The Sinner's Prayer 2.0

I vote we replace the "sinner's prayer" with this:

My Father,

I could never have sought my happiness in thy love,
unless thou had'st first loved me.

Thy Spirit has encourage me by grace to seek thee,
has made known to me thy reconciliation in Jesus,
has taught me to believe it,
has helped me to take thee for my God and portion

May he grant me to grow in the knowledge and experience of they love,
and walk in it all the way to glory.

Blessed for ever be thy fatherly affection,
which chose me to be one of they children by faith in Jesus:

I thank thee for giving me the desire to live as such.
In Jesus, my brother, I have my new birth,
every restraining power,
every renewing grace.
It is by thy Spirit I call thee father,
believe in thee, love thee;

Strengthen me inwardly for every purpose of my Christian life;
Let the Spirit continually reveal to me my interest in Christ,
and open to me the riches of they love in him;

May he abide in me that I may know my union with Jesus,
and enter into constant fellowship with him;

By thy Spirit may I daily live to thee,
rejoice in they love,
find it the same to me as to thy Son,
and become rooted and grounded in it as a house on rock;

I know but little -
increase my knowledge of thy love in Jesus,
keep me pressing forward for clearer discoveries of it,
so that I may find its eternal fullness;

Magnify thy love to me according to its greatness,
and not according to my deserts or prayers,
and whatever increase thou givest,
let it draw out greater love to thee.

From the Valley of Vision: A Converts First Prayer

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Pray without Ceasing

The following selection is taken from Richard Rushing's excellent book "Voices From the Past: Puritan Devotional Readings"

"The closet and solitary prayer is necessary duty, and a profitable one. It does much for the enlargement of the heart. When a man seeks to deal most earnestly with God, he should seek retirement, and be alone. Christ in his agonies went apart from his disciples. It is notable that when Jacob sought to wrestle with God, it is said, 'And Jacob was left alone' (Gen. 32:24). When he had a mind to deal with God in great earnestness, he sent away all his company. A hypocrite finds a greater flash of gifts in his public duties; but he is slight and superficial when he is alone with God. Usually God's children are able to most affectionately pour out their hearts before him in private. Here, they find their affections free to wrestle with God. Here, one finds most communion with God, and enlargement of heart. In private we are wholly at leisure to deal with God in a child-like liberty. Now, will you omit this duty where you may be most free, without distraction, to let out your heart to God? The sweetest experiences of God's saints are when they are alone with him. Without seeking God often, the vitality of the soul is lost. We may as well expect a crop and harvest without sowing, as living grace without seeking God. God is first cast out of the closet, and then out of the family, and within a little while, out of the congregation. Omit secret prayer, and some great sin will follow. A man who is often with God, does not dare to offend him so freely as others do. Religion, as it were, dies by degrees. Whatever else is forgotten, God must not be forgotten. Make God a good allowance. Make a prudent choice yourselves, and consecrate such a part of time as will suit with our occasions, your course of life, and according to your abilities and opportunities."

- Thomas Manton, Works, 1:13-20

Solitude

Happy the man, whose wish and care

A few paternal acres bound,
Content to breathe his native air

In his own ground.

Whose herds with milk, whose fields with bread,
Whose flocks supply him with attire;
Whose trees in summer yield him shade,
In winter, fire.

Blest, who can unconcernedly find
Hours, days, and years slide soft away
In health of body, peace of mind;
Quiet by day,

Sound sleep by night; study and ease
Together mixed, sweet recreation,
And innocence, which most does please
With meditation.

Thus let me live, unseen, unknown;
Thus unlamented let me die,
Steal from the world, and not a stone
Tell where I lie.

Link of the Week #25

Hello readers! As you well know tonight is Christmas Eve. A night when millions of people will gather in churches around the world to remember the night that God's only Son, Jesus Christ, became incarnate to redeem His people from the world. For many believers, this night marks a high point in their year. But those of you who have spent some time in the world of Reformed Presbyterianism will know that these Christmas celebrations can often bring consternation as well. Although the vast majority of Presbyterians now celebrate holy days like Christmas and Easter, it wasn't too long ago that such a thing would have been unheard of. Allow me to explain.


When our forefathers penned the Westminster Standards (which have served as guides for Presbyterian doctrine and practice for hundreds of years) they attached to it what they called a"Directory for Publik Worship." This Directory gave guidance and direction for churches who were seeking to worship God according to Scripture. Many of these churches were emerging from the mass of man-made traditions found in both the Roman Catholic and in the Anglican communions, and they realized the pressing need to reexamine why things were done the way they were. This reevaluation led to a far simpler, more biblical, form of worship in many of these new Puritan and Presbyterian congregations. This new document called for many changes and one of these changes concerned the celebration of holy days like Christmas and Easter. As the Directory says:

"There is no day commanded in scripture to be kept holy under the gospel but the Lord's Day, which is the Christian Sabbath. Festival days, vulgarly called Holy-days, having no warrant in the word of God, are not to be continued."

