REFORMATION 500 WEEK 32 JOHN CALVIN RETURNS TO GENEVA

Reformation 500 WEEK 32    John calvin Returns to Geneva

On September 13, 1541, Calvin returned to Geneva. “The following Sunday Calvin went up into the pulpit at Geneva, and simply began again to expound holy Scripture at the place where he had left off when he had been banished [does anyone know exactly where he had left off?]” (Cadier, The Man God Mastered, 107).

“Upon his return to Geneva, Calvin drew up a Church Order, a set of rules for the governing of the church…. It was based on the teaching of Scripture that Christ has ordained four offices in the Church: pastors, teachers or professors, elders, and deacons. The cornerstone of Calvin’s form of church government is the office of elder. Elders are chosen from among the members of the church. Together with the minister or pastor they form the consistory. The elders’ office is to watch over the purity of doctrine and life of the members of the church, of each other, and of the minister. To the consistory Calvin assigned the right of discipline of the members of the church to the point of excommunication…. For Calvin, the freedom of the Church was concentrated in the Church’s right of excommunication without outside interference.

“Upon one occasion, certain citizens of Geneva whom the consistory had excommunicated came into the church armed. Their plan was to force admission to the communion table. They threatened Calvin’s life if he should refuse to administer the sacrament to them. Protectingly, Calvin stretched out his hands over the bread and wine, and declared that they would be able to take of it only over his dead body. By sheer moral courage and strength, he made them desist from their attempt to gain admittance by force to the communion table.

“Bitter opposition often arose against the strict discipline of the Church over the moral life of the members. More than once it looked as if Calvin would be expelled a second time from Geneva. What in the end saved the day for Calvin was the influx into Geneva of refugees from other countries and the case of Servetus [which we will visit later]” (Kuiper, 197-198).

While Calvin was trying to make Geneva into a Christian city, back in Germany Martin Luther was dying. “Luther and Calvin never met, but they did exchange letters. In one letter [Jan. 21, 1545] Calvin wrote, ‘Would that I could fly to you, that I might even for a few hours enjoy the happiness of your society … but seeing that it is not granted to us on earth, I hope that shortly it will come to pass in the kingdom of God’.” (Nichols, Reformation, 78).

“Catholics and Protestants awaited news of Luther’s death – the Catholics hoped for a terrible death (to prove that he was wrong) and the Protestants a triumphant one (to prove that he was right) [a crowd of people surrounded his death bed and tried to comfort him, as he kept repeating the words, ‘For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son’] …. Martin Luther died in the early morning hours of February 18, 1546, only a few steps from the house in Eisleben where he was born sixty-two years earlier.” He “was buried in front of the pulpit in the Castle Church of Wittenberg … an appropriate place. The pulpit was the place of his life’s work.  He was a preacher of the Word of God. And faithful to the end” (Legacy of Luther, 73-74). Among his most famous words were, “I did nothing; the Word did everything.”

NOTE: These Posts were written and  designed as bulletin inserts by Pastor David Fagrey of the Grace Reformed Church of Rapid City, SD .  

Link to this blog entry as a bulletin insert:  Reformation 500 John Calvin Returns to Geneva

For a double-sided PDF for easy printing: Reformation 500 Week 32

Official Seal of  the RCUS

This is the seal of the Reformed Church of the United States (RCUS).  As you can see its history goes back to 1748, when the RCUS began.  We celebrate with the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation we praise God for what is probably the most amazing spiritual revival in the history of the world.

Page on Omaha Reformed Church's Website: Links to all Bulletin Inserts.

REFORMATION 500 WEEK 27: HEIDELBERG CATECHISM, QUESTION 72-74

Reformation 500 WEEK 27: Heidelberg Catechism, QUESTION 72-74

Question 72: Is, then, the outward washing with water itself the washing away of sins?  No, for only the blood of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit cleanse us from all sin.

     Abraham did not receive a circumcised heart (a forgiven and regenerated heart) through circumcision. He was saved before he was circumcised. Circumcision was added to symbolize and certify what Abraham already had (Rom. 4:11). Likewise, baptism symbolizes and certifies what believers already have (Acts 10:48). Salvation from sin is through faith in Christ alone, apart from works, including the work of baptism. The repentant thief on the cross went to heaven without being baptized.

     There are two or three verses in the NT that appear to say that baptism is necessary for salvation. “He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned” (Mark 16:16). But notice that it does not say “he who is not baptized will be condemned,” but only “he who does not believe will be condemned.” It is the lack of belief not the lack of baptism that results in condemnation. Baptism is mentioned right after belief simply because it is the first fruit of faith. It is the first work commanded by Christ for all new believers. He who truly believes in Jesus will obey His command to be baptized. The person who refuses to be baptized shows he does not have true faith. Similarly, when Peter said, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized…for the remission of sins” (Acts 2:38), he mentions baptism right after repentance because it is the first fruit of repentance – which is inseparable from faith: “repent and believe the gospel” (Mark 1:15). When Ananias told Paul, “Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord” (Acts 22:16), Paul was already converted (his sins were already washed away) before he was baptized – before he even met Ananias (see Acts 9:1-16). Therefore, his baptism was divine assurance of his spiritual cleansing, especially as he called upon the Lord to cleanse him from sin (1 John 1:9).

Question 73: Why then does the Holy Spirit call Baptism the washing of regeneration and the washing away of sins? God speaks thus with great cause, namely, not only to teach us thereby that just as the filthiness of the body is taken away by water, so our sins are taken away by the blood and Spirit of Christ; but much more, that by this divine pledge and token He may assure us that we are as really washed from our sins spiritually as our bodies are washed with water.

