Reformed and legalistic.

I love conversations. I had a few more yesterday, and one of the things that struck me was one of the reasons why reformers are considered legalistic. I've been saying for a while now that what I've found in my ministry is that I'm allowed to be reformed, I'm just not allowed to express any biblical reasons as to why I'm reformed. If I don't offer a prefaced "I could be wrong, but here's how I see what the scripture is saying," clause before expositing the scripture, it's then considered legalistic. I'm allowed to have an opinion, I just can't proclaim it as truth. I can stand in the pulpit and declare the Word of God as it is written, but if it has to do with any topic that may be controversial, I can't stand and declare it as biblical truth. See, we're allowed to have a truth, we're just not allowed to declare it as such. To do so is to be "legalistic".

I know, I'm rambling. I apologize.

Why have a belief it you are not allowed to proclaim it? We have primary or closed-handed beliefs in the Christian faith that all Christians must adhere to in order to BE Christian. There are secondary issues (which reformed theology falls under) that are important, but not necessary for salvation. As a reformer, I stand that the 5 solas and the implications of them are true, and so I will proclaim them as such. What our left-leaning brothers and sisters in Christ have a problem with is that I'm not allowed to stand in the pulpit and declare them as such. This is ridiculous. I've sat through sermons that have ripped scripture from it's text (called proof-texting) to declare parts of reformed theology as "wrong" and in some cases heretical! Why is that OK? I would argue strongly that it's not, but at the same time, it is a secondary issue, and being someone who takes theology seriously, I have some indication of what hills I will die on and which ones I won't. If my Arminian brothers and sisters want to think they have the moral ability to choose God, that God's election has to do with them choosing Him first, that Christ died for everyone, that God's salvific grace is resistible, and that one can lose their salvation after declaring Christ as their Saviour, then giddy-up. I disagree on every count, and believe strongly that none of those positions are truthful or biblical, but recognize that they are secondary to those much stronger issues, those primary issues, which tie us together. If they want to proclaim that from their pulpits, feel free, just don't call me legalistic or a Pharisee because I proclaim the truth to be different from yours. As my good friend Ryan has said, "What's the point in having a truth claim if you're too scared of proclaiming it?"

Indeed Ryan, indeed.

Please pray for our church as we're getting closer to our launch date of September 11th. We will be having a service at Spray Lakes this upcoming Sunday, but will be a practice run for the 11th. Anyone is welcome to come for both Sunday's, we just ask that you be patient with us as we work through some logistics on the 4th. We invite feedback so as to make us more prepared and welcoming for those looking for a church to belong to.

Cheerful giver?

When Ryan called me this morning to inform me that the stir-fry he had the previous night was making an ugly come-back tour, I felt a little nervous about doing the second half of a sermon I hadn't prepared for. Ryan did a great job of preaching the first half of Philemon last week, and I was going to have to pick up the slack in his absence this morning. All said, I think the Spirit moved me as the text came smoothly and the message was straight forward. It's a wonderful experience to preach the Word and be convicted by the Word at the same time. One of the major points that Paul kept hitting on me this morning was from verse 14 where Paul writes "...but I preferred to do nothing without your consent in order that your goodness might not be by compulsion but of your own accord."

Earlier Paul wrote in verse 8 "Accordingly, though I am bold enough in Christ to command you to do what is required, yet for love's sake I prefer to appeal to you for my child, Onesimus, whose father I became in my imprisonment." Paul could have commanded Philemon to release Onesimus without sending him back, but he did not. He instead chose to let Philemon release Onesimus on his own accord, with a glad and generous heart.

As a father and husband, I have many duties to fulfill. In fact, my job is NEVER done. At times, when I'm tired and especially grouchy, I don't always do my duties as a father and husband with a loving, glad and gracious heart. Sometimes I'm downright bitter about the whole thing. God is NOT pleased with service done in this manner. 2 Corinthians 9:7 states: "Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver." If we offer our tithes, our services, our time in any matter not willfully and cheerfully, we are not pleasing God. This is why works aimed at pleasing God or to earn our salvation is so insulting to God. Jesus completed the works required to please God the Father, so we should do our duty out of worship and reverence and thankfullness to our loving and gracious God, not one that reluctantly does their duty out of compulsion. We all do this, and we need to repent for it.

Onward Christian Soldier

Have you ever felt overwhelmed with life and some of the stupid decisions you have made? Has this ever robbed you of your joy and spun you into a downward cycle of feeling depressed and unhappy with the circumstances or challenges you face? The truth is that I have been feeling this way as of late. Just frustrated with trying to run a business, taking on jobs and not quoting quite right and worn out from lack of proper sleep. All of this leading to a bad diet... I never knew how well energy drinks worked until I got as tired as I did this last week. I finally cleaned out my truck today as I finally took some time off to just get my head on straight and here is what I cleaned out of my truck: Five garbage bags full of junk (empty chip bags, McD's meals, random papers etc), $15 worth of empty bottles ( water, pop and energy bottles), and a whole bunch of tools that needed to be organized properly... I know right? I need serious help. All of this to say that I am human and I am sure that many of you can relate in some way.

Here is where the hope and joy comes into effect. Have you ever read the book of Philippians? Next time you are depressed pick it up and give a read. Here is what stood out to me and encouraged me and will hopefully encourage you as well.

