Prayer: A Concert of Voices (Craving God's Help)

"When Satan afflicted the early church with fierce persecution, the New Testament church met corporately for prayer until the Lord heard their cries and filled them with boldness to continue preaching (Acts 4:24-31). Acts 4:24 says, "They lifted up their voice to God with one accord." The Greek word used here actually means 'a concert of voices'" (Joel R. Beeke, The Family at Church: Listening to Sermons and Attending Prayer Meetings, 44).

The Puritans on the Covenant of Grace

Westminster Confession of Faith, 7.2, 3. The first covenant made with man was a covenant of works. . . . Man by his fall having made himself incapable of life by that covenant, the Lord was pleased to make a second, commonly called the Covenant of Grace; whereby he freely offereth unto sinners life and salvation by Jesus Christ, requiring of them faith in him, that they may be saved. . . .

Westminster Confession of Faith, 7.5. This covenant was differently administered in the time of the law, and in the time of the gospel: under the law it was administered by promises, prophecies, sacrifices, circumcision, the paschal lamb, and other types and ordinances delivered to the people of the Jews, all fore-signifying Christ to come, which were for that time sufficient and efficacious, through the operation of the Spirit, to instruct and build up the elect in faith in the promised Messiah, by whom they had full remission of sins, and eternal salvation; and is called the Old Testament.

The following excerpt is taken from A Puritan Theology: Doctrine for Life; it is the Conclusion of a chapter titled "The Puritans on the Covenant of Grace." 

A basic grasp of the covenant of grace helps students of Reformed theologians in the Puritan tradition to understand their basic approach to interpreting the Bible. From the very entrance of sin into the world, God revealed His plan for redemption (Gen. 3:15). As that revelation is unfolded and enlarged through successive covenants, the plan of God for the salvation of His people becomes ever more clear. In other words, From Genesis to Revelation salvation remains firmly centered on the person and work of Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit applying the benefits of Christ's redemptive work to those whom the Father has chosen for everlasting life and given to His Son. The covenant of grace is two-sided (dipleuric) in its administration. salvation is trinitarian, involving the three persons of the Trinity. The Holy Spirit brings sinners into union with Jesus Christ by producing faith in the elect. 

Upon believing and receiving forgiveness of sins, believers are instated into covenant with God and required to live a life of holiness in obedience to His commandments. this was as true for Abraham, Moses, or David as for Peter and the apostles, and the same is true for God's people today. For that reason, the covenant of grace unites the people of God into one family, both Jews and Gentiles, all who are partakers of a gracious salvation that was planned in eternity and realized in time. Saints in the Old Testament looked forward to Christ's coming to accomplish His redemptive work, whereas saints in the New Testament and beyond remember and rejoice in that work as wholly accomplished in His death and resurrection. For that reason, Christ assumes the central place in redemptive history, which is nothing but the unfolding of the mystery of the covenant of grace (Joel R. Beeke and Mark Jones, A Puritan Theology: Doctrine for Life, 278).

Poem: This is the Covenant of Grace

A poem by William Geddes (1600-1694) about the Covenant of Redemption, made between the God the Father and God the Son, and the Covenant of Grace, made between (by the mediation of Jesus) the Triune God and Mankind--the poem demonstrates how the former covenant is the ground of the latter covenant.

This is the Covenant of Grace,

Which brings my Soul so sweet solace.

There is a gracious paction

Betwixt the Father and the Son.

 

And by the Son, with Adam's race,

Who should repent, and seek his grace.

The Son unto the Father spake,

I will Man's nature on me take.

 

I will my self a ransom give,

For the Elect that they may live:

Come, Son, (quothe He) if thou do so,

They shall be saved from Hell and woe.

 

The Father to poor man he saith,

If thou believe with saving Faith,

In this my Son I'll give thee peace:

Eternal Love shall thee embrace.

 

(Quoted in Joel R. Beeke and Mark Jones, A Puritan Theology: Doctrine for Life, 257-258.)

 





Know Thyself: Note-Taking or Active Listening?