In essence, the Directory believed that celebrating these holy-days violates the law of God and the regulative principle of worship. (To gain a more thorough understanding of why they thought this was the case go here.)


Ever since that time Presbyterians have been faced with a choice. Will we stand with our forefathers against the church calender, or, will we stand with many other evangelicals with the church calender? This is a question that has been hotly debated for centuries and I doubt that any "quick fix" will emerge to solve our problem. But I do believe that the tension many Presbyterians feel is perhaps a false one. The question is often presented in rather stark terms. Either we buy into the entire Christmas package (like we see in so many churches today) or we will refuse to celebrate or recognize Christmas as some of our brothers do. However, I believe there is a third option, and that brings us (at last) to this week's link.

This week, we'd like to highlight a series of links from the Q & A section of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church's website. These links help us understand how we can perhaps incorporate some of the good aspects of the Christmas season without adopting many of the un-biblical practices and requirements that it often brings. Although there are still many questions that these links don't answer, I believe that they can help us to find a middle ground between the wholehearted acceptance, or the wholesale rejection, of the church calender. Enjoy!

To read this week's links go here, and here.

Link of the Week #24

Hello readers! Those of you who have read this blog for any length of time will know that we are big fans of the Puritans. Over the past 50 years God has blessed the church with far greater access to the works of these wonderful men. Many classic Puritan books, sermons, and journals are being re-typeset and published for a whole new generation of readers. However, this blessing brings with it its own challenges. With so many Puritans (and so many Puritan works) out there, where does one start? Who is publishing these books and how does one sort through the various editions? How can a 21st century reader penetrate the sometimes daunting language of the 16th and 17th centuries? What is unique about the Puritans? Who are the Puritans anyway?

Well, to help answer these questions we would like to highlight two links this week. The first is to a wonderful article by Joel Beeke called "Why You Should Read the Puritans." In this article Beeke helps orient the reader to who exactly the Puritans were, and then he lays out nine helpful contributions that the Puritans have made to Christian doctrine and life. Our second link is for those of you who may have a bit more time on your hands. In 2006 Randall J. Pederson & Joel Beeke co-edited a book called "Meet the Puritans." In this 895 page tome the author provide us with a wonderful resource for all Puritan lovers. As Westminster bookstore puts it:

"The Puritans were unmatched in their ability to combine deep, theological thinking with warm, practical living. In recent decades, many of their writings have been brought back into print but few Christians know who these men were or why their works are worth reading.
In Meet the Puritans, Joel R. Beeke and Randall J. Pederson go a long way toward alleviating this problem. This resource provides biographical introductions to every Puritan whose work has been republished in recent decades. Along with each biography is a guide to the written works of that Puritan author."

We hope that you will take the time to consider these resources, and we hope that you will consider digging into the works of some Puritan authors as you seek to grow in grace in the coming year!

Happy Birthday Jack...

This Monday marked the anniversary of the birth of one of the single greatest influences on my life and thought. On November 29, 1898 C.S. Lewis (or "Jack" as he like to be called) was born to a middle class family in Belfast, Ireland. The story of Lewis's life has been well recounted in many places (notably in George Sayer's book "Jack: A Life of C.S. Lewis" and in Lewis's own book "Surprised by Joy: The Shape of my Early Life") so I'll restrain my historian's impulse to recount his life story. Instead, I'd like to recount some of the quotes I've come across recently in my reading of Lewis. I've been re-reading "Out of the Silent Planet" which is even better than I had remembered, but another gem that I've been reading for the first time is Lewis's wonderful collection of essays called "Of Other Worlds: Essays and Stories"

"An unliterary man may be defined as one who read books once only. There is hope for a man who has never read Malory or Boswell or Tristram Shandy or Shakespeare's Sonnets: but what can you do with a man who says he 'has read' them, meaning he has read them once, and thinks that this settles the matter?"

"We do not enjoy a story fully at the first reading. Not till the curiosity, the sheer narrative; lust, has been given its sop and laid asleep, are we at leisure to savour the real beauties. Till then, it is like wasting great wine on a ravenous natural thirst which merely wants cold wetness. The children understand this well when they ask for the same story over and over again, and in the same words. They want to have again the 'surprise' of discovering that what seemed Little-Red-Riding-Hood's grandmother is really the wolf. It is better when you know it is coming: free from the shock of actual surprise you can attend better to the intrinsic surprisingness of the peripeteia."

