WSC Q&A #21

Q: Who is the redeemer of God's elect?
A: The only redeemer of God's elect is the Lord Jesus Christ, who, being the eternal Son of God, became man, and so was, and continues to be, God and man in two distinct natures, and one person, forever. 
Acts 4:12: And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.

Forgive the lateness of this post. It was a busy week, as Troy and I had the privilege of attending the Banner of Truth's annual Minister's Conference at Elizabethtown College. For those unfamiliar with the Banner of Truth, it's a publishing company that works very hard to republish and keep in circulation great writings of the Puritan and Reformed tradition. The conference was on Suffering in the Church, and as a young church plant, as many of you are aware, we've all shared quite a bit in suffering in our young church life. Troy and I were encouraged and lifted up this week as we heard sermon after sermon exalting Christ in our sufferings and callings as ministers of the gospel. It is our prayer that the encouragement and strength we received this week will be passed onto the people of Proclamation so that you too can be encouraged and lifted up by the great hope we have in the gospel. 

But onto this week's catechism. It's another week where there is so much meat packed into a short question and answer! First, we have the truth that Jesus Christ is the only redeemer of God's elect. We live in a world that hates exclusive claims. But the heart of the gospel is that Jesus Christ is the only way to reconciliation with the Father, the only way to eternal life. It flies in the face of our so-called "tolerant" and "inclusive" culture, and yet, it is an inclusive truth! Anyone who calls on the Lord Jesus Christ in faith for the forgiveness of sins, and trusts that he is the only redeemer of mankind, the only way to have the forgiveness of sins and eternal life shall and will be saved! As Troy often says, "Anyone can get in on this!"

Secondly, we get a glimpse into how the Father and Son work together in salvation. Notice that Jesus is called the "redeemer of God's elect". Do not miss this. Each person in the Trinity plays a very distinct role in salvation. The Father elects a people. The Son dies to redeem the elect. And as we'll see in coming weeks as we continue our study in the catechism, the Spirit regenerates and gives new life to those whom the Father elects and the Son redeems. Salvation is an act of the Triune God.

Thirdly, we see in this week's catechism a clear statement of the nature of Jesus Christ. He is the eternal son of God. The Nicene Creed stresses this point, that Jesus Christ is the eternally begotten son of God, "begotten from the Father before all ages". There was never a point where Jesus Christ did not exist, and there was never a time where he did not exist as the Son of the Father. The Father and the Son have enjoyed perfect fellowship with each other from all eternity. Furthermore, Jesus, having come to Earth in the form of a baby, taking on the nature of mankind, is now both fully God and fully man. He retains both his natures. He ascended into Heaven in the flesh, and lives there now as fully God and fully man. "Two distinct natures, and one person, forever."

These are truths that theologians for 2000 years have pondered and debated, and are important in understanding both salvation and the nature of our Lord. They help us understand God's plan to save men. They show us how Jesus Christ could atone for man, being a man himself. But let us not miss the main point of this catechism. Jesus Christ is our only hope in salvation. Jesus Christ is the solution to the fall. He is the solution to our original sin. He is the solution to our sinful actions that flow from our condition in Adam. He is the second Adam, our new federal head. He is the only hope, the only redeemer, the only name under heaven by which we are saved!

WSC Q&A #20

Q: Did God leave all mankind to perish in the estate of sin and misery?
A: God having, out of his mere good pleasure, from all eternity, elected some to everlasting life, did enter into a covenant of grace, to deliver them out of the estate of sin and misery, and to bring them into an estate of salvation by a redeemer. 
Ephesians 1:4-5:  Even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will. 

How much theological weight can one question and answer hold!? In this question, we have both the doctrine of election and the doctrine of the covenant of grace. Both are essential to understanding what we would call the "Reformed" (or Calvinist) faith. These two doctrines-the doctrine of God's sovereign election in salvation and the doctrine of the covenant (Covenant Theology), are at the heart of our understanding of salvation. But beyond that, they are at the heart of understanding the grace of God.

