Peter Witkowski Ecclesiology, Pain & Suffering

Pastor, Don’t Make Church Your Therapy Session: Send the Ark Back

When the sorrows of illness, grief, or family trials swallow a pastor’s heart, he must take note of king David and resist the temptation to allow his anguish to disrupt his congregation’s fellowship with the Lord through the normal means of grace.

King David’s Principle

Though King David lacked the more traditional qualifications tied to pastoral or priestly authority, his kingship still possessed a spiritual dimension. The Lord had called King David into a covenant relationship with Him so that the nation of Israel would be able to commune with God through David’s wise rule. As David notes in Psalm 101:6,8, “I will look with favor on the faithful in the Land, that they may dwell with me…Morning by morning I will destroy all the wicked in the land.”

And like contemporary pastors and elders, David faced struggles in his private life that disrupted his ability to care for the people of Israel. In 2 Samuel 15, Absalom successfully launched a revolution that forced David to flee his capital with a small contingent of troops and advisors. As they marched out of the city, David saw the priests carrying the ark of the covenant out of the city. But instead of applauding the priests’ devotion to him, David told them to reverse course. “Carry the ark of God back into the city. If I find favor in the eyes of the Lord, he will bring me back and let me see both it and his dwelling place (2 Sam 15:25).”

David made this decision because he knew that God revealed himself through the ark. When the priest sprinkled the ark’s mercy seat with the blood of the sin offering, they taught God’s people that only a blood sacrifice could atone for their sins. The priests also stood before the ark to gain insights into God’s will for them. The Lord told Moses in Exodus 25:22: “There I will meet with you, and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim that are on the ark of the testimony, I will speak with you about all that I will give you in commandment for the people of Israel.” In other words, the ark was the center of divine revelation. It was how and where the people learned of and experienced the saving mercy of God. The ministry of the ark was a foretaste of the ministry of the church. Though events had disrupted David’s access to the normal rhythms of worship, David would not allow his sorrows to disrupt his people’s access to the revelations of God’s mercy.

In the new covenant, God conveys his mercy through the preaching of the word and through the practice of baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Despite these changes, the principle that guided David still remains in place. The pastor should not allow his suffering to disrupt his church’s ministry of mercy. He should resist the urge to abandon his sermon series on Romans in favor of a ten-week series on betrayal or to abandon the Lord’s table for a panel discussion on grief. He should not replace his sermons with stream of conscienceless derived from his suffering. In other words, he should not transform the church service into his therapy session.

He should send the ark back and work with his elders and fellow church members to ensure that the church keeps declaring the whole counsel of God. As Paul reminds his mentee in the faith Timothy, “Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers (1 Tim 4:16).” The preaching of the full counsel of God is not ancillary to but the very antidote for the pastor’s sorrows. It is also how his congregation finds salvation and sanctification. As John Calvin says, “By the preaching of his gospel he helps us so to grow in faith and patience that we are able to bear every trial.” Do not disrupt the regular means of grace.  Keep the ark in Jerusalem.

Keeping Preaching

Sometimes, the pastor will have to surrender the ministry of the church to his fellow elders because the nature of his crisis prevents him for serving in the normal rhythms of the church. But when the crisis passes and the pastor returns to his public duties, he still must not deviate from the regular means of grace.

Like King David, John Calvin once found himself exiled from the city of Geneva. When Calvin returned to the city three years later, he preached the verse that followed the last verse from the last sermon he had preached prior to his exile. He neither give vent to his sorrows nor disrupted the church’s normal displays of grace. In so doing, Calvin helped his congregation understand in the words of Dr. Timothy George that: “The Reformation was not about Calvin or any other personality. Much less about the ups and downs of church politics…the Reformation was about the Word of God”

What was true of Calvin and the Reformation should be true of every church. Moreover, the pastor’s mission does not change with his circumstances. As the apostle Paul says, “Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching (2 Tim 4:2).” Calvin explains, “When we have the word of truth we must not depart from it in any way, nor be so fickle that we are driven first one way and then another. We must be able to dispense the word well and rightly so that our people are fed.”

