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.

The Christian’s Attitude Toward Sin

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This year at Bible Camp, I led a Bible study through 1 John.  In the past years, I felt that my lessons were far too complex for young campers, so I really tried to bring the class back to the basics, and thought teaching how to study the Bible would be a great place to start.  Plus, 1 John is one of those books that is easy to understand, though deep in its application and wisdom.
While much of 1 John is given to demonstrating how there are three birth-marks of a genuine Christian (Obedience, Love, and Truth), the opening chapter serves as the gate through which all must pass if they are going to walk with Christ.  It is not a great theological hurdle, nor must one complete some rite or ritual to be found in Christ.  No, according to John, if you are going to have fellowship with God and with Jesus Christ His Son, you must have a proper understanding of your own sin and know how to deal with it.
John spells this out for us in 1 John 1:6-2:2 quite clearly through a series of contrasts, denials and affirmations, on the genuine Christian life. Let’s take the denials first and see what genuine Christian is not, then we’ll look at the affirmations.
What a Christian is not:
  • vs 6 – If we say we have fellowship with Him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.
  • vs. 8 – If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us
  • vs. 10 – If we say we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.
Here we see by negation what marks the life of a false believer.  Those who continue to sin while claiming to walk with God, those who deny that what they are doing is a sin, and those who deny that they have ever sinned, they do not practice the truth, they are self-deceived, and they make God to be a liar. If you deny your own sinfulness, then you deny your need for a savior from your sin, and you deny the clear testimony of God’s Word.  
So what then ought a Christians attitude be toward sin?
Let us look to what John says again:
  • vs 7 – If we walk in the light as He is in the life, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin.
  • vs. 9 – If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
  • vs 2:1-2 … but if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins…
Those who are born of God, who have fellowship with Jesus Christ, walk in the light, living in obedience to His word, all the while trusting in the blood of Jesus to cleanse them from all sin. The genuine believer knows his own sin, confesses his sin, and trusts in the saving power of God in Jesus Christ for salvation – and this is all by the grace of God.
The Westminster Confession teaches, “repentance unto life is a saving grace, whereby a sinner, out of a true sense of his sin, and apprehension of the mercy of God in Christ, does, with grief and hatred of his sin, turn from it unto God, with full purpose of, and endeavor after, new obedience” (WSC 87).
What, then, is the gate through which all must pass in order to have fellowship with God in Jesus Christ, it is the gate of repentance.  Acknowledging sin, hating sin, turning from sin, and trusting in the righteousness of Christ as we seek to follow after Him.
SDG
Interesting Reading from the Pastor’s Desk
I’ve been reading this week about music and worship and thought I’d share some of the articles with you here:
The High Point of Worship – This is a longer read, but well worth it. It is a good refresher on why we worship the way we do as a Reformed and Presbyterian Church, what at the center of our worship, and will, hopefully, renew us in our devotion in worship on the Lord’s Day.
The Lord is My Salvation – From the Getty’s, here is a new hymn, a song of testimony, inspired in part by Psalm 27. There is a link to where you can download the song for free, as well as links for the sheet music of the song.
So Will I – This article demonstrates the kind of discernment that I try to apply to every song we use in worship. I have to admit, I love this song, but like the author of this article, I am troubled by the content of the second verse and what it would lead a congregation to think when singing it.  I could think of so many better words to use to describe sanctification than “evolve.”

Good News from General Assembly

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As the world around us continues to race headlong into the darkness of immorality and confusion, it is important for the Church to stand firm and speak clearly the truth of God’s Word.  Last week, during its annual General Assembly, the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) voted to do just that by declaring the Nashville Statement as a “biblically faithful declaration.”  By this action, the PCA joins several other evangelical institutions in appropriating the Nashville Statement to  articulate its convictions on sexuality and gender.

The Nashville Statement articulates the teaching of Scripture regarding gender, sexuality, and marriage, but, more importantly, aims to bring glory to God by proclaiming the truth of God’s Word and calling all people to repent and seek salvation in Jesus Christ alone.  The statement was produced by the Counsel on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, and has 14 articles of affirmation and denial.  The Biblical references are listed at the end of the statement.  For more information on the statement, to see who has signed it, please visit the CBMW website.

Article 1

WE AFFIRM that God has designed marriage to be a covenantal, sexual, procreative, lifelong union of one man and one woman, as husband and wife, and is meant to signify the covenant love between Christ and his bride the church.

WE DENY that God has designed marriage to be a homosexual, polygamous, or polyamorous relationship. We also deny that marriage is a mere human contract rather than a covenant made before God.

Article 2

WE AFFIRM that God’s revealed will for all people is chastity outside of marriage and fidelity within marriage.

