interprets His own statement clearly and without any ambiguity about His meaning.  “Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”  Simply put, the call to become like children is the call to humility, not simple-mindedness.

But even more, it’s exactly the humility of children that often makes them aggressively curious and delightfully teachable.  Children are like sponges, wanting to absorb everything around them.  So when the church jettisons doctrine, for adults as well as children, we leave adults in spiritual immaturity and we neglect to disciple our children exactly at the time when they are most teachable.

In order to read Matthew 18:3 as an excuse not to grow in the knowledge of God’s Word, one has to pull these words of Jesus out of their immediate context, and even more, out of the context of the entire Bible.  From the first day, our relationship with our Creator has been one requiring knowledge.

In the garden of Eden, the evil one called into question the knowledge of God, tempting Adam and Eve to set aside the command of God and to pursue the sheer experience of eating forbidden fruit.

As God took Israel to be His people, He gave them His Law, instructing Moses to write it down for the people and calling them to learn and teach it to their children.  Deuteronomy 6 says- “And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.  You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.”  And in the same chapter, Israel was warned that when they entered the promise land and received the blessing of God, they must “take care lest you forget the LORD.”

And so, when Israel later sinned, it was because they indeed had forgotten the knowledge of God.  Psalm 106:13 says- “But soon they forgot his works; they did not wait for his counsel.”  And verse 21 says- “They forgot God, their Savior, who had done great things in Egypt…”

Then, consider the Gospels, which record the historical events of Christ’s coming and the fulfillment of His ministry.  Simply in Jesus’ use of the institution of discipleship, we hear the call to hear, study, know and remember the Word of God.  A disciple of Christ is a student of Christ and of His Word!

Finally, in the writings of the Apostles, over and over again we hear the call to grow in the knowledge of God through His Word.  The book of Romans is, granted, a book requiring careful study, indeed a lifetime of diligent reading and reflection, but that in itself is the evidence that to be a Christian is to be a student of the Word of God.  And in Romans 12:2, after eleven chapters of careful doctrinal instruction, the Apostle Paul calls his readers to “be transformed by the renewal of your mind.”  But in our own day, throngs of church-goers are seeking Sunday after Sunday to be transformed by the renewal of their hearts, amid worship services providing little biblical teaching and doctrinal preaching.

Another clear call to grow in knowledge is found in Colossians 1:9-10, which again ties together doctrine and practice.  Paul first makes it clear how he prays for the church, “asking that you be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding.”  Secondly, Paul calls the Colossians to “walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.”

Finally, in this terribly non-exhaustive listing, is 1 Peter 2:2, which makes it clear that it wasn’t just a matter Paul being more intellectually orientated.  The Apostle Peter quotes the Prophet Isaiah to say of God’s Word- “The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever.”  He then makes it clear that “this word is the good news that was preached to you,” and in the end, he calls upon his readers, “like newborn infants, to long for the pure spiritual milk.”

Regrettably, therefore, it’s a lack of knowledge that leads even further to a lack of knowledge.  It’s God’s Word that calls us to study and know and remember the Word of God, but it’s an existing ignorance of God’s Word that starts the downward spiral of immaturity in the church.

Jesus said, “Unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”  But far from being a call for adults to prefer recess over the classroom, here is the call to humility, teachability, and a diligent study of God’s Word.  In the end, doctrine is not optional, and theology cannot be left to certain types of Christians who care about it.  Christianity is the result of divinely revealed content through divinely inspired Scriptures.  Faith requires knowledge and the growth of faith necessitates a growing knowledge and understanding of God’s Word.

 

Seize the Summer for Christ

by Stephen Rhoda

As summer draws near, the challenge before us is to “seize the summer.”  Children and young people might be thinking about that essay they’ll be assigned to write in the fall answering the question, “What did you do over summer vacation?” and they might plan now to make the most of their time and opportunity.  But what about parents?  They might best prepare for summer by way of a different question.  Parents might seize the summer by asking, “What can I do over summer vacation to nurture and develop my child’s faith in Christ?”  And instead of just driving kids to Bible School, summer camp, and youth group outings, parents can plan their own strategies and activities for discipling their children.

So here are some ideas and suggestions:

1. Bible Reading ~  Implement a summer Bible reading program for your child or children.  Have them read for a half hour to an hour each day, perhaps five out of seven days each week.  Sit down with them and ask them to choose one of the Gospels and/or one of the narrative books of the Old Testament for their reading.  Check on their progress regularly, marking off chapters on a chart until they are finished.  Then ask them to choose another book of the Bible.  For children not yet reading, set aside time to read to them directly from Scripture.

2. Bible Memorization ~  Challenge your children to memorize a Psalm or some other passage of moderate length.  Perhaps you might start with around ten verses and see how long, with regular encouragement, it takes them to memorize the passage.  Another approach would be to choose one passage for the whole family and practice together each time you have family devotions.  Type and print the verses out on your computer so each member of your family can have their own copy.

3. Confessional Reading ~  Don’t forget to include the confessions in your child’s summer reading.  Remember that the confessions are a summary statement of the main teachings of God’s Word.  They must not replace our direct reading and study of Scripture, but they can greatly enhance and guide our learning of the central teachings of God’s Word.  Sadly many Christians who are members of confessional churches have never even read all the confessions of their church.  If this is you, challenge yourself to take up the confessions in your own summer reading.

