REFORMATION 500 WEEK 46: HEIDELBERG CATECHISM QA 120-121

Reformation 500 WEEK 46: Heidelberg Catechism QA 120-121

Question 120: Why did Christ command us to address God THUS: “Our Father”? To awaken in us at the very beginning of our prayer that childlike reverence for and trust in God, which are to be the ground of our prayer, namely, that God has become our Father through Christ, and will much less deny us what we ask of Him in faith than our parents refuse us earthly things.

Christ commands us who believe in Him to call God Father, that at the very beginning of our prayer we may remember the ground or foundation of our prayer: “that the eternal Father of our Lord Jesus Christ…is for the sake of Christ, His Son, my God and my Father [John 20:17]” (Q&A 26); and, therefore, that we may pray the way God’s adopted children should pray: with childlike reverence for and trust in God. “A son honors his father…If then I am the Father, where is My honor?” (Mal. 1:6). “Or what man is there among you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? …If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him” (Matt. 7:9, 11).

Christ directs us to say our Father, and not my Father, first, “that He may excite in us a confidence of being heard: for since, we do not pray alone, but seeing that the whole church unites its voice with ours, God will not reject the prayers of the whole church, but hears them, according as it is said: ‘Where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them’ [Matt. 18:20] …. Second, that He might admonish us to mutual love. Christians possessing mutual love should pray for one another [1 John 5:1-2]” (Ursinus, 628).

God has always been the Father of His chosen people. “I am a Father to Israel” (Jer. 31:9). OT believers were also called the children of God (Ex. 4:22); and they called God “Father.” “You, O LORD, are our Father” (Isaiah 63:16). “Blessed are You, LORD God of Israel, our Father, forever and ever” (1 Chron. 29:10).

Question 121: Why is it added: “in heaven”? That we might have no earthly thought of the heavenly majesty of God, and from His almighty power expect all things necessary for body and soul.

The fact that God is said to be “in heaven” does not mean He is confined there. God is everywhere. Solomon prayed, “Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You” (1 Kings 8:27). God is said to dwell in heaven because heaven is like a royal palace where God manifests His glory and majesty in a more glorious way than He does on earth. Therefore, when we pray to our Father in heaven, we must remember that He is not an earthly father. He is not the man upstairs. We are not even to think of our Lord Jesus Christ in earthly terms (2 Cor. 5:16). God is eternal and all-powerful, infinitely higher and greater than the greatest earthly father. Our earthy parents make lots of mistakes, and they cannot love us perfectly. But our heavenly Father never makes a mistake. His love is unfailing and everlasting (Jer. 31:3)! “Being in heaven and being God, our Father can give us all things necessary for body and soul through Jesus Christ; and we can confidently expect Him to do so. Nothing is too hard for Him” [Gen. 18:14; Ps. 103:19; 115:3; Luke 2:37]” (Jones, Study Helps, 309).

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 120-121

For a double-sided PDF for easy printing: Reformation 500 Week 46

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 43 KNOX REFORMS SCOTLAND

Reformation 500 WEEK 43    KNOX REFORMS SCOTLAND

After bloody Mary came to the English throne, John Knox fled for his life; and “ended up as co-pastor of the English refugee congregation in Calvin’s Geneva,” which he said was “the happiest period of his life” (Needham, 2000 years, 3:407). In 1558 he wrote his first revolutionary book, in which he argued that “female rule…contradicted both the law of nature and God’s revealed law in Scripture, and female rulers must be deposed. The treatise was aimed chiefly against Mary Tudor [bloody Mary];” but “soon after the book’s publication, Mary Tudor died and was succeeded by a female Protestant sovereign, Elizabeth [who helped to make England a Protestant country again]. Knox’s book alienated Elizabeth badly,” and “also outraged most Protestants,” including Calvin who “had its sale in Geneva banned” (Ibid. 408). On the whole, Calvin and Knox were on the same page. Knox judged Geneva to be “the most perfect school of Christ that ever was in the earth since the days of the apostles.”

