faith for faith

On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther boldly posted his Ninety-Five Theses on the door of the Castle Church at Wittenberg. In that document, Luther listed numerous grievances against the false doctrines forced by the Catholic church upon the ignorant masses, chief among them being the selling of indulgences–a papist fundraiser that claimed that absolution of sins could be bought with silver. Luther outraged that the work of Christ was spit and trampled upon by those who claimed to be the church, composed his grievances and posted them for the world to see, essentially rendering his life forfeit. By the grace of Guttenberg, the document spread across Europe like a wildfire and reformer’s life was spared, and it ignited what has come to be known as the Protestant Reformation, finally dethroning the wicked tyrant of Roman ignorance that had for centuries forbade that God’s people worship him in Spirit and in truth.

Despite the great victory that the Church of Christ achieved through the Reformation, the victory was merely that of a battle, not the War. For while the papist reign of ignorance was defeated by faithful men and the printing press, ignorance about God’s Word abounds nonetheless. Unlike the time of Luther where ignorance was cultivated by a lack of information, we in our day are flooded with information and have countless translations of the Scriptures into English. All of us in America can place our hands upon a copy of the Scriptures at a moment’s notice, be they printed or on the internet, and yet many in our churches are ignorant of the Faith regardless.

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But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree, do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you. Then you will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but fear. For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you (Rm. 11:17-21)

Racism and nationalism–they are two of the most natural of vices, and they also are two of the most wicked. For all men have a tendency to embrace that which is most like them and to despise that which is unlike them. It as a product of the sin of comfort, and chiefly it is a product of the sin of pride. For all men esteem themselves as better than their neighbors, and thus it is natural for them to regard the race or nation to which they belong as the chief among all races and nations and, in turn, to look upon other races and nations with disdain as though they were inferior.

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And we have something more sure, the prophetic word, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit (2Pet. 1:19-21).

Two thousand years of history has been both a blessing and a curse for the church of Christ, for while those years have afforded for the church godly men who have in divine wisdom rightly applied the Word of Truth for the edification of the church, it also has afforded the church in that time false doctrines and traditions that have remained in many parts of the church to this day. And though traditions are not evil in and of themselves, traditions, when they are given equal or more weight than the Scriptures, become an obstacle to the church and destroy it from within.

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At my new job site with the security company for which I work, I have the privilege of working with a brother of Christ who comes from a Church of God denominational background, and who is presently pursuing a Master of Divinity in Christian Counseling. We have had some wonderful conversations the past two days (and will likely have many more in the future, Lord willing), and I have little reason not to believe that this man is a child of God. He loves the Lord and his Word, and he strives for holiness and likely shares Christianity with more unbelievers than I do.

However, despite these admirable and godly traits, this brother is a full-fledged Arminian and believes the very doctrines that the Synod of Dordt denounced. And while I am convinced that the Spirit of God dwells in this man, I have felt it my duty to share with him at least some differing views on his beliefs since this man aspires to one day be a full-time minister to God’s flock. Here are a few of my thoughts that I have shared with him.

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I am not really much of a handyman, so when, after my dad had helped me throw up a wall for a closet in my house and given me a crash course on finishing a wall and a doorway, I really did not know what I was in for. I was instructed that the key to finishing a wall and doorway well is to apply a little bit of sheetrock mud at a time and to let that dry and then apply additional coats, since it easier to add more mud later than it is to sand off an overage.

So that is what I did. Looking at the battered wall covered with dents and nails and the hideous doorway with metal strips nailed on its corners, I began applying sheetrock mud. The first coat did not seem to do much more than add a white border around all the tape and metal, and after the first day, the wall and doorway was almost as battered and hideous as it was before I began.

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Having come to the end of Paul’s epistle to the church at Rome, the apostle clarifies that which can be surmised throughout his letter, namely his very purpose in writing the letter. Everything that the apostle has written in the letter tends to a particular end, and he emphasizes that end by calling forth the same language that he used to begin the letter and thereby neatly bookends his purpose.

