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Core Values: Being Gospel-Centered Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6
Core Values: Being Church-Oriented Part 1
Our First & Second Core Values
Gospel-Centered: We believe Jesus Christ is the central purpose of all Scripture, Christian discipleship, and the substance of both the Old & New Covenants. As a Church, we seek to teach the Scriptures as the whole counsel of God. The method of teaching we use in our public worship, in general, is expositional preaching with the Gospel as the lens.
Church-Oriented: We believe that God calls all believers to live in and submit to the governance of a local church. It is in the church that believers should build their most intimate relationships, seek guidance and wisdom for life decisions, and be held accountable to walk in the truth revealed in sacred Scripture.
Church-Oriented Part 2
In our first essay, we stated that the local church is a colony — a colony of Heaven — an extension of the Israel of God. It is to be the center of the Christian’s life in the same way that the synagogue was for Hebrews living in a colony away from Israel in the first century. Like them, we are a Kingdom within a kingdom.
The Church: Earthly Manifestation of a Heavenly Reality
Every duly constituted local church is a visible expression of the invisible Church. It is an earthly manifestation of the Heavenly reality. According to Jesus and Paul, it is to be the center of the Christian’s worship and civil life. In Matthew 18 and 1 Corinthians 5-7, the rules are given for how to excommunicate someone for public scandalous sin, how to settle cases of civil fraud, and who can remarry and who cannot. In chapter 6:1-6, Paul makes a very interesting statement. He says,
1 Corinthians 6:1-6
“When one of you has a grievance against another, does he dare go to law before the unrighteous instead of the saints? 2 Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases? 3 Do you not know that we are to judge angels? How much more, then, matters pertaining to this life! 4 So if you have such cases, why do you lay them before those who have no standing in the church? 5 I say this to your shame. Can it be that there is no one among you wise enough to settle a dispute between the brothers, 6 but brother goes to law against brother, and that before unbelievers ?”
Civil Judges Have No Standing In The Christian Church
I underlined verse four to call our attention to it. Let’s focus in on it a little closer so we can catch some specific wording. “If you have such cases, why do you lay them before those who have no standing in the Church?” In other words, why are you bringing civil cases before judges that have no jurisdiction over you? In matters involving the sword (Romans 13), such as national defense and punishing crime, the state has jurisdiction. We live in their kingdom as a colony, and their criminal laws bind us. In matters that do not involve the sword, Jesus has endowed His Kingdom with judges who have jurisdiction over His saints. Those judges are called elders, and an elders’ meeting is a general “session” of the church court.
Elders Are Judges
Paul is saying, in 1 Corinthians 6:1-6, that if Christians have civil legal “cases” among ourselves, we are not to take them to people who have “no standing,” but we should take them to people who do. Who would that be? The elders of your local church. They are empowered to either serve as the jury or appoint one. “Can it be that there is no one among you wise enough to settle a dispute between the brothers (1 Corinthians 6:5)?”
Elders Judge By The Word & By The Fruit
Jesus Christ is King. He is the Church’s lone executive. There is no other–no matter what the Pope of Rome says. Jesus Christ is the Law-Giver. He is the lone legislator, and the book or canon of law is closed. Christian Law is fixed. The Church has a fixed Constitution. We call it the Bible. Elders are judges. They are to look into the law and ask, “What has God said?” They are to judge by the fruit presented accordingly, whether in a moral case that requires church discipline or a civil case that involves arbitration.
Elders Possess A Judicial Power
The power of the elders is a judicial power. Thus, when they meet, they are a “session” in the reformed understanding. The Church is a court, the court of the Lord, and She has a legitimate power to bind and loose the believers. Their judgments legitimately bind or loose Christians. If they judge them innocent, they are loosed and publicly vindicated. If guilty, they are bound, meaning they must follow whatever is prescribed — not because the elders say so, but because Jesus does (Matthew 16:13-20).
Christ’s People Are A Spiritual Kingdom With An Earthly Presence
The Natural world mirrors the Spiritual one. Christ’s Kingdom expresses itself just as other kingdoms do when they are colonies. We gather, share our resources, educate our children, and bring the culture of our Kingdom under the reign of Christ to our local community. We bind ourselves together and hide ourselves within the flour of the cities of Man like the leaven that we are, bringing light, seasoning, and preserving them.
When Does A Church Receive Power Over A Christian?
The question is, “How and when do visible churches get power over individual Christians and families?” The answer is, “When they ‘voluntarily’ give it.” The Church, because she does not have the sword, cannot compel; she can only invite. She is what is call a “voluntary association.” People join of their own free will. Traditionally, she has used covenant and vow to bind her disciples together–following her Lord Who uses covenant and vow (New & Old Covenants) and gave us the Third Commandment.
When a Christian joins Solomon’s Porch, they take vows. We are a covenanted body. The fourth vow says,”I submit myself willingly to the shepherding and discipline of this local Church. I further promise to pursue its purity and peace in Jesus Christ, as I am taught in sacred Scripture.”
