Welcome, everyone. Welcome to the delegates. Glad to see that you men have made it safely and arrived here in sunny California. We're thankful to have some nice weather for you over these next couple days. Welcome also to the members of the congregation who were able to make it this afternoon, and hopefully more can come this evening. I'd like to begin by singing from psalter number 223. This is an office bearers conference, and part of it has to do with the government of the church, and thus we sing this versification of Psalm 82 in connection with that, though it's entitled Responsibility of Civil Officers. We recognize that the Old Testament civil officers point us to the office bearers of the church of Christ. So let's sing the three stanzas, all three of number 223. When foolish preachers gather, The unseen God is near. When rulers fear their rulers, Their judgment judges fear. ♪ To justice for the helpless ♪ ♪ Be your faith's cause we believe ♪ when judges do forsake. The more their stones are plowed, the more their foundation of our God. The need to make us lesser, for we, like men, must die. The rights of our Eternal God that are law-be-given. Let's open with prayer. Our Father which art in heaven, we confess that Thou art the Sovereign over the universe. And that Thou hast given to Thy Son, Jesus Christ, all glory, might, and dominion. For He first humbled Himself, came into this world, and was obedient even unto the death of the cross. But having accomplished our salvation, Thou hast exalted Him. Thou hast raised Him up from the dead and made Him to sit at Thine own right hand, making Him King over everything. And thus our confession In this prayer is that Jesus Christ is the King of kings and the Lord of lords who rules over all things with absolute might and perfect control. And thus, we look to Jesus Christ as a church, as His body, as His bride. We look to Christ as the one who gathers, defends, and preserves His church throughout the whole history of this world. And it's with this in mind that we pray that Thou will grant Thy blessing upon our churches. We pray that Thou will bless the individual congregations that are represented here today with office bearers coming from different congregations throughout Classus West. We pray that Thou will continue to care for each one of our congregations, those visible manifestations of the overall body of Christ. We pray, too, for our denomination of churches and ask that Thou will continue to guide us and sustain us. Especially in that we've gone through many difficulties as a denomination. Truly, we have had to pass through the waters and walk in the midst of fires in recent months and especially in the year that has now passed. And we pray that Thou will continue to grant us healing. But more importantly, we pray, make us faithful unto Thee and to Thy Word. Keep us from ever departing, O Lord. May we remain committed to the truths of the Reformed faith as they are summarized in our Reformed confessions. And now, Heavenly Fathers, as we gather together on this afternoon, we give Thee thanks for this opportunity to enjoy the communion of the saints as we gather here in the sanctuary to hear speeches on various topics concerning the church. May these be edifying for us who are in attendance. And to that end, bless the four speakers. Give them grace as they Seek to explain the truths of thy word with regard to the church of Jesus Christ. Bless also our fellowship. We're thankful for this opportunity to come together, for even the fellowship over lunch and the opportunities to meet new people, to reacquaint ourselves with old friends and family. And we pray that thou will continue to grant thy blessing upon that aspect of this conference. Father, forgive all that we've said and done in sin, keep us from sin in this afternoon, and hear this prayer for Christ's sake alone, amen. First, I'd like to give a brief overview of the conference, considering the fact that we are an isolated congregation here in Redlands. Our council decided if that, since men are going to pay the expense to come all this way here, it'd be good to make it more worth our while for everyone to come. So we decided to have a conference. And rather than choosing a theme first, really what we did is we came up with different topics that we thought would be worthwhile. And in looking at those topics, we We quickly saw that most of the ones we had in mind all fit under the broad heading of the church of Jesus Christ. So that's the unifying theme that brings all these speeches together. But you will notice there's really two halves to this conference. Because the first two speeches this afternoon session concern really the government of the church. How Christ would have his church to be run. We want to look especially at the various principles of a reformed or Presbyterian form of church government. The other speeches concern the sinfulness of the church of Christ. As a church, we are indeed sinful, but that raises the question, what does that make us? How are we to view the church in light of her sinfulness? And that's what Rev. Ron Hanco will address tonight. But then in addition, exactly because as a church we are sinful and sometimes go astray, God in His faithfulness to us chastens us. And so the question becomes what then is the proper response of the church, of the believers, of the office bearers to that chastening? And that's what Rev. Jonathan Langerak will address tonight. So this afternoon we consider especially the government of the church. And that connection I'd like to read from Ephesians 6. I have the privilege of speaking first simply because, excuse me, Acts 6, by the way. I have the privilege of speaking first simply because from a logical standpoint of view, this topic comes first. So, Acts 6. And I'd like to read the first seven verses. We read this passage in connection with this first speech which discusses the relationship between the office of believer and the special office bearers of the church. And this passage is foundational for a proper understanding. Acts 6, the first seven verses. In those days when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration. Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them and said, It is not reason that we should leave the word of God and serve tables. Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. But we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word. and the same pleased the whole multitude. And they chose Stephan, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicholas, a proselyte of Antioch, whom they set before the apostles. And when they had prayed, they laid their hands on them. And the word of God increased, And the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly, and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith. The overarching purpose of these first two speeches is to set forth the basic principles of a reformed or Presbyterian church government. And the first and most important principle is that Christ is the only head who rules over His church by His Spirit and Word. Christ rules the church. This was prophesied Back in the days of Isaiah, who foretold that his name would be Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. In that connection, we recognize that Jesus Christ is the promised Son of David who establishes an everlasting kingdom who sits upon an eternal throne. And thus, even before Jesus Christ ascended up into heaven, He was able to tell His disciples, all power, that is, all authority has been given to Me. Christ is King of His church and He rules His church by His Spirit and His Word. It's on the basis of Scripture, therefore, that our Belgic Confession teaches, for example, in article 31, that Christ is the only universal Bishop and head of His church. It's on the basis of Scripture that our Heidelberg Catechism in Lords Day 21 teaches us that it's the Son of Man who gathers, defends, and preserves His church unto Himself. So principle number one, Christ is the head of His church who rules His church. But Christ is in heaven. He is sitting at God's right hand, which is to say when he ascended up into heaven, he left this physical earth. He's no longer corporeally present here on this earth and among his people in a physical way. And so the question becomes then, how does Christ carry out that rule? How does he exercise his reign? over His church while He's in heaven. And the answer is that He does so in and through men. That is, He takes His authority that's been granted to Him from the Father, and He now invests it in His own blood-bought, Spirit-filled people. He gives them the right to rule on His behalf. That is, He gives to them authority in the sense of the ability to make decisions, to establish laws, to enforce obedience to those laws. But the question becomes, to whom does He give that authority? And that's the central question that we need to consider in this afternoon. Christ is king of the church. He gives authority to the church to rule on his behalf. But the question is, does he give that to the special office bearers in the church, or does he give it to all those who occupy the office of believer? To put the question differently, as it's been put in the past, what is the primary receptacle of that authority that Christ gives to his church. To put it still differently, whom does he make to be the subject of the government of the church? That's the question in front of us, and hopefully you recognize that in facing that question, we're ultimately asking the question, what is the relationship between the special office bearers, ministers, elders, and deacons, on the one hand, and the believers in the church who occupy the office of believer. And this is an important question exactly because how one answers this question really drives and dictates one's whole view of church government. And this is indeed a question that's been wrestled with throughout the history of the church. And the goal of this first speech is to provide what I believe to be the proper middle ground that answers that question. A biblical viewpoint concerning that relationship. And in order to get at that proper biblical view that represents the middle ground, we're going to slowly zero in on that view so that we're going to start by looking at the two extreme answers that are on either side of the spectrum. That it's all the special office bearers or that it's all the members of the church. From there, we'll come more toward middle and look at two views that approximate the middle position, but yet I believe still lean too far one direction or the other. And then having considered all those views, hopefully the proper biblical view will come clearly into focus so that the bulk of the speech is really shaped like a funnel as we wind our way down to that view. Once we've arrived at it, we also want to draw various implications and applications out of it so that not just a funnel, this speech is shaped more like an hourglass where we'll come to that middle viewpoint and then make application to both the members as well as to the special office bearers. So the title of my speech this afternoon is A Delicate Balance The Relationship Between the Office of a Believer and the Special Offices in the Church of Christ. We want to start by looking at those two extreme views that answer the question, to whom does Christ give authority? And the extreme view on the one hand is that Christ gives this authority only to the office bearers of the church. That is, the community of believers, they have no role, they have no function, they have no place in the government of the church of Christ. but it's only those who are appointed to the special offices. And I trust you all recognize this is the viewpoint of the Roman Catholic Church, which has the Pope on top of a hierarchy, which really identifies the church with the clergy and gives no place to the members of the congregations. It's also worth noting that not only is this the view of the Roman