Drippings from the Honeycomb
More to be desired are [the rules of the Lord] than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb. (Psalm 19:10)
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Service is a vital for being part of a local community. It shows that you are giving, committed and involved. It benefits you directly in untold ways as well. Now say you wanted to work with children at a library club. What would be required? Do you like children and reading? (Can you read well?) Do you have any experience? Are you a local resident? You’d certainly need a police check since you’d be working with a vulnerable group. Let alone standing for public office or joining the military, there are requirements for service.[1]
Service is a vital part of Christian discipleship. Faith isn’t static, it’s an action. We express it through holy living and service in the local church. Joy attends to the servant who reflects the serving nature of their Master, for it is “better to give than receive.” (Acts 20:35; Phil 2:6–8). Every member is meant to have a ministry to serve in (1 Cor 12:1). But to be able to serve in the local church there is a similar check: are you a Christian? Do you have a credible testimony of conversion? Have you been baptized by immersion? Do you show the fruit of faith? Do you agree with our Statement of Faith? What gifts do you have? Christianity, while personal, is not private; it is meant to be lived out corporately. You cannot have the bee without the hive, and bees serve the hive! Our faith is expressed and the local church authoritatively discerns it through membership (Mt 16:18, 18:18). Membership is how we know who represents Jesus as part of Markdale Baptist Church. As such, membership is the ordinary pathway to service in the local church.[2] (Handbook 7.1; 13.3.5 and 13.4.1.3). This should not surprise; just as police checks ensure the safety and success of library programs, the local church, as Christ’s representative body on earth, warrants equal care. Being a member ensures those involved in ministry are qualified to serve as Christians, are committed, teach the same doctrine and practice, are held accountable, exemplify the ‘one anothers’ and are united in purpose. To be a member is not only to aid your assurance but enable one to fulfil their call to service as a follower of Christ. Other blogs on Membership Learn more or apply to become a member. [1] Another illustration is marriage. To enjoy the legal and spiritual blessings and privileges of marriage you must get married! [2] Exceptions might include when we ask someone we believe to be a believer to help in a one off capacity (or an unbeliever in appropriate settings) or when we partner with other likeminded churches and their members. In Mark 1:15, as Jesus begins His ministry, He says, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” What is the Kingdom of God? (What is the Gospel?) It is another one of those Christianese words that is easy to talk about but more difficult to define. Yet, it is important we understand it because it is a central theme in the Bible. A kingdom denotes rule and reign. When God created the world He ruled it and humans recognized/submitted to His reign. His general will was done on earth as in heaven. We see a glimpse of this in the opening chapters of Genesis. Adam participated in God’s reign. He had dominion and was to be His imager bearer/representative. However, while God’s absolute reign was total, His kingdom was localized to the Garden. After the Fall, while his absolute reign remained total (Ps 93:2, “Your throne is established from of old; you are from everlasting.”) His saving reign was restricted to the increasing minority of faithful humans scattered on the earth. This is a simple way to define God’s Kingdom, His saving reign over His people in His place. These recognized Him as King and through faith were part of His Kingdom, representing Him in Eden, the Promised Land or on Earth; albeit incompletely before Christ. There is Kingdom language used throughout the OT but since Jesus said, ‘is at hand’ infers the Kingdom was partial, wanting or incomplete. God’s ‘Kingdom’ came in fits and starts through Israel in the Promised Land. However, even here, more than a geographical limitation, Israel revealed their need of the Holy Spirit to reign in their hearts. His Kingdom was thus incomplete and local vs. global. The whole OT story pointed forward to the Messiah King, the chosen One who would bring salvation by ushering in God’s Kingdom and salvation. Jesus is the Christ/King/Lord, though not as people envisioned. This is what we should think of when we say, ‘Jesus is Lord.’ (1 Cor 12:3). He is Lord of all and Lord of His Church (Kingdom and Church are largely synonymous). When He said the Kingdom was near Jesus meant that the King had come. He was the King exercising authority and power. Through His life, death and resurrection He would demonstrate He was the King, receive the Father’s crown of glory. Like kings, Jesus defeated sin and death and hell and Satan through His Easter victory. There is irony in the sign above the cross, ‘King of the Jews,’ for He really was, though in a spiritual sense. After His resurrection, Jesus ascended to Heaven where ‘He is seated at the right hand of the Father.’ (Apostles Creed). Jesus reigns over all, including His Kingdom/Church. Before ascending He commissioned His princes (the 12 Disciples, of a new people of God) to found and expand His Kingdom on earth. ‘Thy Kingdom come’ is a prayer not only for a future realization but a present expansion. It should be our desire that His ‘will be done on earth as it is in heaven’ (Lord’s Prayer). Jesus now reigns over His Kingdom by the power of His Spirit sent at Pentecost and through the authority of His Word, the Bible. As the Gospel (Good News) about this victorious King was proclaimed rebel sinners outside of God’s Kingdom were invited to be transferred from the Kingdom of Darkness/this World and into the Kingdom of His glorious light (Col 1:13). If they would repent and believe the Good News, i.e. turn from rebellion and sin and toward King Jesus, and ask for admittance according to the victory and benefits Jesus won through His death and resurrection, they would find entry. This is what is meant by Ro 10:9, to confess (agree) that “Jesus Christ is Lord.” Jesus is building a Kingdom from amongst the kingdoms of this earth. The believer is visibly admitted to the Kingdom through the rite of Baptism. This is how they display loyalty to the King. They then become a citizen, with rich meaning for our identity along with both initial blessings but also responsibility. They gather to worship the King and hear His Word. They live in accordance with the Royal Law (Ja 2:8), to live out Kingdom values (Sermon on the Mount; Parables), are equipped by the Holy Spirit to fight a spiritual war (Eph 6), be an ambassador for Christ (2 Cor 5:20) and herald the King’s Gospel. Like a mustard seed (Lk 13:18, or Dan 2) the Kingdom expands geographically and numerically (even sanctification); a reality that history attests to. The rebellion is shrinking and the opposition growing, despite how it may appear. However, the paradox of the Kingdom is that it is ‘already but not yet.’ Christ inaugurated (began) the Kingdom at His first coming and will bring it to completion (consummation) at His Second Coming. Rev 11:15b says, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign for ever and ever.” After the Resurrection, Last Battle and Judgement, Christ will reign over His people forever in the New Heavens and New Earth. The rebellion will be over. The Kingdom will be fully and eternally here, a Kingdom of life free from the curse of rebellion and death. All this may be visualized as follows:  Have you turned and trusted in the Good News of King Jesus?
Have you confessed Jesus as Lord? Have you joined His Kingdom through baptism? Are you serving the King and your fellow citizens, walking in His ways, becoming the best Kingdom citizen you can be for your King’s glory? Are you awaiting your King’s return? For a century and a half ‘altar calls’ (which is an odd Protestant term in itself) have been seen as important in conversion. First popularized by Charles Finney and perhaps immortalized in Billy Graham’s crusades, the altar call is often unquestioningly seen as a crucial element to sections of evangelical Christianity. However, it might be seen as socially and even emotionally manipulative practice; but what is more a substitute for what God has commanded.
