Fathers and Brethren,

It was not a year of smooth sailing for some of the Executive Committee's circulars! Stormy weather began with the resignation of one of our ministers and the Executive Committee's decision to wait until Classis before adjudicating the case. After a few weeks of email and telephone debate, your President finally was compelled to call a Special Meeting of Classis. Then, the Executive Committee assumed that Elder Doug Schlegel would take his ordination examination at this Classis, when it was learned that Classis cannot do this until he receives a call. Finally, the Executive Committee tried to expedite the transfer of the Rev. Jay Fluck to the Covenant East Classis, when it was objected that there was not enough time to do the transfer and that Classis had not declared the pulpit at Ebenezer Reformed Church "vacant." The Executive addressed these problems by making Rev. Fluck's resignation effective on March 27 and explaining that we wanted to keep Rev. Henderson at Ebenezer, as declaring the pulpit vacant would have cost us one of our cherished ministers.

Your President has received most of your Parochial Reports and offers the following summaries: Pastor Jonathan Merica reports of God's grace to him throughout last year, with special emphasis on his recovery from a mild stroke. His congregation continues to evangelize and to pray "for a true reformation in the hearts of many in the Stockton area." He also praises God for the Benevolent Aid of Classis to his family.

Pastor Gary Mancilas reports on his 9^th year at Covenant Reformed Church in Chico. He tells us of his emphasizing the use of the means of grace in 2010. He speaks of moderate growth in the size of the congregation. The elders and deacons are faithfully carrying out their ministries, too. There is unity in the church as the congregation uses its gifts, talents, and resources. The one-half hour weekly program The Hour of Reformation airs each Sunday afternoon on access cable. In addition, the church has a 15-minute radio program. Member's giving is "faithful and exemplary," but falls short of meeting the guidelines to the Denomination. While the congregation depends on Home Missions support from Synod and Classis, Covenant Reformed Church in Sacramento, and other generous gifts, the members of the church are faithful workers in Christ's kingdom. There is no shortage of kingdom-energy.

Pastor Paul Henderson praises God for his grace in motivating the Ebenezer Reformed Church in Shafter to roll out the red carpet to host the 264^th RCUS Synod. He praises God for the liberal giving and financial health of the church, but is keenly aware that the church is shrinking in numbers and that the church "could die" unless new spiritual blood is added to the congregation. The Church has a new 30-minute radio program and members are exploring different avenues of spreading the Word of God. As for Rehoboth Chapel, he reports that the Chapel may organize as a church by late summer.

Pastor Sam Powell reports titanic trials for him and his family this past year. His rebellious son is no longer at home and his family is beginning to experience the comforts of God's grace and mercy. He praises God for the sabbatical that his consistory gave him; and, he also recognizes as never before that "without God's strength none of our efforts, diligence or wisdom can stand a moment." He is more vigilant than ever of Satan's strategies; but he is also aware that God will "save Zion, and will build the cities of Judah" (Psalm 69:33-36).

Pastor Tracy Gruggett of Grace Reformed Church in Bakersfield tells of the voracious spiritual appetite of the congregation in Bakersfield, which indicates its zeal to be faithful to Christ. One of the issues in the church concerns music. A special Worship Committee was established by the Consistory to assist the pastor. The church is striving to be more consistent in the handling of church discipline cases. He also reports of his ongoing concern for more evangelism. The possibility of relocating the congregation may generate a new vision, but as of now, Pastor Gruggett says that such a relocation is premature.

Pastor Michael Voytek reports that he experienced his most challenging year in Lodi, where he often felt overwhelmed. This was due to two deaths of church members and several heart-wrenching discipline cases. The church lost eleven communicants in 2010, which resulted in a shortfall of cash of about $10,000. Yet, the three marks of the church continue to thrive at Providence Reformed. He continues his work at City Seminary, where he teaches Old Testament courses.

Pastor Jim West tells us of the stability of the church in Sacramento, which is holding its own financially and whose numbers remain the same, even though there was a great deal of human traffic coming and going in 2010. The discipline cases were hard to bear, but the work of the Holy Spirit continues on, as God is blessing His people by the preached word of God. The church has many ministries, with City Seminary occupying a prominent role.

Pastor Frank Walker continues his regular duties in Sacramento, the lion's share being City Seminary. The Church is throbbing with spiritual life and he is in the midst of preparing sermons dealing with how God's people can serve in the church. He is encouraged by the responses to his preaching and by the improved physical condition of his wife.

Pastor Dennis Roe reports of new members of Covenant Reformed Church at Grass Valley for which is he grateful. He continues his work for Westminster Biblical Missions and is Dean of Students at City Seminary. He is particularly thankful for the ordination of a new elder.

Pastor Gil Baloy reports of good things happening at Covenant Reformed Chapel in San Diego. He rejoices in his ministry there, which includes witnessing to unbelievers both in San Diego and in the Philippines (when he is abroad). The flock is being feed the word of God, the youth are instructed, and it appears that several new members are forthcoming. His report sparkles with zeal and enthusiasm. The Chapel is on the verge of organizing as a congregation, too.

