ABRAHAM FRIEND OF GOD

                                                    ABRAHAM: FRIEND OF GOD

Introduction

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You’ll remember that Abraham had three visitors show up on his doorstep. He is dwelling by the terebinth trees of Mamre when three men happened by. We’ve already discovered that two of these men are angels. But more importantly, we already know that one of the men is the LORD Himself.

The two angels with the LORD were on their way, on foot, to Sodom. However, Abraham acted all friendly toward them and even gave them a hearty lunch. During the course of lunch or just after it, the LORD told the ninety-year-old Sarah that she was going to have a baby to her ninety-nine-year-old husband Abraham. Sarah laughed into herself at this incredible news. Then she lied to the LORD saying that she didn’t laugh.

Anyway, we pick up the story just as the three visitors are leaving. We’re told in Genesis 18:16 that the three men rose from Abraham’s table and “looked toward Sodom.” Literally it says that they “looked on the face of Sodom.”

Now, you’ll remember that Abraham’s nephew Lot lives in Sodom. So, the two angels are leaving Abraham’s place a little after lunchtime, and they will arrive in Sodom in the evening. (One may have expected angels simply to fly to their destination, but they are in appearance as men.) How far did they have to travel? Well, the trouble is that we’re not entirely sure where Sodom is. It was wiped off the map, off the face of the earth! But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

The scene at the moment is that the Abraham is seeing the men on their way. He’s sort of walking them to the end of his driveway kind-of-a-thing. It’s as he’s doing this that the LORD starts to confide in Abraham. We get the impression that the two men, i.e., the two angels walked on ahead.

So, what we’re looking at is the content of the words the LORD spoke to Abraham at this point. I would like us to focus our attention of the words of verse 19 in particular. For this verse tells us that the LORD has made Abraham His friend. But not only that, it tells us the reason why He has made Abraham His friend.

 

For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the LORD, to do righteousness and justice, that the LORD may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him. Genesis 18:19.

The general gist of what we’re looking at is: Friends of God obey the Lord and teach others to obey Him too.

Reconciliation

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The LORD has made Abraham His friend. To be God’s “friend” is to have been reconciled to Him. To be reconciled is to be brought back into friendship after estrangement. All mankind became estranged from God when Adam ate the forbidden fruit. But look at the words at the beginning of verse 19, “For I have known him.” Some Bibles have, “For I have chosen him.” But the idea is that of knowing, such as in the LORD saying to Jeremiah, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you…” (Jer. 1:5a). It’s the type of knowing David expresses in Psalm 139, “O LORD, You have searched me and known me, You know my sitting down and my rising up…” It’s not just the general knowing of an acquaintance. No, this is the intimate knowing of a friend. It’s the type of friendship that has been through hardship together. It’s the type of friendship that can be depended on, relied upon.

What is friendship? My desk dictionary says a friend is One who is personally well known by oneself and for whom one has warm regard or affection; intimate. And friendship is The state or fact of being friends; mutual liking and esteem. So, Abraham is the friend of God. 2 Chron. 20:7 says, “Are You not our God, who drove out the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel, and gave it to the descendants of Abraham Your friend forever?" Isaiah 41:8, “But you, Israel, are My servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, the descendants of Abraham My friend.” James 2:23, “And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, ‘Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.’ And he was called the friend of God.”

So, why am I labouring the fact that Abraham is the friend of God? Well, it’s so that you will now be able to see the way the LORD treated His friend Abraham. There was a mutual liking and esteem between the LORD and Abraham His friend. In verse 17 it says, “And the LORD said, ‘Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing…?” Friends don’t keep big secrets from each other; they share what they’re doing.

David says in Psalm 25:14, “The secret of the LORD is with those who fear Him, and He will show them His covenant.” Abraham and all the males in his whole household, hundreds of them, have just had the sign and seal of God’s covenant etched into the most intimate part of their bodies. As you or I might carve our name into the bark of a tree with a knife, so the LORD has carved His name into Abraham’s generative organ. Not only does this mark, this sign and seal of the covenant, this circumcision, speak of generation, but it speaks of re-generation. That’s why the LORD is saying in verses 17 and 18, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing, since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?”

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        I ask you, what kind of blessing would Abraham be to all the nations of the earth if all the nations of the earth are going to Hell in a hand basket? How then are all the nations of the earth going to be blessed in Abraham the friend of God? This blessing of Abraham must mean that the nations are going to be reconciled to God. What else can blessing mean but reconciliation with God? To be sure, it also of necessity must mean regeneration, for reconciliation and regeneration go hand in hand. Like love and marriage, you can’t have one without the other!

So, when the LORD says to Abraham, “in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Gen. 12:3b), He is saying that all the nations will be reconciled to God. It’s hard to miss the idea of the reconciliation between God and all the nations if you look at Jesus Christ. The LORD is sharing this secret with His friend Abraham. Abraham is being told the secret of the everlasting gospel, that through Abraham’s greater Son, i.e., Jesus Christ, all the nations (in time) will be blessed through the gospel “ministry of reconciliation (2 Cor. 5:18). The promised Christ, who will have all authority in heaven and on earth (Matt, 28:18), will ensure this. Pauls speaks of the fulfilment of this gospel promise in Romans 16 where he says,

 

Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret since the world began but now made manifest, and by the prophetic Scriptures made known to all nations, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, for obedience to the faith—to God, alone wise, be glory through Jesus Christ forever. Amen. Romans 16:25-27).

Therefore, the secret that God shared with Abraham was the gospel, that God was going to reconcile the nations to Himself through Abraham’s descendant, that they would believe in Him, (i.e., Jesus Christ), and become obedient. The shorthand way of saying all this is that in Abraham “all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Gen. 12:3b).