Phil. 3:13-14 "But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." You see, the enemy always points to your failures and beats you down with them. The call of God through Christ Jesus is that of leaving your failures at the cross, rising with Jesus at His resurrection and moving on. The power of Jesus in us is to share in His victory and move on. All of this through faith. This should produce joy and an attitude of thanksgiving as we don't have to live our live's burdened with the past.

Pil. 1:21-22 "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labour for me." Next is that if we are to enjoy our lives in any way that is meaningful, it has to be centred around Jesus. Work, play, food, rest etc. all for Jesus. If we actually live our lives this way it means that death is the promotion, and life is to be full of fruitful labour. Your life isn't meaningless, so don't waste it. No you don't have to be a pastor to fulfill this, but do your job well whatever it is. In Phil. 1:27 Paul says to "let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ". Work hard, change those diapers, live with the integrity that is found in Jesus. In all of this, through faith, we can find joy so long as it is for Jesus.

I don't know if any of this has been helpful but for more clarification read Philippians yourself.

I was encouraged tonight from my reading I hope you will be too.

It Was Nice While It Lasted

Like any movement in Christianity, it doesn't take too long for the pendulum to swing the other way. In today's message from RC Sproul Jr., he takes aim at those in the camp that want to shoot our brothers and sisters in Christ over secondary issues. As a reformer, I've had to battle those both inside the reformed camp on secondary and tertiary issues, but also those outside of reformed thought that want nothing to do with us over these differences. It is frustrating and tiring. Please have a read from Sproul. Dr. Sproul is founder of Highlands Ministries.

It Was Nice While It Lasted

by RC Sproul Jr.

It is a sure sign that sin messes things up that we keep watching the same boxing match over and over again, between truth and unity. Both sides, of course, insist that they have a deep and abiding love for the other. They shake hands in the center of the ring, go back to their corners, wait for the bell and come out ready to destroy the one they love. In the stands we stand, screaming ourselves hoarse in defense of our favorite.

Until recently unity has been on a hot streak. Charismatics, dispensationalists, YRR, and old school Reformed folk, post-mills and a-mils have managed to work together for the gospel. Blogs and conferences, magazines and books have born much fruit from cross-pollinating. We discovered that our brothers on the other side of this aisle or that do not actually have horns. We remembered that the beauty of what unites us is not only more important, but more potent than the nuances that divide us.

But we should never count out truth, or at least our own version of it. Though it was on the ropes, like Rocky in the last few rounds, truth has shown a rare ability to take a punch, and come back strong. It has moved well past highlighting what separates charismatics from dispensationalists and this Reformed group from that, and has now got each camp engaged in its own civil war. Cessationism versus continuationism, neckties versus t-shirts, beer versus teetotalism have sparked fires that rage inside our own worlds.

So what do we do? Can we get truth and unity to kiss and make up? Only if Christians learn to grow up. We need to not only learn to distinguish between primary and secondary doctrines/practices, we need to learn to value them accurately. Can we both agree that being wrong on baptism is not a damnable heresy, and also affirm that it is an issue that matters? Can I seek to correct my Baptist brothers in a way that speaks to them as brothers who are wrong on an important issue? And can I in turn hear with grace my Baptist brothers as they lovingly seek to correct my error on the issue? Can I be concerned that my charismatic brother is leaving open the door for false prophecy and at the same time understand that he is concerned that I am boxing in the Holy Spirit?

I have an opinion on virtually every issue that is being argued on the internet. I think some positions being espoused are good, sound, biblical. I think others are fallacious, dangerous, and unbiblical. I know that whatever the Bible teaches, that is what’s right and true. And I know the Bible teaches that I am often wrong. It is not Rodney King that asks if we can all get along. It is Jesus asking, in His high priestly prayer (John 17). He is the Truth, and He calls us to unity. That comes in reflecting His character. He, even when He corrects us, is for us. He, even when we are wrong, loves us perfectly. He is lowly in spirit and will not break a bruised reed.

We will not change until we choose our heroes not by how cogently or fiercely they defend our position on this issue or that, but by how much they reflect the grace of Christ whatever their position.

THE RAINBOW IN THE CLOUDS

This Sunday's service was great, as Ryan preached through Philemon 1-16. Ryan will be putting the notes up here as well as on the Facebook page for Hill Country Church. The facility at Spray Lakes is looking good, we checked on the video component of the room and it works great. We are down to one final week before we meet officially at Spray Lakes on September 4th. We will be running through our order of worship and looking at the design and set-up on that day, but we will be holding a service. We will update as we move forward.

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THE RAINBOW IN THE CLOUDS

By John MacDuff

"Whenever I bring clouds over the earth — and the rainbow appears in the clouds." Genesis 9:14

SOVEREIGNTY

"The Lord reigns!" Psalm 93:1

No rainbow of promise in the "dark and cloudy day" shines more radiantly than this. God, my God, the God who gave Jesus — orders all events, and overrules all for my good! "When I," says He, "send clouds over the earth." He has no wish to conceal the hand whichshadows for a time earth's brightest prospects. It is He alike who "brings the cloud," who brings us into it, and in mercy leads usthrough it! His kingdom rules over all. "The lot is cast into the lap — but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord." He puts the burden on, and keeps it on — and at His own time will remove it!

