day no. 17,187: when the joke isn't half bad

“To say that the moderns are half-educated may seem to be too complimentary by half.” — G. K. Chesterton

And to punctuate the point, most moderns won't get that joke. All they heard was, "oh man, I have to do fractions!"

“Now the public school system may not work satisfactorily, but it works; the public schools may not achieve what we want, but they achieve what they want.” — G.K. Chesterton, What’s Wrong With The World

Feducation is not meant to produce free people, it is meant to churn out wage slaves.

"Public education has not produced an educated public." — G.K. Chesterton

Nor has intended to. To repeat Chesterton's previous point, public education has not failed, it has succeeded. It has done the thing it set out to do. It both tricked most people into thinking it was doing something else and did the thing it was trying to do

“Without education we are in a horrible and deadly danger of taking educated people seriously.” — G.K. Chesterton

A feducation will never give a man the tools he needs to question his government. The state will never supply its citizenry with the ability to live without it. The state is not teaching you who our forefathers were, let alone what they were taught. If you forget that men like that existed in addition to ignoring what they knew, the state can reign supreme and run on unopposed.

day no. 17,186: reality bites back and pipe dreams burst

“Every high civilization decays by forgetting obvious things.” — G.K. Chesterton

When you forget that 2 + 2 = 4, your walls begin to fall apart. When you pretend that men can get pregnant, your repopulation rates tanks. When you act like you can force a store to sell bread for $1 when it costs $2 to harvest, produce, and ship it to the store, your economy is about to collapse. When you believe that the state in omnipotent, you are powerless.

Boys are not girls.

Rights from God.

Money does not grow on trees.

"Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away." — Philip K. Dick

You can kick and scream against the world God made, but you have to use the legs and lungs He gave you and the air He provided.

Isaiah 5:20-21

Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; 

that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; 

that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, 

and prudent in their own sight!

Reality always bites back and pipe dreams always burst.

day no. 17,185: first and last rights

“The old adage about giving a man a fish versus teaching him how to fish has been updated by a reader: Give a man a fish and he will ask for tartar sauce and French fries! Moreover, some politician who wants his vote will declare all these things to be among his ‘basic rights.’” — Thomas Sowell

A positive right requires someone to do something. If you say, for example, that everyone is owed the right to a fish sandwich with some tartar sauce and a side of fries, you have just obligated a fisherman, a farmer, and a delivery man, to name only a few. They are now required to work so that others might receive their rightful inheritance. In other words, positive rights require slavery.

A negative right does not require anyone to do anything. If you say, for example, that everyone is owed the right to free speech, no one has to do anything. They don't have to listen. No one has the right to be heard, only the right to speak. They don't have to like it. No one has the right to be liked, only the right to say what they like. They don't have to give you a platform from which to speak, they only have to allow you to stand on your own platform.

"Away, then, with quacks and organizers! Away with their rings, chains, hooks, and pincers! Away with their artificial systems! Away with the whims of governmental administrators, their socialized projects, their centralization, their tariffs, their government schools, their state religions, their free credit, their bank monopolies, their regulations, their restrictions, their equalization by taxation, and their pious moralizations! And now that the legislators and do-gooders have so futilely inflicted so many systems upon society, may they finally end where they should have begun: May they reject all systems, and try liberty; for liberty is an acknowledgment of faith in God and His works." — Frederic Bastiat, The Law

Positive rights are created by man, who lacks the power to enforce them by sheer will power. 

Negative rights are created by God, who is omnipotent and fulfills them according to His will.

day no. 17,184: do not quarrel about arguing, argue about quarreling

“We may argue politely, we may argue humanely, we may argue with great mutual benefit: but, obviously, we must argue.” — G.K. Chesterton

No one can agree on everything. That may be the one thing we all can agree on. Or not. In which case, the point still stands. God does not command us to agree with each other about everything per se, but He does command us in our conduct as we discuss our disagreements.

“People generally quarrel because they cannot argue. And it is extraordinary to notice how few people in the modern world can argue. This is why there are so many quarrels, breaking out again and again, and never coming to any natural end.” — G.K. Chesterton

The Bible speaks to the adverbs. Argue politely and in an orderly fashion. Argue humanely as with an image bearer, not inhumanely as with an orc. Argue beneficially inasmuch as it can benefit everyone in the conversation: those participating and those observing.

"I never discuss anything else except politics and religion. There is nothing else to discuss." — G.K. Chesterton

You can avoid disagreements by steering conversations away from disagreeable topics, but you cannot avoid disagreeable topics in general. So, the question is will be talk about them or not? And if so, how will we have these conversations?

