Please open your Bibles to 1 Timothy chapter 3. First of all, I'd like to say what a tremendous privilege it is to be here, and I praise God actually that I am here. I preached out on the West Coast last week, and when I was flying home, I started getting very sick. Today was the first day that I actually left the house after four days. I was supposed to be here yesterday, but I had to cancel my flight, and then I woke up this morning at about two, and I was so sick that I thought to myself, well, as soon as it's daybreak, I'll call Pastor Bice and tell him that there's just no way. Then I got back to sleep finally, and about 3.45 in the morning, I woke up and God seemed to give an unusual grace to Terry with him and to watch with him in the night. And he greatly encouraged my soul in prayer. And it was so unusual that I thought, well, the Lord must want me to go ahead and come here. Now, before I read my text, I want to read something. that I wrote that is a burden on my heart. Actually, it's a small portion of what was going to go in a book with regard to this conference. And I want you to know that almost every time Pastor Bice talks to me, his burden is always not about a big conference, and that's what I so appreciate about him and his church. But he's always saying, Paul, tell all these young people, tell all these young guys and young girls to get in church, to get in church. And I want to read something that puts conferences like this in a proper perspective. In a truly reformed tradition, we will begin by saying that the foundation of the world, before the foundation of the world was laid, God contrived a plan to get glory for himself through a people that he would redeem. He elected them before the foundation of the world to be redeemed through a Savior who was foreknown before the foundation of the world. And He purposed from all eternity that this manifold wisdom, which for ages has been hidden in Him, would be brought to light through the church, and that He would be glorified in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. I want to read a quote from Charles Hodge. The works of God manifest his glory by being what they are. It is because the universe is so vast, the heavens so glorious, the earth so beautiful and teeming that they reveal the boundless affluence of their maker. If then it is through the church that God designs specifically to manifest to the highest order of intelligence, his infinite wisdom, and grace, the church in her consummation must be the most glorious of all His works." Now, the scriptures teach that the church is the pinnacle of God's work and the great revelation of His manifold wisdom. But here's my question. Is this great compliment directed only to some universal church or to some church triumphant in heaven? Or is it given also to the local assembly of believers on earth? The entire course of Paul's ministry would indicate that the local assembly is more than to be included, for it was for the sake of real people gathered in real local assemblies in real places scattered throughout Asia Minor and Europe that Paul labored so strenuously during his time on earth. They were not large in number, these churches. They were not many wise according to the flesh. They were not many mighty, not many noble. But the Apostle Paul saw them, these local churches, as the great means through which the glory of God was and is revealed to both men and angels. It is for this reason that we argue, I argue, that to neglect the local assembly and its spiritual prosperity is to neglect God's greatest plan on earth to reveal His glory. There is much of which to praise God about in this recent resurgence of the reformed faith throughout the world. especially among young people. However, there are also many troubling signs that not all is right in Zion. It seems that a significant number of newly reformed are more often enamored with doctrine, celebrity teachers, Bible conferences, and mission agencies than they are with the local church and her ministers. While at least some of these things just mentioned can be very helpful, they are not God's primary means of advancing the gospel, caring for his people, or revealing his glory to men and angels. God's plan is the local church. Why then is she so often neglected and passed over, especially by the young? Possibly for the same reason that the typical housewife cannot compete with the supermodel or actress on stage or screen. The housewife is real, with faults and defects exposed, but the actress is made up and decorated. The housewife is the stuff of everyday life, but the actress is seen only in the most attractive role and at the most spectacular moments. Similarly, the local church is something that is real, exposed and undecorated. A congregation of redeemed people caught in time between the already and the not yet. New creations that are not quite fully new. Pilgrims on the road to Sion, but still marred by the soil of Babylon. The conference is different, however. It is filled with like-minded people, even in the most intricate nuances of the faith, and they are all appearing at their very best behavior. There are no misunderstandings, no