For my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, to hew for themselves cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold no water. (Jeremiah 2:13)
This passage does not refer to the pagan world. It refers to “my people.” As in Jeremiah’s day, portions of the church have turned from God, yet they are still “thirsty.” Having rejected the “living water,” they have dug their own cisterns, defective cisterns that cannot hold running water. Nor is it enough for them to drink the stagnant water from their broken cisterns, they insist that the church embrace their cistern, celebrate it and promote its stagnant water to a thirsty world. Instead of offering the redemptive, transforming work of Christ, they offer the counterfeit Gospel of “celebration.”
When I see “broken cisterns,” I ask Why? God gives the answer in Jeremiah 2:7-8:
And I brought you into the fruitful land to eat its fruit and its good things. But you came and defiled My land and My inheritance you made an abomination. The priests did not say, “where is the Lord?” And those who handle the law did not know Me. The rulers also transgressed against me. And the prophets prophesied by Baal and walked after things that did not profit.
The pillars of the culture—prophet, priest and king—did not follow the Lord. Does this sound familiar as institutions both secular and sacred discard the clear teachings of Scripture?
On the day preceding the 87th presbytery vote to affirm Amendment 10-A, I read:
The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord saying, “Stand in the gate of the Lord’s house and proclaim there this word, and say, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, all you of Judah, who enter by these gates to worship the Lord! Thus, says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Amend your ways and your deeds, and I will let you dwell in this place. Do not trust in deceptive words saying, ‘This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord.’ For if you truly amend your ways and your deeds, if you truly practice justice between a man and his neighbor, if you do not oppress the alien, the orphan, or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place, nor walk after other gods to your own ruin, then I will let you dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers forever and ever. Behold you are trusting in deceptive words to no avail.
Will you steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and offer sacrifices to Baal, and walk after other gods that you have not known, then come and stand before Me in this house, which is called by My name and say, ‘We are delivered!’ – that you may do all these abominations? Has this house, which is called by My name become a den of robbers in your sight? Behold, I, even I, have seen it,” declares the Lord. (Jer. 7:1-11)
On May 11th when I learned that Amendment 10-A had been approved, I remembered the reading from Jeremiah 7 of “deceptive words” and walking after Baal. My heart ached for the faithful congregations and renewal groups that have worked tirelessly to proclaim the truth. My heart broke also for the faithful people who have sat under weak or even faithless preaching and who would be stunned and bewildered by the headlines. I prayed for opportunities to reach these people who had been subjected to the “deceptive words.”
While Jeremiah recognizes the cause and effect of “broken cisterns,” the book also records a remedy. In Jeremiah 15, the distressed prophet asks, “Why has my pain been perpetual and my wound incurable, refusing to be healed?” (v. 18) Jeremiah is having a prophetic “pity party,” a type of party I’ve hosted for myself. But God responded to Jeremiah’s dismay saying:
Therefore,… “if you return then I will restore you. Before Me you will stand; And if you extract the precious from the worthless, you will become My spokesman. They for their part may turn to you. But as for you, you must not turn to them. Then I will make you to this people a fortified wall of bronze; and though they fight against you, they will not prevail over you; for I am with you to save you and deliver you,” declares the Lord. “So I will deliver you from the hand of the wicked, and I will redeem you from the grasp of the violent.” (Jer. 15:19-21)
When our current denominational crisis is viewed through the eyes of Jeremiah, we can be guided by certain principles:
(1) Amendment 10-A is a broken cistern. It cannot hold water. A broken cistern may allow stagnant water but not running water. For a thirsty person, water from a broken cistern may temporarily quench a thirst. But the water will cause illness. Amendment 10-A may quench a thirst temporarily but it is perpetuating a counterfeit Gospel that will cause further illness to the denomination and to individuals.
(2) Passage of Amendment 10-A is the result of a twofold problem:
(a) complacency, apathy, and ignorance even in orthodox, evangelical congregations. Many orthodox pastors and congregants have failed to act decisively for years. Subjects have been ignored from the pulpits. Presbytery work has gone undone. The results have been destructive. The writer of Proverbs states: “For the waywardness of the naïve shall kill them and the complacency of fools shall destroy them” (Prov. 1:32).