Beware of brooding over second causes. It is the worst form of atheism! When our most fondly cherished gourds are smitten; ourfairest flowers lie withered in our bosom; this is the silencer of all reflections: "The Lord prepared the worm!" When the temple of the soul is smitten with lightning, and its pillars rent: "The Lord is in His holy temple!" Accident, chance, fate, destiny — have no place in the Christian's creed. He is no unpiloted vessel left to the mercy of the storm. "The voice of the Lord is upon the waters!" There is but one explanation of all that befalls him: "I will be silent, I will not open my mouth, because You are the One who has done this!"

Death seems to the human spectator, the most capricious and severe of all events. But not so! The keys of Death and Hell are in the hands of this same reigning God! Look at the parable of the fig-tree. Its prolonged existence, or its doom as a cumberer, forms matter of conversation in Heaven; the axe cannot be laid at its root — until God gives the warrant! How much more will this be the case regarding every "Tree of Righteousness, the planting of the Lord?" It will be watched over by Him, "Lest anyone hurt it." Every trembling fiber — He will care for; and if made early to succumb to the inevitable stroke, "Who does not know — that in all these things, that the hand of the Lord has wrought this." Be it mine to merge my own will in His; not to cavil at His ways, or to seek to have one jot or tittle of His will altered; but to lie passive in His hands; to take the bitter as well as the sweet, knowing that the bitter cup is mingled by One who loves me too well to add one bitter ingredient that might have been spared!

Who can wonder that the sweet Psalmist of Israel should seek, as he sees it spanning the lower heavens, to fix the arrested gaze of a whole world on the softened tints of this Rainbow of Comfort, "The Lord reigns — let the earth rejoice!"

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Macduff, John Ross, D.D., second son of Alexander Macduff, of Bonhard, near Perth, was born at Bonhard, May 23, 1818. After studying at the University of Edinburgh, he became in 1842 parish minister of Kettins, Forfarshire, in 1849 of St. Madoes, Perthshire, and in 1855 of Sandyford, Glasgow. He received the degree of D.D. from the University of Glasgow in 1862, and about the same time also from the University of New York. He retired from pastoral work in 1871, lived at Chislehurst, Kent and died in 1887. He has published many practical and devotional works which have attained a wide circulation. In 1857 he was appointed by the General Assembly a member of their Hymnal Committee. His 31 hymns appeared in his Altar Stones, 1853, and were also included with his later poems in his The Gates of Praise, 1876. (taken from hymnary.org)

Poor, miserable, paltry works of a polluted worm!

Poor, miserable, paltry works of a polluted worm! (Philpot, "The Loss of All Things for Christ's Sake") "We are all infected and impure with sin. When we proudly display our righteous deeds, we find they are but filthy rags. Like autumn leaves, we wither and fall. And our sins, like the wind, sweep us away." Isaiah 64:6 We once thought that we could gain heaven by our own righteousness. We strictly attended to our religious duties, and sought by these and various other means to recommend ourselves to the favor of God, and induce Him to reward us with heaven for our sincere attempts to obey His commandments. And by these religious performances we thought we would surely be able to make a ladder whereby we could climb up to heaven. This was our tower of Babel, whose top was to reach unto heaven, and by mounting which, we thought to scale the stars. But the same Lord who stopped the further building of the tower of Babel, by confounding their speech and scattering them abroad on the face of the earth; began to confound our speech, so that we could not pray, or talk, or boast as before; and to scatter all our religion like the chaff of the threshing floor. Our mouths were stopped; we became guilty before God; and our bricks and mortar became a pile of confusion! When, then, the Lord was pleased to discover to our souls by faith, His being, majesty, greatness, holiness, and purity; and thus gave us a corresponding sense of our filthiness and folly; then all our creature religion and natural piety which we once counted as gain, we began to see was but loss; that our very religious duties and observances, so far from being for us, were actually against us; and instead of pleading for us before God as so many deeds of righteousness, were so polluted and defiled by sin perpetually mixed with them, that our very prayers were enough to sink us into hell, had we no other iniquities to answer for in heart, lip or life. But when we had a view by faith of the Person, work, love, and grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, then we began more plainly and clearly to see, with what religious toys we had been so long amusing ourselves, and what is far worse, mocking God by them. We had been secretly despising . . . Jesus and His sufferings, Jesus and His death, Jesus and His righteousness, and setting up the poor, miserable, paltry works of a polluted worm in the place of the finished work of the Son of God. ______________________________________________________________________________

Joseph Charles Philpot (1802 – 1869) was known as “The Seceder”. He resigned from the Church of England in 1835 and became aStrict & Particular Baptist. While with the Church of England he was a Fellow of Worchester College, Oxford. After becoming a Strict and Particular Baptist he became the Editor of the Gospel Standard magazine and served in that capacity for twenty years.

Educated at Oxford University, he was elected a fellow of Worcester College, and appeared to have a brilliant scholastic career before him. But he was brought into solemn concern spiritually and the Lord led him into the ministry. He first preached in the Established Church at Stadhampton (Oxfordshire). In 1835, however, he was constrained, for the truth's sake, to sever his connection with the Church of England and to resign his curacy and his fellowship. The letter to the provost stating his reasons was published and went into several editions.

The same year, he was baptized by John Warburton at Allington (Wilts). The rest of his life was spent ministering among the Strict Baptists. For 26 years, he held a joint pastorate at Stamford (Lines) and Oakham (Rutland). In addition for over twenty years, he was editor of "The Gospel Standard", where many of his sermons first appeared. (Taken from Theopedia website).