bickering, no outbursts of immaturity. Conferences represent three or four days of heaven on earth. Then there are the conference speakers. They have published more books than the local pastor has read. They are educated and eloquent, and their sermons are full of the most intricate theological wonders. They appear suddenly upon the platform, speak with the lips of a seraph, and then are whisked away like Elijah in a chariot of fire. But the minister of the local church knows no such glory. He lives in antonymity to the larger Christian community and yet is under the constant scrutiny of his people day after day and year after year. He has three messages a week to prepare, private counseling sessions, visits to the hospital, and a constant battle with fatigue and doubt. He is a shepherd guarding a handful of sheep, a lonely sentinel on a night watch, a steward who gives God's servants their rations at the proper time. Like his master, the pastor of the local church has no stately form or majesty that we should look upon him, nor appearance that we should be attracted to him. For these reasons and many more unmentioned, it is not difficult to see why the young and immature will be enamored with the conferences, YouTube speakers, and the great authors and musicians of our day. But the discerning eye will see the wisdom and power of God in the local congregation and in the men who faithfully serve there. We should praise God for Bible conferences and the helpful preachers who are often used so mightily in them. We should also praise God for the internet and the bountiful supply of good preaching that can be found there. However, these things should never compete with our devotion to the local church and the pastors who care for our souls. Jesus' admonition to the undiscerning crowd is applicable to us. Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment. A great theologian was once asked, who is the greatest preacher alive today? He responded, whoever he is, you don't know him. Another preacher, asked him to be a friend of mine, he said this, some of the greatest sermons that have ever been preached were preached to only five or six people. It is a truth well known among the mature that God often hides his best men and his best works from a greater audience. Why would God plant the most beautiful rose he has ever created in a forest through which no man or angel will ever walk? How can he receive glory from something that is so hidden? The answer, he receives glory because it is not hidden from him and he looks upon it with great delight. It is interesting that with regard to our participation in meetings outside of the local church, in the Scriptures, we have no commands. But with regard to the local church, we have a sound and certain command. Hebrews 10, 24, 25. Young people, this is a command. Let us consider how to stimulate one another to good deeds. Let us not forsake our own assembling together as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another and all the more as you see the day drawing near. And this is not talking about getting together in a coffee shop. It's talking about getting together in a true local church with true biblical leadership. This text is proof positive that if we are not committed to a local congregation of believers, we are not walking in the will of God. And the key word here is commitment. The command is not fulfilled by mere attendance, but by our active participation in the growth and sanctification of the body. We should never think that we are doing God's will. We should never think that we are doing God's will simply because we attend a church with sound theology and expository preaching and are frequently involved in theological conversations with our peers. We are committed to the local church when we are actually ministering in the church under the direction of the elders and for the sake of the least of Christ's brethren. even those who do not share our interest in high theological dialogue, but are simply struggling to make it down the road to Zion. If we do not love the most broken, needy, and theologically inept brethren in the local church, then our love for the church and for Christ himself is in question. If you are young and reformed, I would plead with you to start your journey into truth and Christ-likeness within the context of the local church and under the care of a pastor or pastors whose lives are worthy of imitation, who preach the truth, and who truly care for your soul. I would also plead with you to understand that your theology is only as good as your piety and your love for the local church manifested in acts of self-denial and service to the least of Christ's brethren. The church, the church. Now let's look at our text. 1 Timothy 3, verse 14. Paul writes to Timothy, I'm writing these things to you, hoping to come to you before long. But in case I am delayed, I write so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth. By common confession, great is the mystery of godliness. He who was revealed in the flesh was vindicated in the spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up to glory. Let's pray. Father, I ask in