Covenant Presbyterian Church

I wonder at times if we know who we are. Freed from Fundamentalism, we realize that being a Christian does not consist of a certain kind of haircut, saying "Praise Jesus" at the end of every sentence, dressing like a nerd, or refraining from such hellish activities as playing canasta, dancing a waltz with one’s wife, or enjoying a glass of wine. In our search for an alternate identity, we have now fallen into the morass of Libertinism, the idea that every man is a law unto himself, independent of the judgment of everyone else, and free to forge his own path of meaningful spirituality. As long as I feel good about God and about myself, the Spirit must be leading me, and you cannot say anything against me. The Church is currently swamped with this philosophy - do what you want as long as you can plead sincerity or shout "Holy Spirit." Under this dangerous philosophy, preachers increasingly resemble slick motivational speakers trying to sell the latest spiritual fad. Youth gatherings are often meat-markets, assemblies with parading immodesty and marauding testosterone that closely resemble MTV Live with Jesus frosting to make parents feel that their children are really being "reached." And thus the culture continues to crumble around us, and we still lack a legitimate sense of Christian identity, a self-awareness of who we are that would provide God-honoring direction in living for our Savior in the world.

We must recover who we are in Christ our Lord. Take, for example, the remarkable statement of the New Testament, that we "are raised with Christ, seated with him in the heavenlies" (Eph. 2:6). John adds that we are "kings and priests" (Rev. 1:6; 5:10). While our royal identity is not yet fully revealed and will certainly not be exhausted in our present experience of grace, for it "does not yet appear what we shall be" (1 John 3:2), there is a nevertheless a here-and-now reality to union with Jesus Christ that includes our sharing in his reign. Though not our full identity, we are kings and queens under Jesus Christ, sharing with him his reign over the world, working with him by his Spirit to subdue his enemies beneath his feet.

But before we can recover this identity and begin to live it, there is a more fundamental identity we have lost - that of our enthroned Savior. The New Testament is clear that God has made him "Lord and Christ" (Acts 2:36). All power and authority have been given into his crucified and resurrected hands (Matt. 28:18). Everything has been put under his feet (Eph. 1:19-23). Our Savior is now sitting, as the God-man our Mediator, upon the throne of his father David, ruling over the nations, subduing them by his Word and Spirit, and building his Church victorious over the gates of hell. I believe that the reason we have lost our Christian identity is because we have forgotten Christ’s identity as the enthroned King of heaven and earth. He is the King - but we ignore his law. He is the King - but we worship as we please. He is the King - but we lead careless, kingdom-indifferent, sometimes shockingly immoral lives. He is the King - but we continue to support political candidates that do not recognize his royal prerogatives and would rule at best in indifference to him. He is the King - but we do not practice church disciple as he commands, organize our churches as he commands, or pay careful attention to the doctrines he commands.

In former ages, faith in the present kingly reign of our Savior produced a stock of men and women of whom the world was not worthy. They refused to kiss the genius of the emperor, choosing instead to kiss the Son, to bear his cross unto death. They suffered the loss of their goods that they might obtain a part in his enduring kingdom. They refused to compromise biblical faith in order to "reach the world." They proclaimed the peace terms of the King. They called upon all men everywhere to repent and bow the knee to the crucified One. The lived and reigned with Jesus Christ, shaping history and cultures, refusing to bow to the hubris of kings and popes, willing to suffer the loss of all things that they may gain Christ and be found in him.

Their memory daily grows dimmer. It is not because the lies of Satan have grown any truer, or the wrath of man any fiercer, or the truth of God any staler. It is because we have forgotten the true King. And though it is promised of his reign that "his people will be willing in the day of his power" (Ps. 110:4), and "greater works than these you shall do because I go to be with my Father" (John 14:12), it is also true that he will not do many mighty works among a people who do not believe (Matt. 13:58). And this is where we find ourselves - we have wealthy Christian leaders and churches, enjoy almost unrestricted access to media, and face little overt persecution - and yet we continue to recede into defeat. Why, with all the Christian schools, a church on almost every corner, and new ministries every day that make incredible promises of financial success, sanctification, or worldview superiority, why are we still so weak? Why do our marriages, youth, and leadership so closely resemble their unbelieving counterparts? There is a reason. It is not because we are living in the eleventh hour of world history, or because secularism is destined to hold global sway, or because Satan has gotten his second wind. It is because we have forgotten our King, and, therefore, we have forgotten our Christian identity.