Justification continues to be misunderstood and misrepresented by many Christian organizations today. There are many (including Rob Bell, Brian McLaren and others) that have thrown out the traditional orthodox understanding of justification and have replaced it with a works-righteousness (which is one of the most striking differences between orthodox Christianity and every other religion in the world) which is biblically an insult to God as Philpot has so eloquently pointed out. You MUST have a correct understanding of justification in order to understand the Gospel correctly. To throw out the original meaning behind justification is to endanger your salvation. Everyone is judged according to works; either YOUR works, or Christ's. A true understanding of the Gospel message will leave you clinging to the works of Christ with all your might, resting in His salvation which was freely given to you, not of your own will, but of His will.

Please join us for Sunday worship this upcoming week at 54 Glenpatrick Rd. Check out our website at hillcountrychurch.ca, or email us at hillcountryreformed@gmail.com.

The best way to run the goats out of the church!

The best way to run the goats out of the church!

(D. J. Ward)

"Feed My sheep." John 21:17

"Feed the flock of God entrusted to you." 1 Peter 5:2

The best way to purify the church and keep it pure—is to get rid of all the goats! And the best way to run the goats out of the church—is to feed them 'sheep food'. God's sheep will grow in grace under the preaching of grace—but goats will go hungry because they choke on 'sheep food'. They will soon leave and go somewhere else. Preach sovereign grace!

“Now I commit you to God and to the message of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you an inheritance among all who are sanctified." Acts 20:32

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Elder D. J. Ward, pastor of Lexington's Main Street Baptist Church for the past 19 years, died of complications from lung cancer Friday at Hospice Care Center at St. Joseph Hospital. What the Lexington Herald-Leader did not say about this amazing African-American is that he was a powerful spokesman for the glorious God worshiped through the wall-to-wall window called Calvinism. - posted on desiring God blog, 2008.

I have experienced much consternation about what to do when goats or wolves enter the flock. Wolves are usually pretty easy to spot as they try to tear down and destroy what God has built up. The goats however, are more difficult to spot. This simple illustration by D.J. Ward just made my day. We endeavor to always preach the simple yet profound truths of scripture to feed God's sheep. I don't need to worry about the goats, the goats will take care of themselves. Thanks to D.J. Ward for this!

The True Church Part II

The following is a general outline of the last sermon given at Hill Country Church on Sunday, August 14, 2011.

A brief review of the true church and what it entails was found in 3 parts. 1)Correct teaching and preaching of doctrine. 2)Administered sacraments of baptism and the Lord's Supper. 3)Church discipline. These are the three 'must haves' in order to be a true Christian church in its orthodoxy. Correct orthodoxy leads to correct orthopraxy (practice or everyday living).

Acts 2 Verse 43: And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. (Filled with the Spirit)

· Awe (other places ‘fear’)

o An awakening to the truth, and a reverence for God (not fright or terror)

o Also used at Luke 7:11 where Jesus raised the dead man in the middle of the funeral procession. They glorified God.

o Every soul would be the 3000 that were saved that day. You cannot have an aweness for God and not be renewed

o Where is our sense of awe and wonder?

· Wonders and signs

o This was a witness to those that Peter and the apostles were telling the truth.

o Specific to the apostles. They were doing wonders and signs that had no other explanation, which led to awe or fear of God.

o Signs and wonders for today?

§ Healings

§ Transformed lives

§ Cessation of the Spirit?

§ Revival?

o Are we afraid of the Holy Spirit? Will God move in a place that simply gives lip service to God?

Verse 44: And all who believed were together and had all things in common. (worship)

o And all who believed

o Not all those present during Peter’s sermon were transformed.

o A proper teaching and preaching of the gospel will not always produce disciples.

§ Persecution

§ Indifference

§ Hostility

o Were together

o Corporate worship (membership in a local church)

o Cannot be alone in corporate worship

o All things in common

o What matters to a Christian?

o Where was the concentration?

§ When do you notice commonality? When you are looking to yourself and comparing.

o Strangers that are Christian. Instant bond?

Verse 45: And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. (generous)

o Selling their possessions and belongings

o Has been interpreted as communal living. Incorrect verb usage along with Church history.

o Not coerced into selling, but freely doing so

o Distributing proceeds to all

o Those in the church

o Outside of the church

o As need arose

o Good works

o Matt. 5:16

o Eph. 2:10

o Titus 2:14

o Mark 10:44 (servant church)

Verse 46: And day by day, attending the temple together, breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, (witnessing and fellowship)

o Day by day

o The new disciples met every day either at the temple or in private homes

§ Before the persecution by the Jews

§ Witnessed to Jewish brothers and sisters

§ Fellowship happened in private homes (another argument against communal living)

o Breaking bread

§ Could refer to both normal meals with the Lord’s Supper afterward (following the example of the Last Supper)

o Glad/generous hearts

§ Attitude of believers

Verse 47: praising God and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved. (light, growth)

o Praising God

o Continuous action that happened all the time

o Favour with all the people

o Even the lost. Why?

§ Generous

§ Disposition

§ United

§ Caring

§ Loving

o Judaism was plagued by division and segregation, all law-no grace

o The Lord added

o He will build His church, not us

§ 1 Peter 2:2

o Growth occurs when the church acts like the first church

What does that mean for Hill Country?

o Filled with the Spirit

o Community to look at us as attractive and different

o Meaningful membership

o Includes dedicated study, building up the body, community involvement

o Pharisaical? Luke-warm Christians? Un-involved Christians?

o Generous

o Money

o Time

o Grace

o Light and growth

o Get involved

o Invite others

o Love our enemies, call out for His sheep

Conclusion: Ship analogy. We have an opportunity here. Let’s glorify our God in our community, to one another, let’s go in the right direction and pray God grows His church so that He may be glorified.