(b) years of misguided theology, at best; heretical theology, at worst; “deceptive words” in either case. (“The priests did not say, ‘Where is the Lord?’ Those who handle the law did not know Me. The rulers transgressed against Me. And the prophets prophesied by Baal and walked after things that did not profit” (Jer. 2:8)). Consequently, portions of the denomination are in danger of biblical, theological and confessional illiteracy; of a false view of Scripture; of a false view of the person and work of Jesus Christ; and even of a counterfeit Gospel that offers no need for repentance or power for redemption and transformation.
(3) God desires faithful shepherds for his flock. He condemns those who scatter the flocks (Jer. 23). The “flock” can be scattered by three means: a) Shepherds can preach incomplete or weak messages that leave their flocks with no power of discernment, helpless against the “wolves” congregants encounter inside or outside of the church. b) Shepherds can preach error, again leaving the flock vulnerable to the “wolves.” c) Shepherds themselves can be the “wolves” which theologically ill-equipped search committees call to the flock.
(4) Congregations that take advantage of Amendment 10-A to condone, celebrate and ordain those who persist in behavior that Scripture calls sinful, are in danger of judgment. Not all congregations can legitimately claim to be, “the temple of the Lord” (Jer. 7).
(5) Pity parties are not acceptable. Preservation of the flock and perseverance in the truth are required and rewarded. (“Then I will make you to this people a fortified wall of bronze” Jer.15:20.) Being a protective wall of bronze will require clear, direct teaching. Many in the pews have been fed theological baby food. In an instantaneous, media-driven culture, congregants move from one sound bite to the next, often feeling rather than thinking. Many have lost the ability to recognize “the dots” much less “connect the dots.” While our motives must always be rooted in love and our words filled with grace, we cannot sugarcoat the seriousness of the situation. A counterfeit Gospel, and not just sinful behavior, is presented.
(6) Congregations now have a clear choice. We can return to the Lord on his terms, in repentance and obedience. We can extract the precious from the worthless. Or, we can choose not to return. If we do return, He will make us as a fortified wall of bronze, a beautiful, protective wall. For those who do not return, they will be left to the effects of the broken cisterns. A “wall of bronze” or a “broken cistern”? The choice is now ours.
Regardless of structural changes that some congregations consider, the work of Presbyterians for Faith, Family and Ministry will continue to be needed. The passage of Amendment 10-A is perhaps the most visible manifestation yet that the PC(USA) is a “broken cistern.” The brokenness is a direct result of poor theology, a situation that this Board recognized over a decade ago. Regardless of the structural decisions of individual congregations, these congregations will be, at least temporarily, in exile. But even as God used the exile recorded in Jeremiah to bring forth his remnant, he can use our exile to bring forth his remnant. Perhaps, God will use publications such as Theology Matters to develop the remnant. Certainly, we should be available to bring theological clarity in the midst of deceptive words.
Through the voice of Jeremiah, God gives hope in exile:
Now these are the words of the letter which Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the rest of the elders of the exile, the priests, the prophets, and all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. … “Thus, says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. ‘Build your houses and live in them; and plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and become the fathers of sons and daughters, and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; and multiply there and do not decrease. And seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf; for in its welfare you will have welfare. … For I know the plans that I have for you, plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and hope.’” (Jer. 29:1, 4-7,11)
There are several lessons from Jeremiah:
(1) An exile is part of God’s plan (“to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile…” (Jer. 29:4)).
(2) If the passage of Amendment 10-A is the trigger for exile, then it is a “severe mercy.” Denominational and theological complacency, apathy and ignorance have been the hallmark of even orthodox congregations for too long. The passage of this amendment should be a wake-up call. While painful, to be awakened to a threat and given the chance to respond is merciful.
(3) There will be both congregations exiled and individuals exiled within congregations who will need theological encouragement and equipping.
(4) Those in exile must continue to carry on their work. They must multiply and not decrease (Jer. 29:5-7).
(5) God is faithful to those in exile. His plan is for their welfare (Jer. 29:11).
It is vital that the work of Presbyterians for Faith, Family and Ministry continue. The theological root of the broken cistern of the PC(USA) must be addressed and those in exile must be equipped with biblical, theological and confessional truth that will grow the remnant.
This article first appeared in Theology Matters, Vol. 17, No. 4 (Sep/Oct 2011).