     Sometimes a symbol (like baptism) is called by the name of what it symbolizes. For example, circumcision, which is the sign of the covenant between God and Abraham, is sometimes called the covenant itself (“the covenant of circumcision,” Acts 7:8), even though it is only a symbol of the covenant. This highlights the close connection between the symbol and what it symbolizes. Baptism is called “the washing of regeneration” (Titus 3:5) because it symbolically assures us believers of our regeneration: just as certainly as our bodies are washed with water, we can be just as certain that we are forgiven by Christ’s blood and regenerated by the Holy Spirit.

Question 74: Are infants also to be baptized? Yes, for since they, as well as their parents, belong to the covenant and people of God [Gen. 17:7], and through the blood of Christ both redemption from sin and the Holy Spirit, who works faith, are promised to them no less than to their parents [Isa. 59:21; Acts 2:39], they are also by Baptism, as a sign of the covenant, to be engrafted into the Christian Church, and distinguished from the children of unbelievers [1 Cor. 7:14], as was done in the Old Testament by circumcision, in place of which in the New Testament Baptism is appointed.

     God’s covenant of salvation with believing Abraham included his descendants. “I will be a God to you and to your descendants after you” (Gen. 17:7); which is why God commanded Abraham to give the sign of this covenant to his descendants. God did not promise to save all of Abraham’s descendants; only that His elect would be among his descendants in every generation, and that from the seed of believers “He intends to raise up a seed for Himself” (Vos, “Doctrine of the Covenant”). It was this covenant promise that distinguished the seed of believers as a “holy seed” (Ezra 9:2). “God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the Lord your God with all your heart” (Deut. 30:6). “My covenant I will establish with Isaac” (Gen. 17:20-21); “for in Isaac your seed shall be called [effectually!]” (Gen. 21:12). “Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, the remnant will be saved” (Isa. 10:22); “this is My covenant with them: My Spirit who is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your descendants, nor from the mouth of your descendants’ descendants, says the Lord, from this time and forevermore” (Isa. 59:21). In some cases, the hearts of God’s elect are regenerated in the womb, so they grow up loving the Lord. “From my mother’s womb, You have been my God” (Psalm 22:10). John the Baptist was “filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb” (Luke 1:15). Cf. Ps. 25:12-13.

     God’s covenant of salvation with believers and their seed has not been abolished in the NT; only the sign has changed from circumcision to baptism; and part of the newness of the new covenant is that females can receive the sign of salvation. On the Day of Pentecost, Peter told the Jews to repent and be baptized, because the promise of salvation “is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God shall call [effectually!]” (Acts 2:39). The children of believers are still a “holy” seed (1 Cor. 7:14) – still distinguished by the same promise that distinguished them in the OT (Deut. 30:6). Paul told Timothy, “I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also” (2 Tim. 1:5). If the Baptists are right, that infants of believers should no longer receive the sign of God’s covenant of salvation, then this major change should be clearly indicted in the NT. But instead of change we see the same pattern. For example, when Lydia (an adult convert, like Abraham) believed, then “she and her household were baptized” (Acts 16:15; cf. v.33) – just like Abraham had believed and then he and his household were circumcised! The Bible assumes a household usually includes children: “an elder must be one who rules his own household well, having his children in submission with all reverence” (1 Tim. 3:4)! There is no stipulation in the NT that only confessing believers are to be baptized. There is no example in the NT of a child from a Christian home who was baptized after confessing faith in Christ! Is not the Baptist view, an argument from silence?

NOTE: These Posts were written and  designed as bulletin inserts by Pastor David Fagrey of the Grace Reformed Church of Rapid City, SD .  

Link to this blog entry as a bulletin insert:  Reformation 500 Heidelberg Catechism 72-74

For a double-sided PDF for easy printing: Reformation 500 Week 27

Official Seal of  the RCUS

This is the seal of the Reformed Church of the United States (RCUS).  As you can see its history goes back to 1748, when the RCUS began.  We celebrate with the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation we praise God for what is probably the most amazing spiritual revival in the history of the world.

Page on Omaha Reformed Church's Website: Links to all Bulletin Inserts.

REFORMATION 500 WEEK 24: HEIDELBERG CATECHISM QA’S 62-64

Reformation 500 WEEK 24: Heidelberg Catechism QA’s 62-64

Question 62: But why cannot our good works be the whole or part of our righteousness before God? Because the righteousness which can stand before the judgment seat of God must be perfect throughout and entirely conformable to the divine law, but even our best works in this life are all imperfect and defiled with sin.

     We have learned that, “to justify” means “to declare one righteous.” The key question is: on what basis does God declare the believer in Christ to be righteous?

     For the Roman Catholic Church, God declares someone righteous only if they are first sanctified, that is, made inwardly righteous by an infusion of grace (which happens by baptism) and then they cooperate with infused grace by doing righteous things (good works). As long as they keep doing good works, God will keep declaring them righteous. Those who commit a mortal sin lose the grace of justification. But they can be restored to a state of justification through the sacrament of penance. Therefore, for Rome, we are justified on the basis of an imperfect righteousness done by us.

     How does Rome interpret Paul’s statement in Romans 3:28: “a man is justified by faith apart from the works of the law”? They argue that “works of the law” refers only to the ceremonies of the law (e.g. circumcision, animal sacrifices, etc.), and not the moral law (i.e. the Ten Commandments). Therefore, they maintain that no one is justified by the ceremonial works of the law, but they are justified by doing the good works required in the NT. With this understanding, they appeal to James 2:24, “a man is justified by works [i.e. good works], and not by faith only.”

