Justification by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone is the heart of the Protestant Reformation, the hinge on which everything turns. It has to do with how we answer the question, “How can we be right with God?”

There are some key points to remember. The first is that justification is an act. It’s a once-for-all verdict–a declaration on God’s part of something about us. We’re guilty before him, but in justification he declares us to be something other than guilty. He declares us to be righteous.

How? God pardons our sin, and accepts us as righteous. How God can do that? After all, we’re still sinners right? How can he declare us to be something that we’re not? The answer is that it is not our righteousness that he counts, but Christ’s. He clothes us with Christ’s righteousness through imputation. A double imputation, actually. He imputes our sin to Christ – he counts it as his – and he imputes Christ’s righteousness to us – he counts it as ours. So Christ’s righteousness involves both his passive obedience (dying on the cross to pay for our sins) and his active obedience (obeying God’s law completely to purchase admission to heaven for us).

We receive all his righteousness! How? Through faith alone in Christ alone. There’s nothing that we do to earn or deserve God’s favour. It’s his free gift which we may receive through coming to Jesus in faith. This is what gives us great hope that we are accepted by God. Not because we’ve done better this week but, because he accepts us in Christ. He loves us for Christ’s sake!

This is a truth we can mediate upon day after day. Keep thanking God for his great love for us in Jesus and the work of the Holy Spirit in drawing us and giving us the gifts of faith and repentance.

FINDING THE RIGHT CHURCH
A Guide for Those Searching for a Church Home

“One of the most difficult challenges in our day is to find a solid church—where the gospel is powerfully and clearly proclaimed every week,where the worship is reverent and substantive, and where the people have a genuine love for each other”

So says Dr. Michael Horton, co-host of the White Horse Inn radio broadcast, author of Putting Amazing Back Into Grace).
Are you facing this challenge right now? What should you do?

Determine to find it

First of all, keep in mind that the Lord does intend for you to be actively involved in a local church. Really, this is not an option for Christians. On the one hand, you need the church and the “means of grace” that God has entrusted to her in order to convey the Lord Jesus Christ and his saving blessings to you. On the other hand, the church needs you and the “gifts of grace” that God has entrusted to you in order to serve and bless the brothers and sisters whom Jesus has loved and for whom he has shed his own precious blood. (For more on this, see Why Join A Church?). Bible studies and other informal affairs are very valuable, but they can never substitute for the church with its corporate worship, ministry of the Word and sacraments, and shepherding care. Moreover, the church is the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ, the place where he manifests his saving rule (Mt 16:9; 18:18), outside of which there is no ordinary possibility of salvation. Determine to find a local church home.

If the Lord has guided you to live in a certain place, then you can expect that he has a church that is right for you in that area. It may not be all that you’d wish for in a church. It may not be exactly like the churches you have enjoyed in the past. But it will be the right one for you at this time. It may even be that one reason the Lord has put you where you are is to strengthen a church where it is weak.

[Indeed, believers do well to make finding a church home an important consideration before they determine to move to a particular location.]

Focus your search

Determine to go with the right motives. If your primary concern is to find a church where you can sit back and have your needs met, then you will inevitably be disappointed. But if you go to the church in order to give to the Lord your grateful worship and to share his love with the people there, then you’re on the right track.

Identify the most likely congregations. These may come from websites, personal recommendations, newspaper ads, or the yellow pages. Contact churches and talk to someone (e.g. the pastor) who has a good feel for the church and its ministries, and ask direct questions about the issues that are of concern to you—view of Scripture, view of worship, commitment to evangelism and missions, opportunities for children, etc.

Once you identify the most likely candidates, visit them. Don’t make snap judgments. Keep in mind that one visit is hardly sufficient to gain a fair impression of a church. At least three or four times will be necessary in most cases.

Approach each congregation with a spirit of open expectation. Don’t be a “nitpicker.” Try to look at each church’s particular strengths. Seek to identify with that congregation’s style of responding to God. As a World War II era song puts it, “Accentuate the positive.”

