Why Worship Must Be in Spirit and in Truth

"Without regeneration, the most glorious church service ever conducted is rank superstition, and God hates it" (Douglas Wilson, Against the Church, 180).

Muck Boots As Vestments

"... our discussion of clerical garb should always start with the muck boots" (Douglas Wilson, Against the Church, 178).

Life Is Messy

"There are plenty of born again people who wouldn't call it that, and there are plenty of evangelicals who need to get saved. Life is messy" (Douglas Wilson, Against the Church, 176).

Only Two Types of People

"Everyone who is over fifty is very certain to discover within fifty or so years whether he or she is a sheep or a goat, a wheat or a tare, trusting in Jesus or deluded by the devil" (Douglas Wilson, Against the Church, 163).

Baptism

"Baptism is the sign and seal of that which it represents, and one of the things it represents (and thereby signs, seals, and confers) is regeneration. It does this for all worthy receivers, who are identified as such by their evangelical faith. That faith may not appear for many years after an infant is baptized, which is just fine by the Westminster divines, who maintain that the efficacy of baptism is not at all duct-taped to the time of its administration" (Douglas Wilson, Against the Church, 161).

Death - Gift

"Once converted, everything that used to be "law" is now gift, it is now grace. This includes the grace of dying. The privilege of participating in the cross of Jesus is a privilege, it is a gift. Mortification is grace, it is gift, it is goodness. Mortification is a great kindness (Douglas Wilson, Against the Church, 144).

Even A "Churched-Up" Reprobate Is Still A Reprobate

"But the natural man, the unconverted man, the unregenerate man, is the same kind of man whether he is inside the covenant or outside it, with the difference that reprobates inside the covenant have greater condemnation" (Douglas Wilson, Against the Church, 143).

Let the Word of God Serve This Generation and This Hour

"Let us learn from our tradition, let us prize our heritage, let us enter into other men's labours; but let us also know that it is not the tradition of the past, not a precious heritage, and not the labours of the fathers, that are to serve this generation and this hour, but the Word of the living and abiding God deposited for us in Holy Scripture, and this Word as ministered by the church" (John Murray, Collected Works, Vol. 1, 22).

Derived Stability

"But the world is only stable because there is no foundation for stability within it. But once you introduce the Words of God, how gloriously stable it becomes! (Douglas Wilson, Against the Church, 139)

An Excellent Point

"...to reconstruct the gospel so that it will be relevant. This is the capital sin of our generation. . . . But the question for us is: how are we, holding to the sufficiency and finality of Scripture, going to meet the secularism, or whatever else the attitude may be, of this modern man? Here, I believe, we have too often made the mistake of not taking seriously the doctrine we profess. If Scripture is the inscripturated revelation of the gospel and of God's mind and will, if it is the only revelation of this character that we possess, then it is this revelation in all its fulness, richness, wisdom, and power that must be applied to man in whatever religious, moral, mental situation he is to be found" (John Murray, Collected Works, Vol. 1, 21).

Fixed Point

"There can only be one fixed point in the created world, and that is the Word of God" (Douglas Wilson, Against the Church, 137).

Total Dependence

"Our dependence upon Scripture is total. . . . Thus when the church or any of its spokesmen fails to accord to Scripture this eminence, and fails to make it the only rule of faith and life, then the kind of affront offered to Father, Son and Holy Spirit is that of substituting the wisdom of man for the wisdom of God, and human invention for divine institution" (John Murray, Collected Works, Vol. 1, 20).

Do Not Read Hearts... Read the "Story"

"It is not possible for us to read hearts (Luke 8:17), and we ought not to act as though we can. . . . But from these important truths many have concluded (erroneously) that it is not possible for us to read the story we are in. But that is a different thing entirely. . . . We must evaluate the spiritual conditions of those around us, and it is essential for pastors to know how to do this properly" (Douglas Wilson, Against the Church, 125).

Boneyard World. Resurrection World.

"But let us never preach the doctrine of total depravity without also declaring there has been a great earthquake, and that an angel of the Lord has rolled away the stone in front of that imposing doctrine. 'Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more' (2 Cor. 5:16). This is crazy talk, I know. but it is also biblical talk. This whole world, since the sin of Adam, has been nothing but one, vast, pole-to-pole boneyard. Whatever would Jesus do in a world like that? What could He possible do that could transform a world like that? The gospel reply is that He could come back from the dead in it. . . . The sacramental history of the church has consisted of large numbers of people making the same mistake that the Jews here made [see John 8]. Something is given that is wild and heavenly, and we expend all our energies to make it domesticated and earthly. We take the lion of the tribe of Judah--from the upland savannahs of Heaven--and turn it into a tabby cat to keep the bishop's chair warm for him" (Douglas Wilson, Against the Church, 110, 113).