"If we are not all trying to convince the world of the truth of our convictions, what in the world are we doing; or why in the world do we call them our convictions at all?" ― G.K. Chesterton

If you really believe something, why wouldn't you want to convince others of it? It would weirder if you didn't. How can you claim something as a core value that you never fully discuss other than at surface value, and even then not very often or with many others?

“The modern habit of saying 'This is my opinion, but I may be wrong' is entirely irrational. If I say that it may be wrong, I say that is not my opinion. The modern habit of saying 'Every man has a different philosophy; this is my philosophy and it suits me' – the habit of saying this is mere weak-mindedness. A cosmic philosophy is not constructed to fit a man; a cosmic philosophy is constructed to fit a cosmos. A man can no more possess a private religion than he can possess a private sun and moon.” ― G.K. Chesterton

If your philosophy only suits you, it is not a philosophy, it is a hobby horse or a delusion. If, however, it ought to suit others, then why would you keep it to yourself?

day no. 17,183: the beep buttons

“You must understand, the leading Bolsheviks who took over Russia were not Russians. They hated Russians. They hated Christians. Driven by ethnic hatred they tortured and slaughtered millions of Russians without a shred of human remorse. It cannot be overstated. Bolshevism committed the greatest human slaughter of all time. The fact that most of the world is ignorant and uncaring about this enormous crime is proof that the global media is in the hands of the perpetrators.” — Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

According to Solzhenitsyn, the Bolshevik revolution is still alive and well. It was not a one time event as evidenced by the fact that the scale of its atrocity is largely unknown. In fact, the historicity of it is largely unknown. If it is, as Solzhenitsyn says, one of the greatest human slaughters of all time, and a mere stone's throw of centuries old to boot, how is it that so few know so little about it and that so many know nothing about it? Well, as Solzhenitsyn posits, perhaps that is because the perpetrators of that atrocity now control the flow of information.

“Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.” — George Orwell, 1984

In other words, the revolution seems to have been more successful than first imagined.

“We do not need a censorship of the press. We have a censorship by the press.” — G.K. Chesterton

And one only need consider which direction the censorship is being applied to understand who controls the beep buttons.

day no. 17,182: prayer warriors

“I fear the prayers of John Knox more than all the assembled armies of Europe" — Mary, Queen of Scots

The power of God supersedes any and all power of man. A man is never stronger than when his Father's shadow covers him. Knox was feared because God is fearful. The Queen of Scots, for all her faults, at least acknowledged that the power of God is to be feared more than the militias of men.

James 5:16

The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

Great men can only accomplish so much. Good men with God in their corner conquer the world.

"One man with God is always in the majority.” — John Knox

The man who walks and talks with God is in a better position to topple the towers of the wicked than the man (or woman) who wears the crown who doesn't.

day no. 17,181: reformation sunday 2025: semper reformanda (exhortation outline)

Christ Church Leavenworth

Reformation Sunday

October 26, 2025

Semper Reformanda

INTRODUCTION

Good morning and Happy Reformation Sunday! This weekend we as a church have invested a great deal of time, energy, and resources into remembering and celebrating the anniversary of the Protestant Reformation, an event which is now well over 500 years in our rearview mirror. But why? With everything going on in our world today, why make so much effort to revisit a world that no longer exists? Well, as we are reminded every time we drive, objects in the rear view mirror may appear closer than they are. So, if a reformation was needed back there and then, perhaps another one is needed here and now? As A.W. Tozer said, "If revival means more of what we have now, we most certainly do not need revival.”

The text this morning is Romans 12:1-2. These are the words of God. “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind.”

Reformed types like us are always eager to present our brains to God. We get really excited about loving God with all of our minds. We have our mental houses well swept and all the books organized on its shelves. And by “all the books,” I do quite literally mean, ALL THE BOOKS. We love our books. But we must not be content merely to have our mental libraries well organized and all our doctrines arranged nice and tidy like a bunch of dead butterflies pinned to a posterboard. They might look nice and orderly like that, but they are still dead. So, we must not only present our creeds and confessional statements to God, we must also present our cares, concerns, calendars, checkbooks, and conduct to Him as well.

In short, we must be nothing short of living sacrifices. The problem, however, with living sacrifices is that they often squirm around on the altar. There is a lot of opportunity to second guess and grow impatient as you lay there on the altar waiting. But remember, Christianity did not conquer the Roman Empire by abandoning the altar. It subdued Caesar by loving God, going to church, getting married, having kids, keeping covenant, and carrying on. But that takes time and that means most of those Christians died before they saw Rome under the footstool of Christ. Christopher Dawson once observed that, "The Christian faith lives in the light of eternity, and can afford to be patient." If you want to see the kingdom, you are going to have to walk by faith and for a long time.

