Category: From Your Pastor

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever…Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls…We have an altar…Through Him…let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise…” (various verses from Hebrews 13)

 

We learned from the sermon last Lord’s Day morning that we are a congregation in the wilderness on the outskirts of Zion, with God dwelling in our midst, who guides and guards His people by His shepherd-leaders, providing Christ as our only altar, and accepting sacrifices that are pleasing to Him (Heb. 12:24-13:21).

 

The Gospel of Jesus Christ never changes. It is the same today as it was for those brothers and sisters who lived before us. This great and glorious Gospel will never change, and it is to this good news that we must ever be learning and believing. Jesus offers Himself on our behalf as a once-and-for-all sin offering, as our only hope for salvation, and is committed to purifying us and making us holy as His people (Heb. 10).

 

God has given Shepherd Leaders to guide and guard according to God’s Word. It is the primary task of God’s shepherd-leaders to make this Gospel known, to teach the people this good news and all of its implications (Heb. 13:7, 17; cf. 5:11-6:3). As the risen Jesus proclaimed: “All authority has been given to me…Go, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them…and teaching them all that I have commanded you to do, knowing I am with you until the end of the age” (Matt. 28:18-20 summary). God’s chosen, appointed shepherd-leaders guide the people by God’s Word, teaching them all Christ commanded, ministering and declaring what God has said in His most holy, inerrant, and inspired Word (Heb. 13:7, 17; cf. 1:1-2). As they do this, the people of God are to obey and submit to them as unto the Lord, knowing that the Great Shepherd of the sheep has appointed them for this service to Him. They guide the people of God to Christ, our only altar, and guard the people from error (Heb. 13:9-10).

 

Christ is our altar. All the altars in the Bible, throughout redemptive history, pointed forward to the once-and-for-sacrifice for sin that Jesus Christ would make for all His people for all time (Heb. 9-10); altars were given to the church “under age” in the Old Covenant to be the place where sacrificial blood would be offered on behalf of sinners. The Shepherd-Leaders are not to teach the people of God to come “forward to an altar” found in the front of the church, or to “come to the altar at the Lord’s Table” but to go to Christ alone who is our altar in heaven. Jesus is not only our High Priest (Heb. 8:1), He is our sacrifice (Heb. 9), and He is our altar (Heb. 13:10). The altar in the Old Covenant in the Tabernacle in the wilderness was the Ark of the Covenant. The ark was both a place for the blood of sacrifice but it also symbolized a throne. Now in Christ we have the substance and fulfillment of these shadows and types of the Old Covenant. Christ, the Lamb of God has offered Himself in our place, and sits enthroned at the Great King of kings and Lord of lords at God’s right hand (Heb. 1:3, 13; 8:1; 10:12; 12:2).

 

The Lord’s Table is furnished with provision from the heavenly altar! Because we have an altar, there is always the promise of forgiveness in Christ, the constant communion of prayer wherever we are, and the knowing Christ is with us by His Spirit (Heb. 13:5). We do not believe that the Lord’s Table is an altar, but we do believe that on the Lord’s Table, when we participate in the Lord’s Supper, we have the provision made available by Jesus our altar, to feed us and to spiritually grow us by His grace. Although the table is not the altar, Christ is, and we have all the spiritual benefits of Christ our altar. This the shepherd-leaders guide you to frequently to give you more of Christ as you receive Him by faith.

 

Let us offer sacrifices of Thanksgiving! (Psa. 107:22). As God’s shepherd-leaders guide us through God’s Word, and guard us from error, so they lead us to our altar who is Christ. As a response, the people of God are called to make sacrifices upon this altar who is Christ. These sacrifices are pleasing to God (Heb. 13:15-16). These sacrifices do not add to our salvation. Our salvation is completed in Jesus Christ (“It is finished.”); the sacrifices are not atoning sacrifices, for Christ has atoned fully for our sins (1 John 2:1-2; Heb. 9:26; 10:12, 26; 13:11). These sacrifices are offered up to Christ our Mediator, and with pure hearts that have been changed by Christ that are eager to please God and glorify Him. These are not perfect sacrifices, but they are acceptable through Christ’s perfect mediation for us. As God’s people let us offer up daily our sacrifices of praise, and doing good in Christ’s name, and sharing what we have with others, so that we might offer a pleasing sacrificial offering from hearts made pure by Jesus Christ.

