Here are the words of the prophet Isaiah – the text from which the sermon came from Wednesday evening:
In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one called to another and said:
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory!”
4 And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”
6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”
8 And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.” – Isaiah 6:1-8
Thursday was a great final day at General Assembly. We made lots of decisions – some things went the way I voted, some did not. And that’s how it goes at GA – but the gospel was proclaimed and the glory of God exalted.
One of the things I love about our denomination at this time is that we are debating small matters – and sometimes that can feel frustrating, that we are debating over what can feel like minutiae, but if we are doing that, it means that we’re not debating on the authority of Scripture, the deity of Christ, atonement, or any major ethical issues. We are aligned on those matters – as we are a confessional church. We all submit to the Westminster Confession of Faith as our unifying statement of faith – and this keeps us accountable and clear on major theological issues. So be glad that the stuff we debate over is relatively small.
Our presbytery proposed a change to our standards that would clarify who can distribute the Lord’s Supper; the measure failed, but the unity and brotherhood on display during the debates was evident and refreshing. One of the biggest decisions of the day came when we agreed to erect a study committee on the issue of Christian Nationalism. If there is one thing we do well in the PCA, it’s study committees. The moderator of the General Assembly chooses a group of experts on the topic to study it for a year and at the end of the year, a report is given, and it’s very, very thorough. To read study papers previously done by the PCA, go to pcahistory.org. They are informative, thoughtful, and pastoral. The most recent paper done on human sexuality was particularly fantastic. These position papers bring us together – because they almost always showed just how unified we are on these topics, even when many would like to create the illusion that we are not – as that feeds the blogosphere, etc. Division is always going to be more popular than unity, as to define yourself by who you are against is an empowering opportunity. But don’t fall for it – the gospel is bigger, and our hope is never going to be diminished by our worldly concerns. I was encouraged by General Assembly, and thankful to be a part of the PCA!