4. Theological Study ~  Keep in mind that theology is simply the study of the central teachings of God’s Word.  By way of a concordance or a topical or analytical Bible, choose several passages, perhaps even up to a dozen, that together form a particular teaching of Scripture.  Have your child read and study the passages and form in their mind or even write down what the Bible teaches about, for example, justification, heaven and hell, or how God works by Word and Spirit, or who Christ is, etc.

5. Church History ~  Church history obviously isn’t Scripture, but it’s value and importance is huge.  Choose a character from church history, such as Augustine, Luther, Calvin, Knox or Spurgeon, or choose a specific event or era in church history, like the Reformation or the Great Awakening, and lead your child to explore and study the topic.  Searches on the internet and trips to a public library can provide some material, but Christian publishers are likely to yield the most accurate information.

6. List Memorization ~ There are certain lists or groups of things that our children just need to have memorized.  Such memorization will serve to instill in them the importance of knowing God’s Word and the history of redemption.  Choose one or more of the following to work on through the summer: Books of the Bible (Bible Index), six days of creation (Genesis 1), Ten Commandments (Exodus 20), twelve tribes of Israel (Genesis 49; Study Bible Maps), Beatitudes (Matthew 5), twelve disciples of Christ (Matthew 10:1-4), fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23), armor of God (Ephesians 6:14-20).

7. “Porch Swing Discipleship” ~ No discipleship effort is complete, no matter how comprehensive, without simple conversation.  We learn this aspect of discipleship from Christ Himself as He spent time with His disciples, sometimes teaching them directly, but other times in more casual conversation and answering their questions.  Summertime might afford additional time and opportunity for parents just to talk with their children.  Use the things above, along with sermons and other Bible lessons, to prompt your questions.  Ask your child, “So what are you reading in your Bible this week?  What did you learn from the sermon this morning?  Are you remembering to spend time in prayer?  Have you been thinking about making a profession of your faith in Christ?”  Even comments making reference to trusting Christ, following Christ, and witnessing for Christ, can make a huge difference and have a significant impact upon a child’s faith.  In the end, all such conversation should become natural and inherent to our family life, as we are called “talk of [God’s Word] when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.” (Deuteronomy 6:7)

Of course, these suggestions can also be taken as challenges in a parent’s personal discipleship as well.  We must be intentional and active disciples of Christ before we can have the greatest effect upon our children.  So are there books of the Bible that you’ve never read or haven’t studied for a long time?  Are there doctrines that you claim to believe but really couldn’t explain if asked?  Do you know where Scripture teaches central doctrines like the divinity of Christ, justification by faith, the Triune Being of God, etc.?  Being a disciple of Christ should not be a seasonal endeavor, but again, summertime might provide the impetus to recommit ourselves and launch new efforts to study God’s Word and glory in Christ Jesus.

I hope the summer of 2010 proves to be a significant time for you as a parent and disciple of Christ!

 

 

A Discipleship of Presumption

by Stephen Rhoda

We have been enjoying some great springtime weather, which makes me want to get outside, and for whatever reason, spending time outdoors makes me think again of being a disciple of Christ.  I can picture the disciples in fair weather plodding along after Jesus, sun on their faces, wind in their hair, going from town to town, where He preached and performed miracles to confirm His authority and identity as the divine Son of God.  Wouldn’t you love to have been there?

But there’s really no reason why only good weather should remind us of this image.  Surely there was bad weather to endure.  We see as much in Mark 4:35-41, when the disciples are in a boat battling to survive a severe storm on the Sea of Galilee while Jesus slept in the stern.  They woke Him, asking, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”  It was then that Jesus did what may have been his greatest miracle, perhaps second only to His resurrection.  He rebuked the wind and commanded the sea, saying, “Peace!  Be still!”  And the disciples went from fear to fear.   Instead of being afraid of dying, they were suddenly afraid of living, living, that is, in the presence of this man who “even the wind and sea obey.”

The point is to realize and remember that faith is a matter of following Christ, and by the example of the disciples in the Gospels, that in following Christ, there is no promise of avoiding storms nor even of a roof over our heads at night.  The disciples entrusted themselves completely to Christ, which is what discipleship was and is, a full and utter dependence upon Christ.  They left everything to follow Him, and He was faithful in feeding and sheltering them to keep them alive.  In the end, Jesus spoke this word to His Father- “Of those whom you have given me, I have lost not one.” (John 18:9)

So is it not the case in our own day that those who claim to be Christians often presume much more than Christ has actually promised?  American Christianity is guilty of great presumption, presuming, for example, that we must have a roof over our heads.  But who says?  In Matthew 8:20, Jesus said to a man who offered to follow Him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”  In other words, Jesus was essentially homeless, sleeping outdoors or staying in the homes of those who supported Him.

American Christianity presumes that we must have three meals a day.  But who says?  In Matthew 12:1 the disciples of Jesus were hungry enough to eat raw grain right out of the field.  Had Jesus failed them?  No, they had grain to eat. Think about that tomorrow night while eating your four-course supper as the third meal of the day.

