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All right, today, oh boy, I hope you guys got lots of sleep.

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Today, I know when I say that it's scary, right,

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is an extension of Reformation Sunday.

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That was last Sunday, right, October 31st, Reformation Sunday,

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but today we're extending that

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with a whole bunch of really important history.

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Now, I know some of you guys don't love history,

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don't check out on me,

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because the second half of the message today,

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we are gonna dig into the doctrine of communion,

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to really try to explain what it is,

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what it is that Christ has left us, what takes place,

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and I think you'll be encouraged by it.

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But first, let's get our historical thinking caps on,

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because we're gonna move really quick this morning.

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Here's my goal.

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First of all, to help you guys answer these questions,

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at Oak Hill, where do we come from?

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And I don't just mean Castaic.

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I mean, where do we come from?

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What is our spiritual heritage?

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In terms of the Reformation,

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what is our spiritual heritage?

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And then, as I said, coming back to our study, the Eucharist,

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what is our position here at Oak Hill?

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What do we believe about it?

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How should it be lived out?

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Okay, so here we go.

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Let's dive into some more Reformation history.

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We're gonna look at the river of Reformation today,

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and we're gonna look at the four main streams

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that came out of the Reformation.

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This is sort of a reductionist model,

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but four primary streams come out of the Reformation,

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the Lutheran stream, the Anabaptist stream,

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the Reform stream, and the Anglican stream.

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We're gonna look at all four of those,

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and we're gonna look at each one of those and say,

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what is it that Oak Hill has taken from that stream?

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What have we rejected?

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And at the end of it, answer the question, who are we?

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Sound good?

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Okay, you guys know who we are, though, right?

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Okay, let's look at that first one.

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Let's look at the Lutheran stream.

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Of course, this is where the Reformation started, right?

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The year 1517, the posting of the 95 Theses

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in the city of Wittenberg, Germany.

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Luther was 34 years old at the time,

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and like a bulldog hungry for a bone,

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he would almost single-handedly push

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and carry the Reformation for the next 30 years of his life.

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His much quieter and more theological partner,

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his right-hand man, was Philip Melanchthon.

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He was the primary author

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of the very original German Reformed creed.

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We call it the Augsburg Confession.

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After Luther died, Melanchthon carried on

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the spirit, the torch of German Reformation.

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And by the way, over time, began to move away from Luther

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on a couple things, including the Eucharist,

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and developed his own particular German theology,

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a lot of it through communication with other Reformers,

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including Calvin.

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Now, 20 years after Melanchthon's death in 1580,

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church leaders would bring together

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a whole collection of creeds and confessions

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that had been meaningful in the German church,

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and they codified it and put it together,

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and it became known as the Book of Concord.

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To this day, if you walk into a Lutheran church,

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they will tell you the Book of Concord

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is the doctrinal backbone of the Lutheran church.

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Now, in the 17th century,

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Lutheranism went through a very interesting shift.

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It's called German Pietism.

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It was a movement away from Luther

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as a doctrinal man, as a man of liturgy,

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sort of moving away from formalism

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to a much more individual spirit of renewal

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and devotion to God, a much simpler type of faith.

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And then in the next century, Lutheranism

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was heavily impacted by the secular spirit

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of the Enlightenment, and Lutheranism, sadly,

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entered into a very, very liberal phase

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that is still ongoing today.

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In America today, it is hard to predict

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what you're gonna find if you walk into a Lutheran church,

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and that is sad.

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Considering the roots, it is sad

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that you don't know what you're gonna get.

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You may get the wildly liberal ELCA,

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the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America,

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very liberal, in fact, not only did they ordain

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women to the ministry, but also gay men and women,

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and just this year, the ELCA ordained

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their first transgender bishop.

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So you know where that has gone.

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Luther would be spinning in his grave, true.

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Now, there has been a conservative reaction to that.

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It's known as the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod,

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and up to this point, although it's a much smaller

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denomination, up to this point, they have resisted

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all the social and sort of cultural trends

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that the world has thrown at them,

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and they are still clinging on to the theological work

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of both Luther and Melanchthon.

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Now, this may not surprise you,

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but I found a way to bring a map in today.

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Okay, so just, we're gonna plot some of the centers

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of Reformation so you can see what's happening.

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This is Western Europe, and that yellow dot

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is Northern Germany, that is where Wittenberg is located.

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That is the very heart of the Reformation,

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and so you can picture that.

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Some of you guys know your geography,

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you're like, I know Western Europe.

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Some of you guys couldn't find Switzerland on a map.

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I get it, that's okay.

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My hope is that you'll begin to love maps more and more

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here at Oak Hill.

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That's where Northern Germany is.

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Okay, so what have we inherited from the Lutheran movement?

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Well, two really big things.

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Absolute cornerstones of Luther's Reformation, right?

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Sola Scriptura, right?

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The authority of Scripture,

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and justification by faith alone.

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Incredible cornerstones of what we would call

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Reformation faith.

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What have we rejected from the Lutherans?

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Well, the real presence, view of the Eucharist.

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We talked about it last Sunday,

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we'll talk about it a little bit more today.

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Also, Pato baptism.

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How many of you guys have heard that term?

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That's baptism of infants and children.

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We reject that as well.

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We reject Amillennialism.

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Okay, which stands in very stark contrast

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to what we teach here at Oak Hill,

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which is Premillennialism.

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We believe in a literal rapture of the church,

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and a literal millennial kingdom.

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Lutherans do not.

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They believe in Amillennialism,

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which tells us that the very next thing that happens

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is Christ returns and we go straight into the eternal state.

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Okay, so we differ on those things.

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So some we've taken, some we've rejected.

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Make sense?

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That's one stream.

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Let's look at the second one, Anabaptism.

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Anabaptism.

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Now, of all the four streams,

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this is the one we had the least in common with,

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and we should be grateful for that.

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In the 16th century,

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when Luther was waging his war against Rome,

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the Anabaptist movement sprung up from ideas,

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if you can imagine,

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that were much more extreme than even Luther.

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And that was stunning to Rome.

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Even more radical.

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In fact, even among Protestants,

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they would have said,

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those guys are the radical fringe.

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They were the radical reformation.

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They were the ones most aggressively committed

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to tearing down every vestige of Roman faith and practice.

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Movement started in Zurich, Switzerland

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under the leadership of Ulrich Zwingli.

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We've talked about him a number of times in our series.

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But here's the funny thing.

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Very soon, the Anabaptists grew impatient with Zwingli.

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Zwingli wanted to move things slowly.

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He understood that it was a journey, not a sprint,

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but the Anabaptists were impatient.

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So they said, Zwingli, you're too moderate for us,

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and we want change right now.

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So they broke with Zwingli,

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and they split her into a whole bunch of different groups,

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the most prominent being led by the man you see up there,

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Conrad Grebel.

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Now, here's a whole list of things

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that marked out the Anabaptists.

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First of all, they would not even have said

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back in the day that they were Protestants.

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They would say, we don't even want to line up

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with these other guys, these Lutherans and these reformed.

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We are simply Christians, they would say.

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Simple Christians trying to live out the apostolic faith

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that they saw in scripture.

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What that caused them to do is to fall into

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a very, very deep hatred of the pope,

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of the Catholic Church,

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and what they called magisterial religion,

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the idea that church and state would be melded into one.

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They abhorred that idea, especially the idea

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that a secular magistrate or a king

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would somehow have authority in the church.

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So Anabaptists became what we call separatists.

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That was their impulse, to separate from the world,

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to withdraw from society, leave us alone.

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We will form our tight-knit communities,

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just leave us alone.

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They're also completely committed

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to making zero alliances with the state.

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If you're an Anabaptist, you could not work

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for the government, and you would have been a pacifist.

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You cannot serve in the military as well.

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So very much separatist and withdrawn.

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Here's the thing they're most known for,

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the thing that got them in the most trouble

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with both Catholics and Protestants.

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They rejected paedobaptism, as we do today.

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And it seems weird to us that men that we look up to,

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like Luther and Calvin and Zwingli,

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these brilliant scholars who love scripture,

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how after the Reformation,

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they continued to preach infant baptism.

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It makes no sense to us, right?

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But back then, they're still so rooted

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in Roman Catholicism that a lot of things

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were sort of left over.

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They believed in infant baptism.

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So in the midst of the Reformation,

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where things are already pretty radical,

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and the boundaries are being pushed,

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along comes this group, the Anabaptists.

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Not only did they refuse to baptize infants,

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you ready for this?

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They're baptizing adults.

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Right?

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That is unheard of.

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You have to understand, for a thousand years,

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there is no other system but Roman Catholicism,

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and they didn't baptize adults.

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They definitely didn't rebaptize.

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And that's what that word Anabaptists means.

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They were called rebaptizers,

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and that was meant in a derogatory way.

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History tells us that wherever these people settled,

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Anabaptists were literally chased out of European cities.

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Many of their leaders would be arrested

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and thrown in prison for the rest of their lives.

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Some of them were even executed,

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either burning at the stake or drowning by Catholics,

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and ironically, also Protestant leaders.

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In terms of their leadership,

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they've been spread across Europe.

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Some of these names may be familiar to you.

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I'll put them on the screen here.

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In Moravia, which is today Eastern Czech Republic,

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you had a man named Jacob Hutter,

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and his movement spread east into Hungary

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and Transylvania and even Ukraine.

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In the Netherlands, you had a man named Menno Simons.

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In Switzerland, Jacob Amon,

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and in Germany, a man named Alexander Mack.

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Now, all those guys, their names make sense to us

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because of what happened when their churches

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00:10:26,220 --> 00:10:28,760
came over to America, okay?

264
00:10:28,760 --> 00:10:30,520
You see the names there?

265
00:10:30,520 --> 00:10:33,280
The Hutterites are still around today,

266
00:10:33,280 --> 00:10:36,440
mainly in Montana, in the Dakotas, and up in Minnesota,

267
00:10:36,440 --> 00:10:38,240
right along the Canadian border.

268
00:10:38,240 --> 00:10:41,240
Again, very separatist, they wanna be left alone.

269
00:10:41,240 --> 00:10:45,480
The Mennonites come from Menno Simons in the Netherlands,

270
00:10:45,480 --> 00:10:48,480
and then you got Jacob Amon's group, the Amish,

271
00:10:48,480 --> 00:10:51,400
and then Mack's group became known as the German Brethren,

272
00:10:51,400 --> 00:10:53,840
and so there's a whole bunch of different streams

273
00:10:53,840 --> 00:10:55,880
in terms of brethren churches.

274
00:10:55,880 --> 00:10:59,880
All of those groups are today still separatist in nature.

275
00:10:59,880 --> 00:11:02,880
Leave us alone, we reject modern conveniences, right?

276
00:11:02,880 --> 00:11:05,400
You see them in the buggies, you know,

277
00:11:05,400 --> 00:11:06,840
going all over the place?

278
00:11:06,840 --> 00:11:10,800
They reject all of modernity,

279
00:11:10,800 --> 00:11:13,460
and they live very tight, in very tight communities.

280
00:11:13,460 --> 00:11:15,120
Just leave us alone.

281
00:11:15,120 --> 00:11:16,720
So, let's look at the map again.

282
00:11:16,720 --> 00:11:18,760
So we got a couple different places now.

283
00:11:18,760 --> 00:11:20,080
Switzerland, there's Switzerland,

284
00:11:20,080 --> 00:11:22,880
in case, how many of you guys didn't know?

285
00:11:22,880 --> 00:11:26,160
Okay, says the guy from Switzerland.

286
00:11:26,160 --> 00:11:28,320
Literally Mark De Bae from Switzerland, okay.

287
00:11:29,400 --> 00:11:31,560
Talk to Mark after church.

288
00:11:31,560 --> 00:11:33,860
There's Moravia, they see the Czech Republic in blue,

289
00:11:33,860 --> 00:11:37,480
and that's supposed to be orange, the Netherlands as well.

290
00:11:37,480 --> 00:11:39,960
So, some more of the Reformation Center.

291
00:11:39,960 --> 00:11:43,560
So, what did we inherit from the Anabaptists?

292
00:11:43,560 --> 00:11:45,640
Only one thing, really, and that's that concept

293
00:11:45,640 --> 00:11:46,940
of believer's baptism.

294
00:11:46,940 --> 00:11:49,420
That's what we believe scripture says,

295
00:11:49,420 --> 00:11:52,140
salvation, then baptism, right?

296
00:11:52,140 --> 00:11:54,060
Not infant baptism, which again,

297
00:11:54,060 --> 00:11:58,020
many of the Reformation teachers believe that

298
00:11:58,020 --> 00:12:01,740
an infant is baptized as a welcoming into the new covenant,

299
00:12:01,740 --> 00:12:04,700
just as in the old covenant, circumcision.

300
00:12:04,700 --> 00:12:06,100
Welcome somebody into the community.

301
00:12:06,100 --> 00:12:07,140
We reject that idea.

302
00:12:07,140 --> 00:12:11,220
We believe baptism only follows saving faith.

303
00:12:11,220 --> 00:12:12,660
Make sense?

304
00:12:12,660 --> 00:12:14,640
Okay, so what do we have so far?

305
00:12:14,640 --> 00:12:17,640
The Lutheran stream, the Anabaptist stream.

306
00:12:17,640 --> 00:12:19,240
Let's look at two more important ones.

307
00:12:19,240 --> 00:12:21,740
First of all, let's look at the Reform stream.

308
00:12:21,740 --> 00:12:24,000
Now, the Reform stream, I'm gonna keep turning around

309
00:12:24,000 --> 00:12:27,440
to make sure I've got it, actually comes in three substreams.

310
00:12:27,440 --> 00:12:29,140
There's three groups within the Reform.

