Tag Archives: PC(USA)

I’m Reading Polity

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For the third year now, I have the privilege to read ordination exams for the PC(USA).  For those of you unaware of how this works, toward the end of the ordination process in the PC(USA), after students have completed at least some of their seminary work, candidates for ministry take 4 written exams.  They gather at regional testing sites (usually seminaries), and take three of the exams – Theology, Worship and Sacraments, and Polity – then they are given a week to write their Exegesis paper on a selected passage from either the Old or New Testament.  Once of the Exams are collected, they are sent to the Presbyteries where they are read by ordained Elders and Ministers. 

Serving as a reader has always been a good experience for me, a time of study and reading and thoughtful inquiry. It’s a great opportunity to invest and help shape and guide those who are exploring/pursuing God’s call in their lives toward the Ministry of Word and Sacrament.

The first year I read I got to evaluate Theology Exams. There were some real stinkers, but there were also many very well written and theologically sound papers. Last year I read New Testament Exegesis, and while it was clear that some of the exams were DOA, there were still some enjoyable exams to read.

This year, I’m reading Polity.   Let me share how I see this coming about:

Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them. The LORD said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the LORD and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” And the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Ethan…  a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?” Then Satan answered the LORD and said, “Does Ethan fear God for no reason? Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and he has read Theology and New Testament. But stretch out your hand and let him read Polity, and he will curse you to your face.” And the LORD said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand.” So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.
(Job 1:6-12 ESV – alterations indicated )

I knew it was only a matter of time.  If I kept reading exams, eventually it would come to this.  Wait **cough, cough** is that a cold coming on.

The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord.

SDG

Which Authority…

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I’ve had a little email back and forth this weekend with an old friend over the authority of Scripture, combined with a little discussion about the role of our Presbyterian Book of Order.  My friend has stated publically that we cannot speak “unequivocally” about what the Bible says.  The authority with which we speak on matters of scripture is completely conditional and never unequivocal, he says. When we believe we can speak unequivocally on behalf of scripture they have made an idol out of something.  In other words, we can never really say for certain and with authority any one thing about the God’s word, because it is all dependant upon our particular cultural context.

The problem with such Post-Modern, Deconstructionist Relativism is that it gives us nothing to say at all.  The Bible is simply the story of God revealing Himself to a particular people, but it does not speak authoritatively to us today.  We can gather principles, but no clear word to apply to our lives.  As Francis Schaeffer said in “How Then Should We Live?”, they “do not see the Bible as giving truth which can be stated in contentful propositions, especially regarding the cosmos and history, that is, as making statements which are open to any verification.  And for many of them the Bible does not give moral absolutes either.  For these theologians, it is not faith in something; it is faith in faith.”

Hard enough as that is to accept, my friend later went on to say that he fully embraces the Book of Order (the constitution of the PC(USA), and the new revisions to the constitution in regard to its position on the Word of God.  There is a full embrace of the Book of Order, but a qualified embrace of the Word of God.  Something is wrong here.

I mentioned to my friend that I had little to no faith in our Book of Order, because I have seen it used to punish and drive away innocent and faithful members and pastors.  This prompted a response that I was close to “renouncing jurisdiction,” an action that would permanently remove me from the church and my ministry.

So let me clarify my position.

I do not believe that I speak unequivocally about Scripture; Scripture does. Scripture tells us with one voice that we were created for God’s glory, but all have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. Scripture tells us with one voice that God has given us new life in Christ, and that all who call upon the Lord will be saved. Scripture tells us with one voice that the Christian life is lived in the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit, overcoming sin and immorality – for this is God’s will for our lives. Scripture tells us unequivocally that as sure as Christ came once before, He is coming again to judge the world and to recieve his own.

God’s Word does not change, even though the heavens and the earth will pass away (Psalm 119:89, Matthew 24:34-35).  The Book of Order changes every time we have a General Assembly. 

Like Scripture, does the Book of Order lead me to a saving knowledge of God and His love for me in Christ Jesus my Lord?  No.

Like Scripture, does the Book of Order contain the full revelation of God, and as such, is man’s only rule for faith and life? No.

Like Scripture, does the Book of Order, by the power of the Holy Spirit, reveal my sin, and lead me to trust in the saving work of Jesus Christ?  No.

Therefore, my heart and my mind must be held captive to the Word of God.  As a Presbyterian, I am goverened by the church’s policy and will abide by its discipline as I perform my ministry in the Presbyterian Church.  I do not renounce the jurisdiction of the church, rather I claim that the church is first and foremost under the jurisdiction of Christ Jesus her Lord and King, and must not stray from His will, as revealed to us in His Word.  Counsels of men are prone to sin and error, only God’s word is infallible and inerrant.

You tell me, which should I accept without qualification or scruple?