"Many people find note-taking helpful in retaining the teaching of a sermon. An elderly woman told me, "I take thorough sermon notes. When I bow my knees on Sunday evening, I put my notes in front of me, underline those things that I should strive to put into practice, and then pray through them one at a time." For many people taking notes helps them remember specific ways in which God challenges their hearts. Recognize, however, that note-taking is not for everyone. For some people, writing gets in the way of active listening, because it makes them lose their train of thought. In that case, note taking does more harm than good. Do whatever helps you remember and pray over the sermons you hear" (Joel R. Beeke, The Family at Church: Listening to Sermons and Attending Prayer Meetings, 26).

For example: I have a friend who is an artist. When he takes notes for sermons, he draws illustrations pertaining to the sermon's subject matter, points of application, etc. 

Meditating on Sermons

"Mediation helps us digest truth and personalize it. One sermon properly mediated upon with the assistance of the Holy Spirit will do more good than weeks of unapplied sermons" (Joel R. Beeke, The Family at Church: Listening to Sermons and Attending Prayer Meetings, 28).

Active Listening + Prayer

"As you listen to the Word of God, ask yourself, how does God want me to be different on account of this sermon? Ask what God wants you to know what you did not know before. Ask what truths you are learning that he wants you to believe. And ask how He wants you to put those truths into practice. In every sermon you hear--even those on the most basic gospel-themes--God offers you truths to believe and put into practice. Pray for grace to work at listening" (Joel R. Beeke, The Family at Church: Listening to Sermons and Attending Prayer Meetings, 20-21).

Active Listening

"As you listen to the Word of God, ask yourself, how does God want me to be different on account of this sermon? Ask what God wants you to know what you did not know before. Ask what truths you are learning that He wants you to believe. And ask how He wants you to put those truths into practice. In every sermon you hear--even those on the most basic gospel themes--God offers you truths to believe and put into practice. Pray for grace to work at listening" (Joel R. Beeke, The Family at Church: Listening to Sermons and Attending Prayer Meetings, 20-21).

Teaching Children About Sermons

"Teach your children that every sermon counts for eternity. Salvation comes through faith, and faith comes through hearing God's Word (Rom. 10:13-16). So every sermon is a matter of life and death (Deut. 32:47; 2 Cor. 2:15-16). The preached gospel will either lift us up to heaven or cast us down to hell. It will advance our salvation or aggravate our condemnation" (Joel R. Beeke, The Family at Church: Listening to Sermons and Attending Prayer Meetings, 11-12).

Defense and Demonstration

"As twenty-first-century evangelical Protestants, we must combine our defense of biblical inerrancy with a positive demonstration of the transforming power of God's Word" (Joel R. Beeke, The Family at Church: Listening to Sermons and Attending Prayer Meetings, 5).

Receiving and Seeking the Holy Spirit

"Thou the elect experience the Spirit's regeneration passively as so many dry bones (Ezek. 37:1-14), believers put their trust in the promises of the comfort of the Spirit and pray for Him and His work in them (Gal. 3:2, 14; John 7:37-39; Luke 11:13). Thus believers have a responsibility to seek the Spirit" (Joel R. Beeke & Mark Jones, A Puritan Theology: Doctrine for Life, 111).

Effectual Callings

"The first part of effectual calling is a right hearing of the Word by those who were dead in sin; their minds are illuminated by the Spirit with irresistible truth. The preaching of the Word accomplishes two things [following quotation from William Perkins' Golden Chaine]: 'the Law shewing a man his sin and the punishment thereof, which is eternal death' and 'the Gospel, shewing salvation by Christ Jesus, to such as believe.' Both become so real that 'the eyes of the mind are enlightened, the heart and ears opened, that he [the elect sinner] may see, hear, and understand the preaching of the word of God'" (Joel R. Beeke & Mark Jones, A Puritan Theology: Doctrine for Life, 126).

God's Decree

"His decree determines what shall be done.... For there is nothing higher than his will."