Admittedly, pastors will misstep at times like the priest did and take the ark a few steps into their suffering. When they do, their fellow elders and church members should take up the mantel of David. They should lovingly encourage the man to return the ark. The pastor should then humbly confess his sin to his congregation and return the ark back to its proper place. Understanding that their pastor stands in need of grace, the local church should warmly grant their pastor forgiveness just as Jews welcomed king David back to Jerusalem and Swiss welcomed back Calvin to Geneva.

Two More Principles

This argument does not negate the pastor’s need to suffer within the context of the local church community. He should not hide his sorrows nor pretend that he does not hurt. Like other church members, he should make use of the godly counsel and the servant hearts of his congregation. Just like the young dad overwhelmed by fatherhood, the pastor should be able to process his struggles with faithful brothers and depend on the kind old ladies for meals. The other elders and church members should also carry on with the ministry of the word and the sacraments when the pastor cannot, knowing that the ministry of the church depends not on single man but the Lord. Outside of the Lord, the local church should be the pastor’s greatest resource during his times of suffering.

Moreover, the example of David also does not negate the shaping influence of the pastor’s suffering upon his life and ministry. As Paul notes in 2 Corinthians 1:4, the God of all comfort takes pastors and others through the valleys of suffering in-part so that they “may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” To quote Charles Spurgeon: “A man’s own experience should be to him the laboratory in which he tests the medicines which he prescribes for others.” Having faithfully applied the gospel to his heart, the pastor will be better apply the medicine of the gospel to the suffering souls that sit in his church’s pews and in his office. Just as Calvin’s and David’s exile turned out for their good, God promises to use the pastor’s suffering for the good of the pastor and his congregation. The pastor’s ministry should be shaped by the benefits of Christians suffering.

Final Thoughts

But the pastor’s suffering should not be allowed to interrupt the church’s practice of the normal means of grace. He should not take the church captive to his needs. Rather, the pastor should send the ark back to Jerusalem.

Peter Witkowski Apologetics, Discipleship, Pain & Suffering

How Amos Helps to Shape the Christian Response to Wicked-on-Wicked Violence

When the world of sin and darkness turns in upon itself producing horrific results, Christians should neither rejoice nor participate in such evil. Rather, they should call both those attacking and those being attacked to repentance.

Two Nations Steeped in SIn

In Amos 2, the Old Testament prophet declares that the nation of “Moab shall die amid the uproar, amid the shouting and the sound of the trumpet (2:2).” The prophet’s listeners would have readily assented to Moab’s judgement. Moab which came into existence through incest (Gen 19:36-38) was forever and always at odds with Israel. They hired Balaam of talking donkey fame to curse the Jews as they entered the promise land (albeit unsuccessfully) and kept up the attacks long after Israel became a nation. One of Israel’s first judges, Ehud, famously delivered Israel from Moabite rule when he thrust a sword into the Moabite king who was so fat that “the hilt also went in after the blade, and the fat closed over the blade (Jg. 3:22).

Though God’s declarations of doom against Moab were rather standard affairs by the end of the Judean empire, God’s justification for punishing the Moabites would have surprised Amos’ original audience. This time Moab will be destroyed for their sins against other sinners. Amos predicts that Moab will be burned with fire because it “burned to lime the bones of the King of Edom (Amos 2:1).”

Like Moab, Edom excels at persecuting the Jews. Amos chapter one records that the nation of Edom had partnered with Philistia and Tyre to betray and enslave God’s people (Amos 1:6, 9). Next, Edom took up arms and violently pursued the Jews to whom they were distantly related. The Edomites lacked compassion, loved evil, and delighted in opposing God and terrorizing the Jews. According to the prophet Ezekiel, the descendants of Esau rejoiced “over the inheritance of the house of Israel, because it was desolate (Ez 35:15).” Because of Edom’s sins, Amos reports that God “will send a fire upon Teman and it shall devour the strongholds of Bozrah (Amos 1:12).” As the prophet Joel notes, the cities of Edom would become in-turn “a desolate wilderness (Joel 3:19).” The prophet Obadiah concurs writing of Edom that it “shall be as though they never had been (Ob 16).