And American Christianity presumes upon the freedoms we have enjoyed in this country for several hundred years now, but such a state of blessing and comfort is hardly the norm over the course of two thousand years of church history.  And again, what did Jesus actually promise?  Did He promise freedom and protection from severest persecution?  Hardly.  In fact, Christ promised the opposite.  “The hour is coming,” said Jesus, “when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God.” (John 16:2)  And in the book of Hebrews, we are told of those who “joyfully accepted the plundering of their property” (10:34) and of others who “suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment.  They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword.” (11:36-37)  Of these, the Holy Spirit says, “The world was not worthy.” (11:38)

So we can thump our Bibles and cry foul when the church or the world violates and contradicts the Scriptures, but what about us?  Do we know our Bibles to know what faith is as defined by God’s Word?  Do we know the teachings of Christ and of the apostles?  Do we know the real promises of the Gospel?  Or are we guilty of syncretism, merging the Christian faith with the American dream?

So why be a Christian?  If there’s no promise of a roof over our heads and food in our bellies, why follow Christ?  For the only reason that true faith has, because we need Him desperately to escape the wrath to come and because we love Him deeply as the One who endured our punishment for sin and delivered us from all condemnation now and forever.  Do you have such faith?  Seek it in prayer today and study the Word to receive true faith as a disciple of Christ.

 

The Problem of Indifference

by Stephen Rhoda

A study of church history will reveal the consistent presence of three categories of people in the church.  In every given day of struggle for truth in the church, there are, 1. those who are committed to preserving and proclaiming the true Gospel, 2. those committed to corrupting and silencing the Gospel, and, 3. those who are indifferent.  It’s this third category of people that has most captured my thoughts and grieved my soul within my years of ministry, because the contribution of indifference to the loss of the Gospel in the church is hardly less than of outright unbelief.

Let’s be clear that there will always be a struggle within the church in this age that is passing away.  Jesus warned us, “In the world you will have tribulation,” and He gave this assurance, “…but take heart; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).  So even though God has “disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in [Christ]” (Colossians 2:15), yet the result in this age is a struggle.  We are not called to gain the kingdom of God for ourselves but to receive the kingdom that has been bestowed upon us.  We are not called to win the victory for ourselves but to live by the victory that Christ has won for us on the cross and in His resurrection.  In short, therefore, we are called to “work out your [finished] salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to do for His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:12-13).

Even further, the call of Christ to follow Him is not the call to a life of ease and comfort.  To put it another way, the call to follow Christ is not the call to build an impressive financial portfolio and to retire to ease and luxury.  Instead, Jesus said, “Whoever does not bear His own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.”  And He added, “So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:27,33).  If we find ourselves comfortable and at ease in our Christian faith at whatever stage in life, I am more and more convinced that it’s because we have ceased to struggle and have aligned ourselves with the ranks of the indifferent.

“The contribution of indifference

to the loss of the Gospel in the church

is hardly less than of outright unbelief.”

So who are the indifferentists?  They may or may not be true believers in Jesus Christ, but even if they are, they are illustrated in the disciples of Jesus on the night that He was betrayed.  It’s not that they were party to the arrest of Jesus (like Judas).  It’s not that they showed up looking for the opportunity to testify against Jesus (like the leaders of the people).  It’s not that they weren’t grieved to see Jesus treated so poorly (like the Romans).  But in the end, they were more concerned about keeping their own life and reputation intact than about honoring Christ and sharing His suffering and shame.  Thus in our own day, the indifferentists may go around saying, “Hrrrumph!” from time to time.  They may be willing to point out unbelief and unfaithfulness in the church on a certain day.  But they quickly return to their main concern, which is preserving their reputation, safeguarding their business relationships within the church and community, ensuring the affections of their spouse, and keeping up their pursuit of the “American dream” rather than a true following after Christ.

If you recognize yourself anywhere in this description, I urge you to repent, to take up your cross, and to seek strength and wisdom from Christ to be His true and faithful disciple.  Short of prompt repentance, however, I hope you will not prove my point by going merrily on your way with indifference.  The warning of Christ is clear: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father in heaven” (Matthew 7:21). 

And what is the will of God?  To believe in Him whom He has sent!

And what is the mark of such faith in Christ?  The mark of true faith is a great love for Christ, in order to be willing to suffer with Christ and to take a stand for the Gospel.  The mark of true faith is a love for the Gospel, not just a willingness to use the word “gospel” and to speak generically of “God” and “the Lord,” but the eager willingness to confess to others the name of Christ and to uphold His honor and glory by preserving and proclaiming the true Gospel of sovereign grace.

May Christ Himself by His Word and Spirit stir the church out of her indifference!  As her hand is in the dish and she doesn’t even bring it back to her mouth, as she avows the imaginary lion in the street in order to excuse her place of ease and apathy, Christ calls His church to stand and preach the truth, to share in His suffering, and perhaps even to die for Him.

 

Question of the Year: Where in the Word Are You?

by Stephen Rhoda

I propose that this be the Question of the Year for 2010, “Where in the Word are you?”  As disciples of Christ, we should always be in the Word.  There should always be a book of the Bible that we are reading, there should always be a subject or theme that we are tracing out in Scripture, and there should always be a shorter passage that we are committing to memory.  So… where in the Word are you right now?  And where in the Word do you plan to be this year?

Parents, introduce this question to your children and let them know that you’ll be asking them regularly.  Each Lord’s Day start the week by asking them where in the Word they were in the past week and where they plan to be in the coming week.  