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If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to email or call us. Please visit our website at hillcountrychurch.ca, email us at hillcountryreformed@gmail.com, or call 403-932-0519.

Feeding Sheep or Amusing Goats?

Feeding Sheep or Amusing Goats?

by Charles Spurgeon (edited)

An evil is in the 'professed' camp of the Lord, so gross in its impudence, that the most shortsighted Christian can hardly fail to notice it. During the past few years this evil has developed at an alarming rate. It has worked like leaven until the whole lump ferments!

The devil has seldom done a more clever thing, than hinting to the Church that part of their mission is to provide entertainment for the people, with a view to winning them. From speaking out the gospel, the Church has gradually toned down her testimony, then winked at and excused the frivolities of the day. Then she tolerated them in her borders. Now she has adopted them under the plea of reaching the masses!

My first contention is that providing amusement for the people is nowhere spoken of in the Scriptures as a function of the Church. If it is a Christian work why did not Christ speak of it? 'Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature, and provide amusement for those who do not relish the gospel'.

No such words, however, are to be found. It did not seem to occur to Him. Where do entertainers come in? The Holy Spirit is silent concerning t

hem. Were the prophets persecuted because they amused the people, or because they confronted them? The 'concert' has no martyr roll.

Again, providing amusement is in direct antagonism to the teaching and life of Christ and all His apostles. What was the attitude of the apostolic Church to the world? "You are thesalt of the world", not the sugar candy; something the world will spit out, not swallow.

Had Jesus introduced more of the bright and pleasant elements into His teaching, He would have been more popular. When "many of His disciples turned back and no longer followed Him," I do not hear Him say, 'Run after these people, Peter, and tell them we will have a different style of service tomorrow; something short and attractive with little preaching. We will have a pleasant evening for the people. Tell them they will be sure to enjoy it! Be quick, Peter, we must get the people somehow!'

No! Jesus pitied sinners, sighed and wept over them, but never sought to amuse them!

In vain will the epistles be searched to find any trace of the 'gospel of amusement'. Their message is, "Therefore, come out from them and separate yourselves from them... Don't touch their filthy things..." Anything approaching amusement is conspicuous by its absence. They had boundless confidence in the gospel and employed no other weapon.

After Peter and John were locked up for preaching, the Church had a prayer meeting, but they did not pray, 'Lord, grant unto your servants that by a wise and discriminating use of innocent recreation we may show these people how happy we are'.

No! They did not cease from preaching Christ. They had no time for arranging entertainments. Scattered by persecution they went everywhere preaching the gospel. They turned the world upside down; that is the only difference from today's church.

Lastly, amusement fails to effect the end desired. Let the heavy laden who found peace through the concert not keep silent! Let the drunkard to whom the dramatic entertainment had been God's link in the chain of their conversion, stand up! There are none to answer! The mission of amusement produces no converts!

The need of the hour for today's ministry is earnest spirituality joined with Biblical doctrine, so understood and felt, that it sets men on fire.

Lord, clear the Church of all the rot and rubbish the devil has imposed on her, and bring us back to apostolic methods!

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Charles Spurgeon is one of my all time favourite go-to preachers of the Word of God. He was a Baptist through and through, and was known as "the pitbull in the pulpit". He was a hard-hitting old-time gospel preacher that desperately wanted the church to conform to the image of Jesus. The above pastor's devotional will give you some idea of Spurgeon's passion and dedication to Christ, as anything that takes away from Jesus, including our focus and dedication to Him was grievous. What I find both interesting and frustrating when reading some of these Puritan writers is that what they wrote upwards of 500 years ago is still relevant today. The problems in the church then are still largely the problems now. I don't know why I'm surprised, considering the problems of the church in the first century (via Paul's writings) are still problems in the church today, only largely repackaged. So how do we conform to the Word of God and be transformed by the renewing of our minds? Come Sunday morning, 10:00am to find out. We're at 54 Glenpatrick Rd. We will be moving into our new facility on September 4th at Spray Lakes Family Rec. Center in Cochrane.

A Cooler Hell

"God, I thank you that I am not like other people; greedy, unrighteous, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, I give a tenth of everything I get. (Luke 18:11-12)

Many please and satisfy themselves with mere civility and common morality. They bless themselves that they are not swearers, nor drunkards, nor extortioners, nor adulterers, etc. Their behaviour is civil, sincere, harmless and blameless. But civility is not sanctity. Civility rested-in is but a beautiful abomination, a smooth way to hell and destruction. Civility is very often the nurse of impiety, the mother of flattery, and an enemy to real sanctity. There are those that are so fair blinded by their civility, that they can neither see the necessity, nor beauty of sanctity. There are those who now bless themselves in their common morality, whom at last God will scorn and cast off for lack of real holiness and purity. A moral man may be an utter stranger to God, to Christ, to scripture, to the filthiness of sin, to the depth of devices of Satan; to their own hearts, to the new birth, to the great concerns of eternity; to communion with Christ, to the secret and inward ways and workings of the Spirit.