 

As we approach the time of the Thank Offering in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church consider how God has provided you faithful shepherd-leaders in our church. Consider how many faithful shepherd-leaders are serving Christ our altar in establishing Gospel-preaching churches here in the United States and around the world. Consider how the ministers teach God’s people of the hope we have in salvation in Christ alone.

 

And let us respond as God’s people at KCPC to those who serve faithfully, teaching the Word of God, by sharing generously what we have with them (Heb. 13:16). Let us obey and submit to them as unto the Lord by tangibly helping to support financially the ministries and missions of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church (Heb. 13:17). Let us pray for them regularly and with fervency (Heb. 13:18-19). Think on God’s generosity in raising up your faithful shepherd-leaders in the OPC who preach to you God’s Word, who lead you to your only altar who is Christ, and who teach you to live sacrificial lives that are pleasing unto God.

 

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever!”

 

IN Christ’s love,

 

Pastor Biggs

 

496^th Anniversary of the Reformation of the 16^th Century

This month we have the privilege of celebrating the 496^th anniversary of the Reformation of the Sixteenth Century. October 31^stis the occasion when many Reformed congregations gratefully remember the Spirit of God’s work through Martin Luther in nailing his 95 Theses on the church door at Wittenberg Germany that was the means through which God brought a fresh discovery of His Gospel to His church. The Reformation was one of the greatest revivals in the history of the church.

As heirs of this reformation and revival, and as those thankful for the knowledge of the Gospel of grace, there are five fruits that are worth memorizing and remembering each year at this time. These five fruits of the Reformation are five “solas” or “alones” that are important for us never to forget. These “solas” highlight God’s absolute mercy and passionate grace for His dear, lost and helpless children who He has rescued through the Person and Work of Jesus Christ. The ‘solas’ are ‘Sola Scriptura’ (Scripture Alone), ‘Sola Fide’ (Faith Alone), ‘Sola Gratia’ (Grace Alone), ‘Solus Christus’ (Christ Alone), and ‘Soli Deo Gloria’ (To God be Glory Alone!). Let’s look briefly at each of these:

Sola Scriptura: Scripture alone stresses that the God-breathed-out, inerrant Word of God is foundational and sufficient for all life and godliness (2 Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Pet. 1:3-4). Biblical creeds and confessions are helpful aids to God’s people, and we embrace tradition insofar as it is taught in Scripture. Scripture alone means that the last word and final authority for matters of life and doctrine are to be found in the Holy Scriptures. Scripture is to be preached by the power of the Holy Spirit as a primary means of saving and sanctifying sinners (2 Tim. 4:1ff).

Sola Fide: Faith is a gift of God, an instrument whereby believers receive as a gift all of the perfect righteousness that we need to stand before a holy God. The righteousness God requires is the righteousness found in Christ (Rom. 3:24-26, 4:5; 2 Cor. 5:21). Faith alone stresses that Christ does all the work that is required for one to be saved, and we receive this as a gift. We are not saved through faith and our works, but through Christ’s works alone received by faith. However, it is important to note that while we are saved by faith alone, we are saved not by a faith that is alone; it is a working faith that responds to God’s grace with obedience (Eph. 2:8-10).

Sola Gratia. Grace alone teaches that we are not saved in our cooperating with God in salvation. We are utterly helpless and unable to do anything good before God in our sinfulness (Rom. 3:23). Apart from Christ we can do nothing (John 15:5) and without the gracious, initiating, powerful work of God through HIs Spirit drawing us no one can be saved (Matt. 11:25-27; Tit. 3:4-7; John6:37, 44). Our salvation is from beginning to end because of God’s mercy, not because of anything God might foresee in us (Rom. 9). We are saved by grace through faith, not of works, so that no one can boast (Eph. 2:8-9).

