Scripture & Authority: The Church's Obligation To Government

 

"Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's,
and to God the things that are God's."

Mark 12:17

In the last two years, as governments around the world responded in various ways to COVID-19, the church in North America has had to wrestle with their response to mandates and restrictions, especially as they impact the gathering of local believers.

In many cases, church leaders went straight to passages like Romans 13:1 and 1 Peter 2:13, and they submitted to the restrictions put in place by the government, closing churches and moving to online services. And we did the same. At that time, we knew little, if anything, about this virus, other than rumours of high mortalities. Besides, we were told it would be "two weeks to flatten the curve".

But weeks, and months, went by. "Zoom services" were clearly a poor substitute for in-person gatherings. I and my co-pastors wrestled with several questions:

• Is virtual communion actually a valid ordinance when the description in Scripture details a physical gathering together to remember the Lord in His death?
• How do we perform a baptism? How long do we hold off on obedience to the Spirit?
• How do we "stir one another up to good works" if we're not actually with one another?
• How do we, as pastors, shepherd a flock we’re not in contact with?
• How do we carry out discipleship?

And it became rapidly clear that our people were suffering: the isolation, the loneliness, and the resulting depression, without the weekly gathering to worship, in prayer and in song, was taking a significant toll. We soon realized that our people -- not to mention we ourselves -- needed to gather; the writer to the Hebrews instructed the saints to "not forsake the gathering of yourselves together" (Heb. 10:25) and immediately followed that instruction with a serious warning regarding apostasy, a significant risk associated with not gathering in corporate fashion.

In addition, there were more and more indicators that the virus was not quite as terrifying as we first anticipated. That is not to say it wasn't serious, but it wasn't Ebola. As time went on, it became clear that the suffering to our congregation resulting from not gathering was at least equal to, if not greater than, the risk posed by the virus. And it was also clear that the Church could not be the Church, with all of its blessings and responsibilities, without physically gathering (Heb. 10:25). Those blessings and responsibilities include:  encouraging one another through corporate singing (Eph. 5:19-21), teaching and admonishing one another through the preaching of God’s Word (Col. 3:16), stirring one another up to love and good works (Heb. 10:24), fellowshipping with one another corporately (Acts 6:6, Gal. 2:9, 1 Cor. 16:20, 2 Cor. 13:12, 1 Thess. 5:26) and serving one another (1 Peter 4:10). Anything else would be less than God intended.

Other church leaders had determined the same ... and had opened their doors, resulting in fines and, in some cases, even imprisonment, something we NEVER anticipated here in Canada. Tragically, what proved to be most heart-breaking was the disparaging comments and criticisms against those courageous church leaders by their own brothers and sisters in Christ in other churches. Here's a quote from social media:

"It has been disappointing to hear of churches encouraging their congregations to disobey our government. So today we were so glad that {our church} encouraged us to be Romans 13 Christians. In case you don’t know what that is, Romans 13-1 says “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God and those that exist have been instituted by God.” In Canada we are very blessed to have our government working hard to give us protection from COVID-19 in the midst of a world-wide pandemic and I for one thank God for them."

Most often, what was brought up as justification was Romans 13, specifically verses 1-4:

"Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer."

But does Romans 13 actually teach that we, as followers of Jesus, should do everything the government instructs us to? Almost immediately, all believers would respond with "Of course not! When the government instruction would cause us to sin against God, we need to obey God, just as in Acts 5:29, when Peter said "We must obey God rather than men." But we're in a pandemic; the lockdowns and capacity restrictions are not requiring us to sin."

And this is where we are going to differ. There is a precedent in Scripture to disobey the authorities when they ask us to do what God has commanded us not to do (ie. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in Daniel 3). There is also a precedent in Scripture to disobey the authorities when they ask us not to do what God has commanded us to do (ie. Peter and the apostles in Acts 5:27-42). Whenever we don't obey a direct instruction from Scripture, we are sinning. So when we don't gather together (because of government mandates), when we don't stir one another up to good works, are we not disobeying what Scripture commands? When we don't sing in church (because the restrictions say we can't), when we don't address one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, are we not following the dictates of men rather than the commands of God?

More importantly, does the government have the authority to dictate how worship and all other practices of the church should be carried out?

Scripture teaches that God is sovereign over all and, in Matthew 28:18, we read that the Father has given all authority to the Son, because the kingdom of heaven, the kingdom of God, is the "kingdom of His beloved Son" (Col. 1:13). That kingdom is not simply a future, heavenly kingdom; it is a kingdom that is already present here on earth. In fact, Jesus taught His disciples to pray, in Matthew 6:10 "Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven."

Scripture also teaches us that God has established three key institutions on earth: the family, the government and the church. To each of those He has delegated authority; the authority is still His by right, but He has delegated His authority to leaders within those institutions, to be used in the ways, and within the bounds, that He has defined. Within the family, the husband has been given authority, within the government, the rulers have been given authority and within the church, the elders have been given authority. The husband's authority does not extend to the government or to the church, the elders' authority does not extend to the government or to the family, and the rulers' authority does not extend to the family or to the church. As a result, the government does not have any Scriptural authority to direct the affairs of the church, whether it is to restrict those who gather, or to determine how worship will be carried out. It may be that the elders of a church make decisions that coincide with decisions made by the government, but this in no way implies that the government has the authority to make those decisions on behalf of the elders.

