The Church and Politics

Teacher and Minister John Murray of Westminster Theological Seminary

HT: Justin Taylor

“When laws are proposed or enacted that are contrary to the Word of God, it is the duty of the church in proclamation and in official pronouncement to oppose and condemn them. . . . It is misconception of what is involved in the proclamation of the whole counsel of God to suppose or plead that the church has no concern with the political sphere. The church is concerned with every sphere and is obligated to proclaim and inculcate the revealed will of God as it bears upon every department of life.”

—John Murray, “The Church, Its Identity, Function, and Resources” in The Collected Writings of John Murray, vol. 1 (Banner of Truth, 1976), p. 241.

“To the church is committed the task of proclaiming the whole counsel of God and, therefore, the counsel of God as it bears upon the responsibility of all persons and institutions. While the church is not to discharge the functions of other institutions such as the state and the family, nevertheless it is charged to define what the functions of these institutions are. . . . To put the matter bluntly, the church is not to engage in politics. Its members must do so, but only in their capacity as citizens of the state, not as members of the church.”

—John Murray, “The Relation of Church and State,” in The Collected Writings of John Murray, vol. 1 (Banner of Truth, 1976), 255.

Over the years I have picketed businesses of pornography hoping to shut down such places of filth and walked city streets with Christians on Pro-Life Sunday aiming to communicate disagreement with the legalization of elective abortions of the unborn. About 25 years ago, I walked through the streets of downtown Washington, D.C. with some 18,000 taking part in evangelization of passers-by. That Walk on Washington was intended to hold forth a Christian voice to the lost. As a walk in the streets of Washington, D. C., it sought to set forth a symbolic witness before the political landscape of 1980s America.

I take the time to vote, and hopefully, with an informed opinion about the candidates. Back four-five years ago, I went to pray with a city manager.  I have responded to some appeals to Christians to register an opinion to my legislators on various matters of legislation.

Preaching, evangelism and discipleship remain key pegs upon which to hang how the church and the Christian must be salt and light; as Murray says, “The church is concerned with every sphere and is obligated to proclaim and inculcate the revealed will of God as it bears upon every department of life.”

G. Mark Sumpter

Presbytery is Next Week—Is This Our Game Face?

Warts, Criticism, Chewing Tobacco and Jalapeño Pepper-Fellowship


This entry is from the book, With Calvin in the Theater of God, see Mark Talbot’s chapter, “Bad Actors on a Broken Stage,” p. 60. The book is a 2010 publication from Crossway Books. Good Stuff.

…Calvin’s letters show that he took his faults very seriously…In fact, it was part of the Genevan pastors’ practice to take each other’s faults seriously.

...T. H. L. Parker highlights this in a passage describing Geneva’s Venerable Company of Pastors, which held a regular quarterly meeting “for mutual frank and loving self-criticism”:

“In the church, as Calvin conceived it, every man helped every other man. If in Christ Jesus all believers are united, then a private believer is a contradiction in terms. Not only are the blessings and the virtues given for the common good, but the faults and the weaknesses concern the other members of the body. There was to be no hypocrisy of pretending to be other than a sinner, no dissembling or cloaking of sins; but, just as God is completely honest with men, and men must be honest with God, so also believer with believer must be courageously honest and open. The quarterly meeting was a little day of judgement when, flattery and convention laid aside, each man saw himself through the eyes of his fellows and, if he were wise, harboured no resentment but knew the uniquely joyful release of voluntary humiliation.”


Dr. Talbot quotes from T.H.L. Parker’s biography of John Calvin, p. 115, Westminster/John Knox Press

G. Mark Sumpter

Gather the People

In prayer

Joel 2:16 “Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children and nursing babes…”

There’ll be corporate prayer—summoned by the elders of Faith Church on October 24, 10:00 AM, and we’ll be praying for the church in the Northwest and around the USA for faithfulness and truth in the family, church and state.

G. Mark Sumpter

Expected, Unexpected Church Reformation

Pastor Jeremy Tuinstra With Covenant Church Burtonsville Breathes Life With New Focus

I served as Associate Pastor of Covenant OPC in Burtonsville MD, 1994-2002, and back at that time, the congregation took part in the expected pillars of ministry: preaching and worship, and education and discipleship, and evangelism and outward facing ministry. The church not too long ago aligned with the PCA.

Reformation has come under God's good hand in an unexpected, expected pillar of ministry the past 4 or so years. The January 2010 issue of byFaith, a PCA publication, features the new focus of this congregation: an intense ministry to the poor.

The article calls it a messy ministry, but it's one that looks and sounds like New Testament stuff.

Here are two quotes:

“Jeremy Tuinstra could pastor a congregation he describes as a doctrinal think tank, extremely literate in theology, but he prefers to inspire Christians to put their doctrinal knowledge to work and to be the gospel to the needy...”

“Because this ministry is so different from what many churchgoers expect, some view it as a niche that may be good for some, especially those who are really gifted for compassion ministry, but not necessarily expected of all. It's discouraging to see people accommodate Jesus and His mission to their expectation. Doing church is too often made to fit our expectations of nice religious experiences for us and our families...”

I am greatly challenged by Jeremy's model and faithfulness. God has greatly used him to stir faithfulness to the Lord and to put into practice this central pillar of the church's ministry.

Significantly, the Good News of the gospel tells us right up front what the signposts of the reality of the kingdom of God are. What signposts? It is returning to God in repentance and faith according John the Baptist, just as he was preaching at the Jordan, and getting into messy ministry:

Then he said to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” So the people asked him, saying, “What shall we do then?” He answered and said to them, “He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise.” Then tax collectors also came to be baptized, and said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Collect no more than what is appointed for you.” Likewise the soldiers asked him, saying, “And what shall we do?” So he said to them, “Do not intimidate anyone or accuse falsely, and be content with your wages.” Luke 3:7-14

Covenant PCA Church has made strides and gains in this ministry that indeed are of the expected, yet often unexpected for reformed congregations. Pastor Jeremy is helping pierce through the mere repentance of the head, and he's helping to lead the way with his congregation expressing repentance with hands.

G. Mark Sumpter

And Then She Said, YES!

Eldership Guidance on Marriage Eligibility

On the matter of determining eligibility, an Eldership should suggest that parents or the oversight authority use a pattern similar to how a local church determines if a pastoral-candidate is a right fit for serving a local church. Just as a local church chooses a pastor of like-minded beliefs, so there should be like-mindedness between candidates for marriage. Matters like theological background and practical direction in life should be shared. In the OPC, we call pastors to serve local churches who hold to the same system of doctrine as the local church. Like-mindedness in faith and life is crucial, see Phil. 1:27; 2:2-3; and Eph. 4:3, etc.

G. Mark Sumpter