Saturday, October 22, 2005

Alarums

Notes Towards a Plea for Reformed Discernment

Today's devotions included Jeremiah, Chapter Four, wherein I was reminded of the raison d'etre of ¡Alarma! Standard.
Jeremiah, in prophesying of the soon destruction of the Southern Kingdom of Judah, repeats the dual-aspected theme of warning: standard and alarm.
set up the standard toward Zion - v.6
the sound of the trumpet, the alar[u]m of war - v.19
How long shall I see the standard, and hear the sound of the trumpet? - v.21
The standard appears to be a visual symbol of what Judah should be standing for/defending; while the sound of the trumpet is an aural symbol (alarum) of coming judgement. ¡Alarma! Standard is, among other things, about the standard being assailed, and a trumpet declaring the judgement that will inevitably ensue when we fail to not only defend, but also proclaim that standard.
What is this standard?
I see this as being the composite of the holiness & righteousness of God, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and that special revelation of such: the Word of God.
How is it being assailed?
The standard is assailed when we fail to both defend and proclaim it. This follows the definition of sin: doing wrong or failing to do right. The standard is exclusively a responsibility of the (visible) Church and, as such, she must be the one to proclaim it to the world and raise (defend) it among her people. This involves not only lifting up (teaching) that which is right; but, also, exposing, rebuking, and punishing that/those which is/are wrong (ie: polemics & church discipline).
For, we know, the gates of hell will not prevail and, thus, external assault (whether God's chastisement or the Adversary and his minions), is not the problem; rather, internal purity (1 Pet.4:17): certain men (Jude 4); false teachers (2 Pet.2:1, c/w 2 Tim.4:3); traitors (2 Tim.3:4,5); men of corrupt minds (1 Tim.6:3-5); blasphemers (1 Tim.1:20); Judaizers (Gal.); et.al., and their abherent or heretical teachings must be exposed and shown to be detrimental to (or, against) the True Faith (Jude 3) or, even, another Gospel (Gal. 1:8,9).
Now, evangelicalism bounds with entities who purport - and do, to a large extent - serve both polemically and apologetically. Most specialize in some particular area (Mormonism, New Age, Word of Faith, etc.); while some try to cover more territory (Christian Research Institute, Spiritual Counterfeits Project, etc.); however, except for internet discussion groups, the odd website or blog, little time or effort is being made on behalf of orthodox reformed discernment.
¡Alarma! Standard hopes to contribute to that cause.

5 comments:

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