weakness that you would give help, great help. Lord, I did not come here to hear myself speak. or even to put forth a sermon worthy of imitation, but that you would speak to your people and help them. And Lord God, that they would know they have been helped. In Jesus' name, Amen. We're going to look at three things if we had time. The owner of the church, that's God. The character and purpose of the church, it is the pillar and support of the truth. And then finally, the rule of the church, Scripture. Only one rule, only one guidebook, Scripture. Now, the owner of the church, look what Paul says here in verse 15, but in case I am delayed. I write to you so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God. Paul is being very Hebrew here. He is piling one term upon another to convince you of a most important truth. God is the owner of the church. It is his church. It is not your church. It is not my church. It is God's church. Now, you and I, as ministers, are in constant need of hearing this. Even the most sincere, humble, and godly minister in the local church is in need of hearing this constantly, that it's God's church. Listen to what Paul says to the elders in Ephesus in Acts 20, 28. He says, be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers to shepherd the church of God, which he purchased with his own blood. The people, to whom do they belong? They belong to God by right of creation. We see that in the introduction to the law in Exodus chapter 20. He is the Lord God. And then he goes on, who redeemed you from the house of slavery. So the people in your congregation, that congregation, those people, they belong to God by right of creation and they belong to God by right of redemption through the blood of his son, God incarnate. And what are you if you are a minister? What am I if I am a minister? It says here, I am an overseer. I am a shepherd, a servant leader to feed, guard, and protect. I am not to be clever. I can't even find where I'm called to be a great leader, all this nonsense about leadership. I am called to be biblical. and to lead God's church only according to what is written. All this nonsense today. Somebody goes out in some denomination and in a few years creates a mega church and then writes a book on how he did it. If you had any discernment at all, you would know that is wrong. It's wrong because what that man is doing is building his own kingdom on the bones of unconverted church members. We don't need to hear from clever men. We need to hear from the inspired Scriptures. Now, look here. It says, the household of God, the oikos. That word is used earlier in the same chapter when it talks about an elder must manage his own oikos well. It's not talking about a house or building. It's talking about the people under his care, his wife, his children. There's an idea here that every time I read this passage, I keep getting this Hebrew name thrown up at me, Adon, Adon. He's the master of the house. When it says that this is the household of God, first of all, it reveals that there is only one Lord, one master. There is only one head to the church, to that local church, and it is Jesus Christ. It's his house and his rules. Now, I'm somewhat hospitable. I like having people over if they can bear with my wild family and all the wild things we do. Love to have people over. Try to be extremely polite. But if you walk into my house and you start directing my wife, and you start ordering my children, and you start moving things around, listen very carefully. There is a sense in which I will, in the old-fashioned use of the term, I will despise you. I will say to you, who do you think that you are coming into my house? This is my house. Do you see that? Let me give you an example. Several years ago, there was a very wealthy, wealthy business person, owned a huge media corporation. And this person one day heard a preacher, a Christian preacher, or so he identified with Christianity, say that God was a jealous God. And because of that, this very wealthy and prosperous and brilliant business person decided that, no, I do not want the God of Christianity at all. If he's God, how can he be reduced so low as to be jealous? How could he be so petty? This person doesn't realize what they're saying. Now, this person that I'm describing is brilliant, has built an empire, and has worked very, very, very hard. Now, imagine that one day, a brand new employee, it's his first day at work, he walks into the central office, and all of a sudden, he takes over. And this business magnate walks out of the office and goes, who are you? You didn't build this. You weren't even here when I started. This is your first day. How dare you be so audacious, arrogant, that you would come in here and think that you could run this company by your rules? That's exactly what's happening when pastors and ministers of Christ are not running the church according to sola scriptura, what is written, but according to their own clever plans or the clever plans of some successful man in their denomination who happened to build a church by not doing the Word of God. Let me give you another illustration. This name, household of God, also