Remember this, while the moral man is good for many things, yet he is not good enough to go to heaven. He who rises no higher pitch than to civility and morality shall never have communion with God in glory. The most moral man in the world may be both Christ-less, and grace-less. Morality is not enough to keep a man from eternal misery. All morality can do is to help a man to one of the best rooms and easiest beds which hell affords. For as the moral man's sins are not so great as others, so his punishments shall not be so great as others. This is all the comfort that can be given to a moral man, that he shall have a cooler hell than others have. This is but cold comfort. Morality, without piety, is as a body without soul. Will God ever accept of such a stinking sacrifice? Surely not! But the tax collectors stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, "God have mercy on me, a sinner." I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. (Luke 18:13-14)

Thomas Brooks 1662.

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Thomas Brooks (1608–1680) was an English non-conformist Puritan preacher and author (wikipedia). When you read some of the puritan writings you can almost close your eyes and imagine the impact of those writings and sermons on the Canadian church and country as a whole today. How many people in the world today believe they are going to heaven because they are "good people"? It is a belief of Hill Country church that with proper exposition and preaching of the whole gospel message, this can be reversed, with the miraculous help of the Holy Spirit. I wonder to what extent Thomas Brooks would cringe to see just how relevant his devotional above is applicable today.

Worship

Worship as entertainment is idolatry. By definition worship must be about God, not my amusement. Here is where disagreement exists: stages, theater-lighting, bands, dancers, dramatists, hand-held microphones, all up front, the service performed on behalf of an audience relaxing in theater-style seating. Is this adiaphora? Normally, issues of seating, lighting, placement of musicians, style of platform might have qualified as things indifferent, just as the elevation and adoration of the host might have been considered adiaphora. But a line has been crossed in our generation. Much of what passes for worship today is nothing more than lightly baptized entertainment, and therefore is idolatrous. It is idolatry from which serious churches must distance themselves. Our principle must be (with apologies to Luther): “Let us, therefore, repudiate everything that smacks of entertainment.” (taken from http://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/pluralistic-worship/).

I was handed a book recently titled "The Art of Curating Worship; Reshaping the Role of Worship Leader" by Mark Pierson. I love music, I love worship, but I'm no musician, nor an artist. I took a quick look to the back to see the "approved by" list, and unfortunately it included Brian McLaren, so needless to say my hackles were already up before opening the cover. Surprisingly, the author made some good points right off the hop, and declared that the church MUST be teaching the scriptures as presented in the Bible. I was able to relax a little...but just a little.

Much like the term "church", the term "worship" is generally used with a presupposition that we all know and agree on what the definition of worship is. "Worship" time can be an issue in a church when there is no worship leader (which we currently don't have here at Hill Country). If worship is restricted to the playing and singing of music, our church is already in trouble. But when looking at the definition of worship, we can find that worship is an act of reverence toward God. This can be done by singing, and for the most part churches follow this pattern. But is it the ONLY way we can worship?

Music and singing can and should be used during our services, for both corporate and individual worship. Music and proper theologically correct lyrics enhance the Word of God in our hearts, and may help us in quiet prayerful worship to Him. But during the singing and playing of music, is there anything else that is an "acceptable" form of worship? Pierson brings up the idea of the creation of art as worship. What if we were to pray for one another, laying on of hands for healing and other forms of service during the music? Where is the line, and how can we make worship both corporate and individual? How can we make a Sunday service both theological AND experiencial? (I just made a whole lot of people nervous with that word, didn't I?)

Being part of a new church, we have a wonderful opportunity to set our course from day one, to be who God makes us to be, and not have to go through the painful process of slowly changing a set congregation over long periods of time, often to the detriment of the body. I pray God sends us a qualified worship leader, but it's been refreshing to be able to explore the meaning of worship and how we as a church can go about it in a biblical and God-fearing way. We must remember that there are standards to how we approach God, and to approach Him in a manner that is unacceptable to Him is a sin, and a serious one. Our rather cavalier and idolatrous approach in many churches today runs the serious risk of making a mockery of our God, rather than one of reverence.

Has the time come when the sanctuaries of evangelical Protestantism must be cleansed of everything that reflects the world of entertainment? Our Reformed forefathers took axes to the altars, and they whitewashed the walls of medieval churches. If our analysis of worship that entertains is correct, similar iconoclastic fury must be shown, and soon, in our houses of worship lest they become houses of mirth: theater seats pulled out; stages broken up; dancers and actors banished; musicians’ and choirs’ roles redefined as that of simply supporting and enhancing congregational singing; pulpit, table, and font restored to their proper places; pastors moved back behind pulpits; and simple services of the Word read, preached, sung, prayed, and seen (in the sacraments) reestablished. What was once indifferent can be considered indifferent no more, not if Reformed Protestantism is to continue to practice purity in its worship and avoid idolatry. “Little children,” says the apostle John, “keep yourselves from idols” (1 John 5:21). (taken from same link as above).

Our next service is this Sunday at 10:00am at 54 Glenpatrick Rd. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to call us at 403-932-0519 or email us at hillcountryreformed@gmail.com. We are still working through a few things so be gracious please!

God bless.

