News

There was a time when the very idea of publicly talking about certain topics was frowned upon. The censorious nature of the television gatekeepers was such that to even use certain words (such as, say, the word “virgin”) would cause major controversy. How far we’ve come.

The topics of sexuality, transgenderism, and all the plusses belonging to the LGBTQ framework are not whispered behind closed doors anymore. This month, major (and minor) corporations are openly celebrating “pride.” The rainbow brigade is taking every opportunity to cram all their pet topics down everyone’s throats with a banner they purloined from us. It is now frowned on to not talk publicly about perversions that would have made most blush ~70 years ago. How did we get here?

The church, broadly, failed to speak to these issues, considering certain topics off-limits. Of course we admit to the caveat that some times and places are not for some topics. Nevertheless, an unwillingness of a more prudish Christian culture to discuss topics frankly has been a stepping stone to our current state. The Bible speaks frankly about sexual perversions, and the good and right use of our sexuality, and so should we. We must be willing to stand as a bulwark against the encroaching hordes at the gates. And that stand includes a willingness to address these topics as appropriate and needed.

If we are not willing to talk about these things, and point out God’s intentions for His creation, you can bet the enemy will step up. If you don’t have timely conversations with your children, the ungodly are eager fill the gap.

Now is the time for courage. We must pray that God would strengthen our resolve as we face of the onslaught. We must provide the scriptural lens for the culture, declaring the evil as evil, and the good as good.

Pastor Joe noted last week that baptismal water and the Holy Spirit always go together (“…unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the KOG…”). That’s something us whole-bible, baby-baptizing people stress to other Christians! We stress it because we believe Jesus has poured out his Spirit on our children (and any person) at baptism, and that covenantally affects how we think and act toward our children: they are Christians filled with the Spirit. So does water and the Spirit go together in the Bible that much?

“And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters” — Genesis 1:2

“I will sprinkle clean water on you,..I will put my Spirit within you.” — Ezekiel 36:25

“The Holy Spirit will come upon you…and overshadow you, therefore the child to be born will be called holy…” — Luke 1:35

“…and when Jesus also had been baptized, the heavens were opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form, like a dove…” — Luke 3:21–22.

“And Peter said to them, Repent and be baptized…and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and your children…” — Acts 2:38–39.

“And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Phillip away…” — Acts 8:39

“…so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit….then he arose and was baptized; and taking food, he was strengthened.” — Acts 9:17–19

“And while Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word…and he commanded

them to be baptized ….” —Acts 10:44, 48

“On hearing this, they were baptized..the Holy Spirit came upon them.” — Acts 19:5–6

“He saved us…by the washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit.” Titus 3:5

When we think of Pentecost, we rightly think of the Great Commission and the unraveling of the confusion of Babel. Now the gospel can be heard and believed in every language!

But what many Christians miss about Pentecost is that the Apostles spoke in actual known languages: “…and they were bewildered, because each one of them was hearing them speak in his own language” (Acts 2:6b). This was not “glossolalia,” which is a verbal utterance of unknown language/gibberish practiced by religious people all across the globe, usually in moments of ecstasy.

Paul makes this same point in 1 Corinthians 14:10-11 when discussing the usefulness of speaking in tongues versus prophesying: “There are doubtless many different languages in the world…”

So speaking in tongues on the day of Pentecost was not speaking with gibberish, or even the “tongues of angels,” but in the known human languages of the day, particularly those around the Mediterranean basin.

But even as phenomenal as tongues were on Pentecost Day, it was a short-term fix until the scriptures of the New Testament were penned and translated into every known language. While the scriptures are being penned by the Apostles from 30-70 AD, the Spirit speaking through tongues and other “word” gifts was necessary in order to apply the new covenant in each local church situation, because there wasn’t a “new covenant bible” to turn to for answers of how the faith has changed because of Christ’s coming in history. Yet! But when the maturity of the scriptures came, those Spirit “word” gifts would cease: “As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease…” (1 Corinthians 13.8-10).

Today we remember, celebrate, and rejoice in Pentecost, on which we wear red to represent the coming of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 2 (one of our Lectionary readings today) tells us that when the Spirit appeared on God’s people as tongues of fire, that they spoke with other tongues in the presence of men from every nation. What should this remind us of ? Babel, of course!

Genesis 11 tells us, “But Yahweh came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built. And Yahweh said, ‘Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them. Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.’” The people were of “one lip,” one confession. And that confession was not honoring to Yahweh, but was wicked and perverse. God confounded their evil intent by inhibiting their ability to have “one lip.”

And then in Acts 2, by the working of the Spirit, every man present hears the proclamation of the gospel in his own language. And so it is once again possible for everyone have “one lip,” one confession, despite the judgement of Babel. And this confession is of Christ and His work.

This is Jesus’ great commission in action, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations.” The Holy Spirit is what makes this commission possible by the reversal of the judgement at Babel.

As you look around you at the fiery red today, remember the reversal of Babel. Remember that our confession is possible because of the work of the Holy Spirit giving us “one lip” to confess the risen and reigning Christ!

What, is Ascension Day? Well, after Crucifixion and Resurrection Days, it’s the most important day to remember all year.

