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.

What I Believe

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“Contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints…”
(Jude 3 ESV)

What do you believe?  It’s not often that someone will come right up to you and ask you about your beliefs, but if they did, what would you say?  In my sermon on Sunday I shared that the Christian faith has two aspects: an intellectual assent to a standard of doctrine or teaching, and a trust or reliance in the person and work of Jesus Christ for our salvation.  As Beth Moore puts it, “There is Believing in God, and then there is Believing God.”  Both are crucial to the life of faith.

As a member of my Presbytery’s Committee on Preparation for Ministry, I have the privilege of working with those who sense God’s call to serve as Ministers of Word and Sacrament or as Commissioned Lay Pastors in the church.  Our job is to help them discerns God’s call, and to encourage, prepare, and equip them for ministry.  It is a humbling and awesome responsibility.

In the course of preparation, each candidate is required to submit a brief statement of faith.  Usually one page, this is a succinct statement of their Christian faith.  This is always such a revealing and powerful experience as we read their statements and examine their “theological readiness” for ministry.  For me, I learn so much more about a candidate by reading their statement of faith than just about any other dossier or résumé.  What we say about what we believe says a lot about who we are and about our walk with the Lord.

I can remember how difficult it was in seminary to sit down and write my first brief statement of faith.  There’s so much to say, how does one keep it to one page?  But the process of writing was such an encouragement.  God has redeemed us, heart and mind, passion and intellect.  We are given the revelation of God that we might know God, and to discern the goodness, justice, holiness, and grace of God.  We have been given minds to know Him, and are to believe all that God has revealed Himself to be.  What a blessing, to be able to know God, and to know of His loving mercy towards us.

If you have never written out what you believe, a brief statement of your faith, I want to encourage you to do it soon.  To articulate what you believe helps make it real.  The process of writing out what you believe helps you to answer some of your own questions, or correct your errors as you check your statement in Scripture.  You may even find that you become more comfortable sharing your faith, because you have put it into your own words.

I thought, in closing, I’d share with you my brief statement of faith.  I don’t share this for comparison with other statements, but that you may know my faith, and may hopefully be blessed by it.

I Believe…

  • In Almighty God, who is revealed in His creation as good, wise, and powerful, and who has further revealed Himself in Scripture as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; who is righteous in justice, full of grace and mercy, and steadfast in His love.
  • That all have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God for which we were created, and as such we are subject to and deserving of God’s wrath and judgment.  However, “God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us” (Rom 5:8).  When we were lost in sin, as sheep who have gone astray, God sought us out, sending His Son, Jesus Christ to be the way, the truth, and the life we desperately need.
  • That salvation from sin and death is found in Jesus Christ alone, who was, is, and forever will be the Son of God, the Incarnate Word, our Lord and Savior.  Born of the virgin Mary, Jesus lived His life completely for the glory of God, who by the power of the Spirit brought good news to the poor, proclaimed release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, and let the oppressed go free (Luke 4:18).  He was in every way like us, but He was without sin.  He bore our sins on Calvary.  In His death upon the cross, he took our place so that sin and death no longer have dominion over us, and in His resurrection we have the promise of eternal life with God and the assurance of His never-ending love.
  • That by the power of the Holy Spirit the work of Christ is applied to our lives.  Through the Holy Spirit we are brought from death in sin to life in Christ, we are justified by the righteousness of Christ alone, we are given faith to trust in the promises of God, we are empowered to follow after Jesus as His faithful disciples, we are equipped to serve the Lord with the gifts of the Spirit, we are convicted of sin an called to battle against it, and we are assured of our eternal security in God.
  • That the Church, which is the body of Christ, consists of those who confess Jesus Christ as Lord and is called to minister to a broken world; offering forgiveness and hope, encouraging one another in a life of discipleship, so that all may glorify God and worship Him.
  • That Scripture is the inspired, inerrant, and authoritative word of God, our only rule for life and faith.  The Holy Spirit speaks to the Church today through Scripture, and while God alone is Lord of the conscience, the conscience of the Christian is bound to the word in regard to matters of faith and worship.
  • That God has given us the Sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper as signs of His prevenient grace, which, with the preaching of the word of God, proclaim His gospel.  Baptism is an outward sign of what God’s gracious work; it is our engrafting into the body of Christ and the community of faith, the washing away of sin and the refreshing of new life.  The Lord’s Supper proclaims Christ’s atoning death on our behalf, in which we remember that His life was broken for ours, and that our salvation rests in Christ alone.  Through the Sacraments we are instructed and strengthened by faith to carry the gospel into the world.
  • That my greatest calling in life is to glorify God and enjoy him forever.  In response to the grace of God, everything I do from this point forward in my life ought to be an act of thanksgiving and praise for all that God has done.
  • That the world, now more than ever, needs to understand the blessing of knowing Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord – may they know it through me!

