Should Christians Celebrate the Jewish Feasts of the Old Testament?

 by R.C. Sproul, Jr.

From Highland Ministries

Without question the most vexing challenge faced by the early church was understanding how believing Jews and believing Gentiles ought to relate to one another. The theme gets major play in Galatians, Hebrews, Acts, and is even the root of the issue that led to Paul’s stern and public rebuke of Peter. That so much time and attention was paid to this issue might incline us to believe it was settled. Or it just may prove how deep runs the temptation to botch this up.

Faith & Works

Let’s start here — we have peace with God by trusting in the finished work of Christ alone. Add anything to that and you have fallen into a false gospel. You do not have peace with God by trusting in Christ and by being circumcised, or by trusting in Christ and keeping the Feast of Weeks. Add anything to the work of Christ, and you lose the work of Christ.

Types & Shadows

God gave the feasts to point our spiritual fathers toward Christ. They were shadows and He the real thing. The author of Hebrews warns his audience, professing believers who were tempted to go back to the Temple and the Old Covenant shadows, that to go back is to deny that Christ has come.

If we grasp that these were types, shadows that pointed to Christ we will reach two conclusions. First, they were not bad things. Too often some treat the Old Covenant like it was flawed, something to be thrown aside. But God Himself ordained these feasts, for the good of His people. Second, however, Christ is greater than the shadows. We do not keep the feasts by keeping the feast. Instead we keep the feasts by clinging to Christ. He is our feast.

To Celebrate or Not to Celebrate

So should we celebrate these feasts? Not if by “should” we mean we have an obligation to do so. May we? Well, that certainly depends on where our hearts are. The Bible prescribes liberty, Paul telling us:

One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks (Romans 14:5-6).

I have no quarrel with a person celebrating these feasts. Instead I have a caution. My concern about some who celebrate these feasts is that while they profess their dependence on the finished work of Christ alone, some seem to believe that feast keeping somehow elevates their Christian walk. All of our sub-culture convictions within the church carry this danger. Whether it be speaking in tongues, observing feasts, modesty, or reciting the prayer of Jabez we are inveterate second blessing seekers. We want to be superior Christians who have glommed on to the secret way. Then we go out with all the zeal of an Amway salesman trying to get our friends all on board.

Paul, however, is far more easy-going. He described his Hebrew roots as dung (Philippians 3:1-8).  What matters is that we know Him, and the power of His resurrection.

A Brief Dialogue Concerning Church Buildings

~ Me:  We Christians are to be the presence of Christ in our cities and not our buildings. Sadly, this is the case though in America: the World knows us not by our love but by our buildings. We should never relegate this privilege to wood and stone, to do so is returning to the types and shadows of the Old Covenant.

Rather, the People of God are the living Temple now, built without hands, a true Family filled with adoptions who are full brothers and sisters in Jesus.

I am convinced that the most biblical, public setting to accomplish the Mission, cultivate koinonia, live as a true family, grasp the full nature of the indwelling Spirit, and humble the pride of man is gathering in ordinary homes of Christians.  This is because it forces us to constantly live in the awareness of our daily need for God’s sovereign grace

The first-century followers "got" that and that's the old path we need to return to.

~ Friend:  If we are postmillennial and believe in the triumph of the Gospel, then we should expect to see gatherings in great buildings across the world over time. That is what happened, the Church triumphed in Rome and the Church flourished.

~ Me:  I am, as you know, a walk-over-broken-glass-barefoot optimillenialist (i.e. postmil), but that doesn't mean I then necessarily believe huge sacred buildings to be in our future.  Those great buildings that were built have had a good long run of 1,700 some odd years in some parts of the world, and we only see darkness and isolation in those areas. Beautiful structures, but empty and dark. 

We desperately need the Spirit to return us to the conviction of believing what the Bible says of us, and act boldly in faith; and what is said of us is that, we –  the Congregation of Christ – are THE Building now (the mobile Tabernacle), and we need not pant after any other. We need to ask for the grace to stop trusting in our idolatrous buildings! It's difficult, I know, but this is one of those things that have changed in the New Covenant. We no longer depend on and adore a permanent, inanimate building(s). But rather, we trust a living, moving Temple, that is Jesus, whom we are in! 

We need the mind of Marcus Felix who wrote to a pagan friend in the 2nd-century saying, "You mistakenly think we conceal what we worship since we have no temples or altars...How can anyone build a temple to Him when the whole world cannot contain Him? Isn't it better for Him to be dedicated in our minds and consecrated in our hearts rather than in a building?" 

We have seen, and will see in the future, the Gospel triumph when the Family of God embraces the model, or the template, for normative church structure laid out for us in the pages of Scripture. By that I mean, small, intimate groups eating together, serving and encouraging one-another daily, and discipling their communities. THAT is what initially pulled down the walls of Rome (and, consequently, what will give the conquest in China in due-time)

Also, I can't agree that the Bride flourished after pulling down Rome. I'd say it actually went into a decline at that point. Don't get me wrong, some wonderful things were done, like pagan sacrifices being put to a stop, but in general it began to stagnate and drift from obeying the Word. 

I'll leave ya with a quote from Rodney Stark, from his book For the Glory of God: How Monotheism led to Reformations, Science, Witch-hunts, the End of Slavery

"For far too long, historians have accepted the claim that the conversion of the Emperor Constantine caused the triumph of Christianity. To the contrary, he destroyed its most attractive and dynamic aspects, turning a high-intensity, grassroots movement into an arrogant institution controlled by an elite who often managed to be both brutal and lax. ...Constantine's 'favor' was his decision to divert to the Christians the massive state funding on which the pagan temples had always depended. Overnight, Christianity became the most favored recipient of the near limitless resources of imperial favors. A faith that had been meeting in humble structures was suddenly housed in magnificent public buildings."

