October 31, 2010

• the church reformed, always being reformed, lest we become deformed (Reformation Day)

  Today many evangelical churches have been celebrating Reformation Day, in remembrance of the day Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses in Wittenberg in 1517.

  The Church must always be examining herself, hence the motto:

  ecclesia reformata semper reformanda secundum verbum Dei
  
  [the church reformed, always being reformed, according to the word of God]

  I couldn't track down the original source of that motto, but it applies today and every day as much as it did in the sixteenth century.

  If we're not always being reformed, we will end up being deformed. If we're not always being reformed, we will  perpetuate and pile up false teaching upon false teaching and heresy upon heresy.

  Each and every one of us is prone to wander. Apart from the grace of God and the correcting and sanctifying and purifying influence of the Holy Spirit through the preaching and teaching of the Word of God, we'll become deformed.

  John 17:17  Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.

  As we look through the New Testament epistles, we find that from the early days of the Church there was a serious concern for and a continuing battle to uphold and remain grounded in doctrine and truth.

  Ephesians 4:11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12  to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13  until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14  so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15  Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16  from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.
  
  Hebrews 12:1  Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.

  I Timothy 6:20  O Timothy, guard the deposit entrusted to you. Avoid the irreverent babble and contradictions of what is falsely called “knowledge,” 21  for by professing it some have swerved from the faith.
  
  These are just a few examples; there are many, many more. Those words of warning are there for us because even though we may start off well, even though we may begin with a good rooting in doctrine, each and every one of us is in danger of being tossed to and fro and drifting away. We must pay much closer attention and guard the deposit entrusted to us, lest we swerve from the faith. We must remember that the Christian faith and the Christian life is a battle for truth. The devil is a liar and the father of lies and a deceiver and disguises himself as an angel of light. Apart from our regularly partaking of God's means of grace provided for us through the Holy Bible and His Holy Spirit, we will be quickly deceived and led astray.

  Each and every one of us, each and every one of our churches, and each and every one of our denominations must take heed, lest we fall. We must continue to be reformed – or else we'll become deformed. We must seriously consider Jesus' words to the seven churches in Revelation. Though we do find commendations there, we also find rebukes and calls to repentance. May the Spirit give each of us ears to hear what He has to say to us today. We must be constantly checking all we say and all we do against the Scripture. We must constantly be checking all our teachings and all our practices against the Scripture. May God enlighten us so we will not hold on to and bow down to any sacred cows. May His Spirit anoint and open our blind eyes and lead us into all truth.

  If the church is not always being reformed, according to the word of God . . .
  we're in danger of ending up like the Pharisees and scribes in Jesus' day:

  Matthew 15:1 Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, 2  “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat.” 3  He answered them, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? 4  For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ 5  But you say, ‘If anyone tells his father or his mother, What you would have gained from me is given to God, 6  he need not honor his father.’ So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word of God. 7  You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said:
  
  

  8  “‘This people honors me with their lips,
  but their heart is far from me;
  9  in vain do they worship me,
  teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”

  
  If the church is not always being reformed, according to the word of God . . .
  we're in danger of ending up like the religious leaders in the days of the early church:

  Acts 7:51  You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you.

  
  If the church is not always being reformed, according to the word of God . . .
  we're in danger of ending up like the Judah in the time of Hosea:
  
  Hosea 5:10  The princes of Judah have become
  like those who move the landmark;
  upon them I will pour out
  my wrath like water.

  
  If the church is not always being reformed, according to the word of God . . .
  we're in danger of ending up like Israel in the days of Moses:

  Psalm 78:40  How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness
  and grieved him in the desert!
  41  They tested God again and again
  and provoked the Holy One of Israel.
  42  They did not remember his power
  or the day when he redeemed them from the foe,
  43  when he performed his signs in Egypt
  and his marvels in the fields of Zoan.

  
  If the church is not always being reformed, according to the word of God . . .
  we're in danger of ending up like Israel in the days of Isaiah:

  Isaiah 1:2  Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth;
  for the LORD has spoken:
  “Children have I reared and brought up,
  but they have rebelled against me.
  3  The ox knows its owner,
  and the donkey its master's crib,
  but Israel does not know,
  my people do not understand.”

  8:19  And when they say to you, “Inquire of the mediums and the necromancers who chirp and mutter,” should not a people inquire of their God? Should they inquire of the dead on behalf of the living? 20  To the teaching and to the testimony! If they will not speak according to this word, it is because they have no dawn. 21  They will pass through the land, greatly distressed and hungry. And when they are hungry, they will be enraged and will speak contemptuously against their king and their God, and turn their faces upward. 22  And they will look to the earth, but behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish. And they will be thrust into thick darkness.

  Are we breaking the commandment of God for the sake of our tradition?
  Are we making void the Word of God for the sake of tradition?
  Are we honoring Him with our lips but are our hearts far from Him?
  Are we worshiping God in vain?
  Are we teaching as doctrines the commandments of men?
  Are we stiff-necked?
  Are we uncircumcised in heart and ears?
  Are we resisting the Holy Spirit?
  Are we rebelling against the LORD?
  Are we grieving Him?
  Are we testing Him again and again?
  Are we provoking the Holy One of Israel?
  Are we forgetting His power when He redeemed us?
  Are we rebelling against the God who reared us and brought us up?
  Are we inquiring of others but not of our God?

  Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did.
  I Corinthians 10:6

  May God's Holy Spirit circumcise our hearts and ears so we might examine ourselves in light of the Scriptures.

  May we not resist the Holy Spirit or rebel against the LORD.

  Do not move the ancient landmark that your fathers have set.
  Proverbs 22:28

  ecclesia reformata semper reformanda secundum verbum Dei
  [the church reformed, always being reformed, according to the word of God]

  May the Church reformed, always continue to be reformed, according to the Word of God, lest we become deformed.

  ---

  Related:
  the shepherds' confession: may Christ and His Gospel become a joy and delight to us once more
  Happy Birthday, Richard Baxter: Reforming pastoral ministry
  Combatting the creepy guys (Sola Scriptura + priesthood of believers)
  O, Church, to whom are we listening: the frogs or the nightingale?
  never underestimate the prowling lion
  The Shepherd's Examination (Dear shepherds...if you're not feeding the flock, then who will?)
  1st Sunday after Epiphany: Characteristics of false religion, # 1-Hypocrisy
  Characteristics of true religion, # 2, part 2: Not of the letter but of the Spirit
  Links to my posts on true and false religion and legalism

  Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
  

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