Catholic Church, this view is very prevalent in modern evangelical churches. Many churches have a minister who really functions like the CEO of a company. He's the one who calls all the shots. But this view is unbiblical because it fails to recognize that all of God's people occupy the office of believer. That's a part of our Reformed heritage. Lord's Day 12 of the Heidelberg Catechism teaches us that as those who are united to Christ, we are partakers of his anointing, and because he is our prophet, priest, and king, he's been anointed into that threefold office, we too are now made to be prophets, priests, and kings. We occupy an office, the office of believer. I trust this audience also recognizes this was an important part of the reformation of the church back in the 16th century. The recovery of this truth over against the wrong view of church government that was found in the Roman Catholic Church. So that on the one hand, is the extreme view that gives all authority only to the office bearers. On the other far end of the spectrum, is the view that says Christ gives it to the members as a whole, to the exclusion of the office bearers. That is according to this view, the church is really to be run like a democracy. That the church as a whole is to make all the different decisions that come up. The church as a whole is to make judgments on whatever comes their way and to establish all the rules. And insofar as they do have office bearers, Those men really derive all of their authority from the body of believers. These men are really organs or instruments who function on behalf of the church as a whole. In many ways, they're viewed simply as a matter of convenience. We need somebody to go about the day-to-day affairs, so we'll give some authority to the office bearers. And this is the view of church government that we would call independentism. This is the view that's prevalent, for example, in Baptist churches as well as other evangelical churches. But this view also fails and that it does not recognize the real, genuine authority that Christ gives to the special office bearers of the church. This view is in conflict with such passages of Scripture as Hebrews 13, verse 17, for example. Obey them that have the rule over you and submit yourselves. Likewise, we read in 1 Thessalonians 5 verses 12 and 13, Paul says, and to esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake." Without going in depth into what these passages are teaching, they do clearly teach us that there are some who are in a position of authority and others who are not. There are some who are placed over the members of the congregation and there are those who are under those special office bearers. And I say again, this view that says Christ gives the authority to the community of believers and not to the special office bearers is contrary to these passages of Scripture. So those are the two extreme views. But now before we move on to those that come closer to middle, it's worth stepping back and looking at what these two extreme views share in common and how they therefore both pose a threat to us. What they share in common is that in the end, they really take the authority of Christ and transfer it entirely to men. Now that's a strong statement to make. But I would need evidence to convince me that it's a caricature. Because when you look at the Roman Catholic Church, or many modern evangelical churches, or if you look at those who are governed, who have their church governed by a sort of democracy, the reality is that what ends up happening is that more and more the church is governed by man's own desires, man's own opinion, and little regard is paid to what Christ Himself tells us in His Word. Christ rules by His Word. He tells us how His church is to be governed. And often what happens with these extreme views is the Word of Christ is set aside And in the end, all that authority that is really Christ's is transferred to men. And the only difference being whether that authority is all concentrated in one man, or whether that authority is spread out among the body of believers. So that's what they have in common. And that leads us to how they both pose a threat for us. In that every one of us, according to our old men of sin, wants to be in charge. As one Dutch forefather evidently commonly said, quote, each man's heart shelters a pope. End quote. Every one of us by nature loves to have the preeminence so that if we are in the special offices, Our sinful desire is that we want greater power, more authority. We want to hold greater sway over the church. And if we're not in a special office bearer, we think we ought to be. I should be the one in charge instead. Because in the end, that's what we want. We want to be the ones who have the say in the church of Jesus Christ. So it'll always be the case that within the church, even if the church has a proper biblical and reform view of church government, there are gonna be some who wanna give too much authority to the special office bearers, and there are gonna be others who wanna give too much authority to the members of the church. That means it's important to recognize that when Christ gives this authority to the church, he does so in such a way that he never relinquishes it. He never fully lets go. But He remains the sovereign head and ruler of His church. And what is more, we see the wisdom of Jesus Christ. That He does not give absolute authority to either of the two groups. It would be ruinous if He did. If Christ gave absolute authority to only the special office bearers, then we would all develop very quickly the notions That we're on par with Christ. That we are vicars of Christ. Hierarchy would ensue. And the reality is that the church would come to look like a dictatorial regime. So Christ did not give absolute authority to the office bearers. But nor does He give absolute authority to the members of the church because if He did so, in the end, the church would simply be governed by popular opinion. Or as one The