How is that? Ascension Day is the day Jesus left the visible earthly realm in the presence of his disciples and sat down to rule the universe at the right hand of the Father. See Acts 1. It’s an important day for Christians to remember. With no Ascension, there is no man in heaven. There is no man ruling in heaven. Our future with God is in peril.

If Jesus didn’t ascend into heaven, then Pentecost didn’t happen, and there is no Holy Spirit on earth, filling us, guiding us, leading us, strengthening us, helping us, interceding for us with the Father, etc.

Without the Ascension, Jesus is not at the right hand of the Father, meaning Psalm 110 didn’t happen: “Yahweh says to my Lord: ‘Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.’” The Apostle Paul must have gotten it wrong in 1 Corinthians 15:25, “for he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.”

Without the Ascension, the resurrected Lord Jesus never ascends into heaven in Revelation 5 and takes the book from the hand of the Father. It means that Satan still rules the world and he didn’t get thrown out of heaven in Revelation 12.

Without the Ascension, there is no Jesus in heaven hearing and acting upon our prayers and the psalms we sing.

Without the Ascension, Jesus is not exercising all the authority and power given to him over heaven and earth to bring about the Great Commission.

That’s why Satan wants us to forget Ascension Day. He wants us to forget who rules the world. To that I say, “Just Don’t Do It!”

Some theological reflections on the resurrection of Jesus, as we contemplate his coming Ascension on May 9.

God made his covenant with Adam. When Adam sinned, the curse of the covenant (death) fell upon him, and upon all those in union with him (the whole human race). The covenant is reestablished through death and resurrection, so that the covenant in its new form (the New Covenant) is inextricably tied to the resurrection. Christ passes through death unto resurrection life, and as He does so He takes His people with Him. Christ was born “under the law” (Gal. 4:4), took the Old Adamic Covenant law and curse to Himself, and died under it. Christ embodied the law, so that Colossians 2:14 can say that He “cancelled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.” It was not the law which was nailed to the cross, but our Lord Jesus Christ.

When Jesus arose, the covenant rose with Him, for the covenant is in Him. The covenant is now the New (Resurrection) Covenant, and brings life instead of death.

— James B. Jordan, The Law of the Covenant, p.47

You’ve probably heard it said that “every Sunday is Easter,” or “Every Sunday is Resurrection Sunday,” usually to stress the ongoing blessing of Easter, so as not to limit it to one day a year. And they are correct, of course, because each week we eat the Lord’s Supper and we are confronted with the fact that He is not with us physically, but in heaven at His Father’s right hand. He is the Resurrected Lord. He is absent in body but present to us and in us by His Spirit.

But they are also correct that each Sunday is a resurrection day because as we proceed through the liturgy, every Sunday we are cleansed from our sins by the death of Christ being applied to us once again in the Confession of Sins. We confess our sins which He died and covered with His blood. Our sins killed Him, but when His blood is sprinkled upon us, it shows the Father that a sacrifice has been made, and that our sins are removed in and by His holy blood, and that we are in Christ.

To be cleansed, therefore, is to undergo a resurrection. This is the meaning of the cleansing rituals in Leviticus 11-15, and other places. You’re dead because of touching unclean animals or because you are a walking dead man with leprosy, where your skin has turned to dirt, cursed ground, symbolic of your dead and evil heart issuing forth visibly. But when sprinkled by the blood of the sacrifice, and washed by the blood and/or water, you are made alive, resurrected, and can now go live in the camp of the holy saints. You are raised to new life!

That happens to us every Sunday, as we confess our sins but also Christ’s death and His resurrection for us. As we hear His word and eat His body and blood, we are united to Him in His resurrection. His life becomes ours!

The Athanasius Presbytery Spring meeting was held last Monday and Tuesday in Birmingham at Trinity Presbyterian Church. Spring meetings are more focused on fellowship amongst the pastors, elders, and mission church planting staff (pastors, elders, or laymen putting together a church plant), with little business.

Monday evening was a dinner and social get together at Christ Church Branch Cove (Odenville), 30 minutes east of Birmingham. After dinner we had the rousing singing of three or four hymns/psalms, without accompaniment. You can’t beat 60-70 men singing loudly and vibrantly. Especially when our Council Presiding Minister, Uri Brito, leads the singing!

Tuesday morning’s breakfast and social time was followed by an ordination Presbytery exam of Gage Crowder from Trinity Reformed Church, coached and trained by our own Brian McClain. His exam was sustained.

Pastor Shade’s transfer exam followed, comprised of an introduction by Pastor Joe, a short summary by Pastor Shade of his pastoral-life excursions so far, and followed by brief questions from a few pastors. Having been already been ordained, it was mainly a “meet and greet” moment.

Uri Brito gave a report on the growth of the CREC (130 churches, worldwide) and global interest in the denomination. He noted that the CREC’s choosing to become a fully self-conscious paedo-communion denomination at the last Council meeting has sparked interest from various churches of all persuasions.

Pastor Mike Pasarilla of Christ Presbyterian Church of Knoxville was recognized for his achievements over the last thirty-three years of pastoral ministry. He retires in June.

