PCA Vote now 18-18 on Proposed BCO Amendments

The Aquila Report has the latest vote tally for PCA BCO amendments at 18-18. Below is a link to my latest map.

News Roundup

I figure it's time for another News Roundup, so here goes:

ARP/Erskine News
If you like numbers and statistics, take a look at this report at ARPTalk from last month. It gives some enrollment numbers for Erskine Theological Seminary over the past few years. Interestingly, the number of United Methodist students has declined significantly (explanation given at ARPTalk), but the number of PCUSA students has increased. I fear that will continue to be the case, until we can remove non-inerrantists from the faculty at Erskine.

In other Erskine news, Dr. David Norman recently delivered his "State of the School" report to the Board of Erskine. You can read about it at The Aquila Report. Continue to pray for Dr. Norman and his family, as he strives to manage the school. When you read the story at The Aquila Report, you will see it is no easy task he has in front of him.

PCA News
Meanwhile, in the PCA, the controversy over the Federal Vision continues. Most recently, the Missouri Presbytery exonerated Teaching Elder Jeff Meyers of teaching FV doctrine. The background for this story is that several concerned elders in the PCA sent a letter to the Missouri Presbytery about TE Meyers' teaching. MO Presbytery responded by alleging that signers of the letter had violated the Ninth Commandment and then cleared Meyers of the allegations. Doug Wilson announced the "good news" on his site. Here are links to a number of articles about this latest debacle:

MO Presbytery exonerates Federal Visionist Jeffrey Meyers of all theological errors
UPDATED: MO Presbytery’s specific exonerations of TE Meyers
Doug Wilson: “Some Heartening FV News”
TE Jeffrey Meyers Cleared by Missouri Presbytery of Allegations Against Him


In other PCA news, the next round of Presbytery meetings is about to begin, and the issue of the amendments to the BCO will be on a lot of agendas. At last count, the voting was 17 Presbyteries in favor of the amendments, 16 against. Two-thirds of all Presbyteries need to approve these amendments in order for them to be ratified, and I just don't think that will happen. Nonetheless, the Administrative Committee of the PCA is doing its best to push them through. byFaith, the denominational magazine of the PCA, published a piece on the issue, framing it as a conservative vs. liberal debate. Not the best article byFaith has ever done, in my opinion.

OPC News
And lastly in the OPC, nothing happened. Just kidding of course, but it does seem like the OPC has been strangely quiet recently. Perhaps God is giving them a bit of (well-deserved) rest. Or perhaps they have better PR people than the ARP and PCA.

The Sin of Gamaliel

This last Monday night, my church's midweek Bible study covered the last half of Acts 5. In that passage, Gamaliel's advice to the Sanhedrin is recorded. His advice was to let the apostles alone; if what they were doing was from men, it would soon pass away, but if what they were doing really was from God, then the elders of Israel were wrong to oppose it. It is an interesting bit of wisdom, and God used it at that time to spare the lives of the Apostles, since the Sanhedrin wanted to kill them. Gamaliel's advice can be found in Acts 5:38, "Keep away from these men and leave them alone." His reasoning then follows: "for if this plan or this work is of men, it will come to nothing; but if it is of God, you cannot overthrow it—lest you even be found to fight against God."

Gamaliel was correct. If this work was from God the elders of Israel would not be able to overthrow it. But, keep in mind who Gamaliel was and to whom he was speaking. Gamaliel was "a teacher of the law held in respect by all the people" and he was addressing the high priest and the elders of Israel. He was a teacher of the law addressing other teachers of the law. So, while Gamaliel's advice shows a more measured response to the Apostles' teaching than the rest of the Sanhedrin, it is still very bad advice. Instead of warning the rest of the council to "keep away" he should have been telling them "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ." Gamaliel, of all men, should have known that Jesus was the fulfillment of the Old Testament promises of the Messiah. Instead, this teacher of Israel advises his audience to keep away from those preaching Christ. It is a sin to advise others to stay away from Gospel preaching, and that was Gamaliel's sin. Ultimately, of course, we know that his bad advice was used for good by God. The Apostles left alive, though beaten, and "they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ" (verse 42).

What can we learn from Gamaliel? First, all the learning in the world is not enough to convince spiritually dead sinners of the truth of the Gospel. Gamaliel was possibly the best qualified of men to be converted through "reason" and yet he continues in sin, rejecting the truth that Jesus is the Messiah. Second, God uses wicked advice for His own purposes. The Apostles go on preaching Christ, both in homes and in the Temple, the very place where they had been arrested.

Gamaliel gave bad advice. He should have repented and believed. He sinned in telling others to stay away from preachers of the Gospel. The Elders and high priest followed Gamaliel's bad advice. They also should have repented and believed. But, the end of it all was that the Gospel was triumphant. The Apostles continued to preach Jesus as the Christ, and we read in Acts 6:7 that eventually, "a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith."

Beware the sin of Gamaliel, but be sure that Christ will be triumphant through the preaching of the Gospel!

The more things change...

...the more they stay the same:

The chief priests are told to their faces the indignities they did to this Jesus: "You slew him and hanged him on a tree, you cannot deny it." The apostles, instead of making an excuse, or begging their pardon, for bringing the guilt of this man's blood upon them, repeat the charge, and stand to it: "It was you that slew him; it was your act and deed," Note, People's being unwilling to hear of their faults is no good reason why they should not be faithfully told of them. It is a common excuse made for not reproving sin that the times will not bear it. But those whose office it is to reprove must not be awed by this; the times must bear it, and shall bear it. Cry aloud and spare not; cry aloud and fear not.

Matthew Henry, Commentary on Acts 5.

Quote of the Day

Gradually, the struggle between the party called Puritan and the repressive Court party became more intense and more bitter during the whole period of the reigns of James I and Charles I. A new element of conflict was introduced in the fact that the despotic Court party naturally abandoned the Calvinism of the founders of the Church, and adopted that Arminianism which has always prevailed among the parasites of arbitrary power and the votaries of a churchly and sacramental religion.

A. A. Hodge, The Confession of Faith, 17

Ruling Elders and their Influence

I am preparing my syllabus and notes for an Adult Sunday School class I will be teaching next year at Communion Presbyterian. I will be teaching through the Confession, with the goal of better familiarizing the congregation with the great doctrines taught therein. One source I am using is A. A. Hodge's The Confession of Faith (Banner of Truth, 1964). In the preface, Hodge retells what was his inspiration for writing his commentary on the Confession:

During the sessions of the General Assembly of 1868 in Albany, the author was honoured with an invitation from the Rev. G. C. Heckman, D.D., pastor of the State Street Church in that city, to visit a large and intelligent class held every Sunday afternoon in the body of the church, and instructed in the Confession of Faith by the admirable elder and fellow-labourer in the gospel, E. P. Durant, Esq. In both design and success this exercise appeared worthy of universal emulation...At that time the design of this "Commentary" on the Confession of Faith was conceived.

(The Confession of Faith, xv).

Edward P. Durant was a Ruling Elder (thanks to R. Andrew Meyers for helping me with that!). His class is what gave A. A. Hodge the idea of writing his great commentary on the Confession. Ruling Elders can have a great influence on their local congregations, but also on the whole church for generations to come! That is a very humbling idea for me to keep in mind as I prepare my notes for next year's Sunday School class on the Confession of Faith!

Ref21 on Church Plant(er)s

Stephen Nichols has posted a short article about church plants and the pastors who labor therein over at Reformation21. It is worth reading. I couldn't help but think of all the work my own pastor does at our church plant as I read it. It reminded me to pray for our church planters! Hope on over and have a read: Church Planting, Double Honor (and then some).