The Church (Part one)

The Church

Acts 2:41-47

So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. And they devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together, breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

Introduction

Have you ever thought about the definition of church? When you hear someone mention their church, what do you think of? The building? That’s fair…isn’t it? The people? Fair as well…yes? In all sorts of church documents and writings, there are many references to “church”, but what is the essence of church? Reading Mark Driscoll’s book “Vintage church” he comments that he asked his pastor friends for their working definition of church. Not one could give him an answer.We have somewhere between 20-30 thousand Protestant denominations in the world today, depending who you ask. Today, we’ve added one more, as we aren’t currently affiliated with any group. We are an independent Reformed Baptist denomination. Some have asked the question “How do you just make a church?” Some have gone so far as to ask if we’re some kind of cult because we’re starting a church with some believers and aren’t affiliated with anyone. I’m not even kidding. There are now anywhere between 20 001 to 30 001 churches. This of course doesn’t count any of the other groups out there that count themselves as a church. There are those that fall within orthodoxy and others that are not. To a lost world, we’re all part of the church. If you have a cross somewhere on the building and you call yourself a church, the world just shrugs and moves along. The problem isn’t with a lost world that doesn’t understand what a true church is, the problem is that far too many Christians don’t know what a true church is. Like anything in today’s western and civilized society, nothing is certain, nothing is true in its traditional sense, so words can change meaning quickly. Do you remember when “cool” meant not hot? “Wicked” meant the opposite of good? Our words are difficult to nail down anymore because it has become common practice to change the definition of words to mean whatever we want them to mean. It used to take many years, decades and centuries for language to change. We’ve managed to change language at an alarming rate due to the new media and cultural changes. What hasn’t changed is the biblical definition of what church is. Today’s passage gives us a clear definition and understanding of what makes a church. We here at Hill Country endeavor to be a true church, following in the paths of our brothers and sisters in Christ from Pentecost up to today.

Acts was written by Luke, a doctor and historian writer who was a friend and missionary who accompanied the Apostle Paul in his mission field. The context of today’s passage comes at the conclusion of Peter’s sermon in Jerusalem at Pentecost. Luke writes in chapter 2 verse 41: So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. The first aspect we see from scripture is that those that are a part of the church have received the word. In some translations it reads “willingly embraced his words” a clear desire or drawing to the word of God by the preaching of Peter. The gospel message was proclaimed and accepted as true. Those that accepted the gospel as true were saved that day, 3000 as the scriptures tell us. The Holy Spirit came upon them and they were saved. There is some argument about whether or not the baptism mentioned involved immersion and the massive difficulties that that would’ve involved in a parched land and city such as Jerusalem, but what we can determine is that with the proclamation of following Christ, 3000 people were baptized. The church is one that carries out the ordinance of baptism. If you are a professing believer, you have been called to be baptized as a public declaration of your allegiance to Christ. These 3000 were not baptized in private, in a place where no one would see or know. These people heard the word in the public square, and were baptized. Earlier in verse 38 Peter exhorts his hearers to “repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of sins.” Titus 3:5 states “he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,” We are saved according to the person and work of Christ, not by any actions of our own, including baptism. Baptism does not save you, it is an act of obedience to the Lord, but it is an act which the church needs to carry out according to numerous scriptures in our bible. Acts 8:12 “they were baptized, both men and women.” Acts 9:18 “…then he rose and was baptized.” Acts 10:48 “…and he commanded them to be baptized.” Baptism is all over the New Testament, and the true church carries out this commandment.

Verse 42 states “And they devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” This scripture is full of what makes a church. Firstly, they “devoted themselves.” Other translations use the term “continued”. 3000 people that day were baptized, given the Holy Spirit and continued in faith in the apostles teaching. John 15:6-7 states “ 6 If anyone does not abide in me che is thrown away like a branch and withers; dand the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. 7 If eyou abide in me, and my words abide in you, fask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. If you do not devote yourself in the apostles teaching, you are not a disciple of Christ. This presents a problem for both churches and pastors that do not preach the word of God, but preach worldly philosophy, cultural stories and applications, and a variety of other stage shows that has little or nothing to do with the gospel and scripture. Jesus tells the apostles to “teach them to obey everything that I have commanded.” (Matt. 28:20). If the church isn’t preaching the entire word of God as given by Christ, they are not acting as a true church. The teachings of Christ compels us to open up our bibles and exposite them fully so that we may have a most correct understanding of who we are, who God is, and what is required of us to be saved. We get all kinds of heresy and proof texting, the twisting of scripture by only having a partial understanding of our bibles. We need to have a complete devotion to the teachings of scripture.

The text also denotes a devotion to the fellowship of believers. There is a recent move within the church and those that call themselves Christian toward a “Lone Ranger” mentality, one that doesn’t require those that are believers to belong to and fellowship with other believers. This “go-it-alone” attitude is predicated on the very individualistic society we come from, one that doesn’t want to be answerable to anyone, one that doesn’t want to be around others due to their behaviors or attitudes that can sometimes drive us crazy. You can see this attitude in our family life and working environments can’t we? Rather than loving our neighbor and fellow Christian like God calls us to, we’d rather hide in our homes, our trailers, our excuses. We like to love from a distance, and sometimes that’s a good thing. We can avoid assault charges that way can’t we? But if we constantly avoid those that are our brothers and sisters, are we really loving them? Are we getting the practice of patience that we keep praying about? How can we learn patience and kindness if we’re never around anyone that drives us up the wall? We are called to be in fellowship with one another, and devote ourselves to being a part of the body of Christ.