Pastor Thomas Mayville expresses his heartfelt joy for the great things the Lord has done for him since he returned from Africa. He thanks God for the Grass Valley congregation, the RCUS, and especially the brethren at Trinity Reformed Church in Modesto for calling him to be its pastor. He praises God for committed elders and deacons. Yet, he requests prayer for one family and three members who may leave Trinity Reformed Church. The finances of the church are solid, as all the guidelines were paid and the church hopes to pay off its Synodical loan in a few years.

Pastor Hank Bowen speaks of good things happening at Faith Reformed Church in Anderson. The fire still burns in his bones to preach. He echoes Paul, "Woe is me if I preach not the Gospel." After many years the church was blessed with the election and ordination of a new elder. There are also new families on the verge of joining the congregation. Yet, the church continues to "tread water financially living month to month in meeting our expenses."

Pastor Jay Fluck reports that this is his 13^th year at Rehoboth Chapel. The finances of the Chapel are steady and adequate to pay the bills. The attendance is not dramatically higher than the previous year and is perhaps sagging a bit. He reports that he is not just tired, but "beyond tired," believing that the congregation will progress to minister to itself once he moves. He tells us of his acceptance of the call to the Sovereign Grace Church in Gettysburg, PA and of his appreciation for the support and fellowship of all the men in the Western Classis. The biggest issue of the congregation (besides finding a replacement for Pastor Fluck) is in finding another space to rent, as the Chapel's current space will be replaced "by a full medical lab."

The Western Classis has five retired ministers: the Rev. Lloyd Gross indicates that this will likely be his last parochial report. He reports of his flagging mental and physical reserves and thinks it unlikely that he will ever preach again. He tells us what a blessing it is to be in a church with his four children and their families. The Rev. Vernon Pollema speaks of his retirement as not very retired! He is currently stated supply at Grace Reformed Church in Lancaster, advises the Spiritual Council there, and assists them as they search for a new pastor. Pastor Paul Treick reports that after retiring in June of last year that he continues to serve the Church at the Synodical level. Although he is convinced that his retirement was the right decision, he especially misses preaching. The transition of pastors at Trinity Reformed Church was virtually "seamless." He also aspires to write theology in his retirement. Pastor Gene Sawtelle praises God that he has preached the Gospel often in Willows and Yuba City. But he also reports of ongoing physical problems, which have hindered him exceedingly. He begs for our prayers.

After reading your reports, your President notes some severe congregational afflictions, especially for pastors. These afflictions are both spiritual and physical. Thus the morale of some of our men is at ebb tide. Also, some of our churches continue to bleed red ink. Yet, in other churches there is perhaps moderate improvement of their financial situation. This is in marked contrast to last year, when it seemed that most of us were hemorrhaging.

The greatest need of the Western Classis concerns filling the two ministerial positions at Lancaster and Rehoboth Chapel. As you know, in the past it has been difficult to lure men from outside of the Golden State to relocate here. Thus, virtually all of our empty pulpits over the past few years have been occupied by Californians. What God's will is now, I do not know. Of course, whoever the men might be, it is crucial that they be men filled with the Holy Spirit and who are sound in doctrine and life.

The second issue is an important footnote of our December meeting concerning ministerial deposition. Although the procedure and result of the meeting was glorying to God and all the issues were resolved in a Christ-centered way, it was clear that there was some confusion as to how much authority a Spiritual Council has over a minister of Classis? The problem was complicated by the fact that a few years ago Synod voted that all ministers become members of their local congregations. Yet, the Constitution reads as if the Classis alone has authority over its ministers. Certainly, a Spiritual Council cannot depose a minister (Article 120), but this raises the question as to whether the selfsame Council has the authority to debar a minister from the Lord's Supper? I remind you when a minister becomes a member of a church he takes the fourth membership vow, promising that if he "is delinquent in doctrine or in life to heed its discipline," that is, the discipline of the Spiritual Council of the congregation. As you know, the decision of Classis was to depose and then recommend that Covenant Reformed Church in Sacramento (where the former minister is now a member) "consider" suspending the minister from the Lord's Supper. Perhaps this is the way that all future ministerial discipline should be handled, assuming that our recent case is a cookie-cutter precedent.

Two other issues pertain to this matter: at our Special Classis meeting there was disagreement (near 50%) as to whether further discipline should be meted out when a man has repented of his sins, asked for forgiveness, and has in fact received forgiveness from Classis? This is an issue that applies to non-ministers who may come under discipline. If a person in the congregation commits a scandalous sin, repents, asks forgiveness, and then receives it, does this curtail any further discipline? Some of you argued that the Lord's Supper is a means of grace and one who has truly repented should not be cut off from the grace of God. You said that if suspension from the Supper is ‘Excommunication Minor,' how can we excommunicate someone after he has repented and been forgiven? Others argued that there are consequences to sin, even when there is real repentance. Still others argued that a credible repentance requires proof, thus Jesus' words to "bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance" (Matthew 3:8 in the KJV). This is an issue that begs to be discussed (and resolved). While we do not want to be permissive in our discipline, neither do we want to gore God's people with our horns.

