Roman vs. Re-formed Catholicism

Roman Catholicism is a deficient and degraded form of the apostolic faith. In many struggles with secularism and Marxism, conservative Protestants and conservative Catholics will often be found to have common cause as co-belligerents, but we should be aware that there is no fellowship between the light and truth of the evangelical, apostolic witness affirmed by the churches of the Reformation and the idolatry and errors of the Papacy and those congregations who render obedience to its Bishop who claims to stand in the place of Christ on earth.

Sometimes visitors to RPC remark on certain aspects of our liturgy that seem “Catholic.” It’s true that we desire to be catholic in the very best way, with a small “c,” describing the historical and universal faith of the Christian Church established by Christ on the teachings left to us by the apostles. We have little in common with big box mega-churches that structure their worship as part rock concert, part Ted talk, and part Time Share presentation. We do not believe the Church is a business or ought to be run as a consumer-oriented enterprise. The Church is the household of God, the Bride of Christ, the Temple of the Holy Spirit, and everything about it ought to be otherworldly, because it is. C. S. Lewis wrote in his Preface to Paradise Lost:

“The modern habit of doing ceremonial things unceremoniously is no proof of humility; rather it proves the offender’s inability to forget himself in the rite, and his readiness to spoil for every one else the proper pleasure of ritual.”

There certainly are things that seem strange about our worship in comparison to modern evangelicalism. The pastor wears robes in the pulpit and a collar among the people. The congregation stands at stated times and participates vocally and loudly throughout the worship service. There is a large amount of Scripture read throughout the service as well as the singing of psalms and the use of common prayers from the Church’s history. If Sundays at RPC feel differently than everything else in our lives, that’s because they are different. In corporate worship, God is meeting with us to renew his covenant and bless us. We are ascending into the heavenly realm to worship alongside the true catholic (universal) Church composed of believers in Jesus from among all tribes and nations and generations.

We do not do anything in worship simply because it seems more “Catholic.” We are re-formed catholics, Christians who desire to be part of the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church that is formed and continually reformed by the Spirit in obedience to the teaching of Scripture. We owe no allegiance, and will show no deference, to the Roman Pope, who as a eunuch is no one’s father, certainly not ours. We adore our sister Mary, the mother of our Lord, but refuse to pray to her or to any other saint who has passed into heaven. We affirm and celebrate the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist, but there is no crucifix in our sanctuary because we do not regard the Lord’s Supper to be a re-presentation of his once for all offering but the New Covenant fulfillment of the Peace Offering in which we celebrate our reconciliation to God. Nor do we imagine the bread and wine to be transformed by any priestly ritual, instead being content with the teaching of Scripture as summarized by the Belgic Confession:

“But to maintain the spiritual and heavenly life that belongs to believers he has sent a living bread that came down from heaven: namely Jesus Christ, who nourishes and maintains the spiritual life of believers when eaten— that is, when appropriated and received spiritually by faith. To represent to us this spiritual and heavenly bread Christ has instituted an earthly and visible bread as the sacrament of his body and wine as the sacrament of his blood. He did this to testify to us that just as truly as we take and hold the sacraments in our hands and eat and drink it in our mouths, by which our life is then sustained, so truly we receive into our souls, for our spiritual life, the true body and true blood of Christ, our only Savior. We receive these by faith, which is the hand and mouth of our souls.” –Belgic Confession 35

Rome’s doctrines of justification by good works, obedience to the Papacy, veneration of Mary, prayers to other saints, and insistence of later dogmas nowhere taught in the pages of Scripture are incompatible with the faith once for all delivered to the saints. We do not seek to throw the baby out with the bathwater. We do not reject anything because it might “seem Catholic” anymore than we embrace whatever may seem current, relevant, and culturally acceptable. We seek to go back to the Bible and the faith of our fathers. To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to these words, it is because there is no light in them! (Isa. 8:20) --JME

Meditation for the Lord's Day: God's Disciplined Army

Being a Christian is hard, but not complicated. It can be very difficult to maintain focus and exercise the disciplines of self-denial, self-control, a God-toward focus, a life of prayer, and the pursuit of holiness. Our flesh struggles against it. We are lazy, selfish, proud, and fearful, and our inner corruption fights against the work the Spirit is both empowering and calling us to do each day. We also face opposition from foes all around us. The world is constantly seeking to distract and waylay us. The sirens call us to turn our ship and land on strange shores. It is hard to be holy in a world that is so unholy.