     But Rome misinterprets both Paul and James. First of all, nowhere does Paul say a man is not justified by ceremonial works but he is justified by good works. Second, James uses the term justify differently than Paul. “To be justified” has another meaning besides “to be declared righteous before God.” It can also mean “shown to be righteousness before men” (e.g. Luke 7:35; Rom. 3:4). Therefore, Paul speaks “of that righteousness by which we are justified before God…but James speaks of that righteousness by which we are justified before men by our works” (Ursinus, 338). James is rebuking the person who claims to believe in Jesus, but does not have good works to show for it. “What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works?” (James 2:14). True believers bear fruit out of thankfulness for salvation: “every good tree produces good fruit” (Matt. 7:17). Therefore, “faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead” (2:17). James challenges the professing believer without good works, to “show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works” (2:18). Thus, the correct way to understand James 2:24 is: “a man is justified [shown to be righteous] by works, and not by faith only.”

     Rome’s fatal mistake is to refuse to accept the biblical truth that perfect righteousness is the requirement for eternal life (Gal. 3:21), which is precisely why we need Christ’s perfect righteousness imputed to us!

     Thus, our “works, as they proceed from the good root of faith, are good and acceptable in the sight of God, forasmuch as they are all sanctified by His grace. Nevertheless, they are of no account towards our justification, for it is by faith in Christ that we are justified, even before we do good works (Belgic Confession, Article 24).

Question 63: Do our good works merit [DESERVE] nothing, even though it is God's will to reward them in this life and in that which is to come? The reward comes not of merit, but of grace.

The Bible says that God will reward our good works, both in this life and in that which is to come (Psalm 18:20; 19:10-11; Mark 10:28-29; Matt. 5:11-12; 6:6; Heb. 6:10; 11:6; Rev. 22:12). The rewards include peace, joy, and spiritual prosperity (Deut. 12:28; Psalm 1:1-3; Psalm 119:165; Prov. 3:13-17; John 10:10; 14:21).

But this does not mean our good works deserve to be rewarded. Only perfect righteousness deserves to be rewarded. “Therefore, we do good works, but not to merit by them (for what can we merit?); nay, we are indebted to God for the good works we do, and not He to us, since it is He who works in us both to will and to do of His good pleasure [Phil. 2:13]. Let us therefore attend to what is written: When you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, we are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do [Luke 17:10]. In the meantime, we do not deny that God rewards good works, but it is through His grace that He crowns His gifts” (Belgic Confession, article 24).

Question 64: But does not this doctrine make men careless and profane? No, for it is impossible that those who are implanted into Christ by true faith, should not bring forth fruits of thankfulness.

     The Roman Catholics slander the reformed doctrine of justification by saying that it makes men careless and profane. They maintain that if you teach people to believe they are justified by faith in Christ even before they do good works, then that will make them care less about doing good works and encourage them to live in sin.

     But the easy reply is that being set free from eternal condemnation makes us thankful, not profane! For when we are united to Christ by true faith we receive both justification and sanctification (1 Cor. 6:11; see again Question 43). God first justifies us by declaring us perfectly righteousness in Christ, and then by His Holy Spirit He begins the process of sanctification which restores God’s holy image in us, purifying us from the inward corruption of sin, and making us inwardly righteous and holy, so that we hate sin and do good works out of thankfulness for salvation (Eph. 4:24-25; Tit. 2:14; 1 John 2:4; 3:10). True believers are “those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some hundred” (Mark 4:20). “For we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Eph. 2:10). Good works are the fruit of justification – which is the fruit of the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23); “the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth” (Eph. 5:9). Since the Holy Spirit is producing good fruit in our lives (He “makes me heartily willing and ready to live unto Him,” Question 1), it is impossible that those who are implanted into Christ by true faith, should not bring forth fruits of thankfulness (Jer. 32:40; Ezek. 36:27).

     “He, therefore, who boasts of having applied to himself by faith the death of Christ, and yet has no desire to live a holy and godly life… gives conclusive evidence that the truth is not in him; for all those who are justified are willing and ready to do those things which are pleasing to God” (Ursinus, 227).

NOTE: These Posts were written and  designed as bulletin inserts by Pastor David Fagrey of the Grace Reformed Church of Rapid City, SD .  

Link to this blog entry as a bulletin insert:  Reformation 500 Heidelberg Catechism 62-64

For a double-sided PDF for easy printing: Reformation 500 Week 24

Official Seal of  the RCUS

This is the seal of the Reformed Church of the United States (RCUS).  As you can see its history goes back to 1748, when the RCUS began.  We celebrate with the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation we praise God for what is probably the most amazing spiritual revival in the history of the world.

Page on Omaha Reformed Church's Website: Links to all Bulletin Inserts.

REFORMATION 500 WEEK 23: HEIDELBERG CATECHISM QA’S 59-61

Reformation 500 WEEK 23: Heidelberg Catechism QA’s 59-61

Question 59: What does it help you now, that you believe all this [that is, the articles of the Apostles creed]? That I am righteous in Christ before God, and an heir of eternal life.

     Remember that Question 21 taught us that true faith is to believe everything God has revealed in His Word is truth (John 17:17), and especially to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ alone for salvation. Since the articles of the Apostles’ Creed are a summary of who Jesus is and what He has done to save His people from their sins, to believe these articles means we have true faith, and are united to the ascended Lord Jesus Christ (we are in Him) in order to receive all the benefits of the salvation He obtained for us by His life and death.

     The first and primary benefit for the believer is, “I am righteous in Christ before God, and an heir of eternal life.” Righteousness is perfect obedience to God, and is the requirement for eternal life, for disobedience brings death. God told a sinless Adam and Eve: “obey Me perfectly or die.” Jesus Christ obeyed God perfectly and died on the cross to fully pay for our disobedience. Therefore, when we are united to Him by true faith, His perfect righteousness – “the gift of righteousness” (Rom. 5:17) – is ours and thus we have eternal life. How it becomes ours is explained in Question 60.

