Regional Synod of Canada - Reformed Church in America

Pioneer Christian Monthly

Date - Nov/95

Contributor - William McKay

Title - Upon This Rock - The Nature and Mission of The Church

Topic - Ministries

1995 Toronto Conference - Ligonier Ministries of Canada

I recently had the opportunity to attend a conference that was hosted by Ligonier Ministries of Canada. I found the conference exciting and was strengthened in my spiritual life. It was very uplifting to meet and fellowship with other members of the reformed faith.

The conference was held at Bayview Glen Church of the Christian and Missionary Alliance in Toronto, ON, on the weekend of August 18-19, 1995. The theme and, main focus of the conference was "Upon This Rock, The Nature and Mission of the Church." Two passages from scripture served as the focal point for the conference, 1 Peter 2:4-6 and Ephesians 2:19-22, which describe Jesus Christ as being the cornerstone, foundation and strength of the church.

The guest speakers were: Dr. John Armstrong, founder and director of Reformation and Revival Ministries in Carol Stream, Illinois; Dr. Peter Jones, professor of New Testament at Westminster Theological Seminary in California; Rev. John Sartelle, senior minister of Independent Presbyterian Church in Memphis, Tennessee; Dr. David Wells, the Andrew Mutch Distinguished Professor of Historical and Systematic Theology at Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary in South Hamilton, Massachusetts; and Dr. R.C. Sproul, chairman of Ligonier Ministries and also professor of Systematic Theology at Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando, Florida. Serving as platform hosts were Dr. Mariano Digangi, a past president of the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada and professor of pastoral studies at Ontario Theological Seminary from 1976 - 86 and Bernie Smith, from Canadian Inter Varsity Christian Fellowship.

As I was able to attend only the Saturday portion of the conference I will give a brief description of Friday's schedule. The conference started on Friday morning, August 18 with three preconference Seminars dealing with the "Bride of Christ", 'The Spotless Bride of Christ", and "The Unfaithful Bride of Christ", followed by a Question and Answer Session with all of the featured speakers handling questions from the floor. The afternoon sessions dealt with "One Holy and Apostolic Church" with Dr. R.C. Sproul; "The Foundation of the Church' with Dr. Peter Jones; "The Love of the Church" with Dr. David Wells; and 'The Mission of the Church" with Rev. John Sartelle.

POINTLESS PAGANISM

Dr. Peter Jones began Saturday's sessions speaking on "The Battle of the Church". He stated that we are in the midst of a mortal combat between the gates of Hell and the gate of Heaven and that we are witnessing a revival of paganism in our culture today. He explained that there is no foundation to paganism because, in a pagan society, nothing is true. This means there is a rejection of scripture, which is the truth. Satan is the architect of this society. There is no mention of God's grace in this society because, it is a representation of man's abilities. There will be many idols and no Bible. We do have a response to this revival of paganism. We must remember that Christ is the gate of Heaven and the foundation of the church. We must have faith in Christ and take on the full armour of God, as mentioned in Ephesians 6: 10-20. We must pray that our mouths will be opened and that we will be bold in our proclamation that Christ is our Lord and our Saviour. In closing, Dr. Jones gave us one word to encourage us in this fight. "RESIST"!!!

ABSOLUTE ABSOLUTES

Dr. David Wells spoke on "The Sword of the Church". He began by stating that the issue we face is the function of God's Word in the world today. There is a loss of boldness and courage and a diminished moral and intellectual passion in our lives. Martin Luther showed boldness as did the Apostles in their preaching of the Word. Boldness comes from believing that what we hold to be true really matters. He reported that 53% of U.S. evangelicals do not believe there is absolute truth and that 70% of the American population also believes there is no absolute truth. This shows that the modem world has no belief in absolutes. Paul commands us, in Ephesians 4:25, to speak truthfully and put off falsehoods. Dr. Wells then asked the question, 'Why has the truth fallen on hard times?" His response is that we are no longer bold and that there are two revolutions taking place in our lives.

The first is a "Therapeutic Revolution". This uses the terms and language of psychology to promote a new life view. These are used as excuses for our behaviour. There are no moral categories and our assumptions become more real than the truth. These are lies. We need to accept responsibility for our sin and ask God for His forgiveness. We need to change the way we live our lives so that God's glory shines through our example. God has promised that He will make us good.

The second revolution is a "Managerial Revolution" Within this revolution, life becomes a series of products and services. Church growth is increasingly becoming tied to modern marketing techniques. We are treating the church as a business. This is wrong because the needs of grace and business are not the same. In business, you are free to choose needs for yourself. In church, God chooses your needs through His grace. In business, all motives are hidden. In church, all motives are exposed because we lose all anonymity before God. In business, the customer is always right, meaning the customer is sovereign. In church, God is sovereign. In business, the market defines the product. The church cannot accept this concept. If we use the same language, we will be left with nothing to say because we will be saying the same things as the secular society we are trying to distance ourselves from. In closing, Dr. Wells tells us, we must speak the language of God. We must speak the truth. "WE MUST BE BOLD!!!

CONGREGATIONAL COGNITION

Dr. John Armstrong spoke on the "Ministers of our Church". He stated that we need a biblical understanding of the Church. Church, in the Greek, means, "that which belongs to the Lord." We, the people of the church, are on a pilgrimage. We are wandering but we are called to a relationship with God. We need to journey away from the secular world. We are called together to work for God. Within the local congregation we need to think in the plural. We need to think about the congregation and not about ourselves. We need to labour to keep and preserve the gospel. We need to think biblically with regard to salvation. There is too much individualism in society. Ephesians 3:4ff tells us the church is part of God's plan of salvation. It is not the means to the end, it is the goal. The mission of the church is to spread the word of God. Our ministers are to prepare the body (saints) to minister to the world. God, through His grace and the power of the Holy Spirit, has given us gifts to use for this purpose. Our combined gifts become the one gift of Christ. Dr. Armstrong closed by explaining that we have a debt to repay, a debt of love. This is accomplished through ministry to others. "WE MUST COMMIT!!!"

POWERFUL PILGRIMS

Rev. John Sartelle told us of "The Power of the Church". The question Rev. Sartelle asked was, "Where is our power?" He went on to say that we, as a church, have tried to copy secular methods of dealing with our lives. This is an incorrect view. Why have we resorted to using weapons that God has not given us? We need to learn to use the tools that God has given us to combat the forces of Satan. God has given us the Power of Prayer. We need to pray and use God's will. The Power of Love. We need to love those who are different. The Power of Worship. We need to give, act and worship with conviction. The Power of Holy living. We, as Christians, must live holy lives. At the same time we must beware of becoming legalistic in our worship of God. The Power of Scripture. God's Holy Word is the ultimate weapon against Satan. It is the truth. The Power of Sacrifice. We must remember that Jesus Christ was sacrificed for our sins. "USE THE POWER!!!"

MIGHTY MILITANTS

Dr. R.C. Sproul closed out the conference by discussing "The Church Militant and Triumphant". He explained that Jesus Christ established a church militant and we will not be triumphant in our war until we see Heaven. He farther explained that Christ is fighting a war of conquest (offensive), while Satan is fighting a war of attrition (defensive). The church must conquer Hell to survive and the power of the God's Holy Word is our weapon. The Book of Acts shows the church to be on the offensive. Pentecost enabled the Church and gave them the power to fight this war. He closed by reminding us that must make the church our mission. We must be militant in our fight against the evils of sin. God has promised the Church Militant will become the Church Triumphant.

"THE CHURCH TRIUMPHANT!!!"

I would strongly encourage you to attend the next Ligonier conference in your area.

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