As the Pastor Speaks, So Does the Church

The Lord's Purposes in the Conviction of Sin in Public Acts of Worship

Good Morning,

As we continue to look at the DPW’s thoughts on the doctrine of fasting there is an important principle of Presbyterianism that would be worth our time to start with. The role and call of the pastor in his verbal leading of the congregation is sacrosanct. When we complete our time in the Directory of Public Worship our next step on Thursdays will be to spend time in another document from our founding days, the Directory on Church Government. We can think that learning more about the structure of the church is a waste of time, however, structure is the form from which the food and drink that fills our hearts and souls with the nourishment of life comes to us, and so it matters much that we know the how’s and why’s of our daily walk.

Many people today believe that the church is either not necessary or is at best a confusing institution that exists just kind of out of inertia. That idea is wrong. The church was established by Christ in the days of Adam and Eve, and reaffirmed throughout the Bible as His Bride for who He cares a lot. There are times the DPW assumes some things that may have been self-evident in the day when it was written that are not so self-evident in 2025. The authority, and calling of preachers can certainly be one of them. I recognize that writing about this could be seen as a bit self-serving, given my particular role here. However, I want you to be able to read the directions below and understand them in context, and with the encouragement of men and women seeking help in fulfilling some of the basic aspects of our life.

To that end as the section on fasting that we are going to get to here in a second opens up it says that the minister is a mouth for the people. The aforementioned DCG (a new acronym) in its section on preachers says, “To pray for and with his flock, as the mouth of the people unto God, Acts 6:2, 3, 4, and 20: 36, where preaching and prayer are joined as several parts of the same office”. So as we think about the actual service of the church in fasting we need to keep this in mind as it is materially important to what God has in mind for this spiritual service.

Here is the part for today:

In all these, the ministers, who are the mouths of the people unto God, ought so to speak from their hearts, upon serious and thorough premeditation of them, that both themselves and their people may be much affected, and even melted thereby, especially with sorrow for their sins; that it may be indeed a day of deep humiliation and afflicting of the soul.

Special choice is to be made of such scriptures to be read, and of such tests for preaching, as may best work the hearts of the hearers to the special business of the day, and most dispose them to humiliation and repentance: insisting most on those particulars which each minister’s observation and experience tells him are most conducing to the edification and reformation of that congregation to which he preacheth.

Before the close of the publick duties, the minister is, in his own and the people’s name, to engage his and their hearts to be the Lord’s, with professed purpose and resolution to reform whatever is amiss among them, and more particularly such sins as they have been more remarkably guilty of; and to draw near unto God, and to walk more closely and faithfully with him in new obedience, than ever before.

The calling of a minister is a solemn one. The kind of preparation given to the public time of worship cannot be gained through shortcut methods or without due consideration. It is a clear disservice to the sheep for a pastor to not spend sufficient spiritual labors on getting ready for prayer and for the preaching of the word. Many people like to say that Presbyterians are the so called frozen chosen, and unfortunately that label sticks for good reason. Notice something that is said in the opening paragraph about how prayer should affect the person. The DPW says, “people may be much affected, and even melted thereby . . . “. When is the last time you melted in a time of prayer? What does that even mean? Folks usually only melt, that is tear up whether in heart or literally, when they are emotionally invested in something that is taking place. If when the minister asks you to pray with him and you are just closing your eyes and waiting for it to be over then it is not surprising that the Holy Spirit is not moving the soul to respond in faith. It can be of course that the preacher’s preparation leaves the congregation cold. That being said, it is not the pastor’s words that should motivate our own actions in prayer, but the promise of God.

Part of the purpose of fasting, and in this case of a public worship service at the culmination of a called moment of fasting by the elders, is to deal with some kind of sin within the body. Through this means of grace the goal is to ask the Lord’s help in not only moving the church to repentance but also to convict those who may be unwilling to in their own private time of devotion to admit their transgressions of the law. The unity of the Christian life is seen quite lovely in the way there is spiritual strength in numbers as we gather together in communion to support one another.

In closing, there is a sense in which every public worship service of the church, whether an ordinary Lord’s Day morning and evening or a special service for whatever purpose, is to be performed so that we might grow in spiritual strength and love. The DPW notes we as individual Christians should be seen in fasting, “. . . to draw near unto God, and to walk more closely and faithfully with him in new obedience, than ever before”. It is an important part of our life as those who rest and trust in Jesus Christ that we trust in His means and His ways to give us what we need as we face the struggles of the old man within us. If we are not fasting and are not using fasting for God’s purpose we must ask ourselves the question why? It is because we don’t believe in it or is it more likely that we fear what fasting might say of our unconfessed sin and how these matters might work to expose them? As believers we should welcome the conviction of the Holy Spirit at all times, but expressly in worship as we’re built up in faith in love in grace.

Blessings in Christ,

Rev. Benjamin Glaser

Pastor, Bethany ARP Church