We are to break bread together. This is the second sacrament that we are called to do. The breaking of bread, which we’ll do here today and every Sunday service, is done in accordance with the teaching from Jesus from the Last Supper. Let’s listen to his words from Matthew 26. We pick it up in verse 26 that says “ 19 jAnd he took bread, and hwhen he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, k“This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 20 And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying,k“This cup that is poured out for you is lthe new mcovenant in my blood.3 Jesus commanded the disciples to “do this, in remembrance of me.” Some churches partake of the Lord’s Supper every Sunday, others do it only every few months. Some practice what’s called open communion, whereby any that are in attendance that day at the service can partake if they are believers, while other churches practice closed communion, whereby one must be a member of that particular church in order to partake. Here at Hill Country, we partake every Sunday and it is open to anyone who is of good conscience and believes themselves to be a part of the Kingdom. This is a sacred time to remember the sacrifice our God made for those who were his enemies, but are now reborn in the Spirit.

The last aspect of what constitutes a church is not mentioned in this particular part of scripture, but is listed in numerous other locales which we’ll cover today, namely that of church discipline. This is not generally done in many churches today as it is difficult to do in a body that doesn’t want to submit to godly authority. Pastors are called to shepherd the flock, and sometimes that requires correction and a call to repentance to individuals that are not living according to the teachings of Christ. Matthew 18:15-17 states “15 m“If your brother sins against you, ngo and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have ogained your brother. 16 But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established pby the evidence of two or three witnesses. 17 If he refuses to listen to them, qtell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, rlet him be to you as sa Gentile and sa tax collector. We can see here the proper method of church discipline, starting with a one-on-one conversation between you and the person who is being called to repentance. This, you will notice, is done with those inside the church family. When dealing with those outside of the faith, I would suggest you stop church discipline at stage one. But inside the church, if we love our brothers and sisters, we will look out for their well-being, we will walk with them in a loving and caring way. This requires a conversation that can be difficult. What many of us want to do when faced with this is to ignore the problem, gossip about them, or simply slander them without getting any input from them at all. All of these are not only not helpful to the one sinning, but is quite destructive to those in the body. To ignore the issue, using proof-texts like Matt. 7:1 which says “Judge not lest ye be judged” is to hate your brother. Let’s put this in a parental context. Your child steals. Do you ignore the issue with that verse? Of course not! You talk to your child, preferably one-on-one to find out what the situation is, but discipline is coming one way or another isn’t it? We don’t brush that under the rug and call it loving do we? Only if we want to raise a future kleptomaniac. So when we see someone in the church body sinning, we take them aside lovingly to find out the situation, then we deal with it appropriately. It goes on to say “If he doesn’t listen, take one or two others along with you.” Essentially, you’re going to try again, but this time you’re bringing others to back your claim and to help convince that person in sin to cut it out. If that doesn’t work, then it’s time to bring it before the elders of the church. If he refuses to heed the warnings of the elders, he doesn’t repent of his sin, then at that point he would be removed from the membership, and possibly the congregation as a whole depending upon the severity of the sin and how that directly affects those inside and outside the body. This requires much prayer and wisdom on behalf of the elders and is never taken lightly. These are never black and white issues, each situation demands love and grace and kindness in different methods and manners. The other issue we need to keep in mind is that just because you think there is no discipline going on doesn’t necessarily mean that the church is being lax in its mandate to discipline those in the fold, it may just be in process. Instead of being quietly frustrated or openly hostile, first give the church the benefit of the doubt, and pray that the issue is being resolved. If it is something that isn’t your business, don’t make it your business.

We need to keep in mind the reason behind church discipline. 1 Cor. 5 states “It is actually reported that there is wsexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, xfor a man has his father’s wife. 2 And yyou are arrogant! Ought you znot rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you.

3 For though aabsent in body, I am present in spirit; and as if present, I have already pronounced judgment on the one who did such a thing. 4 When you are assembled bin the name of the Lord Jesus and my spirit is present, with the power of our Lord Jesus, 5 you are cto deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so dthat his spirit may be saved ein the day of the Lord.1 Church discipline is designed for the saving of those being disciplined. We do not remove people out of vengeful spite or retribution, but out of love for that person that they may come to repentance and be accepted back into the fold. We pray for God to convict them of their sin so that we may have fellowship with them. We are into saving and sanctifying souls, not to prevent repentant sinners from entering the Kingdom.

A church that doesn’t practice discipline is nothing more than a country club. Everyone comes to church for fellowship, to hear a message, then leaves and lives life however they want. How is this different than a golf membership? You come, you play (and if you play like me it’s badly), then you go home and live your life, where no-one else from the club comes to bother you about how you treat your spouse or your kids, or your greediness or whatever else you’re guilty of. The bible says in Proverbs 12:1 “ Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge,

but he who zhates reproof is astupid.

This proverb is handy and good when you’re on the giving end, but how do we handle it when we’re on the receiving end? If we get angry and hostile, the bible calls us stupid. How can we learn, how can we grow without discipline? We as a church body need to be challenged, we need to be disciplined by one another in a loving way that enables us to grow together, to live and love together. If we don’t have discipline, we have a group of individuals that come to church to be fed or entertained, to be made much of, but not to grow, not to be a part of the body, not to learn to love God more and one another more.

So, there are three identifiers of a church; 1) the preaching of the word, 2) the offering of the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper, and 3) church discipline. You must have all three to be considered a true church. At Hill Country we want desperately to follow the scriptural teachings and to be what the Lord makes us. We will do so by ensuring that all we do will be to the glory of God via the methods He has set out for us.

Next week we’ll finish this text by showing the 4 fruits of the church that should be produced if the first three identifiers are accomplished.