"I will not say that a good story for children could never be written by someone in the Ministry of Education, for all things are possible. But I should lay very long odds against it."

"A critic not long ago said in praise of a very serious fairy tale that the author's tongue 'never once got into his cheek'. But why on earth should it? - unless he had been eating a seed-cake. Nothing seems to me more fatal, for this art, than an idea that whatever we share with children is, in the private sense, 'childish' and that whatever is childish is somehow comic. We must meet children as equals in that area of our nature where we are their equals."

"The modern view seems to me to involve a false concept of growth. They accuse us of arrested development because we have not lost a taste we had in childhood. But surely arrested development consists not in refusing to lose old things but in failing to add new things? I now like hock, which I am sure I should not have liked as a child. But I still like lemon-squash. I call this growth or development because I have been enriched: where I formerly had only one pleasure, I now have two. But if I had to lose the taste for lemon-squash before I acquired the taste of hock, that would not be growth but simple change. I now enjoy Tolstoy and Jane Austen and Trollope as well as fairy tales and I call that growth: if I had had to lose the fairy tales in order to acquire the novelists, I would not say that I had grown but only that I had changed.
A tree grows because it adds rings: a train doesn't grow by leaving one station behind and puffing on to the next. In reality, the case is stronger and more complicated than this. I think my growth is just as apparent when I now read the fairy tales as when I read the novelists, for I now enjoy the fairy tales better than I did in childhood: being now able to put more in, of course I get more out. But I do not here stress that point. Even if it were merely a taste for grown-up literature added to an unchanged taste of children's literature addition would still be entitled to the name 'growth', and the process of merely dropping one parcel when you pick up another would not. It is, of course, true that the process of growing does, incidentally and unfortunately, involve some more losses. But that is not the essence of growth, certainly not what makes growth admirable or desirable. If it were, if to drop parcels and to leave stations behind were the essence and virtue of growth, why should we stop at adult? Why should not senile be equally a term of approval? Why are we not to be congratulated on losing our teeth and hair? Some critics seem to confuse growth with the cost of growth and also to wish to make that cost far higher than, in nature, it need be."

"Once in a hotel dining-room I said, rather too loudly, 'I loathe prunes.' 'So do I,' came an unexpected six-year-old voice from another table. Sympathy was instantaneous. Neither of us thought it funny. We both knew that prunes are far too nasty to be funny. That is the proper meeting between man and child as independent personalities."

Selections from Table Talk

The following story is taken from Martin Luther's Table Talk.

Of the Archbishop of Mentz, one of the Spiritual Princes Electors, his Censure of the Bible.

Anno 1530, at the Imperial Assembly at Augsburg, Albertus, Bishop of Mentz, by chance had got into his hands the Bible, and for the space of four hours he continued reading therein; at last, one of his Council on a sudden came into his bed-chamber unto him, who, seeing the Bible in the Bishop's hand, was much amazed thereat, and said unto him, "what doth your highness with that book?" The Archbishop thereupon answered him, and said, "I know not what this book is, but sure I am, all that is written therein is quite against us."

Inversnaid

THIS darksome burn, horseback brown,

His rollrock highroad roaring down,

In coop and in comb the fleece of his foam

Flutes and low to the lake falls home.

A windpuff-bonnet of fawn-froth

Turns and twindles over the broth

Of a pool so pitchblack, fell-frowning,

It rounds and rounds Despair to drowning.

Degged with dew, dappled with dew,

Are the groins of the braes that the brook treads through,

Wiry heathpacks, flitches of fern,

And the beadbonny ash that sits over the burn.

What would the world be, once bereft

Of wet and wildness? Let them be left,

O let them be left, wildness and wet;

Long live the weeds and the wilderness yet.




- Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844-1889)

Link of the Week #23

Hello readers! Because of my work, I have the wonderful privilege and opportunity of listening to rich and thought-provoking books, sermons, lectures, and podcasts. Just today I finished listening to one such rewarding track, in which C.J. Mahaney interviews Sinclair Ferguson. The more that I listen, read, and study the more I think that if I could sit under any one man it would be Dr. Sinclair Ferguson. In this interview (as always) Dr. Ferguson shows not only the sharp theology of a systematician, but also the kind, rich, deep wisdom of a pastoral heart. I trust that you will be blessed by this link!

To listen to this week's link go here.

Link of the Week #22

Hello readers! It seems that there are certain topics about which people are always talking, and baptism is definitely one of those issues. With the resurgence of Calvinism and Reformed thought in recent decades has come a renewed interest in the historic debates about baptism. Although it is doubtful that any one book will help to resolve these debates we are encouraged to see a new generation of Christian pastors and theologians who are taking up pen to examine this issue with scholarly insight and brotherly love.