A Baptism should have Trumpets

"Baptism marks the entrance into the Christian community and it is one of the most important occasions in the life of the community.  What could be more serious and joyful than this?  That baptism is not important in the Church today is only a sign of how its meaning has been destroyed.  Baptism is not a formality, but a significant event in the life of the community.  It cannot be a minor addition to the regular Sunday morning meeting or even a formal ceremony in front of the congregation.  It involves the whole community and the whole community should be gathered around the baptismal site, eager to welcome the new believer with hugs, kisses and tears.  How we have cheapened this and destroyed its significance!  Seldom is baptism a time of great rejoicing or an occasion in which there is hardly a dry eye in the congregation."

          - Arthur Gish, excerpt from his book Living in Christian Community

Being Faithful Stewards of Christ's Treasury

 Calvin Guy explains where the first century Church (30 - 300AD) spent it's money in his chapter "Pilgrimage Toward the House Church" in the book Discipling the City:

"Their emphasis was almost entirely on people. Spared both the expense and concern of erecting and maintaining a building, they were soon involved in expending all available funds in loving service to the widows and orphans.  Charity was not the incidental, fractional percentage of the budget.  It was the budget."

Do you sometimes get the general sense that we are so wealthy in the Church in the U.S. that we just look around for something to blow our money on? And of course when we do find something, it just-so-happens to "strangely" be for us in some way (building projects, bloated pastor salaries, programs, retreats, conferences, and on and on...). 

Curious, isn't it?

It is Grace to Live in Community

“The physical presence of other Christians is a source of incomparable joy and strength to the believer…It is easily forgotten that the fellowship of the Christian brethren is a gift of grace, a gift of the Kingdom of God that any day may be taken from us, that the time that still separates us from utter loneliness may be brief indeed. Therefore, let him who until now had had the privilege of living a common Christian life with other Christians praise God’s grace from the bottom of his heart. Let him thank God on his knees and declare: It is grace, nothing but grace, that we are allowed to live in community with Christian brethren.”

        - Dietrich Bonhoffer, from his book Life Together

Fabricated Need Structures: Involvement vs. Agape

 The Highest Virtue in the current programmatic institution that is the US McBox church is INVOLVEMENT.

It has been raised to the noblest work one can do for one-another within man's traditionalism of the faux-church (i.e. "legalism" which is not the same as obedience to the apostolic traditions commanded in Scripture).  The Scripture speaks of AGAPE being the mark of a Christian but now, through man's tradition, we have displaced agape and substituted being INVOLVED in whatever keeping-busy-program that has come into vogue as the defining sign of a true believer.  I would say too, that in some circles INVOLVEMENT is implicitly considered to be what agape-love actually is.  To state it another way, to be participating in man's fabricated structures IS love in the faux-church. 

Nevermind the reality that few, if any, of these Christians actually know or spend genuine time with one-another or their elders.  It's all about the church building and the "holy" need structures built up around them, and as long as you're participating you're "good" and you stay in a right standing with the congregation.  

BUT if you don't show up for an event, or take your name off a list for -- let's say -- cleaning up the pastor's yard on Saturday, or setting up the sound equipment, or preparing flowers for the pulpit, well! you're not "involved" and you're putting yourself at risk of being "concerned" for ("We seem to be doing all the work around here. She's not doing anything!") and/or perhaps scapegoated ("He's the problem, he's not involved and talks continually about doing things that the Bible speaks about that just don't seem sensible!  If we push him out now things will return to normal.  He needs to go.") or, most likely, you'll just simply be ignored.  

All of this is merely impersonal, disingenuous, and programmatic country-club life (phariseeism) and is flat-out anathema to true koinonia (fellowship) within the ekklesia (gathered ones).  It is man's mere lists and rules which vigorously cultivates palpable existential isolation within the congregation.  And really, at it's base, it is works righteousness that is perpetually reinforcing the idea that you must "do" things to please the Creator to earn your pardon and receive salvation.

Just leave it. 

Leave, in order to truly STAY.

The Wide, Deep World of Smaller Fellowships

 "The man who lives in a small community lives in a much larger world.  The reason is obvious.  In a large community we can choose our companions.  In a small community our companions are chosen for us."

          --G.K. Chesterton, excerpt from his book Heretics

The Sacred Ordinariness of Sharing Meals

  "It's good to be reminded that the table is a very ordinary place, a place so routine and everyday it's easily overlooked as a place of ministry.  And this business of hospitality that lies at the heart of Christian mission, it's a very ordinary thing; it's not rocket science nor is it terribly glamorous.  Yet it is the very ordinariness of the table and of the ministry we exercise there that renders these elements of Christian life so important to the mission of the Church...

       Most of what you do as a community of hospitality will go unnoticed and unrecognized.  At base, hospitality is about providing a space for God's Spirit to move.  Setting a table, cooking a meal, washing the dishes is the ministry of facilitation: providing a context in which people feel loved and welcomed and where God's Spirit can be at work in their lives.  Hospitality is a very ordinary business, but in its ordinariness is its real worth."