As we start a new year, here is the challenge to make plans and set goals for your reading and study of God’s Word in 2010.  Remember that reading our Bibles should not be a matter of “voluntary spirituality” but of survival.  In other words, it’s not about “getting fulfilled” or “scratching an itch,” but about persevering in faith to the end and saving your very soul.  Will your faith be stronger or weaker by the end of the year?  Will you be more or less sure of the reality of Christ’s kingdom?  Let us not be presumptuous in our faith.  For each of us, both faith and the perseverance of faith are not natural to us.  Faith was the gift of God to start, and faith will persevere only as we remain in prayer and in the Word.

Here are some suggestions for studying God’s Word in 2010:

1. Study Thematically ~ Choose a subject or theme and trace it throughout Scripture.  For example, study the theme of God’s presence with His people, starting in the Garden and finishing in the new heaven and new earth of Revelation 21-22.  A topical Bible can be helpful.  I have used one from Baker Books called Topical Analysis of the Bible, by Walter A. Elwell.

2. Study with a Commentary ~ Choose a book of the Bible and get a commentary for that book.  Read a passage or chapter and then the commentary to deepen your understanding of that portion of God’s Word.  You can find access to many commentaries online or order one for your shelf.  Buy with confidence anything from Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing or Banner of Truth Trust.  Check out Banner of Truth’s “Let’s Study” series for something fairly accessible to the average person.  However, don’t shy away from reading Calvin and the classics of Reformed scholarship, including Spurgeon and Matthew Henry.  You may not understanding everything, but I trust you’ll understand most of what you read.

3. Study with a Map ~ In your love for Christ, you might trace His path on a map as you read the account of His life and ministry from one of the Gospel writers.  You can find such maps in the back of a Study Bible or online.  Otherwise, make your own map and fill in the locations as you come across them in the text.  This method reminds us that our study of God’s Word is about loving Christ and finding communion with Him.

4. Cross-Referenced Study ~ Choose a book of the Bible and read one passage or chapter per day.  From each reading, commit to checking all the cross-reference passages given for one or two verses.  In time, it will come more naturally to cross-reference words and expressions that are difficult or especially meaningful to you. Note: You will obviously need a cross-referenced Study Bible.  I recommend the English Standard Version, but regrettably its cross-referencing is not nearly as strong and thorough as the NIV.

5. Study with the Standards ~ Acquire a version of your preferred confession/catechism with proof texts.  In my experience, most copies of the Heidelberg Catechism will have the proof texts, but most copies of the Westminster Standards will not.  Why is that?  Read one Article or Question & Answer per day, tracing the teaching to God’s Word via the proof texts.  Once in God’s Word, follow cross-references to other passages and write them in as your own notes.

6. Study to Sing the Psalms  ~ Study a psalm per week in order to be more conscious of Christ in your psalm singing on the Lord’s Day.  Even further, sing at home on your own or with your family as you study each psalm.  Parents, share with your children what you’ve learned before singing that psalm as a family around the table.  Note: You will need a least one copy of the Psalter or Psalter Hymnal, but a worthy investment to have even two or three.

7. Read through the Bible in a Year ~ This is a rather ambitious goal, requiring you to read four chapters a day for every day of the year.  It’s worth doing, but my recommendation is to be just as faithful in reading one or two chapters a day and finishing in two to three years.

Regardless how we study, we ought always to have a specific answer when asked the question- “Where in the Word are you?”  Read the Word.  Study the Word.  And glory every day in Christ!

 

It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!

by Stephen Rhoda

I’ll confess that I have a weakness for the traditional holly and ivy of Christmas.  I like the scenes of Currier & Ives and Norman Rockwell.  In my opinion, Bing Crosby sings the best “White Christmas,” Perry Como does the best “There’s No Place Like Home for the Holidays,” and Ella Fitzgerald the best “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.”  And, of course, nobody really sings “Blue Christmas” except Elvis.

I realize that all such truck can be a great distraction from what Christmas really is.  I also agree that the celebration of Christ’s birth, along with our knowledge of His death and our joy at His resurrection, belongs not just to a single day of the year but to the entire year in every day on the calendar.  In the end, December 25 is no more “Christmas” than July 25!  At least, it shouldn’t be for those who love Christ and live consciously in the day of His fulfilled coming and realized kingdom.

So when we hear the words “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas,” we probably think of lights and decorations, the colors red and green, and some snow on the ground to make “the dream” come true.  However, let’s rethink this expression.  If Christmas means the coming of Christ to save His people, to give them new birth, to fill them with His Spirit, and to carry out His ministry through them, then it will begin to look a lot like Christmas whenever we see the church gathered in worship and wherever we see the church ministering to the world with the love of Christ.

I hope you all enjoy this season as much as I do, but I hope even more that the birth of Christ fills your mind, lifts your heart, and raptures your soul every day.  And may it look like Christmas in the church all year long. 

 

 Thankful to Whom?