Most recent among these books is John Fesko's new book "Word, Water and Spirit: A Reformed Perspective on Baptism." This book dives into the historical arguments, the biblical-theological arguments, and the systematic arguments for paedobaptism. Our friends over at Reformed Forum recently had Dr. Fesko on their show to talk about his book and the Reformed discussion concerning baptism. Whether you're a paedobaptist, credobaptist, or something in-between we hope that his link will prove helpful!

You can listen to this week's link here.

The Second Blast of the Trumpet Against the Monstrous Regiment of Women Part 2

Hello readers! This is the final installment in a two part series on the question of female rulers. In this part we deal with common objections to the arguments we laid out in part one. We encourage you to read part one here.

Although more could be said, this four-part argument provides a solid foundation towards understanding the complementarian position. So how do the semi-complementarians respond?According to the semi-complementarian position the existence of historical and Old Testament figures is evidence that God is pleased by female civil magistrates. CBMW is typical when they say, “Rather, the Queen of Sheba is presented...in a positive light in her interaction with King Solomon. Queen Esther offers an even better example of a woman who appropriately exerted influence for the good of her people without holding the highest position of national authority...”¹² Yet, in almost all of the examples they list (including the two mentioned above) the women are not in fact civil rulers. The queen (although still influential) was not a civil magistrate or ruler. To use these examples of godly queens as proof for the legitimacy of female civil magistrates today is to fundamentally misunderstand the role of a queen. The analogy of Esther would apply to the wife of a political candidate today, and not to any candidate herself.

This leads us to the second common objection made by semi-complementarians: what about Deborah? This question is often the first and strongest objection people raise, and it is also the question that takes the most time to answer.¹³ There is first and foremost an important hermeneutical issue at stake here. As Einwechter says, “First, in regard to the account of Deborah, recognize that it would be unwise to cancel out the explicit biblical teaching on the headship of man, the clear statements of the law, the picture of the virtuous woman, and the lament over women ruling on the basis of what took place in Israel in one of the most confused periods in Israel's history.”¹⁴ Einwechter is alluding to the principle laid out in the Westminster Confession of Faith, “The infallible rule of interpretation of Scripture is the Scripture itself: and therefore, when there is a question about the true and full sense of any Scripture (which is not manifold, but one), it must be searched and known by other places that speak more clearly. ”¹⁵ This foundational principle, in essence, maintains that we must always allow the explicit (or clear) passages of Scripture to interpret or explain the implicit (or unclear) passages of Scripture. Indeed, this is the way that many orthodox theologians have interpreted Judges 4:1-5:31. John Calvin is an excellent example of this, “If any one bring forward, by way of objection, Deborah (Judges 4:4) and others of the same class, of whom we read that they were at one time appointed by the command of God to govern the people, the answer is easy. Extraordinary acts done by God do not overturn the ordinary rules of government, by which he intended that we should be bound.”¹⁶

This hermeneutical issue is important, but as we dig into the text of Judges 4 and 5 another question is raised; can we even consider Deborah to be the “judge” in the story? First we must understand how the Bible uses the term “judge” here. It is not referring to the legal judges that we have today, but is rather a reference to the military leaders (or “avenging deliverers”) that God raised up during this time. Yet Deborah is not the military leader in the story, Barak is. This view would seem to be supported by Hebrews 11:32, which lists Barak in the hall of faith instead of Deborah. As Einwechter says, “Would it not be more accurate to say that Barak was the true 'judge' here (cf. Hebrews 11:32 where Barak alone is mentioned), and that Deborah's role was that of a 'prophetess' who gave divine guidance to Israel?”¹⁷ In other words, Deborah only “judged” insofar as the people sought her out for advice due to her divine wisdom from God. This view becomes even more clear as we look at the Song of Deborah and Barak in Judges 5. In verse 12, Deborah is called to “Awake and sing” while Barak is commanded to “Arise and lead.” Also, in verse 9 the songs says, “My heart goes out to

the commanders of Israel who offered themselves willingly among the people. Bless the LORD.” The Hebrew word here for “commander” is literally, “lawgiver, or leader” in other words, Israel had elders and leaders during this time. As Einwechter says, “There is no question that Deborah was a great and godly woman who had considerable influence in Israel. But in the light of the evidence it is highly questionable to build a doctrine of women rulers from the case of Deborah. Deborah's role in Israel was that of a 'prophetess,' but not that of a civil ruler or military leader.”¹⁸