In 1559, Knox returned to Scotland, “determined to do for his country what Calvin had done for the city of Geneva” (Nichols, Reformation, 97). “In May, after he preached a fiery sermon that making images of Jesus, God, and saints and praying to them is against the Bible, his listeners became so energized that they started to destroy all the pictures and statues in the church. The same thing happened in other cities. Soon there was an actual war, and Mary Guise [who was ruling Scotland for her sixteen-year-old daughter Mary Stuart who was also Queen of France] had to ask France to send more troops to help her. Seeing they could easily be outnumbered, the Protestant lords asked England to come to their rescue…. Finally, in March 1560, the English army came to the rescue and defeated the French in battle” (Simonetta Carr, John Knox, 37, 40). In June Mary of Guise died. On August 17, “the Scottish Parliament decreed a change of religion. Protestantism instead of Catholicism was made the religion of the country. A Calvinistic confession of faith, largely the work of John Knox, was adopted. The pope’s authority and all jurisdiction was abolished and the celebration of the mass was forbidden” (Kuiper, Church in History, 217). In January 1561, Parliament approved Knox’s Book of Discipline, which introduced Presbyterian church government modeled after Calvin’s system in Geneva, where each congregation is governed by elders (presbyters), elected from its own membership. “For the conduct of public worship Knox prepared a Book of Common Order. To a great extent this order of worship was based on the form for public worship used by the church of English refugees in Geneva. That in turn was based on the form designed by Calvin. This form of worship consisted in prayer, reading of Scripture, the sermon, congregational singing, and the taking up of an offering” (Kuiper, 218-219).

Mary Stuart, Scotland’s lawful queen, arrived in August 1561. Her attempt to obtain freedom to practice her catholic faith was vigorously opposed at every step by Knox, who “affirmed in a sermon that one mass was more dreadful than an invasion of Scotland” (Needham, 3:420). Knox was summoned into Mary’s presence four times, and each time “got the better of the queen,” even once “reducing her to hysterical tears by his forthright no-nonsense commitment to a Protestant Scotland in which the idolatry of the mass could have no place” (Ibid. 421). 

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 Knox Reforms Scotland

For a double-sided PDF for easy printing: Reformation 500 Week 43

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 43: HEIDELBERG CATECHISM QA 112

Reformation 500 WEEK 43: Heidelberg Catechism QA 112

Question 112: What does the ninth Commandment require? That I bear false witness against no one, twist no one’s words, be no backbiter or slanderer, join in condemning no one unheard or rashly; but that on pain of God’s heavy wrath, I avoid all lying and deceit as the very works of the devil; and that in matters of judgment and justice and in all other affairs, I love, speak honestly, and confess the truth; also, insofar as I can, defend and promote my neighbor’s good name.

     The Ninth Commandment, “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor,” is designed for “the establishment and preservation of truth amongst men… for the glory of God and the safety of our neighbor” (Ursinus, 600-601). Behind this command is the fact that God Himself is “a God of truth and without iniquity” (Deut. 32:4); “it is impossible for God to lie” (Heb. 6:18). God created mankind in His image to imitate Him by thinking, speaking, and practicing the truth. Mankind fell by believing Satan’s lie, “You shall not surely die.” Mankind is saved by believing the truth: “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31). Jesus said, “I am the truth” (John 14:6). When God redeems us from sin through faith in Jesus Christ, He gives us a love for truth and a hatred of lies: “lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who deal truthfully are His delight” (Prov. 12:22). Therefore, by the work of the Holy Spirit, “a righteous man hates lying” (Prov. 13:5). But the habit of lying, like every sinful habit, is hard to break. Therefore, Paul tells Christians, “putting away lying, let each of you speak truth with his neighbor” (Eph. 4:25). When we lie, we imitate the devil, who is “the father of lies” (John 8:44). All liars will suffer God’s eternal wrath in hell (Rev. 21:8). Believers will suffer God’s loving discipline. God disciplined Jacob by allowing him to be deceived – first by his uncle Laban; and then by his own sons who led him to believe that Joseph had been killed by a wild animal.

     “The reputation and honor of our neighbor is his sacred right [Prov. 22:1]; and it is a grave sin to tear down his reputation and good name by speaking lies [25:18], or even by speaking unkindly about him” (Jones, Study Helps, 280). To twist someone’s words means “so changing the words of another person that a wrong message is given [Psalm 56:5] ….  Backbiting is speaking behind a person’s back in an evil and hurtful manner (even though truthful facts are reported), so that injury is done. Slander is telling things about another person which we know to be untrue.” Joining in condemning another person unheard or rashly refers to “believing a lie on insufficient evidence [Prov. 18:13] …. We must warn others who tell us questionable things that they must beware of gossip [Prov. 18:8]. Even if we know something evil about another person, we are not to speak of it to others before first approaching the person privately and seeking his repentance – in which case, we should forget the matter and not repeat it to others [Matt. 18:15]” (Jones, 280-81); “nor are those lies which are uttered for politeness sake, excused, because we may not do evil, that good may come…. God did not bless [the Hebrew midwives] because they lied, but because they feared Him and would not slay the children of the Israelites [Ex. 1:15-21]” (Ursinus, 601-602).