denotes the intimacy that God has with the church, his love for the church. It shows him to be a husband to a bride and a father to children. That's what we see in this. Now, I have a wife, and she is beautiful. And I love her very much. And I have children, and I love them. Very, very much. You see, there were times my wife would go with me anywhere when we were missionaries in South America. I mean, she'd walk into danger, no problem. But there were times when I would go into certain military zones where I knew they're gonna pull me off the bus, they're gonna rough me up a little bit, they're gonna push me around, they're gonna try to show their authority. And when they do that to me, that's fine. Been there, done that, got the T-shirt. That doesn't bother me a bit. But if one of them, laid one finger upon my wife. Well, that's quite another story, isn't it? I want you to think about this, pastors. Think about this. There was a great king who loved his bride. Oh, he loved her. And he always dressed her. in the simplest yet most elegant white linen. She needed no audacious colors on her face. She needed no wild hairdos. She was beautiful, simple, elegant, pure, godly, beautiful. And one day this king goes on a long journey and he calls you as a steward. He says, I'm going to entrust my bride to you. I'm going to be going. I've laid out for you in a book every rule I want you to maintain. I want nothing changed, nothing changed. Stuart, you be faithful to carry out this book. Well, the king goes, and he's been away a long, long time. And all of a sudden, the steward begins to realize that the people in the kingdom, they're losing interest in the king because they're losing interest in the bride. She's too simple, too prudish, rather boring. She's out of step with the times. And so this steward thinks in his mind, aha, I've got it figured out. He calls her in. He takes off her white, elegant, godly dress and dresses her in something far more attractive to carnal men. Paints her face and then parades her up and down the street. And by doing so, draws all the carnal, wicked men back into fellowship, supposedly, with the king. That's exactly what countless pastors in America are doing today. They have taken the simplicity of the bride of Christ, her magnificent beauty, her purity, her holiness, and they have tore it from her and they dress her up and parade her in front of carnal men that they will be attracted to somehow come back to God. Let me tell you something. On the Day of Judgment, don't worry about the atheist. Don't fear for the prostitute. or the murderer. You wanna fear for somebody on the day of judgment? You fear for a large number of evangelical pastors who have departed from the word of God and are parading the church in a dress, a garb that God never intended her to wear. Many times I pray, Lord, increase Your fear in me. Increase your fear in me. You should be afraid to touch my wife. Terribly afraid. Oh, but how much more afraid should you be to touch the bride of Christ and do anything with her that is not found in this book? We are to be like the faithful Haggai. Remember him? He was put over Esther. And what was his purpose? Was he to make her presentable to the nation? Was he to work with her and dress her and do all sorts of things with her that she might be pleasing to the people of the kingdom? Absolutely not. He had one task, make her pleasing to the king. Listen to what Paul says in 2 Corinthians 11, 2. For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy, for I betrothed you to one husband, so that to Christ I might present you as a pure virgin. Now look what else it says, pastor, minister. It's called the church of the living God. Whenever this kind of language is used, it adds a great deal of Old Testament solemnity. to the matter. Listen to what Jeremiah says in Jeremiah 10.10, the church belongs to the true God. He is the living God and the everlasting King. At his wrath, the earth quakes and the nations cannot endure his indignation. He is not to be taunted or reproached, as Goliath and Sennacherib learned pretty quickly. and his commands for his church are not to be ignored and replaced with the clever ideas of men as Nadab and Abihu and Gurusa learned in a costly, costly manner. Now, I want you to see here something. When it says the Church of the Living God, the name draws a contrast between the church and all the pagan temples that were in Ephesus. Now, here's what you need to see. Here's the idea. Whenever we see in the Old Testament the living God, it's usually a challenge. He's usually stepping out with his armor on, ready to fight. And what is he ready to fight? False gods and idols. That's why we hear, living gods. Why is Paul using this in Ephesus? Because he's saying this. In the context of sola scriptura, in the context of exalting the scriptures as the only means to care for the church, he says this, those temples in Ephesus, those pagan temples, those gods that are there are the inventions of men. Therefore, men can invent ways to worship them and serve them. Men invented the God, men can just figure out how they ought to be worshiped and served. But that's