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The Abrahamic blessing begins to blossom and bear fruit in Jesus Christ. If you own fruit trees, you’ll know that all the fruit on your trees began as blossoms. The dead and leafless winter tree begins to bud and leaf in spring. Then comes the blossoms, then comes the fruit of blessing. That’s the way it is for with the blessing of Abraham. Before the coming of the Messiah promised to Abraham the earth was dead and leafless. Like a tree in winter. Then came Christ, and the earth began to blossom and produce fruit. First, at Jerusalem, then among the Samaritans, and now continuing among the nations.

All Christians know that we are blessed in Abraham’s Promised Seed who is the Lord Jesus Christ (Gal. 3:16). We know that it is through His life, death, and death-conquering resurrection that all nations are to be blessed. The Gospel is the message of reconciliation. It’s the message that God and sinners have been reconciled in Jesus Christ.

But how does the blessing of Abraham that we hear about in the Gospel come upon the nations or the Gentiles? Well, the nations are to be blessed by the out-pouring out of His Spirit upon all nations. Paul the Apostle, says in Galatians 3:14 that Christ died “that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.” That word “Gentiles” speaks of all nations. Therefore, the blessings of God’s covenant with father Abraham are to be poured upon all the Gentiles, i.e., all the nations. O Palmer Robertson clears up some of the misunderstandings regarding the use of the English word Gentiles as used in most Bibles:

          "Substituting “nations” or “all nations” or “peoples from all nations” for “Gentiles” provides a much more illuminating reading appropriate to the expansive perspective of the Christian gospel. Indeed, some passages would present a translation challenge. But the consistent substitution of “nations” for “Gentiles” throughout the New Testament could have a significant impact on the communication of the universalistic character of the new covenant gospel and could provide a powerful impetus for evangelism and missionary endeavours. The book of Revelation climaxes in the biblical concept of “nations” and “peoples.” Seven times over, Revelation joins together references to every tribe, tongue, people, and nation as those who share the blessings of the redeemed by Christ (Rev. 5:9; 7:9; 10:11; 11:9; 13:7; 14:6; 17:15). How out of place it would sound to substitute “Gentile” for “nation” in these climactic contexts. “Every tribe, tongue, people, and Gentile” shall praise Him?"^[1]

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These covenanted blessings, as every reader of the New Testament knows, were poured out like rain from heaven by the ascended Jesus Christ. In Acts 1:4-5 Jesus commanded His disciples “Not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father…” What is the “Promise of the Father”? Acts 1:5, “for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” So, the blessing of Abraham comes through the outpouring of the ‘Promise of the Father’ a.k.a. the Holy Spirit. As the LORD’s Prophet Isaiah says, “So He shall sprinkle many nations…” Isa. 53:15. Sprinkle many nations with what? With the Promise of the Father, i.e., with the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:16&17, “But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: ‘It shall come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour My Spirit on all flesh…’”

Who are the “all flesh” to be baptized by the outpouring of the Promised Blessing? “All flesh” is both Jew and Gentile, i.e., all nations! Therefore, don’t miss the magnitude of what the LORD is saying to Abraham in Genesis 18:18. Do you see it? “Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him.” The LORD is saying, “How can I hide what I’m doing on the earth from Abraham. “How can I keep it from him since I’ve already told him that he would be a blessing to all the nations of the earth?” In other words, “Abraham, I’m doing what I’m doing on the earth for the sake of My promise to you, for the sake of My covenant with you.”

So, with this in mind, the words of verse 19 begin to make even more sense. Why has the LORD made Abraham His friend? Well, it’s so that Abraham may command his children and his household after him. Command his household and children after to do what? So that he will command them to keep the way of the LORD. And what is the way of the LORD? The way of the LORD is to do righteousness and justice. The way of the LORD is to do what is right in the LORD’s eyes and to deal justly with others. And why should Abraham’s children and his household do righteousness and justice? Well, it’s so that the LORD may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him. And what has the LORD spoken to Abraham? He has promised that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation and that all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him!

In a word: The LORD is saying to Abraham that righteousness and justice will prevail upon the earth. So, we ask the question: How can righteousness and justice prevail on the earth if there is no regeneration?

 

Regeneration

Righteousness and justice will prevail upon the earth because Abraham and his children and his household after him will keep the way of the LORD. The household of Abraham, i.e., the true Church on earth, has been reconciled to God. The true Church is the bride of Christ, is she not? For the Church to be reconciliated she must also be regenerated. That’s what faith is all about, isn’t it?

Faith without works is dead, i.e., unregenerated. A people without works of righteousness and justice is a dead people. But the household of Abraham is not dead because God by His grace has regenerated her. Psalm 1:6 sums it all up, “For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly will perish.” The LORD intimately knows the way of the righteous. He is the friend of the way of the righteous. “Abraham believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness” (Gen. 15:6).

Abraham is walking in the way of the LORD because God brought Him back to life. And so will his children and household, even the Church after him, walk in the way of the LORD. They’ll walk in the way of the LORD because the LORD has made the promise to Abraham that He will regenerate them. For that’s what the LORD is saying when He says “Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation.” For how can Abraham be a great a mighty nation if his people remain dead in their trespasses and sins? So wherever and whenever the Church on earth keeps the way of the LORD, whenever she deals in righteousness and justice, the nation she is in is blessed! “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people” (Prov 14:34). So, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled” (Matt. 5:6).

But what shall become of those who do not hunger and thirst for righteousness? But what about those who dwell in the reproach and disgrace of sin? “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing?” (Gen. 18:17). “The way of the ungodly will perish” (Psa. 1:6b).