Question 60: How are you righteous before God? Only by true faith in Jesus Christ: that is: although my conscience accuses me, that I have grievously sinned against all the commandments of God, and have never kept any of them, and am still prone always to all evil; yet God, without any merit of mine, of mere grace, grants and imputes to me the perfect satisfaction, righteousness and holiness of Christ, as if I had never committed nor had any sin, and had myself accomplished all the obedience which Christ has fulfilled for me, if only I accept such benefit with a believing heart.

     The question, “How can a man be righteous before God?” (Job 9:2) is the same question as, “How can man be justified before God?” (Job 25:4). For “to justify,” means “to recognize and declare one righteous [Psalm 51:6]” (Ursinus, 330).

     God cannot justify or declare us righteous because of any righteousness which we have done. “For [as David confessed to God] in Your sight no one living is righteous” (Psalm 143:2); “that is, no one shall be acquitted, or declared just by inherent righteousness” (Ursinus, 327). This is because “his works are unholy before his justification,” and “after his justification they are also imperfect [Luke 17:10]” (Ursinus, 328). We need perfect righteousness in order for God to declare us righteous.

     The good news is that when we are united to Christ by true faith, God gives us the gift of Christ’s perfect righteousness. “Christ fulfilled the law by the holiness of His human nature, and by His obedience, even unto the death of the cross [Phil. 2:8]” (Ursinus, 328). Indeed, the “entire humiliation of Christ, from the moment of His conception to His glorification, including His assumption of humanity, His subjugation to the law, His poverty, reproach, weakness, sufferings, death, …is all included in the satisfaction which He made for us [Rom. 5:15-19; Gal. 3:10-13]” (Ursinus, 327).

     The only way that Christ’s perfect satisfaction, righteousness, and holiness can become ours is if God imputes it to us. The word impute is taken directly from the Bible, and it means to credit someone with doing what someone else did for them [Philemon 1:18]. “God imputes righteousness apart from works” (Romans 4:6). To impute righteousness “is to regard one that is unrighteous, as righteous, and to absolve him from guilt, and not to punish him, all of which is done on account of the satisfaction of another imputed to him” (Ursinus, 329). God imputes Christ’s righteousness to us. He credits us for doing what Christ did for us, as if we had never committed nor had any sin, and had ourselves accomplished all the obedience which Christ has fulfilled for us!

     Therefore, on the basis of Christ’s perfect righteousness imputed to us God justifies us, declaring us righteous! God does not treat us as guilty sinners deserving of condemnation. He treats us as if we had no sin! This means God will not punish us for our sins (Rom. 8:31-38). We are forgiven the eternal penalty of sin! God imputed our sins to Jesus. He treated Jesus as a sinner even though He wasn’t, and made Him pay for our sins, so that He could treat us as perfectly righteous, even though we’re not, and not make us pay for our sins (2 Cor. 5:19, 21).

     We only have to accept this benefit with a believing heart (and even the faith to do this is a gift). How else do you receive the gift of imputed righteousness? If someone else did something for me, the only thing left for me is to believe and say thank you! If God wants to give perfect righteousness as a gift, the only proper response is to reach out the empty hand of faith to receive the gift, and say thank you. “Justifying or saving faith” is “when we firmly believe that the righteousness of Christ is granted and imputed to us, so that we are justified in the sight of God” (Ursinus, 111).

     “Therefore, we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law” (Rom. 3:28).

Question 61: Why do you say that you are righteous by faith only? Not that I am acceptable to God on account of the worthiness of my faith, but because only the satisfaction, righteousness, and holiness of Christ is my righteousness before God; and I can receive the same and make it my own in no other way than by faith only.

     We are justified by faith not because of faith. When someone gives you a gift, it is not because of your outreached hands, as if you were doing something worthy to receive the gift. Rather, you simply receive the gift by your outreached hands. Likewise, when God gives us the gift of righteousness it is not because of our faith, as if our faith makes us worthy of being declared righteous. Rather, we simply receive God’s gift by our faith. Faith is the only way to receive a gift. It “is of faith that it might be according to grace” (Rom. 4:16).

     “We are justified only by believing, and receiving the righteousness of another, and not by our own works, or merit. All works are excluded from justification, yes even faith itself in as far as it is a virtue, or work…. It is for this reason, that Paul always says, that we are justified by faith, and through faith, as by an instrument; and never on account of faith;” for “if we were justified on account of our faith, then faith would no longer be the acceptance of the righteousness of another, but it would be the merit, and cause of our own righteousness” (Ursinus, 332). 

NOTE: These Posts were written and  designed as bulletin inserts by Pastor David Fagrey of the Grace Reformed Church of Rapid City, SD .  

Link to this blog entry as a bulletin insert:  Reformation 500 Heidelberg Catechism 59-61

For a double-sided PDF for easy printing: Reformation 500 Week 23

Official Seal of  the RCUS

This is the seal of the Reformed Church of the United States (RCUS).  As you can see its history goes back to 1748, when the RCUS began.  We celebrate with the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation we praise God for what is probably the most amazing spiritual revival in the history of the world.

Page on Omaha Reformed Church's Website: Links to all Bulletin Inserts.

REFORMATION 500 WEEK 22: HEIDELBERG CATECHISM QA’S 57-58

Reformation 500 WEEK 22: Heidelberg Catechism QA’s 57-58

Question 57: What comfort do you receive from ‘the resurrection of the body’? That not only my soul after this life shall be immediately taken up to Christ its Head, but also that this my body, raised by the power of Christ, shall be reunited with my soul, and made like the glorious body of Christ.