One thing is certain: the administration of discipline has a healthy effect upon us ministers and elders. I think that the result of the Special Classis Meeting resulted in an increase of "the fear of God" (Acts 5:5, 11). Our action should cause us to hate sin with a holy passion. How can we save others, if we ourselves are in sin? God surely will not bless our congregations, if we are physicians who need to heal ourselves. With regard to heart-purity, let us hear the Apostle Paul, "Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery¼.? (Romans 2:22) Your President is reminded of a letter sent by Robert Murray McCheyne in 1840 to the Rev. Dan Edwards, who was ordained to be a missionary to the Jews. He wrote: "I trust you will have a pleasant and profitable time in Germany. I know you will apply hard to German; but do not forget the culture of the inner man,--I mean of the heart. How diligently the cavalry officer keeps his sabre clean and sharp; every stain he rubs off with the greatest care. Remember you are God's sword-His instrument-I trust a chosen vessel unto Him and bear his name. In great measure, according to the purity and perfections of the instrument, it will be the success. It is not great talents God blesses so much as great likeness to Jesus. A holy minister is an awful weapon in the hand of God." Let us diligently attend to the culture of our hearts!

Last year we voted to write a history of the first 25 years of the Western Classis. This appears to be a much more formidable project than what I imagined. One way to make the task easier in the future is to appoint a Classis historian, whose responsibility would be to supplement the historical account year by year. In that way no one in the future would be saddled with the responsibility of rifling through tomes of papers, Abstracts, and Reformed Heralds. The historian could present his report each year to Classis for approval.

Concerning the statistics, your President notes that while our communicant membership remained the same, nevertheless, the overall giving sagged from $1,896,466 to $1,758,374 in 2010. That is a drop of over 7 percent. Yet, regular offerings dropped only 3.8 percent. Noticeably, guideline giving to Synod dropped from $132,567 to $115,183 (a fall off of 13.1 percent). Yet, guideline giving to Classis increased 16.7 percent (from $79,125 to $92,321)!

One final matter should also be addressed: last year the Synod made some changes in the way that business is carried on. Among those changes was the deletion of the Overtures Committee, the adoption of a Standing Committee on the Minutes of Synod, etc. Since this coming Synod will be the initial test of these changes, it might be wise to wait and see how it all works out. If the new procedures work, it might behoove us to adopt the new procedures ourselves (for no other reason than to save time). On the other hand, some of you might want the Judicial Committee of our Classis to look into this matter now. I am always reminded of the words of one of my mentors in the ministry (the late Henry Coray of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church), who told me that one of the great errors of Presbyteries and General Assemblies is the failure to redeem the time.

Respectfully submitted,
Jim West

"He has made everything beautiful in His time: also he has set eternity in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God makes from the beginning to the end" (Ecclesiastes 3:11).

What Biblical doctrine affords the most comfort? What Scriptural honeycomb produces the most honey? What doctrine tastes the most like Hershey's chocolate? What gives you the most grit to face the new year? Your answer should be: the beautiful sovereignty of God! All events, past, present, and future are under God's scepter and sway; they are not under the caprice of chance; fortune is not King of kings and Lord of lords. The Monte Carlo games do not rule.

God's rule is the teaching of Ecclesiastes 3:1ff, which begins, "To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven." Here, "everything" means everything! Nothing slips through the fingers of our sovereign God. So, to showcase this, Solomon presents a menu of events: birth and death, planting and plucking up, killing and healing, breaking down and building up, weeping and laughing, mourning and dancing, casting away stones and gathering stones, etc. There are fourteen couplets and twenty-eight events catalogued. The cavalcade of events is not exhaustive, but exhaustive enough to teach you that God rules over all. Less important events such as worthless sparrows crashing to earth and the imperceptible descent of your hair follicles are included by implication. The so-called "mosquito" or "gnat" providences are determined by God, too. John Calvin keenly observed that even the gnawing of worms is under God's immediate governance (Jonah 4:7)

But why has the Holy Spirit given you this list? And how does the menu of events relate to Christ and His kingdom. The answer comes by studying the words "season" and "time." Yet, unhappily, it must also be reported that there are a few bogus ideas about these events that need to be exposed. Yes, the world has an interpretation of Ecclesiastes 3! This was highlighted by the rock group the Byrds in the 1960s and their hit song, There is a Season. Sadly, their song seemed to treat the times and seasons of Ecclesiastes 3 as impersonal events akin to fate. A fatalist believes in the randomness of "times" and "seasons." Impersonalism is the philosophy of secularists and evolutionists, who crown chance as King of kings and Lord of lords. For example, impersonalism is the force behind Enya's beautiful song, Only Time C a monster hit in US markets. She sang:

Who can say if your love grows, as your heart choseConly Time.
And who can say where the road goes where the day flowsConly Time.
Who knowsConly Time.
Who knowsConly Time.

