Kuyperian Commentary

On June 4, 2021 By Uri Brito In Church Like

Sunday Worship During Summer Vacation

As summer heats upon us, many of us will be vacationing all over the country. As a pastor, I have noticed that church members generally don’t think much about the role the summer season has on us as Christians. I am particularly troubled by Christians who treat vacation as not only a break from work but also a break from Church. To some, if vacation happens to involve a Sunday, then so be it. It becomes the ideal day to travel to your favorite summer destination. After all, you are not missing work; you are only missing Church.

Hebrews does not treat this subject lightly. The author forbids the non-assembling of ourselves. He treats forsaking the assembly as a kind of mini-schism. Hebrews calls us not to forsake the gathering, which is simply a re-affirmation of the motif explored all throughout the Old Testament Scriptures.

The angels and archangels engage in heavenly worship day and night, and we are invited to join in this duty of worship each time we are gathered together on the Lord’s Day. After all, God has made us one.
~~~~~~~~~
Vacation is no substitute for worship. Missing the Lord’s Day gathering on vacation for any trivial reason is to mock the tearing of the veil, which gave us access to the heavenly throne of grace. It belittles the work of Christ who conquered our divisions and united us to Himself.
With that in view, here are a few things I recommend for those going on vacation this summer:

First, avoid falling into the trap that a few good Christians gathered at a camp or a resort constitute the Church on Sunday. You may enjoy Christian fellowship, be challenged by an exhortation, but this does not constitute heavenly worship. It may be simply a Bible study, but worship is not a Bible study; it is the very entrance of God’s people into the heavenly places through the work of the Spirit in an orderly service led by duly ordained men.

Second, before going on vacation, google churches near the area. If you are not able to find a church that resembles yours, look to explore a bit outside your tradition. Learn to love the universal church. Find an evangelical congregation that loves the Bible.

Third, avoid making Sunday morning plans. Let your family–especially those who are not Christians traveling with you–know that Sunday worship is non-negotiable. If they are nominal Christians or unbelievers, let them know beforehand that their Sunday morning plans will not include your family. Use such opportunities to establish a firm foundation with your loved ones, which will necessarily be easier in the years to come. And if this is the first year you have submitted to that conclusion–if asked–briefly explain why you have changed your position. There is nothing wrong with changing your perspective, but there is plenty wrong in not acting on it.
~~~~~~~
There is no need to theologize about these issues with other family members or feel you have to offer a treatise on the matter (since it may lead to unnecessary arguing). Let them know if they insist, that this is a commitment you made as a family long ago.

Finally, when visiting other churches, teach your children (and yourself) to avoid criticizing the Church’s practices that differ from your own. Use this time to explain to the little ones the beauty of the universal church. Explain that there are legitimate differences among churches (frequency of communion, styles of music, etc.) but that the Spirit dwells among them all.

The Lord’s Day is a day of rest. It is the feast God has prepared for you. Under normal circumstances, there is no other place for you to be.

On June 3, 2021 By Bill Smith In Discipleship, Theology, Wisdom, Worship 2

The Fear of the Lord

No other subject in Scripture is so fundamental and pervasive yet so misunderstood and confusing as the fear of the Lord. Throughout Scripture, we are encouraged and commanded on numerous occasions to fear God. Ecclesiastes 12.13 says that fearing God and keeping his commandments is the whole duty of man. The opening and possibly the controlling theme of Proverbs is, “The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and discipline” (Pr 1.7). But then we hear in 1John 4.18 that “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear.” The one command we hear possibly more often than any other is “Fear not.” We need not even go across the Scriptures to see this paradox. Exodus 20 has it all in one passage:

Now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people trembled, and they stood far off and said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die.” Moses said to the people, “Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of him may be before you, that you may not sin.” (Ex 20.18-20)

“Do not fear” because God has come to test you “that the fear of him may be before you.” Do not fear because God wants you to fear. Any first-time reader is confused. So, are we to fear, or are we not to fear? Yes. Just as with anything else in Scripture (or in any other literature for that matter) we must understand the different senses and contexts in which “fear” is used.

(more…)

On May 30, 2021 By Uri Brito In Theology Like

Knowing the Trinity

Happy Trinity Sunday!

Some things are hard to understand, grasp, and appreciate. But when we begin to taste more of it, or experience it as intended, or be around it more consistently, we discover that we misunderstood that thing, that person, that taste. We want for us and our children and grandchildren to learn to appreciate good and beautiful things. We want to be a Christian culture that treasures things that endure, not temporary and tepid things.

You have probably heard people say, “I wish I had known this earlier in life,” or “I feel cheated because my people never introduced me to this,” or “I never fully appreciated this or that until….”