         - Simon Holt, quoted in A Meal with Jesus by Tim Chester

Leading Boys into Looking Like the King

 Great article on how to disciple your boys/men by Vern Poythress in his article How I Helped my Boys become Christian Men

Discipling Your Children at Home Going Mainstream

 Recently, in the September issue of the widely distributed magazine Outside there was a lengthy article about a family that educates their children at home.  The title to the article is We Don't Need No Education and the father, Ben Hewitt, writes the article.  His family has embraced "unschooling" and so he explains what that is exactly and what they do with their two boys.  He is, unfortunately, a secular humanist but that doesn't take anything away from the reality that the article is well written and worth ones time to read (if you value such a practice).   And while I do not subscribe to his method of discipleship, and wish he was a brother in the Messiah, I do raise my mug to him and say "Carry on father Hewitt!".  That's because he understands what's happening to our children better than most Christians do.

Give it a read and be encouraged that the Nanny State is going to have it's hands full trying to take our children (or grandchildren) away.

The Enticing Turkish Delight that is Public Education

Quite a number of years ago I sent this letter below to a brother in Christ concerning the education (discipleship) of Christian children.  He and I had been wrangling about it for some time together, but it had gotten to a boiling point (unfortunately, but Providentially) where he was actually encouraging  people close to him and myself, that were struggling with homeschooling, to simply quit and send their children to State schools. He did this because he believed there was no difference between the two approaches to speak of, and that it was adiaphora, or “things indifferent” that the Bible never addressed. I firmly disagreed and decided to get it all out there in writing so we could both contemplate this topic clearly and concisely together.

       Why I send this out here on my blog is because I’m still seeing this activity among the evangelical and/or Reformed community and it concerns me deeply.  By this I mean the abandonment of homeschooling and shipping the kids off in the big, orange kipnapper to State schools.  It grieves me everytime I hear of it, and so I’ve been thinking about some way I could perhaps encourage anyone that’s considering such a thing to stop, reconsider, and take it by the Spirit to the Father in prayer.  

       What I came up with is this idea, and so I send this letter I wrote out in that spirit, praying it’ll build up and bless any of you out there who are weary with teaching your children.  I hope it’ll aid you in seeing afresh the vision of discipling your children for Christ and that your drooping sails may be filled with a firm, cool breeze.

      I’ve abridged the letter a bit and taken out the name and some personal, side comments, but the remainder is as I sent it.  It’s pretty straight forward and I didn’t mince any words, so please don’t be alarmed.  It is my belief that we should communicate to those in Christ in serious matters such as this with clear, unambiguous, confronting, grace-filled language.  What is not needed is vague, equivocating little pleasantries that can be understood in any which way so that everyone involved can “feel good” (dreadful phrase) after all is said and done.  That isn’t Christ-centered agape and we truly need to purge that leaven from among Christ’s Household. 

       That said, this is one of those very crucial subjects – the discipleship of our covenant children – and it should never be taken lightly just so we can all “get along” (to where?).  As Jesus told us, “It would be better for a person to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around his neck than for him to cause one of these little ones to stumble.” 

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Dear _________ ,

            So here is the heart of the issue/disagreement as closely as I can determine: you believe that a disciple of Christ can send their covenant child to a State school and not be in sin, and that the Word of God does not ostensibly address this issue, thus it is principally in the realm of “Christian liberty” or adiaphora.  Further, in your opinion, there is no evidence – extreme or otherwise – to indicate that the teaching and environment of state schools is so antithetical to the Law of God that a Christian parent would be acting unfaithfully if they exposed their children to such an environment.

            Now, on the other hand, I believe...

      ...that the Scriptures speak simply and plainly throughout concerning the comprehensive education (i.e. discipleship) of a covenant child and thus issue binding commands that leave no room for the Christian disciple-parent to entertain their Christian “license” in the sphere of the nurture and instruction of their child. Thus, I am doubtlessly convinced a Christian parent is in sin when they voluntarily send their child to a State school (unless perhaps under extreme and/or bizarre circumstances).  Moreover, evidence is ample and undeniable that the education system of the State is fully hostile to the Church and completely anti-Christ in its very nature and teaching.

            So, where do we start?  I think we must begin by defining some terms of this disagreement.  First, so we’re on the same page together, let’s set down the definition of education: it is the means, or process, by which one’s heart and mind are intentionally shaped and informed to view and understand the triune God, ourselves, others and Creation. 

            Next, the question must be asked, what do we as believers in Christ hope is accomplished through this process of instruction for our children?  In other words, what is the goal of covenant education?  It is my belief that the Word of God teaches that the goal of covenant instruction is: to manifest the glory of Yahweh, the triune God – Father, Christ and Holy Spirit – by coming to love and serve Him with all one’s heart, mind and strength, and to enjoy Him forever, body and soul.  (“…whatever you do, do all for the glory of God.” 1 Corinthians 10.31 – “For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things.  To Him be the glory forever. Amen.”  Romans 11.36 – “Hear, O Israel! Yahweh is our God, Yahweh is one!  You shall love Yahweh your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”  Deut. 6.4 – “…and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10.5).

            I believe the Westminster Confession of Faith supports that vision as well because the instruction of the heart and mind are part and parcel to “the chief end of man”, and this instruction/discipleship, cannot be done without the Scriptures, which the Confession states is the “only rule to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy Him” (WCF Shorter Catechism Q2). 

            True maturity in heart and mind for a covenant child cannot occur without being founded in “Christ in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” (Colossians 2.2-3) and saturated in the instruction of the Scriptures.  The Bible is THE  principle tool given to us to direct our children as to how they are to learn to glorify and enjoy Him with their whole existence. So then, to neglect the counsel and instruction of the Word leads one to having no way of knowing one’s purpose as to how to glorify and enjoy Him with all their mind, heart and body.  As the Word tells us, “The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” (Proverbs 9.10).