As we look at the biblical headship of man laid out in the created order, the biblical qualifications for the office of civil magistrate, the biblical lament that “women rule over them” in Isaiah 3:12, and the picture of biblical womanhood laid out in Proverbs 31, it seems clear that God has been far from silent on the issue of women rulers. It seems that a consistent application of complementarianism, and a consistent application of Scripture, supports the idea that just as God has established complementarianism in the home and the church, so He has ordained it in the state as well. It is imperative that complementarians rally around the biblical teaching on this issue, as the semi-complementarian position simply does not have the internal strength or consistency to answer the objections of evangelical feminists and egalitarians. As Einwechter says,

“By arguing that the absence of a formal and express prohibition against female magistrates means that women can be magistrates, they [the semi-complementarians] have undermined the integrity of their argument for an all male eldership because there is no formal and express prohibition against female elders. By selectively and with insufficient explanation drawing from one or two obscure examples in the Old Testament, while dismissing or simply ignoring clear examples and precepts, they have modeled an improper approach to Scripture. By defending the propriety of a mother of young children ruling over the nation, they have undermined the doctrine of male headship and women as keepers at home.”¹⁹

This issue could not more significant to the modern church. In an age of gender confusion and role reversal, it is imperative that Christ's church stand strong on the biblical teaching for the family, the church, and the state.

12David Kotter, “Does Sarah Palin Present a Dilemma for Complementarians? Part I,” The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood blog, entry posted on September 3, 2008, http://www.cbmw.org/Blog/Posts/Does-Sarah-Palin-present-a-Dilemma-for-Complementarians-Part-1 (accessed December 8, 2009).

13For a full exegetical treatment of the story of Deborah, see William Einwechter's excellent article But What About Deborah? http://www.visionforumministries.org/issues/ballot_box/so_what_about_deborah.aspx

14William Einwechter, “Should Christians Support a Woman for the Office of Civil Magistrate?” Vision Forum Ministries, http://www.visionforumministries.org/issues/ballot_box/should_christians_support_a_wo.aspx (accessed December 8, 2009).

15Westminster Assembly, The Westminster Confession of Faith. (Public domain, 1652), under “Chapter One: of the Holy Scripture,” http://reformed.org/documents/wcf_with_proofs/ (accessed December 8, 2009).

16John Calvin, Commentary on Timothy, Titus, and Philemon. (Public domain, 1551), under Chapter 2, part 4, http://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom43.iii.iv.iv.html (accessed December 8, 2009).

17William Einwechter, “Should Christians Support a Woman for the Office of Civil Magistrate?” Vision Forum Ministries, http://www.visionforumministries.org/issues/ballot_box/should_christians_support_a_wo.aspx (accessed December 8, 2009).

18Ibid.

19William Einwechter, “Sarah Palin and the Complementarian Compromise,” Vision Forum Ministries, http://www.visionforumministries.org/issues/ballot_box/sarah_palin_and_the_complement.aspx (accessed December 8, 2009).

Link of the Week #21

Hello readers! Allow us to begin with an apology for not having a link the last two Fridays. October has proven to be a very busy (although still wonderful) month so far and there are no signs of slowing down! We appreciate your patience with us and we hope that you will enjoy the link that we have for you this week.

For those of you who travel in Presbyterian and Reformed circles, you may have heard about the doctrine of "Union with Christ." If you're like me, you may have looked on these discussion as being a bit confusing. So this week, we'd like to highlight a set of lectures that should serve as a helpful primer on this discussion. These lectures are lucidly and passionately presented by Dr. Lane Tipton from Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia. Dr. Tipton unfolds Calvin's views on union with Christ and contrasts it with the views of much Lutheran thought.


To listen to this week's link go here.

The Second Blast of the Trumpet Against the Monstrous Regiment of Women Part 1

Hello readers! As November approaches and election day gets closer, Christians will once again be faced with a plethora of choices. Do we vote Democrat, Republican, Third-party, or Independent? Do we cast our ballot for the liberals, the conservatives, the moderates or the tea-party candidates? Which proposals are we for, and which are we against? There are many questions that we must answer before we cast our vote, but one question that is seldom thought about is the issue of female rulers. When Sarah Palin burst onto the political scene a few years ago, some Christians had to ask themselves whether God's Word prohibited a woman from holding the office of a civil magistrate. Not too long after this time, I (Ben) wrote a paper for my theology class examining this issue and we'd like to share that paper with you in the hopes that it will prompt you to study the Scriptures and grow in grace. It is not our goal to condemn those that disagree with our conclusions, rather, our hope is that this paper will prompt your own study of this important (but often overlooked) question. We've broken the paper into a two part series. We'll post the first part (which deals primarily with the arguments against female rulers) today and the second part (which deals with the main objections to these arguments) next week. We ask that you prayerfully, and thoughtfully consider these arguments as you prepare to vote in November.