Question 57 summarizes the biblical teaching concerning article 11 of the Apostles Creed, “the resurrection of the body.” We have already learned from Question 45 that Christ’s resurrection guarantees our resurrection, which will occur when Christ returns to usher in new heavens and a new earth (John 6:44; 1 Thess. 4:15-16; 1 Pet. 3:10-13). Our resurrection will follow the same basic pattern as His. His human soul after He died went immediately to heaven (Luke 23:43), and then returned to His body and came forth from the grave. Our soul after we die “shall be immediately taken up to Christ its Head.” Paul said: “to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord” (2 Cor. 5:8; cf. Phil. 1:23). The souls of believers go immediately to heaven; and the souls of unbelievers go immediately to hell (Luke 16:22; Rev. 6:10). During the time between death and the resurrection [“the intermediate state”], “the soul does not sleep,” but “feels, and understands without the body…although the manner of its operation without the body is altogether unknown to us” (Ursinus, 310).

The resurrection is when our souls shall be re-united with our bodies – which will be raised from the dust by the Lord’s almighty power (Job 19:26; Ezek. 37:12; Acts 26:8; 1 Cor. 15:42-44). Our resurrected body will be just like Christ’s “glorious body” (Phil. 3:21). Christ’s resurrected body was the very same body that was crucified (John 20:24-29). It was still “flesh and bones” (Luke 24:39), but adorned with immortality (Luke 24:31, 51; Rev. 1:14). Our resurrected bodies will be the same as those which we now have, only they will be immortal, incorruptible, imperishable, free from all defects and imperfections. Yes, we will recognize each other (Matt. 8:11)!

The bodies of the wicked will also be raised but only to endure eternal punishment (Daniel 12:2; John 5:28-29; Acts 24:15; Matt. 25:30, 46).

Question 58: What comfort do you receive from the article ‘life everlasting’? That, inasmuch as I now feel in my heart the beginning of eternal joy, I shall after this life possess complete blessedness, such as eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither has entered into the heart of man, therein to praise God forever.

Since eternal life is a life in “fellowship with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ” (1 John 1:3; cf. John 17:3), eternal life begins the moment God works truth faith in our hearts (John 5:24). As believers, we begin in this life to know what the unbelieving eyes and ears and hearts do not know, because “God has revealed them to us through His Spirit” (see 1 Cor. 2:8-10). But we have only a beginning of eternal joy (Phil. 1:6; Heb. 12:2). God’s image is only partially restored in us (Gal. 5:22-23). But when Christ returns, God’s image will be perfectly restored in us; and on a new earth in our resurrected bodies we will see Him face to face (1 John 3:2); “there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying; and there shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away” (Rev. 21:4). We can only imagine!

NOTE: These Posts were written and  designed as bulletin inserts by Pastor David Fagrey of the Grace Reformed Church of Rapid City, SD .  

Link to this blog entry as a bulletin insert:  Reformation 500 HC QAs 57-58

For a double-sided PDF for easy printing: Reformation 500 Week 22

Official Seal of  the RCUS

This is the seal of the Reformed Church of the United States (RCUS).  As you can see its history goes back to 1748, when the RCUS began.  We celebrate with the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation we praise God for what is probably the most amazing spiritual revival in the history of the world.

Page on Omaha Reformed Church's Website: Links to all Bulletin Inserts.

REFORMATION 500 WEEK 20: HEIDELBERG CATECHISM QA’S 53

Reformation 500 WEEK 20: Heidelberg Catechism QA’s 53

Question 53: What do you believe concerning the Holy Spirit? First, that He is co-eternal God with the Father and the Son. Second, that He is also given unto me: by true faith makes me a partaker of Christ and all His benefits, comforts me, and shall abide with me forever.

Article 8 of the Apostle’s Creed, “I believe in the Holy Spirit,” is the beginning of the third part of the Creed, which deals with the Holy Spirit and our Sanctification (see again Question 24).

The first thing we need to know about the Holy Spirit is that He is co-eternal God with the Father and the Son. Co-eternal means also-eternal. He is “the eternal Spirit” (Heb. 9:4). From Questions 24-25 we learned that the three distinct divine persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, are indivisibly One God, having in common all the divine perfections and qualities. All the attributes of the divine essence are attributed to the Holy Spirit (e.g. Gen. 1:2; Psalm 33:6; 1 Cor. 2:10-12).

The Holy Spirit is clearly declared to be God (Acts 5:3-4) and also to be distinct from the Father and the Son (cf. Luke 12:10). “I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever” (John 14:16); “when the Helper comes, whom I shall to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me” (John 15:26). “He is said to be sent by the Father and the Son, and must, therefore, be another person; for no one is sent of himself. A person may, indeed, come of his own accord, and of himself; but no one can send himself” (Ursinus, 273).

The Holy Spirit is that Person of the Trinity who has been given to us believers to live in us. By working true faith in our hearts, He has united us to the Lord Jesus Christ in heaven, so that we receive all the benefits of Christ’s death, namely, justification, adoption, sanctification, and ultimately glorification. “God has sent the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, Abba, Father” (Gal. 4:6). “Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you?” (1 Cor. 6:19). The Holy Spirit sanctifies us by causing us to obey God’s command, “Be holy, for I am holy” (1 Pet. 1:16). “He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it” (1 Thess. 5:24).

The Holy Spirit dwells in us to comfort us (Acts 9:31), especially in times of sorrow: “the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us” (Rom. 5:5). “God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us” (2 Cor. 7:10). “The Holy Spirit strengthens and establishes us when weak and wavering in our faith, and assures us of our salvation [Rom. 8:15-16, 26-27]” (Ursinus, 278).

