Usury. Ever heard of it? It used to be considered a pretty big deal for Christians. Moses outlawed it (Exodus 22:25), Jesus called it robbery (Matthew 21:12-13). King Edward I of England compared it to blasphemy. Historically many Christian (and Islamic) countries outlawed it. Roman Catholics have excommunicated those who practice it. Protestants have condemned it (e.g. 19th-century Lutheran Church Missouri Synod.) And yet it is - and it remains - one of the driving forces behind the modern U.S. economy. So what is it? The word usury simply refers to a monetary loan with interest. In the Western World interest (not to be confused with necessary banking fees) was, until relatively recent times, deemed immoral and sinful as it always enriched lenders and frequently impoverished, exploited, and even enslaved borrowers. So what position should the modern American Christian take on the common practice of usury in our society? Furthermore, in light of our culture's historic stance against it and the numerous biblical prohibitions against it - how should we respond? (see Leviticus 25:36-37, Deuteronomy 23:19-21, Ezekiel 10:17, Psalm 15:5) These questions are made all the more relevant when one pauses to consider that 80% of all Americans are in debt according to CNBC with 12% of those expecting to die in debt. According to nerdwallet.com overall U.S. household debt has increased 11% in the past ten years alone with current indebted households owing $134,924 on average. This means that in the U.S. (where the real median household income is $55,775) interest payments cost the average American household more than $6,600 per year or roughly 12% of total household income. Coupled to these alarming statistics are a number of ethical questions regarding the policies of modern lending practices. According to the Catholic academic, Dr. M. Oliver Heydorn, in an article entitled Usury, Social Credit, and Catholicism, "The conventional financial system centralizes wealth, power, and privilege in the hands of those who have acquired monopoly control over financial credit (the lenders). The policy... is self-serving..." Despite the fact that usurious loan practices have become both legally permissible and commonly practiced today (not to mention central to our national economy) shouldn't the handful of statistics cited above at least give Christians pause to think? Shouldn't the widespread indebtedness of our fellow citizens (not to mention ourselves) at least encourage us to think critically about whether usurious loan practices really do impoverish, exploit and enslave borrowers just as previous generations of claimed? And if so... shouldn't the American church have something to say about it? It is certainly a complex situation to address and as with all complex situations the question is 'where do we start?'
Face it! We are living in a Walmartized culture. And why not! Walmart provides a useful service, they offer their customers any product they could possibly want at rock-bottom prices. All of this is well and good in its proper place but what happens when Walmartized desires slip into other areas of life, like – say – the church? What happens when churches begin marketing themselves as little more than sanctified superstores offering a plethora of religious products and novelties to church-hunters who have become little more than religious consumers? When these things happen it is clearly time for those looking for a church to roll back their expectations. We need to remind ourselves that the church and Walmart are two distinct institutions just as consumerism and discipleship are two different outlooks.
In such a confusedly consumeristic culture what should a person be looking for in a church?As a pastor I want to suggest that when looking for a church one must resist the temptation to ask “does this church have what I want” and one must instead ask, ‘what makes a church a church in the first place?’ Another way to ask this question is to say, ‘what are the true marks of a true church?’ The Reformed tradition of Christianity (of which I am part) encourages people to look for a church by raising this very question and likewise, the Reformed tradition provides a few helpful answers. According to the Westminster Confession of Faith (one of the historic Reformed statements of Biblical Christianity) true churches can be distinguished as those where: “the doctrine of the gospel is taught and embraced, ordinances administered, and public worship performed (with) purity.” In other words the three features that we in the Reformed tradition invite church-hunters to look for are: 1. Does this church teach and embrace the gospel? 2. Does this church faithfully administer the means of grace? 3. Is there purity in this church’s public worship. Let’s consider each of these in turn: 1. Does this church teach and embrace the gospel? When visiting a church your first question should be what does this church believe and why do they believe it. Attending a single service should be enough to give you some answer to this question. However, if you cannot get an answer to this question or if you can only get vague or clichéd answers chances are the church might not place a great emphasis on the gospel. This is a very tragic but very common situation in many churches. There is nothing more important than understanding a church’s stance on the gospel. By “gospel” I mean “the good news of Biblical Christianity” and/or the entire body of Christian truth from Genesis to Revelation sometimes referred to as “Redemptive History.” Knowing a church’s stance on this should determine whether it is the church for you. From a biblical standpoint all true churches of Jesus Christ should clearly and frequently articulate a few key concepts that are central to the gospel. Here are some example: · That there is only one gospel (Galatians 1:8&9) – and therefore one true Savior and one true religion (i.e. the Christian faith) · That the central figure of the gospel is God’s Son, the second person