Dutch forefather put it, the church, if Christ had done this then, quote, the demon of the sovereignty of the people would have slain its thousands, end quote. So instead of giving absolute authority to either the special office bearers or to the community of believers, Christ gives it to both. And that's where we start to come to the middle. But now even though we can say the middle view is one that recognizes a place, a function and role for both, there's still a question of what exactly does that look like? What more specifically is that relationship between the special office bearers and the office of all believer? And so here we come to the two views that come close to middle, but I believe lean too far one direction or the other. On the one hand, there's a view that does not do full justice to the office of believer and the place that he or she has in the church of Jesus Christ. That view is set forth especially in this book. We'll have a book for each of the two middle positions and then the third, the middle position. This book, The Divine Right of Church Government by Sundry Ministers of Christ within the City of London. That's going to be our representative view on the one hand. And this view, this book certainly comes close to middle in that The reality is, even though I'm going to gently criticize this book, the reality is this book is an excellent defense of the system of church government that we hold to, namely a Presbyterian form of church government. And this book certainly does not take an extreme view. This book is opposed to all of the abuses of the Roman Catholic Church with regard to how the church is governed. But in the end, I believe it still leans too far in that direction of giving it to this authority only to the special office bearers. And that comes out when this book faces in chapter 9 the question that we're facing this afternoon. We read in that book, Now the last thing which comes to consideration is the proper receptacle of all this power from Christ or the peculiar subject entrusted by Christ with this power." Now in answering this question, this book first of all rejects the view that it's given to the civil government as the Erastians would imagine. The book then rejects the view that it's given of the community of believers as the independents would propose. And then when it comes to setting forth the positive, it says it's given to the special office bearers of the church. I read, quote, the Presbyterians hold that the proper subject wherein Christ has seated and entrusted all church power and the exercise thereof is only His own church officers, end quote. In the book, it makes explicit what it means by Christ's own church officers. It's talking about ministers, elders, and deacons. But I believe it leans too far in the one direction because of that little word, only. that it's only in his own church office spares. This book, to my knowledge, I have not read it cover to cover, but this book, to my knowledge, does not recognize the important place, role, and function that the office of believer does have in the church of Jesus Christ. And now to be fair, this book was written in a certain historical context and setting. When this book was written, there was a movement on the rise that was an independent movement that was giving all authority to the members. So this book is really recoiling against that extreme view on the other end. But in so doing, it leaned too far in the direction of the special office bearers. So that on the one hand, Now we want to look at the view on the other side that comes close to the middle, but fails to do justice to the special offices in the church. This view, as a representative of this view, There is the writings of Cornelius Wienhoff in this book, Bound Yet Free. Cornelius Wienhoff, he has a contribution in this little book, and it's clear from Wienhoff that he relies heavily on Abraham Kuyper, so really this view could be attributed to him. And as we go into this view, I'm aware that many in the audience will recognize this view is not unknown in our Protestant Reformed churches. In fact, this view was taught for many years in our seminary, so we proceed with caution. This view does approach the middle position in that it does fold justice to the office of believer. Really, that's the point of emphasis in Wienhoff's writing in Kuyper's and the quotes from Kuyper. And furthermore, it does recognize the important place that the special office bearers have in the church. But in the end, I believe it still leans too far in the direction of giving too much to the members of the church who occupy the office of all believer. I say that because Wienhoff and others teach that In the end, Christ gives the authority to the members, to the community of the faithful, and from them, that authority is then given to the special office bearers in the church. For example, Wienhoff quotes Kuyper as saying, quote, the authority of the church was given by the king of the church, not to its leaders, but originally to the believers, end quote. And now another quotation. The authority from Christ rests not with the consistory, but with the congregation, end quote. So according to Wienhoff, the primary receptacle of authority from Christ is the church as a whole, the community of believers. And standing behind this is the viewpoint that in the end, the office of believer is really the more basic, the more fundamental office in the church. And that the special office is really a rise out of the office of believer so that the authority that the special office bearers have comes from the office of believer and the community of the faithful. And I do not believe I'm overstating this. For example, Wienhoff writes, The flow of authority which issues from Christ into His church is in part to be channeled in and through His church to the special office bearers. Thus, these receive by way of the congregation special authority from Christ. So if I interpret Wienhoff correctly, he is saying that we