An Old Year's Night Meditation

The Puritans were known to take seasons as times for meditation on life and one's relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. The turning of a new calendar year, to the Puritans, meant an opportunity to know Christ afresh and to grow more in love with Him. The book of Psalms was a favorite place from which to glean meditation on God's faithfulness and the weakness of our own faith and loyalty to Christ. It is important to follow this tradition as we welcome in the year 2006. May 2006 be a testimony of the faithfulness and goodness of Christ to His Church. Plead on the promise that Christ will answer for those that knock and will be found by those that seek. PSALM 90 (Selections from the United Presbyterian Psalter, 1912)

Lord, Thou hast been our dwelling place Through all the ages of our race; Before the mountains had their birth, Or ever Thou hast formed the earth, From everlasting Thou art God, To everlasting our abode.
At Thy command man fades and dies And new born generations rise; A thousand years are passed away, And all to Thee are but a day; Yea, like the watches of the night, With Thee the ages wing their flight.
Man soon yields up his fleeting breath Before the swelling tide of death; Like transient sleep his seasons pass, His life is like the tender grass, Luxuriant 'neath the morning sun, And withered ere the day is done.
Man in Thy anger is consumed, And unto grief and sorrow doomed; Before Thy clear and searching sight Our secret sins are brought to light; Beneath Thy wrath we pine and die, Our life expiring like a sigh.
For threescore years and ten we wait, Or fourscore years if strength be great; But grief and toil attend life's day, And soon our spirits fly away; O who with true and rev'rent thought Can fear Thy anger as he ought?

Discussion Points:
-If you are a Christian, have you used the means of grace sufficiently in the year 2005?
-If you remain without Christ-do you know that your life may expire this coming year? Are you prepared to stand before Christ's judgment seat?
-What are your goals for a more experiential relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ in 2006?

Youth Ministry For Adults

As a student of divinity, I have opinions on almost all topics that deal with religion and theology. As any good theologian and aspiring theologian- the study of God and His Word is taken very seriously in my home.

If you are a veteran of this weblog, you know that the issue of youth ministry comes up often. Youth ministry is something that I take with a grain of salt and feel strongly that it does little lasting good to those that are involved. For the most part I see many of these programs doing nothing more than producing immature Christian adults (which is often evidenced by the number of Christian college students who use the NIV Student Bible.) I am also under the impression that "youth ministers" are often annoying 20 year olds with their roots bleached blond(e) and their noses pierced. I find this to be of little use in the kingdom of God, even though this is the norm for those doing ministry.

(Harsh? Maybe...True? Definitely.)

I have often thought that youth ministry needed to be reformed so that it could be done in the context of the covenant of grace. We know that the promise of the covenant is for us as well as for our children; and in some way genuine ministry to the youth of the church needs to be a reflection of that fact. Mark DeVries, who is the pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Nashville, Tennessee, has written a fantastic book that made me say out loud (on numerous occasions) "that is exactly what I have been trying to say!"

Pastor DeVries uses his 25 years of experience with youth and explains the "crisis" that this discipline is currently in, as well as gives his analysis of what it is going to take to reverse the damage that we are doing to our covenant children through current youth ministry. This book is worth the time for anyone that is interested in what could become the new model for youth ministry. He challenges those that are in the church to reach out to the youth and to build the relationships that are needed to aid in the maintaining of a living and active faith in Jesus Christ.

"Every Christian family ought to be as it were a little church consecrated to Christ, and wholly influenced and governed by his rule. And family education and order are some of the chief means of grace. If these fail, all other means are likely to prove ineffectual. If these are duly maintained, all the means of grace will be likely to prosper and be successful."
-Jonathan Edwards

Would it kill ya to try it?

Our culture is one that is rebellious and has little respect for morality or of the law (which is a reflection of a people's morality). In the covenant that God made with Noah, he established the punishment of wicked crime would be punishable by death.
This was reaffirmed with Moses and the death penalty was expanded beyond the shedding of human blood.
The New Testament affirms this penalty for crimes in the writings of Paul. The magistrate was equipped with the sword for the punishing of evil doers.

In Puritan New England many crimes were to be punished by either death or banishment. (Banishment would lead to death). This was to ensure that the society would be one that outwardly reflects the morality of Christ- while praying that inwardly they would have hearts converted to Christ. John Cotton gives us look into the early civil practices as well as the crimes and punishments of this early era of American history. We may not be a Christian nation, the framers of our constitution may have been humanists (or HUME-anists); but Puritan New England was different. This was a time when the number one printed book was the Bay Booke of Psalmes and the people loved the Lord Jesus Christ. What did their laws look like?

Of Crimes. And first, of such as deserve capital punishment, or cutting off from a man's people, whether by death or banishment.

1. FIRST, blasphemy, which is a cursing of God by atheism, or the like, to be punished with death.
2. Idolatry to be punished with death.
3. Witchcraft, which is fellowship by covenant with a familiar spirit, to be punished with death.
4. Consulters with witches not to be tolerated, but either to be cut off by death or banishment.
5. Heresy, which is the maintenance of some wicked errors, overthrowing the foundation of the Christian religion; which obstinacy, if it be joined with endeavour to seduce others thereunto, to be punished with death; because such an heretick, no less than an idolater, seeketh to thrust the souls of men from the Lord their God.
6. To worship God in a molten or graven image, to be punished with death.
7. Such members of the church, as do wilfully reject to walk, after due admonition and conviction, in the churches' establishment, and their christian admonition and censures, shall be cut off by banishment.
8. Whosoever shall revile the religion and worship of God, and the government of the church, as it is now established, to be cut off by banishment. [I] Cor. 5:5.
9. Wilful perjury, whether before the judgment seat or in private conference, to be punished with death.
10. Rash perjury, whether in public or in private, to be punished with banishment. Just is it, that such a man's name should be cut off from his people who profanes so grosly the name of God before his people.
11. Profaning of the Lord's day, in a careless and scornful neglect or contempt thereof, to be punished with death.
12. To put in practice the betraying of the country, or any principal fort therein, to the hand of any foreign state, Spanish, French, Dutch, or the like, contrary to the allegiance we owe and profess to our dread sovereign, lord king Charles, his heirs and successors, whilst he is pleased to protect us as his loyal subjects, to be punished with death. Num. 12:14, 15.
13. Unreverend and dishonorable carriage to magistrates, to be punished with banishment for a time, till they acknowledge their fault and profess reformation.
14. Reviling of the magistrates in highest rank amongst us, to wit, of the governors and council, to be punished with death. I Kings 2:8, 9, & 46.
15. Rebellion, sedition, or insurrection, by taking up arms against the present government established in the country, to be punished with death.
16. Rebellious children, whether they continue in riot or drunkenness, after due correction from their parents, or whether they curse or smite their parents, to be put to death. Ex. 21:15, 17. Lev. 20:9.
17. Murder, which is a wilful man-slaughter, not in a man's just defence, nor casually committed, but out of hatred or cruelty, to be punished with death. Ex. 21:12, 13. Num. 35:16, 17, 18, to 33. Gen. 9:6.
18. Adultery, which is the defiling of the marriage-bed, to be punished with death. Defiling of a woman espoused, is a kind of adultery, and punishable, by death, of both parties; but if a woman be forced, then by the death of the man only. Lev. 20:10. Deut. 22:22 to 27.
19. Incest, which is the defiling of any near of kin, within the degrees prohibited in Leviticus, to be punished with death.
20. Unnatural filthiness to be punished with death, whether sodomy, which is a carnal fellowship of man with man, or woman with woman, or buggery, which is a carnal fellowship of man or woman with beasts or fowls.
21. Pollution of a woman known to be in her flowers, to be put to death. Lev. 20:18,19.
22. Whoredom of a maiden in her father's house, kept secret till after her marriage with another, to be punished with death. Deut. 22:20, 21.
23. Man-stealing to be punished with death. Ex. 21:16.
24. False-witness bearing to be punished with death.

Pray for Zion's Peace

Friends, as the physical seed of Abraham remembers their protection during the time of the Maccabees, I would ask that you take these eight days to remember the Jews in your family worship. Pray that the Lord will keep his promise to convert the Jews and bring them back into the fold of God. May they see Jesus Christ for who he is- The King of the Jews.

Romans 11:25-26. For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob.

What do we pray for in the second petition of the Lord's Prayer?

In the second petition, (which is, Thy kingdom come,) acknowledging ourselves and all mankind to be by nature under the dominion of sin and Satan,we pray, that the kingdom of sin and Satan may be destroyed, the gospel propagated throughout the world, the Jews called, the fullness of the Gentiles brought in; the church furnished with all gospel-officers and ordinances, purged from corruption, countenanced and maintained by the civil magistrate: that the ordinances of Christ may be purely dispensed, and made effectual to the converting of those that are yet in their sins, and the confirming, comforting, and building up of those that are already converted: that Christ would rule in our hearts here, and hasten the time of his second coming, and our reigning with him forever: and that he would be pleased so to exercise the kingdom of his power in all the world, as may best conduce to these ends.