Enya sings Only Time because Time is (according to her) all there is. It is timeless time, meaning that time is eternal. In other words, time is God (instead of Christ as the Potentate of time). Ecclesiastes 3 does not teach the deity of time, randomness, or a cyclical inevitability to the flow of time. Time, by itself, is not sovereign. Time is God's creature.

The second bogus idea is that Ecclesiastes 3 teaches that time is orchestrated by man himself. "Justification" for this is found in the word purpose in verse 1. So, it is thought that all fourteen couplets refer to man's purposes. Of course, there are major problems with this view. To begin with, Ecclesiastes 3 is not an exhaustive menu. The writer could have said there is "a time for rain," or "a time for sunshine." You do not control the weather. In fact, if you study the word rain in the Bible, you will discover that there is never an instance when "rain" stands by itself. Every time "rain" occurs, God sends it! Yes, our God "sends rain upon the just and the unjust" (Matthew 5:45). The most famous example of human impotence with regard to the elements was the British king Canute, who sat on the seaside and tried to command the sea and waves! And added to this, there are events in the list itself that you cannot control. For example, the Preacher says "there is a time to be born and a time to die." Who purposes his own birth or death? This is quite out of our hands, as Mark Twain quipped when asked the reason for his success, "I chose my parents very carefully." Even Judas' suicide was just as much a product of God's sovereign will as God's foreordination of Christ's death (Luke 22:22).

Your Times And Seasons Are Ruled By God

In our own culture, the closest you come to a menu of events like Ecclesiastes is at weddings. You hear expressions like loving your spouse in "sickness and health," "in plenty and in want," "in joy and in sorrow," till death do you part. These are not hypothetical events, much less the bludgeonings of chance; rather, these things happen by God's sovereign command. Marriage is not only an ordinance of Scripture-it is an ordinance of the script of providence, too.

But how can we prove that our times and years are God's? All you need do is study the words times and seasons in the Bible. For example, when the disciples questioned Christ, "Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" Jesus rebuked these curious Georges: "It is not for you to know the times or the seasons which the Father has put in His own power." So, times and seasons are not faceless; rather, they are the serfs of the Lord of the manor. They are in God's hands, not yours or Allstate's! But our number one text is Psalm 31:15, where David writes, "My times are in thy hand ... " So, it is not just national events, but very personal events that your God controls. It is rightly said: "There is a special providence in the fall of a sparrow." How true! Yes, God "has made everything beautiful in His time" (Ecclesiastes 3:11.) The news recorded in the London Times or The New York Times is really His times (an apt name for a Calvinistic newspaper, indeed!). So, all your times are God's.

In Ecclesiastes 3, you also have Solomon speaking about "purposes." Ephesians 1:11 teaches that everything happens "according to the purpose of Him who works all things after the counsel of His will." Yes, not only are all times in God's hands, but all purposes, "s there is purpose behind all times. Of course, God's purposes may not be as clear as the sun at noon day. As William Cowper hymned:

His purposes shall ripen fast, unfolding every hour,
The bud may have a bitter taste, but sweet shall be the flower.
Blind unbelief is sure to err, and scan His work in vain,
God is His own Interpreter, and He will make it plain.

In all of our times, no matter how dismal their character, let us not forget that God's time-table is His own, not ours. Therefore, let us heartily quote the aphorism, "Man proposes; God disposes."

The ‘Specs' Of God's Beautiful Sovereignty

First, there is a time to kill and a time to heal (Ecclesiastes 3:3). God ordains killing-times and healing-times. Even if you are killed accidentally by a flying axe-head, your death is an act of God. But God ordains healing, too. We tend to give God more credit for killing than for healing.

Second, there is a time to break down and a time to build up. You may see the collapse of great buildings, like the World Trade Center. But the eye of faith in God sees not only breaking down, but rebuilding! Israel was in Babylon for 70 years, where she was commanded to build and to plant. Then, when the Lord returned the Captivity of Israel, she rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem in the incredible period of 52 days!

Third, there is a time to weep and a time to laugh (verse 4). God ordains laughing and weeping times. Abbot and Costello once took out insurance for themselves, that if anyone died of laughter, that they would not be sued! God wants you to laugh, to enjoy life. Laughing is more than being a ham-it is being AbraHAMic. Abraham, the father of all who believe, was a laughing father. He named Isaac Isaac because Isaac means "laughter." Spurgeon and a friend were walking on the beaches of Mentone in France laughing and jesting, when Spurgeon suddenly said, "Let us pray and thank God for the gift of laughter." Let us do the same!

Fourth, there are times to mourn and times to dance. Martin Luther's wife, Katherine, once dressed in black to pantomime her husband's funereal melancholy. Dancing was conspicuous at marriages: Jesus attended the wedding at Cana of Galilee, where there was merriment and dancing. So, God gives you dancing times after mourning times and dancing times in the midst of mourning times. When ‘your ship comes in,' you are to dance. Although we do not believe in ongoing miracles today, we do believe in God's "remarkable providences." And, these remarkable providences make us laugh in faith.