According to passages such as Romans 13 and 1 Peter 2, the government's authority extends to the following:

• punishing evildoers
• rewarding those who do good
• protecting the freedoms of the people from those who do evil

When a government is acting within its sphere of authority, we have a Scriptural imperative to submit ourselves to them. But when the government asks us to do what God has commanded us not to, or to stop doing what God has commanded us to do, we must obey God rather than man. This will involve a level of civil disobedience. {Please note: I am by no means advocating violence or anarchy. We are still instructed in Scripture to respect the authorities; this means that we will likely suffer consequences for our obedience to God, like fines, arrest or even imprisonment. If and when it happens, we ought to respond respectfully and not with hatred or violence, just as Paul did in Acts 23.}

Sadly, judging by the responses of many Canadian believers and their church leaders (and I suspect the same is true of many American believers), there is a great lack of accurate teaching on ecclesiology and church authority. I pray that Christians across North America, especially Christian pastors, would study to regain a robust view of the importance of the church, of the value and significance of gathering corporately to worship God, to be taught from His Word, and to encourage one another; virtual platforms should never take the place of this corporate gathering as a regular practice. It took time for my understanding in this area to shift.

Originally, when we were virtual, we decided not to practice communion, until such time as we could do so as an entire local body of believers. As time went on, we recognized the importance of, and need for, that ordinance and began celebrating communion in small house churches; while we firmly believed that it was intended to be practiced corporately, in person and together with as many of the local body as would gather on a Sunday, we also realized the deep longing for that remembrance feast among ourselves and our people, and we acted and obeyed according to the circumstances and the best of our understanding. In this area of church authority and sphere sovereignty, my understanding has also changed, and I recognize that I am not omniscient; I may learn something new that would enlarge or even change my understanding again. But here is where I have landed presently, with prayer and study, and here is where I stand until God shows me otherwise.

I pray that pastors and elders worldwide would revisit the passages in Romans 13 and 1 Peter 2 (and others), as I did, and recapture an accurate understanding of the authority that Jesus has delegated to them within their churches. And I pray that they would have humble hearts, ready and willing to learn and perhaps be corrected, that we would return to a bold and confident ecclesiology, rather than a passive one. The challenges by the enemy and the world are not done; the form in which they come may be different, but the call to surrender our church authority will be the same. We need to be prepared.

And above all, may we stand before our Master in that future day and hear Him declare "Well done, good and faithful servant!"

A Biblical Perspective On Choosing Sides In Issues

 

Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser;
    teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning.

Proverbs 9:9

I don't know about you, but I struggle with involvement in issues affecting society.

I grew up attending church in a fairly conservative evangelical denomination. One core premise we were taught was this: 2 Corinthians 5:20 states "Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making His appeal through us..." As ambassadors of another Kingdom altogether, we are not to get involved in the affairs of the countries in which we live. The follow-up to this was that we don't vote, we don't exercise our civic rights or duties, and we don't get involved in societal (read: politically-charged) issues. As Christians, we had two main instructions from our King: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and you shall love your neighbour as yourself." (The Great Commandments --Matthew 22:37 & 39) And that was interpreted as living a godly life, with a focus on the gospel.

As I grew older, I began to bump up against verses that conflicted with the premise of non-involvement. As a teacher, I wrestled with whether I should participate in strike action or not; some of my Christian colleagues said (and chose) no, while others said (and chose) yes. I saw Paul the apostle claiming his right as a Roman citizen to appeal to Caesar; is that the same as my legal and democratic right to strike once the appropriate steps had been followed? A tough decision, and one for which  Christians I respected ended up concluding differently. Ultimately, I questioned my own heart: was I striking to get better pay or benefits for me, or was my goal to achieve better conditions in which my students could learn? I used the latter as my guide, because I believed that was an aspect of practically loving my neighbour (in this case, my students) as myself. Much like the Good Samaritan, I was incurring a cost (loss of pay) in order to bless and benefit another (my students).

In this most recent issue, the one involving a stand against the mandates, I have heard Christians state that we shouldn't get involved; as ambassadors, our focus should be the gospel. But often, what they mean is a very narrow definition of the phrase "focus on the gospel" and it's often interpreted as "live according to God's instruction from the Word and preach the gospel on Sunday in church". None of those are bad things of course; we ought to live lives of holiness. 1 Peter 1:16 reminds us "You shall be holy, for I am holy." As far as preaching the gospel in church, I have to question why Jesus didn't say "Bring all the nations to your church to hear the gospel" but instead said, in Matthew 28:19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations ..."

And furthermore, what is the gospel? Is it a set of instructions you follow in order to "get out of hell free"? Inadvertently, that was the lesson I learned in church: preaching the gospel is telling people how to get saved from the penalty of their sins and get to heaven; pretty much zero impact on all the days inbetween. I have since learned that the gospel is so much more. The gospel is not just about how to get saved; that's simply the first step. No, the gospel is relevant to every single day of our lives thereafter as well; not just to inspire a heart of thankfulness, but how to live each day after we place our faith and trust in Jesus! The gospel is a lens through which we now see everything anew, and it directs and empowers our lives for Him.

What does it mean to be "salt" and "light", a la Matthew 5:13-16? Salt only acts as a preservative when it is in direct and complete contact with the meat it is preserving. How do we as believers act as a preservative if we stick to our "holy huddles" and have no engagement with the society around us? How can we be light in the world if we have no engagement with the world, no audience in the world? Are we then not just lights under bushel baskets?

What does it mean to pray "Thy Kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven ..." Do we just pray this, or ought we to be actively involved in making this a reality? How does James 2:18 speak into this? "You have faith and I have works. Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works." I'm beginning to see that there is so much more to a life of faith than just living my quiet life in my home and my church. And if it is true for me as a Christian, a follower of Jesus Christ, then it is true of me even more as a pastor of a local body of believers. I need to wisely lead the people in my charge through these times, teaching them how to navigate these times biblically and then coaching them as they put into practice what they've been taught.