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“And the LORD said, ‘Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous, I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry against it that has come to Me; and if not, I will know” (Gen. 18:20-21). Where it says their sin is very grievous it says literally their sin is very “heavy.” So, the LORD is informing Abraham that He is going to weigh Sodom in the balances. Sodom and Gomorrah are tipping the scales, their sin is weighing them down. They are sinking further into the pit. Hades, the grave, the ground is about to swallow them up!

So, we see a contrast going on in this passage of Scripture. We see that there are blessings promised for obedience to God. And we see that there are curses threatened for disobedience. The household of Abraham is obedient and therefore are exalted by the LORD. Whereas the cities of the Plain, even Sodom and Gomorrah, are disobedient. And since sin is a reproach for any people, they are therefore ready to be torn down like any den of iniquity, like an old and dilapidated tenement building. But don’t miss the point of the LORD’s telling Abraham what He is setting out to do.

We’ll look into it in more depth up ahead, but Abraham intercedes on behalf of any of the righteous persons who might be in Sodom and Gomorrah. This alerts us to the fact that the LORD will stay the hand of destruction for the sake of the righteous. So, what we’re seeing here today then is the fact that righteousness is a preservative. Righteousness is a preservative in the sense it prevents the death and decay of any society.

Abraham’s household, by the grace of God keeps the way of the LORD. His household does righteousness and justice. What does Sodom and Gomorrah do? Well, the LORD is going to see whether they have done according to the outcry against it (18:21).

So, let’s put all the pieces together. We have seen that Abraham is the friend of God. We have seen that God has made Abraham His friend so that Abraham will teach his children and his household after him to observe the things the LORD has commanded. We considered the fact that we need the Holy Spirit before we are able to truly observe all the things the LORD has commanded us. But what happens when Abraham’s household observes everything they have been taught to observe? Well, it means that the LORD will bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him.

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        So, with these things in mind let’s try to see how we fit into the grand scheme. Here are a couple of verses from the New Testament so that we won’t misunderstand who and what we are. “Therefore know that only those who are faith are sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the nations by faith, preached the gospel beforehand, saying, ‘In you all the nations shall be blessed.’ So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham” (Gal. 3:7-9).

We are blessed with believing Abraham through faith. Abraham believed in God and what He had promised. This faith was accounted to him for righteousness (Gen. 15:3; Gal. 3:6). Therefore, the righteousness that preserves from destruction and judgment is received by faith. The Gospel reveals this righteousness. “For in the Gospel the righteousness of God is revealed…” (Rom. 1:17a).

So we see then that Abraham was to teach his children, his whole household after him, to keep the faith (Gen. 18:19). This is guaranteed now that the Lord has come. For Jesus Christ says: “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you…”

So, the nations are to be discipled. The nations are to be baptized in the name of the triune God. And the nations are to be taught to observe the way of the LORD. Who is to do this discipling, baptizing, and teaching of the nations? Well, it’s Abraham’s children and his household after Him. And who is going to stop Abraham’s household when not even the gates of Hades will prevail against it? (Matt. 16:18).

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        The Promise is that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations should be blessed in him. The Apostle Peter calls Abraham’s household, the Church “a holy nation” (1 Pet. 2:9). Therefore, Abraham’s household becomes greater and mightier the more the church expands throughout all the earth. The more the Church expands through the proclamation of the blessings of Abraham, even the Good News, the more people do righteousness and justice. The more the nations do righteousness and justice the more exalted the nations become. The more exalted the nations become the more they are blessed along with father Abraham. To observe the way of the LORD is to hunger and thirst after righteousness. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled” (Matt. 5:6). To be filled is to receive the Holy Spirit in abundance. To reject the way of the LORD is to quench the Spirit and set yourself up for destruction like Sodom and Gomorrah.

We have seen that Abraham is the friend of God. To be a friend of God is to have been reconciled to God. To be reconciled to God is to be regenerated by the Spirit of God. The Gospel is the Good News of the reconciliation between God and men. Those who do righteousness and justice, which is to say that those who keep the way of the LORD, show that they have been reconciled and regenerated.

The fruit of the Gospel can be seen in men striving to keep God’s Law out of gratitude. A person filled with gratitude to the LORD is a happy person, a blessed person. A nation filled with gratitude to the LORD is a happy nation, a blessed nation. Therefore, may all the nations become filled to overflowing with gratitude to the LORD! For it is through this national gratitude to the LORD that Abraham receives what God has promised him.

 

Conclusion

God confided in Abraham; He treated Abraham as His friend. Jesus says to His disciples, i.e., those who are being taught by Him, “You are My friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you” (John 15:14-15).

So, make no mistake, God made known to Abraham what He was doing on the earth. He promised Abraham that all the nations will be blessed in him. When or how the LORD will be pleased to bring this fully to pass is His business. But we should remember that Friends of God obey the Lord and teach others to obey Him too. Also that faithful obedience to God is what brings the blessing, yes, even the blessing Abraham!

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[1] O Palmer Robertson, Israel and the Nations in God’s Covenants, (Waters, Reid, and Muether, Covenant Theology: Biblical, Theological, and Historical Perspectives, Crossway, Wheaton, Illinois, 2020), 516.

SOME BRIEF THOUGHTS ON PREACHING

                                    SOME BRIEF THOUGHTS ON PREACHING

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What is Preaching?: At its most basic, Preaching is taking the ancient text and applying it to people living today in ways they can understand.

Quotable quote: “God uses contemporary preaching to bring His salvation to people today, to build His church, to bring in His kingdom. In short, contemporary biblical preaching is nothing less than a redemptive event.” Sidney Greidanus.