And to Him, my Redeemer, with the Father, and the Holy Spirit,
Three Persons, One God, be glory forever, world without end, Amen!

SDG

Why do I need the Holy Spirit?

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“Apart from me you can do nothing…”
(John 15:5 ESV)

Those of you who know me know I love books.  My office is full of them.  I have an annual book allowance that is always used.  Not only to I love books, I love to read them – they are not just decorations in my office.  I have found though, that if you read enough, eventually something is really going to hit home.

Such is the case with Francis Chan’s The Forgotten God.  I had read Crazy Love and thought it a very good book.  It challenged me in many ways, and I encouraged others to read it.  Forgotten God, on the other hand, is really messing with me, and I’m only in the first chapter.  I think it resonated with something that God’s Spirit had been telling me for a while now, and finally articulated what I’ve been struggling with.

Here’s the passage that really hit home:

For some reason, we don’t think we need the Holy Spirit.  We don’t expect the Holy Spirit to act.  Of if we do, our expectations are often misguided or self-serving.  Given our talent-set, experience, and education, many of us are fairly capable of living rather successfully without any strength from the Holy Spirit… If you combine a charismatic speaker, a talented worship band, and some hip, creative events, people will attend your church.  Yet this does not mean that the Holy Spirit of God is actively working and moving in the lives of the people who are coming… People are more likely to describe the quality of the music or the appeal of the sermon than the One who is the reason people gather for “church” in the first place.  (Francis Chan, The Forgotten God, page 31)

I have to admit, this describes the tendency of my own heart.  I have my Master’s of Divinity hanging on the wall to remind me of my academic training.  I have years of experience in preaching and teaching.  I am told that I am articulate and a good communicator.  I have studied Scripture and know it well.  Crafting a sermon and preparing worship are things that I enjoy and come easily to me.  Why, then, should I need the Holy Spirit to guide me?

It’s not that I’m not praying.  I pray for the church daily.  I pray with and for members who are struggling with sickness, loss, and doubt.  But am I praying for God’s Spirit to guide me, speak to me, speak through me, and move me as I prepare for Sunday?  Sadly, I have to admit, no.

One of the frustrations I’ve had growing inside has been this feeling that I’m not connecting with you in my sermons, that I’m not bringing about the growth that we all need to experience.  I take each absence on Sunday morning personally.  I long to hear praise for my sermons.  And now I see how this as evidence of my greater problem.  I have relied on my strength and understanding to bring about change and growth (as if I had the power to make any of this happen).  I have used the attendance and worship services to stroke my ego and bring me glory, even while proclaiming the glory of God.  I have robed God of the glory due His name.  And this is your pastor.

In God’s masterful and providential way, He has humbled me with His truth so that He may be exalted.  I read this week in John MacArthur’s study on Genesis 11, “Mankind has always corrupted god’s gifts for his own pleasures.”  In the story of the tower of Babel, “man’s underlying goal is again revealed, as he focuses on bringing glory to himself and his achievements.  There is no mention here of God – whether seeking God’s will, bringing glory to His name, or even obeying His commands… This is the natural tendency of man: to elevate self to equality with God in an effort to avoid being accountable to the Creator.”  Okay, I get it, that’s me.

This has been a tough week for me, having God’s Spirit lay bare the desire and corruption of my heart.  Pride has once again raised its ugly head, and I am convicted of my proclivity to trust in my strength and my understanding.  Isn’t the timing providential, our memory verse for the week is Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”  Message received.

Still, I am thankful for God’s mercy.  It is merciful that God has convicted me, that I have been restless and sorrowful, that I am struggling with this sin.  Without God’s mercy, I would never be made aware of my sin, I would continue headlong in it, and I would lead myself and others further astray.  Thank, you, Lord, for revealing my own heart to me, that I may confess my sin and be set on the path of righteousness.

Maybe you’ve found yourself right here with me.  I know I’m not alone.  We don’t wake up every morning and think, “I am really going to need the Spirit of God to guide me today.”  No, our first thoughts are usually something like, “I really need a cup of coffee,” “I really need to get that check in the mail,” “I really need to get away from here.”  What we really need is Jesus.

Jesus reminds us that we need him every moment of our lives.  In the gospel of John, Jesus says, “I am the vine; you are the branches.  Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5 ESV).  Accordingly, here is my prayer: Jesus, I need you.  You are the true vine, and I have tried to cut myself off from you.  I have tried relying on my own strength, my own wisdom, my own charm to bring about the fruit of the Christian life – and I am left empty and tired.  Lord Jesus, I need you.  I need more of you and less of me.  I need your life living in me, your love strengthening mine, your truth to guide me.  I need your Spirit to inspire me, to fill me, and to transform me.  Your church needs your Spirit to give us life.  Wean us, merciful savior, from our own self-reliance and independence, that we might cling to you alone and walk in the power of your Spirit.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

SDG