The Wolf’s Teeth-Pragmatism
Part of the difficulty of dealing with pragmatism is that it has a close cousin who is so nice; everyone likes Her name is “practical.” How can anyone oppose “practical”? After all, if we want to be God stewards of God’s resources, we’d better be practical, not frivolous, with our spending. And so it goes….
What’s An Elder To Do?
Your people live in such a world. You’d better know it and be ready for it. If you haven’t noticed pragmatism at work yet, you may live in an isolation bubble. If not, perhaps you haven’t been sufficiently aware of what to look for. Pragmatism is all around and it is in your church.
What to do?
For one thing, keep your eyes and ears peeled. Recognize the penetration of the evil one in the “spiritual ethics” of pragmatism when you see it. Ask “why” a lot, as you visit among the flock; listen closely to the reasons people give for their behaviour choices. Try to determine if they really function with Biblical principles, or “fly by the seat of their pants.”
2. But do more. Begin now to raise the issue in every visit to a family home, in every discussion group. Make clear to God’s people in your charge that this rewrite of morality is a grievous wrong. God’s word is eternal. Its standards do not change. His glory is what we must seek; our immediate pleasure and comfort are not the standards of right and wrong. He law determines right and wrong, and life lived by His standards brings joy, comfort and contentment. To make moral choices merely by analysing the potential for pleasure or pain is to play into the devil’s hand.
3. Work especially with the young people in your church. Use examples like I used above, but tailor specific ones to the issues facing your youth. Discuss such “case studies” in youth group meetings. Point out the radically different ways to make moral choices that exist in their world. Make clear to them what God says, and call them to faithfulness.
“With a Shephard’s Heart” Reclaiming the Pastoral Office of Elder
by John R. Sittema (PP.52-54)
The Wolf’s Teeth-Secularism
So what’s the point? How does knowledge of the spirit of secularism better equip the pastoral elders of the church to defend the sheep from the satanic wolf’s fang? How does such knowledge help you guard yourself against attack? Gal. 6 provides a most powerful reminder and application: “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.” vs.7, 8.
Both for yourself and for God’s people entrusted to your care, you must sound the alarm that rings in the presence of deceit! You must alert God’s people to the destructiveness of worshiping the here and now and neglecting the eternal. You must teach clearly the Lordship of Jesus Christ over every thought, action, and sphere of life Eph. 1:15f. ; Col 1:15f.). You must pound home the lesson that behaviour now has consequences later, that seeds sown now will produce a harvest eternally!
Specifically, I offer the following suggestions for your pastoral consideration:
1. Take note of the presence of the spirit of “instant gratification” on the part of God’s people under your care. Listen to them speak; try to discern their purchasing habits; observe the way their children operate. Point out to them, young and old, the spiritual dangers of such a spirit. Many will not even realize that it has gripped their life or home. They cannot fight without knowing the enemy!
2. Make sure that you, perhaps through the local deacons, provide careful and thorough instruction concerning the Biblical principle of stewardship. Nowhere has the bug of secularism bitten the sheep more painfully than in their attitude and practices toward finances. Disciplined and generous giving, careful saving, avoiding personal debt; all are practices that are rare these days, and must be cultivated. Overdependence on credit cards, buying homes that require mortgage payments that financially enslave God’s people, testing one’s “success” by how many (and what kind of) cars are in the driveway; all are practices that must be exposed as sinful and spiritually dangerous. Instead, elders (and deacons) must sound the trumpet that calls God’s Kingdom citizens to the virtues of contentment, generosity in giving, and patience in saving and investment. Additionally, take a long and careful look at your local church’s debt load. Perhaps it is appropriate to borrow some money (short term) for construction of a needed sanctuary or educational facility so long as it is truly needed. At the same time, churches that wish to avoid being torn by the fangs of secularism will studiously develop polices about long-term debt, about mortgaging the ministry future to pay for the present wants. Such practises take our eyes off the eternal, teach us to do, and cultivate a thoroughly secular spirit among the believing community.
3. Listen carefully to people when they talk, and listen to them when they pray. Their words will give you a window into their hearts. Ask yourself the question; do they (do you!?) divide life into sacred and secular, nature and grace? Do they limit the realm over which Christ rules to church, piety and ethics, or do they believe He is Lord of all? Do they give indication of viewing life dualistically?
Knowing the answers to these questions will give you a good indication of your pastoral obligations as you care for people attacked by the enemy and infected by the germ of secularism.
“With a Shephard’s Heart” Reclaiming the Pastoral Office of Elder
by John R. Sittema (PP.52-54)
The Wolf’s Teeth-Relativism
Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! (Isaiah 5:20).
And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them. (Romans 1:28-32).
What can pastoral elders do in such a time as this? It is incumbent upon the elders of the local church not to flinch in this head-on collision with relativism. They must not waver from the truth; they must not throw up their hands in hopelessness. Christ demands that His church be holy (1 Peter 2) and entrusts the elders with the duty to see to it that holiness is pursued.
A few suggestions may help.
1. Make clear, both from the pulpit in your local church and in personal pastoral meetings with the members of the flock under your care, that your church holds firmly to the Bible as the infallible and inerrant Word of God.* Teach clearly what the terms mean. Declare loudly and often, both in principal and in practice, that you consider the Bible to be the absolute and infallible standard for both doctrine and life.
2. Whenever the Bible and what it teaches is contradicted, either by doctrinal affirmation, expression of doubt, or blatantly sinful practices, call it what the Bible calls it; sin! Be careful about language; sin is sin, not just a “mistake.” Heresy is untruth, not just a difference of opinion.
3. Teach the Bible! This radical notion stems from my growing experience and conviction that so many people in the church drift into unbiblical belief and practice because they don’t know what the Bible says in the first place. (How did the prophet say it? “My people are destroyed because for lack of knowledge” Hosea 4:6)
4. Rebuke sinners with the Bible. Pastoral care of sinful people demands a clear reference to the Scriptural teaching that was disobeyed; elders ought not to rebuke or admonish or call repentance without pointing out what God expects in His own words.
5. Lead by example, not just talk. Make clear in your own life that you are a person of the Word. Immerse yourself in it daily reading eagerly to see the glory and majesty of our covenant keeping God, and with careful attention to learn the specifics of His will for you in your life. Read the Old Testament to grasp the sweep of the covenant promises and warmings; read the New Testament to awaken the trill of sufficiency in Christ. The more you are yourself a man of the Word, the more those whom you seek to pastor will learn from your example.
“With a Shephard’s Heart” Reclaiming the Pastoral Office of Elder
by John R. Sittema (PP.64-65)
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