not the case in Christianity. In Christianity, God is not our invention. We are His creation and the work of His redemption. He is the real, true, and living God, not an invention. And therefore, as a pastor, you have no right to think up clever ways in your church that he can be worshiped and served. You only have the right to do what is written as a steward. That is all. And why am I saying it this way? Brothers, a good, healthy dose of the fear of God in the pastorate would revolutionize the church in America. fear him, to fear him. Now, he goes on, the character of the church, it is the pillar and support of the truth. I want to quote D. Edmund Hebert here. And just as a side note, if you're a pastor preacher, buy every book of D. Edmund Hebert, every commentary. He is such a blessing. This is what he says. He goes, when it says the pillar in support of the truth, this reminds us that the church holds up and supports the truth before the world and maintains the truth in opposition to all attacks upon it. Calvin says this, she is called the pillar of truth because the office of administering doctrine which God hath placed in her hands is the only instrument of preserving the truth in the world that it may not perish from the remembrance of men. Let me quote a text from Psalms 113. If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do? What is the task of the church? She has been entrusted with a mystery, the mystery of the gospel and all the truths of the full counsel of God that are necessary in order to understand that gospel and to actually live it out. Christianity is a truth religion. Why are so many pastors laying aside the truth? and becoming entertainers, laying inside the truth and expecting to draw a crowd because they wear skinny jeans, bold glasses, and they got tattoos all over their body. Unless you've been in special forces, don't get a tattoo or a biker gang. You don't need Jesus written on your arm. You need the law of God written on your heart. The church has been entrusted with the truth of God, with His greatest revelations. Therefore, she does not bend to the whims and desires of ever-changing fallen men and their ever-changing cultures. Something I've written here I'd like to read. This is one of the things which frightens me most about the contemporary Reformed movement. It seems that many are not presenting the church to the world as the pillar in support of the truth, but as intellectual, cultural, and cool. In such cases, the scandal of the gospel is lost, freedom becomes licentiousness, and much time is wasted trying to convince the world that we are not as ignorant, unsophisticated, and unhip as it thinks we are. In the end, the world is not convinced and we just look silly. Brothers, have you studied history? If I were to put in a nutshell the difference between the Reformation and apostate Roman Catholicism, notice I don't say Roman Catholic Church. I don't believe it ever was a church. But if I were to draw a distinction, this is what you would see. Roman Catholicism didn't care about the truth at all. it would go into a culture and, like a whore, would paint its face any way it had to paint its face in order to attract that culture. If it mean adapting some pagan god or some pagan ritual, do whatever it had to do to reach the people. The Reformation comes along and says, no, sola scriptura. We will not, we will not build the church according to the changing whims of an ungodly culture. We will change that ungodly culture by the power of the immutable gospel. Now, you say, amen, but look at what's being done in evangelicalism. Just open your eyes and look at what's being done. Even the so-called conservatives and evangelicals, look what's being done. Find out about the culture. Find out about the culture. Find out about the culture. Do everything you can. Look, stop worrying about the culture. Find out about God. Find out about Scripture. Find out what God says in the Bible and just do it. Do what He says and stop. You know what it's like? It's a bunch of little boys playing army. Because it's a lot easier to get a tattoo on your arm, it's a lot easier to look cool, it's a lot easier to open up a coffee shop than it is to fast for two weeks till the power of God falls down on a place. Or study Scripture eight hours a day until you think your brain is going to melt. But that's what men of God do. That's why we're called men of God. We love people, but we know the best way to help people is to spend most of our time with God so that when we walk out among the people, we have something to say to them. Thus saith the Lord, not the latest poll says this. Now, the rule of the church. Oh, brothers, brothers, brothers, I tell you, I'm here to preach. And it is embarrassing, honestly. Last week, I was out with Dr. MacArthur. Do you know how embarrassing it is? I have a bachelor's degree from the University of Texas. PhD where I'm from meets posthole digger. Sometimes I sit around and even at this conference, like D.A. Carson's there and all these people, and the only thing I can think of is, well, I can skin a deer faster than these guys. I am not the sharpest crayon in the box. But