311
00:12:29,140 --> 00:12:31,940
One is the Swiss Reformation, Mark.

312
00:12:31,940 --> 00:12:33,660
There's a quiz later.

313
00:12:33,660 --> 00:12:38,660
The Swiss Reformation, there is the Scottish Presbyterians,

314
00:12:40,100 --> 00:12:42,100
and there is the Dutch Reformed.

315
00:12:42,100 --> 00:12:45,900
All three of them have made certain theological gains

316
00:12:45,900 --> 00:12:47,060
that we would connect to today.

317
00:12:47,060 --> 00:12:47,900
So let's look at these.

318
00:12:47,900 --> 00:12:49,940
First of all, you have the Swiss Reformation.

319
00:12:49,940 --> 00:12:54,100
Again, began in Zurich, led by this man, Ulrich Zwingli,

320
00:12:54,100 --> 00:12:55,980
and he is parallel, almost parallel,

321
00:12:55,980 --> 00:12:57,580
with both Luther and Melanchthon.

322
00:12:57,580 --> 00:13:00,940
In addition, in Zurich, to Zurich, you have Martin Boucher,

323
00:13:00,940 --> 00:13:03,300
who was actually a German theologian

324
00:13:03,300 --> 00:13:06,660
that was based in Strasbourg, France,

325
00:13:06,660 --> 00:13:10,560
but also at work in Switzerland in the city of Basel.

326
00:13:10,560 --> 00:13:12,620
Now we know that Zwingli was unable

327
00:13:12,620 --> 00:13:14,880
to control the Anabaptist movement,

328
00:13:14,880 --> 00:13:17,380
but one thing he was able to do was to turn Zurich

329
00:13:17,380 --> 00:13:22,220
into a worshiping Protestant state.

330
00:13:22,220 --> 00:13:24,660
Back then, Switzerland was not a single nation.

331
00:13:24,660 --> 00:13:27,660
It was a series of what they call cantons or states,

332
00:13:27,660 --> 00:13:31,980
and Zurich became a Protestant city-state under Zwingli.

333
00:13:31,980 --> 00:13:34,380
Problem is, Rome was not happy with that,

334
00:13:34,380 --> 00:13:38,720
and Rome, the Holy Roman Emperor, sent an army after Zwingli,

335
00:13:38,720 --> 00:13:41,860
a Catholic army, went to war against Zurich,

336
00:13:41,860 --> 00:13:46,140
and Zwingli was killed on the battlefield at the age of 47.

337
00:13:46,140 --> 00:13:49,220
So it was left to Heinrich Bullinger to continue his work,

338
00:13:49,220 --> 00:13:53,340
and then soon after, Geneva became the great hotspot

339
00:13:53,340 --> 00:13:54,940
of Reformation in Switzerland,

340
00:13:54,940 --> 00:13:57,780
under the leadership of a man named William Pharrell,

341
00:13:57,780 --> 00:13:58,600
very important name.

342
00:13:58,600 --> 00:14:01,520
It's Pharrell who was ultimately responsible

343
00:14:01,520 --> 00:14:06,260
for convincing, after much hard work convincing John Calvin

344
00:14:06,260 --> 00:14:09,540
to leave his home country of France in Strasbourg

345
00:14:09,540 --> 00:14:11,740
and to come to Geneva.

346
00:14:11,740 --> 00:14:16,540
Now, as some of you know, Calvin would turn Geneva

347
00:14:16,540 --> 00:14:20,540
into a very structured Protestant city-state.

348
00:14:21,620 --> 00:14:24,620
Calvin was all about basically reforming

349
00:14:24,620 --> 00:14:29,380
every single part of life, both civil and religious,

350
00:14:29,380 --> 00:14:31,340
so much so that Geneva under Calvin

351
00:14:31,340 --> 00:14:33,500
became known as the Protestant Rome.

352
00:14:33,500 --> 00:14:35,580
Now, much ink has been spilled in debate

353
00:14:35,580 --> 00:14:37,660
over whether Calvin's organization of Geneva

354
00:14:37,660 --> 00:14:41,380
was good or not good, biblical or not,

355
00:14:41,380 --> 00:14:43,620
but the one thing you cannot deny about Calvin

356
00:14:43,620 --> 00:14:46,260
is his theological work and his legacy.

357
00:14:47,140 --> 00:14:49,500
His institutes of the Christian religion

358
00:14:49,500 --> 00:14:53,100
are by far the most comprehensive and influential work

359
00:14:53,100 --> 00:14:54,740
of the entire Reformation period.

360
00:14:54,740 --> 00:14:56,980
It still stands up today.

361
00:14:56,980 --> 00:14:57,820
It is brilliant.

362
00:14:57,820 --> 00:14:59,780
In fact, most of the time when you hear me quoting

363
00:14:59,780 --> 00:15:02,900
from Calvin, it's from his institutes.

364
00:15:02,900 --> 00:15:05,980
Another key part of Calvin's work was his hospitality

365
00:15:05,980 --> 00:15:08,380
towards other reformers.

366
00:15:08,380 --> 00:15:11,660
Geneva became the place that if you needed protection

367
00:15:11,660 --> 00:15:14,060
from Catholic authorities or you needed to be trained

368
00:15:14,060 --> 00:15:16,940
in Reformation principles, Calvin would welcome you

369
00:15:16,940 --> 00:15:19,220
to Geneva and train you up.

370
00:15:19,220 --> 00:15:21,340
So it became the center for scholastic writing

371
00:15:21,340 --> 00:15:24,140
in this period, the exposition of the scriptures,

372
00:15:24,140 --> 00:15:26,140
systematic theology.

373
00:15:26,140 --> 00:15:28,860
Geneva was huge into studying the early church fathers,

374
00:15:28,860 --> 00:15:32,100
particularly Augustine, and of course,

375
00:15:32,100 --> 00:15:34,980
of course the doctrine of the sovereignty of God.

376
00:15:34,980 --> 00:15:38,100
All of this was taking place in a very dynamic setting

377
00:15:38,100 --> 00:15:39,100
in the city of Geneva.

378
00:15:39,100 --> 00:15:41,660
When Calvin passed away at the age of 55,

379
00:15:41,660 --> 00:15:44,820
he was then succeeded by a man named Theodore Beza

380
00:15:44,820 --> 00:15:47,340
who in himself was a brilliant theologian

381
00:15:47,340 --> 00:15:50,780
and actually wrote a beautiful biography of John Calvin.

382
00:15:50,780 --> 00:15:52,540
It's why we know so much about of his life

383
00:15:52,540 --> 00:15:54,340
is because of Beza.

384
00:15:54,340 --> 00:15:56,500
So that's the Swiss Reformation.

385
00:15:56,500 --> 00:15:58,300
Very influential and as you know,

386
00:15:58,300 --> 00:16:00,820
I'm constantly quoting from Calvin today.

387
00:16:00,820 --> 00:16:02,300
Okay, let's look at the second group.

388
00:16:02,300 --> 00:16:05,140
Second group is the Scottish Presbyterians.

389
00:16:05,140 --> 00:16:06,740
I wish I could do a good Scottish.

390
00:16:09,060 --> 00:16:12,780
A broke accent, I can't do it.

391
00:16:12,780 --> 00:16:15,620
I wish I could because it would be so appropriate right here.

392
00:16:15,620 --> 00:16:17,300
Now the most famous reformer from Scotland,

393
00:16:17,300 --> 00:16:18,580
of course, is John Knox.

394
00:16:18,580 --> 00:16:20,500
Most people know that name.

395
00:16:20,500 --> 00:16:23,340
The names you don't know are the ones you see up there

396
00:16:23,340 --> 00:16:25,500
that preceded him.

397
00:16:25,500 --> 00:16:27,500
Incredibly bold, courageous man,

398
00:16:27,500 --> 00:16:31,340
both of the Patrick Hamilton and George Wishard

399
00:16:31,340 --> 00:16:33,500
were burned at the stake

400
00:16:33,500 --> 00:16:36,620
for simply teaching Reformation principles

401
00:16:36,620 --> 00:16:39,180
in the face of the Royals of England

402
00:16:39,180 --> 00:16:41,100
who were very powerful, the kings and queens of England.

403
00:16:41,100 --> 00:16:42,860
Very, very powerful.

404
00:16:42,860 --> 00:16:46,460
So in 1546, Knox came to the forefront.

405
00:16:46,460 --> 00:16:50,420
He put his life on the line publicly challenging Mary,

406
00:16:50,420 --> 00:16:53,020
Queen of Scots, who was the Catholic cousin

407
00:16:53,020 --> 00:16:55,220
of Queen Elizabeth I in England.

408
00:16:55,220 --> 00:16:56,740
Very powerful woman.

409
00:16:56,740 --> 00:16:58,220
Not only did Knox survive,

410
00:16:58,220 --> 00:17:00,780
but he successfully turned the people of Scotland

411
00:17:00,780 --> 00:17:05,140
towards Calvinism in the face of Mary, a Catholic queen.

412
00:17:05,140 --> 00:17:05,980
Amazing story.

413
00:17:05,980 --> 00:17:08,100
By the way, Knox was one of those reformers

414
00:17:08,100 --> 00:17:10,460
who at one point in his life had to flee from Scotland

415
00:17:10,460 --> 00:17:12,060
because his life was under threat.

416
00:17:12,060 --> 00:17:14,860
He went to Geneva, trained under Calvin,

417
00:17:14,860 --> 00:17:16,500
and then came back to Scotland

418
00:17:16,500 --> 00:17:18,540
to launch the Scottish Reformation.

419
00:17:18,540 --> 00:17:19,580
Amazing story.

420
00:17:19,580 --> 00:17:23,060
The Reformation in Scotland was eventually so successful

421
00:17:23,060 --> 00:17:26,460
that the particular form of ecclesiology favored by Knox,

422
00:17:26,460 --> 00:17:28,660
what we call Presbyterianism,

423
00:17:28,660 --> 00:17:32,220
that was adopted by the Scottish Parliament

424
00:17:32,220 --> 00:17:36,260
and became the officially nation,

425
00:17:36,260 --> 00:17:38,500
a national church of Scotland.

426
00:17:38,500 --> 00:17:41,100
About 120 years after Knox died,

427
00:17:41,100 --> 00:17:43,820
the Presbyterian Church, it went from a Catholic nation

428
00:17:43,820 --> 00:17:45,340
to a Presbyterian nation,

429
00:17:45,340 --> 00:17:48,620
and it became the actual official sanctioned church

430
00:17:48,620 --> 00:17:49,460
of Scotland.

431
00:17:49,460 --> 00:17:52,300
That is a legacy that you can turn something around

432
00:17:52,300 --> 00:17:53,460
like that.

433
00:17:53,460 --> 00:17:55,340
On top of that, the Scots were also able to work

434
00:17:55,340 --> 00:17:57,620
with the Puritans in England to establish

435
00:17:57,620 --> 00:18:00,340
one of the great Reformation creeds of all,

436
00:18:00,340 --> 00:18:02,340
the Westminster Confession,

437
00:18:02,340 --> 00:18:03,780
which became the backbone

438
00:18:03,780 --> 00:18:05,860
for Scottish Presbyterianism as well.

439
00:18:05,860 --> 00:18:07,660
Now sadly, some of you guys know this,

440
00:18:07,660 --> 00:18:09,940
the Presbyterian Church in America today

441
00:18:10,740 --> 00:18:13,180
has fallen into all kinds of despair.

442
00:18:13,180 --> 00:18:15,900
First of all, it was sharply divided over slavery

443
00:18:15,900 --> 00:18:17,300
in the 19th century,

444
00:18:17,300 --> 00:18:20,260
and then theological liberalism crept in

445
00:18:20,260 --> 00:18:21,260
in the 20th century.

446
00:18:21,260 --> 00:18:24,860
Today, the largest denomination in Presbyterianism,

447
00:18:24,860 --> 00:18:28,860
the PCUSA, is barely recognizable.

448
00:18:28,860 --> 00:18:31,020
And I know that because when I was a kid,

449
00:18:31,020 --> 00:18:33,500
that was the church that we would go to in my family,

450
00:18:33,500 --> 00:18:35,020
was a PCUSA church.

451
00:18:35,900 --> 00:18:38,620
Socially, culturally, all of it

452
00:18:38,620 --> 00:18:41,860
is barely even recognizable today, which is so sad.

453
00:18:41,860 --> 00:18:45,100
The second one, and the, whoops.

454
00:18:45,100 --> 00:18:46,860
Oh, do I have a back button?

455
00:18:46,860 --> 00:18:47,700
I'm so excited.

456
00:18:47,700 --> 00:18:50,060
Is the PCA, which they can be very confusing,

457
00:18:50,060 --> 00:18:52,420
the Presbyterian Church of America,

458
00:18:52,420 --> 00:18:54,380
they still believe in biblical inerrancy,

459
00:18:54,380 --> 00:18:56,820
and they still teach Calvinistic doctrine.

460
00:18:56,820 --> 00:18:58,300
So the Presbyterian Church

461
00:18:58,300 --> 00:19:00,220
is a little bit like the Lutheran Church.

462
00:19:00,220 --> 00:19:01,860
Unless you investigate that church,

463
00:19:01,860 --> 00:19:03,540
when you walk in, you really don't know

464
00:19:03,540 --> 00:19:04,380
what you're gonna get.

465
00:19:04,380 --> 00:19:08,060
It could be wildly liberal, or it could be conservative.

466
00:19:08,060 --> 00:19:11,140
Okay, that means we can add to our map.

467
00:19:11,140 --> 00:19:12,520
Green dot, Scotland.

468
00:19:13,420 --> 00:19:15,780
Okay, so you're beginning to see the map come together.

