The Lordship of Christ
I have read and heard a few things lately that have helped to kindle some of the following thoughts. Within the Reformed church we like to talk about Christ's rule and Lordship extending into every area of Creation, but I can think of at least a couple areas within our own families and churches where we seem to deny this . . . whether it is a willing denial or not I don't know for sure.
The first area is tithing. I don't know what the statistics have to say for the Reformed church in our country but if it is even remotely similar to the whole Christian church in this country we are indeed denying Christ's Lordship in this area. First, tithing is comparable to worship in that both are offerings we make to God, but we do not make them from our own account so to speak. The Lord gives us the Sabbath as a blessing, a day set apart at the beginning of the week dedicated to the Lord, but part of its purpose is to make the statement that we do this because everyday of the week belongs to the Lord. In the same way, we take the "first fruits" from our bounty, the "10% right off the top" as our offering dedicated to the Lord each week, but for the purpose of recognizing and stating that all of our money, gifts, and profits belong to the Lord.
There are a couple ways I think we error on this issue. First, we fail to give the 10 percent God has commanded us to give (and I do think this command still stands up this side of Christ), we are disobedient, and we thus fail to recognize that it is Christ who is Lord over our finances. Second we give exceedingly more than 10 percent (which I am not against), but we then tell ourselves how generous we have been or we may get to the point where we feel that the church depends on that extra amount from us. This too, I believe, denies the Lordship of Christ in our finances. It's pretty hard to give to someone what he already has claimed as his own, and I'm not sure how someone who already owns literally everything could ever be dependent on anyone.
The second area is children. I want to start first with infant baptism, but I am only applying this to those who are already convinced that infant baptism can be biblical and obedient. Infant baptism, as circumcision, is based on the idea of a covenant. I want to define a covenant for this purpose as a relationship between God (someone greater) and His people (someone lesser) that is instituted and defined by the greater for the sake of the lesser and their relationship together. God's covenant people baptize their babies because God has commanded them too, in order to acknowledge the covenantal succession that God has defined and promised in the covenant He has made with them.
What we believe about infant baptism requires us to stand on the promises of God we have in His covenant. We rely on God's grace and faithfulness for the sure salvation and sanctification of our children. We rely on the Lordship of Christ in our children's lives and in the lives of our families growing together. When we fail to discipline our children, we deny His Lordship; when we fence our children from the Lord's Table, we deny His Lordship; when we fail to see the increased blessings in a larger faithful Christian family, we deny His Lordship; when we send our children to day care everyday, we deny His Lordship; when we send our children to a secular school system, we deny His Lordship.
I know some of that is going to come across as a little harsh, but I'm okay with that. We live in a culture that hates children, and the Christian church hasn't done much to convince it of anything different lately. If we want the abortion rates in our country to drop we need to start loving our own children first, and it wouldn't hurt to start having a few more children. If we want our children to grow up to be Christ-like we need to start showing them today how that is done by giving up our lives for our families on a daily basis.
I think I am safe to say that the American culture has the idea that our lives are our own, and if we don't carefully manage our children and the number we have, we will be in danger of losing that until we can send them to college and really get our lives back. I think we know enough Scripture to realize that our lives are never our own whether we are slaves to sin or slaves to righteousness, Christians or non-Christians; so the Church is given the opportunity to teach the world something about Jesus Christ through families, by showing that starting a family or having children is about death and resurrection . . . about dying to self, and finding new life not as an individual but as a family.
The first area is tithing. I don't know what the statistics have to say for the Reformed church in our country but if it is even remotely similar to the whole Christian church in this country we are indeed denying Christ's Lordship in this area. First, tithing is comparable to worship in that both are offerings we make to God, but we do not make them from our own account so to speak. The Lord gives us the Sabbath as a blessing, a day set apart at the beginning of the week dedicated to the Lord, but part of its purpose is to make the statement that we do this because everyday of the week belongs to the Lord. In the same way, we take the "first fruits" from our bounty, the "10% right off the top" as our offering dedicated to the Lord each week, but for the purpose of recognizing and stating that all of our money, gifts, and profits belong to the Lord.
There are a couple ways I think we error on this issue. First, we fail to give the 10 percent God has commanded us to give (and I do think this command still stands up this side of Christ), we are disobedient, and we thus fail to recognize that it is Christ who is Lord over our finances. Second we give exceedingly more than 10 percent (which I am not against), but we then tell ourselves how generous we have been or we may get to the point where we feel that the church depends on that extra amount from us. This too, I believe, denies the Lordship of Christ in our finances. It's pretty hard to give to someone what he already has claimed as his own, and I'm not sure how someone who already owns literally everything could ever be dependent on anyone.
