Calvin Synod Herald, 2006 (107. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)

2006-01-01 / 1-2. szám

indeed, by his Holy Spirit, or by the ministry of an angel, without the ministry of St. Peter, have taught Cornelius in the Acts; but, nevertheless, he refers him to Peter, of whom the angel speaking says, He shall tell you what you ought to do (Acts 10:6).

God gave the church apostles, prophets, evangelists, preachers, and teachers. To consider the preacher as not being a necessity is then to call God a liar and in error, for in the gift God has said you have need of these things. The modem house church taught by gifted lay speakers, though perhaps illumined by the Holy Spirit, does not remove the necessity of calling and ordination to office by the body of Christ. For this reason the small group mentality of the church today must be watched and kept in proper perspective less at any time it consider itself a part of the body of Christ without the covering of the church of Christ. Also note that the preacher (Peter in this instance) is given authority to tell another what to do. The independence of the age is a mark of rebellion and is spoken of in the Scriptures pertaining to the end times. Post modems come real close to each man doing right as he sees it in his own eyes. Modems and the so-called post-modems spoken of do not obey any other than self with due humility and respect in contrast to the very Word of God as here presented. Every believer should be sitting under the teaching of a church with a pastor and elders overseeing the materials presented. The writer of Hebrews says do not forbid the assembling together as is the manner of some. Thus we see the attitude of the postmodern really isn’t that new at all. Solomon spoke well when he said, “There is nothing new under the sun.” 14

Inward Illumination Does Not Eliminate External Preaching. For he that illuminates inwardly by giving men the Holy Spirit, the same one, by way of commandment, said unto his disciples, Go into all the world, and preach the Gospel to the whole creation (Mark 16:15). And so in Philippi, Paul preached the Word outwardly to Lydia, a seller of purple goods; but the Lord inwardly opened the woman’s heart (Acts 16:14). And the same Paul, after a beautiful development of his thought, in Rom. 10:17 at length comes to the conclusion, So faith comes from hearing, and hearing from the Word of God by the preaching of Christ. At the same time we recognize that God can illuminate whom and when he will, even without the external ministry, for that is in his power; but we speak of the usual way of instructing men, delivered unto us from God, both by commandment and examples

How wise the counsel this voice from our heritage in not attempting to limit God. The office of preacher being established by God, such office is also only to be abolished or fulfilled by God. Thus the body of Christ rightly attempts to evaluate call and ordain to office those gifted by God for just this purpose. This is indeed the normal way for the gathering and maturing of the saints in the Word, that they may obey God in taking His Word to the ends of the earth, but all under the protective cover of the church, the body of Christ. Of necessity perhaps, many so-called para-church ministries have come into being around the world. Each organization outside the church is attempting to fill a perceived void in the total ministry of Christ. While

CALVIN SYNOD HERALD_____________________________

such a void may exist, it still stands that such ministries are rouge independents at best and minister without the authority of God to do so. This does not invalidate the ministry, it calls the church to repentance and an increased effort to perform all the work assigned by Christ that the need for such external ministries would be unnecessary additions to the work of the church.

Heresies. We therefore detest all the heresies of Artemon, the Manichaeans, the Valentinians, of Cerdon, and the Marcionites, who denied that the Scriptures proceeded from the Holy Spirit; or did not accept some parts of them, or interpolated and corrupted them.

See above! There are no exceptions where Scripture is clear. If the Bible is not clear, then it is not the command of God for all to be bound by and no exception is needed. If the so-called exceptions allowed in the church are properly handled, we will find there are no heresies being born. Note here that there are no new heresies, just the same old lie of the devil with a new name and a new advocate. The exceptions spoken of here are those taken by ministers at the time of their ordination to certain doctrines of the confessions of the church. When a minister (officer) is not in total agreement with the confession he must make known to the ordaining body what he disagrees with. The body that has jurisdiction will decide if it is a place of liberty, or of some essential doctrine. Some denominations would admonish such a man that they considered it a grave departure and move forward with the ordination if the man agreed he wouldn’t teach this doctrine in the church. This is wrong; a man’s total theology will be so woven that these elements will come through though he doesn’t intentionally speak this doctrine from an official place such as the pulpit. It remains he has been ordained and called as the overseer of God in this place and the people will respect what he says, whether from the pulpit or lectern or not. It is either permissible as not being essential, or the man must come into agreement by study and prayer, or seek another place in God’s vineyard. There can be places where liberty is allowed and such an exception of no concern.

Apocrypha. And yet we do not conceal the fact that certain books of the Old Testament were by the ancient authors called Apocryphal, and by others Ecclesiastical; inasmuch as some would have them read in the churches, but not advanced as an authority from which the faith is to be established. As Augustine also, in his De Civitate Dei, book 18, ch. 38, remarks that “in the books of the Kings, the names and books of certain prophets are cited”; but he adds that “they are not in the canon”; and that “those books which we have suffice unto godliness.”

There was a process used long before Buliinger put pen to paper to decide what was in the canon. It has never been concealed that other works of equal or greater age existed. It has been denied they ever were of God and intended to be in the Bible. 15 What a farce that today we still see those who speak of the “Lost Books of the Bible.” Satan never rests, and the lie continues. The Bible is complete under the protection of God Himself, and there is not one word God intended to be in the canon that has been excluded.

_____________________________________________LL