If we believed that Christ is King, and that we are kings and queens under him, a monumental revolution in Christian thinking would ensue, a reformation that would impact the world far more meaningfully and lastingly than all the evangelistic crusades, healing events, and seeker-friendly efforts combined. First, we would recognize that our King’s word is our delightful law. It is our privilege to rise each morning, greet our King, and seek his strength to do his will, a will that is not clothed in spiritualistic obscurity or defined by personal desire but by his all-sufficient word. We would be avid, interactive, and humble students of the King’s word. This would put many spurious Christian leaders out of business. It is tragic that the same thing is happening in many evangelical churches as happened during the medieval period - church leaders increasingly want the people of God to be ignorant. Preaching was practically non-existent in late medieval Romanism; it is increasingly so in seeker-friendly, coffeehouse Christianity. An ignorant membership helps them with their schemes, their desire to remake the church in their own image, their unwillingness to be held accountable to the all-sufficient Scriptures, their desire to enrich themselves. The same thing that finally overcame the tyranny of popes will send the personality cults of modern evangelicalism into oblivion - an open, studied, and prayed-over Bible. You cannot trick the Bible-knowing and living believer by images, vacuous promises, and visually stimulating worship services. It has been tried, and it miserably failed. For, you see, our King is also a Shepherd, and his sheep know his voice. They will not listen to the voice of a false shepherd. And how are they able to distinguish the true from the false? Because their hearts have been subdued by God’s Spirit to the Word of the King of glory, and thus receiving the love of the truth, they cease supporting, listening to, and following those whose lives and ministries are not self-consciously, unashamedly, and uncompromisingly loyal to the Scriptures of the King.

Second, we would assume our regal roles with a dynamic blend of humility and confidence, lowliness and power, being over the world in Christ without being of the world. This is how our King rules. His is not a kingdom of outward pomp, guns and tanks, political machinations, sumptuously robed priests, and personal arrogance. He gained his promised inheritance by taking the form of a servant, dying the shameful death of the cross, and eschewing all worldly methods of kingdom building. This is our paradigm for reigning with Christ. We are confident each day of our Father’s calling, of our Savior’s victory, and of the Spirit’s presence and power. All of this we have received by grace. We put no confidence in earthly princes or marketing strategies. The weapons of our warfare remain as sufficient today to demolish every stronghold raised in opposition to the King as they were in the days of the apostles. We, moreover, carry about every day the death of our Savior that his life may also be operative in us. This is the balance of mature spirituality, of legitimate Christian identity, of successful Christian leadership - simplicity, transparency, and lowliness, all the while using our King’s appointed weapons to advance the interests of his kingdom. Such a reign is totally incompatible with much of what takes place in the church, where showmanship and shallowness, ignorance coupled with unjustified arrogance, substitute for legitimate Christian identity and experience.

Third, we would stop paying so much attention to the world. The world cannot tell us what it needs for it does not know its true need. We cannot adapt our worship and evangelistic practices to the world’s tastes for these are still held enslaved in the dominion of sin. It is our high calling to subdue the world, to gain it for Christ. It is not the world’s leaders that define the course of history, nor its entertainers, athletes, or corporate moguls. The humble believer, who lives each day for his King, has greater present relevance and more lasting impact than any one of these. But we do not believe this any longer, largely because we misunderstand the nature of Christ’s reign and underestimate the power we have by virtue of our union with him. It is our prayers, faithfulness, fellowship, worship, and doctrine that shape the course of men and nations. It is the simple life of the unheralded believer that is being used to further the reign of the King. The recovery of this truly Christian identity will be monumental for the church. We will stop seeking our worship cues from rock concerts and motivational seminars, our doctrinal marching orders from promoters of liberalism, political correctness, or psychological stimulators, and our moral valuations from what is presently acceptable and practiced by blind men. All of these will result when believers believe again that they, not unbelievers, are reigning over this world with Christ, as his redeemed kings and queens.

Fourth, kings and queens must bear the responsibility of their failures without blaming others. If we would understand the leading causes of the present declension of our nations, churches, and families, we need look no farther than the abdication of Christian identity, the absentee kings and queens of the professing Church of Jesus Christ. Do we see ourselves each day as the ones who bear the responsibility to disciple the nations, that if the nations are rebelling against Jesus Christ, it may be because we have given them the excuse to do so by our failure to live and speak as those who are intensely aware of the authority of Jesus Christ over all things and of his presence in the world by his Spirit? Are we setting an example of personal integrity, righteousness, and humility in our words and actions, families and congregations, business relations and social contacts, or is the light of our lives so muted by sin, carelessness, and self-absorption that it has been largely extinguished? Are we praying as those whose prayers shape the course of history, or are they so focused upon self and personal needs, that they have lost their kingdom orientation and historical power? You see, we are made kings and queens not to sit in idleness and spiritual self-contentedness but to extend the interests of the King, to live as those who reign with him, to speak with the authority of the King, confident that his word will not return to him without accomplishing his holy and powerful purposes.

Therefore, as we see things so topsy-turvy in our nations and churches, our first responsibility is to reaffirm our Christian identity. We cannot look to the blind for direction, to the weak for assistance, to the compromised for clarity. We must, like Stephen, see the King in his glory, seated at the right hand of the Father, clothed with omnipotence, and near to us through his Word and Spirit. He is still the King, and because he reigns, we may be certain that our reign will not be frustrated. I cannot think of any need more pressing than for Christians to live consistently with their royal identity in Jesus Christ - meekly and self-effacingly, boldly and hopefully, wisely and consistently, joyfully and patiently. There is a King, one Jesus. He is pleased to exercise and advance his reign through his under-kings and queens. The world must learn from us what it means to live under his authority, by his Word, and through his grace. By this alone will it be progressively transformed and recognize the blessedness of his salvation and kingdom. May we never abdicate our thrones, but sit on them under Christ, serving the King, showing the fruits of his reign in our own lives, and the present reality of his power by the testimony of changed lives.