The Holy Spirit will abide with us forever (John 14:16). “For He Himself has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Heb. 13:5). True believers “are sometimes for a season deserted by God [2 Chron. 32:31], either for the purpose of testing, or chastising, or humbling them [Heb. 12:3-11]; yet they are nevertheless brought to repentance, so as not to perish” (Ursinus, 474). David in his fall, lost the joy which he had felt in his soul, the purity of his conscience, and many other gifts, which he earnestly prayed might be restored to him; but he had not wholly lost the Holy Spirit, or else he would not have said, ‘Take not Thy Holy Spirit from me’ [Ps. 51:11], from which it is plain that he had not wholly lost the Spirit of God” (Ursinus, 284).

NOTE: These Posts were written and  designed as bulletin inserts by Pastor David Fagrey of the Grace Reformed Church of Rapid City, SD .  

Link to this blog entry as a bulletin insert:  Reformation 500 HC QAs 53

For a double-sided PDF for easy printing: Reformation 500 Week 20

Official Seal of  the RCUS

This is the seal of the Reformed Church of the United States (RCUS).  As you can see its history goes back to 1748, when the RCUS began.  We celebrate with the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation we praise God for what is probably the most amazing spiritual revival in the history of the world.

Page on Omaha Reformed Church's Website: Links to all Bulletin Inserts.

REFORMATION 500 WEEK 19: HEIDELBERG CATECHISM QA's 50-52

REFORMATION 500 WEEK 19: HEIDELBERG CATECHISM  QAS  50-52

[No Reformation History this week due to the length of the Catechism explanation]

Question 50: Why is it added: ‘And sits at the right hand of the Father’? Because Christ ascended into heaven for this end, that He might there appear as the Head of His Church, by whom the Father governs all things.

God raised Jesus “from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places” (Eph. 1:20). To sit at the right hand is a metaphor borrowed from the ancient custom of kings who placed at their right side those whom they wished to honor and to whom they entrusted certain departments of government (cf. 1 Kings 2:19). God has entrusted to Jesus Christ “all authority…in heaven and on earth” (Matt. 28:18). “He is that King by whom God governs all things” (Ursinus, 255). The “Son was always that person by whom the Father governed all things from the beginning, as He also created all things by Him [John 1:1-3] …. Christ was always at the right hand of God according to His Divinity, by virtue of His appointment to the office of mediator which was made from everlasting [Psalm 2:7-9].” In fact, He “commenced to execute, and has executed the office of mediator from the very beginning of the world [Gen. 3:15]” (Ursinus, 257). At His ascension, Christ was seated according to His human nature, which then received a dignity and glory it did not have before His ascension (Luke 24:26; Phil. 2:8-9). Before His ascension, His glory as the Son of God was concealed by His humanity and humiliation (cf. Matt. 17:1-8). When Christ ascended into heaven, He laid aside His humiliation, and there was an open declaration of the glory He had with the Father “before the world was” (John 17:5). Christ has a universal kingdom over all things (Eph. 1:20-23). He is “the ruler over the kings of the earth” (Rev. 1:5). “He is the head of the whole world by way of dominion, but a head to the church by way of union and special influence (John 17:2).… The Church is His special care and charge. He rules the world for its good” (Flavel, The Mystery of Providence, 27).

Question 51: What does this glory of Christ, our Head, profit us? First, that by His Holy Spirit He pours out the heavenly gifts upon us, His members; then, that by His power He defends and preserves us against all enemies.

On the Day of Pentecost, ten days after Christ’s ascension, Peter told the Jews that the outpouring of the Holy Spirit was proof that Jesus had been enthroned as King of God’s promised kingdom (Acts 2:33-36). “The benefits of the kingdom of Christ are, that He rules us through the ministry of His Word and Spirit [Eph. 4:7-12], that He preserves His ministry, gives His Church resting places, makes His Word effectual to the conversion of the elect [Rom. 10:17].” He “intercedes prevailingly for us in heaven, so that the Father does not refuse us anything on account of the virtue and force of His intercession [Luke 22:32].” He bestows upon us heavenly gifts, “such as a true knowledge of God, faith, repentance, and every Christian virtue [Gal. 5:22-23], and He will accomplish all this for us [1 Thess. 5:24],” so “there is no reason why we should doubt in regard to our salvation, for He will preserve it safely for us [John 10:28]” (Ursinus, 259). He will defend us against all enemies (the devil, the evil world, and our sinful nature), and will at length bring us to heavenly glory. “For He must reign, until He has put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death” (1 Cor. 15:25-26).  

Question 52: What comfort is it to you that Christ ‘shall come to judge the living and the dead’? That in all my sorrows and persecutions, I, with uplifted head, look for the very One, who offered Himself for me to the judgment of God, and removed all curse from me, to come as Judge from heaven, who shall cast all His and my enemies into everlasting condemnation, but shall take me with all His chosen ones to Himself into heavenly joy and glory.

Article 7 of the Apostles’ Creed is taken directly from the Bible: “the Lord Jesus Christ…will judge the living and the dead at His appearing” (2 Tim. 4:1; cf. Acts 10:42; 1 Peter 4:5). “But of that day and hour no one knows” (Matt. 24:36). There is only one second coming of Christ. Nowhere does the Bible teach that Jesus is going to return twice, once for His church and then again seven years later. “Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time” (Heb. 9:28) – not a third time! “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God [“the last trumpet,” 1 Cor. 15:52]. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up [raptured] together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air” (1 Thess. 4:16-17). It does not say we will secretly meet Christ in the air, and then He will reverse His direction and take us back to heaven only to return again later.