Question 191, Westminster Larger Catechism

Tis the Season IV: O Gentile Tree, O Gentile Tree....

Ladies and gentleman, we cannot be grinchy all of the time, so I thought that it would appropriate to sing some carols as we go into Christmass eve... let us start with that old time favorite that glorifies the tree and tells it how lovely it is. I believe that we find that one in the scroll of Jeremiah:

Jeremiah 10.2-4

Thus says the Lord:
Do not learn the way of the Gentiles;Do not be dismayed at the signs of heaven,
For the Gentiles are dismayed at them.For the customs of the peoples are vain;

For one cuts a tree from the forest;

The work of the hands of the workman, with the ax.
They decorate it with silver and gold;
They fasten it with nails and hammers
So that it will not topple.

The famous Baptist Preacher, Charles Spurgeon's thoughts are to be reflected upon on this day which is regarded by 96% of Americans as a high and holy day:

We have no superstitious regard for times and seasons. Certainly we do not believe in the present ecclesiastical arrangement called Christmass: first, because we do not believe in the mass at all, but abhor it, whether it be said or sung in Latin or in English; and, secondly, because we find no Scriptural warrant whatever for observing any day as the birthday of the Savior; and, consequently, its observance is a superstition, because not of divine authority. (Charles Spurgeon, Sermon on Dec. 24, 1871).

When it can be proved that the observance of Christmass, Whitsuntide, and other Popish festivals was ever instituted by a divine statute, we also will attend to them, but not till then. It is as much our duty to reject the traditions of men, as to observe the ordinances of the Lord. We ask concerning every rite and rubric, "Is this a law of the God of Jacob?" and if it be not clearly so, it is of no authority with us, who walk in Christian liberty. (from Charles Spurgeon's Treasury of David on Psalm 81:4.)

Here are some other fun links for your Christmass enjoyment!

Some Christmass Carols

Origins of Christmass

Christmass and the Reformed Faith

A W Pink on Christmass

The Truth Hurts

"Mom, if you lied about Santa Claus....what about this Jesus guy that you are always trying to get me to talk to?"

FOX NEWS, NEW YORK —
Yes, Chris Rock, there is a Santa Claus. Parents with young children who happened to watch "Everybody Hates Chris" in the past week had some explaining to do when the character of Rock's brother suddenly told his younger sister that Santa doesn't exist. "Everybody knows there's no Santa Claus," Drew said to Tonya on the UPN sitcom. "Come here, let me show you something. I'm taking you to the toys ... Santa doesn't come down the chimney. We don't even have a chimney. We have radiators." Disillusioned, she stomps out of the room. But wait. It gets worse.Put on the spot, Tonya's dad Julius tells her the Easter bunny and tooth fairy don't exist, either. "Somebody better give me my teeth back," the girl fumes. A blindsided UPN received "a handful" of complaints about the Santa expose on its sitcom based loosely on Rock's life growing up in Brooklyn, a spokeswoman said. The Santa episode, titled "Everybody Hates Christmas," aired on Dec. 15 and was repeated on Monday. "Everybody Hates Chris' is a semi-autobiographical show," said Ali LeRoi, its executive producer and co-creator. "We try to get humor out of tough subject matters. It never occurred to me what a 6-year-old would think about the subject of Santa." Not, at least, until busted by his own 6-year-old son. LeRoi admitted that his boy was upset when he saw the episode. "My wife told him it was just a TV show and to ignore it," he said. "It worked. He believes her. Kids trust their parents that way."
There's no word on whether Rock knew his show could be a holiday spoiler. His spokesman didn't return telephone and e-mail messages for comment. On the show, young Tonya becomes a lot more cynical. Her mother explains that Santa Claus is a symbol and asks: "So you do understand?" "Yeah," the girl replies. "It's OK to lie."

Sir Tumnus Was a Universalist!

Yeah, I saw the movie. Did I like it? Why of course I did, it was a very good movie for the most part. I really thought that some of Christian imagery came across nicely. We were able to see a small taste of the gospel of Christ; maybe even enough to whet the appetite for someone to pick up their Bible and attempt to find where the imagery comes from.

The most thrilling part of the movie for me? When Aslan the lion (the Christ figure) declares, "It is finished!" after the army defeated the white witch and her posse of uglies. As a Christian this was very moving to the religious affections.

Some of the things that I did not like about the movie:
1. You never grow to love Aslan before he dies. He comes and he dies quick as that. There is no connection to him emotionally.
2. Edmund never repented after Aslan was slain for his sin. He continued to defy the authority of his brother Peter. I do not like the antinomian quality of this.
3. The prophecy of the sons of Adam and the daughters of Eve did not seem to be taken very seriously by anyone. It was very down-played in the movie.

The point of this look into the film has more to do with the man behind the Lion though. It has been a few years since I have read any Lewis; I had to read some for my undergraduate degree, but I do not recall picking him up since. The one book that I remember liking the most was Till We Have Faces. Maybe that is because it was not theological in nature, but was more in the discipline of Lewis- literature.

I began to investigate some of the ideas that Lewis had regarding theology since I recall at Calvin we talked about some of his EXTREME non-evangelical ideas. I began to parouse some of his material again- and just as it was before, there is a lot that evangelicals would find to be distasteful.

The point? (Again, defending myself- I really liked the movie a lot. I enjoy his Narnia series as literature, I like some of the thoughts that he has had.) But why do evangelicals love this guy so much? I honestly think that if you put his list of doctrines infront of most evangelicals they would think that he was a hell bound heathen. (I am not commenting on his eternal state.) I find it odd that CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien (who was very Roman Catholic) have a stronger impact on American Christianity today than almost any other thinker, philosopher, theologian today.

Below is just one of the numerous articles that are available concerning his doctrine. (Some of the others will have extensive lists from his books that talk about various topics. Those are nice as well.)

WAS C.S. LEWIS A BIBLE BELIEVER?

Was C.S. Lewis a Bible believer? By no means, as even Christianity Today admits. “Clive Staples Lewis was anything but a classic evangelical, socially or theologically. He smoked cigarettes and a pipe, and he regularly visited pubs to drink beer with friends. Though he shared basic Christian beliefs with evangelicals, he didn’t subscribe to biblical inerrancy or penal substitution. He believed in purgatory and baptismal regeneration” (“C.S. Lewis Superstar,” Christianity Today, Dec. 2005).

Lewis believed in prayers for the dead and purgatory and confessed his sins regularly to a priest. He was given the Catholic sacrament of last rites on July 16, 1963 (C.S. Lewis: A Biography, pp. 198, 301). Lewis denied the total depravity of man and the substitutionary blood atonement of Christ. He believed in theistic evolution and rejected the Bible as the infallible Word of God. He taught that hell is a state of mind: “And every state of mind, left to itself, every shutting up of the creature within the dungeon of its own mind--is, in the end, Hell” (Lewis, The Great Divorce, p. 65). D. Martin Lloyd-Jones warned that C.S. Lewis had a defective view of salvation and was an opponent of the substitutionary and penal view of the atonement (Christianity Today, Dec. 20, 1963). In a letter to the editor of Christianity Today, Feb. 28, 1964, Dr. W. Wesley Shrader, Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, warned that “C.S. Lewis ... would never embrace the (literal-infallible) view of the Bible” (F.B.F. News Bulletin, March 4, 1984).

Lewis lived for 30 years with Janie Moore, a woman 25 years his senior to whom he was not married. The relationship with the married woman began when Lewis was still a student at Oxford. Moore was separated from her husband. Lewis confessed to his brother Arthur that he was in love with Mrs. Moore, the mother of one of his friends who was killed in World War I. The relationship was definitely sexual in nature. See Alan Jacobs, The Narnian: The Life and Imagination of C.S. Lewis, pp. 82, 94. At age 58, Lewis married Joy Gresham, an American woman who pursued a relationship with Lewis even while she was still married to another man. According to two of Lewis’s friends, Gresham’s husband divorced her on the grounds of desertion (Roger Lancelyn Green & Walter Hooper, Light on C.S. Lewis), though it also true that he, in turn, married his Joy’s cousin.

In the book A Severe Mercy by Sheldon VanAuken, a personal letter is reproduced on page 191 in which Lewis suggests to VanAuken that upon his next visit to England that the two of them “must have some good, long talks together and perhaps we shall both get high.”