     God told Joshua to use military deception in defeating Ai (Joshua 8:1-26). May we say that Rahab’s lie was a form of military deception, since she chose Israel’s side in the war on Jericho? What about those who hid Jews in Nazi Germany?

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 QA 112

For a double-sided PDF for easy printing: Reformation 500 Week 43

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 42: HEIDELBERG CATECHISM QA 110-111

Reformation 500 WEEK 42: Heidelberg Catechism QA 110-111

 Question 110: What does God forbid in the eighth Commandment? God forbids not only such theft and robbery as are punished by the government, but God views as theft also all wicked tricks and devices, whereby we seek to get our neighbor’s goods, whether by force or by deceit, such as unjust weights, lengths, measures, goods, coins, usury, or by any means forbidden of God; also, all covetousness and the misuse and waste of His gifts.

                The Eighth Commandment, “You shall not steal,” is designed for “the preservation of the property or possessions which God has given to every one for the support of life” (Ursinus, 595). Behind this commandment is the fact that “all property – the world itself – belongs first of all to God the Creator: ‘the earth is the LORD’s, and all its fullness” (Psalm 24:1). The Lord God gives His property to men as a sacred trust, and each person who owns property is responsible to use his property to serve God…. Never may we call our property or money absolutely our own, any more than our bodies and souls are our own, for it all belongs to our faithful Savior. We are always stewards or caretakers of God’s possessions…. All that we possess has been given to us by God to be used for His glory [Matt. 25:14-30]” (Jones, Study Helps, 274). “Behold, all souls are Mine” (Ezek. 18:4). “The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine, says the LORD of hosts” (Haggai 2:8). Daniel rebuked wicked King Belshazzar: “you have praised the gods of silver and gold, bronze and iron, wood and stone, which do not see or hear or know; and the God who holds your breath in His hands and owns all your ways, you have not glorified” (Dan. 5:23). The Lord rebuked the wicked servant who buried his talent: “you ought to have deposited My money with the bankers, and at My coming I would have received back My own with interest” (Matt. 25:27).

                If the steward mismanages the owner’s property or money it is stealing. If we misuse and waste God’s gifts we steal from God, by robbing Him of the glory He would have received had we used our gifts in His service (Eph. 6:5-8). Tithing is a reminder of stewardship, which is why God says that if we do not tithe we are stealing from Him. “Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, in what way have we robbed you? In tithes and offerings” (Malachi 3:8).

To steal from our neighbor is also to steal from God, for God has given our neighbors everything they have to be used for His glory. Therefore, “the private ownership of property is a divine right. Property belongs to persons and no one has the right to take another person’s property ‘by force or by deceit.’ … Six deceitful ways of stealing from our neighbor are listed here: unjust weights, lengths, measures, goods, coins, usury are mentioned. Weights, lengths, and measures refer to business honesty. Unjust coins refer to counterfeit coins (coins made of a cheap metal which are passed off as precious metal) or clipped coins (a piece shaved of silver and gold coins, a trick often practiced in the Middle Ages). ‘Usury’ is charging excessive interest on money loaned to another person, or charging any interest on a loan to a Christian brother in need (Leviticus 25:35-36). The book of Proverbs has many statements about dealing honestly and justly with our neighbor. ‘Dishonest scales are an abomination to the LORD, but a just weight is His delight” (Prov. 11:1; cf. 13:11; 14:23; 20:10; Isaiah 1:22-23).… Other forms of cheating are false advertising (television has much of this!), receiving stolen goods (Prov. 29:24), not paying one’s debts, not paying wages (Lev. 19:13; James 5:4), and gambling … (Prov. 13:11; 16:8; 2 Thess. 3:10-12)” (Jones, Study Helps, 275).