A Devotional Reading for Thanksgiving Day

by Stephen Rhoda

 

Scripture Reading:  Psalm 116;  James 1:16-18

As we celebrate another Thanksgiving Day, I am reminded again of how popular this holiday can be and yet how empty of true Christian meaning.  In particular I am thinking of the practice of giving thanks without ever naming who is being thanked.  You can hear this all the time on television shows and throughout our culture in general.  The scene might show a group of people sitting around and sharing their thoughts of thankfulness.  One after another they say, “I am thankful for…” as they name something or someone significant and meaningful in their life.  With a falling tear, one says, “I am thankful for my family.”  Another with breaking voice says, “I am thankful for my friends.”  To add a little humor, a third person says, “I am thankful for indoor plumbing.”  And so, having had our emotions stirred in several different directions, we can easily come away feeling “touched” and thinking that this is really what Thanksgiving is all about.  Swept along by the emotion, we might never realize that nobody really gives thanks in such scenes, and we might never notice that God is never mentioned.  At best, it’s just a matter of generic spirituality.  At worst, it’s a matter of godless sentimentalism.

We might expect little more from our culture these days, but let us refuse to make the same error in our own giving of thanks.  As we sit around tables laden with food, as we gather in warm houses with comfortable clothes, as we enjoy the company of family and friends, let us say without fail, “I am thankful to God for all His blessings to me.”  What is the point if we are just “thankful”?  How is God honored if we simply acknowledge that certain things and people in our lives are valuable and important to us?  Thanksgiving Day is about giving thanks to God.  That ought to be a terribly obvious statement for mature believers in Jesus Christ, but sometimes we need the obvious put to us again in no uncertain terms.  So let me say it again- Thanksgiving Day is about giving thanks to God!

On this day and in every day, let us confess and declare that “every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights,” that is, from our Creator God (James 1:17).  To do otherwise is to a matter of deception (vs. 16).  And  among God’s many blessings to His people is His sovereign working for our salvation in and through Jesus Christ.  “Of his own will, he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.”  There is nothing we have that does not come entirely from God: our lives, our bodies, our homes, our possessions, our families, our jobs, our strength and skill to work, but above all, the new birth and changed heart that brought us to saving faith in Jesus Christ!  How can we fail to give thanks for the riches of His grace?  And how can we fail to name the name of God and of Christ in our thanksgiving.

 

On Being Disciples of Christ

by Stephen Rhoda

One of two main emphases in the efforts of Ephphatha Reformation Ministries is the call of Christ to be His disciples.  We hear this call throughout the pages of the Gospels and again in the closing events of the inspired record in Matthew 28.  In the words of our Lord known as the “Great Commission,” we hear not only the church’s missional calling but also the calling of each individual believer to be a disciple of Christ.  “Go therefore,” said Jesus, “and make disciples….”  Surely there is great significance in the fact that even as Christ concluded His earthly ministry in the flesh, even as He was departing to return to the Father’s right hand, He renewed this call in the lives of those who believed in Him, and He called the church to echo this call in the ears of all those who would believe in Him.  Simply put, Christians are those who must understand and identify themselves as disciples of Jesus Christ.  But how conscious are we as believers of our identity specifically as disciples of our Lord?

A Personal Relationship with Christ

Of course, the first step for some will be to take up a more personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  I suspect that this expression, namely, a “personal relationship with Christ,” has gained a strong connection to a tradition of Christianity that is sometimes overly personal, to the extreme that for some who have a “personal relationship with Jesus,” their faith is just about “me and Jesus,” specifically in that order of priority.  And too often, it’s a “Jesus” of rather insipid character who does not command the fear and worship of those who claim to know him.  This is not what I mean by calling the reader “to take up a more personal relationship with Christ.”

However, the creeping error at the other end of the spectrum is “nominalism.”  In my experience and resulting opinion, this error has crept too far into the church.  Members of the church, those who would claim to be Christians, are yet Christian only nominally, that is, in name only.  If they are asked, “Are you a Christian?” they are taken aback or even offended by the question, and yet they have no daily communion with Christ through the Word and prayer.  They offer no confession of Christ in their conversation with others, even with other Christians.  The extent of their religious language is to make reference to “God” or to a generic “Lord,” perhaps to “the Spirit,” but strikingly absent, or at best latent, is a clear, eager, and joyful reference to and confession of Christ.

I certainly want to be charitable in evaluating the faith of others, and even as I just re-read the last paragraph, I found myself asking, “Is this fair?”  However, it just should not be — perhaps, it cannot be — that those who are Christ-ians rarely, if ever, confess the name of Christ with joy, yet alone, even mention His name in conversation.  Romans 10:9 says- “…if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”  And Christ Himself said- “For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

So I think it’s fair to say that underlying both emphases of Ephphatha Reformation Ministries — both the calling of parents to catechize their children and the calling of Christ to be His disciples — underlying and overarching everything is the deeper motivation of wanting to call the church back to Christ.  There are lifelong members of the church who need to ask themselves, “Do I believe in Christ?  Am I a follower of Christ?  If I do and if I am, why does He not fill more of my daily meditation and conversation?”  In this respect, the church can be a dangerous place, if it serves as the cleverest of hiding places for unbelief, leaving a person in the end apart from Christ and still outside the kingdom of heaven.  Even in the church, the Gospel must be preached.  And the call of Christ in the Gospel is to take up a personal relationship with Him.