“To promote a woman to beare rule, superioritie, dominion or empire aboue any realme, nation, or citie, is repugnant to nature, contumelie to God, a thing most contrarious to his reueled will and approued ordinance, and finallie it is the subuersion of good order, of all equitie and iustice.”¹ With these words, the Scottish Reformer John Knox began his 1558 treatise entitled, The First Blast of the Trumpet Against the Monstrous Regiment of Women. Knox used this work to argue against the legitimacy of the queens that ruled Scotland and England at that time. He maintained that allowing women in the office of the civil magistrate was a violation of Scripture and the created order. Yet exactly 450 years later, the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (or CBMW) presented a very different perspective in a 2008 statement on the role of women when they said, “So a female vice president, or even a female president, doesn't necessarily pose a dilemma for complementarians. It is inevitable in God's providence that a gifted woman will lead the United States, just as women have led England, Germany, India and many other countries around the world.”² At first glance one might assume that Knox and CBMW stand at opposite ends of the spectrum in their views on the role of women, but in reality both Knox and CBMW stand as firm defenders of what we now call the complementarian position. This raises the obvious question: which view is truly complementarian, and even more importantly, which view is truly biblical? This paper hopes to show that supporting a woman for the office of a civil magistrate is at odds with both a consistent application of complementarianism and a consistent application of Scripture. We will begin by examining the primary arguments raised in support of this thesis³ and then attempt to answer the common objections of semi-complementarians. Due to the limitations of this paper it will be assumed that the reader is already approaching this question from at least a semi-complementarian position (as espoused by CBMW.)

At the root of any discussion of complementarianism lies the issue of understanding God's created order and the biblical teaching of male headship. In the first few chapters of the creation narrative we are taught that God made man first, and then made the woman to serve as a helper and companion to the man. These foundational texts in Genesis 2:7 and 2:18-24⁴ are later picked up by Paul in 1 Timothy 2:8-15 as he discusses the role of women both in daily godliness (vs. 8-10) and in the context of the church (vs. 11-12). It is significant that Paul appeals to Genesis for support by saying, “For Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor. Yet she will be saved through childbearing – if they continue in faith and love and holiness, with self-control” (vs. 13-15). Paul appeals to the creation order as laid out in Genesis to underscore his commands about daily life and the operation of the church. Paul makes this connection between the role of women and the creation order even more explicit in 1 Corinthians 11:3 where he says, “But I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.” William Einwechter draws these passages together and concludes that, “Therefore, the Apostle Paul teaches that God has decreed that the order of authority be as follows: God-Christ-Man-Woman. Each one in this 'chain of command' is under the headship (i.e., authority) of the one preceding him or her.”⁵ This hierarchy of authority is a pattern played out in the family (Ephesians 5:22-24), the church (1 Timothy 2:11-14; 1 Corinthians 14:34-35), and as we shall see, in the state (1 Corinthians 11:3; Exodus 18:21).

It is striking that, as Einwechter puts it, “Every time the Scripture speaks to the subject of the necessary qualifications for those who will bear rule in the civil sphere, it always speaks in terms of men and never in terms of women.”⁶ In accordance with the creation order outlined above, Moses commands Jethro in Exodus 18:21 saying, “Moreover, look for able men from all the people, men who fear God, who are trustworthy and hate a bribe, and place such men over the people as chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens.” Moses repeats this command in Deuteronomy 1:13 “Choose for your tribes wise, understanding, and experienced men, and I will appoint them as your heads.” Masculine language is consistently used to describe rulers, with the king acting as a “brother” who was cautioned against “multiplying wives to himself.” As Einwechter says, “Importantly, the word for 'men' chosen by the Holy Spirit in both of these texts is the Hebrew, gender specific word for a man, i.e. a male as opposed to a female. [...] Likewise, in every other passage of Scripture dealing with the civil magistrate and his qualifications and duties, men are in view (2 Samuel 23:3; Nehemiah 7:2; Proverbs 16:10; 20:8, 28; 29:14; 31:4-5; Romans 13:1-6; etc.).”⁷ This language reminds us of the qualifications that Paul lays out for an elder in the New Testament, and indeed the arguments are very similar.