“The right of private property, under God, is the foundation of the economic system called ‘capitalism.’ Freedom and private property are required by God’s Word for man’s societal life. The United States of America was founded by men who were steeped in these moral teachings of Scripture received from their Reformed and Puritan heritage. They embodied the basic principles of private property, economic freedom, and honest money (money with real value) into our basic law, the United States Constitution. Ungodly men have tried to do away with the Eighth Commandment” in exchange for a society in which “the government takes over the land, the property, and businesses with the promise to ‘help the poor.’ This ungodly kind of government is called Socialism or Communism or the Welfare State. It has been tried many times in history,” with the same results: “the persecution of the church and the enslavement of the people to godless dictators…. It is the duty of government to protect your rights, not take them away by confiscating property, imposing excessive taxes, and curtailing your right to work how and where you wish, by government restrictions. King Ahab sinned against God by taking away Naboth’s vineyard (1 Kings 21), and King Rehoboam sinned by taxing the people too heavily (1 Kings 12:3-4, 14, 16)” (Ibid.).

Many socialists argue that the Bible endorses the common ownership of property in Acts 4:32: “the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common.” But the Bible goes on to make it clear that this practice was voluntary. After Ananias and his wife lied about how much money they gave to the common storehouse, Peter said to them, “While [the land] remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control” (Acts 5:4).

Question 111: But what does God require of you in this Commandment? That I further my neighbor’s good where I can and may, deal with him as I would have others deal with me, and labor faithfully, so that I may be able to help the poor in their need.

Stealing begins with greed in our heart (Mark 7:22), with a desire to take instead of to give. The biblical cure for stealing is to ask the Lord Jesus for forgiveness and for spiritual renewal, so we learn the true meaning of His words, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 22:35). God ordained work as a means to provide for our needs (Prov. 13:11; 14:23; 1 Tim. 5:8; 2 Cor. 12:14), and to give to others who are in need. “Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give to him who has need” (Eph. 4:28; cf. Prov. 13:22; 19:17; 2 Thess. 3:10).

As believers, we are learning to be faithful stewards, working for God’s glory, putting off our greed and putting on hard work and generosity. We are learning to fight against the desire to be rich (1 Tim. 6:9-10); and if we are rich we are learning not to “trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy.” We are learning to “be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share” (1 Tim. 6:17-18). God’s grace is teaching us to treat others the way we want to be treated (Matt. 7:12).

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 QA 110-111

For a double-sided PDF for easy printing: Reformation 500 Week 42

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 35: HEIDELBERG CATECHISM QA’S 96-98

Reformation 500 WEEK 35: Heidelberg Catechism QA’s 96-98

Question 96: What does God require in the second Commandment? That we in no way make any image of God, nor worship Him in any other way than He has commanded us in His Word.

In the first commandment, the true God commanded that He alone should be worshipped. In the second commandment, He requires us to worship Him in a way that “is pleasing to Him, and not with such worship as that which is according to the imagination and device of man [Acts 17:29]” (Ursinus, 517). When the Israelites made the golden calf, they were not intending to worship another god, but rather they proclaimed “a feast to the LORD [Yahweh]” (Ex. 32:5). They worshiped the LORD with an image. Having spent over 400 years in Egyptian bondage, the Israelites got the idea of making a bull from the Egyptians who thought the bull was a good representation of divine power. Like all pagans, they believed that by honoring the image, the god’s power and blessing would flow to them from the image. Listen to the pagans as they speak for themselves: ‘who but a perfect child considers these idols to be gods?’ ‘Rather, we worship the gods by them.’ ‘I worship not this visible thing, but the divinity dwelling there invisibly.’ (quoted by Turretin, 2:55).

The LORD repeatedly warned Israel not to worship Him the way the other nations did (Deut. 12:2-4, 29-32). “You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way…. Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it nor take away from it” (Deut. 12:31-32; cf. 1 Cor. 10:20). God has not left us free to worship Him as we think best. God has revealed what pleases Him in Scripture (Matt. 15:9). For this reason, our love to God through Jesus Christ should lead us to worship Him the way He requires in Scripture. “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth [sincerely in accord with the truth of His Word]” (John 4:24). 

The reason why images of God are forbidden is because God cannot be imaged. God is infinite, “the heaven of heavens cannot contain” Him (1 Kings 8:27). “God is Spirit” (John 4:24), “dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen nor can see” (1 Tim. 6:16; cf. Ex. 33:20; John 1:18). “To whom then will you compare God? Or what likeness will you compare to Him?” (Isa. 40:18). Therefore, “you shall not make any likeness of anything…” (Ex. 20:4). All images of God are lies and detract from His glory (Hab. 2:18).

