Open and Shut

From the July 1, 2009 edition of Tabletalk

Q. What is the Office of the Keys? 

A. The preaching of the Holy Gospel and Christian discipline; by these two the kingdom of heaven is opened to believers and shut against unbelievers. 
(Heidelberg Catechism, Q&A 83)

Church discipline is one of those topics no one really wants to talk about. Not only do people fear that such discipline entails church officers snooping around in their private business and then outing their private sins to others in the church, church members also don’t want to be perceived as being judgmental toward others. If snooping is what biblical church discipline entails, then people would be right to be worried. Fortunately, this is not the case.

One example where church discipline is applied in the New Testament is in Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians. Paul describes a situation in which a member of the church (presumably a prominent member) has taken “his father’s wife.” Paul seems completely perplexed that someone could do such a thing. “It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans” (1 Cor. 5:1). Not only was this man’s behavior a violation of biblical commandments, but such an act was considered scandalous among pagans outside the church. Paul’s remedy for this was to excommunicate this man: “You are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord” (v. 5).

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"Christ and the Church" -- Ephesians 5:22-33

The Thirteenth in a Series of Sermons on Ephesians

Martin Luther once quipped that anyone who was able to master the distinction between law and gospel should be immediately awarded the doctor’s cap (the symbol of the doctor’s degree in theology).  In Ephesians 5:22-33 we come to one of those passages which requires us to make a very important determination, “is this passage law, or is this passage gospel?”  Or, is it something else?  “Wives, submit to your husbands,” sounds like law to me.  And “husbands, love your wives” is certainly a command (and therefore “law”).  But it is Paul’s assertion “I am saying that this refers to Christ and his church,” which provides the key to understanding this entire passage.

As we continue our series on Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians, we come to the apostle’s discussion of a Christian’s submission to divinely-established authority.  This discussion runs from verse 21 of Ephesians 5, all the way through to verse 9 of chapter 6.  Paul touches upon many aspects of the Christian household and daily life.  In verse 21, Paul lays out the general principle that all believers are to submit to Christ, before taking up the subject of duties of wives to husbands (in verses 22-24), husbands to wives (vv. 25-32), children to parents (6:1-4) and slaves to masters in the balance of this section (vv. 6-9 of chapter 6).  This passage is known as the “household code,” and in many ways it serves to establish a distinctly Christian understanding of marriage and the family.

Throughout our series on Ephesians, we have been making the point that in Ephesians 1-3 Paul sets out his understanding of the gospel–a gospel grounded in God’s gracious election of sinners in Christ, who are then saved by grace through faith, through the proclamation of the saving work of Jesus (preaching).  In chapters 4-6, Paul discusses the Christian life–the application of that doctrine which he set out in the first three chapters to specific situations facing Christians in western Asia Minor.  In talking about the contrast between Christian and pagan ways of thinking and doing, Paul has discussed Christian unity, the need to strive for maturity, as well as the importance of stripping off the old self and putting on the new.  Paul has exhorted us to imitate Christ, to walk in love, and to be filled with the Holy Spirit, so that Psalms, hymns and spiritual songs pour out of our hearts during Christian worship, as opposed to the partying and drinking songs which resound in the pagan temples and guild halls. 

As we work our way through Paul’s discussion of a Christian’s submission to proper authority, we need to be especially mindful of the fact that Paul’s directives found in this section are often applied without any regard for the gospel from which they flow.  How many times have we heard verses from this passage cited as though we were perfectly capable of fulfilling them?  While these verses do indeed instruct us to submit to Christ, wives to submit to husbands, husbands to love our wives, children to submit to our parents and slaves to submit to earthly masters, the fact of the matter is that no husband in this room ever loved his wife as Christ loves the church.  Not one of us has ever fully submitted to Christ as we should.  And how many of us perfectly submitted to our parents while growing up?

To read the rest of this sermon, Click here  

Academy Audio Posted

Here's the audio from Ken's Academy lecture (May 7, 2010), "Faith Makes Sense:  The Compatibility of Faith & Reason."

Click here

"For the Sake of the Gospel" -- 1 Corinthians 9:1-27

Here's the audio from this morning's sermon, the fifteenth in a series of sermons on 1 Corinthians.

Click here

This Week's White Horse Inn

Contending for the Faith, Part 2

On this edition of the White Horse Inn, the hosts continue to explore the topic of "Contending for the Faith," as they take questions from the live audience in Southern California. Questions include: are we simply assuming the truthfulness of Scripture since we can't interview the eyewitnesses of Christ's resurrection; what should churches do to encourage evangelism in our time; and can our testimonies be seen as evidence of the gospel's truthfulness.

http://www.whitehorseinn.org/



Who Said That?