            What this ultimately means is that all realms of study and discipleship must find their unity and starting point in the Creator, and they must be – indeed only can be – properly understood in and through the light of the Word.  Therefore, if Christian children are attending the State’s schools and the instruction they are receiving is not founded in the Word and training them to love and serve Christ with all their heart, mind and strength in all disciplines of study, then it follows that true, biblical education is not occurring and hence no child of the Covenant should be attending. 

            This unfortunately is what’s happening in our public institutions of learning.  We have been duped into reducing “education” to the mere absorption of random, unrelated, empirical facts so we then can go to college, then get a “good” job, acquire personal peace and affluence, and then upon our death be absorbed into the cosmos.  Our most precious covenant children are being subversively inculcated with these godless, self-centered, idolatrous ideas, and there is no doubt as to the reason why these ideas are being taught to America’s children.  That reason is because the State’s education system has intentionally set itself up against the one true God.  How so?  By declaring God unimportant, even irrelevant, in human affairs and thought.  This anti-Christ system has comprehensively and systematically omitted God and His revelation entirely from its teaching and worldview, and has forced its teachers to either comply or be released.  This is pure, unadulterated atheism, and the school system that ignores who God is, what He’s done and what He requires of His creatures, teaches its pupils who have been rendered to it to do the very same thing.  We know the Word tells us “The fool says in his heart ‘There is no God’”.  How much more can the same be said for an institution that teaches and proclaims that there is no God in heaven!  This, my friend, is a religion commonly called secular humanism – as you well know – and it is totally incompatible with the teaching of the Logos and His Church. 

            The State school system has, and is, methodically and intentionally liquidating our most cherished beliefs, one child at a time, one generation at a time.   It matters not if one can or cannot site extreme, sensational examples of pure evil in the public school classrooms.  This overt and hostile atheism should be reason enough for you to never condone any Christian under your authority and care sending their child to a state school. 

            For we are commanded to rear our children in the nurture and instruction of Jesus, the Lord, and this cannot be faithfully accomplished by sending one’s child for five days a week, eight hours a day to a place where Christ’s Lordship is rejected, repudiated and said to have no place or consequence in ones study.  My brother, this is not in the realm of “liberty” of ones conscience!!  To send a child – which the Scriptures portray as being tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine, and folly being bound up in their hearts – into such an environment and life-system where these heretical doctrines and concepts are held in highest regard, is nothing less than to willingly allow one’s covenant child to be proselytized by missionaries of an alien faith!

            It’s not as though our children are going to State schools to learn physical skills and dexterity of limbs so that they can accurately replicate over and over again a given task.  No, they are going for the specific intention to soberly, solemnly and submissively develop their hearts and minds.  The one drills a muscle or sense-organ with a mechanical end, the other trains the soul for a moral purpose.  This means intellectually focusing one’s mental strength on ideas and concepts, with the hope to know how to live in this world aright.  In short, they’re going to be trained in, and given, a worldview. 

            Finally, though, let’s look at this topic of inculcation from another angle: we would never, as Christian parents, never even conceive of sending our covenant children to a Muslim(!) or a Buddhist(!) or a Mormon(!) school; and yet, ironically, our minds have been so trained and molded by our upbringing in public education humanism that we can’t even see clearly how biblically inconsistent and unrighteous even our nominal acceptance of the State’s claim to be ethically “neutral” really is!

            Secondly, you should not only reject public school instruction for covenant children because it is atheistic and antagonistic to Christ and His Church, but too, Scripture clearly portrays the State’s role to be limited to the protection of it’s citizens and the punishment of evildoers (Romans 13.1-4) and does not extend to compulsory taxation of it’s people for the education of other people's children.  The education of one’s child is plainly stated in Scripture to be the responsibility of fathers (Dt 6 and Ephesians 6) and not the State’s.  When the State does such a thing it is setting itself up as The Father of all children and will soon – as it has done increasingly in this country – come to believe all children are it’s responsibility and that it is to provide in every way for every one of it’s “kids”.

            This isn’t just a minor note either, because on this biblical teaching alone – apart from State school humanism – you should reject the idea of supporting parents sending their children to State schools.  When we freely send our children to have the State nurture and develop them, we are only buttressing and encouraging the State’s idolatrous “messianic” view of itself and it’s encroaching role in our families lives.         

            This sacrificing of our covenant children on the altar of secular humanism simply cannot continue to be tolerated within the Church.  No excuse can be offered, nor imagined, that can justify sending the baptized children of King Jesus under the submission and catechism of such an idolatrous, anti-Christ institution; and not only that, but an institution that is being unbiblically – no less unconstitionally – directed and bankrolled by the State through coercion on the backs of taxpayers! 

            As our Lord said, “He that is not with Me is against Me.” and “Things that cause people to sin are bound to come, but woe to that person through whom they come.  It would be better for a person to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around his neck than for him to cause one of these little ones to stumble.”  Do you really believe in your heart of hearts that the State school system is with our Christ?  Do you really believe in your heart of hearts that you won’t be making a grave mistake by supporting or encouraging someone under your care in sending their child into an environment where one of its primary goals is to cause covenant children to stumble and turn from the living God? 

            In conclusion, I plead with you _____ to reject and forsake this idea of State education being Christian liberty.  For if by now I’ve been able to persuade you of the enormous implications of this subject and how crucial one’s stance on it is, I believe you absolutely must, as befitting a baptized man of Christ, repudiate any fear of man, thunder forth the counsel of almighty God and, placing your hand to the plow, not look back…

For I am, along with you, a sinner saved only by grace,

Corey

Scripture for your Children to Memorize

 Here's a list of 40 Bible verses I have compiled for my children to memorize and also for my wife and I to use weekly as simple and easy platforms to catechise (instruct) our children with.