Look for marks of a healthy church

Look for “marks” or indicators of a healthy church, such as:

Is it Christ-centred? Does it focus on Jesus as God incarnate, who became flesh, lived a perfect life on our behalf, died in our place and rose again, victorious over sin and death? Does it exalt him as Saviour and Lord, the only Mediator between God and man? Does it pursue him—not only ideas about him, but him personally—as the centre of everything—our hope, our help, and our comfort?  Does it do so in the context of a balanced emphasis on the Triune God—God the Father working by God the Son through God the Holy Spirit?

Is it devoted to God’s Word? Is there faithful teaching and preaching of the Word of God? Does that teaching and preaching explain and apply what the Bible itself actually says? Is there a commitment by individuals and the congregation as a whole not only to learning the Bible, but also to living it, obediently submitting to its authority?

Do Baptism and the Lord’s Supper play prominent roles in the life of the church? Are both regarded as tools that God graciously uses to bear witness to and help his people rather than as tools that we use to bear witness to our own faith and to stir ourselves up to greater faith and obedience? Are both regarded as signs that are personal but not private; signs that involve not only the individual but also the church?

Does it give priority to God-centred worship? Be wary of churches that seek to entertain. Look for a balanced exercise of the biblical elements of worship and an atmosphere of both reverence and rejoicing. Is the worship service just an empty form? Or is the “liturgy” an instrument for the active working of Jesus Christ by his Holy Spirit through his Word? Is it a genuine meeting and engaging of the Triune God with his people?

Is it nurturing? Devotion to God produces a loving, caring fellowship where people support, encourage, and edify one another through personal relationships and educational ministries.

Does it show commitment to evangelism and missions? The proclamation of the gospel message in the world is a major interest of a healthy church. It is not chiefly concerned with its own maintenance and survival.

Major in the majors

Remember that no church will perfectly exhibit all of these characteristics. Each and every congregation is at best a “jar of clay” made up of sinful human beings (see 2 Corinthians 4:7). Don’t flatter yourself by thinking that a church with shortcomings is beneath you. In God’s sight, perhaps your shortcomings are worse than theirs.

Beware of churches whose primary commitment to Christ is overshadowed by disproportionate stress on a secondary identity such as Presbyterian, or Baptist, or Bible-believing, or orthodox, or evangelistic, or charismatic, or liturgical, or whatever. These distinctives are often important, but they are not all-important. (See When Preference Becomes Precept )

Seek to differentiate between the “marks” of a true church and your own personal tastes and preferences. Such matters as style of worship, leadership personalities, organizational procedures, outreach programs, methods of nurture, types of music, and emphasis on certain doctrines—although they are important considerations—are not as important as the matters mentioned above. Remember what Alistair Begg says, “The main things are the plain things; and the plain things are the main things.”  Don’t be guilty of a common mistake—“majoring in the minors and minoring in the majors”—insisting most upon what’s less important and insisting least upon what’s most important.

Remember that your choice of a church will always involve trade-offs. You will choose to tolerate certain undesirable features in order to be a part of what seems more crucial. It’s completely unrealistic to expect to find a church where you agree with everything.

I once heard Dr. Billy Graham give this wise counsel,

“If you ever find a perfect church, by all means join it.
Just remember that the moment you do, it will cease to be perfect.”

Involve yourself

When you do find a church to join, commit yourself wholeheartedly. Don’t be tentative, thinking that if things don’t turn out according to your expectations then you will leave. Church membership is a bit like marriage—disagreements and disappointments are normal and are to be worked through in the context of the Lord’s love.

Seek to build strong relationships with the people in general and the church leadership in particular. Don’t be passive. Take the initiative if necessary. Don’t be impatient. This takes time.

Give honest encouragement to church leaders whenever you can. Pray regularly for them and let them know you’re doing so. When you observe something that needs improving, offer your help to those responsible for that area of church life.

SELECTING LEADERS FOR THE CHURCH: PRESUPPOSITIONS AND PROCEDURE

I. PRESUPPOSITIONS

A. Ultimately, Jesus Christ leads the church

Col. 1:18; 1 Pet. 5:4; Heb. 13:20; 1 Pet. 2:25

B. He leads his church by his Word and Spirit (by the agency of the Holy Spirit working through the instrumentality of his Word)

C. He leads his church through special officers (by the media of ministers, elders, and deacons)

D. He is the One who makes these officers; we human beings do not make them.

Acts 20:28; Eph. 4:11

This has certain implications:

• A congregation can set no quota or arbitrary number of elders and deacons
• A congregation must take great care in selecting her officersShe must undergird this whole process with ongoing dependence on the Lord—praying and listening to him speaking in Scripture

She may have this great confidence—the Lord will supply his church with the officers she needs!