Lewis claimed that followers of pagan religions can be saved without personal faith in Jesus Christ: “But the truth is God has not told us what His arrangements about the other people are. ... There are people who do not accept the full Christian doctrine about Christ but who are so strongly attracted by Him that they are His in a much deeper sense than they themselves understand. There are people in other religions who are being led by God’s secret influence to concentrate on those parts of their religion which are in agreement with Christianity, and who thus belong to Christ without knowing it. For example a Buddhist of good will may be led to concentrate more and more on the Buddhist teaching about mercy and to leave in the background (though he might still say he believed) the Buddhist teaching on certain points. Many of the good Pagans long before Christ’s birth may have been in this position” (C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, HarperSanFrancisco edition, 2001, pp. 64, 208, 209).

Discussion Point:

-Everyone has an opinion about this, no need!

Christian Hate Mail?

It seems that here at PRESBYTERIAN THOUGHTS, I do not get a lot of fan-mail. As far as we are concerned it appears that there are a lot of readers that do not appreciate the Paleo-Presbyterian religion and find the old paths of Christianity to be rather noxious. Christian hate-mail is the more common response; but there are those that find PRESBYTERIAN THOUGHTS to be rather edifying, encouraging and uplifting.

The reason that I share this note with you is not to pat myself on the back and say what a great site I am running here, but to encourage those readers (and myself) that there are others who benefit from the old paths as well. May the revival of the Reformed religion touch the lives of all readers, and love for Christ and His Word abound in your lives. Enjoy!

Dear Nate,

Just wanted to drop you a line to say thank you for running your blog. It has meant a lot to me as I have been down _______. I miss everyone greatly, and your blog, and its links to many others, lets me have a little taste of home.
In addition I have often found your meditations and suggested questions very helpful in redirecting me back to the Lord, and the heart of the Reformed faith. Also, the Lord is giving you the wisdom to dialogue well with others on your blog. You display discernment, patience, and appropriateness, while still being signature Nate Eshelman.

Thank you again.
Keeping you and your family in prayer.
God bless.
Love through Christ, _________

PRESBYTERIAN THOUGHTS reads and appreciates all mail that is received. If you are so moved by the Spirit, the hate-mail is welcomed too. Mail to: nleshelman@yahoo.com

Tis the Season III: Slappy Holidays

Not that this "Tis the Season" series has been the most edifying thing ever read on PRESBYTERIAN THOUGHTS, but it sure has been fun. Today's feature is from the cultural commentator, Gene Edward Veith. Although I disagree with his premise, it sure is a fun read. In Slappy Holidays he shows us how the real Saint Nicholas was a defender of the true and Nicene religion, and at one point slapped the infamous Arius in the face for being a heretic.

May heresy slapping Santas be found around the world this Christmass season...
slappin' those that celebrate Romish days! *Slap!*

PRESBYTERIAN THOUGHTS celebrates Presbyterian art

It is not everyday that PRESBYTERIAN THOUGHTS celebrates the lives of people that are still alive. We usually dabble in the finer points of theology as well as discuss the thoughts and lives of people who lived long ago.

Today we look into the life of another Presbyterian. Mr. Makoto Fujimura is a PCA elder who is also becoming one of the hottest names in the art world. Mr. Fujimura is a New York City based artist who does beautiful work and is currently on display at the Chelsea Gallery in New York where he has painted enormous and hellish flames that are getting a lot of the art world's attention. Most of his work can be described as modern or post-modern, but it speaking volumes to the community of which he a part.
You can read more about his influence on the art community in this article entitled, ART aflame.

The Justification of Damned Souls

The Shorter Catechism, that the Westminster Divines penned, is filled with instruction on what the Bible teaches. One question that is particularly important to Christians, as well as those that are "seeking" what the Bible says is, "What does it mean to be saved?" Here is how the Shorter Catechism answers that:
What is justification?
ANSWER: Justification is an act of God's free grace; wherein he pardons all our sins, and accepts us as righteous in his sight, only for the righteousness of Christ, imputed to us, and received by faith alone.

James Fisher, a Seceeder Minister wrote a commentary on the Shorter Catechism that is useful for those that desire a greater understanding of what the Bible teaches, as well as some very practical insights on those teachings. Here is what Fisher says about this question on justification:

Q. 1. From whence is the word justification borrowed?
A. Being a law-word, it is borrowed from courts of justice among men, when a person arraigned is pronounced righteous, and, in court, openly absolved?
Q. 2. How does it appear, that justification denotes an act of jurisdiction, and not an inward change upon the soul?
A. From its being opposed to condemnation, which all own to consist, not in the infusing of wickedness into a person, but in passing sentence upon him, according to the demerit of his crime, Psalm 109:7.
Q. 3. What is it, then, to justify a person?
A. It is not to make him righteous, but to declare him to be so, upon a legal ground, and trial of a judge, Isa. 43:9, 26.
Q. 4. Who is the author or efficient cause, of our justification?
A. It is God himself; for, it is God that justifieth, Rom. 8:33.
Q. 5. Is it God essentially, or personally considered?
A. God essentially considered, in the person of the Father, is the justifier, in respect of judiciary power and authority, Rom. 3:26; and our Lord Jesus Christ, in respect of the dispensation, or exercise of that power, Acts 5:31.
Q. 6. In what respect is the Spirit said to justify? 1 Cor. 6:11.
A. As the applier of the blood or righteousness of Christ, by which we are justified, Tit. 3:5.
Q. 7. In what state is a sinner before justification?
A. In a state of sin and guilt, Rom. 3:9, and, consequently, in a state of wrath and condemnation, Gal. 3:10.
Q. 8. How can God justify the ungodly?
A. Every elect sinner, however ungodly in himself, yet, upon union with Christ, has communion with him in his righteousness, and on this account he is justified, Isa. 45:25 -- "In the Lord shall all the seed of Israel be justified."
Q. 9. Why have elect sinners communion with Christ in his righteousness, upon their union with him?
A. Because their sins having been imputed to him from eternity, he became legally one with them, transferring their debt to himself, and undertaking to pay the same, Isa. 53:6; wherefore, upon union with him by faith, his perfect satisfaction is imputed to them, as if they had made it themselves, 2 Cor. 5:21.
Q. 10. Why is justification called an act?
A. Because, like the sentence of a judge, it is completed at once, and not carried on gradually like a work of time, Deut. 25:1.
Q. 11. What is the moving cause of justification, or what kind of an act is it? A. It is an act of God's free grace, Rom. 3:24 -- "Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus."
Q. 12. How can free grace be the moving cause of our justification, when it is "through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus?"
A. Because the redemption that is in Christ, is the channel through which justifying grace runs freely to us, Eph. 1:7.
Q. 13. What are the constituent parts of justification?
A. They are two; that in which he pardons all our sins, Rom. 6:7; and that in which he accepts us as righteous in his sight, Eph. 1:6.
Q. 14. What is the pardon of sin?
A. It is God's absolving the sinner from the condemnation of the law, on account of Christ's satisfaction for sin, Rom. 8:1.
Q. 15. Why is the pardon of sin set before the accepting us as righteous, in the answer?
A. Because, till the sentence of the broken law be dissolved by pardon, it is impossible that our persons can be accepted, or any blessing of the covenant conferred upon us, Heb. 8:10-13; where, after a great many other promised blessings, it is added, ver. 12 -- "For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness," &c., intimating that the pardon of sin led the way to other covenant blessings.
Q. 16. What is it in sin that pardon removes?
A. The guilt of it, which is a person's actual obligation or liability to eternal wrath, on account thereof, Eph. 2:3.
Q. 17. Can the guilt of sin ever recur upon a pardoned person?
A. No; the obligation to punishment, being once taken off, can never recur again; because "there is no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus," Rom. 8:1.
Q. 18. Will future sins revoke a former pardon?
A. No; future sins may provoke the Lord to withdraw the sense of former pardon, but can never revoke the pardon itself; because "The gifts and calling of God are without repentance," Rom. 11:29.
Q. 19. What sins are pardoned in justification?
A. All our sins whatsoever, Psalm 103:3 -- "Who forgiveth ALL thine iniquities."
Q. 20. How are sins past and present pardoned?
A. By a formal remission of them, Psalm 32:5 -- "Thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin."
Q. 21. How are sins to come, pardoned?
A. By securing the non-imputation of them, as to the guilt of eternal wrath, Rom. 4:8 -- "Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin."
Q. 22. If the non-imputation of eternal wrath, as to future sins, be secured, why do the saints pray for the pardon of them when committed?
A. Because the guilt or liability to fatherly anger is contracted by the commission of them; and, therefore, they pray for the removal of that guilt, Psalm 51:12 -- "Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation."
Q. 23. Is repentance a condition of pardon?
A. No; because this would bring in works into the matter of our justification before God, quite contrary to scripture, which tells us, that "a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ," Gal. 2:16.
Q. 24. How do you prove, that repentance has not the same interest as faith, in our justification?
A. From this, that in scripture we are frequently said to be justified by faith, but never said to be justified by repentance.
Q. 25. Is it not affirmed in our Confession, "that repentance is of such necessity to all sinners, that none may expect pardon without it?"
A. The meaning is, that repentance is such an inseparable concomitant of pardon, that no pardoned person continues to be impenitent, 2 Sam. 12:13; Matt. 26:75.
Q. 26. If none can expect pardon, without expecting repentance along with it; will it not therefore follow, that repentance is a condition of pardon?
A. Not at all; for if repentance cannot so much as have the least instrumentality in pardon, it can never be the condition of it, nor have the smallest influence in causing it.
Q. 27. How does it appear that repentance has not the least instrumentality in pardon?
A. It appears evidently from this, that faith is the sole instrument of receiving Christ and his righteousness; without receiving of which there can be no pardon, John 8:24 -- "If ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins."
Q. 28. Does God do any more in justification than freely pardon all our sins?
A. Yes; he likewise accepts us as righteous in his sight, Eph. 1:6.
Q. 29. Why is the accepting us as righteous joined with pardon, in justification?
A. Because, though among men a criminal may be pardoned, and neither declared righteous nor received into favour, yet it is not so with God; for whom he forgives, he both accounts their persons righteous in his sight, and receives them into perpetual favour, Rom. 5:8-10.
Q. 30. How can a holy and righteous God, whose judgement is according to truth, accept sinners as righteous without a perfect righteousness?
A. He accepts them as righteous only for the righteousness of Christ, which is perfect, and becomes truly theirs through faith, Jer. 23:6; Isa. 45:24.
Q. 31. By what right does the surety-righteousness become theirs?
A. By the right of a free gift received, and the right of communion with Christ.
Q. 32. How does it become theirs by the right of a gift received?
A. In as much as Christ's righteousness being made over in the gospel, as God's gift to sinners, it is by faith actually claimed and received; hence called the GIFT of righteousness, Rom. 5:17.
Q. 33. How does Christ's surety-righteousness become theirs by right of communion with him?
A. In as much as sinners being united to him by faith, have thus communion or a common interest with him in his righteousness, Phil. 3:9.
Q. 34. When is it, then, that, according to truth, God accepts us as righteous in his sight?
A. When Christ's surety-righteousness is actually reckoned ours, and we made the righteousness of God in HIM, 2 Cor. 5:21:upon this account precisely, and no other, are we accepted of God as righteous; the righteousness of GOD being UPON all them that believe, Rom. 3:22.
Q. 35 What is the matter of our justification, or that for which we are justified?
A. The RIGHTEOUSNESS of Christ only; hence he is called, "The Lord our Righteousness," Jer. 23:6.
Q. 36. In what does the righteousness of Christ consist?
A. In the holiness of his human nature, his righteous life, and satisfactory death.
Q. 37. Can law or justice reach the person who is under the covering of the surety righteousness?
A. By no means; for "Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? -- It is Christ that died, yea, rather, that is risen again," Rom. 8:33, 34.
Q. 38. Is the righteousness of Christ meritorious of our justification?
A. Yes; because of the infinite dignity of his person; for, though he "took upon him the form of a servant, yet, being in the form of God, he thought it no robbery to be equal with God," Phil 2:6, 7.
Q. 39. How is the righteousness of Christ commonly divided?
A. Into his active and passive obedience.
Q. 40. What is his active obedience?
A. The holiness of his nature and righteousness of his life, in full and perfect conformity to the whole law, without the least failure, either of parts, or degrees of obedience to the end, Matt. 5:17, 18.
Q. 41. What is his passive obedience?
A. His satisfaction for sin, by enduring the infinite execution of the curse, upon him in his death, Gal. 3:13, to the full compensation of all the injuries done to the honour of an infinite God, by all the sins of an elect world, Eph. 5:2.
Q. 42. Why does his satisfactory death, as well as his righteous life, get the name of obedience? Phil. 2:8.
A. Because his sufferings and death were entirely voluntary, and in most profound submission to the commandment which he had received of his Father, John 10:18.
Q. 43. What is the formal cause of our justification, or that by which Christ's righteousness is made ours?
A. It is its being imputed to us, Rom. 4:6.
Q. 44. What is it to impute Christ's righteousness to us?
A. It is God's accounting or reckoning it to us, as if we had obeyed the law, and satisfied justice in our own persons, and dealing with us accordingly, Rom. 4:4; 8:4; 2 Cor. 5:21.
Q. 45. Upon what ground or foundation is Christ's righteousness imputed to us?
A. Upon the ground of his representing us from eternity, and our union with him in time, Isa. 53:5.
Q. 46. What necessity is there for the imputation of Christ's passive obedience?
A. Because without the imputation of it, we could have no legal security from eternal death, Rom. 5:9.
Q. 47. What necessity is there for the imputation of Christ's active obedience?
A. Because without the imputation of it, we could have no legal title to eternal life, Rom. 6:23.
Q. 48. If Christ, as man, gave obedience to the law for himself, how can his active obedience be imputed to us?
A. Though the human nature, abstractly considered, be a creature, yet never subsisting by itself, but in the person of the Son of God, the acts of obedience performed in it were never the acts of a mere man, but of him who is God-man, Mediator; and, consequently, acts of obedience, not for himself, but for us, Gal. 4:4, 5.
Q. 49. If Christ's active obedience be imputed to us, are we not released from any obligation to yield obedience to the law in our own persons?
A. We are only released from an obligation to yield obedience to the law as a covenant of works, not released from obedience to it as a rule of life, Gal. 2:19.
Q. 50. Is the righteousness of Christ, itself, imputed to us, or only its effects?
A. As the guilt itself of Adam's first sin is imputed to all his posterity, by which judgement comes upon all men to condemnation, so, the righteousness of Christ itself is imputed to all his spiritual seed, by which the free gift comes upon them all unto justification of life, Rom. 5:18.
Q. 51. What is the difference between the imputation of our sins to Christ, and the imputation of his righteousness to us?
A. Our sins were imputed to Christ as our Surety, only for a time, that he might take them away; but his righteousness is imputed to us to abide with us for ever; hence called an everlasting righteousness, Dan. 9:24.
Q. 52. Why are we said to be pardoned and accepted only for the righteousness of Christ?
A. Because a sinner can have no other plea before God, for pardon and acceptance, but Christ's fulfilling all righteousness, as the only condition of the covenant, Isa. 45:24.
Q. 53. What is the instrumental cause of our justification?
A. It is twofold; namely, external and internal.
Q. 54. What is the external instrumental cause?
A. The G OSPEL; because the righteousness of God is revealed in it, and brought near to us as a free gift, Rom. 1:17, 5:17, and 10:8.
Q. 55. What is the internal instrumental cause of our Justification?
A. It is faith, Rom. 10:10.
Q. 56 Why is faith the instrument of our justification?
A. To show that our justification is wholly of grace; it being the nature of faith to take the gift of righteousness freely, without money, and without price; "therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace," Rom. 4:16.
Q. 57. What, then, is the instrumentality of faith in our justification?
A. It is merely the hand that receives and applies the righteousness of Christ, by which we are justified.
Q. 58. Is the grace of faith or any act of it, imputed to a sinner for justification?
A. No; for, "To him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness," Rom. 4:5.
Q. 59. What is the difference between saving faith, and justifying faith?
A. Saving, faith receives and rests upon Christ in all his offices, as "of God made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption;" but justifying faith, receives and rests upon him, more particularly, in his priestly office, for pardon and acceptance, on account of his meritorious righteousness, Phil. 3:9 -- "And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith."
Q. 60. Why is the righteousness of Christ said to be received by faith alone?
A. That works may be wholly excluded from having any share in our justification, less or more, Rom. 3:28 -- "Therefore we conclude, that a man is justified by faith, without the deeds of the law."
Q. 61. If good works have no influence upon our justification, of what use are they to the justified?
A. Though they cannot justify us before God, yet they are good "evidences" of our justification, being the fruits of a true and lively faith, James 2:18:they "adorn the profession of the gospel, Tit. 2:11, 12; stop the mouths of adversaries, 1 Pet. 2:15; and glorify God, John 15:8."
Q. 62. If faith's receiving of Christ's righteousness justify us, does not faith justify as a work?
A. It is not properly the receiving, or any other act of faith, that justifies us, but the righteousness of Christ RECEIVED, Rom. 3:22; even as it is not the hand that nourishes us, but the food which we take by it.
Q. 63. If we are justified by faith alone, why is it said, James 2:24, "That by works a man is justified, and not by faith only?"
A. This is to be understood of justifying, or evidencing the reality of our faith before men, and not of justifying our persons before God.
Q. 64. When is it that God justifies the ungodly?
A. "Though from eternity God decreed to justify all the elect," yet "they are not" actually "justified, until the Holy Spirit does, in due time, apply Christ," and his righteousness "unto them, Tit. 3:5-7."
Q. 65. How were believers, under the Old Testament, justified?
A. "Their justification was, in all respects, the same with the justification of believers, under the New Testament," Gal. 3:9; Heb. 13:8.
Q. 66. What may we learn from this important doctrine of justification?
A. That all ground of pride and boasting is taken away from the creature, Rom. 3:27:that faith itself, by laying hold upon the surety righteousness without us, is nothing else than a solemn declaration of our poverty and nakedness; and that, therefore, it is our duty to glory only in Christ Jesus, saying, "Surely -- in the Lord have we righteousness and strength," Isa. 45:24.

