by Sam Waldron | Jun 18, 2012 | Ecclesiology, Missions, Practical Theology
Matthew 12:30a says: “He who is not with Me is against Me…” This is the uncompromising assertion of the text. What we may call the unmistakable amplification of these words comes next: “and he who does not gather with Me scatters.” The implication that every Christian must and does have a heart and concern for evangelism finds indisputable confirmation in the rest of the New Testament. 1 Cor. 10:33-11:1 says: “Just as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit but the profit of the many, so that they may be saved. Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.”
All of this then requires that we think about the unavoidable application. It is this: Every Christians must and does have a heart for biblical evangelism. This heart must be at the center of the lifestyle of every Christian. Let me mention several specific applications of this.
1. Biblical evangelism is an important responsibility of every Christian.
No Christian can exempt himself from the requirement of our text. Each of us—the text clearly implies—have the responsibility to be gathering with Christ.
2. Biblical evangelism is an identifying mark of every Christian.
The main point of our text is not, however, that Christians should gather with Christ. It is that Christians do gather with Christ. Every Christian gathers with Christ. That is to say, biblical evangelism is his lifestyle. He has a heart to see men gathered to Christ. His heart is manifested in some efforts in his life to gather men to Christ.
Now I do not say what I have just said lightly. I say it carefully. I say it trembling for myself and for those I love. Having a heart for biblical evangelism is a necessary mark of being a Christian. If you rarely or never think about the salvation of the lost, if you have no concern for them or for the glory of Christ in their salvation, if you have no heart to gather with Christ, then I may tell you, I must tell you, straightforwardly that you are no Christian.
3. Biblical evangelism is a means of grace for every Christian.
Some struggle a great deal with assurance of your salvation. One reason may be that you are not giving yourself to this responsibility and grace as you ought. Start doing something to gather with Christ. John Piper once articulated at “Together for the Gospel” the common experience of Christians when they have an opportunity to speak for Christ: He said after such an opportunity which God had given him that he went home thinking: I really am a Christian!
4. Biblical evangelism may not be what you think.
The text defines evangelism as gathering with Christ. Passing out tracts or going door to door may be good for some people. “From scratch” evangelistic conversations may be possible for some gifted Christians. They may not work out well for the rest of us. They may not be societally or culturally effective ways of promoting the gospel of Christ. So let me give you some advice about how to do biblical evangelism.
- Biblical evangelism is consistent with and promoted by the diligent pursuit of your callings. Some think of their jobs as a hindrance to evangelism or even as an alternative to evangelism. For some the best way to do biblical evangelism is to do as well as you can at your vocations and professions. This will open doors to gather with Christ to you.
- Biblical evangelism means cultivating relationships with unconverted people. One good way to do that is by showing mercy to people and ministering to their felt needs.
- Biblical evangelism means plugging your gifts into an evangelistically minded local church and supporting others with better evangelistic gifts than our own. This thought has often encouraged and motivated me to use whatever gifts I have for my local church. I end on the point which I made in my first blog. We must not think of thee work of evangelism individualistically, but as the work of the church, the body of Christ. We can gather with Christ by using the gifts God has given us in the church which is His body.
Dr. Sam Waldron is the Academic Dean of CBTS and professor of Systematic Theology. He is also one of the pastors of Grace Reformed Baptist Church in Owensboro, KY. Dr. Waldron received a B.A. from Cornerstone University, an M.Div. from Trinity Ministerial Academy, a Th.M. from Grand Rapids Theological Seminary, and a Ph.D. from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. From 1977 to 2001 he was a pastor of the Reformed Baptist Church of Grand Rapids, MI. Dr. Waldron is the author of numerous books including A Modern Exposition of the 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith, The End Times Made Simple, Baptist Roots in America, To Be Continued?, and MacArthur’s Millennial Manifesto: A Friendly Response.
by Sam Waldron | Jun 13, 2012 | Ecclesiology, Regulative Principle
Not only does the regulative principle of the church apply to its government, tasks, and worship, it also applies to its doctrine. The church may neither add to nor subtract from the doctrines of the Bible. It must confess (in its identity as the pillar and support of the truth—1 Tim. 3:15) all that the Bible says and only what the Bible says. Surely the Westminster Confession is correct when it makes this point at chapter 20 and paragraph 2:
God alone is Lord of the conscience, and hath left it free from the doctrines and commandments of men, which are, in anything, contrary to his Word; or beside it, if matters of faith, or worship. So that, to believe such doctrines, or to obey such commands, out of conscience, is to betray true liberty of conscience: and the requiring of an implicit faith, and an absolute and blind obedience, is to destroy liberty of conscience, and reason also.