God has already given us an ‘altar call,’ a way to express faith in Christ publically and it is called baptism. We don’t need to come to the front, we need to plunge beneath the waters. Matthew’s Gospel places a clear emphasis of baptism in following Jesus, from John’s baptism of repentance (Mt 3:1–12), Jesus’ own baptism (Mt 3:13–17) to the New Covenant sign of Baptism in the process of making disciples (Mt 28:19–20). It is through baptism that we express our faith and discipleship and the Lordship of Christ. It is through baptism that we become visible citizens of the Kingdom, members of the Church. The first command Jesus ever gave was to be baptized. If we have been convicted of sin through a song or a sermon in a worship gathering and are open to or have trusted in the Gospel (Mt 4:17) then we should seek out or tell a leader and begin the process to be baptized. When we create substitutes, we diminish God’s appointed means. For this reason, I don’t offer ‘altar calls’ but willingly, gladly and regularly urge people to believe and be baptized (c.f. Acts 2:38 and Mk 16:16) and offer necessary supports in this fundamental act of discipleship. There are a lot of words and ideas in the Bible that are taken for granted. One such word in Christianese is ‘the Gospel.’ What is the Gospel (or Good News)? Before we get the Gospel out we must first get the Gospel right. As Paul warned the Galatians of “a different gospel” we must first note that there are false gospels (Gal 1:6). Often there is enough truth in these to make them believable. Some common examples include:  As the RCMP used to train officers to identify fraudulent bills by memorizing the facets of a real bill, so too we must know the true Gospel because there are endless counterfeits. In this way we will always be able to identify other gospels. Our energy should be devoted to knowing the one true Gospel. So what then is the Gospel? Gospel (original god spell, or good news in old English) comes from the Greek word euaggelion (εὐαγγέλιον). It is a proclamation, a message. In the Greco-Roman word the gospel was a proclamation of good news when a new King/Emperor was crowned, a son born to such a man, or a decisive victory won in battle. In the Jewish world the Gospel was God’s intervention to save His people, particularly in His promised Kingdom. Of course, in both cases, it was only good news depending on what you did with the message (c.f. 1 Cor 1:18; 2 Cor 2:15–17). Jesus is God’s King (“the Christ”) who broke into history to bring salvation for His people. Through His life, death and resurrection He won a spiritual victory over sin and death and hell and Satan. Charles Hodge said, “The gospel is so simple that small children can understand it, and it is so profound that studies by the wisest theologians will never exhaust its riches.” Paul defined the Gospel this way: 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, (1 Cor 15:3–4). Mark spoke of the Gospel call that is closely associated with the Gospel (for every message must be responded to, positively or negatively): “repent and believe in the gospel” (Mk 1:15b). When we turn and trust in who Jesus is and what He has done, all the benefits the King won (forgiveness [Cross] and life [Resurrection]) are credited to us through faith; our relationship with God is restored and we enter into the New Covenant with Him. The Gospel is a message with a corresponding call to respond. The Church is called to publish these glad tidings universally and without discrimination. We need to get the Gospel right and then get the Gospel out.  The Television (TV) was invented in 1927 and became popular after WWII. As a new form of medium (media is plural of medium, meaning mass communication) it engaged the populace’s senses and brain in new ways than traditional written forms. It both enabled positive content yet its addictive power made prey a ready audience to which to broadcast ungodly content, first subtly and then overtly. Today there are many other forms of screened entertainment and information but TV remains popular.
As a runner I’m permitted a neat cross-section of our culture, particularly on dark winter nights. As I run around Markdale or Flesherton, living rooms and dining rooms are ablaze with light from extra-large flat screen TVs. Canadians spend 20.6 hours/week watching TV, not to mention 5 hours/week on Youtube and more time on other applications.[1] Many people even have it on as background during general family and social time. That is a lot of time in front of a TUBE! When I was a child I watched too much TV. It wasn’t all bad (e.g. history documentaries), however, it wasn’t healthy spending 3 hours a night watching TV. As I grew in my faith I dropped TV altogether (except for some news). Rather, I spent time at church, working, with friends, reading or doing hobbies. While I’ve occasionally watched a movie on the laptop or on a plane or browsed Youtube my adult life has been devoid of TV. In fact we don’t own one! (This surprised a media salesman on a recent visit when trying to sell us bundle deals, we don’t use 60GB on our phone or have a TV for satellite!). As you may guess, I’m not against TV but one must handle it with great discernment. Psalm 115:8 says (speaking of idols), “those who make them become like them; so do all who trust in them.” Essentially, we are what we eat! What are we consuming (including music). Ironically, as an over-user, one relative accurately described the TV as ‘the idiot box’; much on TV is not edifying. Just as media can be used by and for Christ to advance His purposes, so too the media is regularly used by Satan to sow lies, dull our thinking and fill our lives with trivial things rather than things that enrich our lives (Phil 4:8). Studies show that our brains and relational skills are negatively impacted by too much media exposure, especially children.[2] (Yet how many parents use media to pacify their children; I even know of a 4-year-old with a TV in their bedroom!). In our media and technologically saturated world we need to be savvy in how and how much we expose ourselves too. Time to go read a book… [1] https://madeinca.ca/television-industry-audience-statistics-canada/#:~:text=Canadians%20spend%20a%20lot%20of,still%20spent%20watching%20live%20TV. [2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10353947/#:~:text=However%2C%20studies%20have%20shown%20that,academic%20performance%20in%20later%20years. Godlessness is the absence of God and godly values, even a confusion in them (e.g. calling good evil and evil good). It is thinking yourself God and thereby determininig right and wrong).
