Loveland Protestant Reformed Church

709 East 57th Street; Loveland, CO 80538
Services: 9:30 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. (7:00 p.m. June through August)
Vol. 6, No. 21 Pastor: Rev. Garry Eriks Phone: (970) 667-9481
Homepage on Internet: http://www.prca.org

Contents:
  The Way of Christian Discipline
  The Irresistible Call of the Gospel (4)
  What Form Ought Family Worship Take?

The Way of Christian Discipline

Because Christian discipline is such a serious thing, careful rules are laid down for it in the Word, especially in Matthew 18. These rules are of the greatest importance.

For one thing, as we have noticed, discipline ordinarily begins with private admonition. When someone has sinned against us or offended us we are required to go to them and point out their sin to them.

Several things need emphasis in that connection. First, it is the sinner himself who must be told, not everyone else. Telling everyone else the sins of others is itself the sin of talebearing or gossiping and is a deadly evil in the church (Prov. 26:20-26). This is the reason Jesus says in Matthew 18:15, "tell him his sin between thee and him alone."

Secondly, it is the person sinned against who has the primary obligation to go to the one who has sinned (vs. 15). All too often in our pride and anger we wait for the person who has sinned to come to us and the result is that we are not reconciled to one another.

Third, rebuking of sin must be done with humility and love. Thus Jesus emphasizes, too, that we are "brothers." Very significant is II Thess. 3:15, which tells us that even one who has been excommunicated must still be admonished "as a brother." Too often our failure to gain a brother is due to the way in which we point out his sins.

Only if the sinner will not receive admonition and repent is the matter brought to the attention of others, but then not in the way of tale-bearing. He must be approached in the presence of witnesses (Matt. 18:16 - according to Num. 35:30), who also have the obligation, if they are convinced he has sinned, to admonish him (Matt. 18:17).

The matter is brought to the church, functioning through its ordained elders, only if the sinner continues unrepentant. Then, eventually, he is excommunicated, both for the sin he committed and for his refusal to repent. This excommunication, as the very word suggests, involves his being barred from the Lord's table, and thus from membership and fellowship in the church.

Here too, however, Scripture has something to say. There must be admonitions, not just a single admonition. Love demands that every opportunity must be given for repentance. Also, as much as possible, the sinner must be spared, especially if he repents (II Cor. 2:5-8). Thus, Scripture says, love covers sin, not to hide it, so that it is not dealt with (cf. James 5:19, 20), but in sparing the sinner unnecessary shame and reproach.

In a few cases, however, Scripture indicates that sin must be immediately and publicly rebuked. Thus did Paul deal with Peter (Gal. 2:11-14), probably because of Peter's prominent position in the church. I Timothy 5:20 gives two cases where this may be necessary: (1) where the person has "sinned before all," i.e., sinned publicly; and (2) where the person is a leader in the church (Paul is speaking here especially of elders).

In these ways sins will be dealt with in the church and will not destroy it. So too, our Holy God is not mocked but glorified in the church, and sinners saved.

Rev. Ronald Hanko

The Irresistible Call of the Gospel (4)

No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. John 6:44

The reader of our letter who sent in this text, submitted it without a question attached, and apparently would like to have some general comments made on the text. This I am happy to do because it is such a crucially important text in the Gospel according to John.

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In commenting in our last article on the meaning of "coming to Christ," we showed that to come to Christ is the same as believing on Him.

And so the question which we face is: How does one believe on Christ?

Throughout most of the church world the answer to that question would be: One believes on Christ by accepting Christ as one's own personal Savior, by opening one's heart to Christ Who stands without knocking; by listening to the pleading of Christ Who longs to save and waits upon the sinner.

It is a tragic fact that such blatant and God-dishonoring Arminianism is almost the universal answer to the question: How does one believe in Christ?

But John 6:44-45 without any equivocation or ambiguity, simply states that such Arminianism is a denial of God's own truth. It is a mockery of God, a caricature of the Almighty, a glob of mud hurled at His perfect holiness. It is an idol, not one bit better than Moloch, or Baal, or Ashteroth.

No one comes to Christ without being drawn by the Father.

The word which Jesus uses in the text and which is translated "draw," is a word which means "to pull with great exertion and difficulty." It is something like pulling on one end of a rope being used for the game of tug-of-war; and the difficulty of pulling is due to the fact that others are on the other end of the rope pulling in their direction.

This is revealing.

The sinner must be drawn because he is not only dead weight which must be pulled along; but more, because he, in his sin, actively resists coming to Christ. The sinner hates Christ and hates God. He would not come to God or to God's Christ for all the wealth of the world. He despises anything that has to do with God - in spite of his seemingly pious speech about religious things, by which he tries to leave the impression that he is very religious.