Yours truly

The Sermon’s Place in Worship: Prayer is the congregation audibly speaking to God. Bible reading is God speaking to us audibly. The two Sacraments are God speaking to us visually (with audible commentary). Singing praise is our audible response to God. The sermon is where God not only speaks to us but also calls for an active response. Therefore, because it is a call to action, the sermon is the high point of the worship service. If the congregation is to clearly hear and understand what God is saying to them, then the sermon must be articulated plainly. God’s will needs to be stated, explained and applied. “For if the trumpet makes an uncertain sound, who will prepare for battle? So likewise you, unless you utter by the tongue words easy to understand, how will it be known what is spoken? For you will be speaking into the air” 1 Cor. 14:8-9).

Quotable quote: “Is there no refuge from strife? Is there no place of refreshing where a man can prepare for the battle of life? Is there no place where two or three can gather in Jesus’ name, to forget for the moment all those things that divide nation from nation and race from race, to forget human pride, to forget the passions of war, to forget the puzzling problems of industrial life, and to unite in overflowing gratitude at the foot of the Cross? If there be such a place, then that is the house of God and that the gate of heaven. And from under the threshold of that house will go forth a river that will revive the weary world.” J. Gresham Machen, Christianity & Liberalism: 100^th Anniversary Edition, Westminster Seminary Press, 2023, p. 184.

Types of Sermons: 1. Expository. 2. Textual. 3. Topical.

Though all sermons are expository:

Expository sermons tend to be verse by verse, preaching through whole Books.

Textual is a section (a.k.a. a pericope) of Scripture, e.g., a Parable, a text on Marriage etc.

Topical deals with topics (e.g., what does the Bible say about Global Warming, Pandemics, or doctrines, such as Baptism, The Lord’s Supper, Justification etc.)

Regardless of the form in which the sermon is delivered, the hope is that both the Preacher and the congregation have a great desire to know what the Scriptures teach so that they can live accordingly.

Quotable quote: “Preaching in its essence addresses the perpetual human quest for authority and meaning. Though we live in an age hostile to authority, everyday struggles for significance, security, and acceptance force every individual to ask, ‘Who has the right to tell me what to do?’ This question typically posed as a challenge is really a plea for help. Without an ultimate authority for truth all human striving has no ultimate value and life itself becomes futile. Modern trends in preaching that deny the authority of the word in the name of intellectual sophistication lead to despairing subjectivism in which people do what is right in their own eyes--a state whose futility Scripture has already clearly articulated.” Bryan Chapell “Christ Centered Preaching” p. 23.

Sermon Structure: This will vary depending on a few factors, such as sermon type.

Expository sermons can run like a commentary, commenting on and applying verses as you go.

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Textual sermons ought to be structured, such as a typical three-point sermon. The big idea (i.e., what is the Holy Spirit telling us in this section?) is hammered home. Like hanging a painting, the three points are the “well-driven nails” (Eccl. 12:11) that the text’s big picture hangs on.

Topical sermons are structured the same as textual sermons, but unlike preaching from a single section, the message (i.e., the Topic) is drawn from all the Scriptures that address it.

Quotable quote: John Knox Before Queen Mary. “‘You interpret the Scriptures in one way,’ said the queen evasively, ‘and they in another: whom shall I believe, and who shall be judge?’ ‘You shall believe God, who plainly speaketh in His Word,’ replied the Reformer, ‘and farther than the Word teacheth you, you shall believe neither the one nor the other. The Word of God is plain in itself; if there is any obscurity in one place, the Holy Ghost, who is never contrary to Himself, explains it more clearly in other places, so that there can remain no doubt, but as to such as are obstinately ignorant.’” Thomas McRie “The Life of John Knox” p.175.

Sermon Tools: A working knowledge of the original languages is preferred, at the very least, an ability to look up Hebrew and Greek concordances and lexicons. Bible Commentaries may be consulted. Systematic and Biblical Theology books, books of Bible illustrations, Christian books etc. Christian Creeds and Church Confessions, and Scripture genre must be kept in mind. Is it narrative, poetry, history, wisdom, gospel, law, eschatological etc. Scriptural context, Historical context, Literary context.

Quotable quote: “A creed (from the Lat. credo, ‘I believe’) is an authoritative statement of the main articles of the Christian faith to which believers are expected to assent.” New Dictionary of Theology.

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Intended Audience: Is your audience mostly university students, elderly, farmers, city-dwellers, young families, or a mixture of all? Congregational makeup will help drive sermon content, e.g., a predominantly elderly congregation may be more interested in Heaven than Parenting. However, regardless of audience, all need to hear about salvation and how they ought to live once saved. Both Gospel and Law need to be properly understood by the audience. The Preacher should try hard to feed new converts and also mature Christians, the surface feeders as well as the bottom feeders and everyone in between. The Preacher must help (not hinder) the congregation to, as it were, “down-tools” and be prepared to listen as an act of worship.

Quotable quote: “A sitting silently at the feet of Jesus is of more worth than all the clatter of Martha’s dishes.” CH Spurgeon.

Sermon Delivery: State/Explain/Apply. This method can be used throughout the sermon and/or it can be used where a) The sermon’s Introduction is where you State what the sermon is about. b) The body of the sermon is where you are explaining what you have just stated. And c) The application comes at the end of the sermon. However, since people tend to remember illustrations (which are application), application is probably best used throughout. It helps to keep the audience interested. Introduce what you are going to talk about. Then talk about what you’ve introduced. The sermon’s conclusion is where the “So what?” question needs to be answered. The congregation needs to know what to do (read, pray, trust, repent, believe etc.). The State aspect, if you will, is the Theory. The Explain facet is the theory explained. And the Apply feature is where the theory is put into practice.

Quotable quote: “Everywhere there is apathy. Nobody cares whether that which is preached is true or false. A sermon is a sermon whatever the subject; only, the shorter it is the better.” Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892).