Quotation from William Perkins, The Works of That Famous and Worthy Minister of Christ in the University of Cambridge, Mr. William Perkins (1:723), quoted by Joel R. Beeke & Mark Jones in A Puritan Theology: Doctrine for Life (117).

Predestination

"It is impossible to understand predestination without realizing that God's decrees flow from the inner life of the triune God" (Joel R. Beeke & Mark Jones, A Puritan Theology: Doctrine for Life, 120).

The Love of Christ

"Christ woos and wins His bride in an ever-deepening relationship" (Joel R. Beeke & Mark Jones, A Puritan Theology: Doctrine for Life, 109).

Diligence in Theology

Theology is controversial (you are making statements about God, anthropology, origin of the universe, morality and ethics, etc.), such that it is easy to be misunderstood. If you are going to speak-theology, then you need to put forth your best effort to do so with clarity, i.e., as the idiom goes,  you need to wax eloquent. However, if you're going to listen to someone, you too have a duty to be fair and charitable and put forth an effort to understand them in the best light possible.

Theology is controversial and it is hard work (it requires diligence), e.g., one ought to be nuanced when discussing faith and obedience (works).

Needing to speak with clarity regarding faith and obedience can be illustrated in the writings of William Ames, Puritan born in England in the late 1500s. In his writings, Ames emphasized the "will" of the Christian. He was passionate about maintaining the kinship between Christian thought and action. Because of this emphasis on the "will" of Christians, some (i.e., Kuyper, Kendall) argued that Ames departed "from the mainstream of Reformed Theology" (Joel R. Beeke and Mark Jones, A Puritan Theology - Doctrine for Life, 54). This, however, is not an accurate portrayal, as Beeke and Jones contend, Ames was well within the mainstream of Reformed Theology, but to gather this you must consider the covenantal framework within which Ames emphasized the role of the "will" of Christians.

But Ames, as a faithful son of the Reformation, continued to emphasize that "the final dependence of faith, as it designates the act of believing, is on the operation and inner persuasion of the Holy Spirit" ([The Marrow of Theology] 1.3.12.). . . . The key to properly combining sovereign grace with freely given faith and responsible obedience was to be found in the context of God's covenant. Under the covenant of grace, Ames expounded the harmony of faith and obedience, the gospel of Christ and the Ten Commandments, orthodoxy and orthopraxy. Rather than isolating Ames's statements about the will and crying "voluntarism," we must interpret each of his teachings in the light of his whole theology -- a Reformed theology of heart religion and humble obedience" (54-55)

Theological statements never occur within a vacuum - they always occur within a context that also needs to be examined and accounted for in order to understand the theological statements. Understanding a person's theology, like most things worth doing, takes effort and requires hard work. Like the philosopher Spinoza said, "All things excellent are as difficult as they are rare."

Puritan Hermeneutics and Exegesis

Excerpt from the conclusion to the second chapter ("Puritan Hermeneutics and Exegesis") in A Puritan Theology: Doctrine for Life by Joel R. Beeke and Mark Jones.

Thus, their [Puritan authors like John Owen, Thomas Goodwin, John Howe, Stephen Charnock, etc.] covenantal reading of the Bible, whereby history is divided into two basic covenants (i.e., works and grace) meant that they were consciously reading the Scriptures with a Christ-centered lens, which was seen in their use of typology and, at times, allegory. They rejected the many "sense" of Scripture (i.e., the so-called quadriga), but their writings certainly show that they were often keen to press home the "fuller sense" of certain passages, which may have multiple layers of meanings and was a legitimate application of the literal meaning (sensus literalis). Their view that the Scriptures were internally consistent and that most theological truths had to be gathered out of more than one place in the Bible made the basic principles of the analogy of faith and "good and necessary consequence" [WCF. I.] an indispensable part of their hermeneutic. These principles of interpretation are important, but if reason alone tries to make sense of the mystery of the gospel, a Christian will forever run into error and heresy. Only a Spirit-wrought, supernatural faith will allow a Christian to believe that God had a Son as old as Himself! And yet to come to formulate such a truth a host of interpretative techniques were required (40).