Discussion Points:
-Which point of Fisher's impressed your soul and mind?
-What use does this have for evangelizing the unconverted?
-What are the implications of question and answer 66?

A Trip to the Nunnery

"Why don't Reformed people have nuns and monks?" No man may vow to do anything forbidden in the Word of God, or what would hinder any duty therein commanded, or which is not in his own power, and for the performance whereof he hath no promise of ability from God. In which respects, popish monastical vows of perpetual single life, professed poverty, and regular obedience, are so far from being degrees of higher perfection, that they are superstitious and sinful snares, in which no Christian may entangle himself. (Westminster Confession 22.7)

Acts 23:12-14; Mark 6:26; Num. 30:5, 8, 12-1316. Matt. 10:11-12; I Cor. 7:2, 9; Heb. 13:4; Eph. 4:28; I Thess. 4:11-12; I Cor. 7:23

Discussion Points:
-Why were the Reformers so against these practices?
-Should be hold the same view as "modern Christians"?

A Short Meditation

Sometimes getting back to the simple things of the Christian faith give us the encouragement to continue and to press on towards the goal; which is spending eternity at the feet of the Savior.
One of my favorite meditations is that of the first question and answer of the Heidelberg Catechism. This statement is so well known in the Reformed community that very few really take the time to meditate upon it. Take a few minutes and talk to yourself before God about this statement. There are so many great truths that are revealed in this poetic statement; truths that reveal God's loving character as well as our state before our Savior Jesus Christ.

There will be no Discussion Points, but please meditate upon this for a minute or two and comment on what impression it gives you concerning your faith in Christ. Question 1: What is your only comfort in life and in death?

Answer 1: That I, with body and soul, both in life and in death, am not my own, but belong to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ, who with His precious blood has fully satisfied for all my sins, and redeemed me from all the power of the devil; and so preserves me, that without the will of my Father in heaven not a hair can fall from my head; indeed, that all things must work together for my salvation. Wherefore, by His Holy Spirit, He also assures me of eternal life, and makes me heartily willing and ready from now on to live unto Him.

California Governor Bears Not the Sword in Vain

The state of California will execute the death penalty upon the founder of the Crip's gang, Tookie Williams. He is scheduled to die at 3:01am Tuesday. Pray for the conversion and repentance of this man who has refused to admit to the 1979 murders for which he is being punished. Mr. Williams will meet Jesus Christ at 3:01am Tuesday, presumably unprepared.

Let this cause each one of us to be mindful of the temporal nature of this life in the flesh. Are you prepared to stand before the judgment seat of Christ?
For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.
Romans 13.3&4

Luther Hears of Zwingli's Death

Ulrich Zwingli is one of my favorite early Reformers. He was a first generation Reformer and was the founder of the Swiss Reformed Church. Zwingli was an advocate of Psalm singing, justification by faith alone, was a strict adherent to the regulative principle of worship, and was not afraid to fight for what he believed.

Zwingli, his sons, and his brother in law all died together in battle fighting for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. When his wife had heard this news, she in Job-like fashion, said, "the Lord gives, the Lord takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord."

The famed German doctor on the other hand, had a much different reaction to the news of the death of Zwingli. (Let it be noted that Luther and Zwingli had known each other as well as corresponded) : Zwingli drew his sword. Therefore he has received the reward that Christ spoke of, "All who take the sword will perish by the sword [Matt 26.52]". If God has saved him, he has done so above and beyond the rule. -Table Talk, 1451

Breastfeeding in the Light of Nature

I have this quote on both blogs right now. This is not to be annoying, but there is a different readership for each. Calvin understood that God provides certain things through the light of nature and when a person goes against that providence it is sin.

Here he speaks of the use of the breast for the nurturing of children and how when a woman goes against that light of nature it is sinful. (Unless it is for medical purposes; which are rare circumstances.)
". . .the Lord does not in vain prepare nutriment for children in their mothers' bosoms, before they are born. But those on whom he confers the honor of mothers, he, in this way, constitutes nurses; and they who deem it a hardship to nourish their own offspring, break, as far as they are able, the sacred bond of nature. If disease, or anything of that kind, is the hindrance, they have a just excuse; but for mothers voluntarily, and for their own pleasure, to avoid the trouble of nursing, and thus to make themselves only half-mothers, is a shameful corruption."
Commentary on Genesis 21.7

Discussion Points:
-What are some other "lights of nature" that we need to be mindful of?
-Why is our culture "uncomfortable" with the way in which God has provided for infants to be nourished?
-What role does Christian modesty play in providing nourishment for a woman's children?

Christ as Savior, Christ as Judge

All men will have to reckon with the Lord Jesus Christ. All men will have to one day declare that Jesus Christ is the Lord. Some will bow willfully in this life, humiliating themselves before their only hope for salvation. Other men, also willful, will have to bow on bloody knees. They will have to bow to the Lord Jesus Christ after having been forced to declare his Lordship. All will declare that Christ is the Lord.

This is a very sobering thought for us as Christians, and one that should give us much evangelical zeal. Every Christian has a responsibility to present the Lord is all three of his offices:
1. Christ the Prophet
2. Christ the Priest
3. Christ the King.

One day he will return and we will have to give account for all that we have done in the flesh. It is my prayer that he says, "well done good and faithful servant." "Since then the gospel invites all to partake of salvation without any difference, it is rightly called the doctrine of salvation: for Christ is there offered, whose peculiar office is to save that which was lost; and those who refuse to be saved by him, shall find him a Judge."
John Calvin, Commentary on Romans 1:16.

Discussion Points:
-How are the three offices of Christ to be used in evangelism?
-Does the Christian have his sins revealed at judgment day?
-Why are the Reformed accused of not having "missionary hearts" when they have done more for missions than any other sector of Christianity?

Tis the Season II: Evangelicals Trump God

Christmass falls on a Sunday this year. Christians have always seen Sunday as a holy day, a holiday. It is called the Lord's Day or the Christian Sabbath. This day (Sunday) has historically been used by Christians to worship God- meeting twice to worship, praying with family, having bible studies, fellowshipping with the people of God, and "sanctifying the day as unto the Lord".

Christians have historically seen the Sabbath as a day that is a creational ordinance. In creation a day of rest was established, this is not rooted in the Mosaic law, it has been part of the true religion since the onset of time. All men are to set aside this day to glorify and to enjoy God.

With that in mind, read the second article in my "Tis the Season" series: AP-Lexington, KY, December 5, 2005, 3:41 p.m. Central Kentucky's largest church will be shuttered and dark on Christmas Sunday, a move drawing some criticism among the faithful.
Southland Christian Church near Lexington is joining several evangelical megachurches across the country in canceling services for the holiday. Officials at the church, where about 7,000 people worship each week, said the move is designed to allow staff and volunteers to spend the holy holiday with their families.
The megachurches, which rank among the largest congregations in America, will hold multiple Christmas Eve services instead.
Among the churches closed on Christmas Sunday are Willow Creek Community Church, the Chicago area's largest congregation; Mars Hill Bible Church in Grandville, Michigan; North Point Community Church in Alpharetta, Georgia; and Fellowship Church near Dallas.
Megachurch officials around the country consulted with each other before deciding to take the day off.
"It's more than being family friendly. It's being lifestyle-friendly for people who are just very, very busy," said Willow Creek spokeswoman Cally Parkinson.
The move is drawing mixed reviews. Critics say it's the day of the week -- not the day of the year -- that's sacred. To them, closing the doors of the church on the Lord's Day is unthinkable.
Others are troubled by the holiday's increasingly secular tone and lament the change.
Robert K. Johnston, a professor of theology and culture at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California, worries that another Christian tradition is fading.
"What's going on here is a redefinition of Christmas as a time of family celebration rather than as a time of the community faithful celebrating the birth of the savior," Johnston said.
"There is a risk that we will lose one more of our Christian rituals, one that's at the heart of our faith."
The decision hasn't generated much controversy at Southland, said church spokeswoman Cindy Willison.
"We've probably had maybe half a dozen (complaints), which is understandable," Willison said.
Some churches are scaling down their Sunday schedule on Christmas.
Louisville's Southeast Christian Church, where 18,000 people worship each weekend, is scheduled to hold one service on Christmas in the fellowship hall.
Tom Shaughnessy, a spokesman for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lexington, said churches will be open because it is a holy day of obligation for Catholics, meaning attendance at Mass is required.
At least one other major Lexington congregation, Crossroads Christian Church, will close for Christmas.
Crossroads Pastor Glenn Schneiders says December 25 is no longer considered sacred by many Americans -- especially those who are not regular churchgoers.
"It's viewed more as a holiday than a holy day," he said.
Lexington Theological Seminary professor Bill Turner said some congregations find it tough to hold several Christmas Eve services, then turn around for Christmas Day services.
"You're talking about a lot of volunteers and a lot of logistics to make Sunday happen in a lot of those megachurches," he said.
At First United Methodist Church in Lexington, the pastor will perform a "blessing of the toys," and the congregation will sing Christmas carols, church spokeswoman Marsha Berry said.
"Even if there's a small group, we'll be there to worship," she said. "What better day than Christmas to experience God?"
(Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