And when Christ comes, it will be “the last day” (John 6:39), “the end of the age” (Matt. 13:39) – the end of the world: “at His coming. Then comes the end” (1 Cor. 15:23). For “the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and …both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up” (2 Peter 3:10). Then God will create “new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells” (2 Pet. 3:13). Then it’s Judgment Day! He shall come to judge everyone – the living and the dead. Everyone will be resurrected and judged the same day (Matt. 25:31-32)! The “hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth – those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation” (John 5:28). God “has appointed a day on which He will judge the world” (Acts 17:30). At the conclusion of Judgement Day, the wicked “will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life” (Matt. 25:46).

                Now we are in a position to interpret Revelation 20, the only place in the Bible which mentions the millennium – the 1000 year-reign of Christ. We must interpret Revelation 20 in light of the rest of the NT (not the other way around). Since the rest of the NT says that there are only two ages – “this present age and the age to come eternal life” (Luke 18:30), it follows that the millennium must fit in somehow with Christ’s present reign in heaven. It is not a violation of Scripture to interpret the number 1000 symbolically to refer to a long, indefinite time period (Deut. 7:9; Joshua 23:10; Psalm 50:10). Regardless, we are called to comfort one another with Christ’s promised return and to confess together, “Even so, come, Lord Jesus!” (Rev. 22:20).

NOTE: These Posts were written and  designed as bulletin inserts by Pastor David Fagrey of the Grace Reformed Church of Rapid City, SD .  

Link to this blog entry as a bulletin insert:  Reformation 500 HC QAs 50-52

For a double-sided PDF for easy printing: Reformation 500 Week 19

Official Seal of  the RCUS

This is the seal of the Reformed Church of the United States (RCUS).  As you can see its history goes back to 1748, when the RCUS began.  We celebrate with the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation we praise God for what is probably the most amazing spiritual revival in the history of the world.

Page on Omaha Reformed Church's Website: Links to all Bulletin Inserts.

REFORMATION 500 WEEK 18: HEIDELBERG CATECHISM, QUESTIONS 46-49

Reformation 500 WEEK 18: Heidelberg Catechism, QUESTIONS 46-49

[No Reformation History this week due to the length of the Catechism explanation]

Question 46: WHAT DO YOU UNDERSTAND BY THE WORDS, “HE ASCENDED INTO HEAVEN”? That Christ, in the sight of His disciples, was taken up from earth into heaven, and continues there in our behalf until He shall come again to judge the living and the dead.

Question 46 begins to explain the biblical basis of article 6 of the Apostles’ Creed: “He ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.” “After Christ had given many infallible proofs to His apostles of His resurrection from the dead, and of His true humanity, He ascended into heaven, in the sight of His disciples, on the 40^th day after His resurrection [Acts 1:3-9]” (Ursinus, 242). “And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven” (Acts 1:10-11; cf. Phil. 3:20).

Heaven is said to be God’s “dwelling place” (1 Kings 8:30); not that He is contained or confined there (He is everywhere), but because it is there that He especially manifests His glory and presence to the angels and to “the spirits of just men made perfect” (Heb. 12:23). Heaven is a real place (“I go to prepare a place for you”) – high above and outside the visible universe. God created things “visible and invisible” (Col. 1:16). Christ “ascended far above all the heavens” (Eph. 4:10). He has entered “into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us” (Heb. 9:24).

Question 47: But is not Christ with us even unto the end of the world, as He has promised? Christ is true man and true God. According to His human nature He is now not on earth, but according to His Godhead [i.e. divine nature], majesty, grace, and Spirit, He is at no time absent from us.

Christ ascended into heaven according to His resurrected and glorified human nature, not according to His divine nature, “for this was already in heaven before His ascension…. Cyprian says, ‘The Lord ascended into heaven, not where the Word of God had not been before…but where the Word made flesh did not sit before’.” (Ursinus, 243-44). Therefore, when Christ said, “I go away,” or “I leave the world,” He was speaking according to His human nature; and when He said, “I am with you always,” He was speaking according to His divine nature.

Question 48: But if His human nature is not present wherever His divine nature is, are not, then, the two natures of Christ separated from one another? Not at all, for since the divine nature is incomprehensible and everywhere present, it must follow that it is indeed beyond the limits of the human nature which it has assumed, but it is yet nonetheless in the human nature also, and remains personally united to it.

Christ’s everywhere present divine nature remains personally united to His finite human nature in heaven: “these two natures are so closely united in one Person that they were not separated even by His death (Belgic Confession, article 19). The writers of the Catechism were careful to maintain the historic position of the Christian church, stated in the creed of Chalcedon: “the two natures subsist in the single person of Christ, without confusion, without change, without division, without separation.”

Question 49: WHAT BENEFIT DO WE RECEIVE FROM CHRIST’S ASCENSION INTO HEAVEN?  First, that He is our Advocate in heaven [1 John 2:1]. Second, that we have our flesh in heaven as a sure pledge, that He as the Head, will also take us, His members, up to Himself [Eph. 2:6]. Third, that He sends us His Spirit as an earnest [guarantee], by whose power we seek those things which are above, where Christ sits at the right hand of God, and not things on earth [Col. 3:1-2].

The first benefit of Christ’s ascension is He is our Advocate in heaven. “If anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1 John 2:1). An advocate is an intercessor, one who pleads in behalf of another. When we sin as believers, Christ does not plead our innocence or temporary insanity or extenuating circumstances. Rather, as part of His priestly office He makes intercession for us by pleading His perfect sacrifice for our sins: “the blood of Jesus Christ God’s Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). “Christ presents before the Father the very body and soul in which our sins were completely punished and paid for, in order that the Father, by virtue of the one sacrifice accomplished in Christ’s body and soul, might turn away His anger from our sin” (Casper Olevianus, A Firm Foundation, page 79).

