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How the Protestant Reformers are Still Changing the World

Tag: Doctrine of the Christian Life

The Christian Life

September 15, 2021 /
Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Austin, TX

Announcing:

Starting on Sunday, September 12, 2021 there is a new School of Discipleship class for the Fall at Redeemer Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Austin, TX. Below is the class description, its teacher, and its schedule.

Class Description:

Have you ever wondered—“Why do I struggle so much in my life as a Christian?” The answer to your difficulties may lie with a misunderstanding of just how the Christian life actually works. In this class we will explore the Bible’s teaching on faith, repentance, justification, adoption, and sanctification. We’ll also discuss how Christians receive and extend forgiveness, how they adopt an attitude of Cross-bearing, how they engage in prayer, and how they mortify the prevailing sins of their life. Several resources will be used from Church History—Augustine’s Confessions, Luther’s Small Catechism, Calvin’s Golden Booklet of the True Christian Life, Bunyan’s Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners, and rich insights from the Heidelberg Catechism. I hope and pray that not only will your questions be answered, but you will be equipped with several tools and strategies to strengthen your Christian life.

My resources for this class–Augustine, Luther, the Heidelberg Catechism, Calvin, and Bunyan. All of these books are considered to be classics in Christian literature.

Class Instructor: 

Rev. Dr. Marcus J. Serven is a longtime teacher of the Bible, Reformed theology, and the history of Christ’s Church. After a lengthy pastoral career of serving Presbyterian churches in both California and Missouri (1980-2016), Marcus and his family relocated to Austin, Texas in order to retire—but God had other plans! He now serves as the Pastor of Christian Discipleship at Redeemer Presbyterian Church and is a member of the Presbytery of South Texas (PCA). Marcus has earned degrees from the University of California at Davis (BA), Fuller Theological Seminary (MDiv), and Covenant Theological Seminary (ThM and DMin). He is an active member of the Evangelical Theological Society and the Calvin Studies Society.

Class Schedule: 

  • Sept. 12 – The Christian Life
  • Sept. 19 – Faith
  • Sept. 26 – Repentance
  • Oct. 3 – Justification
  • Oct. 10 – Adoption
  • Oct. 17 – Sanctification
  • Oct. 24 – Forgiveness
  • Oct. 31 – Cross-bearing
  • Nov. 7 – Prayer
  • Nov. 14 – Assurance
  • Nov. 21 – Union with Christ 
  • Nov. 28 – Mortification of Sins
  • Dec. 5 – Word and Sacraments

I hope you can join us from week to week throughout the Fall! If you miss a Sunday, then don’t worry since I often refer back to the insights from previous lessons. We meet on Sundays at 10:15 AM in Calvin Hall (Room 206). Come early, since this is a very popular and crowded class!

— Dr. Marcus J. Serven

Authority in the Christian Life

October 26, 2020 /

Berthoud, Jean-Marc. Authority in the Christian Life. R. A. Sheets, trans. Monticello, FL: Psalm 78 Ministries, 2020. [152 pages]

Reviewed by Dr. Marcus J. Serven

Jean-Marc Berthoud

During the time of the Reformation God raised-up the Reformers to recover the true Gospel and to rekindle a love for God’s Law. We all know their names: Martin Luther, Martin Bucer, Pierre Viret, John Calvin, Theodore Beza, and John Knox. These men established biblical principles of how Christians properly relate to the authorities of this world. Mankind, though, is forever seeking to promote independence from God’s Law and all human authorities. This selfish effort only results in lawlessness, rebellion, and judgment. Now at this time of radical social upheaval, God is raising-up another spokesman, Jean-Marc Berthoud of Lausanne, Switzerland, to trumpet aloud the need for a sober reevaluation of the extent and limits of human authority. One of the most important themes of this volume, in my opinion, is its clear emphasis on how human authorities are responsible to God to be just and upright. When they are not, then they fall under God’s judgment and are likely to be removed by the “lesser powers.” It is not the responsibility of the individual to avenge wrongdoing, but God’s responsibility. Jean-Marc Berthoud forcefully writes,

By avenging ourselves, by rendering evil for evil, we are strengthening the self-justification of the one who is unjust to us. By patiently bearing with injustice, and by even rendering good for evil, we labor to defuse the self-justification of the wicked and awaken his hardened conscience. We are working toward God’s conversion of the wicked. It is through repentance and regeneration, not mob action and revolution, that God changes injustice into justice.

Jean-Marc Berthoud, Authority in the christian life, 29

Thus, he encourages Christians everywhere to advance the Kingdom of God on earth by utilizing spiritual weapons rather than by physical conflict. In brief, he urges Christians to not fall into the revolutionary patterns of the mob, but to submit themselves to God and trust Him to make all things right. Moreover, Jean-Marc Berthoud thoughtfully provides a number of practical scenarios to illustrate the principles he puts forward in this volume—for the businessman, the doctor or nurse, the policeman, the magistrate, the soldier, the teacher, and the church leader. Finally, he deals with the subject of church discipline and delineates between the separated powers of the magistrate and the leaders of the church. This is biblical exposition and theological analysis at its finest.

I highly recommend this slender paperback volume. It can be purchased directly from the publisher at Psalm 78 Ministries (www.psalm78ministries.com), or on Amazon. Read the book!

— Dr. Marcus J. Serven

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