The second area is children. I want to start first with infant baptism, but I am only applying this to those who are already convinced that infant baptism can be biblical and obedient. Infant baptism, as circumcision, is based on the idea of a covenant. I want to define a covenant for this purpose as a relationship between God (someone greater) and His people (someone lesser) that is instituted and defined by the greater for the sake of the lesser and their relationship together. God's covenant people baptize their babies because God has commanded them too, in order to acknowledge the covenantal succession that God has defined and promised in the covenant He has made with them.
What we believe about infant baptism requires us to stand on the promises of God we have in His covenant. We rely on God's grace and faithfulness for the sure salvation and sanctification of our children. We rely on the Lordship of Christ in our children's lives and in the lives of our families growing together. When we fail to discipline our children, we deny His Lordship; when we fence our children from the Lord's Table, we deny His Lordship; when we fail to see the increased blessings in a larger faithful Christian family, we deny His Lordship; when we send our children to day care everyday, we deny His Lordship; when we send our children to a secular school system, we deny His Lordship.
I know some of that is going to come across as a little harsh, but I'm okay with that. We live in a culture that hates children, and the Christian church hasn't done much to convince it of anything different lately. If we want the abortion rates in our country to drop we need to start loving our own children first, and it wouldn't hurt to start having a few more children. If we want our children to grow up to be Christ-like we need to start showing them today how that is done by giving up our lives for our families on a daily basis.
I think I am safe to say that the American culture has the idea that our lives are our own, and if we don't carefully manage our children and the number we have, we will be in danger of losing that until we can send them to college and really get our lives back. I think we know enough Scripture to realize that our lives are never our own whether we are slaves to sin or slaves to righteousness, Christians or non-Christians; so the Church is given the opportunity to teach the world something about Jesus Christ through families, by showing that starting a family or having children is about death and resurrection . . . about dying to self, and finding new life not as an individual but as a family.
posted by Brian | 12:48 PM
6 Comments:
Hmmmmm,
I am ruminating over your thoughts.....
but, until I am done, could you clarify your statement of "when we fence our children from the Lord's table"? Are you specifically mentioning the sacrament of communion, or are you using this in a broader sense? If the former, conversely then, are you advocating their (children's) participation in communion?
Well, no, not if they aren't Christians and members of God's Covenant people.
Insomnia has again set in, so I thought I'd check out the ol' kraut report.
I think you know my thoughts on what some have called the "Halfway Covenant" and covenant children at the Lord's Table, so I'll leave that alone at this hour.
Your comments on tithing cause my brain to warm...probably not the best remedy for insomnia! In the last year or so the subject has caused my brain to warm more than in the previous 23. I remember the elders' prayers prior to the offertory at my home church in FB. Most often, mention was made in the prayers to "paying the bills of the church" with reference to the tithe. Of course, a portion of tithe monies are put toward this purpose, but what benefit is that toward the worshiper? What place did "paying the bills of the church" (i.e. business) have in the worship service? The offertory should have been expressed, I now believe, as worship/obedience to the LORD Jesus Christ, as you have mentioned.
Well, my insomnia seems to be leaving me, and my brain seems to be cooling...so I better get on the dream train before it leaves the station. I'll try and comment a bit more at a time that is not now. Hopefully my brain will be in the grip of a warming trend more coherent than tonight/this morning. Thanks, Brian.
Brian= heretic
More thoughts on tithing:
The tithe/offering is a response of worship/obedience to God's grace; He provides the increase and invites us into his presence on the Lord's Day. We cannot do above what he has required; in fact, we rely upon His grace to obey. If we believe there is somehow "extra credit", then we have denied Christ's lordship. After all, no servant is greater than his master.
Christ has ultimate lordship over us. There also exist lower degrees of authority/lordship. For example, the State has a certain lordship over us. Taxes are levied for public services (albeit wanted or unwanted). Can this tax be compared to the tithe? If so, can we (like Jefferson) conclude that any sum of taxes exceeding 10% is a usurpation of Christ's lordship?
Let me know if I'm on crack.
I'll have to think about that one, but my initial instincts tell me no. Great comments!
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