”Fellow ministers of the Gospel, those who are called, by God, to unashamedly proclaim the inestimable salvation of our blessed Lord Jesus Christ, I stand before you this day to draw your attention to some important principles…”

When John Calvin stepped behind the elevated lectern of the thirty-eighth General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA), a low murmur could be heard among the commissioners. Many were waiting in eager expectation, with pen in hand, to hear from Dirk Pragma, the young, fly, ripped-jeans-wearing church planter who had grown his congregation from seventeen to eight-hundred in just under four months.

Pragma’s new book entitled, Whatever, recently hit #3 on Christianity Today’s best seller’s list, and his influence was growing rapidly. Dirk, however, was nowhere to be seen (It was later rumored that he had lost track of time when, earlier in the day, his latte had spilled on his new Apple laptop while he was attempting to simultaneously Tweet his 1429 followers and wipe froth from his wooly soul-patch).

Instead of Pragma, the assembly witnessed before them an emaciated, unpretentious, strangely-familiar-looking old man with a long, but well-manicured beard. As the Genevan Reformer commenced his brief address, his French accent began to foster curiosity in his hearers.

“Fellow ministers of the Gospel, those who are called, by God, to unashamedly proclaim the inestimable salvation of our blessed Lord Jesus Christ, I stand before you this day to draw your attention to some important principles; principles that we, the Reformed, must hold dear, if we are going to continue to promote and defend the true Christian religion in our own parishes and around the world.

The first concerns the doctrine of worship in general. The second and third concern two central aspects of worship, namely, the proclamation of the Word and prayer.

I know how difficult it is to persuade the world that God disapproves of all modes of worship not expressly sanctioned by His Word. It should not, however, be hard to convince a Reformed communion of this principle.

And yet, I have learned that opposing views on worship threaten the very unity of this body. I have read your Westminster Confession on the matter, and was more than pleased to see the clear and uncompromising language regarding public worship, namely, that ‘the acceptable way of worshipping the true God is instituted by Himself, and so limited by His own revealed will, that He may not be worshipped according to the imaginations and devices of men, or the suggestions of Satan, under any visible representation, or any other way not prescribed in the holy Scripture.’

Therefore, dear brothers, hold fast to your confession; the confession that you took vows to teach and defend. Let not the world, selfish ambition, or the unbiblical notions of certain members of your flock dictate the content and demeanor of corporate worship. Rather, in obedience to God’s own voice, worship according to Scripture. Let us reverently come into God’s presence: confessing our sins, receiving His pardon, singing Psalms and hymns, and with the exercising of sincere faith, joyfully embracing the crucified and risen Lord through the ordained means of preaching, water, bread and wine. Let us not allow mankind’s fleshly lust for informality and amusement weaken our liturgies. Rather, let us approach God on His terms, confident that through His ordained means of Word and sacrament He shall be glorified and the elect shall be saved. Dear brothers, this brings us to the second concern: preaching.

The Church is like a mother to her children. Under her loving care, God’s elect are conceived, nourished, disciplined and ushered into their eternal home. The Church is also l’escole de Dieu, the school of God, a place where the redeemed are to be instructed in the knowledge of God and His works. And what we must never forget is that it is chiefly through the Word preached that God saves, strengthens, instructs and sanctifies His chosen.

It is the Apostle Paul who states that the main purpose of his calling was to ‘make the Word of God fully known,’ proclaiming ‘Him’, namely Christ, that everyone of God’s elect may be presented ‘mature in Christ.’ Is this not also our purpose, to present God’s people ‘mature in Christ?’

When I was first convinced of the supreme importance of preaching, it transformed my entire view of gospel ministry. Indeed, the systematic-expository preaching of God’s Word – in both Old and New Testaments – became the most dominant part of my ministry in Geneva for almost thirty years. In fact, all over western Europe Reformation in the Church was spreading, precisely because gospel ministers were throwing off superstition and boldly proclaiming Christ from all of Scripture … even, at times, under the threat of death.

Therefore, dear brothers, preach the Word, in season and out of season; not just the more palatable portions, but every part. God’s Word, in the hands of the Spirit, is sufficient to build God’s kingdom, in every century and in every culture; and when preached faithfully, it will not return to Him void, accomplishing every purpose for which He sent it. Let us now turn our attention to the priority and necessity of prayer.

Just as faith is born from the gospel, so through it our hearts are trained to call upon God’s name in prayer. It is, therefore, by the benefit of prayer that we reach those riches which are laid up for us with the Heavenly Father. We dig up by prayer the treasures that were pointed out by the Lord’s gospel, and which our faith has gazed upon. Shouldn’t prayer, then, be at the very core of congregational life?

After spending three years in Strasbourg, I introduced to our parish, in Geneva, a weekly two-hour congregational prayer meeting. I understand that the prayer meeting was once a staple in your own tradition, but has now become almost extinct.

My fellow elders, the devil is quite pleased to see God’s people relying on themselves; for when the Church depends upon her own strength, she is highly vulnerable to his insidious attacks. However, when our lives are full of prayer, both privately and publicly, we walk in God’s strength, and express our true dependence upon His sovereign grace and wisdom, looking to Him in all circumstances.

Therefore, elevate prayer in the minds and hearts of your congregations, and recover the Reformed theology and practice of prayer.”

With this Calvin finished his brief, but powerful exhortation, and humbly prayed for the assembly. Ending his prayer, the slightly hunched-over Frenchman slowly left the platform. As the commissioners watched him depart, many were abuzz with curious chatter, wondering who this mysterious man could be.

Others, however, unconcerned with his identity, sat quietly; stung with conviction … and ready to change.
__________________
Jon D. Payne is pastor of Grace Presbyterian Church in Douglasville, Ga.

This article first appeared in the Nicotine Theological Journal; Vol. 13 No.3; Summer 2009 and is used with permission: http://oldlife.org/ntj/