Yet not only does God consistently describe the civil magistrate as male, He uses the example of a female ruler as a sign of covenantal disconnect and divine curse. Isaiah 3:12 says, “My people – infants are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, your guides mislead you and they have swallowed up the course of your paths.” This truly is a remarkable passage as it is seen, not as CBMW put it, “inevitable in God's providence that a gifted woman will lead”⁸ but rather as a sign that Israel has been “mislead” and “swallowed.” Einwechter sums it up well when he says, “Whatever the exact connotations of this text are, one thing is clear: women ruling over men in the civil sphere is put in a very unfavorable light. The fact that Israel had women reigning over them is seen to be the result of sin and a part of God's retributive justice; it is certainly not considered a blessing in this text!”⁹

The final argument hinges on the biblical depiction of womanhood found in the Bible. The classic text on biblical womanhood is, of course, Proverbs 31:10-31. As Solomon describes a godly woman we see a picture unfold of someone who is industrious, wise, kind, and virtuous. Yet of particular interest to our discussion is verse 23, “Her husband is known in the gates when he sits among the elders of the land.” This verse reveals a lot about the character of a godly woman. As Einwechter says:

“The 'gates' in Old Testament times referred to the place where the leaders of the city (i.e., 'the elders of the land') would gather to discuss community affairs, administer civil law, and judge in criminal and civil cases. The 'gates,' therefore, is a reference to the 'city hall,' the 'capitol building,' the 'courthouse,' or, in short, to the seat of civil government. The key for us is to note that, in the case of the virtuous woman, it is her husband who is active in the gates; the virtuous woman is not herself seated in the gates – she is active in her home.”¹⁰

This matches perfectly with Paul's exhortation for women to be “workers in the home” in Titus 2:5. Because of the faithful ministry of the godly woman in the home, her influence and power extend beyond her immediate reach through her influence on her husband and sons. Ironically, the biblical picture seems to indicate that the calling in the home provides a greater opportunity for service and power than serving in the civil sphere ever could. Far from limiting women, this passage (and others like it) elevate the role of the woman to a very high standard. As Einwechter puts it, “Let no one speak lightly or disparagingly of the woman's appointed role...and let no woman set aside the example of the virtuous woman and seek to sit in the gates with the rulers of the land. And let no Christian have any part in putting her there.”¹¹

1John Knox, The First Blast of the Trumpet Against the Monstrous Regiment of Women. (Southgate, London: 1878), top of the page, http://www.ccel.org/ccel/knox/blast.iv.ii.html (accessed December 8, 2009).

2David Kotter, “Does Sarah Palin Present a Dilemma for Complementarians? Part I,” The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood blog, entry posted on September 3, 2008, http://www.cbmw.org/Blog/Posts/Does-Sarah-Palin-present-a-Dilemma-for-Complementarians-Part-1 (accessed December 8, 2009).

3This portion of the paper will draw heavily from the writings of Dr. William Einwechter, particularly from his excellent essay, Should Christians Support a Woman for the Office of Civil Magistrate? http://www.visionforumministries.org/issues/ballot_box/should_christians_support_a_wo.aspx

4All Scripture is quoted from the English Standard Version.

5William Einwechter, “Should Christians Support a Woman for the Office of Civil Magistrate?” Vision Forum Ministries, http://www.visionforumministries.org/issues/ballot_box/should_christians_support_a_wo.aspx (accessed December 8, 2009).

6Ibid.

7Ibid.

8David Kotter, “Does Sarah Palin Present a Dilemma for Complementarians? Part I,” The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood blog, entry posted on September 3, 2008, http://www.cbmw.org/Blog/Posts/Does-Sarah-Palin-present-a-Dilemma-for-Complementarians-Part-1 (accessed December 8, 2009).

9William Einwechter, “Should Christians Support a Woman for the Office of Civil Magistrate?” Vision Forum Ministries, http://www.visionforumministries.org/issues/ballot_box/should_christians_support_a_wo.aspx (accessed December 8, 2009).

10Ibid.

11Ibid.

Growing Old

Be with me, Beauty, for the fire is dying;
My dog and I are old, too old for roving.
Man, whose young passion sets the spindrift flying,
Is soon too lame to march, too cold for loving.
I take the book and gather to the fire,
Turning old yellow leaves; minute by minute
The clock ticks to my heart. A withered wire,
Moves a thin ghost of music in the spinet.
I cannot sail your seas, I cannot wander
Your cornland, nor your hill-land, nor your valleys
Ever again, nore share the battle yonder
Where the young knight the broken squadron rallies.
Only stay quiet while my mind remembers
The beauty of fire from the beauty of embers.