In short, Amos has declared that God will judge the wicked nation of Moab for having abused the wicked nation of Edom. The sin of one nation or people against another person or nation (regardless of how wicked said person or nation is) is never excusable. The Lord who rules over all will hold all to account for their sins, irrespective of their victim’s merits.

Lesson’s From The Fallen

Amos’ prophecy reveals that the proper response to Moab’s vengeance and Edom’s calamity is not rejoicing but warning. When false churches burn down, when cult leaders are murdered, or when one war lord is violently dismembered by another war lord, Christians should not sin against their enemies through misplaced rejoicing, a neglect of justice, or participation in said sins. Christians should not berate the followers of cults on X as they grieve the deaths of their loved ones. They should not turn a blind eye to the brother who murders an abortion doctor. And, they should not join those rioting because they disagree with a court’s unjust verdict. The sins of others never excuse or justify new sins, especially the sins of God’s people.

When Christians see a Muslim attacking a Buddhist, they should lovingly call both groups to repentance. They should call the one sinning to repent for God will judge their sins and hates their violence. And they should call the one being sinned against to repentance. While the attacked will not be judged for their attacker’s sins, they will still die for their sins…for their idolatry, cruel words, and rejection of the Bible. An even greater and more perfect judgement awaits all of humanity regardless of whether they are suffering or cause suffering. Anyone not covered in the saving blood of Jesus will spend eternity in hell. The suffering of the wicked should not move Christians to mock and attack the wicked when they hurt. Rather it should drive them to once again to lovingly call their lost neighbors and family members to repent lest they die.

The Wider Discussion

This response to the suffering of the wicked extends beyond Amos, aligning with the broader witness of Scripture. According to the Old Testament, God not only judges the wicked, he longs to see them saved. Decades after Amos had receded into the background, the prophet Ezekiel declared, “As I live, declares the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live (Ez 33:11)”

Such sentiments also align with the witness of the New Testament. When Jesus was asked about the horrific deaths of the Galileans who had their blood mixed with the blood of animals, the Messiah turned the conversation towards repentance, declaring, “but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish (Lk 13:3). Similarly, Jesus continues to delay the final judgment and the recreation of the universe because as the apostle Peter notes in 2 Peter 3:9, “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” While God often uses one wicked nation or person to justly punish the wickedness of another nation or person, the Lord never delights in their sorrow. He desires to see all repent.

Conclusion

When Christians see the wicked attacking the wicked, they should not rejoice in the suffering of the wicked nor share in such sins. God does not rejoice in the calamity of the wicked. Those who faithfully follow the Lord Jesus Christ will use such moments to spread the gospel and to call those walking in darkness to embrace the light of Jesus. They will love their enemies.

Peter Witkowski Apologetics, Pain & Suffering

Erika Kirk’s Message: A Return to the Clear Gospel

My soul resonated with much of the Charlie Kirk Memorial. Erika Kirk not only joined others in proclaiming the gospel, but she also lived it out, extending love and forgiveness to her enemies. That moment proved to be a welcome correction to the evangelical gospel that had begun to be blurred by the ethic of vengeance.

A Vengeful Gospel

As world become preoccupied with COVID, some of the more political voices within evangelicalism encouraged their fellow evangelicals to make allowances for those driven by hatred and vengeance. These political voices told evangelicals not to focus on the “what” of their actions but on the “why.” These evangelicals viewed the social unrest of the pandemic to be a legitimate currency of the marginalized who lacked all other means to enact just social change. These evangelicals condemned the throwing of bricks as a sin. But they also believed those who had failed to listen to the prior just complaints of the brick throwers were complicit in their crime. The brick was the last option and not the first. In other words, hurt people hurt people and those who committed the last hurt could not be expected to peacefully cohabitate with their communities or even their churches until those who committed the first hurt confessed their sin and made restitution. Until such time, those evangelicals who had been sinned against would continue to burn with anger as the personal ethic of love and forgiveness faded ever into the background of their thought.