                The second benefit of Christ’s ascension is that it is a guarantee that when we die, Christ will take our souls up to Himself in heaven (Luke 16:22; 2 Cor. 5:8). As our only High Priest, Jesus ascended into heaven to bring us free from all sin into God’s Most Holy Presence (Heb. 9:12; 10:19)! Jesus said to His disciples, “I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself; that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:2-3). The fact that we are inseparably united to Christ in heaven (Eph.1:23; 5:30) means that we already possess heaven in Christ our Head and Brother (Eph. 2:6); “for if He who is our Head has ascended, we also, who are His members, shall certainly ascend” (Ursinus, 252).

The third benefit of Christ’s ascension is that He has “sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee” (2 Cor. 1:22) – a “guarantee of our inheritance” (Eph. 1:14; cf. 1 Pet. 1:4). The Spirit’s presence in our hearts is like a down payment that one day we believers will receive our full inheritance – which is to see Jesus face to face. Jesus had to convince His discouraged disciples that it was to their advantage that He go away to the Father, so that He could send them the Holy Spirit (John 16:7) – not only to give them a fuller revelation of Jesus as the crucified, risen, and ascended Lord-Messiah (John 14:17-24), but also to pour out His Holy Spirit upon all His elect in all nations and bring them all into heavenly joy and glory (Acts 2:17). By the Spirit’s power we seek “those things which are above” (Col. 3:1) – we seek to keep our eyes on Jesus in heaven (Heb. 12:2), to obey His Word out of thankfulness for salvation, until the day He takes us up to Himself. Jesus desires us and all His elect to be with Him where He is (John 17:24); and by the Spirit’s grace we do too (Acts 7:59)! 

NOTE: These Posts were written and  designed as bulletin inserts by Pastor David Fagrey of the Grace Reformed Church of Rapid City, SD .  

Link to this blog entry as a bulletin insert:  Reformation 500 HC QAs 46-49

For a double-sided PDF for easy printing: Reformation 500 Week 18

Official Seal of  the RCUS

This is the seal of the Reformed Church of the United States (RCUS).  As you can see its history goes back to 1748, when the RCUS began.  We celebrate with the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation we praise God for what is probably the most amazing spiritual revival in the history of the world.

Page on Omaha Reformed Church's Website: Links to all Bulletin Inserts.

REFORMATION 500 WEEK 17: HEIDELBERG CATECHISM, QUESTION 45

Reformation 500 WEEK 17: Heidelberg Catechism, QUESTION 45

Question 45: WHAT BENEFIT DO WE RECEIVE FROM THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST? First, by His resurrection He has overcome death, so that He might make us partakers of the righteousness which He has obtained for us by His death. Second, by His power we are also now raised up to a new life. Third, the resurrection of Christ is to us a sure pledge of our blessed resurrection.

     Question 45 explains the biblical basis of article 5 of the Apostles’ Creed: “The third day He arose from the dead.” The core of the gospel is that “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Cor. 15:3-4). The soul of Christ, which (for three days) had been in the hands of His Father in heaven, truly did return to His body in the tomb and come forth from the grave. His resurrected body was adorned with immortality, no longer subject to the frailties of a human body, but it was still flesh and bones (Luke 24:36-43; John 20:24-29). Christ’s resurrection “is proven by the testimony of angels, women, evangelists, apostles, and other saints, who saw Him, felt Him, and talked with Him after His resurrection [Matt. 28:1-9; 1 Cor.5-8; Acts 1:2-3]” (Ursinus, 233). Even Christ’s enemies could not deny but tried to cover up the fact of the empty tomb (Matt. 28:11-15).

     Christ’s resurrection was a fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy (Psalm 16:8-11; Luke 24:46-47). Christ Himself foretold His own resurrection (Matt. 12:40; 16:21; 26:32). His resurrection proved He truly was the Messiah, the Son of God, who came to give eternal life to all who believe in Him (John 20:30-31; Rom. 1:1-4).  

     Christ rose from the dead to give us believers the benefits which He obtained for us by His death. The first benefit is justification (which will be explained more fully in Question 60). Christ “was raised for our justification” (Rom. 4:25). Justification is God’s verdict that we are forgiven the eternal penalty of sin and accepted as righteous on the basis of the righteousness of Christ imputed to us (Rom. 4:1-8; 22-24). We are justified the moment God works true faith in our hearts (Rom. 3:28). 

     The second benefit of Christ’s resurrection is that by the power of His Holy Spirit we are regenerated (born again), that is, raised spiritually from the dead, which is exactly why we believe in Jesus (Eph. 2:8), and confess our sins to God (1 John 1:9), and desire to please God out of thankfulness for our salvation (Rom. 6:4). “And you God made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins” (Eph. 2:1; cf. John 3:3).

     The third benefit of Christ’s resurrection is that it guarantees our physical bodies will also be raised from the dead (Rom. 6:5; 1 Cor. 15:20-23). Our salvation includes both soul and body. Both soul and body belong to our faithful Savior Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 6:19-20). “He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies” (Rom. 8:11). Since we still have to suffer death in our body, we “who have the first-fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for … the redemption of our body” (Rom. 8:23). Our resurrected body will be like Christ’s resurrected body (this will be explained more fully in Question 57). “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body” (Phil. 3:20-21).

NOTE: These Posts were written and  designed as bulletin inserts by Pastor David Fagrey of the Grace Reformed Church of Rapid City, SD .  

Link to this blog entry as a bulletin insert:  Reformation 500 HC QAs 45

For a double-sided PDF for easy printing: Reformation 500 Week 17

Official Seal of  the RCUS

This is the seal of the Reformed Church of the United States (RCUS).  As you can see its history goes back to 1748, when the RCUS began.  We celebrate with the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation we praise God for what is probably the most amazing spiritual revival in the history of the world.

Page on Omaha Reformed Church's Website: Links to all Bulletin Inserts.