need to envision it this way, that Christ is king of the church, he gives authority to all the members of the church, and from there, authority is then given to the special office bearers of the church. And the implication of this that Wienhoff himself and others make is that it cannot be said that the special office bearers are over the members of the congregation. Wienhoff writes, for example, What is their authority? He's talking about the special office bearers. No, they are not placed above the congregation. They are in every respect fellow brothers with all the members of the church. Their authority is not higher than that of the other members of the church." So though this view approaches the middle, I believe it fails to do justice to the real, genuine authority of the special office bearers. And that it leans too far in the direction of giving too much to the members of the church as a whole. Because Scripture teaches us that when Christ gives authority to the special office bearers, He gives it to them directly. He gives it to them immediately. And that comes out from the various names that are given in Scripture to the special office bearers. Paul often spoke of himself and his fellow office bearers as servants of Christ. as fellow laborers with God, as ambassadors of Christ. And all of those names would indicate that this authority is coming directly from Christ to these office bearers. But the view of Wienhoff fails to recognize that. And in the end, it takes the special office bearers It really makes them organs, instruments of the church as a whole. The view of Wienhoff really turns the church into a republic. But that's not a biblical presentation. And what is more, it fails to do justice to that real authority. We read earlier from 1 Thessalonians 5 which speaks of them that are over you in the Lord." But yet, Wienhoff is saying, they're not above the members of the church in any respect, but in every way they're fellow brothers. Whereas Scripture says, no, there is a certain sense in which the special office bearers are over the members of the church. They have the right to establish ordinances, to make rules for the maintaining of the welfare of the body of Christ. This is part of our confession. is a church that holds to the three forms of unity. Belgian Confession, Article 32, gives to the special office bearers this right to make various decisions. It cautions the special office bearers, be careful that you don't go too far beyond Scripture, that you don't ever contradict Scripture, but it still establishes that right. And so there is a sense in which the special office bearers are over the members of the church. So we've seen the two extremes. We've looked at two views that come close to middle, but I believe lean too far one direction or the other. And having done all that, hopefully that proper middle view that preserves this delicate balance that we're striving for is slowly coming into view. And we want to look at that next. So what is this middle view? Well, first of all, it needs to be stated this view is not original to me. But this is what we were taught in seminary. Furthermore, this is the view set forth by James Bannerman in the church of Christ. So here's our representative middle view of very excellent work regarding the Presbyterian form of church government. But perhaps more important to this audience, this is also the view Herman Hoeksema, as well as the view of Bavinck. And this view can be stated succinctly this way, and I quote from James Bannerman, quote, this third theory ascribes the right of church power not to the one or the other exclusively, but to both, and to both in accordance with their respective characters and places in the Christian society. And there's really two parts to what Bannerman's, excuse me, I should have said end quote. There's really two parts to what Bannerman is stating there. On the one hand, what Bannerman is telling us is that Christ gives authority to both the special office bearers, as well as those who occupy the office of believer. It's not to be viewed as a binary. Either them or them, but both at the same time. Importantly, in both cases, this authority comes directly from Jesus Christ. It's not Christ gives authority to the community of believers who then give authority to the special office bearers, nor is it Christ gives authority to the special office bearers and then they give some of that authority now to the members of the church. But instead, we need to think of direct lines. A direct line running from Christ to the special office bearers. He gives them authority. And then a direct line running from Christ to the members of the church. Both receive some of this authority. Both have a place directly from Jesus Christ. And as I said, this is the view, for example, of Herman Hoeksema. He writes in his Reform Dogmatics, The office-bearers, therefore, do not receive their power and authority from the members of the church, although it is through the instrumentality of the congregation that they are called and ordained as office-bearers, but they receive their authority to function in the office only from Christ." And we could likewise quote from Boving due to Time, though, we will refrain from doing so. So Christ gives authority to both. And what this means is that He gives absolute authority to neither. And we already talked about the importance of this, but now from a positive view, in doing this, what Christ has done is set up a mutual accountability between the special office bearers on the one hand, and those who occupy the office of believer on the other hand. The two keep each other from ever departing, never forsaking God's word and what Christ tells us regarding how the church is to be governed. So there's mutual accountability. Now even that must not be misunderstood or misconstrued because when we say that Christ gives authority directly, immediately to each, We're not to think of this as though we now have two separate but equal powers in the