One question I've been consistently asking myself is this: under which set of conditions will we have more freedom to live and preach the truth of God's Word, to gather for the purpose of worship and teaching, and to live out God's clear instruction for His church, as to gathering, discipling, ministering and exhorting? To me, the clear answer is that this country's government is very pleased with the control they exert over the people. What may have begun as a process intended to protect the people has evolved into a process to contain the people. And this has certainly been nowhere more clear than in regard to the Christian church in Canada.

In the book of Exodus, God used Moses, a man with (apparently) some speech issues to be His spokesman before the greatest power in the civilized world at that time ... and despite what seemed like overwhelming odds, God brought His oppressed people out of Egypt. I see some parallels to Canada today, especially to the protest in Ottawa. In the book of Esther, Mordecai says this to his niece, Esther the queen:  "Do not think to yourself that in the king's palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews. For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" I find myself asking whether I have been shown things and taught things and convicted of things for such a time as this. Will I look back afterward and be ashamed that I didn't speak up when I could have, or should have?

And finally, I am striving to keep in the forefront that I need to be humble throughout; there is always the possibility that I am wrong, that I've missed something, that new information comes to light and I need to re-assess. In Joshua 5:13-15, the people of Israel have taken their first steps into the promised land ... and their first battle is going to be against imposing Jericho, that massively-walled, apparently impenetrable city. Joshua is now leading the people; his mentor Moses is no longer with them. I can imagine that Joshua can't sleep, thinking about the start of the battle the next day, and the huge responsibility he has to lead God's people. He goes for a walk and "When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing before him with his drawn sword in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said to him, "Are you for us, or for our adversaries?" It is clear to Joshua that this individual is no mere "man" and he wants to know if the person is on their team or the opposing team. "Whose side are you on?" is what Joshua asks. And aren't we like that too? I have cringed at times when I've heard people indicate that God is on the side of those protesting. The answer from this individual hits like a gut-punch. When Joshua asks "Are you on our side or theirs?" he replies "No." Wait ... what? Is that even an answer? You better believe it. He continues "No; but I am the commander of the army of the Lord. Now I have come." And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped ..." Joshua was face-to-face with the pre-incarnate Christ; worship was the appropriate response. And what Joshua needed to be clear on -- as do we all -- is that God isn't on our side, or on the opposing side; that's not even really the question. The real question is whether I am on God's side. Am I running ahead of Jesus? Am I lagging behind? Or am I abiding in Him, walking side-by-side, listening to that "still, small voice" and keeping my eyes fixed on Him, in case the direction and instructions change, in case He calls an audible?

None of this is simple, or easy. But as followers of Jesus, we can rest assured that we will be okay if we abide in Him and listen to the Holy Spirit speaking to us, even if that means we don't find ourselves on the same side of the issue.

Why I Support The Ottawa Protest To End Mandates

I strongly support the Truckers Protest in Ottawa ... and that has caught me by surprise.

I have had people question -- sometimes quite angrily or with accusatory tones -- why I would support ending the mandates, especially as a Christian pastor. They have called me names, they have called my character into question, they have called my faith into question. Ironically, many who have told me how I ought to respond as a Christian are not Christians themselves, and really don't know the first thing about genuine Christian faith, based on their responses. That said, there are also those who have reprimanded me, publicly and none too gently, who are regular churchgoers. Vehemently quoting Romans 13:1-4, they have suggested, in no uncertain terms, that the Christian response here is to submit to the authorities, mask up and get the shot for the greater good; it's how one ought to love your neighbour. [Incidentally, the Nazi government used the same passage in Romans to direct the churches in Germany to obey the edicts of that government as well. But more on Romans 13 later ...]

The truth is, I am a little surprised at my involvement myself. I am generally neither political nor an activist; I'm certainly not a revolutionary. And yet I feel very strongly about this issue, especially from a Biblical perspective. As a consequence, I decided to take some time to record why I support the trucker protest in Ottawa, whose goal is to end the mandates.

We were celebrating the wedding of dear friends the night that the COVID lockdowns began; it was March 14, 2020. The staff at the hall we were renting said we were the last group to use the facility; all the rest had been cancelled for the indefinite future. I was in my last semester of teaching prior to retirement, and had recently joined the pastoral team at my church. Not only did I need to learn how to shift to online teaching, I also had to learn online preaching! The rumours were flying about the COVID-19 virus and so much was unknown, so we buckled down and did our part, moving to a virtual church platform. After all, we were assured that it was "Two weeks to flatten the curve".

As the months went by, my co-pastors and I wrestled with the legitimacy of communion in an online forum. We struggled to stay connected with our congregation, how to continue doing discipleship, how to practice hospitality. It didn't take long for the damage due to lockdown isolation to surface; people were disconnected, discouraged, even depressed. That said, some also took the opportunity to step up and show love and thoughtfulness in amazingly creative ways; dropping gifts on front porches, playing harmless pranks on one another to encourage laughter and remind people that they were not forgotten. My pastor's heart was warmed as I saw people living out the reality of the family of God in a practical way. (I personally received a sweet gift of a baggie full of brussels sprouts on my doorstep ... that was one of the pranks ... 😂) 

But one thing that became very clear to us in a short period of time was this: Zoom is not church, YouTube is not church, nor is any other online digital forum. It was a very poor substitute for the life-giving gathering of believers for the purpose of corporate worship, service and exhortation. The moment the weather outside became remotely tolerable, we moved to outdoor church services, primarily in our own backyard. And I vowed I would never go back to an online forum for that purpose again.