Finality Means This

"This is what the finality of Scripture means for us; it is the only extant revelatory Word of God" (John Murray, Collected Works, Vol. 1, 19).

Criteria to Assess the Infallibility of Scripture

"Unless we assess infallibility in the light of the data with which Scripture provides us, we shall be liable to judge infallibility by criteria to which Scripture does not conform. this is one of the most effective ways of undermining biblical infallibility" (John Murray, Collected Works, Vol. 1, 14).

Both/And - Corporate/Individual

"If our thinking about regeneration begins and ends with the individual, we will drastically misunderstand the nature of God's work in the world. If it never gets down to the individual level, the confusion is just as bad" (Douglas Wilson, Against the Church, 106).

"...Scripture is not a dead word but the living and abiding speech of the Holy Spirit."

"There is one clause in this formulation sometimes misunderstood and mis-applied. It is the clause 'the Holy Spirit speaking in the Scripture'. This does not refer to the internal testimony of 'the Holy Spirit bearing witness by and with the Word in our hearts'. With this the [Westminster] Confession had dealt in section v, which is concerned with the agency by which 'our full persuasion and assurance of the infallible truth and divine authority', of Scripture are induced. But in section x the Confession is dealing with the Scripture as canon, and uses the expression 'the Holy Spirit speaking in the Scripture' to remind us that Scripture is not a dead word but the living and abiding speech of the Holy Spirit" (John Murray, Collected Works, Vol. 1, 16-17).

Uniqueness of Scripture

"Of course, the Scripture is not God and to give Scripture the place of God would be idolatry. Of course, Christ is Christianity and saving relation to him as Lord and Saviour is the only hope of lost men. But the absolute uniqueness of Scripture is not impaired. Scripture is unique, not because it takes the place of God, nor the place of Chrsit, but because of its relationship to God, to Christ, and to the Holy Spirit" (John Murray, Collected Works, Vol. 1, 12).

Corporate and Cosmic Regeneration, and Individual Regeneration

"Our father Adam plunged us into a condition of death. Jesus entered into that Adamic death, and was born again from that death. The apostle Paul quotes the second Psalm ("Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee") and applies it to the resurrection (Acts 13:33). Because Jesus was born again from the dead, everything else can be born again from the dead. . . . Without the resurrection, without the transformation of the heavens and earth, without the reconstitution of the new Israel, there is no such thing as individual regeneration. We do not say that corporate regeneration makes individual regeneration superfluous, but rather we say that corporate and cosmic regeneration makes individual regeneration both possible and mandatory. The world has been reconciled to God through Christ. Therefore, Paul presses the point. Be therefore reconciled" (Douglas Wilson, Against the Church, 104-105).

WCF. VII. Of God's Covenant with Man - 2-3. Q & A

Blogging through and answering the questions from G. I. Williamson's The Westminster Confession of Faith for Study Classes for personal review and comprehension.

Prior posts for WCF. I. Of the Holy Scriptures - Sections 1-10.

Prior posts for WCF. II. Of God, And of the Holy Trinity - Sections 1-3.

Prior posts for WCF. III. Of God's Eternal Decree - Sections 1-8.

Prior posts for WCF. IV. Of Creation - Sections 1-2.

Prior posts for WCF. V. Of Providence - Sections 1-7.

Prior posts for WCF. VI. Of the Fall of Man, of Sin, and of the Punishment Thereof - Sections 1-6.

Prior post for WCF. VII. of God's Covenant with Man - Section 1.

WCF. VII. Of God's Covenant with Man.

Sections 2-3.

1. Why is it proper to speak of the "covenant of works" as a biblical teaching though it is not technically designated as such in Scripture?

It is proper because it is clearly implied in Genesis 2:17, as well as the hypothetical situation raised by Paul in Galatians 3:12, that man in Eden had "the alternative of obedience and life, or disobedience and death" (84).

2. What reasons are given by those who object to speaking of a covenant of works?

It is generally objected for two reasons: first, that it is not formally stated in Scripture (in a syntactical sense), and, second, that this erroneously suggest that the work's of a man would merit (read: necessitate) the blessings of God.