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Voice Modulation: Many a good sermon can be wasted by unclear articulation, from voice modulation to mumbling to monotone to a poor choice of words. 

“The Preacher sought to find acceptable words; and what was written was upright—words of truth” (Eccl. 12:10). Again, the Preacher’s choice of words will depend on congregational makeup. However, it is generally accepted that most twelve-year-olds ought to be able to understand what the sermon is about. This does not mean that abstract concepts or big words cannot be used, only that once stated, they should be explained (and even applied). Congregations do not like it when Preachers are condescending. Therefore, caution needs to be used when explaining big words. Humour can sometimes help here.

Quotable quote: “Remember the rule of theological terminology: Never use a big word when you can use a diminutive one!” Anon.

THE CODE OF DARKNESS (Review)

The Code of Darkness by Russell Brandon would make a great movie, a PG movie. This well written novel deals with those who involve themselves in child pornography and child exploitation and the dark unseen forces behind it all. Though it deals with Christians rescuing sexually abused children, this work of fiction could be appreciated by Christians and non-Christians alike.

“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Eph. 6:12).

The blurb on the back cover summarises the book’s content and intent: “This is a book about three people who come together in circumstances that could easily end in their becoming enemies for life. Instead they learn about Jesus and become friends. The demons that would have held them captive are dispatched through prayer that empowers angels to turn our heroes’ lives in a whole new direction.”  

Brandon writes, “God’s strength is so much stronger than Satan’s. It was only the failure of men that allowed Satan to wreak havoc in the world through his demons when men and women stopped praying.” Page 217. As a Christian, I was encouraged in my prayer life after seeing imaginative depictions of what goes on behind the scenes whenever Christians set themselves to earnest prayer.

There is plenty of angels battling demons going on behind the scenes in The Code of Darkness. I loved the way the author demonstrated how Christians strengthen angels and weaken demons by their prayers. We work in tandem with angels. We need only to ask God for their help. “Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?” (Heb. 1:14).

One was reminded of the time Gabriel came to Daniel saying, “Daniel, don’t be afraid! God has listened to your prayers since the first day you humbly asked for understanding, and he has sent me here. But the guardian angel of Persia opposed me for 21 days. Then Michael, who is one of the strongest guardian angels, came to rescue me from the kings of Persia” (Dan. 10:12-13 CEV).

The Code of Darkness is a book about prayer coupled with action, lots of action! It is an excellent, gripping, imaginative and entertaining tale of how Christians, with the help of angels, can be forces for good in this fallen world.

CIVIL GOVERNMENT

Excerpted from HOLDING FAST OUR CONFESSION : McKinlay, Neil Cullan: Amazon.com.au: Books                                                     

                                                        CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

WCF CHAPTER 23, Sections 1-4. Of the Civil Magistrate.

I. God, the Supreme Lord and King of all the world, hath ordained civil magistrates to be under him over the people, for his own glory and the publick good; and to this end, hath armed them with the power of the sword, for the defence and encouragement of them that are good, and for the punishment of evil-doers.

II. It is lawful for Christians to accept and execute the office of a magistrate when called thereunto; in the managing whereof, as they ought especially to maintain piety, justice, and peace, according to the wholesome laws of each commonwealth, so, for that end, they may lawfully, now under the New Testament, wage war upon just and necessary occasions.

III. The civil magistrate may not assume to himself the administration of the word and sacraments, or the power of the keys of the kingdom of heaven: yet he hath authority, and it is his duty, to take order, that unity and peace be preserved in the church, that the truth of God be kept pure and entire, that all blasphemies and heresies be suppressed, all corruptions and abuses in worship and discipline prevented or reformed, and all the ordinances of God duly settled, administered, and observed. For the better effecting whereof, he hath power to call synods, to be present at them, and to provide that whatsoever is transacted in them be according to the mind of God.[1]

IV. It is the duty of the people to pray for magistrates, to honour their persons, to pay them tribute and other dues, to obey their lawful commands, and to be subject to their authority, for conscience’ sake. Infidelity, or difference in religion, doth not make void the magistrate’s just and legal authority, nor free the people from their obedience to him: from which ecclesiastical persons are not exempted; much less hath the Pope any power or jurisdiction over them in their dominions, or over any of their people; and least of all to deprive them of their dominions or lives, if he shall judge them to be hereticks, or upon any other pretence whatsoever.

Introduction

Surely all Christians are familiar with the evangelical mission instituted by Jesus Christ? Surely every Christian worth his salt wilfully engages in – and delights in – what has become known as the “Great Commission.” The Great Commission, among other things, has a great deal to do with Christians being the “salt of the earth and the light of the world”, which is to say that the Great Commission has to do with bringing the Gospel to bear upon all nations. At the heart of the Great Commission is the message of redemption through Christ’s cross. It is this message of salvation that is for the healing or transformation of the nations.

When considered in terms of ‘salt’ and ‘light’, and ‘healing of the nations’, it is easy to see that the Great Commission degenerates into an exercise in the promotion of an otherworldly pietism if it is separated from the Cultural Mandate of Genesis. There is nothing wrong with being pious, for being pious is simply being Godly. However, being pietistic is another matter – don’t confuse pietism with godliness. For Pietism regards the earth and its inhabitants as the realm of the devil. If you detach the Great Commission of Matthew 28:16-20 from the Cultural Mandate, given by God to man in Genesis 1:26-28, you end up with Pietism. But the Great Commission is about the redemption of all the nations. However, the pietist reduces that redemption to individual souls; and may even go as far as to exclude the physical bodies of these individuals.