469
00:19:15,780 --> 00:19:17,740
Good, oh, one last question,

470
00:19:17,740 --> 00:19:19,540
or picture I wanna give you.

471
00:19:19,540 --> 00:19:21,260
How many of you guys, anybody been to Geneva

472
00:19:21,260 --> 00:19:22,260
and seen this?

473
00:19:22,260 --> 00:19:23,740
Okay, oh good, you guys have.

474
00:19:23,740 --> 00:19:25,180
This is the Great Reformation Wall

475
00:19:25,180 --> 00:19:27,500
in the city of Geneva, which celebrates the reformers,

476
00:19:27,500 --> 00:19:30,620
Feral, Calvin, Beza, and Knox.

477
00:19:30,620 --> 00:19:32,660
An amazing, amazing wall.

478
00:19:32,660 --> 00:19:34,580
Geneva loves its reformers.

479
00:19:34,580 --> 00:19:36,500
They love their history.

480
00:19:36,500 --> 00:19:38,700
So it's a pretty cool thing to go see.

481
00:19:38,700 --> 00:19:41,420
Okay, so what have we looked at so far

482
00:19:41,420 --> 00:19:42,580
in terms of reform?

483
00:19:44,700 --> 00:19:48,300
Swiss Reformation, Scottish Presbyterians.

484
00:19:48,300 --> 00:19:50,980
Let's look at the third one, the Dutch Reformed.

485
00:19:50,980 --> 00:19:53,260
The Dutch Reformed, the Netherlands.

486
00:19:53,260 --> 00:19:56,300
The Dutch are known as the most tenacious

487
00:19:56,300 --> 00:19:58,500
of all the Reformation countries.

488
00:19:58,500 --> 00:19:59,340
Why?

489
00:19:59,340 --> 00:20:01,740
Because they were so committed to Calvinist doctrine,

490
00:20:01,740 --> 00:20:04,260
they were willing to fight a revolution for it.

491
00:20:04,260 --> 00:20:05,100
They did.

492
00:20:05,100 --> 00:20:06,660
It's known as the 80 Years War.

493
00:20:06,660 --> 00:20:09,580
Dutch Calvinists, led by a very wealthy nobleman,

494
00:20:09,580 --> 00:20:12,700
named William of Orange, fought a lengthy war

495
00:20:12,700 --> 00:20:16,100
against Catholic Spain in order to secure their independence,

496
00:20:16,100 --> 00:20:18,020
and they got it in the year 1581.

497
00:20:18,020 --> 00:20:20,540
And they established, in winning that war,

498
00:20:20,540 --> 00:20:22,500
and getting their independence, they established,

499
00:20:22,500 --> 00:20:25,220
get this, the Dutch Reformed Church

500
00:20:25,220 --> 00:20:28,660
as the National Church of Holland.

501
00:20:28,660 --> 00:20:30,580
Very unusual thing back in that day.

502
00:20:30,580 --> 00:20:32,700
But in spite of that, some of you guys know this story.

503
00:20:32,700 --> 00:20:34,780
Soon after gaining their independence,

504
00:20:34,780 --> 00:20:37,500
the Dutch experienced a schism.

505
00:20:37,500 --> 00:20:41,100
Followers of a theologian named Jacob Arminius suggested

506
00:20:41,100 --> 00:20:45,140
in a series of polemical writings that Calvin got it wrong.

507
00:20:46,140 --> 00:20:48,740
Calvin got it wrong when it came to the doctrine of election

508
00:20:48,740 --> 00:20:50,700
and the doctrine of salvation.

509
00:20:50,700 --> 00:20:54,900
And so what followed was the very famous drawn out debate

510
00:20:54,900 --> 00:20:57,900
between the Dutch Calvinists and the Dutch Arminians,

511
00:20:57,900 --> 00:21:02,620
and that was settled at the 1618 Synod of Dort.

512
00:21:02,620 --> 00:21:05,300
Guys, anybody study the story?

513
00:21:05,300 --> 00:21:07,340
Really important, right?

514
00:21:07,340 --> 00:21:09,700
That's where the famous acronym TULIP came from.

515
00:21:09,700 --> 00:21:10,540
Is it up there?

516
00:21:10,540 --> 00:21:11,700
There it is, TULIP, right?

517
00:21:11,700 --> 00:21:13,060
From the canons of Dort,

518
00:21:13,060 --> 00:21:16,540
also known as the Five Points of Calvinism.

519
00:21:16,540 --> 00:21:17,940
Came out of the Dutch Reformed Church,

520
00:21:17,940 --> 00:21:19,580
out of this schism.

521
00:21:19,580 --> 00:21:21,220
TULIP stands for?

522
00:21:21,220 --> 00:21:22,060
Total Depravity.

523
00:21:22,060 --> 00:21:22,900
Total Depravity.

524
00:21:22,900 --> 00:21:23,740
Total Depravity.

525
00:21:23,740 --> 00:21:24,420
Unconditional Election.

526
00:21:24,420 --> 00:21:25,260
Unconditional Election.

527
00:21:25,260 --> 00:21:27,100
Unconditional Election.

528
00:21:27,100 --> 00:21:29,140
Limited Atonement.

529
00:21:29,140 --> 00:21:31,100
Irresistible Grace.

530
00:21:31,100 --> 00:21:32,340
Perseverance of the Saints.

531
00:21:32,340 --> 00:21:33,180
Very good.

532
00:21:33,180 --> 00:21:34,380
You guys are good Calvinists.

533
00:21:34,380 --> 00:21:35,620
Well done.

534
00:21:35,620 --> 00:21:36,460
Good.

535
00:21:36,460 --> 00:21:38,660
Now, the Dutch Reformed Church was able to successfully

536
00:21:38,660 --> 00:21:42,220
migrate over to the Americas during the colonial period.

537
00:21:42,220 --> 00:21:45,100
Today you'll find two large reform denominations,

538
00:21:45,100 --> 00:21:48,620
both of which trace their lineage back to the Netherlands.

539
00:21:48,620 --> 00:21:51,540
You've got, first of all, the Reformed Church of America,

540
00:21:51,540 --> 00:21:55,020
and secondly, the Christian Reformed Church.

541
00:21:55,020 --> 00:21:58,860
Swiss, Scottish, Dutch.

542
00:21:58,860 --> 00:22:02,740
All different substreams of the Reformed Church.

543
00:22:02,740 --> 00:22:03,940
So what do we have in common?

544
00:22:03,940 --> 00:22:05,420
What do we take from the Reformed?

545
00:22:05,420 --> 00:22:09,140
Well, obviously we take Calvinistic Soteriology.

546
00:22:09,140 --> 00:22:11,860
That word just means the doctrine of salvation.

547
00:22:11,860 --> 00:22:14,300
Calvinistic view of salvation.

548
00:22:14,300 --> 00:22:17,300
We take the Reformed view of the Eucharist,

549
00:22:17,300 --> 00:22:19,500
which I'm going to talk about in just a second.

550
00:22:19,500 --> 00:22:22,500
But are we a fully Reformed Church?

551
00:22:22,500 --> 00:22:23,820
We are not.

552
00:22:23,820 --> 00:22:25,220
I know this can be very confusing.

553
00:22:25,220 --> 00:22:26,940
People are like, what is Reformed?

554
00:22:26,940 --> 00:22:28,660
Reformed, if you're truly Reformed,

555
00:22:28,660 --> 00:22:30,660
it comes with a whole bunch of things,

556
00:22:30,660 --> 00:22:32,540
and we're not all of it.

557
00:22:32,540 --> 00:22:34,620
It also comes with these things right here.

558
00:22:34,620 --> 00:22:37,780
Covenant theology, which is not a bad thing,

559
00:22:37,780 --> 00:22:39,620
but we are dispensational in the way

560
00:22:39,620 --> 00:22:41,980
we see how God has worked through time.

561
00:22:41,980 --> 00:22:43,660
So we differ on that.

562
00:22:43,660 --> 00:22:45,940
You also see Amillennialism again,

563
00:22:45,940 --> 00:22:48,420
versus what we believe Premillennialism.

564
00:22:48,420 --> 00:22:50,020
They again are Pato-Baptists,

565
00:22:50,020 --> 00:22:52,060
where we are what we call Credo-Baptists.

566
00:22:52,060 --> 00:22:54,660
We believe in Believer's Baptism.

567
00:22:54,660 --> 00:22:57,860
And we specifically reject the ecclesiology

568
00:22:57,860 --> 00:22:59,660
of the Presbyterian Church.

569
00:22:59,660 --> 00:23:01,300
If you've ever been part of a Presbyterian Church,

570
00:23:01,300 --> 00:23:04,540
you know they've got multiple layers of government, right?

571
00:23:04,540 --> 00:23:06,620
You've got the General Assembly,

572
00:23:06,620 --> 00:23:08,820
then you've got synods,

573
00:23:08,820 --> 00:23:11,260
and then you've got presbyteries,

574
00:23:11,260 --> 00:23:12,740
and then you've got what they call sessions,

575
00:23:12,740 --> 00:23:14,100
which are the local elders.

576
00:23:14,100 --> 00:23:17,580
Essentially, there's almost no power in the local church

577
00:23:17,580 --> 00:23:19,580
in a Presbyterian model.

578
00:23:19,580 --> 00:23:21,060
So we reject that as well.

579
00:23:21,980 --> 00:23:22,820
Okay?

580
00:23:22,820 --> 00:23:25,020
So again, it's sort of a mixed bag here.

581
00:23:25,020 --> 00:23:27,540
All right, last stream we're gonna look at,

582
00:23:27,540 --> 00:23:30,180
the Anglicans, and this may be the most fun.

583
00:23:30,180 --> 00:23:33,340
The Anglicans, and what a story this is.

584
00:23:33,340 --> 00:23:34,800
I'm gonna have to move really quickly

585
00:23:34,800 --> 00:23:35,740
through the English Royals.

586
00:23:35,740 --> 00:23:39,300
How many of you guys like the English Royal family stuff?

587
00:23:39,300 --> 00:23:41,220
Yeah, it's, I mean, it's pretty juicy.

588
00:23:41,220 --> 00:23:42,980
It's pretty interesting.

589
00:23:42,980 --> 00:23:47,060
Huge Reformation drama that came across the Atlantic

590
00:23:47,060 --> 00:23:49,460
that affects all of us here in America.

591
00:23:49,460 --> 00:23:52,500
The whole story starts with the crazy but brilliant

592
00:23:52,500 --> 00:23:54,060
King Henry VIII.

593
00:23:54,060 --> 00:23:55,620
If you've ever studied his life,

594
00:23:55,620 --> 00:23:57,380
fascinating guy, right?

595
00:23:57,380 --> 00:23:59,840
Henry VIII, and I don't have time to tell the whole story,

596
00:23:59,840 --> 00:24:01,420
but it's really, really fun.

597
00:24:01,420 --> 00:24:04,880
He was married to a Catholic Spanish princess

598
00:24:04,880 --> 00:24:07,380
by the name of Catherine, and he got tired of her,

599
00:24:07,380 --> 00:24:09,860
and he wanted his marriage annulled.

600
00:24:09,860 --> 00:24:10,820
So what did he do?

601
00:24:10,820 --> 00:24:12,500
As a good Catholic, he had at one point

602
00:24:12,500 --> 00:24:15,080
been called the defender of the Catholic faith.

603
00:24:15,080 --> 00:24:16,220
So he went to the Pope and said,

604
00:24:16,220 --> 00:24:18,380
I need an annulment, and the Pope said what?

605
00:24:20,420 --> 00:24:21,860
I don't think it was biblical either.

606
00:24:21,860 --> 00:24:24,100
He was just like, we can't offend the Spanish.

607
00:24:24,100 --> 00:24:25,420
It's just a bad thing all around.

608
00:24:25,420 --> 00:24:27,740
So they said no to that, and so Henry said,

609
00:24:27,740 --> 00:24:30,780
fine, I will break with Rome, I'll start my own church,

610
00:24:30,780 --> 00:24:32,660
the Church of England.

611
00:24:32,660 --> 00:24:34,340
He literally broke from Rome, and they said,

612
00:24:34,340 --> 00:24:36,580
well, you can't do that, and he said, yes, I can.

613
00:24:36,580 --> 00:24:37,700
I live on an island.

614
00:24:38,920 --> 00:24:39,820
I can do what I want.

615
00:24:39,820 --> 00:24:41,700
And he was just crazy enough to do it.

616
00:24:41,700 --> 00:24:42,760
So here's the thing.

617
00:24:42,760 --> 00:24:46,540
Henry was no actual fan of Reformation doctrine or ideas.

618
00:24:46,540 --> 00:24:49,800
Everything that he did was simply to benefit himself,

619
00:24:49,800 --> 00:24:53,520
and especially economically, and in terms of his power.

620
00:24:53,520 --> 00:24:56,300
But he did put an actual reformer in place

621
00:24:56,300 --> 00:24:58,020
in Thomas Cranmer.

622
00:24:58,020 --> 00:25:02,180
He was an actual reformer, and he was given this position

623
00:25:02,180 --> 00:25:04,000
of the Archbishop of Canterbury,

624
00:25:04,000 --> 00:25:07,200
which is sort of the Anglican Church Pope.

625
00:25:07,200 --> 00:25:10,540
It's the highest position within the Anglican Church.

626
00:25:10,540 --> 00:25:13,940
And so Cranmer was able to actually start the ball rolling.

627
00:25:13,940 --> 00:25:16,460
He was a fan of the Lutheran movement,

628
00:25:16,460 --> 00:25:18,940
and actually started the ball rolling

629
00:25:18,940 --> 00:25:21,740
with the English Reformation.