E. The Lord uses the members of the congregation to select these officers (e.g., Acts 6:3)

It is very important for us to understand this biblically.

According to the Bible, the fact that the congregation selects her officers does not mean that the officers receive their authority from the congregation. Officers receive their authority from the Lord himself.

In Acts, the congregation selected candidates, but the Apostles appointed and ordained those who were qualified.

Remember: the Lord makes officers and the church selects them. The church’s selection is her outward confirmation that she believes the Lord has called them.

Accordingly, never forget that when you elect church officers, you are responsible to exercise SPIRITUAL discernment.

You are to seek—in dependence on the Lord—faithfully to answer the question:

Has the Lord himself called and equipped this man to serve  in this task in this place at this time?

II. PROCEDURE — HOW IS A CONGREGATION TO SELECT HER OFFICERS?

A. We must recognize that church office is a high calling.

Elders (1 Tim. 3:1)

Deacons (1 Tim. 3:13)

Some implications:

1^st, we must respect the office of the men who labour as special officers in the church—not because of what the men are in themselves, but rather because they serve as the media of our Lord Jesus Christ; they serve in his Name and represent his authority.

2^nd, we must therefore exercise great care in selecting the officers of the church, seeking first the Lord and his will.

B. We must recognize that God insists on specific qualifications for special officers.

Elders (1 Tim. 3:1–7; Tit. 1:5–9)

Deacons (1 Tim. 3:8–12; cf. Acts 6:3)

C. We must prove the men before placing them in church office (1 Tim. 3:10a)

Each man must prove himself (1 Tim. 3:1)

Ask questions like:

Does the Lord himself want me to serve in this way?
Has he equipped me with the necessary qualifications?
Am I motivated—not by sinful ambition, but—by a godly desire (eager willingness to serve)?

The council of elders (“session”) must prove them (1 Tim. 5:22; Acts 20:28–31)

The congregation must prove them.

And so God lays out his qualification in black and white.

For help, see “THE BIBLICAL QUALIFICATIONS FOR ELDERS AND DEACONS” by A.A. Allison

The Session of Redeemer Orthodox Presbyterian Church (ROPC) calls the congregation to a day of prayer and fasting on Friday, May 13, 2016. The occasion for this call is the many challenges facing the congregation —several marriages in the church are in distress, there is sin entailed, some in the church are laid off or unemployed, the elders are facing many challenges as they seek faithfully to shepherd these sheep, ROPC is seeking to select additional local elders and deacons, we believe that Satan, “the accuser of our brothers and sisters” (Rev. 12:10), is attacking ROPC and we are concerned for her peace, purity, and unity.

Even though such a call seems unusual in the modern church, it’s in accord with our Confession of Faith, which says (in 21:5) that:

“… religious oaths, vows, solemn fastings, and thanksgivings, upon special occasions…are, in their several times and seasons, to be used in an holy and religious manner.”

Based largely on the Directory for the Publick Worship of God adopted by the Westminster Assembly, the OPC Directory for the Public Worship of God suggests:

CHAPTER V — SPECIAL OCCASIONS OF PUBLIC WORSHIP

Under the gospel, we are commanded to keep no other particular day holy, except the Lord’s Day. Nevertheless, God’s people may observe special occasions as the dispensations of God’s providence administer cause and opportunity. Such observance is both consonant with Scripture and pastorally appropriate.

Prayer and Fasting

1. When great and notable calamities come upon or threaten the church, community, or nation, when judgment is deserved because of sin, when the people seek some special blessing from the Lord, or when a pastor is to be ordained or installed (Form of Government, Chapter XXIII, Section 7), it is fitting that the people of God engage in times of solemn prayer and fasting.
2. Prayer and fasting may be observed by private individuals and families at their discretion or by the Church at the discretion of the appropriate judicatory. If the civil authority calls for a time of prayer and fasting that the judicatories of the Church deem to be in harmony with the Scriptures, they should consider issuing such a call to their members.
3. Public notice is to be given before the time of prayer and fasting comes, to enable persons to order their temporal affairs so that they can participate.
4. It is especially appropriate on days of prayer and fasting called by the Church that the people of God gather for a time of prayer, the singing of psalms and hymns, and the reading and preaching of the Word of God. Let them lament their distress or unworthiness before the Lord, confess their sins, humbly implore the Lord for deliverance from the judgment present or imminent or for the blessing sought, and commit themselves anew to the faithful service of the Lord their God. It is fitting on such days that God’s people abstain from food and from such activities as may distract from their solemn engagement in prayer.