But being a faithful Christian is not complicated. You do not need a degree in theology. In fact, sometimes a degree in theology seems to complicate and corrupt what is simple and straightforward. Love God and your neighbor. Trust Christ, and obey him. Resist the Devil. Do your duty each day with reverence, gratitude, and joy. Say your prayers each day, and gather with the Church to worship on the Lord’s Day. It is not complicated. It’s just hard to do.

Part of the secret to doing hard things is to make discipline a habit. An elite soldier does not get up in the morning and decide whether he will work out his body and train his skillset. He just does it. Most days he is tired and a little banged up. A normal person would tell him to take it easy, take a rest day, you don’t want to overdo it and burn out. If he takes the time to decide whether he will go to work, he may not. Work is not a choice; it is a lifestyle.

We have been enlisted and ordained for spiritual war. Our weapons are prayer, Scripture, personal holiness, and worship. We must train our bodies and minds for conflict and combat. If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small (Prov. 24:10). The Devil and our own weak flesh will offer endless excuses for why we can safely neglect these disciplines. All of those excuses sound reasonable, but they are lies. The Christian must cultivate the mindset of a warrior, because that is what he is, engaged in holy combat with the Devil, the world, and our own flesh.

God is summoning his people to Mt. Zion. He is gathering his army, both in heaven and on earth, and the saints assemble to sing praises to and receive blessing from their King. The Lord of hosts is a mighty warrior, and we are mighty because we are united to him. Sin no longer has dominion over us. Laziness and worldliness and lust have no power to control us, except insofar as we surrender it to them. The Church gathers on the Lord’s Day to sing the praise and prayers that shake and collapse the strongholds of the City of Man. Gather your gear, gird up your loins, and prepare your hearts and minds to do battle with joy. --JME

An End of One Era and Beginning of a New

I am writing this as I sit at the Orange County airport in southern California. I have been traveling here for Presbytery and committee meetings since 2015. For the last several years, I have made eight or nine of these trips each year. But this was my last one, at least in that context. I will still do some traveling to California for Presbytery meetings and other church events, but this was my last one as a member of the OPC.

Yesterday the Presbytery of Southern California agreed to release me to the care of our Session given the congregation’s recent votes to withdraw from the Orthodox Presbyterian Church and petition to join the CREC. The vote was peaceful and without any drama. I had many conversations with brothers whom I love, and many expressed their love, appreciation, and regret at our departure. I look forward to welcoming some of these brothers again to our congregation and doing everything we can to promote fraternal relations and cooperation in gospel ministry. The CREC may not have formal ecumenical relations with the OPC, but I hope that RPC will continue to be loved and respected as faithful brothers and fellow-workers with them in the larger Body of Christ.

I was delighted to see the progress of the kingdom and gospel ministry in this corner of God’s kingdom. The mission work in Laveen, AZ that began as a Friday morning Bible study a few years ago was organized as a mission work of the Presbytery with funding from both the denomination and presbytery and a full-time church planter. The mission work in Hawaii that has been without a full-time church planter for some time will now have one as a capable young man passed his ordination exam with the unanimous consent of the body. A new pastor was called to Westminster OPC, a second pastor was called part-time to Covenant OPC in Tucson, and one local church that has operated for many years as two congregations—one English-speaking, one Korean—was peacefully divided into two. There were many wonderful things accomplished in yesterday’s meeting, and it was a joy to witness God’s blessing on these brethren to whom we remain connected in Christ.

My heart has been full of many different emotions. This trip and event was bittersweet. If you told me one year ago that within twelve months we would no longer be in the OPC, I would not have believed you. Even though we thought such a transition was possible, maybe even likely, at some point in the future, none of us on the Session thought it would happen this quickly or soon. No doubt, over time, we will reflect on things we could have, or should have, done differently, but in God’s providence, here we are. There is some sadness in this moment, but the future is bright. RPC is healthy, united, and strong. We remain faithful to Scripture and the Reformed confessions. We have welcomed many individuals and families who love the Lord and whose lives and households are being transformed by the Word and Spirit of Christ. The Lord has given us much work to do, and there are many opportunities on the horizon. May the Lord continue to help us, keep us faithful, and make our labors together fruitful.

There continue to be reports of division in our congregation and rumors about radical, theological changes that led us to this moment, but all of you know better. We were faithful during our time in the OPC, and we remain committed to the same biblical and Reformed worship, faith, and piety that has characterized this church since God first reformed it many years ago. I thank God for every one of you. I thank God for the extraordinary privilege of being your pastor, your brother in Christ, and your friend. I am thankful for the many relationships we have with brothers and sisters throughout North America that we would not have had if we had never joined the OPC, and I am thankful for the new friendships and relationships God has given us in the CREC over the last few years. God is good. His Church is not defined or delimited by denominations. We are one Body, one family, one community of grace. --JME