                What about pictures of Jesus? Jesus said, “all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father” (John 5:23). If it is wrong to make an image of God the Father it is equally wrong to make an image of God the Son! He is not just a man. He is also infinite God. “No man ever spoke like this Man!” There was no attempt by the apostles to make a portrait of Jesus, or to put on a passion play (cf. 2 Cor. 5:16; Rev. 1:14-16)! When pictures of Christ were first introduced they were condemned by the church fathers. The Council of Elvira (AD 306) declared: “there ought not to be images in a church, that what is worshipped and adored should not be depicted on the walls.” As late as AD 754, the 7^th ecumenical council decreed “no images of Christ should be painted or graven, not even as it respects His human nature; because nothing but His humanity could be expressed by art; and those who make such images, seem to establish again the error of Nestorius, or Eutyches” (Ursinus, 527).

The reformation sought to return to the basic principles of worship as practiced in the early church, which was modeled after the Jewish synagogue. “The first Christians [were Jewish believers and] took over many of the worship traditions of the synagogue. They did not take over the rich and sumptuous ceremonial of the Temple, but rather the simpler synagogue service, with its Scripture reading, its sermon, its prayers, and its psalmody” (Hughes Oliphant Old, Worship, 43). The “highest worship of God is to hear Him speaking by human lips, and to yield subjection to His Word” (Calvin). “The best and true ornament of our churches is the pure and unadulterated doctrine of the gospel, the lawful use of the sacraments, true prayer, and worship in accordance with God’s Word” (Ursinus, 533).

Question 97: May we not make any image at all? God may not and cannot be imaged in any way; as for creatures, though they may indeed be imaged, yet God forbids the making or keeping of any likeness of them, either to worship them or to serve God by them.

The Second Commandment “does not absolutely forbid us to make, or to have images, likenesses and statues, because the art of painting, sculpture, casting and embroidery, is reckoned among the gifts of God which are good and profitable to human life, and God Himself had certain images placed in the tabernacle (Ex. 31:3; 35:30) and Solomon had upon his throne images of lions, and had figures of palm-trees and cherubim carved upon the walls of the temple by the command of God (1 Kings 6:23, 29; 10:19-20)” (Ursinus, 526). But those images were part of the structure, not part of the worship, of the temple; and they passed away with the passing away of OT worship. God does not want us to use man-made religious images in our worship of Him. God has given us images of His own choosing: baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Not even a cross is to be considered a sacred symbol. If you want to have a cross for decoration, or wear one around your neck, that’s fine, just so long as you don’t superstitiously think that a cross is necessary for a person or a Church to be Christian.

Question 98: But may not pictures be tolerated in churches as books for the people? No, for we should not be wiser than God, who will not have His people taught by dumb idols, but by the lively preaching of His Word.

The Medieval Church used pictures, statutes and relics, rather than the Bible, to instruct its members. The reformers learned from the Bible that the way to instruct people concerning Christ is to preach Christ to them from the Bible and to teach them to read the Bible for themselves. “Preach the Word!” (2 Tim. 4:2). A picture of a man hanging on a cross tells you nothing about who the man was or why he’s hanging there or why we need to believe in him. Pictures do not teach truths. This is why they are called dumb idols. Only words can convey truth. Faith does not come from looking at images, but by the hearing of the word of God (Rom. 10:17). It is the message not the image of the cross that brings salvation. “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Cor. 1:18); “it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe…because the foolishness of God is wiser than men” (1 Cor. 1:21, 25). 

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 96-98

For a double-sided PDF for easy printing: Reformation 500 Week 34

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 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 31: HEIDELBERG CATECHISM QA’S 83-85

Reformation 500 WEEK 31: Heidelberg Catechism QA’s 83-85

Question 83: What is the Office of the Keys? The Preaching of the Holy Gospel and Christian discipline; by these two the kingdom of heaven is opened to believers and shut against unbelievers.

                After Jesus said He would build His church upon the rock (the foundation) of the truth Peter confessed, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God,” He told Peter how He would build His church, “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” (Matt. 16:19). Jesus did not give the keys to Peter only, for what He said to Peter He said to all His disciples: “whatsoever ye [you plural] shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, whatsoever ye loose on earth, shall be loosed in heaven” (Matt. 18:18 KJV). Jesus gave the keys to the whole church, which then elects pastors and elders to use the keys the way He commands in His Word (1 Tim. 3:1-7).

