Pastoral Letter for a Faithful Church January 10, 2021

 

Dear friends,

Below are the remarks I made this morning regarding the danger of spiritual immaturity:

I did want to address this week’s events at the Capitol. I rarely speak publicly about such events, and when I do, I invariably upset someone.  However, this one was unique in that it more publicly involved professing Christians, including two people that I know.  The two people I know who attended the rallies have given public assurances that they had no part in the riots that followed. They both have claimed that there were “professional agitators” present, and media reports have confirmed the presence of well-known and easily identifiable QAnon members, neo-Nazi white supremacists, and other alt-right protestors, none of whom represent Christ.

But what I want to consider today is … How do people who publicly profess the name of Jesus in word and on signs, end up breaking and entering, causing the destruction of public and private property, and put others in harm’s way?  And yes, there’s only been a few days to ponder this sad state of affairs, and while I’m sure that there are many possible and probable answers to this question, I have come to at least three fairly basic answers:

1. They do not know, or they do not trust God.

2. They do not know, or they do not trust God’s Word.

3. They do not know, or they do not trust God’s Word

Either these people are believers in name only … and then we should not be surprised when they act as unbelievers, for that is what they actually are. Or … they are believers in Christ, but simply do not know or do not care that believers are supposed to live in a way that “adorns the profession of the gospel in their manner of life” – to quote the ordination vows of our elders and deacons.

But why do we have Christians who do not trust God, God’s Word, or God’s Work? It’s easy to just say that they’re spiritually immature. And that’s probably true.  But it’s also easy to say that if they attend a church at all, perhaps they’ve come from a spiritually immature church … one that hasn’t taught them to trust God or His Word. One of the major observations of my dissertation, even from 15 years ago, was how few Bible-believing churches actually use the Bible in a meaningful way over a long period of time. And immature churches produce immature Christians who do things which bring shame to the name of Christ.

Since, to the best of my knowledge, none of them come from this church, and therefore none of them are under my spiritual authority and guidance, I can do nothing about those who took part in Wednesday’s attack on the Capitol.  Except to pray, which I have and will continue to do. And yet, the question I’ve been wrestling with this week is … How do we keep from becoming like those spiritually immature people who, in the words of Francis Schaeffer, have hurt the witness of the church to a watching world? And since, in a few moments, I’ll be preaching on having “Confidence in God’s Word,” I’d like to focus my remarks there.  You can consider this to be sermon application before the sermon. [If you haven’t heard the sermon, you can find it at https://www.potomachills.org/sermons].

One of the great advantages of being at Potomac Hills is that we want you to, as 2 Peter 3:18 says, “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” And that means we must make every effort to build our knowledge and trust in God and His Word. Every way involves showing up. Every way involves becoming a hearer and doer of God’s Word. Every way starts with the personal reading of the Scriptures. There’s no shortcut. You have to take time to open the book and read it. And yet, the good news is that we offer several ways to help you do that.

First, you need to hear God’s Word. The Pastors, Elders, and Teachers put in the time you don’t have, so that the Word of God is preached and taught well here at Potomac Hills. Therefore, in order to hear God’s Word well, you need to make coming to worship a high priority for you and your family. Coming in person and coming online both count.  But you have to come. Dr. Thom Rainier is one who monitors church trends in this country, and his surveys indicate that people consider themselves a regular attender if they make it to the worship service three out of every eight weeks.  If you only come three out of every eight weeks, you’re well on your way to spiritually immaturity, but with your help, we’ll do all we can to prevent that from happening.

Second, you not only need to hear God’s Word, you need to read and study it as well.  One of the best places to do that is in our Sunday School program.  Providentially, our combined adult/college/teen class has just started the Book of Revelation. So, if you want to see what Christ thinks of spiritually immature churches, come to this class. We will soon get into the study of the seven churches in Revelation 2-3, these are spiritually immature churches, and we will see what Christ has to say to them.  There is much here to help us from becoming like them.

Third, you not only need to hear and read God’s Word, you also need to speak it to others and have others speak it to you. It’s one of the main reasons we have Community Groups. Yes, it’s an opportunity to build relationships and pray for each other throughout the week, but it’s also designed, in discussing the sermon, to speak God’s Word into each other’s life.  Those who have no one to speak God’s Word into their lives are at a great disadvantage in terms of spiritual growth. And with the online options we offer, the pandemic is no excuse not to participate.  If anything, the relational disconnects the pandemic has caused in our lives should motivate us towards greater connection. There’s no reason for anyone in this church to struggle with loneliness, so let’s strive to be connected, one with another, and practice speaking God’s Word into each other’s lives, as Colossians 3:16 says, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.”

If you are not in a position to hear God’s Word, read God’s Word, and speak God’s Word, then it will eventually be revealed in a life of spiritual immaturity.  And it’s only a matter of time until you will do things which bring shame to the name of Christ.  I beg you … don’t allow yourself to drift into immaturity. It leads to no good place and it accomplishes no good thing.

But I am confident that this doesn’t have to happen. I love this church, as I know you do, and we are in a great position to hear, read, and speak God’s Word to one another.  As Colossians 1:28 says, “Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.”

Let’s mark this new year as spiritually mature people who trust God, trust God’s Word, and trust God’s Work in this world.  So let me close with the theme verse of this sermon series, Hebrews 4:16, “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

With Confidence,

Dr. David V. Silvernail, Jr., Senior Pastor

Potomac Hills Presbyterian Church