The Great Disappointment

In today's popular Christianity there has not been a more lucrative business to be in than in end times prophecy. Americans are obsessed with this a point that is out of control. Little do American Christians know concerning the history behind chiliasm or premillennialism.

Granted, there are a handful of church fathers that believed in this doctrine, but it was in the minority even then. It was not revived in the church again until the Anabaptists of the time of the reformation. (Those who held to the view were lawless in those days and their stories would make a great essay for future blogging.) When this view became popular as a whole, was through the father of dispensationalism, Darby, and popularized in the CI Scofield reference bible.

Premillennialism has a played a very minor role in the Christian church, and most theologians that hold to this view find themselves in the business of predicting the time of the second coming. (Against the words of Christ who said, "no man knoweth the day nor the hour."
AA Hodge, Outlines of Theology:

What are the principal Scriptural arguments against the pre-millennial view?

1st.The theory is evidently Jewish in its origin and Judaizing in its tendency.

2nd. It is not consistent with what the Scriptures teach. (1) As to the nature of Christ's kingdom, e.g., (a) that it is not of this world but spiritual, Matthew 13:44; John 18:36; Romans 14:17; (b) that it was not to be confined to the Jews Matthew 8:11, 12; (c) that regeneration is the condition of admission to it, John 3:3, 5; (d) that the blessings of the kingdom are purely spiritual, as pardon, sanctification, etc., Matthew 3:2, 11; Colossians 1:13, 14. (2) As to the fact that the kingdom of Christ has already come. He has sat upon the throne of his Father David ever since his ascension.Acts 2:29-36; 3:13-15; 4:26-28; 5:29-31; Hebrews 10:12, 13; Revelation 3:7-12. The Old Testament prophecies, therefore, which predict this kingdom, must refer to the present dispensation of grace, and not to a future reign of Christ on earth in person among men in the flesh.

3rd. The second advent is not to occur until the resurrection, when all the dead, both good and bad, are to rise at once. Daniel 12:2; John 5:28, 29; 1 Corinthians 15:23; 1 Thessalonians 4:16; Revelation 20:11, 15. Only one passage (Revelation 20:1-10) is even apparently inconsistent with the fact here asserted. For the true interpretation of that passage, see next question.

4th.The second advent is not to occur until the simultaneous judgment of all men, the good and the bad together. Matthew 7:21, 23; 13:30-43; 16:24, 27; 25:31-46; Romans 2:5, 16; 1 Corinthians 3:12-15; 2 Corinthians 5:9-11; 2 Thessalonians 1:6-10; Revelation 20:11-15.

5th.The second advent is to be attended with the general conflagration and the generation of the "new heavens and the new earth."2 Peter 3:7-13; Revelation 20:11; 21:1. "Brown on the Second Advent."

Discussion Points:
-What role does eschatology play in the practical life of the believer?
-Explain the saying, All of life is eschatological?
-What should be the punishmentpredictingwrongly prediciting dates for the second coming? (Ecclesiastical and Magisterial)

The Humility to Worship

Worship has been the topic of the week here on PRESBYTERIAN THOUGHTS. When this much meditation on the subject occurs, we should enter our houses of worship on the Sabbath day in awe of a great and glorious God. This great God, who is jealous for his worship, has given us his Son as the mediator of all worship that is brought to his throne.

We need to come before God with humility as we storm the throne room of Grace for the answers that we seek. Let us be as the prophet Isaiah and come with the understanding that we are men and women of unclean lips.

Touch thou our lips that we may be cleansed to worship thee as we ought.


The Westminster Confession of Faith, chapter xxi, Of Worship:

I. The light of nature showeth that there is a God, who hath lordship and sovereignty over all, is good, and doth good unto all, and is therefore to be feared, loved, praised, called upon, trusted in, and served, with all the heart, and with all the soul, and with all the might.[1] But the acceptable way of worshiping the true God is instituted by himself, and so limited by his own revealed will, that he may not be worshiped according to the imaginations and devices of men, or the suggestions of Satan, under any visible representation, or any other way not prescribed in the Holy Scripture.[2]
1. Rom. 1:20; Psa. 19:1-4a; 50:6; 86:8-10; 89:5-7; 95:1-6; 97:6; 104:1-35; 145:9-12; Acts 14:17; Deut. 6:4-52. Deut. 4:15-20; 12:32; Matt. 4:9-10; 15:9; Acts 17:23-25; Exod. 20:4-6, John 4:23-24; Col. 2:18-23

II. Religious worship is to be given to God, the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; and to him alone; [3] not to angels, saints, or any other creature:[4] and, since the fall, not without a Mediator; nor in the mediation of any other but of Christ alone.[5]
3. John 5:23; Matt. 28:19; II Cor. 13:14; Eph. 3:14; Rev. 5:11-14; Acts 10:25-264. Col. 2:18; Rev. 19:10; Rom. 1:255. John 14:6; I Tim. 2:5; Eph. 2:18; Col. 3:17

III. Prayer, with thanksgiving, being one special part of religious worship,[6] is by God required of all men:[7] and, that it may be accepted, it is to be made in the name of the Son,[8] by the help of his Spirit,[9] according to his will,[10] with understanding, reverence, humility, fervency, faith, love, and perseverance;[11] and, if vocal, in a known tongue.[12]
6. Phil. 4:6; I Tim. 2:1; Col. 4:27. Psa. 65:2; 67:3; 96:7-8; 148:11-13; Isa. 55:6-78. John 14:13-14; I Peter 2:59. Rom. 8:26; Eph. 6:1810. I John 5:1411. Psa. 47:7; Eccl. 5:1-2; Heb. 12:28; Gen. 18:27; James 1:6-7; 5:16; Mark 11:24; Matt. 6:12, 14-15; Col. 4:2; Eph. 6:1812. I Cor. 14:14

IV. Prayer is to be made for things lawful;[13] and for all sorts of men living, or that shall live hereafter:[14] but not for the dead,[15] nor for those of whom it may be known that they have sinned the sin unto death.[16]
13. I John 5:14, 16; John 15:714. I Tim. 2:1-2; John 17:20; II Sam. 7:29; II Chr. 6:14-4215. Luke 16:25-26; Isa. 57:1-2; Psa. 73:24; II Cor. 5:8, 10; Phil 1:21-24; Rev. 14:13
16. I John 5:16

V. The reading of the Scriptures with godly fear,[17] the sound preaching [18] and conscionable hearing of the Word, in obedience unto God, with understanding, faith, and reverence,[19] singing of psalms with grace in the heart;[20] as also, the due administration and worthy receiving of the sacraments instituted by Christ, are all parts of the ordinary religious worship of God:[21] beside religious oaths,[22] vows,[23] solemn fastings,[24] and thanksgivings upon special occasions,[25] which are, in their several times and seasons, to be used in an holy and religious manner.[26]
17. Luke 4:16-17; Acts 15:21; Col. 4:16; I Thess. 5:27; Rev. 1:318. II Tim. 4:2; Acts 5:4219. James 1:22; Acts 10:33; Matt. 13:19; Heb. 4:2; Isa. 66:220. Col. 3:16; Eph. 5:19; James 5:13; I Cor. 14:15
21. Matt. 28:19; I Cor. 11:23-29; Acts 2:4222. Deut. 6:13; Neh. 10:29; II Cor. 1:2323. Psa. 116:14; Isa. 19:21; Eccl. 5:4-524. Joel 2:12; Est. 4:16; Matt. 9:15; Acts 14:2325. Exod. 15:1-21; Psa. 107:1-43; Neh. 12:27-43; Est. 9:20-2226. Heb. 12:28.