The authority of the keys is described in terms of binding and loosing, which terms were used by the Jewish elders for the authority to interpret and apply God’s law to particular cases, declaring what is permitted and not permitted, who would be admitted into membership and who would not. To bind is to shut or forbid. To loose is to open or permit. The keys of the kingdom are the authority “to make known the will of God by the preaching of the gospel, and church discipline,” “by which the kingdom of heaven is opened to believers, and shut against unbelievers” (Ursinus, 441).

Question 84: How is the kingdom of heaven opened and shut by the preaching of the Holy Gospel? In this way: that, according to the command of Christ, it is proclaimed and openly witnessed to believers, one and all, that as often as they accept with true faith the promise of the Gospel, all their sins are really forgiven them of God for the sake of Christ’s merits; and on the contrary, to all unbelievers and hypocrites, that the wrath of God and eternal condemnation abide on them so long as they are not converted. According to this testimony of the Gospel, God will judge men both in this life and in that which is to come.

The first key is the official preaching of God’s Word by a man properly called and ordained by the church (Luke 11:52). Preachers are ambassadors of Christ (2 Cor. 5:20), who have the authority of Christ to preach what He preached, to proclaim that the kingdom of heaven is open to believers and shut against unbelievers. Believers are forgiven; unbelievers are not forgiven. “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him” (John 3:36); “unless you are converted…you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 18:3). When a minister faithfully declares the message of Christ, Christ uses His own message to save His elect people. Through His Word He opens the door to His kingdom! Peter reported that God “had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles” (Acts 14:27). While Lydia listened to Paul preach the gospel, “the Lord opened her heart” (Acts 16:14). Through His Word He grants assurance to every believer: “be of good cheer, your sins are forgiven you” (Matt. 9:2; cf.1 John 1:9).

“Whenever the gospel of Christ is officially proclaimed by a minister of Jesus Christ, a ‘losing’ and a ‘binding’ take place: there is an opening and a shutting of the door of salvation. All who hear must be clearly informed as to which side of the door they are standing on. True preaching of the Word must clearly show both the marks of the godly, regenerated, forgiven soul and the marks of the hypocrite who still loves sin and is under condemnation” (Norman Jones, Study Helps). As ministers, we “are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and the other the aroma of life leading to life” (2 Cor. 2:15-16).

Question 85: How is the kingdom of heaven shut and opened by Christian discipline? In this way: that, according to the command of Christ, if any under the Christian name show themselves unsound either in doctrine or in life, and after several brotherly admonitions do not turn from their errors or evil ways, they are complained of to the Church or to its proper officers; and, if they neglect to hear them also, are by them denied the holy sacraments and thereby excluded from the Christian communion, and by God Himself from the kingdom of Christ; and if they promise and show real amendment, they are again received as members of Christ and His Church.

The second key is official church discipline. “And surely if no country or city can exist without discipline, laws and punishments, then certainly the church, which is the house of the living God also needs some form of government and discipline” (Ursinus, 442). Christ has given His Church the authority to discipline church members who openly live in sin and are unwilling to repent and abandon their sins (1 Cor. 5). Paul told the church at Corinth, “Put away from yourselves [excommunicate] the evil person” (1 Cor. 5:13). The church “shuts and binds by Christian discipline, when it excommunicates wicked and obstinate offenders, … and it opens and looses, when it again receives [back into membership] the same persons, if they repent” (Ursinus, 441).

The procedure to follow in the case of a private offense is given in Matthew 18:15-18: “if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector [as a last resort the unrepentant church member is excommunicated and treated like any other unbeliever who needs the gospel]. Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven [the authority of heaven stands behind faithful church discipline].” The church’s officers “cannot cast any out of the kingdom of God, but they can and ought to declare the rejection of those whom God declares in His Word that He has rejected [so long as they do not repent]” (Ursinus, 461).

The purpose of discipline is not to lord it over souls (Mark 10:42; 1 Pet. 5:3), but so “that the offender, being thus put to shame [2 Thess. 3:14], may repent [1 Cor. 5:5; Acts 8:18-23], and that such things as bring reproach upon the cause of Christ, may be carefully guarded against [Titus 2:8]” (Ursinus, 442). If sin is not disciplined, then like leaven it will spread and corrupt the whole church (1 Cor. 5:6). 

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 83-85

For a double-sided PDF for easy printing: Reformation 500 Week 31

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 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.