We stuck to that. As we did not own our own building, we held our services in the parks in the summer, rented space indoors in the colder weather and, when lockdowns inevitably returned, we moved to house churches. We had some very blessed times of gathering in those varied conditions; we always worshipped in song, we preached the Word faithfully, and we enjoyed sweet times of remembering the Lord in His death, as He commanded us to. God added some to our numbers over the last two years but, far more importantly, we saw the foundations of our congregation's faith strengthened, the roots going deep. In the culture around us, we saw lots of fear; within our church family, we saw an increased trust in God.

As the pandemic progressed, the first things to be instituted were masks and lockdowns. More information started to become available as well: the virus primarily affected the elderly and those with health issues; very few young people were affected. And yet, schools kept shifting to online learning, an approach that applied almost exclusively to young people (not to mention that the negative impact was almost exclusively felt by them.) We now know that lockdowns produced nearly no benefit, but great harms. (See article here.)

Along with the school closures came the church closures. Those who continued to stay open were warned, then threatened, then fined and chained closed. The main stream media vilified those pastors who continued to meet the spiritual needs of their flocks; what they didn't portray were the SWAT teams harassing the individuals who met in smaller groups in private homes, driving the church underground in some provinces like Alberta.

Then came the so-called vaccines. With little or no testing, they were going to be distributed en masse. The justification was "We're following the science". And yet, many scientists were warning of the dangers of a mass vaccination in the midst of a pandemic, not to mention that those who had already survived previous infection were being ignored and told to get the shot anyway. Stories began surfacing of vaccine injuries; these were quickly hushed up or discounted. Concerns were raised about a vaccine passport; those who expressed these concerns were mocked. "Vaccine passports in Canada are conspiracy theories." we were told. But before too long, vaccine passports were a reality. Some businesses initially refused to enforce them, but the previous lockdowns had exerted financial pressure on them and now the heavy hand of the government made it impossible for them to stay afloat otherwise. Then, vaccine mandates in the workplace were instituted. People with medical backgrounds who did not follow the government narrative were threatened and then fired: nurses and doctors found their licenses revoked. Right behind them were university professors, paramedics, police and RCMP officers, and private businesses followed after. Never mind that vaccines are designed to mimic natural immunity, which is always superior; natural immunity was not an acceptable alternative to vaccination in order to keep your job. But "We're following the science."

And now we're dealing with Omicron. The same fear-mongering was dispensed in the media, but none of it was warranted. Rather than spend time and money encouraging good health and fitness in our Canadian population, our governments locked down gyms and instituted vaccine mandates there. Ignoring the many studies on early treatment protocols, our government mocked and ridiculed those, leaving the people of Canada with two options: either get vaccinated or get ventilated. There was no in-between. In the meantime, many countries around the world were treating their people with multi-phase medicinal approaches, including ivermectin, fluvoxamine and other inexpensive drugs with years of safety data behind them -- and seeing great success.

And now, finally, after two very long years, the truckers have decided that enough is enough; it is time for us as a country to move on. Our government has exerted undue power over its people for longer than has been necessary. With great courage, and great sacrifice, the truckers have driven from as far away as British Columbia and Alberta, gathering momentum, support and additional trucks along the way, and have converged on our nation's capital to address the Prime Minister and demand an end to the tyrannical mandates we have endured for far too long.

So why me? What is a Christian pastor doing supporting such a thing? Is there a precedent, or a biblical mandate (pun intended) for such a thing?

As a pastor in a Baptist church, with Brethren roots, my evangelical background is Protestant ... Protest-ant, as pastor Aaron Rock reminds us in his podcast. The very foundation of the Protestant movement is one of protesting against what is unjust, tyrannical and unbiblical. With an unquestioning, blind adherence to Romans 13:1-4, Martin Luther would have never nailed his 95 theses to the door of the Catholic church. Praise God he did! Romans 13 was never intended to be blindly adhered to under every circumstance; the illustration of government and authority in Romans 12-14 was not meant to be descriptive, but prescriptive; this means that the passages in question identify what government ought to be and do, not what every government is by default. And the roles -- the very limited roles -- of government are very clearly delineated there.

If you want the ultimate example of a leader, look to Jesus. You will not find a greater example of servant-leadership in the entire human race. Mr. Trudeau has forgotten this; he has forgotten that he is the prime minister, a public servant. He is there to serve the people, to minister to them, all of them, which requires, above all else, the characteristic of humility. And along with this, there needs to be a heart for the people. Instead, he has divided the people of this great nation; he has insulted, and denigrated, and demeaned, a large portion of the people he should have been caring for, should have been unifying. The fact that he won't take the time to even listen to the truckers indicates clearly that he has forgotten what it means to be Prime Minister.

And the Church was never meant to be quiet in the face of injustice. Both the Old Testament and New are replete with judgment against injustice, with instruction to support the widow and the orphan, to protect the weak and the oppressed. Micah 6:8 reads "He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?" As followers of Jesus, Christians ought to be in the front lines, standing up against injustice and oppression, especially in the area of government overreach, because we of all people have the greatest example of loving, caring leadership in Jesus Christ, the King of Kings. I find myself often questioning whether the Church in Canada should have been at the front of the protest, rather than the truckers.

Too often, I have found that the Church in Canada has been eager to do the government's bidding, even when it contradicted the clear instruction of Scripture. While Hebrews 10:24, 25 exhorts us to "consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some ...", many churches kept their doors locked and stuck to Zoom as their fall-back position. I can understand when we were in the first few months of 2020 and only had the rumours of a pathogenically deadly virus to inform us, but I'm still seeing churches today that are "online only". Churches are not super-spreader sources.