The Relationship of Discipleship

The next step in answering the call to be a disciple of Christ is to understand that this is indeed the relationship into which He calls us.  In other words, it’s not just any relationship to which He calls us, nor does Christ leave each person to decide for themselves what relationship with Him they want to have.  Is this not the point of Jesus’ encounter with Nicodemus in John 3?  Is this not the point of Jesus’ challenge to the crowds in John 6?  As people came to Him wanting to relate to Him however they would choose, Christ consistently indicted them and confronted them with the challenge to take up a right and saving relationship to Him.

In our own day, “there is nothing new under the sun.”  Again, even in the church, people today presume to relate to Christ in whatever way suites them.  Perhaps He is their friend.  Maybe He is their teacher.  Or perhaps Christ is simply the bridge that one must cross and leave behind in order to “walk in the Spirit,” or to “be Spirit-filled,” but otherwise simply to have a relationship with “the Spirit.”  If at best Christ only receives honorable mention in one’s confession of faith, that person has given little indication that he or she stands in right relationship to Him.

Perhaps the clearest indicator of this problem are the ads that churches place as they seek a new pastor.  There are a striking number of ads that say they want a “Spirit-filled” pastor, whatever that means to them, but not one ad that I’ve seen that says they want a pastor who is “a disciple of Jesus Christ,” or who is “following Christ.”  Why is that?  Doesn’t Christ still call us to be His disciples?  Wasn’t His commission to the church to “make disciples”?  Two thousand years later, people are still trying to tell Christ where He fits in their personal version of meaningful spirituality.

Understanding Discipleship

Thus we arrive at the need to understand what discipleship is.  The point is not just to hold a title, nor simply to adopt a certain vocabulary and drop in the right words in conversation.  The point is to be, to act, to live as a disciple of Jesus Christ, and doing so will require understanding again from God’s Word.  Just as we are not left to decide what relationship we would have with Christ, so we are not left to decide what the discipleship relationship looks like.

Disciple as Student

First, a disciple of Christ is one who listens to and learns from Jesus.  There are few things more clear in the record of the Gospels than the identity of Jesus as Teacher and that of the disciples as students.  So in one sense, “disciple as student” is closer to the heart of discipleship than any other aspect of the relationship, so that the words “disciple” and “student” are virtually synonymous.

Perhaps here immediately is the reason why so few modern Christians are conscious of being disciples of Christ.  Having to learn something is exactly what many do not want.  What is desired is much more of a mutual relationship to Christ or a relationship of experience with the Spirit.  But learning requires submission, time and effort.

The story or scene that most comes to mind here is Mary sitting at the feet of Jesus recorded in Luke 10.  Martha was busy making preparations for their guests while Mary sat listening to the teaching of Jesus.  The story teaches us several important things.  First, it teaches us that while the twelve disciples were men and while Christ still calls ordained men to lead in the church, yet both men and women are called to be disciples of Christ.  Second, I think the sense we are supposed to gather is that Mary found sitting at the feet of Jesus irresistible.  It seems likely that Martha’s negative reaction stemmed not from her poor relationship with Mary but from a cultural expectation that Mary should have been doing what Martha was doing, and she very well might have been, if not for the irresistible opportunity so close at hand to sit and listen to a sermon or lesson from her Lord right in her own living room.

The parallel is obvious.  Today, disciples of Christ do not sit at the physical feet of Jesus, but they actually have more opportunity to listen and learn from Jesus than Mary did.  With the Word of God square in our hands and with modern technology freeing up huge blocks of time compared to our forefathers and mothers, we might very well be spending an hour or more a day as students of Christ.  It might actually be an indictment against us if we have never been accused of “just sitting there” as Mary was.  Ministers must deal with this from certain members of their congregations who feel “led by the Spirit” to confront a pastor who spends too much time in his study, or so they allege.  But others too as disciples of Christ ought to bear this attack to show that they are getting closer to spending as much as they should in the Word of God.  In the very least, disciples of Christ should be those eager for an hour to spend at the feet of Jesus.

Disciple as Dependent

However, there is definitely more to being a disciple of Christ than being a student of Christ.  For example, the disciples did not just show up for their classes every day, meeting Jesus at the temple or synagogue.  Instead, they followed Jesus, they lived with Jesus, they depended upon Him daily for their subsistence and livelihood.  This is the implication and impact of seeing Peter, Andrew, James and John leaving behind their nets and boat to follow Jesus in Matthew 4:18-22.  It seems clear that these men understood the institution of discipleship within their culture and that they heard Jesus calling them to be His disciples.  They left behind their means of support and began that day to depend fully upon Christ to feed, clothe and shelter them, and they lived from then on in full dependence upon Christ.

This aspect of their relationship to Christ helps us understand the consternation of the disciples in John 6 as Jesus calls upon them to feed a great crowd of people.  The sense of their objection seems to be this- “You want to feed these people, Jesus?  It will use up all our funds, and then what will be left for us?”  So it is in both the feeding of the five thousand and the feeding of the four thousand that the number of baskets left over was a perfect number.  With the five thousand, there was one basket for each of the twelve disciples.  With the four thousand, there were a perfect seven baskets left over.  Jesus was teaching them not to be greedy and not to worry but to trust Him fully, to trust Him to provide for their needs as His disciples.