What is fasting?

What, however, is fasting? Fasting is voluntarily doing without a legitimate blessing (usually food) for a time before God in order to focus on seeking him in prayer. You can pray without fasting, but generally you fast in order to devote yourself to intensified praying. But you don’t necessarily consciously pray each and every moment of the fast.

Rightly understood, to fast is to humble yourself before the Lord in order to focus on him and to cast yourself on him for the strength, provision, wisdom, and grace that you need. In a sense, when you fast you humble yourself by recognizing that you really don’t deserve a single one of God’s good gifts; accordingly, you abstain from enjoying them for a time.

What are some purposes for fasting?

• to humble yourself for a time of intensified communion with God: Moses fasted during the 40 days and 40 nights he was on Mount Sinai receiving the law from God (Ex. 34:28).
• to humble yourself in times of distress or trouble: When he learned that Saul and Jonathan had been killed, David fasted (2 Sam. 1:12). When his baby was dying, “David therefore sought God on behalf of the child. And David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground” (2 Sam. 12:16) When they were about to be attacked by the Moabites and Ammonites, King Jehoshaphat called for a fast in all Israel (2 Chr. 20:3). When he learned that Jerusalem was still in ruins, Nehemiah had a time of prayer and fasting (Neh. 1:4). When he was forced to put Daniel in the den of lions, Darius, the king of Persia, fasted all night (Dan. 6:18).
• to humble yourself as an expression of grief: “And they mourned and wept and fasted until evening for Saul and for Jonathan his son and for the people of the Lord and for the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword” (2 Sam. 1:12).
• to humble yourself as an expression of repentance: “So they gathered at Mizpah and drew water and poured it out before the Lord and fasted on that day and said there, ‘We have sinned against the Lord.’ And Samuel judged the people of Israel at Mizpah” (1 Sam. 7:6). In response to Jonah’s preaching, the men of Nineveh fasted and put on sackcloth (Jon. 3:5).
• to humble yourself for seeking God’s guidance and blessing: “Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from him a safe journey for ourselves, our children, and all our goods” (Ezra 8:21). “While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’ Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off. … And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed” (Acts 13:2–3; 14:23).

Fasting is an element of worship. “And there was a prophetess, Anna … She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day” (Lk. 2:36–37).

But fasting is not an element of ordinary worship. The Law required fasting for only one ordinary, recurring event, the Day of Atonement. For that reason, it was called “a day of fasting” (Jer. 36:6) or “the Fast” (Acts 27:9). But God’s Word also gives many examples of fasting on special occasions. “And they [the Pharisees] said to him [Jesus], ‘The disciples of John fast often and offer prayers, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours eat and drink.’ And Jesus said to them, ‘Can you make wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days’” (Lk. 5:33–34).

It’s not generally appropriate to make the day of ordinary worship, the Lord’s Day, a day of fasting then. It’s instead to be a day of rejoicing before the Lord. Indeed, the New Testament does not specify ordinary times for believers to engage in prayer and fasting. Churches go beyond Scripture, then, when they specify set seasons for fasting, e.g., “Advent” or “Lent.” And believers do well to resist such legalistic additions to God’s Word. At the same time, however, believers ought not to over-react. Even under the New Testament, prayer and fasting is definitely something believers ought to do on special occasions.

But isn’t fasting just for the Old Testament?

It’s often suggested, however, that fasting is just an Old Testament ordinance. But the New Testament also records examples and instruction concerning prayer and fasting. Anna worshiped God with fasting and prayer (Lk. 2:37). John the Baptist taught his disciples to fast (Mk. 2:18). Jesus fasted for 40 days and 40 nights before his temptation by Satan (Mt. 4:2).