The difficulty in drawing the sinner to Christ is not due to a limitation in God's omnipotence. He is able to call things that were not as though they were. He Who created the heavens and the earth is able to draw a sinner also. (Although it is striking that the Canons of Dort tell us that it is at least as difficult, if not more difficult, to save a sinner than to create the worlds out of nothing [III & IV, 12].)

The difficulty lies in the great sin of man. To be drawn to Christ requires that severe opposition be overcome, hatred be changed to love, resistance be shattered; hard hearts be softened; stubborn wills be made pliable. That is a great work. It is so great a work that only the Father can do it.

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The emphasis of the text lies precisely here: God, Who is Christ's Father, and Who has sent Christ into the world to accomplish salvation, is the only One Who brings to Christ those whom He has given to Christ. It is a divine work.

Let us be sure on this point, and let us believe it and confess it. Everyone who has ever come to Christ has come because the Father has drawn Him. To that rule there is no exception.

No preacher has saved one soul. No evangelist has brought one sinner to Christ. No man has ever come by the choice of His own will.

That is an objective fact which remains true into all eternity.

And that is the simple truth which the saved saint eagerly confesses, for in it he finds his comfort. If I had to come by my own power, I would never come. I know that. Oh, I know that - beyond a shadow of doubt. I know that I kick against the pricks. I know that, if left to myself for as much as one second, I would dash off in a direction exactly opposite from Christ. There is for sinners one hope: that the Father draws them. Prof. H. Hanko

What Form Ought Family Worship Take?

Our question for this issue focuses on a very important matter. One of our readers has asked: "What form should family worship take?"

The person who submitted this question assumes that family worship ought to be conducted, but for many that is something that needs to be proved. Either they do not know that there ought to be such a thing as family worship, or they neglect its practice.

In talking about family worship, we and the questioner are thinking of worship in the home. We do believe, however, that public worship on the Lord's Day ought also to be family worship, that is, the family worshipping together as well as with the other members of the church. We do not believe that the practice of having separate "children's church" or Sunday school is Biblical (Deut. 31:12; Joel 2:16).

That family worship in the home is the obligation of families is clear from Scripture. It is spoken of in Joshua 24:15; "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." The word "serve" is a word that very often refers to worship (23:7,16; 24:2, 14, 16, 20). Would that all Christian families would say what Joshua says.

Family worship is implied in Psalm 118:15 as well: "The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tabernacle of the righteous." How seldom it is heard there today.

Psalm 128:3 also speaks of it: "Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides (insides) of thine house: thy children like olive plants round about thy table." Surely the family is not gathered at the table merely to fill their bellies. As verse 4 shows, the family gathers there in the "fear of the Lord" and to receive His blessing.

Indeed, we believe that Deuteronomy 6:7 is speaking especially of family worship when it commands us concerning God's words: "Thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house."

The questioner, understanding all this, only asks how family worship should be conducted. There are no fixed rules for this in Scripture, but there are nevertheless some things that can be pointed out (we will make more specific suggestions in the next issue).

As with all private worship of God, family worship ought to include prayer, reading and study of Scripture, and also the singing of God's praises (Eph. 5:19). To this can be added if deemed profitable, the reading aloud of selections from good books (at our afternoon family worship on the Lord's Day we read a brief selection from John Willison's Treatise on the Sanctification of the Sabbath), the memorization of Scripture passages, discussion of the sermons preached on the Lord's Day, and other such matters.

We would think it wise that fixed times be set for family worship and believe, therefore, that mealtimes are most convenient for this purpose. This is suggested in Psalm 128. So, too, sufficient time should be taken so that family worship does not become a mere formality to be hurried through.

Where young children are present (as they ought to be) the readings and other parts of worship ought to be kept fairly short so that the children do not become restless and disinterested, but that they learn to enjoy these times of worship and of family fellowship.

We hope the promised blessing of Psalm 128:4 will encourage Christian families to conduct family worship regularly. "Behold," says the Psalm, "that thus shall the man be blessed that fears the Lord."

As far as the actual practice of family worship, there are a number of other suggestions that can be made: (1) That the young men of the family be asked to lead in prayer by way of teaching them to pray publicly and for others; (2) That in the reading of Scripture, the family be questioned about the reading and taught from it (we have found it profitable to allow them to interrupt the reading to ask questions about the meaning of the passage - this encourages their attention and interest); (3) that the reading of Scripture be done thoroughly, i.e., that all the Scriptures be read (this can be done in different ways, simply reading consecutively. Rev.R. Hanko

Check out these Web Sites:
http://www.HudsonvillePRC.org
http://www.MyOnlyComfort.org