VI. Neither prayer, nor any other part of religious worship, is now, under the gospel, either tied unto, or made more acceptable by any place in which it is performed, or towards which it is directed:[27] but God is to be worshiped everywhere,[28] in spirit and truth;[29] as, in private families [30] daily,[31] and in secret, each one by himself;[32] so, more solemnly in the public assemblies, which are not carelessly or willfully to be neglected, or forsaken, when God, by his Word or providence, calleth thereunto.[33]
27. John 4:2128. Mal. 1:11; I Tim. 2:829. John 4:23-2430. Jer. 10:25; Deut. 6:6-7; Job 1:5; II Sam. 6:18, 2031. Matt. 6:11; see Job 1:532. Matt. 6:6; 16-18; Neh. 1:4-11; Dan. 9:3-4a33. Isa. 56:6-7; Heb. 10:25; Psa. 84:1-12; 100:4; 122:1, Luke 4:16; Acts 2:42; 13:42, 44

VII. As it is the law of nature, that, in general, a due proportion of time be set apart for the worship of God; so, in his Word, by a positive, moral, and perpetual commandment binding all men in all ages, he hath particularly appointed one day in seven, for a Sabbath, to be kept holy unto him:[34] which, from the beginning of the world to the resurrection of Christ, was the last day of the week,[35] and, from the resurrection of Christ, was changed into the first day of the week, which, in Scripture, is called the Lord's day,[36] and is to be continued to the end of the world, as the Christian Sabbath.[37]
34. Exod. 20:8-11; Isa. 56:2- 735. Gen. 2:2-3; I Cor. 16:1-2; Acts 20:736. Rev. 1:1037. Matt. 5:17-18; Mark 2:27-28; Rom. 13:8-10; James 2:8-12

VIII. This Sabbath is then kept holy unto the Lord, when men, after a due preparing of their hearts, and ordering of their common affairs beforehand, do not only observe an holy rest, all the day, from their own works, words, and thoughts about their worldly employments and recreations,[38] but also are taken up, the whole time, in the public and private exercises of his worship, and in the duties of necessity and mercy.[39]
38. Exod. 16:23, 25-26, 29-30; 20:8; 31:15-17; Isa. 58:13-14; Neh. 13:15-2239. Isa. 58:13-14; Luke 4:16; Matt. 12:1-13; Mark 3:1-5

Discussion Points:
-What can Westminster teach us concerning worship?
-Is this view of worship too constricting to Christian liberty?
-What are some biblical examples of men and women not worshipping according to the Bible's principle of worship?

Contemporary Christian Music

Since someone commented on this blog criticizing the choice of music that old school Presbyterians use in worship, I thought that it would be appropriate to show my readers the kinds of music that CCM is putting out today.

Many young Christians are into very worldly music and attempt to reason it away using Kuyperian principles that they learned while attending Calvin College. Friends and dear readers, music is very sacred.

My children will not listen to the current rock and roll type music that calls itself Christian. Let us look at some of the covers of those CDs that all the kids are into and attempting to get their God fearing parents to spend their hard earned money on:








These should speak for themselves! Feel free to comment.

No Need For Organ Donation

For those of you interested in the topic, one of my yahoo groups (r-f-w) has been discussing the use of musical instruments in the public worship of God.
I have included a few links that have come up during the course of the discussion. They are worth looking into for those interested in the topic of worship.
GI Williamson and others on Instrumental Music http://members.aol.com/rsichurch/worship.html

John Kennedy on Instrumental Music
http://easyweb.easynet.co.uk/~jbeggsoc/jbs-worship02.html

John M'Donald on Instrumental Music
http://www.fpcr.org/blue_banner_articles/mdonald.htm

Brian Schwertley on Musical Instrumentation
http://www.reformed.com/pub/music.htm

Blood Covered Coloring Pages

This is a copy of my daughter's coloring page from her Sabbath school class (she is two years old). Notice that Presbyterians of the historical kind do not bow the knee to political correctness.
We are to teach the whole counsel of God, and sometimes those truths are not very fun to share. But they are a part of the Gospel. In Genesis 22 we have Abraham going to sacrifice his son to God. God provided a scapegoat in the thicket as a type of the coming Messiah.
Praise God that He provided a scapegoat in His son Jesus Christ. May we glean truth from forbidden coloring pages that liberal Christians do not want us to share in our churches or in our homes with our children.

Discussion Point:
-Share one of your favorite forbidden Bible stories.

Tis the Season I: It's beginning to look a lot like Christmass

I love Christmass as much as the next paleo-Presbyterian.
It looks like the holy day spirit is upon us. Is the Lord pleased?


From Wood TV8:(Cascade Township, November 25, 2005, 12:20 p.m.) It was a dangerous morning on Black Friday at a West Michigan Wal-Mart.
An impatient crowd stormed the doors in the mad rush to get to those door-buster deals inside.
It was an ugly scene when the doors opened at the Cascade Township Wal-Mart. Hundreds of shoppers pushed and shoved their way into the store, trampling a number of customers, sending two to the hospital.
At 5:00 a.m. the doors opened, holiday shoppers rushed in, and immediately one customer is pushed to the ground.
"This is ridiculous. I do not want my life in danger for this," said shopper Karen Dietstra. "This is not worth it. This has been a tradition for years. I don't think that I have to get beat up to try to get a sale."
Two shoppers from Grand Rapids did. One of them, 13-year-old Deja McHerron, had to be taken away by ambulance.
"They stumbled over a pregnant lady and Deja was trying to help her get up. And they stumbled over her and they stepped on her back. And now she's going to the hospital," said McHerron's mother, Deborah.
Duretha Arnold-Youngblood, 37, was also taken to the hospital, complaining of an injured knee. Her husband, Johnny Youngblood, took issue with what he calls a lack of security. Youngblood believes Wal-Mart should hire trained uniformed security guards to help bring order to the early-morning holiday crowd and not leave those duties to Wal-Mart associates.
"They didn't have no security at all," said McHerron's sister, Sierra.
"Wal-Mart did not do enough to protect us," Dietstra said.
What went wrong? Managers at the Cascade Wal-Mart are not commenting at this time.

Hope For the Immature in Faith

Many Christians are very immature in their faith. They understand that the they are to grow in their love for the Lord Jesus and the seek to do so by attending the means of grace. They read, pray, listen to sermons, attend church, even the Lord's Supper, but something remains missing in their Christian experience. Without being able to verbalize the problem, many Christians in today's entertainment culture are looking for just that: entertainment.

Even in the most conservative of Reformed and Presbyterian churches you have this problem of entertainment. In these circles this sin will manifest itself in the immature Christian as always needing to chase after a new doctrine or base the "value" of a sermon on whether or not he or she has heard something new. This attitude can be harmful to the Church of Christ. God has chosen to have his people follow the Old Paths...he does not call us to chase after and blaze new ones.

Charles Bridges, in his early 1800s volume to Christian ministers addressed the need for novelty:
The first impressions (of the faith) may have been made rather by the novelty than by the direct power of truth....to live up to the continual excitement of novelty, in preference to the old established truths. This naturally results in an imperfect* apprehension of the Gospel, that fully accounts for defects of Christian temper, as well as for the unsteady resistance to the world...favouratism (sic) in Scripture is both the grandparent of heresy and instability of profession. The Word of God loses its power when displaced from its position, dissevered from its practical connexion (sic), or when a part, however important, is taken for the whole...

*imperfect as in not whole, or not complete.

Bridges sees these people as needing to be novel in faith which leads to a favoratism of certain passages of the bible (examples: John 3.16, I Cor 12 or 13, or Biblical sayings "Judge not", "All in moderation", etc.) which will in turn lead to many types of heresy and discontentment in their faith. The anedote to the problem he also gives: prefer the old established truths. This is the calling of all Christians, immature and well seasoned, do not forsake the old paths for the need to be novel and entertained.

Discussion Points:
-How can we encourage the immature in faith?
-What personal disciplines will aid in fighting the need to be entertained (however subtle the need is?)
-What spiritual excercises would you recommed for those struggling against this serious sin?

God loves a few Prelates

Jokingly my wife has said to me that the two greatest influences in her life have been a Baptist (Spurgeon) and a Prelate (Ryle). They are both fantastic preachers despite their views on church government, the millennium, and baptism.

I too love Ryle and Spurgeon. May it be duly noted for the sake of my ecumenical spirit.

The latter end of the nineteenth century was a time when preaching was still fantastic in England, but Confessionalism was not. Below is a quote from Ryle on the exalted state of preaching. Any comments?