    The Spirit moved me deeply last year reading Colossians 3:16 where it states, "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly...".  and, well, I was convicted that It -- the Word --wasn't dwelling deeply much of anywhere inside me or my family, so one idea I had among many was to set about to find a list "out there" of Bible passages to use for memorization.  We'd been doing a bit of this but nothing very orderly.  Unfortunately, most of what I found were only happy, feel-good verses (typically taken out of it's context) or they didn't reflect the whole counsel of God's Word even in the slightest.  
     I want my children to wrestle with the tough passages of Scripture as well as the "common sense" or easy ones.  I want God's Word to prepare them to understand and deal with death, temptation, laughter, Satan, irony, ungodly neighbors, cheats, heralding the Good News, liars, hyperbole and being patient with Christians (perhaps the most difficult task on the planet).
     So, I went about assembling a list that I hope reflects some of all that.  I've put together two lists so far, and this list below will likely last us through 2011.  My other is mainly comprised of Proverbs, more of the coram Deo emphasis (before God's face) dealing with day-to-day struggles and decisions.
     My wife goes over one verse a week in the mornings before our kids lessons and then I go over that same verse after dinner each night, coupling it with a Scripture reading.
     Anyway, here they are.  Please feel free to copy them if you so desire, and may God's Word burrow down deep into you and your family's soul.

 Genesis 1:1 – “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the Earth.”
 Luke 17:33 - “Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, but whoever  loses his life will find it.”
 Isaiah 6:3 – “Holy, holy, holy is Yahweh of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!"
 Proverbs 30:5 - “Every word of God is true, and He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him.”
 Matthew 7:12 - “Whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.”
 Job 28:28 – “The fear of the Lord is wisdom and to depart from evil is understanding.”

Give Them Fantasy Stories

 "I think what profess to be realistic stories for children are far more likely to deceive them than fantasy stories.  I never expected the real world to be like the fairy tales.  I think that I did expect school to be like school stories.  The fantasies did not decieve me: the school stories did."

           -- C.S. Lewis, excerpt from "On Three Ways of Writing for Children"

Read Them Faerie Tales

 "If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales.  If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales."

         - Albert Einstein

An Addled Whore: The U.S. Public School System

 "Given the egalitarian goals [i.e. of government schools], Christians should, of course, just walk away. But they, still thinking of the schools as somehow still theirs, call for a return of prayer to the schools, and the teaching of creation alongside evolution.  But Proverbs tells us that a beautiful woman without discretion is like a gold ring in a pig's snout.  Why prayer in an officially agnostic institution?  Why the teaching of creation in an officially pluralistic institution?  Why do we think it is a victory when the pagans admit our Lord -- as an option just for some -- to their pantheon of gods many and lords many?  Why on earth do Christian parents spend their energy trying to teach this addled whore how to put on her make-up better?  Perhaps it is because she is getting so ugly that fornication with her is now a trial, and sleeping with her is becoming wearisome.  But, of course, a longing for a return to the early stages of the sin is hardly repentance.  "Lord," we earnestly pray, "this harlot was once good-looking.  If it be Thy will, would you make her so again?"

- Douglas Wilson, excerpt from Repairing the Ruins, chapter "Egalitarianism: The Great Enemy"

A Homemade Catechism

I’ve never been completely satisfied with the Bible catechisms I've found for young children (there’s not too many out there quite honestly), and I've thought the Westminster shorter catechism is a bit much for young children, so several years ago, when my oldest was four, I set about crafting one of my own. Most of what you'll see is my own wording and order, but some of the questions I adapted from Joseph Engels catechism from the 1830’s, and I got some ideas from John Cotton’s “Spiritual Milk for American Babes”, and also John Calvin's Church of Geneva Catechism. 
        So what you’re looking at has been tried, honed and rewritten over four+ years with three of my children thus far, and I send it out now because, at least for me and mine, I’ve got it as I want it. I’ve historically started to instruct my children with this catechism starting at age four, but I think much of this could be easily understood by three year olds without much alteration.
         Please feel free to copy it and use it. Improve it, build on it, change it around for your own kids, but in all of it, use it to glorify the one, true, living God and to push His name out into all the Earth!

A Bible Catechism for Young Children

by Corey Ankeny

Question 1: How many gods are there?

Answer: There is only one, true, living God.

Q2:  What is His name?

A:  Yahweh

Q3:  How many persons are in the one, true, living God Yahweh?

A:  Three

Q4:  What are their names?

A:  Father, Jesus and Holy Spirit.

Q5:  How long has Yahweh existed?

A:  Forever.  He has always been.

Q6:  Where is God?

A:  He is everywhere.

Q7:  Where does He live and have His home?

A:  In Heaven above and in His People, the Church, on Earth.

Q8:  What has our Lord created?

A:  He has created all things.

Q9:  Why did our Lord create all things?

A:  For His glory.

Q10:  How can you glorify Yahweh?

A:  By loving Him and obeying Him.

Q11:  Why should you love and obey God?

A:  Because He created me and He loves me so much He died for me.

Q12:  How do you know He created you and loves you?

A:  His Word, the Holy Scriptures, tell me so.

Q13:  Who wrote God’s Word?

A:  Holy, faithful men who were taught and led by the Holy Spirit.

Q14:  In Yahweh’s Word we are told He created all things in six days.  On which day did God create the first man?

A:  On the sixth day.

Q15:  What was the first man’s name?

A:  Adam.