3. What answers may be given to these arguments?

The first argument is not convincing because a great deal of orthodox Christian belief is not "formally stated in Scripture", e.g., the doctrine of the Trinity. The second argument is not convincing because the "Confession carefully guards against the very danger that is being warned about" (84); the terminology of the former covenant (covenant of works) is used to distinguish it from the latter covenant (covenant of grace). Both covenants were sovereignly imposed by God, but the conditions in the former were the obedient works of man, but the latter is not a covenant between God and man, it is a covenant between the persons of the Godhead (a covenant between mutual parties, oftentimes called a parity covenant).

4. What merit has this designation (covenant of works)?

As stated above, the obedient works of man were the conditions (means for) the gracious provisions (covenantal promises).

5. What is meant by saying that the covenant was sovereignly imposed?

God consults Himself and nothing else.

6. State the Arminian conception of the condition of the covenant of grace.

The Arminian conception of the condition of the covenant of grace teaches that Jesus died for all men, i.e., "procured their removal from the covenant of works and introduced them into the provisions of the covenant of grace." In this new arena, salvation is made possible... man can attain eternal life on a "new and easier basis than that of the covenant of works." Why put it that way? Because, according to the former covenant, God required absolute, perfect obedience, but now God requires an abridged version of obedience--faith, repentance, and evangelical obedience. Like the former covenant, rewards and provisions are conferred upon the basis of man's works, but only because Jesus has made this a possibility. Note: salvation according to the Arminian conception is not really a gift of a parity covenant of grace between the persons of the Godhead.

7. State the Reformed conception of the condition of the covenant of grace.

The Reformed conception is that all of the conditions of the parity covenant of grace between the persons of the Godhead are fulfilled explicitly and solely by God! Thus, "the life and salvation offered sinners in the Reformed version of the gospel is actual, because it depends upon God alone not only for the end to be attained, but also for the creation of those attitudes and actions in us that are necessary for receiving of that end" (85). The conditions of the covenant of grace are "conditional only in the sense that it depends upon certain effects of the work of the holy Spirit in the hearts of God's elect," i.e., regeneration, sanctification, etc.

Note the key difference between the two: the Arminian conception of God's plan of salvation for man is merely a possibility, while the Reformed conception of God's plan of salvation for man is an actuality.

Scripture's Self Witness

"On the question of warrant for the proposition that Scripture is infallible, what are we to say? The only ground is the witness of Scripture to itself, to its own origin, character, and authority" (John Murray, Collected Works, Vol. 1, 10).

The Beginning of the Cure

"The regeneration that happens in conversion is a fundamental change, but not an exhaustive one" (Douglas Wilson, Against the Church, 96).

Eternity As Vantage Point

"This vantage of eternity (and only this) gives us genuine perspective of our lives. We may affirm other doctrinal truths alongside this one, but we may never mute or diminish the absolute necessity of the new birth for every son or daughter of Adam. If we lose that battle, we lose the war" (Douglas Wilson, Against the Church, 88).

"This Atmosphere of Moral Fear" Created by the Condemning and All-Destroying Moralism of Progressive Social Justice

R.R. Reno in First Things (March, 2015), again.

Recently, the Mount Holyoke College women's-studies department reported that it will not longer stage an annual performance of The Vagina Monologues, having felt its feminism outflanked by the exclusion of "women" who lack the body part so prominently put forward by the play. The transgendered will feel oppressed! All withers before the condemning and all-destroying moralism of progressives social justice.

It Is About People

"But the antithesis is not a theological form of A and not A. It is not the contrast between right and wrong. it is not between righteousness and unrighteousness. The antithesis divides people--the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent. We are talking about billions of personal names--mothers, fathers, wives, husbands, sons, and daughters" (Douglas Wilson, Against the Church, 87).

Conviction and Loyalty

Insights by R.R. Reno in First Things (March, 2015).

Old-fashioned Marxists read deeply in philosophy and history. an earlier generation of progressives cared about literature. Irving Howe was wrong about political economy, but he knew things. That's not true of today's progressives. They're intelligent and in many respects well trained. But they're de-cultured. And cultural illiterates, however powerful they become, cannot lead. They can only bribe, seduce, intimidate, and coerce.