There is a time to cast away stones and a time to gather them. In Bible times, casting away stones signified God's judgment of cities. For example, Christ prophesied of the "demolition crew,"-the armies of Titus! Also, when the Jews were taken into captivity, the conquering armies cast stones into their fields to make the fields unproductive (2 Kings 3:19). When Israel returned from Babylon, she rebuilt with stones. Herod the Great was dubbed "great" because he was a builder, having rebuilt the Temple.

Sixth, there is a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing. This is the marital, sexual embrace. Yes, God even determines spousal embraces. Providences such as fasting, prayer, sickness, war-all these make embraces impossible. Scripture teaches that the husband has authority over the body of the wife, and the wife has authority over the body of the husband. But we must never think of this mutual authority as so absolute that it becomes an inalienable right. God may interrupt our embraces to teach us that all sexual caresses are subject to His good will. Spouses belong more to God than they do to themselves.

Seventh, there is a time to get and a time to lose. You must love losses and gains because both are Godsends. The Jews in captivity lost the land of milk and honey. That can only be described as a meltdown, a colossal loss! But when they returned, they knew gain! When the World Trade Center went down, the investment firm of Kantor-Fitzgerald lost 75 per cent of all its employees! Do not be unnerved, even if your Swiss banker looks at your bank account and despairs of life.

Then, there is a time to keep and a time to cast away. Things that you cherish today, you will donate to Good Will Store tomorrow. Cherishing things become perishing things. Death itself is the number one means of the redistribution of your wealth.

There is also a time to rend and a time to sew. The Jews rent their clothing during times of grief-when death struck, or when they loathed themselves for their sins. God commands: "Rend your hearts, not your garments ..." -which means that a textile-repentance does not fly with God. But God also sews; He provides us with clothing as glorious as Solomon's (Matthew 6:29-30).

There is a time to keep silent and a time to speak (verse 7). When taps are played, be silent. When God's law renders you guilty for your sins, your mouth should be stopped (Romans 3:19). But there is also a time to speak, even to confess your sins (1 John 1:9). When Christ was interrogated by Pilate, He kept silent for a time, giving no answer (John 19:9). But when Pilate blasphemed, "scribing all authority to his puny self, Jesus said, "You could have no power at all against me, except it were given you from above: ..." (John 19:11a). It has been said that the sinner will have God to be anywhere, except on His throne. Christ was galvanized into action when Pilate tried to dethrone God! It is blasphemy not to speak against blasphemy.

There is a time to love and a time to hate (v. 8). Psalm 105:25 tells how God set up the Egyptians to be trophies of His fierce wrath: "He turned their heart to hate his people ..." -the point being that God Himself stirs His enemies to hate His people. But God also loves in His own time, declaring, "when I passed by you, and looked upon you, behold, thy time was the time of love: and I spread my skirt over you: yea, I sware unto you and entered into a covenant with you, says the Lord God, and you became mine" (Ezekiel 16:8). Why does the core of the Moslem world hate both Christ's Church and Americans today? Whatever the reasons, we know that God turns hearts in our century, too.

There is a time for peace and a time for war. This is most comforting-to know that even the scourge of war is in God's hands. I was one who thought that when the Iron Curtain came down, that war would become rare (at least for our country). But look what has happened; along came 9-11, and now we find ourselves spending billions to support national defense. We are beating our plowshares into swords! Yet, it is comforting because the same God Who orchestrates war, also orchestrates the peace. He makes wars to cease unto the ends of the earth, turning swords into plowshares. Our war against the terrorists will end. It may take decades, but God will end it.

Our Times Are Governed Beautifully!

The Preacher then says that "He hath made everything beautiful in His time: he hath set the world [eternity] in their heart, so that no man can find out the work of God from the beginning to the end" (3:11). Here, the Hebrew word for beauty (tov) is the same word in Genesis 1:31: "And God saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good (tov)." The word "good" also means beautiful.

Of course, the beauty of God's rule is not always immediately discerned. He makes things beautiful "in His time." Things before this time may look confused, scrambled, even mysterious. Because we are encased in our own finitude, we become frustrated. God has set "eternity" in our hearts so that we try to understand His providence, but because of our finitude, we cannot. Instead, we see only fragments of the whole story-snapshots, "the coming attractions" of God's providence. Plus, God's work often begins in one age and ends in another! This was indeed Israel's experience, after she was vomited out of the Promised Land to Babylon.

God wants you to know that your times are not out of control. There are no maverick molecules in God's universe. This explains why everyday, mundane things are mentioned in Ecclesiastes! In our lives all we see is one or two pieces of God's sovereign, jigsaw puzzle. I like to take Winston Churchill's famous statement about Russia and apply it to God's mysterious providence. He said: "Russia is a mystery, wrapped in a riddle, inside an enigma." Think of God's providence in your life as a mystery, wrapped in a riddle, inside an enigma! Or, apply Shakespeare's famous insight to God's sovereignty: "Sweet are the uses of adversity, which like the toad, ugly and venomous, wears a precious jewel in his head."

