Westminster Seminary California alumni

“You yourselves are our epistle, written on our hearts, known and read by everybody. You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.” (II Corinthians 3:2&3)

The apostle Paul reminds the church in Corinth that they are the living proof of his apostolic authority and the genuineness of the Gospel they received. Their transformed lives and God-and-neighbor loving attitudes served as open books for all, even the uncommitted world, to read as living expressions of the power of the Gospel. They were, as one poet expressed it, “the sinner’s Gospel, the scoffer’s creed, the Lord’s clear message in word and deed.”

When I think of you who are WSC’s graduates, I experience a sense of empathy with the apostle Paul in his reflection on his ministry among the believers in Corinth. You are the living proof of whether the mission and purpose for which Westminster Seminary California claims to exist, is, in fact, being realized. You, corporately and individually, are the widely dispersed WSC, testifying of the Grace of God so very far beyond the reach of institutional WSC. You are living, flesh and blood letters written, not in the language of our seminary catalogues and recruitment journals, but in word and deed witness. Through your commitment and service in the Name of the Lord, you are known and read by people in North America and some 26 (at latest count) nations of the world. Your lives, ministry, and service demonstrate whether or not your Seminary is fulfilling its calling. We rest our case before the Lord and the world with you. You’ve got us there.

Most of you are pastors or teachers associated with churches and a variety of Christian institutions and agencies. Some of you may be serving in positions not directly identified as a specifically Christian cause, but bear witness of God’s grace where you are providentially placed. And all of you, I sincerely hope, are active members of a specific congregation of believers and responsible participants in the work of the church. It is especially in such a setting that your years of study at WSC should come to its clearest expression. The distinctives of your seminary training include, among others, fidelity to the Scriptures as the final authority for faith and life, the Sovereignty of God in Creation and Redemption, and salvation by Grace alone through Faith alone. These emphases, we pray, will be “read” by all who witness your lives and service.

The Biblical emphasis on Divine initiative in spiritual renewal was reinforced for me recently in studying I John 4:19, “We love because He first loved us.” C. S. Lewis, in his book, The Four Loves, rightly observes that the type or quality of love of which the apostle John speaks is not a simple human possibility. This love seeks the honor of God above all and the welfare of others equal to oneself. It is self-effacing, others-directed love. Love as physical attraction (eros), friendship (phile), and compassion for those who suffer (sterge) are possibilities for all human beings, even the unregenerate. But the love of which John writes (agape), has its source in God alone. It is a response of those who are the objects of God’s love in Christ so that Christ’s love comes to expression in the lives of His own. It is His love that inspires your ministry and service.

I find it amazing that the Holy Spirit inspired John, of all people, to say, “We love because He first loved us,” because John, of all the disciples, may have been the most unloving before God’s love overwhelmed his heart and transformed everything. He lived up to the surname Jesus gave him, Boanerges, which Thayer’s lexicon interprets as “a personality like unto a thunderstorm.” It was John who recommended that Jesus call fire down from heaven to consume the Samaritans of a village when they refused the disciple’s request to lodge overnight in their town (Luke 9: 51–56). John was the disciple who put a stop to the ministry of some stranger who was casting out demons in Jesus’ Name. When reporting the incident to the Lord, John may have expected Jesus to compliment him for running down this competition and preserving the exclusiveness of their small circle. But Jesus had to rebuke him for that display of intolerance for another sincere believer and remind him that “those who are not against us are for us” (Mark 9: 38 – 40).

But this transformed “son of thunder” later became the “apostle of love”, a title he deserved only because he was the object of the prior, sovereign, enabling love of God. In his own gospel he humbly avoids mentioning his own name, identifying himself simply as the disciple whom Jesus loved. Amazed, was he, that Jesus could love such an unloving, intolerant person as John once was. Could the turning point be traced to the foot of the cross? John was the only disciple who stayed with Jesus to the bitter end. And when John saw the love of the Father reflected in the face of the dying Savior you can be sure he was never the same. In a very real sense, that is where it happens for all God’s people because that is where God in Christ reconciled us unto Himself. Because He was obedient unto death, therefore He is now “highly exalted and given a Name above every name that at the Name of Jesus every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:10).

I’ve been retired since the year 2000 but have been privileged to teach part-time during the January Interim and Spring terms and plan to do so again, Deus Vult, next spring. Part-timers are not part of the regular meeting and committee work of the faculty, but I still remember how often the person and work of our graduates were included in the intercessory prayer sessions at faculty meetings. My personal morning devotions include prayers for the Lord’s blessing on my former students. I pray that I may have been faithful in doctrine and life as their teacher. It’s especially gratifying for me to meet individuals among you. I’ve met some of you at conferences, meetings of presbyteries, classes, general assemblies, and synods, as well as at graduation ceremonies and visits on the campus. I’m thankful for the invitations to serve as a substitute preacher for many of you in the Chicago area (where I reside when not in Escondido), Wisconsin, Michigan, Nevada, and California. These personal contacts help to focus our prayers on your behalf.

Be faithful to the Lord and to His Word. Hold high the cross. May your lives reflect the joy of the Lord, compassion for the lost, love for the saints, and patience with those whose faith seems so fragile. At every opportunity be sure to exalt the Name of Jesus. Exalt Him as the Lord of Glory and the compassionate Savior. Exalt Him as the Worthy Lamb who, at the Father’s right hand, hears the angel’s praises, but whose ear is always tuned to hear the faintest plea for mercy and forgiveness and salvation. May your lives and service be centered on Jesus, whose Name is above all names. Whether shouted from the pulpit or whispered softly in the ear of the dying, there is no other name that can bring peace to the human heart. Be faithful until that Day when every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. What a Day, yes, what a Day that will be.

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