"A preaching ministry is absolutely essential to the health and prosperity of a visible church. The pulpit is the place where the chief victories of the Gospel have always been won, and no Church has ever done much for the advancement of true religion in which the pulpit has been neglected. Would we know whether a minister is a truly apostolical man? If he is, he will give the best of his attention to his sermons. The minister who exalts the sacraments, or forms of the church, above preaching, may be a zealous earnest, conscientious, and respectable minister, but his zeal is not according to knowledge."

Kuyper College

It has been announced that Reformed Bible College in Grand Rapids, Michigan is changing their name to KUYPER COLLEGE after the famous Dutchman, Abraham Kuyper.

This news has not been made public yet, so please do not tell anyone that you found this information here. I received it from an insider. (Hush!) The name will not be released until the end of the year.

Now RBC, Now KC, will be able to live out their dream of watering down the Reformed faith, loosening their commitment to the Reformed Confessions, and begin to become more "relevant" as a "Christian" institution. Congratulations, I am sure that your founders would be really proud of you.

"There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our
human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign
over all,does not cry: 'Mine!' " -Abraham Kuyper

Maybe now they can drop their no smoking policy.

The Future Glory of The Church

There are many Christians today who stand discouraged at the state of the Church and the lack of care (and hostility) for Christianity in our culture. We should commend those that love the Church and long for her purity as she awaits Her bridegroom. Even in the days of the Reformers and the Puritans there were those that saw a cultural disregard for the True Religion. The Church ebbs and flows through history and we must patiently await the day when all peoples and nations will humbly bow to Christ in His law, His gospel, and His will. Until this time, let us turn to Jonathan Edwards' Humble Attempt for comfort and direction. Thy Kingdom Come.
IT is evident from the Scripture, that there is yet remaining a great advancement of the interest of religion and the kingdom of Christ in this world, by an abundant outpouring of the Spirit of God, far greater and more extensive than ever yet has been. It is certain, that many things, which are spoken concerning a glorious time of the church's enlargement and prosperity in the latter days, have never yet been fulfilled. There has never yet been any propagation and prevalence of religion, in any wise, of that extent and universality which the prophecies represent. It is often foretold and signified, in a great variety of strong expressions, that there should a time come, when all nations, throughout the whole habitable world, should embrace the true religion, and be brought into the church of God. It was often promised to the patriarchs, that "in their seed all the nations, or (as it is sometimes expressed) all the families of the earth shall be blessed." Agreeably to this, it is said of the Messiah, Psalm 72:11. "That all nations shall serve him," and in verse 17. "Men shall be blessed in him, and all nations shall call him blessed." And in Isaiah 2:2. It is said, that "all nations shall flow unto the mountain of the house of the Lord." And Jeremiah 3:17. "That all nations shall be gathered unto the name of the Lord to Jerusalem, and shall walk no more after the imagination of their evil heart. "That all flesh shall come and worship before the Lord," Isaiah 66:23. "And that all flesh should see the glory of God together," Isaiah 40:5. "And that all flesh should come to him that hears prayer," Psalm 65:2.

Discussion Points:
-What passages should we pray back to God for the coming of his kingdom?
-What comfort is there in this section of eschatology for the believer?
-What does "thy kingdom come" mean in your own words?

Refobar (Pronounced Ray-Fo-Bar)

I am taking a Youth Ministry course at the Puritan Reformed Seminary and a minister from the Heritage Reformed Churches is teaching. We have been discussing some of the things that youth groups do that are very far from being glorifying to God and how we want to avoid this as Reformed Christians. We have discussed things such as how all of our ministering needs to be done with the glory of God in mind and how we must keep our theological presuppositions in the forefront of our ministry.

One thing that he (Rev. Kelderman) mentioned that is being done in the Netherlands (and also in Canada) is what is known as the Refobar. Of course I had no idea what he was talking about but he explained:

The Refobar (Slang for Reformed Bar) is when churches host underage drinking parties in their basement knowing that it will attract the youth and they will have the opportunity to minister to them.

Why can't the Presbyterians be so creative?

Hey, Young People's Society.....Scotch anyone?

The ARC of Grand Rapids

A new Presbyterian Thoughts link:




The Associate Reformed Church website is finally open. The go-live date was May 15, 2005. Congratulations to the ARC!

www.arcgr.org

Thanks James Lanning of "Set It Off" for making this possible.

Save Your Question For the Old Oak Tree

Charles Haddon Spurgeon has been called the "prince of preachers". His sermons are excellent, three dimensional, and full of life. Spurgeon, as a Minister of the Gospel and a teacher at a Pastor's College, was also a mentor to many men who were pursuing a greater understanding of their relationship with Jesus Christ as they pursued the ministry.

His students would gather under a giant old oak tree for theological questions, to challenge one another, and to edify one another. The great tree became known to Spurgeon's students as "The Question Oak". This is where they would bring theological questions to their teacher. The Question Oak is the location where this event took place:

It has been said that every Friday afternoon, his students were usually asked to exhibit there own ability as preachers and that without prior knowledge of the subject matter. Spurgeon called upon a student to give a message on Zaccheus. The student arose and said:

"Zaccheus was little of stature, so am I. Zaccheus was up a tree, so am I. Zaccheus came down, so will I." The students, as well as Pastor Spurgeon, applauded the "ingenious" performance.

Discussion Points:

-What place has been important for you for theological discussion in your Christian walk?

-Often the people of God will come into great comfort by meeting up with another Christian in an obscure/unusual place. Have you had this edifying experience?

-What could we do, as Christians, to encourage more theological discussion in "open air areas"?

Reformed Lip Service

I would like to offer you a quote that I read this week. It caused many thoughts to go racing through my theological mind and I began to take inventory of my own heart. I hope that it will impact you or at least give you a rumination towards reform.
"Isn't it interesting how professing Christians love to honor the dead heroes of the faith, but then "persecute" the living heroes who embrace the very same truths taught and propounded by those heroes who are now in the grave.

Why?

Because dead heroes can no longer speak with audible voices against unsound doctrine, impure worship, and tyrannical church governments."

Discussion Points:

-What are some biblical examples of reform that can be used to humble ourselves and return to the "old paths"?

-Should denominations put weight into the way in which our forefathers interpreted scriptures if they are different than our interpretations?

-How has this played out in the church historically, confessionally, and experientially?

On Hating Sin and Hating Sinners

While discussing the idea of the heinousness of sin, the Westminster Divines understood that not all sin is seen as being equal in the sight of God. While all sin deserves eternal damnation in hell; not all are equally repulsive in God's sight.

When asking modern evangelicals about God's view of sin, besides the notable, "God hates the sin and not the sinner," it is interesting to note that lifestyle choices are often seen as the most heinous of sin. Homosexuality and drunkenness are often cited as being most despicable in the eyes of God.

Scripture has another idea. Notice questions 150 and 151 of the Westminster Larger Catechism show that the sins that are most heinous in the sight of God are those that go against His Word, His Son, and His worship.

This is not how we are taught to think, even in our self-centered American evangelical minds. God is a jealous God for His worship...His name IS jealous.


Q. 150. Are all transgressions of the law of God equally heinous in themselves, and in the sight of God?
A. All transgressions of the law of God are not equally heinous; but some sins in themselves, and by reason of several aggravations, are more heinous in the sight of God than others.

Q. 151. What are those aggravations that make some sins more heinous than others?
A. Sins receive their aggravations,
1. From the persons offending if they be of riper age, greater experience or grace, eminent for profession, gifts, place, office, guides to others, and whose example is likely to be followed by others.
2. From the parties offended:if immediately against God, his attributes, and worship; against Christ, and his grace; the Holy Spirit, his witness,and workings against superiors, men of eminency, and such as we stand especially related and engaged unto; against any of the saints, particularly weak brethren the souls of them, or any other,and the common good of all or many.
3. From the nature and quality of the offense: if it be against the express letter of the law, break many commandments, contain in it many sins: if not only conceived in the heart, but breaks forth in words and actions, scandalize others, and admit of no reparation: if against means, mercies, judgments, light of nature, conviction of conscience, public or private admonition, censures of the church, civil punishments; and our prayers, purposes, promises, vows, covenants, and engagements to God or men: if done deliberately, wilfully, presumptuously, impudently, boastingly, maliciously, frequently, obstinately, with delight, continuance, or relapsing after repentance.
4. From circumstances of time and place: if on the LordÂ’s day, or other times of divine worship; or immediately before or after these, or other helps to prevent or remedy such miscarriage if in public, or in the presence of others, who are thereby likely to be provoked or defiled.

Discussion Points:
-If Dispensationalists were right on the negation of the law, then by what standard are we to judge the lawfulness of an act?
-What are some biblical examples of God's punishment for false worship?
-By what standard do "New Testament" Christians worship? What does worship look like and contain?