We need to be careful to point out that not every believer is called to quit their job and expect that their physical needs will somehow be met by Christ as they follow Him.  Granted there are some who do this still today in the form of full-time ministry, but the point here is that every disciple is called to live in utter dependence upon Christ.  I believe this is the point of John 21, where after the resurrection the disciples had returned to their fishing.  Jesus found them on the sea and once again provided them with a miraculous catch of fish.  Recognizing Jesus by this miracle, they hurried to shore and found a fire with fish already cooking over it, and bread.  Even still, Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you have just caught.”  I hear Jesus saying to them- “There will no longer be a fund to provide for your needs, and yes, you may have to work at times to eat.  But make no mistake: I am still providing for you, and you still depend upon me.”

However, our dependence upon Christ goes far beyond the provision of physical food, shelter and clothing.  The true disciple of Christ depends upon Him for the provision of His blood and righteousness to save them from their sin.  Here is where the discipleship relationship, a relationship of utter dependence upon Christ, is understood to embody true faith.  Jesus made it abundantly clear to the people that they needed more than bread, meat and water.  They needed Him.  They needed Him to be their bread of life, their sacrificial lamb, and their living water.  Jesus said- “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you” (John 6:53).

Can we not see then the utterly false nature of nominal Christianity?  The relationship to which Jesus calls us is one of utter dependence.  We are not to show up in church once a week just looking for an hour of generic spiritual inspiration.  Instead, we are called to live in conscious dependence upon Christ as our God, the One in whom we live and move and have our being.  And we are not to strive for a miserable 15-minute devotional time in which to practice our faith.  Instead, Paul said, “For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21), and he said further of Christ- “I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (Philippians 3:8).

Disciple as One Who Loves Christ

And that brings me to a third aspect of the discipleship relationship.  A disciple of Christ is one who loves Christ deeply in response to His love for him or her.  Here we need to see John in his relationship to Jesus in John 13:21-30.  The main focus of the passage is on Judas as Jesus identifies him as the one who would betray him, but we must not miss the contrast being made between Judas and John.  Even as Judas refuses any longer to follow Jesus and to depend upon Him, relying instead upon what the enemies of Jesus might provide him, we see John leaning on Jesus.  The NKJV is the most archaic and yet the most literal.  It says of John that he “was leaning on Jesus’ bosom.”  As Judas prepares to betray Jesus, we see John loving Jesus.  It’s a posture and gesture of love, a picture of tender fellowship with Christ, and it sounds the call for us, as disciples of Christ, to love Him deeply.

In a very clear sense, surely we must say, “Yes, how can it be otherwise?”  How can they not love Christ who claim and confess that He died for them on the cross?  When He deals with us so tenderly, with such compassion and patience, and when He even took our place as objects of wrath and suffered hell for us, surely He must move us to love Him deeply and endlessly.  While even the most faithful of disciples lacks a fully fitting love for Christ, the nominal Christian is thus exposed in his unbelief.  It simply cannot be that someone who truly believes in Christ consistently neglects even to confess His name, yet alone to spend time with Him regularly in the Word and prayer.  Neither perfect attendance in church, nor a moral lifestyle, not even ordination in the church can compensate for the absence of love for Christ.

Conclusion

Can you imagine what would happen at work if your boss gave you an assignment and you decided to do something else?  When the project was due, would you be able to say, “You told me to do this, but I decided to do something else”?  Why should we find it any less absurd to decide for ourselves what faith is and what relationship with Christ is sufficient and preferable?  The call of Christ is to follow Him and be His disciples.  The commission of Christ to the church is to make disciples of all nations.  God’s Word sounds this call repeatedly and clearly defines and mandates the discipleship relationship with Christ.  And yet the same church that goes to Scripture to confront the world on various issues neglects to sound the call to discipleship.  We dump doctrine like yesterday’s garbage when “doctrine” is simply the teaching of Christ for His students.  We content ourselves with giving Christ honorable mention when disciples are those who depend fully upon Him to save them from sin and hell.  And we find our success in bringing people to spell “God” with a capital “G” when knowing Christ is the surpassing worth of true faith, for which the true believer count all else as loss.

Thus the emphasis and effort of Ephphatha Reformation Ministries is the call of Christ to be His disciples.  May the call be sounded clearly and answered by many disciples, to the glory of Christ, our Teacher, our Savior, our Beloved Lord.

Challenges Made in this Article

Hear the call of Christ to be His disciple.

Take up a personal relationship with Christ, not to the exclusion of the church, but starting in your own mind and heart.

Become a student of Christ in the Word of God.

Recognize and acknowledge your dependence upon Christ for all things, especially for your salvation by His blood and righteousness.

Seek to grow in your love for Christ, matching your confession that He suffered and died in your place.

 

 

 

 

 

“Ephphatha” Examined and Explained

by Stephen Rhoda

Ephpha… What?

It’s a legitimate question for anyone to ask regarding Ephphatha Reformation Ministries: Why the name “Ephphatha”?  After all, it’s not the easiest name to spell and not readily apparent how to pronounce!  So why “Ephphatha”?  The answer is found in the meaning and significance of the word in the Gospel of Mark.  In Mark 7:31-37, we are told a wonderful story about our Lord.  Mark records for us how Jesus healed a man who was unable to hear or speak, and the story gives us to know and understand the great love of Christ for those who are suffering.  When we read this story, we can be assured that our Savior loves and cares for us as well.

