Author Archives: reveds

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About reveds

Occupation: Pastor, Ebenezer Presbyterian Church, Lennox, SD Education: BS - Christian Education, Sterling College; MDiv. - Princeton Theological Seminary Family: Married, with Four children. Hobbies: Running (will someday run a marathon), Sci-Fi (especially Doctor Who and Sherlock), Theater, and anything else my kids will let me do.

but to what end

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“Conformed to the image of his Son”
(Romans 8:29)

A small miracle occurred yesterday. A lively, Christ-centered conversation was had at a presbytery committee meeting. That doesn’t always happen, but you can be thankful when it does.

The committee met to examine a statement of faith from a seminary student who is discerning a call to ministry. In that statement of faith, the clichéd and overused (though still very much true) quote about the church was cited, that “the church is reformed and always reforming according to the Word of God.” I appreciated the fact that the quote included “according to the Word of God” – so many people leave that out – as if the church were just a changin’ and will keep on a changin’ without anything to guide it in that change. But the way the quote was used, however, necessitated a great follow-up question – “What’s the goal of all this reforming?”

Is the church reformed and always reforming so that it can become a more efficient, equitable, responsive organization that can adapt to survive?

Is the church reforming just to stay hip and relevant, jettisoning anything that might offend or upset just to make sure we still “have a voice?”

Is the church reforming just to make us better people, a better society, a more appealing crowd of sinners. If that’s the case, forget handing out Bibles, let’s hand out Thighmasters.

The purpose of the reformation was not political revolt. It was not the casting away of corruption and opulence, the shedding of heavy institutionalism for something less restrictive. Nor was the reformation an attempt at modernizing the church. Though all of that occurred, the reformation was rooted and grounded in a return to the Word of God. In a powerful awakening of the Spirit, men and women discovered the Word of God for themselves, read it with new eyes and new hearts, and were emblazoned with the love of Christ. As individuals were renewed by the Spirit, so was the Church. To put it simply, the reformation was about returning to the Word of God for the life and strength of the Christian, and for the Church as well.

This doesn’t mean, however, that the reformers were trying to recreate the primitive church, as if that were the model for a successful church. While there is great value applying the practices of the early church to the church today, we must also remember that most of the letters of the New Testament were written to correct the problems that were already showing up in these communities of faith.

So, back to the first question, “What is the goal of all this reforming?” In Romans 12, the Spirit teaches us that we are “not to be conformed to this world but to be transformed by the renewing of the mind”… but to what end? This transformation, this reformation, of the Church, of the Christian, has a goal – a very specific goal. Again, in Romans 8, we are told, that “those whom [God] foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son.” That is the goal of any biblical reformation, that we might begin to look more like Christ.

The reformation of the soul, of the church, will certainly address the besetting sins that keep us from growing in the likeness of Christ. The reformation of the soul, of the church, will certainly jettison the “tradition for tradition sake” mentality of an institution while contending for the faith that has been entrusted from one generation to the next so that the church may continue to grow in the likeness of Christ. The reformation of the soul, of the church, will hear the cries of a lost and broken world and respond in love and truth that the world may see in it the likeness of Christ. The reformation of the soul, of the church, will continue to return to a heartfelt commitment to hearing and obeying the Word of God, not to refashion itself in the form of a long-lost idyll, but to be recreated in the likeness of Christ.

The reformation is not here to make us better people, but an altogether new creation; one that is born again in Christ, raised to new life in Christ, transformed and shaped by Christ, and destined to be with Christ forever.

SDG

You’re Doing It Wrong

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“You are the light of the world…”
(Matthew 5:14) 

This weekend I posted a comment on Facebook that has been rattling around in my head ever since.  My daughter was watching a YouTube video called, “The Problem with Christian Bands” (go ahead, click the link, it’s worth watching, or just scroll down to the end of this post to watch it).  At about the 2:13 mark in the video the young man says, “If you’re a Christian and I spend the whole day with you and can’t tell that you’re a Christian or not, you’re doing it wrong… Even if I’m completely oblivious I should notice some kind of difference.”

I don’t think this means that you should go around telling everyone “I’m a Christian, I’m a Christian” but the fact that you are a believer in a risen Savior should make a difference in how you relate to the world.

Look at it this way:

When the words of the world would toss you about on the waves of trouble, are you able are you able to stand firm in the Word of God because you have read the Scriptures daily?

When the way of the world is stress and anxiety over what has happened and what may happen next, a desperate grabbing for security and provision, are you able to rest in the fact that you have laid your cares before the throne of God and walk confidently in the knowledge that He will provide and see to every need?

When the world would tell you that we are only here by chance and there is no greater purpose in life, are you able to face each day with purpose and joy knowing that God has created you for this particular time and place, and has called you to find joy in glorifying Him?

When the world would have you believe that you are the product of your genetic coding and predisposed by the conditions of your upbringing, do you rejoice in the Savior who has broken the power of sin, the Sprit who brings new life, and a Heavenly Father who has called you to be His own from before the beginning of time?

When the world would tell you that nothing in life is ever free and you have to look out for yourself, do you rest in the grace of God in Jesus Christ and in thanksgiving and praise place others before yourself and look for every opportunity to give of yourself in love?

When the world celebrates “self” and tells you to promote yourself, to improve your image, to achieve and make yourself stand out for “one shining moment,” are you content in the assurance that God has called you His child, and only too happy to point to the goodness, the righteousness, the love, the supremacy of Christ our Savior?

This isn’t an “in your face,” obnoxious kind of Christianity – but rather a faith that permeates a room like a bouquet of fragrant flowers.  Jesus said “You are the light of the world.  A city on a hill cannot be hidden… Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”

You can’t hide the fact that you are a Christian and still be a Christian.  You can’t receive the joy of the Lord then cover it up so as not to offend or repel your friends (as if true and pure joy could ever be offensive or repulsive).  Living by faith the Christian life should look different from living according to the way of the world, even if that way is by all appearances noble and good.

Friends, do those around you know you are a child of God, a follower of Christ?  Do you bring the light of faith, the radiance of joy, the glow of peace into a world darkened by sin and despair?  Don’t hide your light – that’s doing it wrong – but let it shine for all to see.

SDG