look, brothers, look how easy it is. Look at verse 14. I am writing these things to you, hoping to come to you before long. But in case I am delayed, what does he do? I write. I write so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God. How do you know what to do in the church? Only through what is written. Sometimes I've been asked to teach music ministers. I don't play an instrument and I can't sing. But here's one of the things that I've done that they've said is most helpful to them. I've said this, in your study of worship, you know, when you began in Genesis and read all the way through the scriptures to the book of Revelation and then put every text together and developed your theology of worship, what did God show you? And they go, I didn't do that. I said, you know, God killed two worship leaders in Leviticus 10. When you read his words, do you fear him? Prayer can sometimes be one of the most joyful things in the world. Reading the word can sometimes be so joyful. Prayer also can be like kneeling three feet away from an F5 tornado. Do you not know this God? He is to be respected. You are a steward. He did not ask your opinion in one matter. He only told you, go to what is written and do that. And I can assure you there's enough commands in the Scripture so that if you do them, you won't have time to do all this other foolishness. Brothers, you have read, haven't you, 1 Corinthians 3? Look there for just a moment. Let me read. Verse 12, now if a man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man's work will become evident, for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man's work. If any man's work which he has built on it remains, he will receive reward. If any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire. Brothers, how can you know that your 30 years of ministry is not going to be burned up like chaff? Only if in those 30 years of ministry, you have only done what God has commanded you to do in the written Word of God as a steward. Throughout...oh, look at 1 Timothy 4. Look at verse 16, pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching, persevere in these things. For as you do this, you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you. This is not only about Paul Washer preaching the gospel so that people will be saved. This is about Paul Washer submitting to the truth to know that he is in this realm of salvation, that he is actually being saved. Oh, dear brothers, dear brothers. Now, throughout much of history, there has been this debate between what's called the regulative principle and the normative principle. The regulative principle says that those elements that are instituted by command or example or which can be rationally deduced from Scripture are permissible in worship. And when it says worship, it doesn't just mean music. It means in the life of the church. Now, the normative principle teaches that whatever is not prohibited in Scripture is permitted in worship as long as it contributes to the peace and unity of the church. Now, I am not here to debate the virtues and vices of these two things, but in light of 1 Timothy 3 and in light of 1 Corinthians 3, it should be clear to all of us that the more we lash ourselves down to the regulative principle, the more, the more that we only do sola scriptura, that we only do what He commands us to do, the more confidence we can have that on the day of judgment, our works will remain. And the more that we move towards the normative principle, the more that we get creative, the less confidence we can have And we quite possibly will open up a Pandora's box that will bring many harmful things to the church. Now, I want to say something else. I want to talk about Sola Scriptura, the Reformation, and us. The foundation stone of the Reformation was not a Calvinistic soteriology. Now, I'm going to say something, and some of you Calvinists, just put your stones away. Here's what you need to understand. The bedrock of the Reformation was Sola Scriptura. Believing everything that it says and seeking to conform every aspect of doctrine and practice in every area of life to what is written. If we follow that definition, guess what? There's some Arminians out there that are more Reformed than you guys. Now, why do I say that? Most people come to understand the Reformation or are introduced to the Reformation because they first hear about the doctrines of grace or Calvinism. That's how most of us started studying the Reformation. Now, here's the problem. We begin to think that just because we have a Calvinistic Soteriology, that we're sons and daughters of the Reformation, and that's simply not true. To be a son or daughter of the Reformation is to lash yourself down to Scripture, to limit yourself to Scripture, and to seek to apply everything that is written in this book to your life and ministry. To your life and your ministry. Brothers, this was the genius of the Reformers. This was the genius of the Puritans. I don't always agree with the Reformers. The Reformers didn't always agree with the Reformers. I don't always agree with the Puritans, even though those two groups are my favorites. But here was their