The great purpose of the apostle in writing his letter is this: “To bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of [Christ's] name among all the nations” (Rm. 1:5). We know this is the great purpose of the apostle for he ends his letter writing:

Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith–to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen (vv. 16:25-27).

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I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit–just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call–one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift (Eph. 4:1-7).

When we think upon the writings of Paul compared to our own context, it is interesting to think about those whom he is addressing. He is not writing to the First Baptist Church of Ephesus or to the Ephesus Presbyterian Church or to the Reformed Church of Ephesus, but he is writing to the church at Ephesus. And what exactly does the apostle mean when he says that he is writing to the church at Ephesus? He explains this at the beginning of his letter: “To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus” (v. 1:1). Therefore, his letter (shockingly) is intended for all who are in Christ in Ephesus–who have been bought with his blood and who share in the Blessing of his Spirit.

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Another poet I have come to love is George Herbert. His use of imagery is astounding:

Lord, how can man preach thy eternal word?
….He is a brittle crazy glass;
Yet in thy temple thou dost him afford
….This glorious and transcendent place,
….To be a window, through thy grace.

But when thou dost anneal in glass thy story,
….Making thy life to shine within
The holy preachers, then the light and glory
….More reverend grows, and more doth win;
….Which else shows waterish, bleak, and thin.

Doctrine and life, colors and light, in one
….When they combine and mingle, bring
A strong regard and awe; but speech alone
….Doth vanish like a flaring thing,
….And in the ear, not conscience, ring.

When the apostle Paul writes in his letter to the Romans, “We know that for those who love God all things work together for good” (v. 8:28), does he literally mean all things, or is the “all” limited in some way? To clarify his meaning, the apostles writes a few verses later, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or sword? … No, in all these we are more than conquerors through him who loved us (vv. 8:35, 37). In this, the apostle intimates that all things, no matter how terrible they seem to us in this age, work together for the good of God’s saints.

What is interesting about the apostle’s clarification is that he does not say, “What shall separate us from the love of Christ,” but he says, “Who shall separate us,” indicating that the tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, and sword are not things that Christians will endure, but persons. And the language that the apostle uses is not arbitrary, but he is referencing what he had written elsewhere. Earlier in the epistle, the apostle writes, “For those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury; there will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek” (vv. 2:8,9). Taking this tribulation and distress defined by Paul earlier in the letter and applying it to those whom Christians must endure, is then the apostle saying that these who incur tribulation and distress from God, namely the unrighteous, are not only unable to separate us from the love of Christ but are also in some way working to the good of the saints? In other words, is Paul saying that the damned in their damnation are working to the good of those who love God?

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This is the reason why I have so often been hindered from coming to you. But now, since I no longer have any room for work in these regions, and since I have longed for many years to come to you, I hope to see you in passing as I go to Spain, and to be helped on my journey there by you, once I have enjoyed your company for a while. At present, however, I am going to Jerusalem bringing aid to the saints. For Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make some contribution for the poor among the saints at Jerusalem. For they were pleased to do it, and indeed they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have come to share in their spiritual blessings, they ought also to be of service to them in material blessings. When therefore I have completed this and have delivered to them what has been collected, I will leave for Spain by way of you. I know that when I come to you I will come in the fullness of the blessing of Christ (Rm. 15:22-29).

Though it may seem unclear on the surface of our present text, the entire Epistle to the Romans has been building up to this point. For the apostle Paul has at this point concluded the purpose of his letter, which was declared in v. 1:5, viz. “To bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of [Christ's] name among all the nations.” For he brackets his entire letter by this objective, stating again in v. 15:18, 19, “For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience–by word and deed, by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God.” Everything in his letter can be traced to this purpose, and it is a purpose that is founded in a passage written by the prophet Isaiah concerning the End of all things.

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