I regret to say that the 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith changed this admirable, clear, and helpful statement to read as follows: “God alone is Lord of the conscience, and hath left it free from the doctrines and commandments of men which are in anything contrary to his word, or not contained in it.” This revision obscures the crucial distinction implied in the Westminster between how God is the Lord of the conscience the rest of life (where the commands of legitimate human authorities have an important and necessary role to play) and matters of faith and worship where they do not.
In church doctrine it is not enough that doctrine be consistent with the Scriptures. Doctrine must be required by Scripture. It must be able to be inferred from Scripture “by good and necessary consequence.” Certain of the Marian doctrines of modern Roman Catholicism (like her bodily assumption to heaven at the end of her life) are (arguably) consistent with Scripture, but they cannot be deduced from Scripture by good and necessary consequence. They are barred by the regulative principle from holding a place in the church’s doctrine. Certain views or hypotheses of modern science may be consistent with Scripture, but they cannot be deduced from Scripture by good and necessary consequence. We may hold them quite strongly as our private opinions or convictions, but they must not be made a part of church doctrine.
Dr. Sam Waldron is the Academic Dean of CBTS and professor of Systematic Theology. He is also one of the pastors of Grace Reformed Baptist Church in Owensboro, KY. Dr. Waldron received a B.A. from Cornerstone University, an M.Div. from Trinity Ministerial Academy, a Th.M. from Grand Rapids Theological Seminary, and a Ph.D. from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. From 1977 to 2001 he was a pastor of the Reformed Baptist Church of Grand Rapids, MI. Dr. Waldron is the author of numerous books including A Modern Exposition of the 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith, The End Times Made Simple, Baptist Roots in America, To Be Continued?, and MacArthur’s Millennial Manifesto: A Friendly Response.
by Sam Waldron | Jun 11, 2012 | Ecclesiology, Missions, Practical Theology
Matthew 12:30a says: “He who is not with Me is against Me…” This is the uncompromising assertion of the text. What we may call the unmistakable amplification of these words comes next: “and he who does not gather with Me scatters.” The implication that every Christian must and does have a heart and concern for evangelism finds indisputable confirmation in the rest of the New Testament.
Notice 1 Corinthians 10:33 – 11:1: “Just as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit but the profit of the many, so that they may be saved. Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.”
1 Corinthians 9:1-11:1 among other things is speaking of how Paul gave up the exercise of His Christian liberty in order to work for the salvation of men. He as an Apostle of Christ had joined Christ in the great mission of gathering men. In the text to which I have turned you we learn that it is not just Apostles or Pastors or even some group of elite Christians who must join Christ in this work of gathering. Immediately upon saying that he tried to please all men in all things in order that they may be saved, he proceeds to call the Corinthian church as a whole to imitate his lifestyle. In living a lifestyle of trying to gather men to Christ, he says, I am following Christ. He says to them, Now I call you to imitate my lifestyle, just as I am trying to imitate His. What is the lesson? He who is not with me is against me. He who does not gather with me scatters.
Dr. Sam Waldron is the Academic Dean of CBTS and professor of Systematic Theology. He is also one of the pastors of Grace Reformed Baptist Church in Owensboro, KY. Dr. Waldron received a B.A. from Cornerstone University, an M.Div. from Trinity Ministerial Academy, a Th.M. from Grand Rapids Theological Seminary, and a Ph.D. from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. From 1977 to 2001 he was a pastor of the Reformed Baptist Church of Grand Rapids, MI. Dr. Waldron is the author of numerous books including A Modern Exposition of the 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith, The End Times Made Simple, Baptist Roots in America, To Be Continued?, and MacArthur’s Millennial Manifesto: A Friendly Response.
by Sam Waldron | Jun 8, 2012 | Ecclesiology, Regulative Principle
Having dealt with the application of the regulative principle to the government and tasks of the church, here I touch on its application …
III. For the Worship of the Church
The regulative principle of worship is often seen as repressive and negative. In actuality it is positive and liberating. It requires that the great elements of gospel worship ordained in the Word of God have the central place in the worship of the church. It is often when churches feel that their worship is dull and lifeless and traditional that they begin to search for some new ceremony, program, or innovation to liven things up. What a sad testimony this is to the carnality and ignorance of such churches!
My brethren, the way to life and power and reality in the worship of God is not the way of innovation and novelty. It is the way back to the great, central requirements of gospel worship. If people and churches languish and die under those ordinances, then they ought to die; and nothing else will be sufficient to resurrect them to spiritual life.
We must maintain the centrality of the reading and proclamation of the Word in the worship of God. If anything was central in the churches of the New Testament, this was (1 Tim. 4:13; Acts 2:42; 20:7-9; 1 Cor. 14). This means that the predominant place in the worship of God should be given to the proclamation and reading of His Word. This may mean longer services and sermons. So be it.
We must maintain the centrality of the congregational singing and praise of God in your worship. This, too, is a prominent part of New Testament worship (Matt. 26:30; 1 Cor. 14:15, 26; Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16).