So, what does that look like? Remember our text: “Do not be conformed to the world” around you. Do not fall into the form of the world around you. Do not let current events determine your starting point for your day or your standards for living. Read the Word before you try to read the world. Hebrews 2:1 says it this way, “we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.” So, are you paying any attention to the Word of God? Good. Pay more. Much more, in fact. Are you hearing the Word of God? Good. Listen closer. Why? If you don’t, you might drift away from it. Drift is the default setting of the human heart. You do not have to do anything to drift. You can simply do nothing and the drift will begin. In fact, doing nothing is a great way to start drifting away. 

The lazy river of life invites you to float along for a bit. “You deserve it. You’ve been working hard. You deserve a break, right?” No, you need a break from being an earnest Christian like your heart needs a break from beating. Christianity does not come with cruise control. Faith is never content to float along. But the current does not discriminate. It will carry anyone, including a reformed Christian like you, downstream. But that kind of progress, as Chesterton once observed, is more like a funeral procession than a victory march for even "a dead thing can go with the stream, but only a living thing can go against it." The river never reforms. It only conforms to the next obstacle and that is why it always wanders. The easy path is what makes rivers and men crooked.

A popular phrase produced by the age of the reformers may come in handy here: semper reformanda, that is “always reforming.” The full phrase is “ecclesia reformata, semper reformanda” or "the church reformed, always reforming.” In other words, we must always be paying much closer attention to what it has heard lest it drift away from it. Reformation is not a one time fix for anyone. The reformers looked back in order to show us the way, not so that we would simply look back to them and stop there. We need to look back to what they looked back to. We need to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. It is not enough to honor them for having renewed theirs. That is a good start and it is a great application of our duty to honor our fathers and mothers in the faith, but we do not honor them by simply tipping our hats to their reformation and throwing a party once a year, we honor them by reforming ourselves. We must not just build monuments to their work, we must do what they did. And that means we must be reformed. And by that, I mean more than adopting the WCF or becoming a member of good standing in a reformed church, I mean you must personally, daily, root and branch, reform.

“Always reforming” means constantly returning to the form. As Chesterton once said, "It is futile to talk of reform without reference to form… reform means that we see a certain thing out of shape and we mean to put it into shape." Practically speaking, that means cruciform. Resurrection is the rule of the world and Christ is King. So, if we want to live, we must die to ourselves.

Reform in our day has become synonymous with change in general. So, when something needs to change, we say it needs to be reformed, like tax reform, welfare reform, campaign finance reform, etc… But change is not necessarily reform. You can change something without any reference to its original intention or design. Recent events have demonstrated that reality in gruesome detail. Things can go wrong in any number of ways, but they only go right when they turn back to the source and form of all rightness. Therefore, with that in mind, let us make every effort to look to the Form of forms that we may no longer be conformed to the patterns of this world and be transformed in the renewing of our minds.

So, take time to remember the Reformers as we’ve done this weekend, yes, and amen, but more than that, be like the reformers. Obey on the altar where you have been placed and never stop reforming. For you were born for such a time as this to die to yourself in such a time as this. So, live in such a way that your great great grandchildren, 500 years from now, celebrate what you did in your lifetime. Make it easy for them to honor you then by honoring your God today.

 

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, amen.

CALL TO CONFESSION

Well, since we are often more excited to recognize the reformations of our fathers than we are to reform ourselves and more motivated to celebrate our ancestor’s achievements than we are to achieve anything worthy of our descendant’s praise, we are reminded of our need to regularly confess our sins, whether they be these or others. So, if you are able, please kneel with me and confess your sins, first privately and then corporately using the prayer found in your bulletin.

CORPORATE CONFESSION

Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your steadfast love; according to Your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against You, You only, have I sinned and done what is evil in Your sight, so that You may be justified in Your words and blameless in Your judgment. Cleanse me, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from Your presence, and take not Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.

DECLARATION OF PARDON

Arise and hear the Good News! Our assurance of pardon today is Romans 4:4-8 which says, “Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works: ‘Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.’”

God has not treated us as our drifting deserves. Instead, He has provided an anchor for the soul in the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Pay much closer attention to this: you are saved by grace through faith in Christ alone and in Him, your sins are forgiven…thanks be to God!

Now let us ascend to the presence of God in all worship and praise.