These are all human sentiments. We are continually conforming to the image of Christ, and so we need to be always moving, changing, adapting to new realities. We need to be a people who are challenging ourselves often to know God better, to taste and see the goodness of God in giving us his story and song.

We are a weak people if we convince ourselves that we are all right, and that all is well and that there is no need to change the furniture in our hearts.

And if there is one area where the church has poured little effort, it’s the message and mission of the Trinity. It’s one of those doctrines that we don’t spend much time reflecting on unless we wish to convey our opposition to cults. In fact, I affirm that we must begin to change our understanding of the Trinity precisely in the statement I just made. Immediately, when we hear the word “doctrine,” we go to massive theology books, and our minds go to antiquated ideas that are too far above our simple minds, and besides, what does the Trinity have to do with my favorite Netflix show anyway? Or my selfies? Or my get-together with my friends this afternoon? Well, everything! The Trinity is the lens through which we understand our reality and just how far we have strayed from a Triune reality.

And perhaps we need clarification here to begin, and that is that the Trinity is not primarily a doctrine to be only studied, or an idea to be contemplated or a dogma to hold, or a concept to dissect. The Trinity is our God. And that changes our whole perspective on what we celebrate on this Trinity Sunday. Because if the Trinity is more than a doctrine to be studied, but the God we worship, and if the Triune God is from whom all things consist and in whom we live and move and have our being, then we better get busy knowing God better: loving and learning of/about the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

And that’s our starting point. In fact, speaking of starting, when we speak of the Trinity, we are speaking of how God reveals himself to us from the beginning. It’s the article of faith that structures all the faith and practice of our faith. You may have noticed, but our liturgy, our hymns, and lives all find themselves in God who reveals himself as One in Three and Three in One. The Trinity, Bavinck says, “beats the heart of the whole revelation of God.” The Trinity was not something built up in a Greek laboratory, it simply is. It’s the way God reveals himself to his people from the beginning to the end of history.

Now, this is our faith, in fact, this is our catholic (universal/whole) faith:

That we worship one God in trinity and the trinity in unity,
neither blending their persons
nor dividing their essence.
For the person of the Father is a distinct person,
the person of the Son is another,
and that of the Holy Spirit still another.
But the divinity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is one,
their glory equal, their majesty coeternal.

On May 28, 2021 By Uri Brito In Books, Music Like

Singing as Pastoral Theology in Bonhoeffer

Reading Bonhoeffer’s pastoral heart during my dissertation writing was a sweet sound to my soul. His prison letters led me down a path of admiration and excavation to my own heart. I read almost 1,000 pages’ worth, and I left with a sense of passion for the holy. Among the many glorious things gleaned from Bonhoeffer, in particular, I was drawn to the musical component of this astute and brave Lutheran scholar. His engagement of congregational singing with young seminarians and his particular thoughts on singing in the community has largely inspired my mission for my local body and the role I see sacred music play in parish life.

For Bonhoeffer, singing is a relational tool. If there is one thing quite clear in his writing is that there is a special bond created when people sing together. Life together does not just happen; it is cultivated. The young seminarians were not immune to temptations; in fact, it is precisely their singing together that alleviated some of those natural temptations to pursue sin. Singing is and ought to be a tool of healing and reconciliation. We can engage in spectacularly contradictory forms of protests today with our yard signs and vocal cords, or we can engage in spectacularly harmony-driven singing that cultivates relationality.

As Bonhoeffer notes:

“Music … will help dissolve your perplexities and purify your character and sensibilities, and in time of care and sorrow, will keep a fountain of joy alive in you.”

A few years ago, I was invited to visit one of my parishioner’s grandmother on hospice care. She asked me to minister to her family, whom I had never met. By the time I arrived, her grandmother was no longer responsive. It was just a matter of hours before she died. I walked in there and saw that dear woman and the first reaction I had was to sing: so, I did. We all gathered, and I asked them permission to sing. I sang Psalm 23 and prayed. I was a stranger to all these people, but suddenly that old Irish melody brought everybody together. It was a mystical moment, if I can use that term.

For Bonhoeffer, one of the great pastoral means to deal with pain and death is singing. Paul says to encourage one another with psalms and hymns and Spirit-songs, which is to say, singing as a church invites the church to enter each other’s stories and narratives. Singing allows pastoral theology to come alive.