630
00:25:21,740 --> 00:25:24,720
Now, the next five monarchs that come along,

631
00:25:24,720 --> 00:25:26,940
the best way to describe the Reformation

632
00:25:26,940 --> 00:25:30,460
under the next five monarchs are start, stop,

633
00:25:30,460 --> 00:25:32,540
start again, and stall.

634
00:25:32,540 --> 00:25:34,020
Okay?

635
00:25:34,020 --> 00:25:35,100
Some of you guys know this story.

636
00:25:35,100 --> 00:25:38,500
Edward VI was a pro-Reformation kid.

637
00:25:38,500 --> 00:25:40,180
He was actually a Calvinist,

638
00:25:40,180 --> 00:25:43,220
but he died at the age of 16 from TB.

639
00:25:43,220 --> 00:25:47,060
And so the Reformation dream sort of stopped there.

640
00:25:47,060 --> 00:25:49,860
His older half-sister then came to the throne.

641
00:25:49,860 --> 00:25:50,860
Her name was Mary.

642
00:25:50,860 --> 00:25:52,820
She was a staunch Catholic.

643
00:25:52,820 --> 00:25:55,500
And so she began to round up as many reformers

644
00:25:55,500 --> 00:25:58,240
as she could get her hands on, and executed them all.

645
00:25:58,240 --> 00:26:00,760
That's why she's known as Bloody Mary.

646
00:26:00,760 --> 00:26:03,920
When Bloody Mary died, her younger half-sister,

647
00:26:03,920 --> 00:26:07,380
the famous Queen Elizabeth I, took the throne,

648
00:26:07,380 --> 00:26:10,460
and she reigned for 45 successful years.

649
00:26:10,460 --> 00:26:14,660
Amazing woman, never married, reigned for 45 years.

650
00:26:14,660 --> 00:26:16,460
She became a religious moderate.

651
00:26:16,460 --> 00:26:17,780
That's the best way to describe her.

652
00:26:17,780 --> 00:26:19,300
She was a peacemaker.

653
00:26:19,300 --> 00:26:21,380
She allowed all the reformers who had fled

654
00:26:21,380 --> 00:26:25,260
from Bloody Mary to come back into England,

655
00:26:25,260 --> 00:26:29,620
and she established a moderate Anglican church, stable,

656
00:26:29,620 --> 00:26:30,980
but it didn't make people happy.

657
00:26:30,980 --> 00:26:33,300
Those who wanted Reformation were not happy

658
00:26:33,300 --> 00:26:34,700
under Elizabeth.

659
00:26:34,700 --> 00:26:37,300
And so a movement started in England

660
00:26:37,300 --> 00:26:39,680
called the Puritan Movement,

661
00:26:39,680 --> 00:26:42,420
because they wanted to purify the Church of England.

662
00:26:42,420 --> 00:26:44,580
They were happy that we had broken from Rome,

663
00:26:44,580 --> 00:26:46,320
but the Church of England was still not pure,

664
00:26:46,320 --> 00:26:48,060
so the Puritans came together,

665
00:26:48,060 --> 00:26:52,100
and they began pushing Elizabeth to move towards Reformation

666
00:26:52,100 --> 00:26:53,380
and away from Catholicism.

667
00:26:53,380 --> 00:26:54,760
She did not.

668
00:26:54,760 --> 00:26:57,100
When she died, after her long reign,

669
00:26:57,100 --> 00:26:59,440
the Puritans were hopeful that the next guy would be

670
00:26:59,440 --> 00:27:00,620
the one that would save them.

671
00:27:00,620 --> 00:27:04,740
His name was James I, and he started off really well

672
00:27:04,740 --> 00:27:09,380
because he went out and asked for a new English Bible,

673
00:27:09,380 --> 00:27:12,140
the King James Bible, 1611.

674
00:27:12,140 --> 00:27:13,680
They thought he was gonna be the answer,

675
00:27:13,680 --> 00:27:16,780
but James was a massive disappointment,

676
00:27:16,780 --> 00:27:20,080
and his failures to satisfy the Puritans

677
00:27:20,080 --> 00:27:24,060
actually cost the next king, Charles I, his life.

678
00:27:24,980 --> 00:27:25,820
Here's why.

679
00:27:27,940 --> 00:27:29,620
Forces within England and Scotland

680
00:27:29,620 --> 00:27:32,020
rose up to demand reforms of Charles I,

681
00:27:32,020 --> 00:27:34,980
and Charles, who was an Arminian in this theology,

682
00:27:34,980 --> 00:27:39,460
refused, and it caused a civil war to break out in England.

683
00:27:39,460 --> 00:27:41,980
The English Civil War is a really interesting study.

684
00:27:41,980 --> 00:27:45,140
At the end of it, the king was captured and executed,

685
00:27:45,140 --> 00:27:49,860
and get this, a Puritan sympathizer, Oliver Cromwell,

686
00:27:49,860 --> 00:27:52,220
was actually put in power.

687
00:27:53,660 --> 00:27:54,780
Nope, that's not it.

688
00:27:54,780 --> 00:27:55,960
We'll get to that.

689
00:27:55,960 --> 00:27:58,660
A Puritan sympathizer was put in power.

690
00:27:58,660 --> 00:28:02,260
Oliver Cromwell was named Lord Protector of England.

691
00:28:02,260 --> 00:28:05,220
Unfortunately, his rule only lasted for 10 years.

692
00:28:05,220 --> 00:28:07,220
The original monarchy, the House of Stuart,

693
00:28:07,220 --> 00:28:09,900
was put in in the year 1660,

694
00:28:09,900 --> 00:28:12,980
and then they went out and started persecuting Puritans,

695
00:28:12,980 --> 00:28:14,880
trying to drive them out of existence.

696
00:28:15,940 --> 00:28:17,220
Hold that thought.

697
00:28:17,220 --> 00:28:21,500
In America, this is the Church of England, isn't it?

698
00:28:21,500 --> 00:28:24,980
The Anglican Church is known as the Episcopal Church.

699
00:28:24,980 --> 00:28:26,180
And like the Presbyterians,

700
00:28:26,180 --> 00:28:28,300
their name comes from their ecclesiology,

701
00:28:28,300 --> 00:28:30,940
the way their church is organized and governed.

702
00:28:30,940 --> 00:28:34,220
An Episcopal model is also multi-layered

703
00:28:34,220 --> 00:28:35,580
like the Presbyterian model.

704
00:28:35,580 --> 00:28:37,900
You have a national council

705
00:28:37,900 --> 00:28:40,460
that then reigns over regional diocese,

706
00:28:40,460 --> 00:28:42,820
and then you have bishops, not elders,

707
00:28:42,820 --> 00:28:45,100
not a plurality of elders, but single bishops

708
00:28:45,100 --> 00:28:47,860
who rule in the local churches.

709
00:28:47,860 --> 00:28:49,620
Okay, deep breath.

710
00:28:49,620 --> 00:28:52,660
So persecution of the Puritans led to what?

711
00:28:52,660 --> 00:28:54,280
Our friends, the Pilgrims.

712
00:28:55,220 --> 00:28:56,060
Yay.

713
00:28:56,060 --> 00:28:58,860
We're now like catching up to your sixth grade history class,

714
00:28:58,860 --> 00:28:59,700
right?

715
00:28:59,700 --> 00:29:00,520
The Pilgrims.

716
00:29:00,520 --> 00:29:03,260
Okay, because of persecution in England,

717
00:29:03,260 --> 00:29:06,380
groups of Puritans started to become separatists in nature.

718
00:29:06,380 --> 00:29:07,340
They said, you know what?

719
00:29:07,340 --> 00:29:09,100
We would wanna stay here in England

720
00:29:09,100 --> 00:29:10,680
and purify this church.

721
00:29:10,680 --> 00:29:11,660
They're not changing.

722
00:29:11,660 --> 00:29:13,740
So we gotta get up and go.

723
00:29:13,740 --> 00:29:15,860
We're gonna go to the New World.

724
00:29:15,860 --> 00:29:18,140
And the Pilgrims set sail across the Atlantic

725
00:29:18,140 --> 00:29:19,340
on the Mayflower.

726
00:29:20,180 --> 00:29:23,300
In 1620, they landed at Plymouth Rock, right?

727
00:29:23,300 --> 00:29:25,220
We all remember that story.

728
00:29:25,220 --> 00:29:26,900
I wish I had more time for that, but I don't.

729
00:29:26,900 --> 00:29:28,860
10 years later, a much better funded group

730
00:29:28,860 --> 00:29:32,020
led by John Winthrop arrived and set up

731
00:29:32,020 --> 00:29:34,740
what we call the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

732
00:29:34,740 --> 00:29:37,460
So the Puritans came from England over to here

733
00:29:37,460 --> 00:29:40,620
and began to set up their own brand of ecclesiology,

734
00:29:40,620 --> 00:29:42,160
which we'll talk about in just a second.

735
00:29:42,160 --> 00:29:45,140
The other separatist group that came over were the Baptists.

736
00:29:45,140 --> 00:29:47,460
Yay, how many of you guys have a Baptist background?

737
00:29:47,460 --> 00:29:48,360
Yay, Baptists.

738
00:29:48,360 --> 00:29:50,880
Okay, where did the Baptists come from?

739
00:29:50,880 --> 00:29:55,700
Well, in England, two very distinct types of Baptists

740
00:29:55,700 --> 00:29:58,460
came to fruition in the 17th century.

741
00:29:58,460 --> 00:30:00,460
There were general Baptists

742
00:30:00,460 --> 00:30:02,640
and there were particular Baptists.

743
00:30:02,640 --> 00:30:05,140
Do you feel like you should be general or particular?

744
00:30:05,140 --> 00:30:08,520
They both had to do with the doctrine of salvation.

745
00:30:08,520 --> 00:30:10,760
What do you believe about the atonement?

746
00:30:10,760 --> 00:30:11,940
If you were a general Baptist,

747
00:30:11,940 --> 00:30:14,260
you believed in an unlimited atonement.

748
00:30:14,260 --> 00:30:15,460
If you were particular,

749
00:30:15,460 --> 00:30:17,780
you believed in a limited atonement.

750
00:30:17,780 --> 00:30:19,660
And so they didn't get along well at all.

751
00:30:19,660 --> 00:30:23,260
Now later on, the Baptist Union of Great Britain

752
00:30:23,260 --> 00:30:25,700
would be founded, and by the way, that produces Spurgeon.

753
00:30:25,700 --> 00:30:28,100
So Spurgeon was a good Baptist in England

754
00:30:28,100 --> 00:30:31,300
that came out of an agreement.

755
00:30:31,300 --> 00:30:33,660
When we talk about Baptists, they're not Anabaptists,

756
00:30:33,660 --> 00:30:34,580
just so that you know that.

757
00:30:34,580 --> 00:30:35,740
Sometimes that mistake is made.

758
00:30:35,740 --> 00:30:36,860
These are not Anabaptists.

759
00:30:36,860 --> 00:30:38,260
They were not separatists

760
00:30:38,260 --> 00:30:40,380
in the sense of the original Anabaptists.

761
00:30:40,380 --> 00:30:42,580
They just believed in believer's baptism

762
00:30:42,580 --> 00:30:45,140
and practiced that, just so that you know.

763
00:30:45,140 --> 00:30:47,420
Okay, in America, the Baptist movement

764
00:30:47,420 --> 00:30:49,940
was started by two former Puritans,

765
00:30:49,940 --> 00:30:54,660
two guys who were part of the Massachusetts Bay Colony,

766
00:30:54,660 --> 00:30:57,700
thought that lifestyle and that government was too rigid,

767
00:30:57,700 --> 00:31:01,200
broke away and founded Baptist churches in Rhode Island.

768
00:31:01,200 --> 00:31:04,600
Roger Williams and John Clark, both in Rhode Island.

769
00:31:06,600 --> 00:31:09,540
Okay, all right, now we can fill in our map.

770
00:31:09,540 --> 00:31:11,500
We've got a brown dot in London.

771
00:31:11,500 --> 00:31:14,820
Okay, I had to get a map in.

772
00:31:14,820 --> 00:31:15,980
I mean, that's really what it is.

773
00:31:15,980 --> 00:31:20,020
Okay, what do we have in common then with the Anabaptists?

774
00:31:20,020 --> 00:31:21,980
What did we grab from them?

775
00:31:21,980 --> 00:31:24,500
Again, Calvinistic soteriology, right?

776
00:31:24,500 --> 00:31:27,020
We believe in the doctrine of sovereignty,

777
00:31:27,020 --> 00:31:28,420
reformed view of the Eucharist,

778
00:31:28,420 --> 00:31:30,060
which we're gonna talk about,

779
00:31:30,060 --> 00:31:34,540
pre-millennialism, which was part of the Puritan Church,

780
00:31:34,540 --> 00:31:36,940
and big word, congregationalism.

781
00:31:36,940 --> 00:31:39,900
The first time we've seen congregationalism pop up, right?

782
00:31:39,900 --> 00:31:40,860
What does that mean?

783
00:31:40,860 --> 00:31:44,820
Churches could actually be independent, right?

784
00:31:44,820 --> 00:31:48,380
They didn't have to be tagged to a denomination

785
00:31:48,380 --> 00:31:51,180
with multi-layers of oversight.

786
00:31:51,180 --> 00:31:54,040
They could be individual churches

787
00:31:54,040 --> 00:31:57,420
that are ruled by elders and a congregation.

788
00:31:57,420 --> 00:31:59,140
So we have taken some,

789
00:31:59,140 --> 00:32:01,540
we're a modified congregationalist church.

790
00:32:01,540 --> 00:32:04,780
We're an elder-led congregationalist church.