We must also maintain the centrality of both pastoral and congregational prayer in your worship (Acts 2:42; 1 Cor. 14:13-17). How can we say that we believe in the absolute sovereignty of God in salvation and the building of the church and not meet statedly as a church to pray for His blessing and help?
Let me finally encourage you to maintain the centrality of the great ordinances of the church in your worship. Make certain baptism, the joining of men and women to the defined membership of the church, the Lord’s Day, the Lord’s Supper, the election of officers, church discipline are prominent aspects of your church life.
Dr. Sam Waldron is the Academic Dean of CBTS and professor of Systematic Theology. He is also one of the pastors of Grace Reformed Baptist Church in Owensboro, KY. Dr. Waldron received a B.A. from Cornerstone University, an M.Div. from Trinity Ministerial Academy, a Th.M. from Grand Rapids Theological Seminary, and a Ph.D. from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. From 1977 to 2001 he was a pastor of the Reformed Baptist Church of Grand Rapids, MI. Dr. Waldron is the author of numerous books including A Modern Exposition of the 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith, The End Times Made Simple, Baptist Roots in America, To Be Continued?, and MacArthur’s Millennial Manifesto: A Friendly Response.
by Sam Waldron | Jun 6, 2012 | Ecclesiology, Regulative Principle
In my previous blog post I dealt with the application of the regulative principle to the government of the church. Here we take up a second important application.
II. For the Tasks of the Church
I remind you again that fundamental to the regulative principle of the church was its peculiar identity as the house or temple of God. The church is subject to the special regulation of the Word of God precisely because of its unique identity in human society. Neither the family, nor even the state is subject to anything akin to the regulative principle. The unique identity of the church directly leads us to the unique identity of its functions or tasks in the world.
Now it is not my purpose to expound in detail here the subject of the tasks of the church. Neither is it my purpose to deal in any kind of thorough way with the sphere sovereignty of the church, the family, and the state as the three major institutions which by divine ordination compose and regulate human society. I do think it is obvious to anyone with an appreciation of the development of the doctrine of sphere sovereignty in the Reformed tradition that God has given distinct tasks to the family, the state, and the church. This is both the general teaching of the Bible and the plain implication of the regulative principle itself. This suggests to me three plain and closely related duties of the church.
First, it requires that the church carefully fulfill its distinct tasks. The church must clearly define and understand the peculiar functions God has given it. The church must put forth its resources and strength in the completion of those tasks. I understand those tasks to the fulfillment of the Great Commission and the maintenance of the public worship of God in its worship. Related to this are benevolent responsibilities especially to God’s people.
Second, the church must carefully avoid usurping or having thrust upon it functions that are properly those of the state or the family. The danger is precisely the same as that pointed out in one of the arguments for the regulative principle. The introduction of extra-biblical practices into worship inevitably tends to nullify and undermine God’s appointed worship. In the same way the introduction of extra-biblical functions into the church inevitably tends to nullify and undermine God’s appointed tasks. If the temple of God feels a need to function as a political party or as a general educational institution, there will be an inevitable tendency to forget its unique and exalted identity as the temple of God.
Third, the church must carefully refrain from abdicating its own peculiar tasks and permitting other spheres of society to fulfill its own unique functions. This is the great reason that para-church organizations are proliferating. But no other institution can fulfill and certainly can fulfill so well the tasks of the church as the church itself. We are told constantly today that the church cannot do the things that God has ordained that it should do. I do not believe it. In fact, I believe that only the church can adequately perform its divinely ordained tasks. Only the church can maintain the public worship of God. Only the church can fulfill the Great Commission. Only the church can disciple, baptize, and teach the disciples to observe all Christ’s commandments. Only the church can properly train its own leadership. What kind of sense does it make to allow universities or colleges not under the oversight of local church to train the future leadership of the church? Clearly, if anything falls within the sphere of the church it is the training of its own future preachers and teachers.
My brethren, it is crucial that you appreciate the implications of the regulative principle for the tasks of the church. It is only when you begin to appreciate it that, I am convinced, you will begin have a vision for what the church of Christ should be. It is only then that you will begin to grasp practically why Paul said, “To Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen” (Eph. 3:21).
Dr. Sam Waldron is the Academic Dean of CBTS and professor of Systematic Theology. He is also one of the pastors of Grace Reformed Baptist Church in Owensboro, KY. Dr. Waldron received a B.A. from Cornerstone University, an M.Div. from Trinity Ministerial Academy, a Th.M. from Grand Rapids Theological Seminary, and a Ph.D. from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. From 1977 to 2001 he was a pastor of the Reformed Baptist Church of Grand Rapids, MI. Dr. Waldron is the author of numerous books including A Modern Exposition of the 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith, The End Times Made Simple, Baptist Roots in America, To Be Continued?, and MacArthur’s Millennial Manifesto: A Friendly Response.