Solus Christus. Christ alone emphasizes that there is one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus (1 Tim. 2:5). Christ has done all for us that we could never do, nor would want to do in our sinful fallenness. Christ is to be glorified and thanked for His good works for us. Christ is to have our ultimate focus and gratitude (Heb. 12:1-2) because of all He has done for us in His life, death, resurrection, and ascension to God’s right hand. While others may place undue and unbiblical emphasis on saints, Mary, and even angels, our hearts are centered on Christ alone as our loving Savior, Bridegroom, and friend.

Soli Deo Gloria. All that has been achieved for our salvation is to bring glory, honor and praise to the Triune God alone! (Rom.11:33-36; Rev. 4:11; 5:9-11). We were made for His pleasure, and now live for HIs glory in gratitude for what He has accomplished for us in Christ.

As a congregation, let us memorize these five ‘Solas’ of the Reformation, and reaffirm them, and unashamedly make them known as God’s pilgrim people on the way to the Heavenly City.

In Christ’s love,

Pastor Biggs

The Apostle Peter desires for God’s people to be sober-minded. Three times in his first epistle, Peter tells God’s people of the importance of being sober-minded (1:13; 4:7; 5:8). Two of the times are imperatives that teach that this is an important truth that God commands for His people in light of His grace to us.

Sober-mindedness can mean to be self-controlled, to think sensibly, or seriously, or what we might call being realistic about life. It is to think Christianly ultimately. This means God’s people are to have a biblical understanding about their own sinful hearts, the right perspective and expectations of living in a fallen world, and to be able to grasp at the same time God’s immense love and mercy that He has for His people in Jesus Christ. We are to think realistically about our lives.

What particularly are we to be sober-minded about? Peter teaches us to be sober-minded about our hope (1:13), our utter dependence upon God to endure faithfully (4:7), and our agonizing conflict that we are engage in as Christians (5:8). Our hope is to set our hope fully upon the grace to be brought to us at the revelation of Jesus Christ (1:13b). This is thinking soberly. This is not putting your hope in earthly dreams and seeking to be satisfied here in this world. Rather, it is to realize that your great inheritance, and your fortune of grace is with Christ “kept in heaven for you” and is “imperishable, undefiled, and unfading” (1:4-5). This is your hope.

We are utterly dependent upon God as we live our lives in this fallen world. We live in the last days, the final chapter of God’s redemptive story, and we must be sober-minded for the sake of our prayers (4:7). Christ’s work has been fully completed for us and we are to pray continually to Him, learning to be ever dependent upon Him. Our sin in Adam has always been self-dependence, and seeking independence from God. Being sober-minded is to know we have a tremendous need of Him, and to learn to have deeper and greater communion with Him. Because He loves us!

As God’s people we are to be sober-minded because there is a great conflict in which we are engaged. The Christian life is a great cosmic battle (Eph 6:10-20). We need to think realistically about our own sinful tendencies, the “sin that so easily besets us” (Heb. 12:2), living cautiously and circumspectly, knowing that although Christ has dealt the mortal wound to the wicked dragon, he still seeks to pursue Christ’s Bride and harm us by his evil schemes (Rev. 12; Eph. 6:11; 2 Cor. 2:11). Our enemy is like a roaring lion seeking to devour and so we need to be watchful and prayerful at all times against him; we need to pray continually for one another (Eph. 6:18-20).

Surely Peter is drawing on his own experience having sinned against the Lord throughout his life in trying circumstances when he did not have a healthy sober-mindedness. Peter’s faith never completely failed him because our Lord Jesus prayed for Him and forgave Him when he confessed his sin of evil carelessness and unbelief. When our Lord Jesus forgave Peter and restored him, He told Peter that he would go and strengthen his brothers (Luke 22:32). Being sober-minded is one very important message with which God’s people need to be strengthened.

Let us be sober-minded, and confess our sins to Christ when we fail, and seek to ask Him for greater faith to know where our hope is, how effectual our prayers our as we remain dependent upon Him, and to trust Him to help us overcome our evil adversary, resisting him and standing firm in the faith.

In Christ, Pastor Biggs