WE DENY that any affections, desires, or commitments ever justify sexual intercourse before or outside marriage; nor do they justify any form of sexual immorality.

Article 3

WE AFFIRM that God created Adam and Eve, the first human beings, in his own image, equal before God as persons, and distinct as male and female.

WE DENY that the divinely ordained differences between male and female render them unequal in dignity or worth.

Article 4

WE AFFIRM that divinely ordained differences between male and female reflect God’s original creation design and are meant for human good and human flourishing.

WE DENY that such differences are a result of the Fall or are a tragedy to be overcome.

Article 5

WE AFFIRM that the differences between male and female reproductive structures are integral to God’s design for self-conception as male or female.

WE DENY that physical anomalies or psychological conditions nullify the God-appointed link between biological sex and self-conception as male or female.

Article 6

WE AFFIRM that those born with a physical disorder of sex development are created in the image of God and have dignity and worth equal to all other image-bearers. They are acknowledged by our Lord Jesus in his words about “eunuchs who were born that way from their mother’s womb.” With all others they are welcome as faithful followers of Jesus Christ and should embrace their biological sex insofar as it may be known.

WE DENY that ambiguities related to a person’s biological sex render one incapable of living a fruitful life in joyful obedience to Christ.

Article 7

WE AFFIRM that self-conception as male or female should be defined by God’s holy purposes in creation and redemption as revealed in Scripture.

WE DENY that adopting a homosexual or transgender self-conception is consistent with God’s holy purposes in creation and redemption.

Article 8

WE AFFIRM that people who experience sexual attraction for the same sex may live a rich and fruitful life pleasing to God through faith in Jesus Christ, as they, like all Christians, walk in purity of life.

WE DENY that sexual attraction for the same sex is part of the natural goodness of God’s original creation, or that it puts a person outside the hope of the gospel.

Article 9

WE AFFIRM that sin distorts sexual desires by directing them away from the marriage covenant and toward sexual immorality— a distortion that includes both heterosexual and homosexual immorality.

WE DENY that an enduring pattern of desire for sexual immorality justifies sexually immoral behavior.

Article 10

WE AFFIRM that it is sinful to approve of homosexual immorality or transgenderism and that such approval constitutes an essential departure from Christian faithfulness and witness.

WE DENY that the approval of homosexual immorality or transgenderism is a matter of moral indifference about which otherwise faithful Christians should agree to disagree.

Article 11

WE AFFIRM our duty to speak the truth in love at all times, including when we speak to or about one another as male or female.

WE DENY any obligation to speak in such ways that dishonor God’s design of his imagebearers as male and female.

Article 12

WE AFFIRM that the grace of God in Christ gives both merciful pardon and transforming power, and that this pardon and power enable a follower of Jesus to put to death sinful desires and to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord.

WE DENY that the grace of God in Christ is insufficient to forgive all sexual sins and to give power for holiness to every believer who feels drawn into sexual sin.

Article 13

WE AFFIRM that the grace of God in Christ enables sinners to forsake transgender selfconceptions and by divine forbearance to accept the God-ordained link between one’s biological sex and one’s self-conception as male or female.

WE DENY that the grace of God in Christ sanctions self-conceptions that are at odds with God’s revealed will.

Article 14

WE AFFIRM that Christ Jesus has come into the world to save sinners and that through Christ’s death and resurrection forgiveness of sins and eternal life are available to every person who repents of sin and trusts in Christ alone as Savior, Lord, and supreme treasure.

WE DENY that the Lord’s arm is too short to save or that any sinner is beyond his reach.

Scripture References*

Gen. 1:26-28; 2:15-25; 3:1-24; Ex. 20:14; 20:17; Lev. 18:22; 20:13; Dt. 5:18, 21; 22:5; Jdg. 19:22; 2 Sam. 11:1-12:15; Job 31:1; Ps. 51:1-19; Prov. 5:1-23; 6:20-35; 7:1-27; Isa. 59:1; Mal. 2:14; Matt. 5:27–30; 19:4-6, 8-9, 12; Acts 15:20, 29; Rom. 1:26–27; 1:32; 1 Cor. 6:9–11, 18-20; 7:1-7; 2 Cor. 5:17; Gal. 5:24; Eph. 4:15, 20–24; 5:31–32; Col. 3:5; 1 Thess. 4:3-8; 1 Tim. 1:9–10, 15; 2 Tim. 2:22; Titus 2:11-12; Heb. 13:4; Jas. 1:14–15; 1 Pet. 2:11; Jude 7

* Scripture texts are not a part of the original document but have been added subsequently for reference