I have been told that I should be getting the shot and obeying the mandates because that is how a Christian loves his neighbour. This implies that doing so is the only way to show love for my neighbour ... but that's just not true. I can love my neighbour by being wise and careful about my contacts with others; I can love my neighbour by isolating when I'm sick, I can love my neighbour by bringing them a meal when they are sick. And I can love my neighbour by fighting for viable alternatives to an experimental shot with a track record of causing massive injury and many deaths.

And then there is the matter of conscience. Romans 14:4, 8 lays out very clearly the responsibility of each believer to live out their conscience before the Lord, not before other believers. The Baptist Creed states that "each person has the liberty to choose what conscience or soul dictates is right, and is responsible to no one but God for the decision that is made." Certainly, we do well to talk with one another, to receive counsel from one another, but ultimately, it is before our own Master that we stand or fall. When Christians get on social media and disparage those who come to a different conclusion than they have, they are sinning in two key ways:

1. They are not following the steps laid out in Matthew 18:15-20. You've "aired the family's dirty laundry" in public; that's not how it should be done, and God doesn't take kindly to that. You go to your brother or sister privately, not publicly. Social media shaming of a brother or sister in the Lord is reprehensible, and needs to be repented of; it is primarily a sin of pride.
2. You've gone directly against Romans 14 by implying that the way that God calls you to respond must be the one and only way to respond; by default, you are suggesting that God was unsuccessful in reaching that brother or sister, and you need to step in. This, too, is the sin of pride, and needs to be repented of.

I would suggest that, as Christians in this nation, we have forgotten what the Gospel is. We have mistakenly taken the Gospel to simply be that thing that gets us saved from hell and saved for heaven. But we've lost sight of the fact that the Gospel is for right here, right now; it is relevant and powerful for every single day of our lives ... or Jesus would have swept us all up to heaven the moment we got saved. The Lord's Prayer says "Thy Kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth ..." The Kingdom of God is intended to already be impacting the life of the Church in this world today. Gospel work is Kingdom work, and it includes seeking justice for the oppressed and the wounded, advocating for truth, and for righteousness.

In Matthew 21:12-17, Jesus flipped some tables in the temple, He drove out the animals and He stood up against the religious leaders because of the greed and injustice that was being perpetrated in His temple and against His people. Unlike Jesus, I am not a king, or any kind of great man; I'm an obedient servant of His in a small church in Oshawa, seeking to follow Him to the best of my ability.

And I believe that means I'm following Him to Ottawa to join the truckers.

The Parable Of The Lawn Weeds

 

We have been studying and preaching through the gospel of Matthew at my church and are in the midst of chapter 13, a chapter chock full of Jesus’ parables.

It’s also spring, and I’ve begun working in my yard again, now that I, like all Canadian critters, have come out of hibernation. And one of the first things to pop up in the yard, ahead of my grass even, is the beloved dandelion.

As I crawled around on hands and knees, popping them out of my lawn (I’m retired-ish now, so I have time to actually care about my lawn), I had a lot of time to think, to contemplate, to ruminate. And I realized a number of spiritual truths that were driven home to me as I worked. And so I present to you The Parable of the Lawn Weeds.

Four neighbours on a certain street ventured outside in the springtime to inspect their lawns, all of which were infested with weeds.

The first neighbour looked up and down the street. “My lawn’s not as bad as one of those other lawns” he remarked, and went inside to make another cup of coffee.

The second neighbour shook his head. “Looks awful” he said “but I don’t have the time now. I’ll get to it later”, whereupon he turned and went back in the house to watch Netflix. A week later, the lawn was a disaster.

The third neighbour said “No problem. I’ll deal with this.” He grabbed a pail and some gloves, and began ripping the weeds out, but only the flowers and leaves tore off; the roots remained behind. In a half hour, he was finished and everything looked great, but mere days later there were just as many weeds visible, and more.

The fourth neighbour looked at the state of his lawn and wasn’t sure how to go about solving the problem. He went and bought a Lawn Maintenance Manual, and read through it, learning how the weeds infiltrate and propagate, and how to deal with them on a permanent basis. It was going to cost him time, sweat and resources, and quite possibly some pain, but it would be worthwhile. As he applied what he’d learned from the Manual, he noticed that his lawn was more free of weeds. But he also noticed that it wasn’t until he removed the really big weeds that he started to notice the smaller weeds; these would require still more focus to get at those. And he also realized that this was not going to be a one-time thing; rather, he was going to have to constantly keep an eye on things and deal with the weeds when they were small. But as he did so, he found his lawn bringing him much more joy, and the required investment to maintain it was far less significant.

The Interpretation

The lawns represent people’s lives, and the weeds in the lawn represent the sin in people’s lives.

The first neighbour represents the lost, many of who look at their lives and compare them horizontally, to others. Since we can always find someone in worse shape, they feel they compare favourably and there’s nothing to worry about. Others in this group are oblivious to the weeds. Still others may actually admit they like the weeds.

The second neighbour sees his sin but procrastinates, not wanting to give up the things he likes. Sin unchecked can cause disastrous damage in our lives.

The third neighbour, to his credit, tries to do something about his sin. Unfortunately, his focus is on the surface; those things that are visible. His efforts fail to get at the root of the issue, and so the sin sprouts forth again with a vengeance, because it was never really removed in the first place.

The fourth neighbour acknowledges both the severity of the problem AND his inability to deal with it. Instead, he turns to the Bible, represented by the Manual, for his instruction. In it, he finds wisdom that will finally free him from the burden of his sin. There will be a cost; it may even be painful. But it will be worth it.