Q16:  How was Adam special and different from the animals?

A:  He was created in God’s image.

Q17:  Of what did Yahweh create Adam from?

A:  The dirt of the ground.

Q18:  What was the first woman’s name?

A:  Eve.

Q19:  How did God create her?

A:  God formed her from a rib taken from Adam’s side.

Q20:  What were Adam and Eve’s nature – their wholeselves, body and spirit – like when God created them?

A:  They were holy and righteous.

Q21:  Did Adam remain righteous?

A:  No, he sinned.

Q22:  What is sin?

A:  It is disobedience to God and His Law.

Q23:  What is the punishment for sin?

A:  Death.

Q24:  What sin did Adam commit against God and His Word?

A:  He ate of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil when Yahweh told him not to.

Q25:  What happened because of Adam’s sin?

A:  Death and sin came to all Creation.

Q26:  Why did Adam’s sin affect all Creation?

A:  Because he was our Covenant head.

Q27:  Will all people die then and be separated from Father, Jesus, and Spirit forever?

A:  No, God has lovingly chosen many to live eternal life with Him.

Q28:  Who is the only person who can save us from this death and sin and give us eternal life?

A:  Jesus the Messiah.

Q29:  Who is Jesus?

A:  He is God the Son, King and Savior of all Creation.

Q30:  How has King Jesus saved and redeemed His chosen people?

A:  He did this by living a righteous life, dieing for our sins on the Cross, and rising from the dead three days later.

Q31:  What and who did Jesus conquer by His death and resurrection?

A:  He conquered death and Satan.

Q32:  How do the Lord’s people come to be united in love with Jesus?

A:  By being baptized, repenting of their sins, and trusting by faith in Him.

Q33:  What is faith?

A:  Faith is loving and trusting in Jesus for salvation and not in myself.

Q34:  How do we come to have faith in Jesus?

A:  Only by the mercy of Holy Spirit working in us.

Q35:  Who does Holy Spirit give this gift of faith to?

A:  His chosen, elect People.

Q36:  Does He give it to you because you’re smart or pretty (or handsome)?

A:  No.

Q37:  Does He give faith to you because you’re funny and other boys and girls like you?

A:  No.

Q37:  Does Holy Spirit give it to you because you obey your parents and you believe you’re a really nice, good little girl (or boy)?

A:  No.

Q38:  So, if He doesn’t give faith to you because of anything you DO or because of anything you ARE, why does God give faith to some people and not to others?

A:  He does so because He knows all things and acts according to His own wise purposes and loving grace.

Q39:  What then are you to do with this gift of faith given to you  by the loving grace of Yahweh?

A:  I am to love the Father, Jesus and Spirit with all my heart, strength and mind, and love my neighbors as if they were my very self.

Q40:  And where did you learn all this from?

A:  From the Word of God, where TRUE FREEDOM is found.

R.C. Sproul (senior) on Public Education

Question:  Do you agree with your son's (RC junior) view on government schools?

R.C. Sproul (senior):  "That's not an issue that I crusade about.  However, parents ultimately bear the responsibility to see to it that their children are educated in the fear of the Lord.  Given the pagan nature of the public school system, I would think that any discerning parents would not place their children in such an environment.  Knowingly to turn them over to such a pagan system would be sin. But it's mostly a sin of ignorance.  Most folks don't know the true nature of the public schools.  I agree with RC jr's basic assessment, that Christian parents have a responsibility not to send their kids into that environment."

    -- excerpt from P & R News interview, Sept. - Oct. 2000
         R.C. Sproul, Sr. is a pastor and renowned teacher who started Ligioner Ministries

All Education is Religious

 Well, I finally got around to sending in a reply to our local newspaper the Idaho Press Tribune in regards to one of their board editorials.  They wrote a piece entitled "How to Handle Religion in Schools" and I made the required 300 word rebuttal showing that their underling premise, or presupposition, was built on a myth; and, eureka!, they actually published it.  They earned my respect because I really didn't think they would have done it after what I wrote.  It's nothing much, but it was fun to write.  These small things, though, are the little means, or tools, the Spirit uses to change hearts and then cultures. You can read my reply HERE or below (the original version),

In rebuttal to IPT’s editorial board opinion on 6.14.15 entitled “How to Handle Religion in Schools” I would assert that religion – in any context – is inescapable.  There is no place (metaphorically or otherwise) of neutrality in the realm of learning and/or teaching concerning what is right and wrong, good or bad, righteous or sinful.  To assert that there is such a place of neutrality comes from the land of fantasy and myth. 

      Unfortunately, your opinion piece is likewise built on the mythical presupposition that “religion” is somehow non-existent in the State schools, as though they or It is a vacuum of Neutrality.  The fact that you actually view the institution of the State school this way shows just how well all of you (and myself for that matter) absorbed the moral and religious teaching inculcated to us by the civil government’s education system.

       That’s because it IS teaching religion and that religion has a specific name: Secular Humanism (i.e. Practical Atheism), and the core moral/religious doctrines that are taught EVERYDAY are:  #1) Ignore the Creator.  He may safely be disregarded without any consequence to your present life or eternal destiny.  #2) God is unimportant and irrelevant in everyday human affairs. He has no place in your studies, lessons and education. #3) Religion is only to be understood in terms of believing in a Supreme Being(s) and meeting to observe ancient rituals, otherwise you’re not religious.
       This is NOT neutrality, rather it is a coordinated, antagonistic attack upon Theism in general, and the Christian faith in particular by taxing us in order to subvert and liquidate historic belief in King Jesus.  This is diabolical and should be dissolved as soon as possible.  All educational opportunities should be voluntary and privatized (neighborhood or city co-ops, private schools, home education, etc.)
       In the final analysis, the question is not: WILL religious education be taught in our State schools?  Rather, it is:  WHICH religious education will be taught in our nation’s school system?