of the Trinity, Jesus Christ (Colossians 1:18-22) · That the work of Christ can be summarized thus, “God made him who knew no sin to become sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in him.” (2 Cor. 5:21). · That all believers are saved by God-given grace through the God-given gift of faith. (Ephesians 2:8&9) · That all people are sinners and can only be justified (made right with God) on the basis of Christ’s righteousness. Regardless of the programs it might offer, the attractiveness of it’s facilities, the personality of its pastor, or the appeal of its worship music, if you visit a church and go away unclear as to its position on the gospel you should almost likely steer clear of it. 2. Does this church faithfully administer the means of grace? When choosing a new church you should remember that God works through means. God has provided us with certain tools through which He promises to build His church, develop His people, and call sinners to salvation. We call these God-given tools “the ordinances of the Church” or “the means of grace” and the ministry of a true church will always have these means at its core. According to Acts 2:32-38, three of the means of grace that God has given for the maintenance and growth of His church are: · Preaching · Sacraments (Baptism & The Lord’s Supper) · Prayer Let’s take a moment to summarize each. First, when visiting a new church listen carefully to the preacher and ask yourself; why does this man talk like this? What is he really saying? Please avoid the error of Walmartization at this point by asking yourself questions like; do I think this man a good public speaker, does this man move me emotionally, is this man “relevant” to me and my felt needs – ultimately these questions are of much less significance than the question of what is he actually saying. The Bible teaches that preaching should be rooted in scripture itself. The man in the pulpit is not doing his job unless he is letting the text talk. If he is being faithful to the text of God’s word his sermon will reflect upon who God is and what God has done to graciously save sinners through the work of His Son. Preaching that fails to do this is not really preaching at all. Second, as you look for a new church ask yourself what role do the sacraments have in its worship. Scripture teaches that the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper are to occupy an important and regular part of the church’s life as a covenant community. The sacraments are God-given signs and seals of the covenant God has made with His people and they are intended to remind us of the promises of God, and of our communion with him and with one another. These are solemn, sacred, serious, and blessed ordinances that God has given to no other people on the face of the earth save His church. Realizing this, a faithful church will seek to administer the sacraments faithfully and regularly and will avoid the all too common error of down-playing the sacraments or dismissing them as mere religious traditions. Thirdly you must determine is this church a praying church – prayer being another means of grace. The Bible shows us that prayer is one of the ways in which God humbles us and conforms our will to His will. The public prayers of God’s people lead by the pastor are a wonderful way for the whole church to express its dependence upon God and to acknowledge its trust in Him alone. In addition to this the Bible commands that God’s people pray and it gives fairly specific guidelines for how prayer should be used corporately. A faithful church, therefore, must be a prayerful church. 3. Is there purity in this church’s public worship? Finally, when looking for a new church carefully inspect its worship. Perhaps no area of assessment is more fraught with the danger of a superstore mentality than this! Todays consumeristic culture has conditioned many church-hunters to deem a church’s worship as worthy only if it produces in its worshipers a glandular reaction of some kind – but this is clearly wrong. We must resist the urge to assess a church’s worship based upon personal desires, subjective impressions, emotional responses, cultural preferences or musical genres. The purity of a church’s worship is not to be measured by any of these things. It is only to be measured by Scripture. It is the Bible alone that tells us what is more or less pure concerning worship and therefore, what is more or less pleasing to God as we worship Him. It is also very important to remember that worship is ultimately about the One being worshiped and not so much about the one’s doing the worshiping. In other words, worship is not a chance for us to receive what we demand as consumers but to give God what He deserves as redeemer. It is not about us, it is about Him. It is not to be constructed and conducted around the dictates of our preferences but around the direction and purity of His Word. CONCLUSION Well, there you have it. Here are the marks of a true church. Here are the things to look for when choosing a church. Ask yourself is this a place where: 1. The gospel is taught and embraced 2. The means of grace are faithfully administered 3. There is purity in the public worship of God If so, regardless of your personal preferences I urge you to stop your church-hunt and settle down in this faithful community of God’s people. If this sounds overly simplistic, it is truly not meant to. No doubt, choosing a church in a Walmart culture is and will remain a challenging, sensitive, and deeply personal issue for you but if you make your decision in an informed way, taking into account the things written above, and looking to the Lord for guidance you will make the right decision as opposed to becoming yet another consumer looking for yet another sanctified superstore. Warning: The following video is an example of clever satire. |
Rev. R Crabtree"...a son, a husband, a father of 6, a friend, a Presbyterian Archives
November 2022
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