Pietism sees the Kingdom of Heaven as something that retreats and withdraws itself from the world, rather than the power that heals, renews, and transforms the world. Think about it, God gave the Cultural Mandate to mankind before the Fall. In the Cultural Mandate mankind was commissioned to have dominion over all earthly creatures and subdue the earth to the glory of God. In other words, the Cultural Mandate was God’s command to man to spread His Kingdom of Heaven throughout all the earth.

The Garden of Eden was the Kingdom of Heaven’s geographic and spiritual centre. When man fell the Cultural Mandate wasn’t revoked. It still remained. However, God added a new aspect to it when the household of Noah with the birds and animals exited the ark after the global flood. It’s important that you see this. Otherwise, you may end up with a Pietistic view of the world. You may end up thinking of governments as evil institutions. To be sure, like everything else in a fallen world, governments will have their share of corruption. However, their right to rule, as we’ll see shortly, has been divinely instituted.

Reason for Civil Government

Civil government has been divinely instituted. For God, the supreme Lord and King of the whole world, has appointed civil rulers or authorities to be under Him over the people for His own glory and the public good. It’s important that you see that civil government is much more than just some necessary evil that we must bear with in a fallen world.

Keep in mind that Adam before the fall was commissioned by God to tend and to keep the Garden of Eden. The Hebrew word translated ‘keep’ has to do with guarding or policing. Therefore, Adam was commissioned by God to protect God’s creation, which included also his wife, Eve, and his children when they arrived.

           Now, it’s not hard to see that order would need to be kept when mankind began to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth while subduing it. Therefore, civil government is part of the natural growth of humanity. Families would naturally form into states and nations. And, just as families have the ruling structure of parents, so civil governments would be needed to rule in states and nations. Therefore, the Cultural Mandate has a definable order to it. It’s not every man for himself!

God, being the God of order, all things, including being fruitful, multiplying, filling the earth and subduing it and having dominion, must be done decently and in order. When Noah came out of the ark, which was, of course, after the fall, the same Cultural Mandate of Genesis 1: 26-28 was reissued.

We see in Genesis 9:5-7 civil government being given the “power of the sword”. For the LORD says, “Surely for your lifeblood I will demand a reckoning; from the hand of every beast I will require it, and from the hand of man. From the hand of every man’s brother I will require the life of man. ‘Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man his blood shall be shed; for in the image of God He made man. And as for you, be fruitful and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth and multiply in it.’”

So, we see then that God seeks to protect the public good by having murderers punished. The punishment as laid out in Genesis 9:5-6 is death, i.e., capital punishment. The authority for meting out capital punishment is not given to the family or the church. Rather it is given only to the civil government of the State. And, just as we have noted the connection between the Cultural Mandate of Genesis 1:26-28 and repeated with the capital punishment amendment in Genesis 9:1-7, so we need to see the connection between Genesis 9:1-7 and Romans 13:1-7. For in Romans 13:1-7 we see that the civil government or the civil authority is God’s minister. Romans 13:1b says that ‘…the authorities that exist are appointed by God.’ And then in Romans 13:4 we are told, ‘For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil.’

Pre-Fall the Cultural Mandate was issued under the terms of the Covenant of Works, whereby unfallen man would ‘surely die’ (Gen. 2:17) by the hand of God should he sin (Rom. 6:23a). After the Fall, and under the Covenant of Grace, should man be guilty of a capital offence, “…by man his blood shall be shed…” Thus, the civil authority “…is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil.” The death-penalty threatened pre-Fall has become a present reality.

So, we see then that civil governments are divinely appointed. They have a divine purpose. They are to promote good works and prohibit and punish evil deeds. In a word, the civil government is to be about the business of serving God by promoting and rewarding public good while it protects the public from evildoers. Thus, the civil government is about guarding or policing, i.e., protecting the innocent.

We hear an echo of the task of pre-Fall civil government in Romans 13:3, “For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same.” So, the civil magistrate or civil government is to praise good. Therefore, civil government is not only about punishing evildoers. It is also about giving praise to doers of good – just as would have been the case in an unfallen world. So, we see in light of this that Christians may lawfully accept and carry out the functions of civil rulers. There is nothing unlawful about the office of civil government. Indeed, as we’ve seen, civil government has been instituted by God for the good of the public. Therefore, we ought to keep in mind that the general public would benefit greatly from having Godly Christians in government when called to it.

Now, the spread of the Kingdom of Heaven is greatly enhanced when the Great Commission is viewed atop the pedestal of the Cultural Mandate. Nay, both are part of the same sculpture of God. For Civil Government plays a key role in spreading the teachings of Christ amongst the municipality, state or nation under its lawful authority.

As Jesus says in the Great Commission passage: “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them [i.e., all the nations] in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them [i.e., all the nations] to observe all things that I have commanded you, and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

So, we see clearly then that the civil government has been given its authority by Jesus Christ who has been given all authority in heaven and on earth. And we see clearly that the reason the civil government exists is to assist in teaching the nations to observe or obey all those things Jesus has commanded. The civil government has been given authority to also use the sword to teach the nations.

Rights of Civil Government

Civil government has certain God-given rights. As we’ve seen, it has the right to promote good deeds, and it has the right to punish evildoers. Indeed, civil governments have the right to wage war on lawful and just occasions. For not only does the civil government have the right to punish evildoers who commit capital offences with capital force within its nation, but it also has the right to repel with force other nations attempting to invade. If Adolf Hitler and his nation are trying to invade your island-state, then you must bear arms to repel him. For a war to be just and lawful it needs to be a defensive war. It needs to be a war of protection, rather than aggression. To be sure when the bullets start flying it all can become a bit of a grey area!