Great Books and classical education are largely Christian projects in America today. Christian colleges are the institutions most likely to encourage a sustained engagement with Western history, literature, and philosophy. To have an influential and lasting say in the living future, one must have a deep knowledge and love of what one has inherited. That's something that can't be transmitted through TED talks. The authority that comes with cultural literacy won't be superseded by brain science. Which is why we're far more likely to shape the future of the West than are de-cultured secular progressives.

. . .

As radical Islam so clearly shows, the global future we face involves conflicts with convictions, not race, class or gender. This is not a future that secular progressives are well equipped to face. . . . As a result, we cannot count on the de-cultured elites of the West to defend Western culture. (European populists are coming to recognize this.) At the same time, non-Westerners see Western progressivism less as a rival for men's souls than as an attack on all cultures of conviction, including their own. It is paradoxical that today's Western imperialism denies its loyalty to the West, posing instead as a globalized benevolence and universal dispenser of justice.

 We need a global culture of truth, in which conviction and loyalty have scope for their full expression. But this same culture needs to encourage peace. Here we have a great advantage. We have a humility born of our knowledge that original sin limits our grasp of truth and taints our motives for public engagement. The commandment to love our neighbors nurtures civility.

Grace and Grace and Grace . . .

"So what is the relationship of grace to hard, moral effort? Well, hard, moral effort is grace. It is not every grace, but it is a true grace. It is a gift of God, lest any should boast" (Douglas Wilson, Against the Church, 85).

Word and Spirit

"God has not left us to our own resources in the study of his Word. There is the never-failing promise and the ever-present ministry of the Holy Spirit. He is the author of the Word and it is his peculiar prerogative to illumine the Scriptures and to seal its truth upon our hearts" (John Murray, Collected Works, Vol. 1, 8).

A Truth Folks Often Forget

"One does not need an advanced degree--even a high-school degree--to be a good husband and father."   R.R. Reno in First Things (March, 2015).

The Good, and The Bad... Made Manifest

"I have said earlier in these discussions that the works of the flesh are manifest (Gal. 5:19). We know that the works of righteousness are also manifest (John 3:21). All this is simply to say that midnight and high noon are not that difficult to tell apart" (Douglas Wilson, Against the Church, 72).

Word of God

"We do well to peruse our great catechisms and creeds and textbooks and not be carried away by the pedagogical mush to which we are in these days subjected. But if we rely upon such a reservoir of knowledge we are in a dangerous and slippery position. Thought and life are too complex to be adequately met by any such reservoir. The means God has provided for every exigency that may arise the Word of God itself" (John Murray, Collected Writings, Vol. 1, 7).

Honored World

"When the eternal Word of God became a man, He thereby honored the material world and did so in a very permanent way" (Douglas Wilson, Against the Church, 64).

Systematic Theology

"Systematic theology is nothing less than remembering what you read in other passages while you are reading this passage" (Douglas Wilson, Against the Church, 53).

Like Heat from A Stove

"Worldview thinking radiated from him [G.K. Chesterton] like heat from a stove. That is what systematic thinking should look like, but it hardly ever does" (Douglas Wilson, Against the Church, 53).

A Summation of Christian Preaching

Hope thou in God (Psalm 42:11).

Against (Certain Forms) of Tidiness

"In order to speak as the Bible speaks, we must get more comfortable with biblical paradox and less comfortable with the tidiness of our own systems" (Douglas Wilson, Against the Church, 49).\

See Ezekiel 37:11

"Converting unconverted covenant members is something that God specializes in, and we need to be careful not to resist His work by claiming it is somehow unnecessary" (Douglas Wilson, Against the Church, 48).

Conversions and That Which Is Greater Than Conversions Summed

"The church is nothing without individual conversions, but the church is not nothing but individual conversions. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts" (Douglas Wilson, Against the Church, 47).

Assume the Center

"The new life has political results but is not achieved by political means, which, incidentally, includes ecclesiastical politics. The experience of the new life will always, of necessity, be at the very center of God's work in the work, because that is what He is doing here" (Douglas Wilson, Against the Church, 43).

Open Doors

"The most hopeful things in humanity to-day are its restlessness, its intensity, its disgust. These are open doors for the Christian preacher. Corinthian habits, Corinthian words, and all the restlessness of the city, it matters not how it is manifested, create the open door for the evangel of Jesus Christ. What is the Gospel for the corrupt city? The Cross and Resurrection, and none other" (G. Campbell Morgan, The Acts of the Apostles, 434).