In Genesis we see the origin of many things. Particularly we see how a close relationship with God produces godliness whereas a separation and distance from God produces godlessness. *A relationship conveys saving knowledge/grace and a proximity conveys common grace/general benefits. We were created to worship and serve the Lord in love/humility and obedience in accordance with His Word (blessing and life). This is godliness. Godlessness is pride and rebellion (curse and death). We see this pattern unfold in Genesis. Adam and Eve succumbed to the Serpent’s temptation and fell from grace. Cain didn’t stay close to God and so his descendant, Lamech, was even more wicked than Cain (and society sunk to new depths in Gen 6). Noah’s son Ham uncovered his father’s nakedness, his offspring—Nimrod—likely was involved in Babel, and the Canaanites epitomized godlessness with their evil ways. We see this amongst God’s people too. In the time of the Judges ‘everyone did what was right in their own eyes’ resulting in sin. A good King was sometimes followed by a mediocre son and then a wicked grandson. When David wasn’t after God’s own heart he strayed. Think of the ungodliness produced by godlessness in cultures throughout the ages. There is a reason the light of the Gospel lifted untold millions around the world (even merely culturally speaking) from darkness and into civilization. The West often baulks at the present blessings we enjoy (c.f. the cut flower society) yet those blessings derive from our Christian heritage. The Gospel has always been salt and light in a culture as it is in individual lives. The West foolishly thinks it can cast off its Christian roots without dire societal consequences. Christianity is the immune system of the West. Destroy the immune system and instead of life you will have death. I heard a story recently of a great-grandfather who was a Christian, grand parents who were Chreasters (they attended church at Christmas and Easter), grand-children who were atheists and a great grandchild who attacked his grand-mother for drug money. While not all athiests are so ungodly without God godlessness will increasingly prevail. What is the solution to the great and present ungodliness? No matter how far from God we are (or are in our walk with Him if we savingly know Him) we are called to turn and trust. “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you” (Ja 4:8). Repent of sin that causes death and trust in/follow Jesus who gives us life, who enables us by His death, Resurrection and Spirit to live godly lives; not only us but whole cultures. The Lord’s Day (secular. Sunday) is an elementary act of Christian devotion. It is the chief public means of grace that is oft neglect, misunderstood and even despised in contemporary church culture. A means of grace is something we do in faith that is the channel for experiencing God’s undeserved favour in our lives. When we pause from our regular routine to worship God is pleased to bless. Our national statement of faith on the subject says:[1] We believe that the first day of the week is the Lord’s day and that, in a special sense, it is the divinely appointed day for worship and spiritual exercise. How are we to understand “unique”? The statement was crafted in 1953, a time when the classic Creation Ordinance (Sabbatarian) view[2] was eroding and a view that it was a New Covenant ordinance was gaining an ascendency. Here are the two possible ways “unique” could be understood: [1] Sadly, in our present national review of this item, it has been suggested removing it. This is a case in point to my first paragraph. The LD is such a basic tenant of the Christian faith it is unfathomable why we wouldn’t declare it. [2] C.f. the 1689 and New Hampshire Baptist confessions.  However, while different, devotionally the end of both is very similar. Let’s consider the positive and negative aspects of the LD as a means of grace that any Christian should cherish:
Positive
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