Do Not Misinterpret God's Providence

In Ecclesiastes 3:10, the writer asks: "What profit has he that works in that where he labors?" The reason for his question seems to be that if God orchestrates everything, then what's the use? Why work, why labor, why exercise yourself? If God directs peace and war, love and hate, what is the profit for us? The answer is that God makes everything beautiful in his time. This means that your work is not in vain "in the Lord." Our mistake is to become inert, to think that our work is useless because God is sovereign! But the Preacher tells you that God wants you to continue to work; He wants you to suspend your judgment-wait for your Heavenly Artist to complete His painting!

Of course, all of us must understand that God's kingdom is bigger than us anyway. We are to wait for Him to put the jigsaw puzzle together in His own time. The choices are that you believe that God has made a mess of things or that God makes everything beautiful in His own time. Only ask yourself this: What was the most monstrous thing that has ever happened? You are right if your answer is the crucifixion of the Lord of glory! Yet, I remind you that God made even the crucifixion beautiful. He did this by raising Christ from the dead on the third day. And He accomplished this for your redemption!

Yes, all of Jesus' times were determined by His Father. It was in the "fullness of time that God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law" (Galatians 4:4). And Christ's betrayal and crucifixion would only come at the pre-appointed hour or time (John 8:20; 13:1).

As you face the new year, keep two things before you: First, begin the new year with this years' God, Whose specialty is painting beautiful providences. No matter what happens, no matter how ugly the providence, no matter how mysterious, count on God's sovereignty to be beautiful! Second, remember that the new year is really the same as the old year. The entire time from Christ's first coming to His Second Advent is "the year of our Lord." (Isaiah 61:1-3; Luke 4:19). Why is it "the year of our Lord?" The answer is that Christ is busily redeeming sinners and busily exercising His rule. The Psalmist prophesies that Christ's "years shall have no end" (Psalm 102:27). The universe is really a Christo-verse, because Christ sits as the exalted God-man, ruling over all. Whirl is not king of kings and lord lords. And neither is time. The Lord Jesus Christ is the Potentate of time, this year, all of 2007, and forevermore!

The Ninth Article of the Apostles' Creed includes both the "Holy Catholic Church" and "the communion of saints." The obvious question is: "Why is there a statement about the communion of saints?" And the immediate answer is that the early Church felt that additional information about the Church was necessary. That is the reason "the communion of saints" was added to the Apostles' Creed. The Church is not only "a chosen communion," but a communion that ministers to herself. When God blessed Abraham, He also made him a blessing to others (Genesis 12:2). Likewise, God summons His saints to be saintly toward all saints.

Church history tells us that the first indication of this article came at about the end of the fourth century in Serbia; from there it spread to Gaul and was finally included in the baptismal creed in Rome. But from earliest times the practice of the communion of the saints was one of the premiere activities of the Church. For example, the Romans complained that Christians were into incest because of their late evening meetings and that they practiced cannibalism because of their frequent coming together to partake of the Lord's Supper. Some of the older commentators restricted the Communion of Saints to those in heaven, but later on this article of faith was applied to all the saints.

In Reformed churches the phrase "the communion of saints" unpacks the meaning of "the holy Catholic Church." Let us underscore the emphasis on holiness: the Church is both wholly catholic and holy catholic. This means that the premiere trait of the Church is holiness, without which no man (or visible church!) shall see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14). The Church is a sacrosanct institution by virtue of the Holy Spirit's presence. We should think of the Church as a temple that must not be profaned or prostituted (1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:15, 19). So, it is saints as saints (holy ones) who commune.

We Fellowship As Saints

We know from the previous article about the "Holy, Catholic Church" that the Church is an ecclesia of "called out" persons. God calls out of the whole race a people for Himself (1 Peter 2:9). And when God calls us out, He calls us to be holy (2 Thessalonians 1:9; 2:13). If the great Scottish Reformer John Knox was right that the Greek word for Church means the predestinated ones, then we must also emphasize that the Church was elected to holiness, not in holiness or because of holiness (Ephesians 1:4). We were not holy originally. At birth we were "vipers in diapers," our natures were serpentine because we were conceived and born in sin (Psalm 51:5). But when God chose us in eternity, He chose us to be holy. And when we are chosen to be holy, we become a community of saints.

In the Roman Catholic Church, sainthood is an elitist idea. Only some qualify. By this standard, the Apostle Paul would not qualify, since he spoke of himself as lesser than the least of the saints (Ephesians 3:8). One criteria for sainthood is that it must be shown that the candidate performed a miracle in his or her life. Accordingly, if Mother Theresa is ever enshrined as a saint, it will have to be proved that she performed at least one miracle. But Scripture teaches that every Christian is a saint (1 Corinthians 1:2). Some Roman Catholics speak of "saints without the St" to distinguish them from those who have been officially canonized. But if we want to use the standard of miracle as our criteria, we can argue that one reason why every Christian is a saint is because every Christian has experienced "a miracle," that is, the miracle of the new birth. By definition, a saint doesn't do miracles; a saint is a miracle.

