March 24, 2008
Of the True God:
One and only living and true God, supreme in wisdom, power and holiness; the Maker and Ruler of Heaven and Earth. In the trinity of the Godhead, there are three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; equal in every divine perfection, and executing distinct but harmonious offices in the great work of Redemption.
So reads the second article of faith adopted by the twenty-seven founding members of Emmaus Baptist Church one hundred thirty years ago. It is always wise in my opinion for a church or a Christian to revisit their beginning to make sure we are remaining true to the principles upon which our faith was founded. This is the reason the apostle Paul reminds the Corinthian church of its origins in the faith. In chapter fifteen Paul reminds them of the faith they had received, the gospel that was preached to them.
Long before satellite navigation, even before the establishment of longitude and latitude, ancient sailors navigated the open ocean by the position of the stars and the sun, and also by a long rope that trailed behind their sailing vessel. The stars and the sun could help them navigate east to west, but they had no way of knowing their position north to south. It was imperfect by modern standards, but by observing the trail of the rope behind them they did a pretty good job of maintaining their north/south position and could get across open seas with a fair amount of accuracy.
Revisiting our corporate past as a church provides us with a similar perspective. How are we doing as a church? Are we being true to the passions and desires of our \spiritual forebears? How can the past inform us about our present circumstances as well as guide us into the future? Two things from their statement about God strike me as being particularly relevant to our life as a church.
The first is their reference to the "great work of Redemption." Every church has a purpose. Every church I have ever known claims that their purpose is to win people to Jesus Christ, that is our contribution to the great work of redemption. What churches say and what churches do, however, are not usually the same. What do you think? Does the way we spend our time, treasure, and talents as a church reflect that we are a congregation on a mission to win the lost. I would have to say that our score on that measure is mixed. We do some things for the lost, but we also spend a lot of our resources on ourselves.
The second thing I noticed about their statement is the reference to the divine perfection of God. Sometimes I wonder if we have stopped believing God is perfect. Once again what we say and how we act may not reflect a consistent practice of our faith. How can I believe God is perfect and at the same time complain about my life so much. Is my life not in God's hands? Am I not hidden with Christ in God and sealed with the Holy Spirit? Is God no longer the sovereign Lord of the universe? Do I no longer accept Romans 8:28 (in all things God works for the good of those who love him) as the word of God for me?
I think we can learn a lot from the people that came before us, but it may not be the lessons you might think. The words they left us are more than words. I have no doubt that they did not live up to those words any better than we sometimes do, but I believe the words set a standard. These are the words that they attempted to live up to. These are not the people that they were, but rather the people that they were trying to be. Some may believe the best years of Emmaus and maybe even the best years of Poquoson are behind us. I disagree. As long as there are men and women trying to live up to the standards that God has given us, then we will always have a future. The day we die is the day we stop trying, or the day we decide that what we are is good enough.
Blessings, Pastor John