791
00:32:04,780 --> 00:32:05,800
So we took that.

792
00:32:05,800 --> 00:32:07,060
What did we reject?

793
00:32:07,060 --> 00:32:09,960
Theonomy, how many of us know what theonomy is?

794
00:32:09,960 --> 00:32:12,020
Okay, good, yeah, the mixing of church and state

795
00:32:12,020 --> 00:32:14,240
where the church becomes the government.

796
00:32:14,240 --> 00:32:16,740
That's really what the Puritans wanted,

797
00:32:16,740 --> 00:32:21,060
was to have the church be also the civil government.

798
00:32:21,060 --> 00:32:22,580
We reject that today.

799
00:32:22,580 --> 00:32:27,080
Again, pedobaptism and the Armenianism of the general Baptist.

800
00:32:28,100 --> 00:32:28,940
Make sense?

801
00:32:28,940 --> 00:32:31,000
Four streams, four streams,

802
00:32:31,000 --> 00:32:34,460
Lutheran, Anabaptist, performed, Anglican,

803
00:32:34,460 --> 00:32:35,700
all kinds of stuff.

804
00:32:35,700 --> 00:32:37,420
So who are we at Oak Hill?

805
00:32:38,540 --> 00:32:40,380
Well, I think I have a slide for it.

806
00:32:40,380 --> 00:32:41,860
Hey, there we are.

807
00:32:41,860 --> 00:32:44,220
So we're theological mutts.

808
00:32:44,220 --> 00:32:46,220
Which is really exciting.

809
00:32:46,220 --> 00:32:49,220
So the Reformation is our spiritual heritage,

810
00:32:49,220 --> 00:32:52,860
but we don't subscribe to any one particular stream.

811
00:32:52,860 --> 00:32:55,380
We are an independent Bible church.

812
00:32:55,380 --> 00:32:58,300
As I said, elder-led, congregationalist in nature,

813
00:32:58,300 --> 00:33:01,060
guided by scripture and by the Holy Spirit.

814
00:33:01,060 --> 00:33:02,460
That's it.

815
00:33:02,460 --> 00:33:04,140
But we're certainly influenced by those

816
00:33:04,140 --> 00:33:06,340
who have gone before us in many, many ways, right?

817
00:33:06,340 --> 00:33:07,860
Scholarship breeds scholarship.

818
00:33:07,860 --> 00:33:11,100
We stand on the shoulders of those who have gone before us.

819
00:33:11,100 --> 00:33:13,580
So we take a measure of Luther and the Bible,

820
00:33:13,580 --> 00:33:16,700
a measure of Luther and a dash of the Anabaptist spirit,

821
00:33:16,700 --> 00:33:17,540
right?

822
00:33:17,540 --> 00:33:20,780
A big helping of Calvin and a sprinkling of Puritanism

823
00:33:20,780 --> 00:33:24,860
and Baptist, and you have a recipe for Oak Hill Bible Church.

824
00:33:24,860 --> 00:33:25,740
That's who we are.

825
00:33:25,740 --> 00:33:28,180
So listen, guys, we should be really, really grateful

826
00:33:28,180 --> 00:33:30,660
to the Lord for all the ways that he's worked

827
00:33:30,660 --> 00:33:32,380
through these various streams, right?

828
00:33:32,380 --> 00:33:35,820
He's gotten us to this point.

829
00:33:35,820 --> 00:33:37,260
And as an elder team, I can tell you,

830
00:33:37,260 --> 00:33:39,140
we talk about these things like who are we?

831
00:33:39,140 --> 00:33:40,300
What do we believe?

832
00:33:40,300 --> 00:33:41,220
This stuff matters.

833
00:33:41,220 --> 00:33:44,220
And it matters that our elder team agrees on these things,

834
00:33:44,220 --> 00:33:46,300
that we're of one mind in these things,

835
00:33:46,300 --> 00:33:47,500
even as we look through history.

836
00:33:47,500 --> 00:33:49,140
But we can be thankful to God for all this.

837
00:33:49,140 --> 00:33:49,980
Okay.

838
00:33:52,380 --> 00:33:53,500
Deep breath.

839
00:33:53,500 --> 00:33:57,060
In light of that history, I want to turn our attention now

840
00:33:57,060 --> 00:33:58,940
to our study of the Eucharist.

841
00:33:58,940 --> 00:34:01,660
And I want to try to explain where we stand.

842
00:34:01,660 --> 00:34:05,940
Who are we at Oak Hill in terms of the Eucharist?

843
00:34:05,940 --> 00:34:07,500
So let's talk about it.

844
00:34:07,500 --> 00:34:08,580
I'm gonna take a drink.

845
00:34:09,540 --> 00:34:10,540
That was a lot of history.

846
00:34:10,540 --> 00:34:11,700
Did you guys survive?

847
00:34:13,580 --> 00:34:14,420
All right.

848
00:34:14,420 --> 00:34:15,260
My wife's like.

849
00:34:19,300 --> 00:34:20,140
I'll hear it later.

850
00:34:20,140 --> 00:34:21,780
It's okay.

851
00:34:21,780 --> 00:34:23,580
Okay, I showed you the slide last week.

852
00:34:23,580 --> 00:34:25,340
If you were here, you saw the slide.

853
00:34:25,340 --> 00:34:27,860
The three major position, Reformation positions

854
00:34:27,860 --> 00:34:29,300
related to the Eucharist.

855
00:34:29,300 --> 00:34:31,100
And you may have picked up on the fact

856
00:34:31,100 --> 00:34:32,900
that of these three positions,

857
00:34:32,900 --> 00:34:35,300
I am convinced that Calvin's mediating view,

858
00:34:35,300 --> 00:34:40,300
the Reform view is the most faithful view to scripture,

859
00:34:40,620 --> 00:34:43,260
both to Jesus's words in the Gospels

860
00:34:43,260 --> 00:34:47,780
and to Paul's clarifications in 1 Corinthians 10 and 11.

861
00:34:47,780 --> 00:34:50,820
Now before I explain what the Reform view is

862
00:34:50,820 --> 00:34:52,660
in terms of details, let me take a moment

863
00:34:52,660 --> 00:34:56,340
and just talk about the mistakes that we can fall into

864
00:34:56,340 --> 00:35:00,260
if we lean either direction towards Zwingli

865
00:35:00,260 --> 00:35:02,060
or towards Luther.

866
00:35:02,060 --> 00:35:05,340
Let me start with Luther and the real presence position.

867
00:35:06,500 --> 00:35:08,020
When we talk about the Eucharist,

868
00:35:08,020 --> 00:35:12,060
it's important that we make a distinction between two things,

869
00:35:12,060 --> 00:35:14,980
between the sign that Jesus gave to us,

870
00:35:14,980 --> 00:35:16,620
the bread and the cup,

871
00:35:16,620 --> 00:35:18,680
and the thing that the sign points to,

872
00:35:19,540 --> 00:35:21,300
Jesus's body and blood.

873
00:35:22,260 --> 00:35:24,980
Okay, gotta make sure we have a distinction between those.

874
00:35:24,980 --> 00:35:27,900
There is a mysterious union that exists

875
00:35:27,900 --> 00:35:28,940
between those two things,

876
00:35:28,940 --> 00:35:31,420
between the sign and the thing that it points to.

877
00:35:31,420 --> 00:35:34,740
But we shouldn't confuse them and make them the same thing.

878
00:35:34,740 --> 00:35:37,380
That's what the Roman Catholic Church does.

879
00:35:37,380 --> 00:35:39,580
They take a sign, they say here's the sign,

880
00:35:40,780 --> 00:35:41,620
the bread and the cup,

881
00:35:41,620 --> 00:35:45,100
and then the priest prays over it, and what happens?

882
00:35:45,100 --> 00:35:48,100
The sign completely disappears and it becomes,

883
00:35:48,100 --> 00:35:49,700
according to what they say,

884
00:35:49,700 --> 00:35:52,220
the literal body and blood of Christ.

885
00:35:52,220 --> 00:35:53,980
So they don't make a distinction between the sign

886
00:35:53,980 --> 00:35:56,280
and the thing pointed to because the sign disappears,

887
00:35:56,280 --> 00:35:57,980
it's completely eradicated.

888
00:35:58,900 --> 00:36:00,140
Does that make sense?

889
00:36:00,140 --> 00:36:02,180
So that's a failure in that area.

890
00:36:02,180 --> 00:36:03,700
And although the Lutheran position

891
00:36:03,700 --> 00:36:05,620
doesn't fall into that mistake,

892
00:36:05,620 --> 00:36:07,340
the error of transubstantiation,

893
00:36:07,340 --> 00:36:09,620
it does make a similar mistake.

894
00:36:09,620 --> 00:36:12,180
In fact, the real presence view

895
00:36:12,180 --> 00:36:15,100
was often called consubstantiation.

896
00:36:15,100 --> 00:36:17,340
Very similar because in the words of Luther,

897
00:36:17,340 --> 00:36:18,660
here's what he said,

898
00:36:18,660 --> 00:36:22,500
the physical presence of Christ is found in,

899
00:36:22,500 --> 00:36:25,340
with, and under the elements.

900
00:36:26,700 --> 00:36:27,900
Can you figure that out?

901
00:36:27,900 --> 00:36:30,000
It's a little murky, isn't it?

902
00:36:30,000 --> 00:36:32,520
That means that the sign, the bread and the cup,

903
00:36:32,520 --> 00:36:35,240
and what the sign points do get mixed together.

904
00:36:36,240 --> 00:36:38,840
It becomes a third type of thing.

905
00:36:38,840 --> 00:36:41,120
So the sign is no longer just bread and wine,

906
00:36:41,120 --> 00:36:42,840
it's now something more than that,

907
00:36:42,840 --> 00:36:45,160
and the body and blood of Christ are somehow,

908
00:36:45,160 --> 00:36:47,200
and this is key, brought down from heaven,

909
00:36:47,200 --> 00:36:48,680
according to Luther,

910
00:36:48,680 --> 00:36:50,000
brought down to the altar

911
00:36:50,000 --> 00:36:51,880
and then mixed with the physical elements

912
00:36:51,880 --> 00:36:54,680
in a way that to me is not very clear.

913
00:36:54,680 --> 00:36:57,200
I don't think Luther explained it very well.

914
00:36:57,200 --> 00:37:01,640
So it mixes up the sign and what the sign points to,

915
00:37:01,640 --> 00:37:04,160
and it jumbles it up into a third thing.

916
00:37:04,160 --> 00:37:06,480
So while I appreciate Luther,

917
00:37:06,480 --> 00:37:09,020
remember we talked last week about the confrontation

918
00:37:09,020 --> 00:37:10,300
at Marburg was vingly,

919
00:37:10,300 --> 00:37:13,420
I appreciate the fact that Luther insisted

920
00:37:13,420 --> 00:37:16,040
that we not mess with Jesus' words.

921
00:37:16,040 --> 00:37:18,200
He said, this is my body.

922
00:37:18,200 --> 00:37:19,900
And Luther said, I'm not moving from that,

923
00:37:19,900 --> 00:37:21,680
that's what he said.

924
00:37:21,680 --> 00:37:23,240
And I appreciate that about Luther,

925
00:37:23,240 --> 00:37:24,840
but I still think his position ends

926
00:37:24,840 --> 00:37:27,360
with being too close to Rome.

927
00:37:27,360 --> 00:37:28,440
So that's the Lutheran side.

928
00:37:28,440 --> 00:37:30,640
Now most modern day evangelicals

929
00:37:30,640 --> 00:37:32,760
don't err on the side of Luther.

930
00:37:32,760 --> 00:37:35,040
They err on the side of the opposite direction,

931
00:37:35,040 --> 00:37:37,560
what we call the memorialist view.

932
00:37:37,560 --> 00:37:38,520
And that makes sense.

933
00:37:38,520 --> 00:37:39,620
If you think about it,

934
00:37:39,620 --> 00:37:42,880
the memorialist view is the most sanitized

935
00:37:42,880 --> 00:37:43,720
of the three views.

936
00:37:43,720 --> 00:37:46,380
It's the safest of the three views.

937
00:37:46,380 --> 00:37:47,560
Now why do I say that?

938
00:37:47,560 --> 00:37:50,600
Because it doesn't require any sense of mystery at all.

939
00:37:51,680 --> 00:37:53,840
It doesn't require any wonder or any mystery,

940
00:37:53,840 --> 00:37:56,120
it just allows us to keep the Eucharist

941
00:37:56,120 --> 00:37:57,860
in an intellectual box,

942
00:37:58,820 --> 00:38:02,320
maybe an emotional box if we allow ourselves to go there.

943
00:38:02,320 --> 00:38:03,320
In the memorialist view,

944
00:38:03,320 --> 00:38:06,600
what we do at the Lord's table is we focus on remembering.

945
00:38:06,600 --> 00:38:10,600
That's the whole game, remembering.

946
00:38:10,600 --> 00:38:12,920
So we remember the suffering of Christ.

947
00:38:12,920 --> 00:38:16,080
We remember his sacrifice on our behalf.

948
00:38:16,080 --> 00:38:17,520
And there's nothing at all wrong with that.

949
00:38:17,520 --> 00:38:19,040
In fact, that's a very, very good thing.

950
00:38:19,040 --> 00:38:22,840
We ought to remember what Christ has gone through

951
00:38:22,840 --> 00:38:24,560
because of our sin, right?

952
00:38:24,560 --> 00:38:26,040
In fact, he said that in the upper room.

953
00:38:26,040 --> 00:38:27,760
He said, do this in remembrance of me.

954
00:38:27,760 --> 00:38:30,680
So we should be pausing to recall the goodness

955
00:38:30,680 --> 00:38:32,200
and the grace of Jesus.