church. It's not as though we now have two branches in the church of Jesus Christ and her government. House office bearers and house believers. That's not how it goes. Because the reality is that though there is this mutual accountability, The relationship is not perfectly reciprocal because there is something unique about the special offices that Christ has instituted for His church. And that brings us to the second half of this view that we're explaining. We said on the one hand, that this view means Christ gives authority to both and gives it directly. But the other part of what James Bannerman and others teach us is that in giving authority to each, Christ gives to each in accordance, in harmony with their respective places in the church. We know He gives some authority to each, but what does that look like? Well, what Christ gives to each is in harmony with the place that each occupies. On the one hand, to the office bearers Christ gives the right to administer and to exercise His authority. In other words, Christ gives to the special office bearers authority in the true sense of the word. Authority in the sense that we would often define it in a sermon regarding the fifth commandment. He gives them the right to make decisions. He gives them the right to establish rules and the right to enforce obedience to those rules so that Christ truly carries out His reign in and through the special office bearers. And that's in harmony with their position. For the members of the church, He gives them the authority in the sense that they have the right to participate in the government of the church. To put it more concretely, more specifically, He gives to all the members of the church a voice. An important voice. A voice that carries weight because they speak with kingly authority as those who occupy the office of believer. And in stating what Christ gives to each, really we've come to the second and third principles of reformed church government. Principle number one, Christ is the only head of his church who rules over it by his spirit and word. Principle number two is that Christ rules through the office bearers whom he gives real authority. That's what we've been establishing. But then principle number three follows very quickly that the members of the church, each holding the office of believer, participate in the government of the church. They're given a voice. And that I believe is the proper middle view that preserves this delicate balance between the special offices in the church and the office of believer. And I believe that's the case because this is the direction Scripture points us. Though we've been quoting from different theologians, it's not as though we're simply drawing from what other men have written. But this is based on Scripture. What we've been talking about. And it comes out most clearly perhaps in the various passages of Scripture that set forth before us the ordination of men into those special offices. And we see the role of both those special office bearers as well as the members of the church. We have an Old Testament example. In the appointment of judges in the days of Moses, at the advice of Jethro so that Moses would not wither away due to the burden that was placed upon him. When Moses recounts that history in Deuteronomy chapter 1, he says in Deuteronomy 1 verse 13 that he told the people, quote, take you wise men and understanding and known among the tribes and I will make them rulers over you, end quote. Notice Moses says, I will make them rulers over you. That is, one who was in a special office would be the one ultimately to put these men into office. He'd be the one to ordain them. But at the very same time, notice what he said at the beginning of the verse. Take you, wise men. That is, as a congregation, you have a say in this. You have a voice in who is going to be put into these offices. We see that same dynamic in the passage that we read at the outset in Acts 6. For example, in verse 3 we read this, Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. Now again, we see the same dynamic. It'd be the apostles who would appoint them over this position or over this business. And we read later on in this history that it's the apostles who are laying hands upon these men who are being installed into the office of deacons. They're the ones appointing these men. But yet the congregation had a voice. The apostles told them, look ye out among you seven men. And verse five speaks of how the people were pleased with this and they chose, and then the list of names that follow. And so what we see is that it's the teaching of Scripture that the exercise, the administration of church government is given to the special office bearers But yet at the very same time, the members are given a voice. They have a role, a function. And is this not the view reflected in our own church order? Does it not recognize this same dynamic? It does. The church order that we officially subscribe to recognizes the unique place that the special office bearers have in the church of Jesus Christ. And that comes out even from the structure of our church order. Where does it begin? First main section is on the offices of minister, elder, and deacon. And that structure isn't telling us something. It's telling us this is what's fundamental to a Presbyterian view form of church government. The heart and center is the special office bearers of the church. And that comes out in the subsequent articles that set forth the various duties of the minister, elders, and deacons. It becomes clear without going into particulars that they're the ones who are given the exercise, the administration of the authority of Christ. At the very same time, Our church order recognizes the place of the members. And really, the church order articulates more fully what that looks like. It gives specific examples so that we see from our church order that the members of the church are given a voice with regard to the ordination of office bearers. Those articles that speak of a