Christ Applied

However, there are details to the story that help us understand several things further, namely, that the blessing of Christ comes as He applies Himself to us.  We see Jesus applying Himself as He touches the man in order to heal him, putting His fingers in the man’s ears.  There were other times when Jesus healed a person from a distance or simply spoke to perform a miracle, but here is one occasion when He applied His hands to heal a person.

Even more, Jesus spits, presumably applying His own saliva to the man’s tongue.  It’s a detail that might seem unsanitary and perhaps makes us cringe, but the image strongly conveys the point of Jesus applying Himself to the man.

Yet again, Mark tells us that Jesus sighed, which indicates two things.  The first meaning is that Jesus had compassion on the man, feeling and expressing a sense of sorrow for the man in his impaired condition.  The second meaning is that Jesus sighed and thus breathed on him, again, applying His breath to the man for the sake of his healing.

All of this, then, fits with the way Christ saves us from our sin, because salvation comes as He applies Himself to us by His Spirit.  In other words, Christ doesn’t just give us a blessing apart from Himself; He is the blessing as He gives us Himself.  Christ doesn’t just provide us salvation; He is our salvation as His Spirit applies Him and His work to us.  If you don’t believe me, consult the Westminster Standards, which use this language of “application.”  For example, the Westminster Confession (Chapter 11, Article 4) teaches that “the Holy Spirit doth… apply Christ unto [the elect],” and the Larger Catechism puts it this way in Q & A 58- “We are made partakers of the benefits which Christ hath procured, by the application of them unto us, which is the work especially of God the Holy Ghost.”  (See also Westminster Confession, Chapter 8, Article 8.)

The Effect of Christ Applied

But another thing to be understood from this story is found in the effect of Jesus applying Himself to the man.  As Jesus carries out these actions, again, applying Himself to the man, He also speaks the word of command, “Ephphatha,” which Mark translates for us as meaning, “Be opened.”  The effect, then, is that “his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly.”  The lesson here is that this too is true in our salvation, that as Christ is applied to us for the sake of open ears, true repentance, and saving faith, the effect should also be that we speak plainly.

To put it another way, Christians should be people who speak, teach and proclaim the Word of God clearly, without reduction or modification.  This is especially true in warning others of the coming day of God’s judgment and calling sinners to repent and believe in Jesus Christ.  Such openness and plain speaking was the mark of Jesus’ preaching, and as He was applied to His apostles through the Spirit, such was the mark of their preaching as well.  In Acts 3, Peter sounded forth this call to sinners- “Repent therefore and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out….”  And in Acts 17, Paul proclaimed in Athens that God “commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”

Be Opened, Speak Clearly

So the question that I’ve had to ask myself and that I want to ask of us all is why we don’t preach and teach God’s Word the same way.  Why don’t we clearly sound the warning of God’s Word that Christ is coming in judgment upon this world?  Why don’t we issue the call of the Gospel to repent of sin and believe in Jesus Christ?  Why don’t we make it clear that Christ is the only way of salvation for sinners?  All of these teachings are abundantly clear in God’s Word, and they become unclear only in our own modified teaching and guarded proclamation.

Perhaps one reason why we are not forthright with God’s Word is that we didn’t know our preaching and teaching were supposed to be this clear.  But such unawareness can only result from a neglect of God’s Word.

Maybe the reason is because we don’t think it will work to bring sinners to faith in Christ.  Here we need to know our church history.  From the first century record of the early church in the book of Acts, to the Great Awakening of the eighteenth century in colonial America, to the ministry of evangelism today, the fruitful preaching of God’s Word has always been open and plainly spoken.

But the most likely reason why we are not open and plain speaking in our proclamation of God’s Word is because we know what it will cost us.  It will cost us good standing in the world.  It will cost us persecution and suffering.  For some, it may even cost the loss of property and even of life itself.  All of this Jesus made clear in His teaching to His disciples.  In the Beatitudes, Jesus said, “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.  Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”  In Mark 8:34, Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me,” adding in verse 38, “For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”  And in John 16:2, Jesus prepares His disciples with these words- “Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God.  And they will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me.”  So it should be no surprise when we suffer for the sake of Christ, and we rightly tremble as we set out to proclaim and uphold the Word of God in the world.  But suffering for Christ is both our calling and our privilege as His disciples.

This is Ephphatha Reformation Ministries

Ephphatha Reformation Ministries is an effort to provide and encourage an open, plain speaking ministry of God’s Word.  Let parents sit their children down and teach them, not just to make them church members, not firstly to preserve a family tradition, but to save their souls from the wrath to come through faith in Christ Jesus.  Let believers understand that they are disciples of Christ and lifelong students of Christ, not to scratch an itch for spirituality, not for the sake of intellectual prowess, but to save and guard their own souls in the truth of God’s Word.  This is Ephphatha Reformation Ministries, and I hope you’ll become a part of it by receiving and supporting this effort for the glory of Christ.

Challenges Issued in this Article

Know and be convinced of the great love of Christ for you.

Understand more fully the way Christ saves you by applying Himself to you through the Spirit.

Read and study the Westminster Confession, Chapter 8, Article 8; Chapter 11, Article 4.

Read and study the Westminster Larger Catechism, Q & A 58-59.

Be open and plain speaking as you catechize (instruct) your children in God’s Word.

Take up a discipleship relationship with Christ.  Be a lifelong student of His Word.