He learns how to identify and remove sins from his life, but he also finds that, as he gets rid of some of the big things, he starts to see little, more subtle sins, that were not so obvious when the big sins were still in place. And it becomes increasingly clear that rooting out sin is not going to be an event, but a regular practice. 

But as he continues to be vigilant about sin establishing roots in his life, he finds more joy in his life, and the investment required to maintain that life becomes less significant.

Friends, it’s not for nothing that Jesus frequently used agricultural examples in His parables. Much can be learned from the simple process of growing things, caring for them, feeding and protecting them.

If we want to live a life of joy, real joy, the question of our sin needs to be dealt with first. We can’t do that on our own, but God has already told us in His Word how our sin problem can be taken care of. Read the Bible, find a Bible-preaching church and find forgiveness from the penalty of sin and freedom from the power of sin in your life today.

Why I Argue For Churches To Be Allowed To Open

Lately, on social media, I have asked for churches to be allowed to re-open, or to have greater capacity. And as a consequence, I have been accused of being selfish, or unkind, or thoughtless ... or worse yet, a COVID denier, ignorant, or even immoral.

I am none of these. Oh, I admit I have behaved selfishly at times as a human being. Similarly, I have been unkind, or spoken or acted thoughtlessly; haven't we all, at one point or another in our lives? But people who know me know I am not characterized by these behaviours.

I would actually argue that I advocate for this position, in part, out of kindness and thoughtfulness, for those in my congregation and others who are suffering the often unacknowledged damages of lockdowns.

People are hurting. They are fearful, and discouraged. Depression, suicide and other mental illnesses are sharply on the rise. (See https://edmontonjournal.com/opinion/columnists/david-staples-lockdowns-will-cause-10-times-more-harm-to-human-health-than-covid-19-itself-says-infectious-disease-expert?fbclid=IwAR21H_aVF3PUrsHUbpt54wWEvrM7jPTGFelxC33yTJO1-kaEJU-QBYEOiLU or https://www.sickkids.ca/en/news/archive/2021/impact-of-covid-19-pandemic-on-child-youth-mental-health/?fbclid=IwAR2KLL8p_JmacLmFYOeLVmk2ydDHL7tCe6ePg-3wHOhNo_IpgA_hBW32wDY for example). And the Bible has the ONLY lasting, permanent answers to these kinds of hurts.

As a pastor, who cares not only for the people under his charge, but also for his neighbours, family and friends, I believe we as a nation need ready access to a faithful, Bible-believing and Bible-teaching church. But first, let me clarify that I am not advocating for unbridled, unmasked, throw-caution-to-the-wind gathering. I believe we need to be wise and careful, and I believe we can do that through masking and sanitizing. It is a risk assessment, based on a number of items, where the benefits far outweigh the risks. Our church group is not a congregation of elderly; my wife and I are the oldest there! Were our congregation one of mostly elderly members, we might very well lead them differently. But COVID-19 is not our primary focus.

Here are my reasons why I, as a pastor, believe church gathering is essential:

1. God commands it for His followers. Hebrews 10:24-25 states “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” God has earned my love, loyalty and obedience. He comes first above all else; government, friendships, even my own life. I have to have a really convincing argument to go against an explicit command, and I haven’t yet heard one.

2. God commands it for our good. People often like to believe they know the mind of God, and they say things like “I’m sure He will understand if you don’t come to church, given the circumstances. He’ll hardly be angry with you over it ....”. What that reveals is a mindset that “going to church is a way I win favour with God”, which is completely false. Some will attend church every Sunday that it’s open and still go to hell in the end, while others may never darken the door of a church and go to heaven. That may seem odd for me to say but it’s biblical truth; eternal life is not earned by our performance, but is a gift of God’s grace through Jesus Christ. Ephesians 2:8-9 says “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

It isn’t a “Do this or God will be angry” thing. It’s a “Do this because God has designed the life of His followers to be lived in community, not in isolation. Gathering together is life-giving; it’s for our good.” So that’s the underlying foundation: God instructs us to keep gathering because it is for our spiritual good, our spiritual health. And it’s meant to be not simply reserved for Sunday, but part of our whole DNA as a church. As a church family, we literally have meals with one another through the week, and talk/text, and hang out; it’s a family. And just as I am unwilling to isolate myself from my parents on the one hand, and my granddaughter on the other, for an entire year (and who knows how much longer), I am also unwilling to isolate myself from my church family for that time. I benefit from it and they benefit from it.

3. There are frightening consequences to lockdowns that are far more costly than the risk of contracting COVID. We have been collecting research on the consequences of lockdowns in the form of mental health decline, depression, suicides, overdoses, domestic abuse, etc.; the results are greatly disturbing, and reinforcing what we have already been seeing even in our own congregation with the initial lockdowns. I’m not talking about collecting YouTube videos of conspiracy theories; we have medical journal after medical journal reporting these findings. I personally know of one person who tested positive for COVID; he recovered. I know of two who have committed suicide; they obviously did not. I’ve been counselling several who have been battling severe depression, referring them to qualified professionals for help. Church gatherings are not the source of super-spreader events. The contribution of church gathering to COVID-19 infection is minuscule. Our church gathering is life-giving and essential to our group, at the very least.