956
00:38:32,200 --> 00:38:33,540
That is an excellent thing to do.

957
00:38:33,540 --> 00:38:36,960
In fact, I would say we should do that every day.

958
00:38:36,960 --> 00:38:37,940
That's not just something we do

959
00:38:37,940 --> 00:38:39,680
when we come to the Lord's table.

960
00:38:39,680 --> 00:38:42,040
Every day we should be remembering.

961
00:38:42,040 --> 00:38:42,880
So that's a good thing.

962
00:38:42,880 --> 00:38:45,080
Here's the problem with the memorialist view.

963
00:38:45,080 --> 00:38:47,440
It gets to remembering and it stops.

964
00:38:48,480 --> 00:38:49,440
That's it.

965
00:38:49,440 --> 00:38:50,900
It just stops there.

966
00:38:50,900 --> 00:38:53,760
It stops in the mind and it stops in the emotions

967
00:38:53,760 --> 00:38:55,400
and it doesn't go anywhere else.

968
00:38:56,280 --> 00:38:58,920
So going back to the union between the sign,

969
00:38:58,920 --> 00:39:01,520
the bread and the cup and what the sign points to,

970
00:39:01,520 --> 00:39:04,360
the body and blood of Christ, the memorialist position

971
00:39:04,360 --> 00:39:07,020
completely takes away the union between the two.

972
00:39:08,000 --> 00:39:11,000
It says the bread and the cup have nothing to do

973
00:39:11,000 --> 00:39:12,520
with the body and blood of Christ, really.

974
00:39:12,520 --> 00:39:14,040
It's just a metaphor.

975
00:39:15,520 --> 00:39:17,120
That's what Zwingli said.

976
00:39:17,120 --> 00:39:18,560
It's a metaphor.

977
00:39:18,560 --> 00:39:19,960
It's bread and it's juice

978
00:39:19,960 --> 00:39:21,400
and there's really no connection

979
00:39:21,400 --> 00:39:22,880
to the body and blood of Christ,

980
00:39:22,880 --> 00:39:24,600
but take it and just really remember.

981
00:39:24,600 --> 00:39:26,500
Strive and try to really remember.

982
00:39:27,640 --> 00:39:28,480
That's it.

983
00:39:28,480 --> 00:39:29,300
It's a metaphor.

984
00:39:29,300 --> 00:39:30,140
It's a symbol.

985
00:39:31,100 --> 00:39:33,280
Now is that supportable?

986
00:39:33,280 --> 00:39:34,440
Well, Zwingli was the one who said,

987
00:39:34,440 --> 00:39:36,400
he goes, look, when Jesus said this is my body,

988
00:39:36,400 --> 00:39:40,320
what he meant, this is where he got in trouble with Luther,

989
00:39:40,320 --> 00:39:43,680
what he meant was this bread represents my body.

990
00:39:43,680 --> 00:39:48,680
This cup is a symbol of my blood.

991
00:39:50,240 --> 00:39:53,200
But Luther said, ah, don't do that.

992
00:39:53,200 --> 00:39:55,320
Don't inject meaning into what Jesus said

993
00:39:55,320 --> 00:39:57,840
in order to maintain your Eucharist tradition.

994
00:39:57,840 --> 00:39:59,760
Let's stick with what Jesus said.

995
00:40:01,000 --> 00:40:01,840
That's important.

996
00:40:01,840 --> 00:40:02,660
We need to do that.

997
00:40:02,660 --> 00:40:04,520
We need to be careful that we don't inject meaning in there

998
00:40:04,520 --> 00:40:05,960
where it's not there.

999
00:40:08,000 --> 00:40:09,240
Take your mind back to our time

1000
00:40:09,240 --> 00:40:11,700
in John chapter six for a second.

1001
00:40:11,700 --> 00:40:13,460
Remember the language that Jesus used

1002
00:40:13,460 --> 00:40:15,480
when he talked to the crowds?

1003
00:40:15,480 --> 00:40:17,800
He said, he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood

1004
00:40:17,800 --> 00:40:21,020
abides in me and I in him.

1005
00:40:23,320 --> 00:40:26,680
That type of language doesn't sound like just a metaphor.

1006
00:40:28,040 --> 00:40:29,740
Doesn't sound like mere symbolism.

1007
00:40:29,740 --> 00:40:31,320
It sounds mysterious for sure.

1008
00:40:31,320 --> 00:40:32,920
It's not easy to figure out,

1009
00:40:33,760 --> 00:40:35,800
but it sounds like a very real thing.

1010
00:40:36,640 --> 00:40:38,360
And that's important for us to understand.

1011
00:40:38,360 --> 00:40:41,360
It sounds like a promise that when we eat and drink,

1012
00:40:41,360 --> 00:40:44,720
it's gonna bring out some type of spiritual intimacy

1013
00:40:44,720 --> 00:40:46,120
between Christ and the believer.

1014
00:40:46,120 --> 00:40:48,660
And it's wrapped up in this beautiful word, abide.

1015
00:40:49,600 --> 00:40:50,900
Spiritual intimacy.

1016
00:40:52,040 --> 00:40:53,460
And don't forget that right before that,

1017
00:40:53,460 --> 00:40:56,440
Jesus said, my flesh is true food

1018
00:40:56,440 --> 00:40:58,980
and my blood is true drink.

1019
00:40:58,980 --> 00:41:01,440
That's the opposite of metaphor.

1020
00:41:01,440 --> 00:41:03,000
That's the opposite of symbolism.

1021
00:41:03,000 --> 00:41:05,020
That sounds like this eating and drinking

1022
00:41:05,020 --> 00:41:07,700
brings something true, true nourishment,

1023
00:41:07,700 --> 00:41:10,060
true strengthening, true refreshment.

1024
00:41:10,060 --> 00:41:11,380
It sounds like for the believer,

1025
00:41:11,380 --> 00:41:13,620
when we partake of the body and blood of Christ,

1026
00:41:13,620 --> 00:41:16,100
that there is some real benefit that we receive.

1027
00:41:16,100 --> 00:41:18,100
It's not just a metaphor.

1028
00:41:18,100 --> 00:41:19,260
There's some real benefit.

1029
00:41:19,260 --> 00:41:20,580
Now we need to pin that down.

1030
00:41:20,580 --> 00:41:21,820
What does that mean?

1031
00:41:21,820 --> 00:41:23,380
But it doesn't sound like symbolism.

1032
00:41:23,380 --> 00:41:26,180
It sounds like something real.

1033
00:41:26,180 --> 00:41:27,020
Make sense?

1034
00:41:27,860 --> 00:41:29,180
So let me try to outline

1035
00:41:30,380 --> 00:41:34,740
what I think the error is in memorialism.

1036
00:41:34,740 --> 00:41:36,540
And Calvin talked about this a lot.

1037
00:41:36,540 --> 00:41:37,860
Here's what we tend to do.

1038
00:41:37,860 --> 00:41:40,300
And let me just say I did this for a long time.

1039
00:41:40,300 --> 00:41:44,300
I am a confessing memorialist,

1040
00:41:45,340 --> 00:41:46,460
repenting memorialist,

1041
00:41:46,460 --> 00:41:47,740
because I did this for a long time

1042
00:41:47,740 --> 00:41:50,300
because I didn't really understand the Lord's table.

1043
00:41:50,300 --> 00:41:52,700
It hadn't been explained well to me.

1044
00:41:52,700 --> 00:41:55,500
As a memorialist, we come to the Lord's table striving.

1045
00:41:56,700 --> 00:41:59,780
I come to do something, to bring something to God

1046
00:41:59,780 --> 00:42:01,460
when I come to the table.

1047
00:42:01,460 --> 00:42:05,620
I strive to picture in my mind what Jesus went through.

1048
00:42:05,620 --> 00:42:08,460
I strive to visualize the cross and the nails

1049
00:42:08,460 --> 00:42:10,700
and the blood dripping down.

1050
00:42:10,700 --> 00:42:13,140
I do my best to remember with all of my might

1051
00:42:14,060 --> 00:42:15,500
and to consider the true statement

1052
00:42:15,500 --> 00:42:17,700
that it was my sin that put him there.

1053
00:42:17,700 --> 00:42:19,020
And again, I'm not condemning that.

1054
00:42:19,020 --> 00:42:19,860
Those are good things.

1055
00:42:19,860 --> 00:42:23,140
Again, that should be an everyday thing for us.

1056
00:42:23,140 --> 00:42:24,900
But we come to the table striving.

1057
00:42:24,900 --> 00:42:26,580
And then we read the words of Paul

1058
00:42:26,580 --> 00:42:28,060
in 1 Corinthians 11 where he says,

1059
00:42:28,060 --> 00:42:29,780
a man must examine himself.

1060
00:42:29,780 --> 00:42:32,620
And that drives us even further into this.

1061
00:42:32,620 --> 00:42:35,140
We strive to bring an offering to Christ.

1062
00:42:35,140 --> 00:42:37,540
By expressing our sorrow to him.

1063
00:42:38,460 --> 00:42:41,740
By telling him of our shame over our sin.

1064
00:42:41,740 --> 00:42:43,620
And then hopefully repenting of that sin

1065
00:42:43,620 --> 00:42:46,180
and then pledging, oh, we're not gonna do it again.

1066
00:42:47,380 --> 00:42:48,220
Right?

1067
00:42:48,220 --> 00:42:52,100
It's all work that we do when we come to the table.

1068
00:42:52,100 --> 00:42:53,660
Now again, those thoughts are not bad.

1069
00:42:53,660 --> 00:42:55,580
Those are good gospel thoughts.

1070
00:42:55,580 --> 00:42:57,620
Every day we should be doing those things.

1071
00:42:57,620 --> 00:42:59,900
But the error that we make at the Lord's table is this.

1072
00:42:59,900 --> 00:43:05,220
Are we striving in that moment to make ourselves clean enough

1073
00:43:05,220 --> 00:43:07,220
to come to his table?

1074
00:43:07,220 --> 00:43:09,220
Is that what we're trying to do?

1075
00:43:09,220 --> 00:43:11,340
Lord, if I just confess more,

1076
00:43:11,340 --> 00:43:14,380
then I'll be pure enough to come to your table.

1077
00:43:14,380 --> 00:43:15,860
Is that what we're doing?

1078
00:43:15,860 --> 00:43:17,660
Are we striving to bring an offering to God

1079
00:43:17,660 --> 00:43:20,300
that's gonna somehow make us worthy

1080
00:43:20,300 --> 00:43:22,180
to take that seat at his table?

1081
00:43:23,700 --> 00:43:25,060
What if we haven't confessed enough?

1082
00:43:25,060 --> 00:43:26,500
Have you ever thought that?

1083
00:43:26,500 --> 00:43:27,900
What if I miss something?

1084
00:43:27,900 --> 00:43:29,300
Am I eating and drinking judgment?

1085
00:43:29,300 --> 00:43:31,420
If I haven't brought every single possible sin

1086
00:43:31,420 --> 00:43:34,060
that I can think of, and what if I miss something?

1087
00:43:35,100 --> 00:43:37,460
What if my heart isn't pure enough to really please God

1088
00:43:37,460 --> 00:43:39,180
when I come to the table?

1089
00:43:39,180 --> 00:43:40,020
Do I get zapped?

1090
00:43:40,020 --> 00:43:43,260
Do I get, am I gonna get sick and die?

1091
00:43:44,780 --> 00:43:45,940
Doubts creep in, right?

1092
00:43:45,940 --> 00:43:49,340
Am I sad enough and emotional enough

1093
00:43:49,340 --> 00:43:51,380
about Jesus dying on the cross?

1094
00:43:53,180 --> 00:43:54,020
Hmm.

1095
00:43:54,020 --> 00:43:56,180
What if my faith is just weak in that moment?

1096
00:43:56,180 --> 00:43:58,060
Then what, do I not come?

1097
00:43:58,060 --> 00:44:00,140
Do I not take a seat?

1098
00:44:00,140 --> 00:44:01,700
And you start asking the question,

1099
00:44:01,700 --> 00:44:03,420
well, is God doing anything here

1100
00:44:03,420 --> 00:44:04,780
or are you just doing things?

1101
00:44:04,780 --> 00:44:06,220
Are you striving?

1102
00:44:06,220 --> 00:44:08,140
What's God doing in all this?

1103
00:44:08,140 --> 00:44:10,380
What's the parallel with salvation in the gospel?

1104
00:44:10,380 --> 00:44:11,460
Who does the work?

1105
00:44:12,580 --> 00:44:13,420
God does the work.

1106
00:44:14,620 --> 00:44:17,940
But at the sacrament, we act like we need to do all the work

1107
00:44:17,940 --> 00:44:19,780
to make God happy with us,

1108
00:44:19,780 --> 00:44:21,820
just enough so that we can sit at the table.

1109
00:44:23,060 --> 00:44:24,780
Friends, approaching the sacrament,

1110
00:44:24,780 --> 00:44:27,220
friends, approaching the Lord's table

1111
00:44:28,380 --> 00:44:30,460
like that turns communion into something

1112
00:44:30,460 --> 00:44:32,580
of a monthly rededication ceremony.

1113
00:44:34,940 --> 00:44:37,180
It's actually not that far off

1114
00:44:37,180 --> 00:44:40,740
from what a Roman Catholic would do when he does penance.

1115
00:44:41,660 --> 00:44:44,220
I'm proving my devotion to God by doing this

1116
00:44:44,220 --> 00:44:45,540
or by saying that.

1117
00:44:46,820 --> 00:44:48,620
That's not what God had in mind.