It’s true that these examples took place when God’s people were still under the Old Testament economy. But Jesus also instructed his disciples, “And when —[not if]— you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when —[not if]— you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you (Mt. 6:16–18). Moreover, after the death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ, and his outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the church of Antioch fasted (Acts 13:2) and sent Paul and Barnabas off on their first missionary journey (Acts 13:3). And, as we have seen, Paul and Barnabas spent time in prayer and fasting for the appointment of elders in the churches (Acts 14:23).

What are some scriptural guidelines for fasting?

1. How NOT to fast:

• Never fast as a magical means to try to manipulate God. In the prophet Isaiah’s time, the people grumbled that they had fasted, yet God did not answer in the way they wanted (Isa. 58:3–4). Isaiah responded by proclaiming that an external show of fasting without the proper heart attitude is worse than useless (Isa. 58:5–9).
• Never fast as a show to impress other people. “And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you” (Mt. 6:16–18).
• Never fast as an end in itself. Far too often the focus of fasting is merely on abstaining from food. The biblical purpose of fasting should be to take your eyes off the things of this world in order to focus instead on God. Fasting should be limited to set times because not eating for extended periods can harm the body, which is the temple of the Holy Spirit. Fasting is not meant to punish yourself. Always remember that the suffering of Christ alone, not our own, is sufficient to save sinners. Nor is fasting a religious way to “diet” and lose weight. Fasting with prayer is a means to draw near to God. You shift your attention from the things of this world in order to focus on the Lord. Jesus promises, “and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you” (Mt 6:18).

2. How to fast:

There is flexibility in the degree of your fasting. Different Christians have differing constitutions and circumstances and demands. Some have health issues; others have time constraints. Does it not seem likely that our Lord who said, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath” (Mk. 2:27), will be equally understanding concerning his ordinance of fasting? Indeed, the Bible seems to suggest at least four different sorts of fasting:

• ordinary fasts — refraining from eating all food, while still drinking water or juice. When Jesus fasted in the desert, the Bible says, “After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.” This verse doesn’t say that Jesus was thirsty. Presumably, he drank water during his fast.
• partial fasts —omitting a specific meal from your diet or refraining from certain types of foods, for example, food that you regard as a treat. Daniel 10:2–3 says, “In those days I, Daniel, was mourning for three weeks. I ate no delicacies, no meat or wine entered my mouth, nor did I anoint myself at all, for the full three weeks.”
• total fasts — no food and no drink. Acts 9:9 describes when Paul went on a total fast for three days following his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus: “And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.” Esther also called for this type of fast in Esther 4:15–16: “Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai, ‘Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my young women will also fast as you do. Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish.’” If this type of fast is done, it should be done in extreme circumstances and with great caution.
• fasts from things other than food — 1 Corinthians 7:3–5 speaks of a fast from the marriage bed, “The husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights, and likewise the wife to her husband. For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer; but then come together again, so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.” Although God’s Word doesn’t specifically mention these, some Christians might commit to fasting from other activities as well. Some might go without music or TV or movies or video games or some other activity in order to concentrate on prayer for a specified period of time.

Perhaps these aren’t four different sorts of fasting at all, but rather are four different degrees of applying the same principle — voluntarily doing without legitimate blessings for a time in order to humble oneself before the Lord. It would seem that, before the set day of prayer and fasting, you should make a commitment between you and the Lord concerning what you will fast from, and for how long, and then you should stick with it.

Andrew Murray suggested that it’s helpful to think of prayer and fasting as two hands. When you pray, you lay hold of God with one hand. But when you pray and fast, you let go of the legitimate things of this world in order to lay hold of God with both hands to beg his mercy, grace, and help in time of need.

“God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.” (James 4:6–10).

Lectures delivered in March, 2012 by Dr. Guy Waters of Reformed Theological Seminary at the Church of the Redeemer, Mesa, Arizona, USA

God Cares About the Church and So Should We: The Importance of the Church – Dr. Guy Waters

To Be or Not To Be a Church Member: A Biblical Case for Church Membership – Dr. Guy Waters

Soup Kitchens or Saving Souls? The Mission of the Church – Dr. Guy Waters

Parting Words, Matthew 28:16-20 – Dr. Guy Waters