4. Without the gospel both preached and lived out, a person could live their whole life free from COVID and spend an eternity in hell. In Matthew 16:26, Jesus asks “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?” We could ask “What will it profit a man if he protects himself from COVID but never hears the gospel and forfeits his soul?” If church is simply a group gathering for social reasons, or for social justice issues, or for some other cause, then sure, it’s not essential, although it might be important. But if the goal of God’s followers is to be witnesses to the essential need of every human being to be right with God, to worship Him with every aspect of their being, and to lovingly model a life lived for Him, then church is essential, church is a priority.

The sad reality is that many churches do NOT embody these truths. Perhaps if the followers of Jesus all lived this way, things would be different; the world would say “We NEED this; it is good for us.” I can’t take responsibility for all of that, but I do know that our little church lives their faith differently, and it’s something I am fully invested in. And they are, incidentally, a very generous group, looking constantly for ways to love their neighbours, friends and relatives in very practical ways through this difficult time. And I firmly believe that, if the need were there, they would put themselves at physical risk to care for someone who was sick and in need.

If you asked me “Is opening churches in the middle of a pandemic in keeping with what God would want?”, then I would answer with this: Jesus said that the two most important commandments were “to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and to love your neighbour as yourself.” (Matt. 22:37-39) I believe that when the church functions as God intended, God is worshipped as He is worthy of. And the most loving thing I can do for my neighbour is to tell them honestly about the eternal doom they are facing and the God who loved them enough to give His Son’s life to rescue them from that doom, because 70, 80, even 100 years here on earth is still a blink of an eye compared to eternity. I’d want them to be where I am, worshipping God and being loved by Him forever.

Resurrection Buns

Next to my salvation, my wife is my greatest gift from God.

She is an extraordinary wife; loving, beautiful, funny, creative, humble, sassy. A true Proverbs 31 woman of God, she industriously cares for our home and family, while discipling other women with grace, honesty, transparency and humility. She is also an amazing mom and grandma. She is incredibly talented in the kitchen; I am in the "rookie" stage there, but learning as I move toward retirement! And she is a creative and gifted Primary teacher, currently managing a class of 16 junior kindergarten munchkins through some form of distance education, as we muddle our way through COVID-19 and a new "normal" here in Ontario. She loves each of those little ones like they were her own, and they are never truly far from her thoughts.

Easter being near, she decided that, if they were in the classroom, she would have made Resurrection Buns (see the story and recipe here) together with them but, since that was impossible, she would make them herself, record a video to teach her students about them, and then deliver a gift bag to each family on Sunday morning. While this may not seem particularly extraordinary, you have to understand that my generous wife never gives "just one"; you have to have something to share! And her families live all over our Durham Region. But that's just the phenomenal woman to whom I have the privilege of being married.

Resurrection Buns can have a number of variations in the recipe, but the basics are essentially the same, as they provide object lessons to tell the story. We begin with a white marshmallow; the intense whiteness of the marshmallow speaks of the purity of Jesus, who qualified as the sacrifice for our sins because of His perfect obedience and sinlessness. 


We then dip the marshmallow in melted butter and roll in some cinnamon and sugar; the spices speak of the spices used in the embalming process on His dead body. Then we wrap the marshmallow tightly in a pastry dough, pinching closed all the seams, so that the marshmallow can't leak out. Some use Pillsbury crescent roll dough; my wife uses regular dinner roll dough. The dough speaks of the tomb in which His body was laid; it was sealed completely shut with a massive stone, and a Roman guard was posted, so that no mere man could get in or get out on their own.


The final step is to bake it in the oven, which is a great opportunity to speak of Jesus suffering the punishment for our sins under the hands of a holy and righteous God, and to highlight that Jesus spent time in the grave. He died. (He did not swoon and then recover from His ordeal; people don't survive crucifixion. It was a torture device that had been perfected over many years to exact the most pain and suffering possible, before taking the life of the victim. In fact, most criminals who were scourged first, like Jesus was, didn't even survive the scourging. How much of this detail you include would be determined by the age of your children.)

Once they've been baked and cooled, they can be cut open. The marshmallow inside will have melted away, leaving a hollow in the bun, which is a beautiful picture of the empty tomb! The tomb did not have to be opened to let Jesus out; the tomb was opened to show that Jesus was already gone!

In education, we often talk about activities that are "low floor, high ceiling"; that is, they are simple to understand at the basic level, but there's lots of room to "plumb the depths" of the concept. Resurrection buns fit the bill; little children can understand the simple object lessons that relay the story of the Resurrection, but grown-ups like you and I can spend our lifetimes plumbing the depths of what it meant for holy God to wrap Himself in  a limited, human body and then allow the creatures He had made to nail Him to a cross. What it meant for the sinless Son of God to "become sin for us", as it says in 2 Cor. 5:21. What kind of ridiculous, outrageous, extravagant love God must have for mankind, that He would go through all this in order to make a way possible for us to be forgiven, redeemed and restored. What an insult it must be to God when we try to get right with Him on our own merits and efforts.

And, as I look at that simple Resurrection bun, I realize that I can never unsee the beauty, the majesty, the complexity, the depth of love, that is Easter. My heart overflows in gratefulness and worship.

You can contact the author at mikeysingsbass@gmail.com.

Pondering COVID-19 ...

"... even the hairs of your head are all numbered."

Matthew 10:30

In the matter of a few hours, our whole world changed.

Thursday, March 12th, 2020, started like many of my “last day before March Break” days had started in years past. I taught my classes, wished my students an enjoyable break and prepped all my handouts and resources for the first day back. I could walk away and leave school behind me because everything was planned and ready to go when we returned.

Over the course of that day, I had several conversations with colleagues who had March Break trips planned but, in the wake of concerns over the Coronavirus, had cancelled those trips. My wife Judy and I had planned to visit family in Quebec but we were, quite frankly, exhausted and decided we just wanted to stay put. Also, being education workers, there was a slightly greater risk of exposure, and we sure didn’t want to end up inadvertently passing the virus along to our elderly parents.