1118
00:44:50,340 --> 00:44:51,940
Here's how Calvin laments over this

1119
00:44:51,940 --> 00:44:55,340
and maybe this will solidify what I'm talking about here.

1120
00:44:55,340 --> 00:44:56,180
There we go.

1121
00:44:56,180 --> 00:44:57,180
He says this,

1122
00:44:57,180 --> 00:45:00,940
when they, the memorialists or the Svinglians,

1123
00:45:00,940 --> 00:45:03,860
have prepared men to eat worthily,

1124
00:45:03,860 --> 00:45:07,500
they have tortured and harassed pitiable consciences

1125
00:45:07,500 --> 00:45:09,540
in dire ways.

1126
00:45:09,540 --> 00:45:11,220
They have not brought forward a particle

1127
00:45:11,220 --> 00:45:13,700
of what would be the purpose.

1128
00:45:13,700 --> 00:45:15,740
They said that those who are in a state of grace

1129
00:45:15,740 --> 00:45:17,140
ate worthily.

1130
00:45:17,140 --> 00:45:19,100
Then they interpret it in a state of grace

1131
00:45:19,100 --> 00:45:21,940
to mean pure and purged of all sin.

1132
00:45:23,220 --> 00:45:24,540
Look what he says.

1133
00:45:24,540 --> 00:45:27,020
Such a dogma would prevent all men

1134
00:45:27,020 --> 00:45:29,220
who ever were or are on the earth

1135
00:45:29,220 --> 00:45:30,700
from the use of the sacrament.

1136
00:45:32,340 --> 00:45:33,740
Because none of us are pure.

1137
00:45:33,740 --> 00:45:37,500
We can't confess enough to be pure before God.

1138
00:45:37,500 --> 00:45:38,340
He goes on,

1139
00:45:38,340 --> 00:45:40,380
for if it is a question of our seeking worthiness

1140
00:45:40,380 --> 00:45:43,140
by ourselves, we are undone.

1141
00:45:43,140 --> 00:45:45,660
Only despair and deadly ruin remain.

1142
00:45:47,300 --> 00:45:48,140
He wraps up.

1143
00:45:48,140 --> 00:45:50,620
To heal this sore,

1144
00:45:50,620 --> 00:45:55,620
they have devised a way of acquiring worthiness.

1145
00:45:55,740 --> 00:45:58,260
That examining ourselves to the best of our ability

1146
00:45:58,260 --> 00:46:01,660
and requiring ourselves to account for all of our deeds,

1147
00:46:01,660 --> 00:46:05,300
we expiate, key word, our unworthiness.

1148
00:46:06,220 --> 00:46:08,860
By contrition, confession, and satisfaction,

1149
00:46:08,860 --> 00:46:10,060
and by their harshness,

1150
00:46:10,060 --> 00:46:12,820
they deprive sinners miserable and afflicted

1151
00:46:12,820 --> 00:46:14,420
with trembling and grief

1152
00:46:14,420 --> 00:46:16,940
of the consolation of this sacrament.

1153
00:46:16,940 --> 00:46:19,980
For it is a sacrament ordained not for the perfect,

1154
00:46:19,980 --> 00:46:21,380
but for the weak and feeble.

1155
00:46:25,180 --> 00:46:26,820
Does that change your perspective?

1156
00:46:29,140 --> 00:46:30,260
You and I are weak.

1157
00:46:31,620 --> 00:46:32,660
We're weak.

1158
00:46:32,660 --> 00:46:35,340
We're prone to wander as we sing.

1159
00:46:35,340 --> 00:46:36,700
We fall into worry and doubt.

1160
00:46:36,700 --> 00:46:40,260
We are worn down by life and by temptations.

1161
00:46:40,260 --> 00:46:42,660
And not one of us is spiritually strong enough

1162
00:46:42,660 --> 00:46:45,380
to say that we are worthy of being at Christ's table.

1163
00:46:45,380 --> 00:46:47,860
Not one of us.

1164
00:46:47,860 --> 00:46:49,980
We can't make ourselves worry either.

1165
00:46:49,980 --> 00:46:52,700
Communion is for those of us who need help.

1166
00:46:54,500 --> 00:46:55,980
It's for those of us who need help,

1167
00:46:55,980 --> 00:46:59,220
who need greater faith, who need more strength.

1168
00:46:59,220 --> 00:47:01,140
And when we acknowledge that in humility,

1169
00:47:01,140 --> 00:47:05,580
Jesus says, sit down at my table and abide with me.

1170
00:47:05,580 --> 00:47:07,780
Enjoy the meal that I've prepared for you.

1171
00:47:09,020 --> 00:47:10,580
That's the right hard attitude.

1172
00:47:10,580 --> 00:47:13,060
Not, I'm gonna work myself into perfection.

1173
00:47:13,060 --> 00:47:15,140
Listen to me now, the essence of the Lord's Supper

1174
00:47:15,140 --> 00:47:18,540
is God giving and believers receiving.

1175
00:47:18,540 --> 00:47:20,980
We saw that two weeks ago in the upper room.

1176
00:47:20,980 --> 00:47:22,860
Jesus did all the giving.

1177
00:47:22,860 --> 00:47:24,460
Take and eat, take and drink.

1178
00:47:24,460 --> 00:47:26,460
What did the disciples do?

1179
00:47:26,460 --> 00:47:27,780
Okay, okay.

1180
00:47:28,860 --> 00:47:30,260
They received.

1181
00:47:30,260 --> 00:47:33,420
It's God giving and us receiving.

1182
00:47:33,420 --> 00:47:35,460
So communion is a meal in which Christ

1183
00:47:35,460 --> 00:47:38,140
reaffirms his promises to us.

1184
00:47:38,140 --> 00:47:40,380
Where he reaffirms the gift of his grace

1185
00:47:40,380 --> 00:47:41,580
and his love for you.

1186
00:47:41,580 --> 00:47:44,500
And for me, as his friends, just like in the upper room,

1187
00:47:44,500 --> 00:47:48,340
it is a place and a time where when we come to the table,

1188
00:47:48,340 --> 00:47:52,420
Jesus whispers in our ear, it's finished, you are forgiven.

1189
00:47:53,820 --> 00:47:57,100
We receive that reaffirmation from him in the elements.

1190
00:47:57,100 --> 00:47:59,660
He's the giver, we don't bring a sacrifice.

1191
00:47:59,660 --> 00:48:02,660
The best picture is we're like a bunch of little birds

1192
00:48:02,660 --> 00:48:05,540
in a nest with our beaks wide open,

1193
00:48:05,540 --> 00:48:08,180
just waiting for mama bird to come back and feed us.

1194
00:48:08,980 --> 00:48:09,820
That's what we are.

1195
00:48:09,820 --> 00:48:11,820
That's what we are at the table.

1196
00:48:14,300 --> 00:48:16,220
Now am I saying we don't confess sin?

1197
00:48:16,220 --> 00:48:17,420
Of course not.

1198
00:48:17,420 --> 00:48:19,340
Am I saying we don't examine ourselves

1199
00:48:19,340 --> 00:48:20,780
to see if sin remains?

1200
00:48:20,780 --> 00:48:21,900
Of course we do.

1201
00:48:21,900 --> 00:48:25,740
But again, we do that not just every day, but every hour.

1202
00:48:25,740 --> 00:48:27,100
Moment by moment, right?

1203
00:48:27,100 --> 00:48:30,700
We don't wait, I'm gonna store up 30 days of sin

1204
00:48:30,700 --> 00:48:32,380
and then confess it all at the table.

1205
00:48:32,380 --> 00:48:35,460
No, that's a moment by moment process.

1206
00:48:35,460 --> 00:48:37,820
We know when communion is coming, do we not?

1207
00:48:37,820 --> 00:48:41,060
We should have already had some deep time

1208
00:48:41,060 --> 00:48:43,940
in meditation and prayer and confession of sin

1209
00:48:43,940 --> 00:48:46,180
before we even arrive.

1210
00:48:46,180 --> 00:48:48,860
So that when we get there, we just say,

1211
00:48:48,860 --> 00:48:51,460
thank you Jesus, I receive from you.

1212
00:48:52,620 --> 00:48:54,340
I receive from you in the elements,

1213
00:48:54,340 --> 00:48:57,060
this reaffirmation of your grace and your love

1214
00:48:57,940 --> 00:48:58,980
and forgiveness.

1215
00:49:00,540 --> 00:49:01,860
So what exactly happens?

1216
00:49:01,860 --> 00:49:04,700
What is the spiritual, is the crass way of saying it.

1217
00:49:04,700 --> 00:49:06,660
The spiritual transformation.

1218
00:49:06,660 --> 00:49:10,220
The spiritual transaction that happens

1219
00:49:10,220 --> 00:49:12,260
when we eat the bread and drink the cup.

1220
00:49:13,380 --> 00:49:15,940
That I think is important for us to understand.

1221
00:49:16,860 --> 00:49:19,700
Okay, so to understand it, it's built, first of all,

1222
00:49:19,700 --> 00:49:22,820
actually I'm not gonna click, almost did it.

1223
00:49:22,820 --> 00:49:25,340
It's built on two realities.

1224
00:49:25,340 --> 00:49:26,860
Very important, here they are.

1225
00:49:26,860 --> 00:49:30,260
First of all, that Christ is and always will be

1226
00:49:30,260 --> 00:49:33,460
the God man, right?

1227
00:49:33,460 --> 00:49:35,220
Forever he is the God man.

1228
00:49:35,220 --> 00:49:36,900
Meaning while he is fully God,

1229
00:49:36,900 --> 00:49:39,980
and therefore he is spiritually omnipresent,

1230
00:49:39,980 --> 00:49:42,980
everywhere, he's also fully man.

1231
00:49:42,980 --> 00:49:46,100
That means how many bodies does Jesus have as a full man?

1232
00:49:47,140 --> 00:49:47,980
Just one.

1233
00:49:48,900 --> 00:49:50,260
Just one, right?

1234
00:49:50,260 --> 00:49:53,420
A body that was raised from the dead in a glorified form,

1235
00:49:53,420 --> 00:49:56,860
a body that ascended to heaven along with his human soul

1236
00:49:56,860 --> 00:50:00,420
into the heavenly realms, which is a real place, by the way.

1237
00:50:00,420 --> 00:50:02,900
And he is currently in that body, glorified body,

1238
00:50:02,900 --> 00:50:05,100
seated at the right hand of the Father.

1239
00:50:05,100 --> 00:50:08,100
We all affirm that, correct?

1240
00:50:08,100 --> 00:50:10,660
So again, for his body to be fully human,

1241
00:50:10,660 --> 00:50:12,900
it has to be localized in one place.

1242
00:50:12,900 --> 00:50:15,780
It cannot be everywhere all the time,

1243
00:50:15,780 --> 00:50:17,180
as the Roman Catholics claim.

1244
00:50:17,180 --> 00:50:18,980
It can't be in every single mass.

1245
00:50:18,980 --> 00:50:21,580
He's got one body, it's in the heavenly realms.

1246
00:50:21,580 --> 00:50:24,700
We don't drag it down from there and re-sacrifice him.

1247
00:50:25,700 --> 00:50:26,540
That's important.

1248
00:50:26,540 --> 00:50:28,940
Second thing, even though Jesus resides in heaven,

1249
00:50:28,940 --> 00:50:33,500
listen to this now, believers on earth are united to him

1250
00:50:33,500 --> 00:50:36,140
through the presence of the Holy Spirit,

1251
00:50:36,140 --> 00:50:38,260
who's taken up residence within us.

1252
00:50:38,260 --> 00:50:41,780
It is the Spirit who brings us into communion with Jesus,

1253
00:50:41,780 --> 00:50:44,380
even though he's physically absent from us.

1254
00:50:44,380 --> 00:50:45,860
We are in a spiritual union.

1255
00:50:45,860 --> 00:50:49,060
That is such an important thing to understand.

1256
00:50:49,060 --> 00:50:51,300
So when we partake of the communion table,

1257
00:50:51,300 --> 00:50:53,420
we are truly nourished,

1258
00:50:53,420 --> 00:50:56,620
truly strengthened through that spiritual union.

1259
00:50:56,620 --> 00:50:59,340
It's not a physical thing, it's a spiritual thing.

1260
00:50:59,340 --> 00:51:03,500
Calvin said it, he said, we truly feed on Christ.

1261
00:51:03,500 --> 00:51:04,700
Did you hear me?

1262
00:51:04,700 --> 00:51:08,820
We truly feed on Christ, but by faith, not by the mouth.

1263
00:51:09,940 --> 00:51:11,580
It's a spiritual thing.

1264
00:51:11,580 --> 00:51:14,180
So we don't pull the body of Christ down out of heaven

1265
00:51:14,180 --> 00:51:15,620
to a physical altar,

1266
00:51:15,620 --> 00:51:18,460
as the Catholics and the Lutherans claim to do.

1267
00:51:18,460 --> 00:51:20,500
Here's what happens, through the Spirit,

1268
00:51:20,500 --> 00:51:24,900
we are lifted up to the heavenly places to be with Christ.

1269
00:51:26,700 --> 00:51:28,100
Now I know that's mysterious,

1270
00:51:28,100 --> 00:51:31,460
but that's why I brought up Ephesians 2, 5, and 6 last week.

1271
00:51:31,460 --> 00:51:33,060
Do you remember what it said?

1272
00:51:33,060 --> 00:51:35,460
That God made us alive together with Christ

1273
00:51:35,460 --> 00:51:38,740
and seeded us with him in the heavenly places.

1274
00:51:40,220 --> 00:51:42,060
Eris tense, it's already done.

1275
00:51:43,340 --> 00:51:46,620
We're already, in some sense, seeded in the heavenly places.