The last few questions of the confession give us little reason to hope. Mankind is fallen. When Adam fell in the garden, the whole of the human race fell with him. We are guilty because Adam's sin is imputed to us. But not only are we guilty on that level. We are also guilty because we sin, and we sin often. We've seen what our sin has cost us. It cost us fellowship with our creator. Instead of living in fellowship and in peace with God, he, because of our sinful state, has turned his face away in wrath, and rightfully so. But here is the turning point in the confession. God did not leave all mankind to perish. He should have. He could have, and it would have been a glorious display of his perfect justice and righteousness. But he didn't. Instead, God, in his grace and mercy, established a new covenant with man. A covenant that was not based upon our obedience, but rather, would be kept by God himself. This covenant was first spoken of in Genesis 3 when God promised that the seed of the woman would bruise the serpent's head. It was spoken of again in Genesis 15 when God made his covenant with Abraham. And again with David. And again with Jeremiah. All throughout the Old Testament, the Covenant of Grace was renewed. It is an everlasting covenant, and one that we can trust because it is one that God himself satisfies completely. Were we to play any role in the covenant, we would have no hope. The covenant would be broken, just as we broke the Covenant of Works. But the Covenant of Grace is upheld by God, fulfilled by our redeemer, our new "Federal Head", the "Second Adam", Jesus Christ, as he lived a life of perfect obedience (thus fulfilling the covenant of works), as he took on death and hell at the cross (taking the punishment we deserve), and rose again from the dead (assuring us that God has found satisfaction in Christ's work on behalf of his people). This grand Covenant of Grace is how God has always saved and redeemed his people. 

But the question is, how does fallen man become part of God's people? How do we become part of this covenant body, this redeemed people of God? We've seen how devastating sin is. Paul would write in Romans 3 about the total effects of the fall. He would write (summarizing several Psalms, Proverbs and passages from Isaiah), "None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one...There is no fear of God before their eyes.” So if that is our true condition, if no one seeks for God or understands, if all have turned aside, if none of us fear God, if we are truly dead in our sins, how is it that we can ever hope to enter into this covenant people? God's sovereign election is the Bible's answer to this. God, in a wonderful act of grace and mercy, has chosen some to everlasting life. We are given faith. We are given eyes to see and ears to understand. We are given a new heart. We are raised from the dead (Eph. 2:4), made alive in Christ, brought into his covenant family.  This is not our own work. This is not the result of a choice we made. Rather, this is the sovereign will of God being worked out in our lives, resurrecting us from the dead so that we can call on Christ as our savior and be brought into God's covenant family. The work of election, God's sovereign predestination of individuals to salvation, to be brought into the Covenant of Grace, is a glorious work of grace and mercy!

This week's catechism is huge. I can't write all that needs to be said on this subject, and no doubt if these are new doctrines for you, you have many questions. We recently had our first New Member's Class at Proclamation PCA. Because of facility limitations and time, we had to go through these teachings very quickly as well. Below are several resources that can help you explore these doctrines much more deeply. Some of these books can be found on the shelves of our church office, and we would be glad to share them with anyone who has interest in reading more.

The Doctrine of Election:
Putting Amazing Back into Grace-Michael Horton
The Doctrines of Grace-James Montgomery Boice

Covenant Theology:
Introducing Covenant Theology-Michael Horton
The Christ of the Covenants-O. Palmer Robertson

WSC Q&A #19

Q: What is the misery of that estate into which man fell?
A: All mankind by their fall lost communion with God, are under his wrath and curse, and so made liable to all miseries in this life, to death itself, and to the pains of hell forever. 
Galatians 3:10: For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, "Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them."

We talked a lot about this already, at least the first point here about losing communion with God. In earlier editions of this blog, I wrote about how, after the Fall, mankind lost perfect communion and fellowship with God, with each other, with creation, and how the effects of the Fall have ruined every single relationship that mankind was supposed to have and enjoy. This week, the question focuses in on the ramifications of the worst of these broken relationships-our communion with God. What has happened to mankind now that we've lost communion with God? We no longer are under God's loving care, but rather, are cursed and under his wrath. 

Yes, God does have wrath. Much has been said lately, even by those who would call themselves "Christians", in attempts to portray God as not having wrath. Many make attempts to make God all love, or grace, or mercy, and God IS those things, but above all else, God is "Holy, Holy, Holy"! His holiness is the root and fountain from which all of his attributes flow. His holiness is what makes him God. And God, being perfectly holy, has holy reflexes towards sin and evil. Holiness cannot tolerate that which is not holy. 

It was a terrible thing for man to lose perfect communion with his fellow man. A terrible loss when we lost communion with the created world. But all of it pales in comparison to losing fellowship with God. Because we chose to rebel, because we chose our will and desires over God's will, because we decided to cloth ourselves in the rags of sin, a holy God had no choice but to remove his beautiful face from us in anger. And the life we were given, a life that was meant to be enjoyed, a life that was meant to be lived in perfect fellowship with God, now has become a life of mourning and sorrow. The catechism talks about us being made "liable to all miseries". All the hardships of this life, the toil and turmoil of the world, of living in this world, even death itself, is a result of our fall. The life God intended to be full of peace and fellowship and rejoicing has become a life of hardship, war, disease, famine, pain, isolation, and death. It is misery upon misery.