genius. They were men who decided they would not go beyond Scripture. that they would seek to find out what this book is saying and submit every aspect of their life to it. Now, let me give you some hard questions. Are we reformed in our gospel? Are we? I've seen many guys who have all kinds of reformed books in their library, and yet when they go to deal with a soul, I mean, it's four spiritual laws all the way. It doesn't matter what's on your shelf. What matters is what's in your heart and what's in your practice. Does your gospel emphasize the character of God, the holy and righteous character of God? Does it emphasize the radical depravity and sinfulness of man? Does it make much of the atonement that the atonement solves the great dilemma? How can God be just and yet justify wicked men? There's only one way. He must satisfy the demands of his offended justice, and he does so through the death of his son, Jesus Christ. Your gospel, what kind of gospel call do you give? I see that hand. Is that what you do? Or do you deal with souls painstakingly, sometimes for weeks, sometimes for months, sometimes in the night watch? You can't sleep because there's a soul under great conviction and you're praying for them. Assurance. Do you just tell people, well, you prayed that prayer and so now you're saved? Or do you lead them into true biblical assurance? Do you give them gospel warnings? Do you preach a biblical gospel? Let's go on. Are we reformed in our devotion, our prayer, and our study of the Scriptures? Would the consistency and diligence of John Calvin, Jonathan Edwards, and J.C. Ryle be seen in our study in our libraries at home? Then let's just look at Goodwin's instruction on prayer. and the life of David Brainerd and Robert Murray McShane. Have they influenced you so that not only are you convicted by their lives, but you're seeking maybe in the smallest steps, but you're seeking to imitate them. It's so easy to have the theology of the reformers and not have anything else. Our character, our character. Do we study the law? Do we delight in it? Do we meditate upon the Beatitudes, the fruit of the Spirit, the life of Christ? Do we seek to imitate Him? Do we live a life of brokenness and yet at the same time, joy? You know, the Puritans weren't called Puritans for nothing. Is moral purity an intense concern of yours? Or do you watch things you should not watch? Have you gone through the Scriptures to find the things that God hates? and to repel them from your lives? Have you gone into Scripture to find the things that God loves and do you cling to them? Our homes, are our homes reformed? Are we discipling? Are we washing our wives in the word? Are we discipling our children, maybe catechizing them, at least family devotions consistently, purposefully? Are we doing that? The reformers did. Matthew Henry did, Philip Henry. You need to understand that John Calvin and Luther were not only hated because of their doctrine of soteriology, they were hated because of their doctrine of marriage and family. Let me give you an example. If I walked into your church and I said this, how many, and all your men were there, and I said, how many of you men are purposefully, consistently, intentionally discipling your wives and your children? Would it not be true in the typical evangelical church or even reformed church that we'd have men look at each other and go, And it wouldn't even really brush up against them. But then if I said this, well, since we're not doing that, then starting now, I'm canceling all the women's groups, all the children's groups, children church, youth groups, college groups, I'm canceling it all. What would the men do? They would rise up and start screaming, crucify him, crucify him. And you know what I would tell them? You hypocrites, you annul the commandments of God for the sake of your traditions. I am not against all those kinds of groups, not at all. Whatever the church can do to help in discipleship, I'm all in favor of it. Don't get me wrong. But let me tell you something. In most churches, what it is, is the church is doing something in order to give all the men in the church the excuse for not obeying God. Now, realize again what I'm saying. I'm not one of these people that says, throw this out, throw that. No! But know this, there's no command, direct command in Scripture for the church to be doing that to your children. But there are all kinds of commands in the Old Testament and the New Testament that you, sir, are to do that for your children. You see how quickly we can think we're biblical, but in actuality, we are in direct obedience against clear commands of Scripture. We go on the pastoral ministry. Brothers, how many times, how many times in all these denominations. A man, I mean, come on. This guy figures out a way to, I mean, leadership. He is all about leadership. I mean, he is a magnificent, charismatic leader and an organizer. And through all that, he has grown a church to 10,000, 15,000 people. And guess what happens? His denomination comes to him and has him write a book. And then that book, is promoted so that everyone else starts getting on the bandwagon. If you're not on the