After dinner Thursday evening, I was informed by a friend that the Minister of Education had closed all schools for the two weeks following March Break, blindsiding us completely. The long tendrils of COVID-19 had now reached out and touched our world.

In the days that followed, zoos, museums, malls and theatres — any place of public gatherings — were closed down. Businesses moved to a “work from home” model. As one of three co-pastors of our church Fellowship Oshawa (fellowshiposhawa.com), I joined in discussions over how we were going to continue to serve our church family: what would we do re: preaching and providing a sense of community, despite physical distancing. The phrase “a new normal” became familiar.

Not knowing what this is going to look like moving forward has made it a challenge to rest, to enjoy the “break”. And I have found myself pondering what it looks like to pastor our congregation through this. Much of our community has been built around shared experiences: shared meals, shared games and activities, shared laughter. How do I help my church family maintain that needed sense of community during a period of time where physical proximity is discouraged, even potentially dangerous? 

Thankfully, we have so many tools available to us to be connected, not just by voice but face-to-face: FaceTime, Ring Central, WhatsApp and Zoom are just a few of the tools we’ve used over the last while. I’ve touched base with friends and family this way and found great encouragement from doing so. I’ve even been able to help a friend get started to learn to play guitar via a WhatsApp video call!

While it’s all been challenging, I have also had more time for introspection; our crazy, hamster-wheel lifestyles in North America don’t often leave room for that. And I’ve noted a lack of fear and anxiety. (Remarkably, I felt no pressing need to stockpile toilet paper ...) And the reason for that is God and His character.

The Bible is one of the key ways God has chosen to reveal Himself to mankind; another is through His Son Jesus. But Jesus stepped into time for only a short period; God left us His Word in written form so that we could continually learn more about Him, and be reminded of the things we had forgotten.

1. God is Sovereign. This means that He is in control; nothing catches Him by surprise. Colossians 1:16-17 reads “For by Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.” The person referred to in this passage is Jesus. Given this kind of sovereignty, the coronavirus is not something that will cause Him to say “Whoops! I didn’t see that coming!” Just like everything else in our lives — the pleasant and the unpleasant — Jesus knew it before it happened and it isn’t capable of thwarting His plans. So I needn’t fear that things are out of His control; He’s got this.

But if it’s all under His control, can He be trusted? Is He kind or malicious, faithful or fickle? The answers to those questions are also found throughout the Bible.

2. God is Good. Psalm 106 is just one of many that include the refrain found in verse 1: “Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever.” Psalm 34:8 even invites us to “taste and see that the Lord is good!” Don’t just take my word for it, or even the record of His goodness in the Bible; try it for yourself! What is very important to understand, however, is that God is good and righteous. He’s not Santa, doling out gifts and favours with a hearty chuckle; He is King, true to His plans to do what is just and righteous and good for His Kingdom. An important question for you might be: are you a subject of His Kingdom, safe within the protection of His walls? Or are you outside the gates, unprotected and unable to enjoy the benefits of His resources?

3. God is Faithful. Lamentations 3:22-23 reads “The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. Sadly, our generation and culture knows so little about love that lasts; how many marriages do you know of that are still solid after 20, 15, even 10 years? When I introduce a new course I’m teaching, I share a bit about myself and my students often clap when they hear that I have been married to my best friend for over 30 years; their hearts yearn for a love that lasts a lifetime but they don’t often see examples of it being possible. God’s love doesn’t just last years, or a lifetime; it never ends. He is faithful forever. To whom? To Himself, of course! And because of that, because He is Truth, He cannot be false to His promises.

So, if you are a follower of Jesus, you needn’t fear the coronavirus; One much greater than the coronavirus is your God and King! Regardless of what happens here on earth — whether you contract the virus or not, whether it takes your life or not — that same Sovereign, Good, Faithful King Jesus took your place on the cross, suffered the punishment for sin that you deserved, and transferred His righteousness and perfection to your account so that He could pour out His steadfast love on you unceasingly, even into eternity! Paul states, and every follower of Jesus can echo it, “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” (Phil.1:21) While He leaves us here, let’s proclaim the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ, the gospel of hope, to our neighbours, to our family members, to our friends. Tell them of the Saviour who died to set them free from sin to love Him and be loved by Him! Show them, by your example, that His “perfect love casts out fear.” (1 John 4:18) Give them a reason to take that first step, to “taste and see that the Lord is good”.

Love like Jesus loved, sacrificially. If there is a need, act. Be wise, for sure, and take precautions, but don’t fear; nothing, not even death, can touch you outside of His will.

And if you’re not a follower of Jesus, now is the time. Because of your sin, you stand condemned before Him. Oh, He is patient, loving and gracious; the fact that you’re reading this is evidence of His grace to warn you of your eternal peril. If the coronavirus, or a car accident, or simply natural causes, should take your life today, you will stand before this King and you will be judged based on what you did with Jesus; did you ignore the rightful King and choose your own kingdom, usurping His throne? Or did you bow before Him, give Him your heart and life and ask His forgiveness for your rebellion against Him? There’s still time, right now, where you sit reading this post, to take advantage of His gracious offer to save you; take it today! After over 50 years of being His, with many, many screw-ups along the way, I can attest to His goodness even when I wasn’t good, His faithfulness even when I wasn’t faithful, His love even when I didn’t demonstrate my love for Him. He is such a loving King! Kneel before Him today and give your all to Him; you will never regret it!