1276
00:51:46,620 --> 00:51:47,620
That's an amazing thing.

1277
00:51:47,620 --> 00:51:49,700
So metaphysically, we're already there.

1278
00:51:49,700 --> 00:51:51,220
We're in fellowship with him,

1279
00:51:51,220 --> 00:51:53,860
abiding with him in the heavenly places.

1280
00:51:54,740 --> 00:51:56,580
So our mouths physically receive

1281
00:51:56,580 --> 00:51:58,100
the consecrated bread and wine,

1282
00:51:58,100 --> 00:52:01,900
but our souls are nourished as we partake spiritually

1283
00:52:01,900 --> 00:52:03,300
in his body and blood.

1284
00:52:04,500 --> 00:52:06,420
And although the sign, the bread in the cup,

1285
00:52:06,420 --> 00:52:09,900
remains what it is, it's still bread, it's still juice,

1286
00:52:09,900 --> 00:52:13,260
our souls are nourished as we partake spiritually

1287
00:52:13,260 --> 00:52:15,140
in his body and blood.

1288
00:52:15,140 --> 00:52:19,300
Those earthly elements are so united

1289
00:52:19,300 --> 00:52:22,380
to his body and blood in the heavenly places,

1290
00:52:22,380 --> 00:52:25,100
that in some sense, we can look to heaven and say,

1291
00:52:25,100 --> 00:52:27,020
I'm truly feeding.

1292
00:52:27,020 --> 00:52:29,860
I am truly eating his flesh and drinking his blood

1293
00:52:29,860 --> 00:52:31,860
and receiving nourishment from it,

1294
00:52:32,780 --> 00:52:34,940
because of the union between the elements

1295
00:52:35,900 --> 00:52:37,460
and his physical body and blood.

1296
00:52:37,460 --> 00:52:39,740
I know, look, I know this is hard, right?

1297
00:52:40,940 --> 00:52:42,860
But I think this is the right, listen,

1298
00:52:42,860 --> 00:52:45,300
why are the elements given to us if they're only metaphors?

1299
00:52:45,300 --> 00:52:46,940
Have you thought about this?

1300
00:52:46,940 --> 00:52:50,940
Why would we have bread and juice if they're just metaphors?

1301
00:52:50,940 --> 00:52:52,060
What's the purpose?

1302
00:52:52,060 --> 00:52:54,460
Couldn't Jesus have looked around the room and said,

1303
00:52:54,460 --> 00:52:57,580
hey guys, remember me when I die.

1304
00:52:59,580 --> 00:53:01,660
Did he need bread and cup to do that?

1305
00:53:01,660 --> 00:53:04,220
No, it would have been an authoritative command

1306
00:53:04,220 --> 00:53:06,100
when I go to the cross, remember me.

1307
00:53:07,500 --> 00:53:08,900
But what did he do?

1308
00:53:08,900 --> 00:53:12,900
Simultaneously, he gave them these physical elements

1309
00:53:12,900 --> 00:53:16,100
and said, take and eat, take and drink,

1310
00:53:16,100 --> 00:53:18,580
simultaneously said, do this in remembrance of me.

1311
00:53:18,580 --> 00:53:21,500
Does that not give the elements meaning?

1312
00:53:21,500 --> 00:53:26,500
It has to, otherwise Jesus did the most nonsensical,

1313
00:53:26,500 --> 00:53:30,100
unimportant thing possible, why would he do that?

1314
00:53:30,100 --> 00:53:31,780
There has to be meaning there.

1315
00:53:31,780 --> 00:53:33,460
This bread is my body, he said,

1316
00:53:33,460 --> 00:53:36,340
this juice or this wine is my blood.

1317
00:53:37,620 --> 00:53:41,180
So there's great meaning in that, in this spiritual union.

1318
00:53:41,180 --> 00:53:44,140
Calvin again talked about it, he said this,

1319
00:53:44,140 --> 00:53:47,380
he said the sacrament consists of a visible sign

1320
00:53:47,380 --> 00:53:50,420
which is connected somehow to the reality.

1321
00:53:50,420 --> 00:53:53,020
We need to receive this promise by faith,

1322
00:53:53,020 --> 00:53:55,540
why would Christ command us to eat bread

1323
00:53:55,540 --> 00:53:59,180
if we didn't actually participate in Christ's body and blood?

1324
00:54:01,140 --> 00:54:03,940
Calvin's way smarter than me, I didn't come up with that.

1325
00:54:04,660 --> 00:54:06,260
That's a good question.

1326
00:54:06,260 --> 00:54:09,420
So Jesus is inviting us now, this is what's so cool,

1327
00:54:09,420 --> 00:54:13,500
inviting us to, in a sense, come into the Holy of Holies,

1328
00:54:13,500 --> 00:54:15,940
through that torn curtain which the author of Hebrew says

1329
00:54:15,940 --> 00:54:16,780
is his body.

1330
00:54:16,780 --> 00:54:21,780
Come in and what, taste and see that the Lord is good.

1331
00:54:25,260 --> 00:54:26,100
By faith.

1332
00:54:28,820 --> 00:54:30,300
It's really quiet in here.

1333
00:54:31,020 --> 00:54:33,940
So do we receive grace in the sacrament of communion?

1334
00:54:33,940 --> 00:54:35,300
Absolutely.

1335
00:54:35,300 --> 00:54:37,660
Not in the way that Rome wants us to believe,

1336
00:54:37,660 --> 00:54:39,780
it's not a grace that saves us,

1337
00:54:39,780 --> 00:54:42,300
it's not a grace that we can accumulate

1338
00:54:42,300 --> 00:54:43,900
and then present to God as if we now

1339
00:54:43,900 --> 00:54:46,700
have merit before him like we've earned a reward.

1340
00:54:46,700 --> 00:54:48,580
No, that's not it, that's not the type of grace.

1341
00:54:48,580 --> 00:54:50,540
It's the grace that reaffirms the truth

1342
00:54:50,540 --> 00:54:52,660
about our relationship with Christ.

1343
00:54:52,660 --> 00:54:57,660
It's the grace that reminds us of his eternal promises to us.

1344
00:54:57,660 --> 00:55:01,300
It's mysterious for sure, but look,

1345
00:55:01,300 --> 00:55:03,140
remember what Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 13,

1346
00:55:03,140 --> 00:55:08,140
he said, now we see in a mirror dimly, and only in part.

1347
00:55:08,140 --> 00:55:09,860
And that's so true with the Eucharist, right?

1348
00:55:09,860 --> 00:55:11,700
Someday we're gonna fully grasp the truth

1349
00:55:11,700 --> 00:55:14,100
and there is an eschatological dimension to this

1350
00:55:14,100 --> 00:55:19,100
because every time, members, we sit at the table

1351
00:55:19,100 --> 00:55:20,660
and partake of communion together,

1352
00:55:20,660 --> 00:55:23,740
it is foreshadowing something much greater, is it not?

1353
00:55:23,740 --> 00:55:26,820
The marriage supper of the Lamb that we will celebrate

1354
00:55:26,820 --> 00:55:29,340
in Christ's absolute presence.

1355
00:55:29,340 --> 00:55:32,460
Then it won't be dimly, it'll be face to face.

1356
00:55:32,460 --> 00:55:34,220
We're practicing for that.

1357
00:55:35,180 --> 00:55:37,100
But to say it's just a metaphor,

1358
00:55:37,100 --> 00:55:39,500
to say that it has no connection to the absolute,

1359
00:55:39,500 --> 00:55:42,420
to say that it has no connection to the actual body

1360
00:55:42,420 --> 00:55:45,740
and blood of Christ is to do violence to the whole concept.

1361
00:55:48,020 --> 00:55:51,900
In that day, it'll be not in part, but in full.

1362
00:55:51,900 --> 00:55:54,580
And that is our life and our hope, is it not?

1363
00:55:56,220 --> 00:55:58,620
So Oak Hill members, we have the opportunity

1364
00:55:58,620 --> 00:56:02,340
to come to communion tonight for our members.

1365
00:56:02,340 --> 00:56:03,180
Do not miss it.

1366
00:56:03,180 --> 00:56:05,100
The Lord hasn't provided the sacrament

1367
00:56:05,100 --> 00:56:06,540
as some type of optional thing,

1368
00:56:06,540 --> 00:56:09,580
like well, if it fits into my schedule.

1369
00:56:09,580 --> 00:56:13,340
Again, it's an extension of the pulpit ministry.

1370
00:56:13,340 --> 00:56:16,140
It is the word visible, it is the word tangible.

1371
00:56:16,140 --> 00:56:19,420
It's designed to strengthen you and to nourish you.

1372
00:56:19,420 --> 00:56:20,660
Don't make it optional.

1373
00:56:21,740 --> 00:56:23,540
Again, Thomas Watson, the Puritan,

1374
00:56:23,540 --> 00:56:25,180
he actually called it treason.

1375
00:56:26,580 --> 00:56:30,260
Treason, he said, to skip the Lord's table.

1376
00:56:30,260 --> 00:56:32,660
Here's his quote, he says this.

1377
00:56:32,660 --> 00:56:35,860
It is not left to our choice whether we will come or not.

1378
00:56:35,860 --> 00:56:39,180
It's a duty, not only permissive, but authoritative.

1379
00:56:39,180 --> 00:56:41,860
It is as if a king should say, let it be done.

1380
00:56:43,660 --> 00:56:45,380
So let it be done, friends.

1381
00:56:45,380 --> 00:56:49,740
Members, tonight at 5.30 p.m., come to the table

1382
00:56:49,740 --> 00:56:51,260
and receive from your king.

1383
00:56:52,380 --> 00:56:53,620
And for those of you who are here this morning,

1384
00:56:53,620 --> 00:56:56,460
you're like, I'm not a member, I can't come to communion.

1385
00:56:56,460 --> 00:57:00,180
Let this be an invitation to you to join us.

1386
00:57:00,180 --> 00:57:01,700
All you have to do is ask an elder,

1387
00:57:01,700 --> 00:57:03,420
ask our church administrator, say,

1388
00:57:03,420 --> 00:57:04,820
what is this membership about?

1389
00:57:04,820 --> 00:57:06,940
Because we believe that the communion meal

1390
00:57:06,940 --> 00:57:08,140
is a family meal.

1391
00:57:08,140 --> 00:57:09,500
We should be in covenant together.

1392
00:57:09,500 --> 00:57:12,340
We should come all at one time together

1393
00:57:12,340 --> 00:57:15,020
in purity, in brotherly love.

1394
00:57:15,020 --> 00:57:16,540
By the way, that's the subject of next week.

1395
00:57:16,540 --> 00:57:18,780
We're gonna talk about why Oak Hill teaches that,

1396
00:57:18,780 --> 00:57:21,620
why we teach what we call a guarded communion.

1397
00:57:21,620 --> 00:57:23,820
So let this, for those of you who are not members

1398
00:57:23,820 --> 00:57:26,820
who are saying, I can't come, let it be an invitation.

1399
00:57:26,820 --> 00:57:28,540
Join us, become a member at Oak Hill.

1400
00:57:28,540 --> 00:57:31,300
We would love, love, love, love

1401
00:57:31,300 --> 00:57:33,620
to welcome you at the communion table, amen?

1402
00:57:33,620 --> 00:57:34,460
Let's bow our heads.

1403
00:57:41,740 --> 00:57:45,220
Lord, we are so grateful for this gift

1404
00:57:45,220 --> 00:57:47,140
that you have given us, and Lord, I know that

1405
00:57:47,140 --> 00:57:48,980
maybe we've taken it for granted in the past,

1406
00:57:48,980 --> 00:57:51,140
maybe we haven't understood it completely.

1407
00:57:51,140 --> 00:57:55,820
It is a wonder and a mystery what you have left for us.

1408
00:57:55,820 --> 00:57:57,900
But we know it's important, God, because you left it

1409
00:57:57,900 --> 00:57:59,940
and you said, do this until I return.

1410
00:57:59,940 --> 00:58:02,300
This is my body, this is my blood.

1411
00:58:02,300 --> 00:58:03,900
Do it in remembrance of me.

1412
00:58:04,940 --> 00:58:07,180
You've given us physical, tangible signs

1413
00:58:07,180 --> 00:58:09,740
and pointed us to your body and to your blood.

1414
00:58:09,740 --> 00:58:11,900
Lord, help us to understand more.

1415
00:58:11,900 --> 00:58:14,140
Help us to process through that together.

1416
00:58:14,140 --> 00:58:16,540
And even tonight, Lord, prepare the way for us

1417
00:58:16,540 --> 00:58:19,620
to come into your presence in a unique way.

1418
00:58:19,620 --> 00:58:20,980
First of all, that we would be united

1419
00:58:20,980 --> 00:58:23,220
as brothers and sisters, that we would come as one body

1420
00:58:23,220 --> 00:58:25,020
and share one love together.

1421
00:58:25,820 --> 00:58:27,180
Prepare us for that moment, Lord.

1422
00:58:27,180 --> 00:58:28,500
Thank you for your love.

1423
00:58:28,500 --> 00:58:30,060
Prepare us for that moment, Lord.

1424
00:58:30,060 --> 00:58:32,140
Thank you for today, for a chance, again,

1425
00:58:32,140 --> 00:58:33,860
to see what you've done in history

1426
00:58:33,860 --> 00:58:36,860
and to see what you've left us in the Eucharist.

1427
00:58:36,860 --> 00:58:39,940
All of it, Lord, is a mystery and a wonder,

1428
00:58:39,940 --> 00:58:43,140
but this much we know, we love you, and we worship you,

1429
00:58:43,140 --> 00:58:45,260
and we praise you and thank you today.

1430
00:58:45,260 --> 00:59:04,260
Jesus, amen.