bandwagon, brothers, you don't grow a church by imitating a charismatic leader. You grow a church, you manage a church, you minister to a church by doing what God says, whether anyone applauds you or not. Baxter's reformed pastor, have we read it? Has it had any impact on our lives? Bridges, Charles Bridges, treatise on the Christian ministry. Would we agree with the apostles who said, but we will devote ourselves to prayer and the ministry of the word? The ministry of the word. And notice prayer is actually mentioned first. What's our primary obligation? Devote ourselves to prayer? and the ministry of the word, that's when you take the gates of hell by the latches and begin to pull. If your ministry and your success and everything else is based on something more than your devotion to prayer and the word of God, then the devil laughs at you as a little boy playing army. our churches. Brothers, ecclesiology, ecclesiology, it is the missing, it's missing everywhere. It's missing everywhere. And again, I would like to look at each one of you in the eyes and hold you by your shoulders and pull you close in and say, do you realize you're only supposed to be guided by what is written? Do you see that now? We're not to do what is right in our own eyes. We're not to do what the world wants. We're not to send out questionnaires to see what type of church would you attend, unless you're going to send that questionnaire to God and you don't need to because he already wrote a book about it. It's called the Bible. And our missionary endeavors, oh, brother, you talk about a need for sola scriptura, brothers. I think if we took 75% of all the missionary activity that's come out of the United States and we brought it all back here and then put it on an island with no people, we would advance the kingdom of heaven. Now, I'm not being smart-alecky. I'm just talking. It's true. We do not do missions our way. What is missions? You know how you plant a church? The same way you pastor one. You study the Word of God, you pray, you do the work of an evangelist, and when people start getting saved, you disciple them through the pulpit and personal ministry, and then 2 Timothy 2, 2, you start training up leaders. And as God increases leadership so that you have men of 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 character, some of those men are going to go out as missionaries, that you will only send them out. If they meet the qualifications of an elder and can actually be an elder in your church, if you send out anybody else, you're just wrong. And you lay your hands on that person with fear and trembling, knowing that every sin that he commits out on the field, you're participating in. And you watch over that missionary, and that missionary goes out, and what does he do? The same thing you do. He prays, studies the Word, he preaches. and he disciples and he trains up elders and starts the process all over again. But no one wants to do that. Because if we did, it'd shut down most of the PhD programs and missions. It's too busy doing other things that really don't mount to a hill of beans. That's why we got a bunch of people walking around China, 20-year-old American boys with Teva sandals and really cool backpacks. And what would Jesus do? Bracelets on their arm. They've never been in a biblical church and they wouldn't know how to start one. And they have no authority to do so because they were not sent out through a local church. Because listen to me, as my pastor says over and over, missions is not primarily the work of the local church. It's exclusively the work of the local church. to be guided by elders and not missionary experts. Are we reformed? I want to read to conclude. I've gone over. This will take about a minute. Christ's ministers are not primarily charismatic figures, movers and shakers, or inventors of clever ideas. They are stewards who do only what their master has commanded them and afterwards declare, we are unworthy slaves. We have done only that which we ought to have done. They are men of God watching daily at his gates and waiting at his doorpost. They live to know God and make him known through the proclamation of the word in the street, the house, the pulpit and the counselor's chair, like Ezra. They have set their heart to study the law of God and to practice it and to teach its statutes and ordinances in Israel. Like Levi, they revere God and stand in awe of His name. True instruction is in their mouth and unrighteousness is not found on their lips. They walk with Him in peace and uprightness and turn many back from iniquity. Their lips preserve knowledge and men seek instruction from their mouth for they are indeed messengers of the Lord of hosts. They are followers or imitators of God in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity, showing themselves to be examples of those who believe. They are leaders who seek to guide the church into the very center of God's will, using only the means that God has given them to do so. What is written. When these things become our stock and trade, then we will truly be sons of the Reformation and heirs of the legacy of sola scriptura. God bless you.