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Now, the civil government doesn’t have the right to interfere in every aspect of society. For instance, the civil government is overstepping its authority and jurisdiction if it tries to take to itself the power of God’s Word and Sacraments. For this authority has been given only to the Lord’s Church. The civil government has the power of the sword. But the church has the power of the keys, i.e., the keys to the kingdom of heaven.

The church doesn’t have the authority to administer capital punishment. And the civil government doesn’t have the authority to administer church discipline or the Sacraments. Civil government must not interfere in the spiritual government of the church. However, because the civil government is to promote public good and deter public evil, it does have authority and is obliged to ensure that unity and peace are preserved in the church.

And the civil government is to ensure that the truth of God is kept pure and complete. In the Bible there is no hint that any civil government is supposed to be or to remain secular, i.e., nonreligious. To be sure the civil government at the time of Christ and the Apostle Paul was pagan. However, who would conclude that because the civil government at the time of Christ was pagan, that we today ought to ensure that all civil government be or remain non-Christian? And yet the Pietists today believe in secular government!

The Pietist confuses the separation of state and church with separation between state and religion. Therefore, it’s far better to speak of the distinction between church and state, rather than any separation. The church and the state are two distinct spheres in Christ’s Kingdom. However, the Pietist is guilty of compartmentalizing life into the dualistic sacred and secular. He sees church activities as sacred, and every other activity outside the church as secular. Thus, the Pietist has given the realm outside the church to the devil. He’s forgotten that the Cultural Mandate is as spiritual as the Great Commission! Indeed, the Great Commission is the Cultural Mandate obeyed in the power of the Spirit! For, it is the Holy Spirit who appoints civil authority as well as ecclesiastical authority. And because the civil ruler is God’s minister, the work he does is a spiritual work.

Therefore, both state and church are spiritual institutions ordained by God. And as such, the church ought to assist the state to promote the spiritual wellbeing of its citizens. And likewise, the State ought to assist the church to promote the spiritual wellbeing of its members. However, this is a far cry from saying that each has the right to interfere in the jurisdiction of the other.

But the state ought to promote unity and peace in the church and seek to ensure that the truth of God is kept pure and entire. For how else is the Civil Government supposed to lawfully keep order in society if people in the church are able to murder each other without the civil government punishing the evildoers? Yet the pietist believes that the church is to remain separate from the state, i.e., out of the jurisdiction of civil government. It reeks of pagan and Romish ‘Sanctuary’!

It is the truth of God that gives the civil government its authority. Therefore, it would do well to ensure that the truth of God is kept pure and complete. Therefore, the civil government ought to involve itself in the suppression of blasphemy and heresy. Just think of the blasphemy on the street, on TV and in the movies today. Do you think there ought to be a law deterring and even preventing the blasphemy of God? Well, if you do, and so you ought, how do you think this kind of thing should be policed? Is public censorship the realm of the church or the civil government?

It’s the same with all public obscenity, isn’t it? The civil government has the authority to promote good and deter evil. Heresy is teaching things contrary to the truth of God. To be sure, the civil government would do well to promote the truth of God. For that way its citizens would know more exactly what is good and what is evil.

Now, perhaps the idea of the civil government trying to suppress heresy conjures up a picture in your mind of Gestapo-like police bursting down doors to enter private residences. Perhaps you think that this encroaches on the citizen’s rights of freedom of speech. Well, how is the civil government’s attempting to suppress blasphemy any different to its attempting to suppress heresy? If civil government can pass laws against blasphemy, then it can pass laws to stem heresy.

Now, what exactly do we mean by heresy? A Scottish Christian in the early 1800s by the affectionate nickname of ‘Rabbi’ Duncan poured oil on the troubled waters of heresy when he reportedly said,

It is a monstrous thing that that horrible word ‘heresy’ is now used on all occasions so freely and applied so recklessly to all error. All error is not heresy… Heresy is a work of the flesh and no man can be charged with it, even on a fundamental, till, after faithful admonishment, he persists in it, knowing that he does so.[2]

The church doesn’t run around disciplining every person holding erroneous views of Scriptural doctrines. Neither does the civil government. It’s only when the unity and peace of the church is in a turmoil by a known heretic persisting after faithful church admonition that the civil government should consider acting. And when and if the civil government does decide to act on a case of heresy, it must always remember justice tempered with mercy – lest it inflame the situation.

So, not only does the civil government have authority to promote unity and peace in the church, which includes suppressing blasphemy and heresy, but it also ought to try to ensure that all corruptions and abuses of worship and discipline are prevented and reformed.

And not only that, the civil government has authority to ensure that all services or ordinances of God are duly established, administered and celebrated. In a word, the civil government has the authority to promote the wellbeing of the church. It is to try to ensure that the church functions as the church.

To be sure the civil government may not usurp the authority of the church. However, as Rowland Ward says, “In a somewhat similar way, the state encourages the arts and sciences, but does not presume to determine authoritatively matters discussed by these disciplines.”[3]

In order to carry out its duty the civil government has the authority to call and be present at church meetings. This, of course, would seem like the obvious thing for the civil government to do were the church extremely disorganised and corrupt. But it is the duty of God’s civil ministers to strive to see that whatever is transacted at these meetings (should they be called) is in accordance with the truth of God.

We see an example of a civil ruler call a meeting with the church authorities in 2 Chronicles 19:8f. “Moreover in Jerusalem, for the judgment of the LORD and for controversies, Jehoshaphat appointed some of the Levites and priests, and some of the chief fathers of Israel, when they returned to Jerusalem.” And we see King Herod do likewise in Matthew 2:4, “And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.” To be sure, Herod had evil in mind when he called that meeting. But nevertheless, Herod was God’s appointed authority.