  And as hard as this message seems, as hard and terrible as this life is for us, and as terrible as God's wrath may seem, it is all the more heartbreaking, hard, terrible for God. And we will see that in the person of Jesus Christ, when we realize just how far God will have to go to restore us to communion with himself. But for now, we must recognize our condition before a holy God, and recognize what awaits us in this life. 

But God is merciful. And praise God that he is holy, holy holy! Praise him for his wrath and his justice. And praise him for his grace and his mercy. He has spared us, his children, from the wrath we justly deserve, at much cost to himself, and he has not abandoned us to the miseries of this life. 
 

WSC Q&A #18

Q: Wherein consists the sinfulness of that estate into which man fell? 
A: The sinfulness of that estate into which man fell consists in the guilt of Adam's first sin, the want of original righteousness, and the corruption of his whole nature, which is commonly called original sin; together with all actual transgressions which proceed from it. 
Romans 3:10-12: As it is written: None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.
Genesis 6:5: The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 

Okay. This is a lot to digest. Let's take it piece by piece because this is an important doctrine to understand. So important, I believe, that if we don't have a firm grasp on this truth, we will never have a firm grasp on just how gracious, merciful, and miraculous salvation actually is!

The catechism is setting out now to show how deep mankind's fall goes. Just how sinful are we? It works on two levels. First, we are counted as sinful because Adam was sinful. We already talked about the idea of "Federal Headship". In the garden, Adam did not act on his own behalf, but rather, acted on the behalf of the entire human race. His obedience would have been our obedience, and his fall became our fall. Because he sinned, the entire human race was now considered sinful. Not only was it considered sinful, it was sinful because sin entered into humanity through Adam. But not only that, the sin that entered into the human race through Adam is so complete in its damage that it has left NO part of the human being (including our will) untouched. Look at the Romans verse and see how ruined we actually are. We do not do what is right, we do not seek for God, we have all turned away, rebelled against God. All of who we are is touched, tainted, ruined by sin. That is the first level of our sinfulness and guilt The second level is our own actual sins, as the confession says it, "the actual transgressions that proceed". So now, we are not only sinful because of Adam's sin, we are also sinful because of our own sin! What other actions can flow out of a being who's entire core is tainted and ruined by sin!? 

The very definition of what it means to be human in light of the fall is to be sinful and wicked. We are no different from the people in the days of Noah. We must truly grasp and understand this reality. As I said earlier, we will never understand salvation properly if we do not understand our own depravity first. 

WSC Q&A #17

Q: Into what estate did the fall bring mankind?
A: The fall brought mankind into an estate of sin and misery.
Romans 5:18: Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. 

We've already talked about Adam's federal headship over the human race, how when Adam fell, we all fell with him. Sin entered into God's most precious creation, and instead of bringing joy and delight to the Creator, we now stir up his holy wrath and anger and justice. That is the result of us being in an estate of sin.

But the confession this week also talks about an estate of misery. Because the effects of sin aren't just that we are now depraved. Now we must live in this state of depravity. We rebel against God and his law. His law is a law of  love. It tells us how to live in a way that brings glory to God, but it also shows us how we are to live. The law of God is the "better way" to live. But since we rebel against that law, we live in a way that brings us pain and suffering. It's not just that God told us how to live because that's what pleases him, or because he simply doesn't like something. No, God has shown and instructed us how to live because that's how we were originally designed to live. It's what is best for us! And now, we live contrary to the ways in which we were designed. Misery is the result. We were designed to be at peace and in fellowship with God. We rebel against God, and instead bask in the misery of not having fellowship with our creator. We were designed to be at peace and in fellowship with our fellow man. We rebel against that design, and now murder, harm, insult, slander one another. We were designed to be at peace with the natural world around us. We rebel against that design, and now we plunder our natural resources, destroy the created world around us, live in fear of what the elements can do to us at any given moment. Misery everywhere we look. Misery everywhere we turn. And it all stems from sin. It's all a result of the fall of Adam, and our continual rebellion against God. 

In the coming weeks, the catechism will examine even more closely the estate of sin and the estate of misery, particularly the eternal effects of falling from our original estate. I wanted us, though, to take a few minutes to see how our falling from our original estate has had very real consequences not only eternally, but also here and now in this life.

We can take encouragement though, as our Scripture this week foreshadows a great hope. The "second Adam" has indeed come, and by one work of righteousness, he brings life and justification for all of God's people!