Beauty, have pity! for the strong have power,
The rich their wealth, the beautiful their grace,
Summer of man its sunlight and its flower.
Spring-time of man, all April in a face.
Only, as in the jostling in the Strand,
Where the mob thrusts, or loiters, or is loud,
The beggar with the saucer in his hand
Asks only a penny from the passing crowd,
So, from this glittering world with all its fashion,
Its fire, and play of men, its stir, its march,
Let me have wisdom, Beauty, wisdom and passion,
Bread to the soul, rain when the summers parch.
Give me but these, and though the darkness close
Even the night will blossom as the rose.

- John Masefield (1878-1967)

Link of the Week #20

Hello readers! I've struggled a bit to determine exactly what to post for our link this week. This wasn't because of the lack of good material, but rather because of its great abundance! However, after some thought I'd like to highlight two talks given by the eminent preacher, teacher, and pastor Dr. Sinclair B. Ferguson.

These talks were given in 2008 one week after Dr. Ferguson turned sixty. In these talks Dr. Ferguson gives some "Reflections at Sixty" by walking through his early life in Scotland and touching on various aspects of the gospel ministry along the way. For me, this was a very powerful and helpful use of my time. I've never heard Dr. Ferguson speak so comfortably and freely. It truly was a blessing to hear such a wise, and godly, man speak about what Christ has done in and through him over the years. I hope that it will be a blessing to you as well.

To listen to this week's link go here.

Link of the Week #19

Hello readers! You may have noticed that we've tried to branch out a bit with our weekly links to include more than just audio resources. In the past couple of weeks we've highlighted articles, websites, and podcasts in addition to our traditional sermon/lecture links. We're trying to create some variety and we're trying to offer something to those of you who may not have time to listen to an hour lecture every week. We hope that this is a help to you, but as with everything we do on this blog, we're open to comments and suggestions. If you like or dislike what we're doing here feel free to give us your feedback.

Well, in keeping with our (recent) tradition of non-lecture links, we'd like to highlight a resource that we have found to be quite wonderful (although it is a bit dangerous.) Allow me to explain. Every Friday, Ligonier ministries selects a handful of their resources and offers them for only $5 apiece. This includes books that normally retail for $20 dollars, cd's that usually cost $12 dollars, and even video conferences that would easily run you $60 or more! This is a wonderful way to build up a library or collection of solid reformed materials without breaking the bank. They post their selected resources every Thursday, then the 24 hour sale begins on Friday. We'd encourage you to take a look at this page every week and see if there is something from which you can benefit. Enjoy!

To view this week's link go here.

Stonewall Jackson on the Practice of Prayer

The following quotes are taken from pgs. 72 & 73 of Ted Baehr and Susan Wales book "Faith in God and Generals."

"Once a friend asked [Jackson] how he understood the Bible's command to "pray without ceasing." Jackson said that the habit of prayer had become like breathing with him: "I have so fixed the habit in my own mind that I never raise a glass of water to my lips without lifting my heart to God in thanks and prayer for the water of life. Then, when we take our meals, there is grace. Whenever I drop a letter in the post-office, I send a petition along with it for God's blessing upon its mission and the person to whom it is sent. When I break the seal of a letter just received, I stop to ask God to prepare me for its contents, and make it a messenger of good. When I go to my class-room and await the arrangement of the cadets in their places, that is my time to intercede with God for them. And so in every act of the day I have made the practice of prayer habitual."

I also found the following quote helpful, as Jackson perfectly describes the way that I pray:

"I find that it greatly helps me in fixing my mind and quickening my devotions to give utterance to my prayers, and hence I am in the habit of going off into the woods, where I can be alone and speak audibly to myself the prayers I would pour out to my God. I was at first annoyed that I was compelled to keep my eyes open to avoid running against the trees and stumps; but upon investigating the matter I do not find that the Scriptures require us to close our eyes in prayer, and the exercise has proven to me very delightful and profitable."

Link of the Week #18

Hello readers! One of the great joys of the Christian life is to grow in the knowledge of God through the study of His Word. As our minds are renewed and our vision is sharpened we begin to understand who God is and what He has done with increased clarity. The Word of God is truly a rich goldmine of doctrinal and devotional wealth for the Christian. But what do we do when our brothers in Christ read the same Scriptures we do yet come to completely different conclusions? What do we do when doctrinal differences and divisions arise within Christ's body? What should our reaction be to those who have a faulty understanding of the faith? How are we to respond to false teaching in the church? These questions are of pressing importance to everyone who cares for the purity and peace of Christ's church.

In this week's link, we'd like to highlight a letter written by the famed Reformed pastor (and hymn-writer) John Newton that deals with this very topic. In this letter, Newton provides us with helpful, and biblical, advice on the often sticky issues involved in doctrinal disagreement. We hope you enjoy this weeks link!

To read this week's link go here.

(For those of you who may be new to the blog, we've touched some on these issues before. Enjoy!)