On May 27, 2021 By Bill Smith In Discipleship, Wisdom Like

Taking Responsibility For Wisdom*

Solomon, principally addressing his son(s) (1.8; passim), states his purpose for writing Proverbs in his opening lines:

To know wisdom and discipline, to understand words of understanding,
to receive discipline in wise dealing, in righteousness, justice, and equity;
to give prudence to the simple, purposive knowledge to the youth (1.2-4, translation mine)

Proverbs is a catechism for princes, kings-in-waiting, to teach them how to fulfill their God-given mission of creating, building, and arranging the world-house that will be a dwelling place for God and his people. This is the dominion project given to the man from the beginning. To complete this project, he needs wisdom, the ability to understand relationships; what is good and evil, what is appropriate and inappropriate; how people relate to God, one another, and the non-human creation. Wisdom is the indispensable helper that will aid him in building the world-house so that it is good; that is, so that it fulfills its created purpose. Wisdom is skillful in relationships.

(more…)

On May 25, 2021 By Uri Brito In Church 1

A Brief Case for Weekly Communion

Evangelicals like myself rooted in the Reformation came very late to the beauty of weekly communion. I was a sophomore in college before I realized that the vast stream of the Protestant tradition celebrated communion weekly. For most of my life, I assumed the table was reserved for special occasions like Easter or Christmas. In fact, I attended a Brethren congregation that did communion once a year. But as I broadened my theological interests, I understood the Supper’s function in the liturgy and in the theology of the church and it became unbearable to contemplate the absence of it during a worship service.

Historically, our Reformed forefathers—including Luther and Calvin—desired communion to be weekly. In fact, the early centuries of the Church and the majority of Protestant Churches in the 16th century practiced weekly communion. It was only in the 19th century, and in particular, during the Prohibitionist movement, that weekly communion became mostly obsolete. Therefore, the infrequent practice of communion is rather new in the church. Now, this does not mean it’s wrong, but it should raise questions. The Didache, one of the earliest records of the church after the Bible says the following:

“On the Lord’s own day gather together and break bread and give thanks, having first confessed your sins so that your sacrifice may be pure.”

The Church believed that in celebrating the sacraments weekly we become a purer people. This is not because there is something magical in the bread and wine, but because God uses these means to communicate his presence and strength to us. Additionally, the Early Church believed that the Lord’s Supper made us a more thankful people. We don’t often associate communion with thankfulness, but the very term “Eucharist” is not some invention of men. It is the word Paul uses to refer to the Lord’s Supper. The word means “thanksgiving.” The Lord’s Supper is a Thanksgiving meal; a Eucharistic meal.

The Bible makes a clear case that every time the people of God gathered for worship, the Lord’s Supper was a regular part of that gathering. Acts 2:42 says:

“And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.”

There is a definite article before bread, making the text read “the breaking of the bread (τοῦ ἄρτου). This is not a generic reference to a household meal, but it is in reference to a particular kind of bread, the eucharistic bread used at the Lord’s Table.

Acts 20:7 says:

“And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of the bread and the prayers.”

Again, when the Early Church met, they always had the Lord’s Supper. In a time when persecution was rampant, the people needed to be comforted by and give thanks to God as they ate together with God’s people in worship. I had mentioned earlier that the Early Church up to the first thousand years and later the Reformation, firmly believed in weekly communion. But there came a time when the Church abandoned this practice. In fact, as Keith Mathison observes in his book “Given For You,” the infrequent communion practice became the practice of the Roman Catholic Church in the 13th century and continued until the Reformation period. In those days, members could only partake of the sacraments once a year. It was against this background that “such men as John Calvin and Martin Bucer called for a return to the Apostolic Christian practice of weekly communion.” We might say that part of the motive of the Reformation was to undo the Church’s practice of infrequent communion and return to the Early Church practice of weekly communion.

(more…)

On May 23, 2021 By Uri Brito In Church 4

Wear Red on Pentecost!

Happy Pentecost Sunday!

Many Christians know little about the Church Calendar, which means that many evangelicals will treat this Sunday like any other day. But this Sunday marks the beginning of the “Ordinary Season”(not in the mundane or common sense, but the term comes from the word “ordinal,” which means “counted time”). This season is composed of 23-28 Sundays, and it fleshes out the mission of the Church. To put it simply, Pentecost is the out-working of the mission of Jesus through his people by the power of the Spirit.

Some pastors–myself included–usually take these few months to focus on passages and topics pertaining to the specific life of the Church, and how the Church can be more faithful and active in the affairs of the world. The Pentecost Season emphasizes the unleashing of the Spirit’s work and power through the Bride of Jesus Christ, the Church.

Liturgically, many congregations wear red as a symbol of the fiery-Spirit that befell the Church (Acts 2). The Season brings with it a renewed emphasis on the Church as the central institution to the fulfillment of God’s plans in history. As such, it brings out the practical nature of Christian theology. Joan Chittister defines Pentecost as “the period of unmitigated joy, of total immersion in the implications of what it means to be a Christian, to live a Christian life” (The Liturgical Year, 171).