"[Your letter] illustrates the excellence of a system which, by a due distinction, to which the genius and courage of Luther led the way, between what is due to Caesar and what is due to God, best promotes the discharge of both obligations. The experience of the United States is a happy disproof of the error so long rooted in the unenlightened minds of well-meaning Christians, as well as in the corrupt hearts of persecuting usurpers, that without a legal incorporation of religious and civil polity, neither could be supported.  A mutual independence is found most friendly to practical religion, to social harmony, and to political prosperity."

Please leave your guess in the comments section below.  Please, no google searches or cheating.  Answer to follow next week.

Update on Saturday, May 8, 2010 at 08:57AM by Kim Riddlebarger

This is from James Madison in a letter written to P. L. Schaeffer in December of 1821.  Madison praises Luther's two kingdoms doctrine and sees it as the basis for keeping ecclesiastical and civil power distinct in the US Constitution.

A Great Deal on "A Case for Amillennialism" from Ligonier

Today only, you can purchase my book from Ligonier for five bucks!

Here's the scoop:  http://www.ligonier.org/store/collection/5-friday/

Tonight's Academy Lecture

When:  Join us tonight at 7:30 p.m. when Professor Kenneth Samples  continues his Academy series entitled "Historic Christianity’s Seven Dangerous Ideas”.  The lecture for this evening will be Faith Makes Sense: The Compatibility of Faith & Reason.

What:  “Dangerous Ideas” in such disciplines as philosophy and science are ideas that challenge the standard paradigm (accepted model) of the day. These ideas go against what most people naturally think to be true and real. Such revolutionary ideas tend to threaten accepted beliefs and often contain explosive world-and-life view implications for all humanity. Historic Christianity contains numerous beliefs that are theologically and philosophically volatile in the best sense of the term. The Christian faith contains powerful truth-claims that have succeeded in transforming the church and turning the world upside down. This series of lectures will explore seven such provocative beliefs proclaimed by historic Christianity.

Textbook: This is the topic and content of a new book that Kenneth Samples is presently working on to be published by Baker Books (2012).

General Info:  The Academy meets at Christ Reformed Church in Anaheim.  The lectures begin at 7:30 p.m., are free of charge, and are followed by a time for questions and answers, as well as a time for fellowship and refreshments.

Who:  Kenneth Samples is a senior research scholar at Reasons To Believe (RTB) and teaches at the Academy and Adult bible study classes at Christ Reformed Church.  Kenneth encourages believers to develop a logically defensible faith and challenges skeptics to engage Christianity at a philosophical level. He is the author of Without a Doubt and A World of Difference.  He has also written articles for Christianity Today and The Christian Research Journal.

A Picture Doesn't Always Tell the Whole Story

Many of you will recognize the famous "Berry Market" from Knott's Berry Farm (one of America's first and most famous amusement parks).  This picture was taken in the 1930s, and I saw it a few days ago on an Orange County history blog I frequent.  The building is still there, now part of larger complex.

I had seen the picture before and thought about my own family's history--and our deep ties to this building and the Knott family.  The picture doesn't tell that story . . .

My mom, Marian, worked here about the time the photo was taken (in the late 1930s).  There's a famous picture of Walter Knott and his son Russell selling boysenberries inside right behind the large window.  My mom (in her late teens) is standing next to them.

My aunt, Virginia (my mom's sister), was Mr. Knott's first secretary, and when a handsome Woodbury College student showed up looking for work, my mom liked his looks and talked my aunt into hiring him.  That young man was Clayton Riddlebarger, my father.

My folks left Orange County during the war (my dad was in the FBI by that time) and returned to open a Christian bookstore at Knotts in 1955.  By that time, my grandmother, Juliet, had retired from teaching, and ended up running the nursery--also pictured in the above photo!  Some of her favorite shrubs still reside in my backyard.

After Knott's opened Camp Snoopy in 1981, our bookstore was relocated . . .  you guessed it . . . just up the street a few doors from this building pictured above.  We finally closed the store in 1994.  By then I had a new vocation.

Oh, and lest I forget, although my wife and I went to the same elementary and high schools, guess where I met her again after we both graduated from high school a few years before?  At Knott's.  My wife worked a few doors down from our bookstore in Knott's accounting department, about 50 yards from the building pictured above.

So forgive me, if that picture stirs me more than it does you!  Man, if those walls could talk!

Shane Rosenthal on "Issues, Etc."

White Horse Inn producer, Shane Rosenthal, was Todd Wilkens' guest on yesterday's Issues, Etc.  Shane, who is a first rate historian, was discussing his recent Modern Reformation essay "On Faith and History", a look at the Luke's gospel in comparison with the work of Homer, Livy and others.

Here's the link to the audio:  Click here