Giddy-up,

          C.E. Ankeny

Eating Meals Together

 "Jesus didn't run projects, establish ministries, create programs, or put on events.  He ate meals.  If you routinely share meals and you have a passion for Jesus, then you'll be doing mission."

         -- Tim Chester, from his book A Meal with Jesus

Primeval Communion: Dead Bread or the Bread of Life?

 When considering what kind of bread to use for celebrating the Lord's Supper -- unleavened or leavened -- it really should be a "no brainer".

Those of us who are followers of Jesus are not Old Covenant Israelites, and we shouldn't be pining after the law rituals that God commanded His covenant people to practice until their fulfillment (i.e. sacrificial, dietary, clothing, and feast day laws); nor should we follow the traditions that Talmudist adherents, or "Jews", organized hundreds of years after God "spit out of the land" (Deut 8:19-20, 28:15-68; Lev 26.14-33) His Old Covenant people with the destruction of the Temple and Jerusalem in 70 AD (e.g. Seder dinners being one of those).

All those OC ceremonial law practices always had "expiration dates" stamped on them, and were types and shadows pointing to the Messiah who would fulfill them and then place them in the trash can of history (Hebrews 8.13). Several examples concerning our topic are the observance during Passover to eat unleavened bread, the manna during the exodus, the weekly replacement of the bread of the Presence in the Temple, and the grain offerings (Leviticus 24.5-9; 6.14-17).

Those examples were intentionally DEAD bread (no leaven and no sustaining, lasting life John 6.49, 58b).  It was deliberately created by Yahweh as a type (or shadow) pointing to the antitype (or fulfilled reality) which was Jesus of Nazareth who gave real, everlasting life as THE Bread of LIFE (John 6.32-35, 48).

So, being on this side of the Resurrection, and with likely around 5 to 10 Bibles laying in all corners of our houses, I believe we all have enough sanctified knowledge to understand that as we celebrate during our times of Communion the the memorial of our living Messiah-king who died -- and rose to life -- on our behalf, we certainly should not be using the symbol of unleavened bread and acting as though the living Bread of LIFE is still dead and has not come!  Rather, we joyfully celebrate that the true Leaven has come, and fulfilled the shadows and types.  And one of those fulfilled is that there is no more "dead bread".  

That being true, next time the communion bread is passed to you I encourage you to cheerfully and willingly tear off a big, fat chunk of that leavened bread, and relax while you revel in the life giving sabbath rest that Yeshua, the Bread of Life, has accomplished and given to you and all His chosen Congregation!

Getting Back to Real Communion

 "The Lord's Supper in the New Testament is a meal.  The appropriate setting for the sacrament is a table, and the appropriate posture in our western culture is sitting."

            -- I. Howard Marshall,  Professor Emeritus of New Testament Exegesis at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland.  This is an excerpt from his book Last Supper and Lord's Supper.

Enjoying the Magic of The Table

 

And YHWH God said, “It is not good that man should be alone."  

Genesis 2:18

_______________________________________

We humans that bear the IMAGE -- either saved or in rebellion -- innately love to gather and eat together.  Our Creator designed us to eat and have leisure time together.

It is, of course, a time that is infinitely more meaningful than merely consuming calories to sustain our bodies, otherwise we'd do the activity in private most of the time in order to conserve those calories.  But we don't, do we?  And why's that?

We don't for many reasons, but one reason specifically is because we -- both believers and nonbelievers -- are renewed in our hearts, our spirits, and are encouraged by fellowship through meals.  Now, as indicated, this can be a godly fellowship (or communion), or ungodly/fallen fellowship.

I believe this is why Scripture holds forth the paradigm of the agape meal as the central reason, or the "congregating factor", for meeting on the Lordsday (Acts 2.41-42, 46-47; 20.7 – 1 Corinthians 10.15-17; 11.18a, 20, 33).  Supping together orientates and turns our eyes to Him, and through one another we see Him and come to know Him more solidly and candidly.

But, see it now, it is all divinely coordinated through the instructing symbols of food and the time taken to chew it up; and by the means of knowing how to rightly fellowship together -- displayed to us in His Word -- He methodically opens our hearts to the deeper knowledge of where true living life comes from, and Who it is that sustains us and not what it is that sustains us. 

Christ is interested in washing His Bride, and that His People "grow up" to become His dwelling place (Eph.5.25-27; 4.15; 2.22) .  And He does this primarily through gathering us to worship and celebrate over a Divine Meal:  Bread and Wine. 

The Ideal Idol of "Community"

"Many people love the idea of the church as a community.  But when we eat together, we encounter not some theoretical community, but real people with all their problems and quirks.  The meal table is an opportunity to give up our proud ideals by which we judge others and accept in their place the real community created by the cross of Christ, with all its brokenness.  It's easy to love people in some abstract sense and preach the virtues of love.  But we're called to love the real individuals sitting around the table."

     -- Tim Chester, from his book A Meal with Jesus

Strip the Man-made Institutionalism Away

 What keeps us from doing these...?

"What could a denomination do that really wanted to become a church with New Testament dynamic?  Let us suppose...

      First, all church buildings are sold.  The money is given (literally) to the poor. All congregations of more than two hundred members are divided in two.  Store fronts, garages or small halls are rented as needed.  Sunday school promotion and most publicity is dropped.  Small group Bible studies meeting in private homes take the place of midweek prayer meetings.

