Parker T. Williamson
Editor-in-chief
The angels said it to Joseph, then to Mary and later to the
shepherds. Jesus said it to his disciples when their tiny boat pitched
from wave to wave in an angry sea. A holy God says to his people: “Do
not be afraid!” Those words frequently appear when Scripture
describes a theophany, a divine breakthrough into the secular sphere.
When that breakthrough happens, there’s good reason to tremble, for
who can stand in the presence of the Lord? But those whom he calls to a
particular purpose have nothing to fear, “though the earth be
removed and the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea.”
Wherever the Lord breaks into our sinful world, crisis is inevitable.
Evil cannot tolerate the good, and it will muster all of its powers to
crush it. At the news of Jesus’ birth, Herod shivered and sought to
destroy the cause of his distress. Church leaders – the very
persons who should have welcomed Jesus – plotted his demise. At the
cross, where Satan unleashed his ultimate weapon against the Son of God,
the earth trembled and rocks cried out. But the last word came from a
Lord who left his grave clothes behind: “Do not be afraid!”
The year 2006 is a crisis year for Presbyterians. Having failed –
and refused – to uphold Biblical standards, denominational
officials are facing a meltdown of seismic proportions. For decades,
false gospels have been welcomed into the camp. This apostasy can no
longer be ignored. People are fleeing for their spiritual lives (more
than 1.8 million since 1965, and continuing today at the rate of almost
50,000 a year).
Our missionary force has been decimated and national programs are in
ruins. Occupying a once-esteemed office, the stated clerk of our
denomination delivers pronouncements without Biblical basis to Congress,
the White House, the Supreme Court, the World Bank and corporate
America, only to find that no one is listening.
Why should anyone listen? The denomination’s moral authority is
gone.
The Lord is calling his church to account, and he is finding mainline
denominations in America wanting. He speaks through our staggering
losses and through the voice of the burgeoning world church whose
millions are receiving the gospel, obeying its precepts and shunning
those of us who don’t.
He comes to judge the 2006 General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church
(USA), where leaders of a dying denomination will again attempt to
resuscitate it with political compromise.
An institution called the Presbyterian Church (USA) is fighting for its
life. Its managers are meeting with Louisville lawyers this month to arm
themselves for battle. But the Word of the Lord to those who speak the
truth is clear: “Do not be afraid!”
Have courage when committees of ministry accuse you of renouncing church
jurisdiction because you distribute church offerings with integrity.
Resist ecclesiastical bureaucrats who threaten to snatch your
congregation’s property or your minister’s pension. Do not let
the fear of institutional fragmentation drive you to support policies
and programs that you know are wrong – from Scripture and in your
heart. Do not accept the lie that truth and falsehood can coexist for
the sake of unity. Do not call that which is evil good or, even worse, “not
too bad,” or, worse still, “not bad enough to warrant division
in the church.”
Do not be afraid at the sound of truth’s trumpet when walls come
tumbling down.
Jesus warned that crises would come to his people. He said that on the
earth there would be “the distress of nations, with perplexity, the
sea and the waves roaring, men’s hearts failing them from fear …”
But that is not the end of his counsel: “Now when these things
begin to happen,” he said, “look up and lift up your heads,
because your redemption draws near” (Luke 21: 25-28).
When in the course of this 2006 the battle between truth and falsehood
rages, hold fast to what the Word of God and the testimony of his people
through the centuries are telling you is true. Do not allow yourself to
be beguiled by empty words from short-term ecclesiastics. Listen to the
Word of the Lord that has been implanted in your heart.
Be faithful. Trust the Lord.
And, whatever comes, do not be afraid!
A column by Parker T. Williamson, editor emeritus and senior
correspondent of The Layman.