lawful call into the special offices recognize that the members are the one who Approve those men who elect those men. They're also given a voice in the decisions that the church makes. And that the church order recognizes the right of members to protest and appeal. To make the case that this decision is out of harmony with the Word of our God. And that's really one of the main ways that the members of the church hold the special office bearers accountable. Keep the special office bearers from ever departing from the Word of God. The church order also gives a place to the members of the church in that it sees their voice in voting on those matters that are brought to a congregational meeting. They play a role in the decisions of the church. They're given a voice in the discipline of the church. And the reality is that discipline most often begins with the members of the church and only eventually comes to the special office bearers of the church. And all of this underscores the wisdom that went into this church order that we hold to. Let us appreciate it. And may this be encouragement for all of us to be diligent in studying the church order that God has given to us as part of our heritage as Protestant Reformed churches. So we've explained that middle view that preserves this delicate balance Regarding the relationship between the special office bearers and those who occupy the office of all believers. We funneled our way down to that, but now we want to draw applications out of that. Applications for the members and those who occupy the office of believers. And then more importantly, given the primary audience of this speech, application for the special office bearers. First, for the members of the church, participate in the government of the church. We say participate because the great danger for the members is that they neglect this. The great danger for the members of the church is that they pay little heed to what's going on in the church of Jesus Christ, that they become entirely uninvolved in the government of the church. We just spent time establishing that the members do indeed have a place. Christ has given you a voice and now the calling is use that voice. Because the reality is that this is not merely a privilege, This is a responsibility that comes with receiving this privilege from Jesus Christ. A responsibility that we are to exercise as believers, not just when we're aggrieved by something, not just when I don't like what I see going on, but at all times. An important part of that is studying with a view to becoming better equipped to fulfill these responsibilities. It's not just for the special office bearers to be studying different things. Whether it's the Word of God, whether it's the Reformed confessions, whether it's Reformed theology, church polity, or even church history. But all of those things are worthy topics of study for the believers of the church as well so that they can become better equipped to speak to Matters that come up in the church. That, first of all, for the members of the church. Second, for the members of the church. Honor those in positions of authority. They are given real authority. And here we circle back to 1 Thessalonians 5 v. 13. The calling to esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake. And a part of this is a willingness to show a certain level of deference to the wisdom, experience, and training of those who occupy the special offices. And I say that because the temptation for the member is to think, well, I have an opinion on this, And my opinion carries as much weight as the opinion of anyone else on this matter. What I think should be just as important to everybody else, because after all, I'm in the office of believer. But over against that thinking, it's important to recognize that a part of reformed church government in our church order is that the men that we put into the special offices are men with wisdom and experience and training. When we elect elders and deacons, We elect men whom we believe are most qualified for those positions. And with regard to ministers, we insist on having trained ministers. That's a part of our church order in Article 8. That's the general rule. These men need to go to seminary. They need to be trained. And as churches, we even pay for their education. And so, ought we not as members show a certain level of respect to those men. The fact that Christ has given them a unique authority. And what that really looks like is a willingness to at least entertain the idea maybe I have a misunderstanding here. Maybe I'm the one who's missing some part of the picture so that rather than jumping to the conclusion so-and-so's wrong or that assembly messed that up, of at least being willing to step back and ask for an explanation. And that's especially true when we're talking about the broader assemblies. The meetings of a consistory, of assemblies in general, including a consistory, as well as the broader assemblies of classes and synod. Because the danger is that We come to think that the ordinary way that God works in His church is by raising up this one man or two men who stand against all the corruption of the church. That that's the norm in God's preserving of His church. That has happened. And praise be to God when He does work that way. But that is the rare exception in the history of the church. And what is more, as members of the church, we must not fall into this thinking that when men come together to give advice or to make some judgment on a matter, that that becomes inherently high-handed. That's not the case. Because the teaching of Scripture is that there's wisdom There's safety in a multitude of counselors. It's a good thing when we bring all these special office bearers together to put their heads together, to be led by the Spirit, to come to some decision on a matter. And such a decision is not to be lightly dismissed or set aside. And finally in that connection, It's important for the members of the church to recognize the distinction