      Pastors take secular employment and cease to be paid by the congregation; they become, in effect, trained "laymen" instead of paid professionals.  "Laymen" take the lead in all affairs of the church.  There is no attempt to attract unbelievers to church services; these are primarily for believers.

      Evangelism takes on new dimensions.  The church begins to take seriously its charge to preach the Gospel to the poor and be an agent of the kingdom of God.  It ceases to take economic potential into consideration in planning new churches.  It begins to lose its enchantment with suburban materialism."

- Howard Snyder, excerpt from The Problem of Wineskins: Church Structure in a Technological Age

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This is a challenging book, and another I recommend if you want to think through some of the disconnected (from Scripture), worldly, faux-christian patterns that the Church is currently buried under.  CA

Well, hey, ya know, it takes MONEY

 I have heard, or read, over and over the ol' mantra that "it takes money to run a church".  Well, first we're already in the deep doo when we speak of "running" a church, but that's consistent with the corrupt business model we have built as the "church" in this era.  Sad but true.  

       Secondly though, it only "takes money" if we believe we are somehow obligated to buy property, erect a building, fund countless programs, and give a cushy life to the Spiritual Guy (aka, the Pastor). That's the only reason it "takes money" otherwise it takes relatively "no money" and your giving can flow primary outside of your fellowship instead of inside.  Let me roll that one by ya one more time: your giving can flow primary OUTSIDE of your fellowship instead of massaging everyone on the inside. (Overseers, though, should be financially supported but that "honor" ought to look much closer to the ministry of Paul -- our one, full-time overseer model for leaders to imitate -- than our average denominational pastor presiding over more than, say, 50 congregants.)

       Now, on the other hand, those of us in a house fellowship can designate our money for giving in an entirely different way.  For starters, it can be used much more wisely and effectively because there is more accountability and less waste.  This happens because the giver usually knows, or has met, the people or organization his money is going to.  It also is likely a direct transaction thus assuring that the money is actually going to exactly where it is intended to be going.  Most corporation congregations have multiple people counting and handling your money, and then they will designate it to where-ever in the budget. (Don't fool yourself into thinking that because you specifiy on your check where you want your money to go to that that will actually happen.)

        Quoted below is what could, and should, happen if we return to Scripture's model for being the living Church.  Calvin Guy explains where the first century Church (30 - 300AD) spent it's money in his chapter "Pilgrimage Toward the House Church" in the book Discipling the City:

"Their emphasis was almost entirely on people. Spared both the expense and concern of erecting and maintaining a building, they were soon involved in expending all available funds in loving service to the widows and orphans.  Charity was not the incidental, fractional percentage of the budget.  It was the budget."

Easy to Read. Difficult to Practice.

 "Theologically, the Church does not need temples. Church buildings are not essential to the true nature of the Church. For the meaning of the tabernacle is God's habitation, and God already dwells within the human community of Christian believers. The people are the temple and the tabernacle... Thus, theologically church buildings are superfluous. They are not needed for priestly functions because all believers are priests and all have direct access, at whatever time and place, to the one great High Priest. A church building cannot properly be "the Lord's house" because in the new covenant this title is reserved for the Church as people (Eph. 2; 1 Tim. 3:15; Heb. 10:21). A church building cannot be a "holy place" in any special sense, for holy places no longer exist. Christianity has no holy places, only holy people." 

     -- Howard Snyder, excerpt from his book The Problem of Wineskins

Denominations are a Nasty Stumbling Block

 I wrote this a while back.  Haven't changed my mind.  In fact, I'm liking the def more and more every time I read it.

".....a denomination functions essentially as a large, disconnected, mega-church that typically is founded around ancillary, divisive doctrines.  Over time it eventually becomes nothing more than a centralized, bureaucratic, para-church corporation.  I understand this whole structure to be impersonal, having no biblical warrant, and a nasty stumbling block to fellowship between other Christians and congregations." 

John Stott Debunks the Clergy / Laity Dichotomy

 "The whole traditional concept of  'laity' and 'ministry' has been askew, as if  'laity' were a lesser and lower breed, and as if 'ministry' belonged to the clergy alone.  But this distillation cannot be maintained from Scripture. The Scriptural teaching is that ministry belongs to the laity and that the laity are the whole people of God.  Indeed, the function of those called to the pastorate is precisely to help the 'laity' to fulfill their ministry."

        -- John Stott, deceased Anglican pastor of All Souls Church in London, England.  This is an excerpt from his book Our Guilty Silence

Church Without Clergy

 Church Without Clergy

by Christian Smith

The clergy is a highly overrated institution. Indeed, reports on the value and necessity of clergy have been greatly exaggerated. Many Christians assume, for example, that the most important thing in choosing a church is its minister, that a church cannot function effectively without a priest or pastor, that the first thing one must do in starting a church is to hire a minister to lead it, that Sunday morning should be judged by its sermon, and that the preeminent way to serve God is to go to seminary to be trained for Christian service.

      But could it be that, on the contrary, clergy are neither necessary nor, in the long run, good for church? Is it possible that one of the best things that could happen to the church today is for all clergy to resign their posts and take jobs in the world? Might it be that church without clergy could be the best kind of church?

      Certainly, for many we may as well ask whether we should shoot ourselves in the head. But upon closer inspection this perspective is not as lunatic as it first seems. The fact is, although our clergy-system is one of the dominant features of the church today, it has almost nothing to do with the New Testament is fundamentally counter-productive, and is an inherent obstruction to healthy, biblical church life.

PLEASE NOTICE, FIRST of all...