Such discussions swirled around the Black Lives Matter’s protest as pastors called evangelicals to reflect on why those minority communities in Minnesota, Georgia, and elsewhere had been driven to violence. Evangelicals on the other side of the political aisle encouraged then church to reflect on the circumstances that had driven the men and women of January 6 to march on the U.S. Capital. Instead of encouraging those who had been wronged to embrace the personal ethic of forgiveness, both sets of political voices encouraged the church to understand the merits of the various protestors’ vengeance. Jesus’ words in Luke 6:27 “But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you.” had begun to recede from the evangelical imagination. Though he is not an evangelical, I suspect President Trump’s words at Charlie’s memorial stilled reflected the feelings of many within the evangelicalism when he said: “I hate my opponent and I don’t want the best for them. I’m sorry…But I can’t stand my opponent.”

Erika’s Pure Gospel

In her speech, Erika Kirk directed the evangelical imagination back towards the gospel of peace. She did not ask those in attendance to empathize with her hatred for Charlie’s shooter who caused her soul to ache and her two precious children to be fatherless. She did not speak of vengeance at all. She did not hate her husband’s murderer.  

She spoke of loving and forgiving her enemies. Reflecting upon Charlie’s life she said, “Charlie passionately wanted to reach and save the Lost Boys of the West, the young men who feel like they have no direction, no purpose, no faith, and no reason to live…wasting their lives on distractions…men consumed with resentment, anger and hate. Charlie wanted to help them.” Charlie disavowed personal vengeance. Erika continued: “My husband, Charlie. He wanted to save young men, just like the one who took his life.”  

Then clinging to Charlie’s legacy and the gospel, she proclaimed, “That man. That young man. I forgive him. I forgive him because it was what Christ did…What Charlie would do. The answer to hate is not hate. The answer we know from the gospel is love and always love.  Love for our enemies and love for those who persecute us.”

She forgave not because Charlie’s shooter had made restitution, admitted to his evil, or sought reconciliation. She extended forgiveness to him because she had been forgiven.  As the apostle John notes, “In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another (1 Jn 4:10-11).”  Erika championed the love and forgiveness of Jesus which is forever and always the individual Christian’s solution to sin – even to the greatest of sins such as murder which causes the soul ache until heaven. I am thankful that Erika clearly and resolutely shared and model a gospel uncluttered by vengeance at this crucial hour.

God Centered Political Action

 This is not to say that there is not a place for justice and for conversations about political change. God ordained governments to hold sinners to account so that all might live in peace and safety. When governments fail to rule justly and when tragedies occur, righteous anger should drive Christians to engage the political process.

But righteous passion must never be divorced from the personal ethic of love and forgiveness. Evangelicals engaging in political discussions and activities should recognize that any person or group that is truly Christian or aligned with Christian principles will ultimately not lead its followers to demonize their opponents, to riot, or to make death threats but to share the gospel, to forgive sins, and to make peace both inside and outside the walls of evangelicalism. As President Trump noted of Charlie Kirk, “He did not hate his opponents. He wanted the best for them.”  In other words, holy anger produces not vengeance but men and women passionate to see the gospel of peace advance in their families, their churches, and their communities so that others may know Christ and experience the joy of following Jesus’ ethic. As the Reformer Martin Luther said, “anyone who claims to be a Christian and a child of God, not only does not start war or unrest; but he also gives help and counsel on the side of peace wherever he can.” Evangelical political action should be driven by and reflect Scriptural convictions. To quote Erika: “Pray again. Read the Bible again. Go to church next Sunday and the Sunday after that. And break free from the temptations and shackles of this world.” To put it simply, the love and forgiveness of Jesus always produce a personal ethic of love and forgiveness. James the brother of Jesus concurs writing, “But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace (Ja 3:17-18).”

Final Thoughts

Charlie’s memorial beautifully reminded evangelicalism and the world that the gospel of love and forgiveness still works. The passion for change can and must cohabitate with the ethic of love and forgiveness. For that I am thankful. May love and forgiveness ever drive and shape the evangelical church and its political engagement.