Pentecost as Spirit-Work

The evangelical church has offered a Spiritlessness teaching and worship. We have acted afraid of the mighty rushing wind for fear of its mystical presence. However, Pentecost exhorts us to be spiritual (Spirit-led) while emphasizing the titanic involvement of the Third Person of the Trinity in beautifying the world to reflect the glory of the Father and the Son. We must worship Spirit-led and in truth (Jn. 4:24).

The 16th-century Reformer John Calvin was known for many things, but he was mostly known as the “Theologian of the Spirit.” This is hardly manifested in many of his followers who tend to flee from the implications of a Spirit-led anything, choosing a mental overdose of theological categories. However, the Spirit is crucial to the forming and re-forming of any environment. It communicates our thoughts, emotions, and prayers to our Meditator. The Third Person of the Trinity emotionalizes and intercedes on our behalf in the midst of our ignorance (Rom. 8:26-30).

Further, the Spirit draws individuals (John 6:44) to enter into one baptized community of faith. The Spirit, in the words of James Jordan, is the “divine match-maker.” He brings isolated individuals into a Pentecostalized body, a body that has many parts, but one Head.

So, let us embrace this Season! Let us join this cosmic Pentecostal movement and embrace the mission of the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.

On May 20, 2021 By Bill Smith In Discipleship, Wisdom 4

The Spirit of Wisdom

At the Ascension, the Father’s pleasure with the Son was declared as he was highly exalted and given a name above all names: Lord of the world. He is creation’s king to whom all authority over heaven and earth has been given. He proved his ability to handle this position through his obedience, so the Father granted him this rule (Phil 2.6-11). Jesus now rules, making judgments of life and death for the world so that the world will take the shape of heaven; so that God’s will is done on earth as it is in heaven.

Jesus has … Jesus is … wisdom. Wisdom understands relationships, how things and people are supposed to fit together to form what is good, true, beautiful, and productive. Jesus knows how the world is supposed to be arranged; individual lives, families, societies, international relationships, architecture, gardens, and all other aspects of this world. He knows how heaven is to relate to the earth, how men and women are to relate to one another, and how it all fits together for the world’s ultimate purpose. He understands what is right(eous). Because of this, he is fit to be king, the lord of the world.

(more…)

On May 11, 2021 By Uri Brito In Scribblings 1

The Church as Free

I am preparing to do a lecture on Kuyper in a few days, and I have been re-reading lots of his works (thanks to the marvelous task of the Acton Institute). Essential to the Kuyperian vision is the centrality of the church as free. In fact, for Kuyper, a holy nation can only be a reality when the church is allowed to be free to do what it was called to do. If the state, whose role is to protect the church, interferes with the premise of the church as church, she invests herself in an area outside her sphere.

Gary Demar analyzed well the case of the Canadian Pastor Artur Pawlowski. Gary argues that “the health argument is the foot in the door.” In the name of health and preservation, the state has increased its foothold on the church in remarkable ways. It is unlikely most of these churches will return with any degree of stamina to fight against authorial abuses.

However you feel about the pastor’s strategy, one cannot look at such an arrest from the perspective of Kuyperianism and be content with the outcome. In other words, one must embrace variations of two-kingdom theology, or a reduced understanding of the implications of ecclesiastical theology to accept the premise that the state has the authority to arrest a minister of the Gospel for opening his doors for worship.

For the record, I would not approve of such measures in early 2020 and most certainly not at this stage. The abhorrence of such acts in Canada and in the U.S. means that a restored vision of sphere sovereignty is necessary for the furtherance of public theology. And pastoral theology must incorporate Kuyperian thought, which is nothing more than a distillation of Genesis 1-3 applied to history.

Kuyper notes in his Lectures that while we are to be grateful for the state, “we must ever watch against the danger which lurks for our personal liberty in the power of the state.” Kuyper was a man well-aware of the fallacy of unchecked power. The Church needs desperate education in these areas, otherwise, it will quickly succumb to statist pressures and willingly hand over her keys and passcodes.

On May 6, 2021 By Bill Smith In Church, Discipleship, Wisdom 1

Wisdom’s Work

Yahweh by wisdom founded the earth;
by understanding he established the heavens;
by his knowledge the deeps broke open,
and the clouds drop down the dew.
~Proverbs 3.19-20

You were created to work. Work is not the result of the fall. Arduous, frustrating, unfruitful work is the result of the fall, but work itself is not. The need to work is not bolted onto some “pure essence” so that it can be happily discarded one day. We are workers because we are the image of God. God is a worker, therefore, we are workers. The opening lines of Scripture reveal God as a worker: “In the beginning God created….” For six days he separates and brings back together, he forms and fills the unformed and unfilled. He works.

(more…)