An Important Question Is Answered

A keen question about "the communion of the saints" is whether this article describes our communion with God or our communion with one-another. The answer, of course, is that it describes both (John 15:2, 5; Ephesians 1:4, 6-7, 10-11, 13, etc). If we have "union and communion" with Christ, then the corollary is that we have union and communion with one another. Our communion with one another in Christ's Church does not dissolve our personalities and differences, but rather manifests itself in this very body. For example, every Christian is graced with specific gifts that must be cheerfully used in the body of Christ. These different gifts are blessings that distinguish us. This means that every Christian has communion "in each other's gifts and graces; and are obliged to the performance of such duties, public and private, as do conduce to their mutual good, both in the inward and outward man" (Westminster Confession of Faith, Article 26:1). This teaching is very striking in our own Heidelberg Catechism, in question and answer 55: "What do you understand by the "communion of saints?" To which the answer is: "First, that believers one and all, as members of the Lord Jesus Christ, are partakers with Him in all His treasures and gifts, secondly, that each one must feel himself bound to use his gifts readily and cheerfully for the advantage and welfare of other members." In short, there is no communion of saints unless there is communion with Christ.

Yet, this heavy emphasis upon congregational communion must not be interpreted too rigidly. While it is true that there are two theaters of communion, it is also true that Christ communes with us through the saints, too. For example, what is preaching but Christ drawing close to us through the preached word (Romans 10:8)?! This mediate communion occurs because we are members of one another in the body of Christ, with Christ as the Head of the body. Since both the hand and the feet and the eyes are all attached to one another in the body (the Head of the body being Christ Himself), our communing with one another is really communing with Christ since the Head communicates through the members. One of the errors of monastics and hermits is that they attempt to live holy lives apart from the communion of saints. Indeed, even in the Christian ministry a pastor can sequester himself with his books in his prayer closet, and begin to die spiritually. He may ask himself why, when he seems to be doing everything right? The answer is that he (like all God's people) needs the communion of saints.

There Is No Place For Rugged Individualism

The teaching of "communion of saints" also dashes rugged individualism. No Christian has the right to baptize the philosophy of "dog eat dog, every man for himself." No Christian should be an island-in-and-of- himself! The Heidelberg speaks about "believers one and all" which is to affirm "all for one and one for all." Rugged individualism has many faces and each face is a blight and practical denial of the communion of saints. For example, I once had a Church member who would drive to San Francisco each Sunday morning to watch the San Francisco 49er football team. When I accosted him about forsaking God's people on the Lord's Day, he explained: "When I drive to San Francisco I always turn on the radio and listen to a sermon. This is how I get a good feed on Sunday morning." I thought to myself: "This is one of the most selfish things I've ever heard! He thinks only about himself when he drives to the Church of the National Football League!" The problem here is that he was thinking only of what he could get out of it. He did not see his participation in the life of the Church as a ministry to other Christians. He should have thought about what he could have given the Church and of the potential loss to the Church by his absence! Not only is the Church weakened by the non-participation of some of her members, but to be absent from the Church also dampens the spirit de corps of the whole congregation.

"One-Anothering" Is Synonymous For The Communion Of Saints

The Bible emphasizes "the communion of saints" to such an extreme, that no less than 56 times in the New Testament do we find the words "one another." For example, we are "members of one another," we are to "love one another," show hospitality to one another," pray and confess our sins to one-another (1 Corinthians 12:12, 27; John 13:34-35; 1 Peter 4:9; James 5:16). I like to tell God's people in Sacramento, "If you ever leave here to search for another church, make sure it is a ‘one anothering' church." This is highlighted by Christ's command in John 13 where no less than three times He commands us to "love one another." A minister friend of mine even calls our one anothering (especially when there is fellowship into the wee hours!) "Christian nightclubbing."

A sample of the many one anothering passages in the New Testament that could be emphasized are as follows:

1. Forbearing one another (Ephesians 4:2)

2. Showing kindness to one another (Ephesians 4:32)

3. Submitting to one another (Ephesians 5:21)

4. Forgiving one another (Colossians 3:13)

5. Admonishing one another (Colossians 3:15; Romans 15:14)

6. Edifying one another (Ephesians 5:11)

7. Exhorting one another (Hebrews 3:13)

9. Provoking one another to good works (Hebrews 10:24)

10. Fellowshipping with one another (1 John 1:7)

11. Loving one another (1 John 4:7)

12. Comforting one another (1 Thessalonians 4:18)

13. Speaking truth to one another (Ephesians 4:25)

Communing Through The Use Of God's Gifts

We also need to think of the communion of saints as the communion of the gifts of the saints. In 1 Peter 4:10, Peter speaks about each Christian as a steward of the "manifold grace of God," that is, we have gifts that Christ expects us to give. But concerning these gifts, there is a great deal of misunderstanding today. For example, there are those who believe that God is still giving his Church gifts of revelations and miracles, extending into the Twenty-first Century of Church history. So, we need to ask: What does the Bible teach about this? The New Testament distinguishes between the ordinary gifts of the Spirit and the extraordinary gifts. Perhaps a better way to phrase it is that there are foundational gifts of the Spirit and super-structural gifts of the Holy Spirit. We can catch the distinction when we think of it in terms of a foundation of a building. For example, Paul teaches in Ephesians 2:20 that the Church is built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ being the chief cornerstone. Notice: he uses the word foundation. And this foundation consists of the ministries of the apostles and prophets. If I may be permitted to milk the term foundation: it is common knowledge that a foundation is a once laid entity. After the foundation is completed, there arises the super structure (Ephesians 2:21). Jesus' very death on the cross is even called a once-laid foundation in 1 Corinthians 3:11. The great point of the analogy is that there are foundational gifts and super structural gifts. The foundational gifts of the Spirit were once laid. This means that prophecy, apostleship, speaking in tongues (speaking in tongues was a mode of prophecy-Acts 2:22), are over. They are completed because they were never intended to be a part of the super structure of the Church. The foundational workers with their special gifts completed their work over 2000 years ago.

What remains for us today are the super structural or ordinary gifts of the Spirit. Some of those gifts are stated in Romans 12:6ff: Ministry, Teaching, Exhorting, Giving, Ruling, and Mercy. And to these gifts we add: Music, making money (the Parable of the Talents), hospitality, wisdom, prayer, bringing good cheer, bringing comfort, etc. And in addition to these gifts we must not neglect the fruit of the Holy Spirit Who gives such gifts as love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, self-control, and meekness (Galatians 5:22-23) Obviously, if God gives His Church these gifts, then these gifts must not be hidden in a safety deposit box or buried in the ground. The gifts, one and all, are for the edification of the body of Christ (1 Peter 4:10).

The plague that works against "the communion of saints" are the sins that hinder us from ministering to one another. When we become bitter, envious, selfish, and proud, the communion of the saints is disrupted. For example, Peter writes that we are to practice hospitality "without grudging" (1 Peter 4:10). Paul says that when we give, we are not to do so grudgingly, but with cheerfulness (2 Corinthians 9:7). The Greek word here for cheerful is the root of our English word hilarious. Yes, we are to give to the kingdom of God hilariously. The communion of saints touches both the inward man and the outward. When we give to others, we are also communing with the saints.

The Church is a "chosen communion" and a communing communion. God has not called us to be hermits or monastics. We do not worship God in isolation. When we go up to the house of God, we hear communing saints exhort us, "I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord" (Psalm 122:1).

We greatly prize the doctrine of the Perseverance of the Saints. We know that the saints persevere because God perseveres in us. But let us not short-change the communion of saints either. The Perseverance of the Saints takes place when God's Holy Spirit works through a saintly and communing Church.

About sixty years ago one of the oldest bits of writing in the world was discovered; it was a fragment of stone from one of the lowest strata of the ruins of Babylon. The first words that archaeologists deciphered were these: "Alas, alas, times are not what they were. Children no longer obey parents." Likewise, today, disobedience to parents is not a fad; rather, it is nearly as old as the proverbial hills!

The Fifth Commandment which commands us to honor our parents is considered the headstone of the second table of the law, which emphasizes our duty to our neighbor. This is based upon the distinction that Jesus made between loving God (as enshrined in the first four commandments) and loving our neighbor (as enshrined in commandments 5-10; Matt. 22:37-40). Thus we move "away" from our vertical relationship with God to our horizontal relationship with man. But how much do we really move? Is there a hard and fast separation between the two tables? The answer is that there is a God-centered interpenetration between the first and second tables. For example, the Tenth Commandment ("Thou shalt not covet") is informed by the First and Second Commandments since covetousness is idolatry (Eph. 5:5; Col. 3:5), Also, the Eighth Commandment ("Thou shalt not steal") is informed by the Fifth Commandment since the property that we are forbidden to steal belongs to God. Of course, the Fifth Commandment itself is theocentric because it is God Who rules us by the hand of our parents; plus, the land that we acquire as a result of obedience to them is God's gift to us.

As the President of the Western Classis for some nine years running, I am delighted to write another synopsis of your reports concerning the state of the Church in our Western Classis, which will celebrate its 25th anniversary next year. Let me begin my president's report with Proverbs 4:18, which reads, "But the path of the just is as the shining light that shines more and more unto the perfect day." Among other lessons, this verse teaches what should be true for every Christian, that in spite of the sins that do so easily beset us and the opposition of Satan to our testimony, that God's grace in Christ is always working more and more and brighter and brighter. For us this means that even death itself is "perfect day" because death brings us closer to Christ and Christ closer to us. But the verse also impacts our morale and outlook for the present, too, especially in our churches. The great question is: Is the candlestick shining brighter than it did the previous year? Is the effulgence of the Gospel shining brighter and brighter, as the Word of God is preached, the sacraments dispensed, and church disciplined meted out? After reading your reports, I am convinced it is. By God's grace, we are a city set on a hill and a city on a hill cannot be hid (Matt. 5:14). Your reports brought to mind Acts 9:31: "Then had all the churches rest throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria, and were edified: and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, were multiplied."