Subordinate Authority

My church recently had the joy of receiving new members. During the service, there were vows taken before God which I witnessed. Also witnessing these vows was a friend of mine who was only visiting the church this particular Sabbath. He later asked me some questions which got me thinking about the issue of authority. Here's what he asked:

How do you rectify proclaiming that the Bible is the source of truth and that you must submit to the authority of the church? I noticed that [the new member's] vows are book-ended by these two statements. The first is about the Bible being the only source of truth, the last is affirming submission to the authority of the church. Maybe I misunderstood the statements, but I know they were both mentioned. ... It just seems to contradict if you claim sole authority in the Bible and yet you submit to the authority of the church as well.

The vows that my friend took notice of are as follows (also found in the Constitution of the Church):

1. Do you believe the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the Word of God, the only infallible rule for faith and life?
4. Do you promise to submit in the Lord to the teaching and government of this church as being based upon the Scriptures and described in substance in the Constitution of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America? Do you recognize your responsibility to work with others in the church and do you promise to support and encourage them in their service to the Lord? In case you should need correction in doctrine or life, do you promise to respect the authority and discipline of the church?

The questions my friend was asking led to a discussion on the topic of authority, particularly subordinate authority. I have an example which I believe demonstrates what I mean. My wife is the nanny for 3 young boys (you can read about her adventures here). My wife was hired for this job by the 3 boys' parents. These parents have authority over their children. When my wife watches them, the only authority she has is the authority that the parents give her. In a sense, she is under their authority as pertains to how she treats their children. If they commanded the kids to not eat dirt and my wife said it were OK to eat dirt (or fed them nothing but candy, or had them watch violent movies, or instructed them to bite one another, etc. (which she doesn't do!) ), she would be removed from her post and replaced by another. Her authority is a subordinate authority. If the church fails to exercise it's authority in accord with what God prescribes in the bible, He may choose to cut off that branch of believers and grow a new shoot elsewhere (just as He did with unbelieving Israel).

I believe that the bible is God's way to tell His church what He wants them to know. But then the question comes up, what are the key things which the bible teaches? How are we to interpret it? This is one reason why the church to which I belong is a confessional church. The WMCF, Testimony, WMLC, WMSC are standards which are subordinate to God's word in the bible. They summarize what the church believes the bible says. If any error is found in these standards, these errors are to be removed so to align them with the scriptures. I submit to them only because I believe that they accurately summarize what the bible teaches. I submit to the authority of the church because I believe it is being true to the Word made flesh.

The issue of authority is very important... especially for people who consider Jesus their Lord. The church each of us attends has an impact on what we believe and how it plays out in our life. This is a good thing provided the church teaches truth. But if a church's teachings are marginal, eventually the belief of its members become marginal as well. Whether explicitly or implicitly, members of a church submit themselves to the doctrines (and dry theology) they receive there. This makes the issue of choosing and committing to a church important.

Questions I'm challenging myself with:

Have I read all of the confessional standards of my church? Do I challenge them against the scriptures (rather than challenging scriptures against them)? Am I submitting to the church I belong to as a subordinate authority?

Theology vs. Religion ... FIGHT!

I recently picked up a copy of What is Reformed Theology? by R. C. Sproul. I've not yet made it through the introduction and an apt question has been raised. What is the difference between theology and religion? As applies to what you are reading, why does the top of the page read "Dry Theology" and not "Dry Religion"? Which should consume us? Either? Both?

First, let's define our terms, then we'll contrast them.

Theology is the study of God. Literally, it means "science of God".

Religion is the study of what man does in light of God.

At the outset, we see that theology is focused on God... or at least it has its base in God. I've heard of theology used in different contexts which on face value lose sight of this (i.e. "a study on the theology of sex"). Indeed, in common usage, theology often has little to do with God. It has drifted toward the meaning of religion. Religion is a study of men. It is focused on man... it concerns itself with rites and practices... and to some degree, beliefs. The study of religion is a study mainly of what we can see, sense, and/or measure.

I assert that Theology is primary and Religion is secondary. It is knowledge of the true God that leads one to worship Him. The visible worship of a false god compared to the worship of the living God could be difficult to differentiate for human eyes. In the same way, secretarial work for the government of Canada might look incredibly similar to a secretary's job for the 1940 Nazi Germany. Thus, it is imperative that we get to know the God we serve. Right theology will lead to right religion. A religion is right to the extent that the god it serves is the one and only God of the universe. Theology is the center because God is the center. Theology is supreme because God is supreme. As God is above man, so we should consider theology above religion.

Why Dry?

Recently I gave a presentation to a broad audience at work. On the invitation, several questions I had answered were displayed, to familiarize those invited with me as a person. One of the questions was "What is your favorite book genre?". My response was "dry and boring theology". I like, and even love, theology. Not everyone shares my sentiment. I did a google search of "dry theology" and found from the context shown for the results that most people hold "dry theology" in contempt. In general there were two assessments of "dry theology".

The first was that "dry theology" which was only in one's head and did not lead to action in one's hands is a useless theology. I agree wholeheartedly with rejection of such "dry theology". James writes in his epistle of 'faith which does not result in works' (James 2:14-26). He assesses that such a faith is a dead faith. In the same way, "dry theology" which is a mere assent to some theological deductions or dogmas and does not lead to a changed life and a reaffirmed love for God is not useful. It profits none. It is worthless. I do not intend for readers of this blog to read and have all that they've read remain only in their head. If what I say is true to what God has revealed, it should result in fruit in my life.

The second assessment of "dry theology" is that it is useless all together. Indeed, many people hold a distain for all theology because they find it all useless. I was reminded of "dry bones" from Ezekiel 37 (Ezekiel 37:1-14). In the valley, there were dead bones. These bones were dead, cold, and dry. Bones in this state are useless. Nevertheless, anyone who considers the state of these bones has underneath their skin and flesh bones of their own. Bones give structure. Bones give support. Bones are rigid. They do require flesh to keep them moist. They do require muscle to make them move. No person has distain for the bones within themselves. In the same way, I feel that we must not have distain for theology. It gives structure, support, and rigidity to the flesh of our lives.

In a blog, I do not expect that I can bring "dry theology" to be anything other than words on a screen. I do not have the power to bring dry bones to life. But God does. Faith comes from hearing (Romans 10:14-17). God has the ability to make my fallible words useful for those whom He has chosen for himself. I intend to write of what I know of the God I serve. I pray that God will use it to serve Himself well.