Fall meeting is on October 7-8, to be hosted by Christ the King, Greenville, SC.

We are now in that 40 day period between the resurrection of Jesus and his ascension to the throne. Ever wonder why “40 days” and not 99 or 23 or 77? Well, you know the answer. Think biblically; not American-ly.

How many days did it rain, testing Noah and family while they relied on Yahweh for the re-birth of the globe?

How many days was Moses on the mountain, talking with God and receiving the law?

How many days did the spies take to spy out the land for conquering?

How many days was Elijah in the wilderness, being readied for his last duties?

How many days was Jesus tested by Satan in the wilderness, before beginning his ministry?

How many years was Israel in the wilderness, being prepared to conquer the Holy Land? (And how many years was Moses tending sheep before going back to Egypt?).

See a pattern? These periods of forty were not just periods of testing, but of great and various kinds of instruction for the coming task(s), for whomever it was in the days of forty.

But don’t take my word for it! “He [Jesus] presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God” (Acts 1.3; see 1-3). The Apostles were being prepared for the task at hand: Pentecost and the explosion of Christ’s kingdom all over the Roman world! Apparently, they listened well to Jesus; see the book of Acts!

“Where is Jesus?”

Reflecting further upon the resurrection in Mark 16:1-8, who is notably absent? Jesus. In Matthew, Luke, and John’s accounts, each of them records Jesus making some form of appearance, whether to the women (Matt. 28:9), the disciples later (Luke 24:13–49; John 20:19-23) or Mary Magdalene (John 20:11–18), but not Mark. Granted, in his addendum in 16:9ff. Mark makes mention of Jesus appearing to Mary Magdalene and two disciples, but these verses are not part of the resurrection account proper and were likely added by him at a later time.

So why might Mark write an account of the resurrection that doesn’t include Jesus? Why construct the narrative without the main character of an event that forever changed the course of human history? Let’s appreciate how Mark is telling the story. The young man tells the women, “He is not here. See the place where they laid Him,” providing them with word and sign, as well as a mission: “Go and tell His disciples and Peter that He is going before you to Galilee”. The same was true for the first recipients of Mark’s Gospel, the early church, as it is for us. We don’t see Jesus either, yet we’re called to follow Him in the way in which He’s gone ahead of us. So let us recognize our place in the story along with the women and go forth by faith after the unseen yet risen Christ, trusting the word and signs (sacraments) as we fulfill the mission we’ve been given. That’s the life of discipleship and has been since the resurrection took place.

It’s Easter! It’s Resurrection Sunday! Has Moses come to mind this morning?

He hasn’t? Well, he should! As a pre-figure/type of Jesus, we can learn a lot about what Jesus accomplished in his death and resurrection by looking at Moses. After all, Moses died the night of Passover, holed up in the pit of his house, only to rise the next morning to save the nation. In fact, the whole nation was united to his resurrection as they were baptized into him in the cloud and sea (1 Corinthians 10).

And Joseph? He died in a pit and gloriously rose to save the nation with bread!

And Samson? He died when his hair was cut off (Holy Spirit departed him), but he repented and was once again filled with the Spirit to save his nation in crushing the head of the serpent by killing all 4,000 Philistine lords in one fell swoop (pun intended).

And the three young men? They died in the fiery pit, but through their faithfulness and resurrection saved their people since Nebuchadnezzar made a decree to leave them alone, and not say anything against their God.

So we learn what Jesus’ resurrection means as their fulfillment: he died to crush the head of the serpent (Genesis 3.15), gave his blood to cleanse his people, and rose to life that we all might live in him! In union with him as the resurrected savior, he died for our sins and justifies us before God; in him, we are made right and have life with the Father! “…who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification” (Rom 4.25).

He is Risen! He is Risen, indeed!

The book of Lamentations is the book for Lent.

Not just for the people in Jeremiah’s day to reflect on their sins that landed them in famine, plague, destruction, and exile, but also for the church today. The church today, and individuals in the church, often place false hope and security in institutions that they believe will give them stability in hard times, rather than placing that trust in Jesus their savior.

Lamentations chapter four gives the reader false securities that God ripped out from under Judah to bring them to repentance: #1, Gold and precious stones, that represented the glory of the Temple and their priestly service (vs 1-2); #2, Stability and care of the family (3-4); #3, Trust in nobility and those with wealth and power (5-6); #4, Trust in holy men/ Nazarites (7-8); #5, Trust in abundance of food (9-10); #6, Trust in Fortress Zion (11-12); #7, Trust in the Religious Order (13-16); #8, Trust in nearby foreign powers to save (17-18); #9, Trust in their anointed King (19-20); #10, Trust in Brother Edom/Esau, their relative (21-22).

In whom do you trust? In what do you trust? In what do we as a church, a culture, a nation, trust?

If Lent is for introspection and self-examination, surely our sins of false trust and in false securities top the list. Trust in American military might, the American economy, the government social structure, the political system, the courts, the family, personal wealth and career, etc., is falsely placed. These all fall short as secure foundations. You cannot hide behind them against the Lord’s judgment.

Your trust must be in the Lord Jesus Christ alone. He alone is true security.