Members Vow To Abide By Church Court’s Decisions
When a Christian joins a local church by taking a vow to submit to the shepherding and discipline of the church, they are taking an oath to abide by the decisions of that church’s court. When a Christian joins a local church, they are voluntarily choosing the visible expression of the New Jerusalem, the City of God, that they want to live in and submit to. They are voluntarily choosing their mayor or principal leader and city counselors, who also double as their judges when they decide to become part of a Christian congregation.
Congregants Elect Their Judges: When They Join & When They Vote
The elders or session decide the direction and settle disputes for the congregation. Remember, you chose them and possibly even nominated them to office. It is one of the privileges of covenant membership–voting in congregational elections. That is why you should do your due diligence before joining. Because if you disagree with their decisions or the way they make them, after the fact, it doesn’t dissolve their authority. Their authority remains in force–especially in matters where you might disagree.
Arbitrating and settling disputes is one of the legitimate powers of the Church, and when you choose your elders, you choose to be bound or loosed by them. Therefore, without a serious theological or geographic change, you lack sufficient reason to leave. If the church court you chose didn’t see things your way in a dispute, you have pre-agreed to abide by their ruling. Leaving a church you swore to be bound and loosed by ensnares you in a violation of the third commandment.
Third Commandment Violation
Many American Christians are ensnared in third commandment violations. Church membership is only slightly less serious than marriage. Slightly. Both are covenant communities based on vows. Both are to be very stable institutions. Marriage and divorce are serious business. So is joining and leaving a Christian body.
The Church Is A Peer Institution To The State
Consider the power of the Church. She is one of only two institutions that can legitimately marry or annul a marriage for fraud or grant permission for divorce due to sexual immorality. Only judges in the State or the Church can perform marriages. It is because the church is an expression of Christ’s Kingdom. She has ruling elders to oversee her material affairs, and teaching elders to oversee, with the ruling elders, her spiritual affairs. She also has servants or deacons to assist in the work of the ministry under the direction of the teaching elder, with oversight from the ruling elders.
Reforming The Church
Finally, the first generation of Protestant Reformers sought to reform the Church, not blow it into a million pieces. We do not follow the Anabaptist tradition; we follow the Reformed tradition. Solomon’s Porch wants to see the Church built up in our cities, states, and nations. We believe the Church is a peer institution to the State with a separate set of powers, officers, and particular jurisdictions. We believe Christians should orient their lives around the Church, making it the center of their worship and social life.
Up Next
In Church-Oriented Part 3, we will leave the theoretical and delve into the practical, exploring the language in the back half of our Second Core Value.
Go in peace to love and serve the Lord!
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Ascending Mt. Zion
For the upcoming Lord’s Day August 3rd, 2025
Sermon
We will continue in our Acts Series this week! Acts 25:23-26:32 Part 2
Memory & Meditation
M & M Verses for the Lord’s Day August 3rd, 2025 are
Proverbs 2:1-2
My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, 2 making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding;
SPCC Prayer Book: Learning Wisdom
Completed Essay Series’ in 2025
Celebrating the Ascension
The Coronation of the Son of Man based on Daniel 7:13-14
The Indwelling Advocate: Christ’s Gift of the Holy Spirit Part 1 based on John 14:15-17
The Indwelling Advocate: Christ’s Gift of the Holy Spirit Part 2 based on John 14:18-21 (Available soon with Part 3 as well.)
Putting On Immortality Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 based on 1 Corinthians 15:35-49
Forsaken For Us All Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 based on Psalm 22:1-15
Christ, His Church, & Marriage Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 based on Ephesians 5:22-33.
Catechism Questions
Westminster Shorter Catechism for August 2025: Questions 31-35
Remember that you can present Questions 26-30, our WSC Catechism Questions from last month, to any member of the Consistory during lunch starting this week.
Lord’s Day Meal
Yes
Psalms & Hymns of Worship
Psalm 74:20-23 Tune: Resignation Hymn- Jesus I My Cross Have Taken (Indelible Grace)
Psalm 75:7-10 Tune: Denfield Hymn- Abide With Me (Indelible Grace)
Midweek Worship & Consistory Meeting
Yes. We are at the Senior Center. Pizza arrives @ 6:15ish pm, Opus Dei @ 7 pm with Catechism Lesson & Intercessory Prayer to follow.
Consistory Assignment TBA
The first hour 7:30-8:30 pm is dedicated additional learning and is open for all Heads-of-Households and young men to attend via Zoom. For the meeting on the 18th we are discussing Chapters 3-5 of “Life Together” by Dietrich Bonhoeffer (Amazon link).
We will start Calvin’s Institutes in October. That’ll be a great time to jump in.
Paul writes in 1 Timothy 3: 1 that “The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task.” Men, if you desire to one day enter the Consistory as a deacon or elder, then attendance to this hour will be important for your development and for the Consistory to gauge your aspirations, gifts, and calling in the Lord.
Join Us for Worship
Finally, come and worship with us on the Lord’s Day. We also meet on three Wednesday evenings a month for Catechism Lesson & Prayer. Another Visit our Homepage or What We Believe for more information. Find us on Google Maps or watch our sermons on Youtube.
Go in peace to love and serve the Lord!
Pastor Jeremy
“The Creation is quite like a spacious and splendid house, provided and filled with the most exquisite, and at the same time, the most abundant furnishings. Everything in it tells of God.” – John Calvin
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