between something that's different and something that's wrong. There's a distinction between, I do not like how that was worded, or I'm really not a fan of that decision on the one hand, and on the other hand, This is contrary to Scripture and the Reformed Confessions. I say there's a distinction between something that's different, not the way I would have done it, and something that's wrong. This is sinful. This is error. And it's important to see that distinction so that when it happens that we don't like a certain decision. We're not all in favor of the direction the church is going here. that we step back and ask the question, well, is this really something that's truly unbiblical against the Reformed confessions? Or can I say this is simply different than what I would have done? And all of that under the heading, honor those in authority. So that even if it's not what I would have done, I'm still going to submit myself to that authority that Christ has set over me. But now this is an office bearers conference. And so there needs to be a word for those of us who are in the office of minister, elder, or deacon. First, men, we are to use our positions to serve. To serve. Because is that not what Christ taught us? When He told us He came into this world not to be ministered unto, but to minister unto others. That is not to be served by others, but to serve others. And He served us by laying down His life, by giving His blood as a ransom for our salvation. He's teaching us that we're to serve one another. This is the teaching of The Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 4 v. 5 where he says, for we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves, your servants, for Jesus' sake. Ourselves. Paul's talking about himself and other men who preach the Word. And he says, ourselves, your servants, for Jesus' sake. Reminding us that as office bearers, we are not lords. And we must never be guilty of lording it over the people. We're not to take this position that Christ has given to us and use it for ourselves. Use it for our own advancement. But we're to be humble servants of the flock. We need to be willing to get on our hands and knees and wash feet. Perform the most lowly of tasks in the church of Jesus Christ. So first, we're to serve the church. Second, as office bearers, we must not give occasion for the members to dishonor the special office bearers in the church. As office bearers, we may well lament a lack of respect for the special office bearers, whether that lack of respect is real or perceived. But insofar as we see it, We have to ask the question, are we to blame for that? Because it can happen that the fault really lies with us. For insofar as we conduct ourselves in a manner that's inappropriate, out of harmony with the office that we've been given, insofar as we behave ourselves in an unrespectable manner, we're giving the people an occasion to have a low view of the special offices. So the application then is let us take heed to ourselves. Let us take heed to ourselves personally. in our day-to-day lives because nothing is going to do more damage to the view that the people have of the special office bearers than when we get caught up or ensnared in some sin. Let's take heed to ourselves. Let's take heed to ourselves in the decisions that we make. as a broader assembly as we meet tomorrow. In our assemblies, we need to make good decisions with clear grounds. And though it is necessary at times to change course, to reverse a decision, we need to have the humility to say we were wrong before. If we are always going back and forth though, That is not going to inspire much confidence in the people regarding the broader assemblies. So let us take heed to ourselves. That's secondly. And third and finally, the application for office bears, and this especially ties into the speech as a whole, we must not be guilty of either dismissing the voice of the people nor becoming afraid of the people. We must not dismiss the office of believer. We must not have a proud, arrogant attitude that says, there's no way a member could ever teach me something new. There's no way that average person in the congregation is going to be able to convince me that I did something wrong here or there. We need to have the humility to listen. Christ has given them a voice. And we should be glad when they use the voice. Really, we should be eager for it. We should encourage it. We should want to hear from the members of the church. And seek out their input on different things. So we must not be dismissive. But nor must we fear. Because that's the other danger. And that's perhaps especially tempting in this day in which we live having just gone through a controversy and in some ways still in the midst of a controversy. Have we avoided saying certain things from the pulpits? Because we want to avoid a protest? Has the preaching become muffled because I don't want to have to hear from that disgruntled member. Or have we not taken a definite stand on certain things because we are afraid that certain people are going to be alienated by that decision and maybe even leave over that decision. If we have fallen into that, we need to recognize the error of it. Because Christ, though He would have us To listen to the people would not have us be afraid of the people. Instead ultimately we serve Him. And thus we tie it all the way back to where we started. Principle number one. is the only head of His church who rules over it by His Spirit and Word. We must stand before the face of our God in all of our work, men, and seek to do that which is right and pleasing to our Savior, Jesus Christ, out of thankfulness for the salvation that He has accomplished for us, not only as individuals, but as a church as a whole. Thank you for your attention. This time, we are going to take a break. It is 1.27. We are going to break until 2 o'clock. I'll start trying to encourage you to stand. And so I believe there will be refreshments in the back. So half hour break.