We noted above that we are following the original text of Chapter 23.3. The American church changed that text possibly leading to the marginalisation of Christ’s Church in the West. Usually, Thomas Jefferson’s Letter to the Danbury Baptists is cited for the idea of the separation of Church and State, which, in time, became in the eyes of the Secularists, the separation of God and State. Jefferson wrote, “I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should ‘make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,’ thus building a wall of separation between Church and State.” RC Sproul comments on some of the differences between the American version and the original text (which we favour). While quoting the beginning of the American version, Sproul says,

    Civil magistrates may not assume to themselves the administration of the Word and the sacraments; or the power of the keys of the kingdom of heaven; or, in the least, interfere in matters of faith. [Thus the first few lines of the American version]. We are not examining the Constitution of the United States of America, but a theological confession concerning the proper relationship between the state and the church. Nevertheless, section 3 of chapter 23 is an American revision of the original confessional text. The words quoted here follow the original version in substance from “Civil magistrates may not assume” to “the keys of the kingdom of heaven.” After that, the American text goes on to set forth a theory of church-state relations substantially different from that of the seventeenth-century British Reformers. In their view, it was the responsibility of the state to suppress heresy, to prevent or reform corrupt worship, and so forth. The idea of an institutional church-state separation developed later in the American context.[4]

Respect for Civil Government

The Apostle Paul, by the Holy Spirit, teaches us to pray for all who are in authority. For he says in 1 Timothy 2:1-2, “Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.”

Notice the reasons Paul gives for praying for all who are in authority: “…that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life…” We pray for the civil government so that we can live quiet or tranquil and peaceable or undisturbed lives. But notice what kind of quiet and peaceable life we are to lead. “…that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.”

The word ‘godliness’ speaks of piety – not to be confused with pietism. Piety has to do with right thinking and right living. And the word ‘reverence’ speaks of honesty. So, we are to pray that we will be able to live tranquil, undisturbed, pious, and honest lives. And we see clearly that the civil government has a major role in ensuring that we live this kind of life. Therefore, we need to respect the civil government, which is to say that we mustn’t view the civil government as a necessary evil. Nor ought we to view the civil government as belonging to the realm of the devil. No, they are ministers of God. They wield the sword of justice!

The Pietist views the civil government as belonging to the devil. Therefore, he views the civil authorities with contempt. But the Apostle Peter says in 1 Peter 2:13-14, “Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme, or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good.”

So, we are to pray for the civil government. We are to honour it. We are to pay it taxes and other dues because they are God’s ministers, (Romans 13:6-7). We are to obey their lawful commands for the sake of a clear conscience (Rom. 13:5).

Now, we need to keep in mind that the civil authority is not made void because the person is not a Christian. Jesus taught that we are to render unto Caesar the things that are (even pagan) Caesar’s. Therefore, even if the whole government comprises of unbelievers we are to obey all its lawful commands. “[N]othing that is contrary to the Law of God can be lawful, nor may it be so regarded by those that fear God.”[5]

Therefore, we mustn’t pietistically think we are exempt from obeying the civil authorities just because we are Christians. No religious leaders are exempt from this. Church ministers and elders need to pay their speeding fines like everyone else! All of us must respect the authorities God has put in place.

Conclusion

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       Having noted that Civil Government exists by divine appointment, and does not therefore belong to the devil, but rather God, we are now able to see where the State fits into the Great Commission. The Church and the Civil Government are two distinct entities operating in one nation. Both are to operate according to God’s Moral Law as it applies to each of these distinct spheres.

Now, even were the civil government not to acknowledge that it is God’s minister for good, doesn’t change the fact that it is God’s minister. Therefore, because the civil government is God’s minister we can see that God has placed it there for a very good reason. The reason in terms of the Cultural Mandate is to assist the nation to be obedient to God’s command to spread the Kingdom of Heaven. On account of sin, the Kingdom of Heaven this side of the Fall, is spread by the nation becoming obedient to everything Christ has commanded. Thus, the Cultural Mandate has become empowered by the Holy Spirit who has been poured out on all nations.

This is what the Great Commission is all about. It’s not about rescuing people from nations about to be destroyed because they belong to the devil. Rather it’s about healing – healing the nations from the misery of sin and death. The Great Commission is about Jesus Christ setting the nations free from their bondage to sin. We’ve seen that the Civil Government has a very important role to play in this healing.

Psalm 67 is a helpful prayer and summary of what we’ve looked at: “God be merciful to us and bless us, and cause His face to shine upon us, that Your way may be known on earth, Your salvation among all nations. Let the people praise You, O God; let all the peoples praise You. O let the nations be glad and sing for joy! For You shall judge the people righteously, and govern the nations on earth. Let the peoples praise You, O God; let all the peoples praise You. Then the earth shall yield her increase; God, our own God, shall bless us, and all the ends of the earth shall fear Him.”

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[1] WCF Section 3 here follows the original text.

[2] Iain D. Campbell, Heroes & Heretics, Pivotal Moments in 20 Centuries of the Church, (Christian Focus, Fearn, Ross-shire, 2004), Endnote 21, 198.

[3] Rowland S. Ward, The Westminster Confession of Faith for the Church Today, A modernised text and commentary commemorating the 350^th Anniversary of the Westminster Assembly 1643-49, (Presbyterian Church of Eastern Australia, Wantirna, Victoria, 1992), 165.

[4] R.C. Sproul, Truths We Confess, A Layman’s Guide to the Westminster Confession of Faith, Volume Three, The State, The Family, The Church, and Last Things, (P & R Publishing, Phillipsburg, New Jersey, 2007), 17-18.

[5] Johannes G Vos, The Westminster Larger Catechism: A Commentary, 349.

See also: Revisionist Confessional History - Presbycast Pravda