Covenant Protestant Reformed Church
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Covenant Protestant Reformed Church

 

Ballymena

Rev. Angus Stewart

Lord’s Day, 27 September, 2009

 

"Quicken me after thy lovingkindness; so shall I keep

the testimony of thy mouth" (Ps. 119:88)

 

Morning Service - 11:00 AM

Administration of the Lord’s Supper

"He Descended Into Hell"     [download]

Scripture Reading: Isaiah 52:13-53:12

Text: Heidelberg Catechism, Lord’s Day 16

I. Its Meaning

II. Its Author

III. Its Comfort

Psalms: 98:1-9; 37:15-20; 22:13-20; 88:1-9

 

Evening Service - 6:00 PM

Applicatory

Zealous in a Good Cause    [download]

Scripture Reading: Galatians 4

Text: Galatians 4:17-18

I. The Occasion for This Word

II. The Application of This Word

Psalms: 57:5-11; 37:21-25; 119:97-104; 116:9-19

CPRC website: www.cprc.co.uk

CPRC YouTube Site: www.youtube.com/cprcni

Quote to Consider:

Homer C. Hoeksema: "[Christ’s] trespass offering was pleasing to God because a pure, sinless soul was placed on the altar of God’s justice, for the servant of Jehovah is the person of the Son of God in human nature. At the cross the Son of God in our flesh cried out to God, ‘Why hast thou forsaken me?’ What an amazing mystery!" (Redeemed with Judgment, vol. 2, p. 351).

Announcements (subject to God’s will):

After a week of self-examination, confessing members in good standing are called to partake of the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. Your participation in the Lord’s Supper is in part a witness that you repent of your sins, believe that Jesus Christ is your righteousness, and desire to live a new and godly life. As this heavenly food can be taken to one’s judgment (I Cor. 11:28-30) and as the common reception of this food is a confession of doctrinal unity (Acts 2:42), the elders supervise the partaking of the sacrament. Visitors from other denominations must request permission from the Council.

A new Standard Bearer and Rev. Stewart’s bi-monthly letter to the PRC are available on the back table.

The bookstore has copies of Cracks in the Crescent by Hussein Wario, a converted Muslim, available for £7. This book was reviewed in a recent Standard Bearer.

Catechism:

Monday, 7 PM - Campbells at the manse

Tuesday, 7 PM - Jacob and Nathan at the Buchanans

Tuesday, 8 PM - Mark & Lauren at the Hamills

Wednesday, 1 PM - Beginners OT Class at the manse

Midweek Bible study meets on Wednesday at 7:45 PM at the manse. We continue I Peter 3:5-6, on wives submitting (and what to do if your husband errs).

This Thursday at 7:30 PM, Rev. Stewart is to give a lecture on divorce and remarriage at Abbots Cross Congregational Church.

The Reformed Witness Hour next Lord’s Day (8:30-9:00 AM, on Gospel 846MW), is entitled "In Praise of Sovereign Grace (2): Total Depravity" (John 15:4).

The Council meets next week Monday, 5 October, at 7:30 PM at the manse.

Other Upcoming Lectures:

South Wales, Thursday, 15 October, 7:15 PM - Calvin on Justification

Portadown, Friday, 30 October, 7:30 PM - Calvin on Justification

Ballymena, Friday, 6 November, 7:30 PM - Calvin vs. Darwin

Offerings: General Fund: £497.66. Donations: £500 (building), £300 (DVDs), £25 (building), £42.30 (building), £200 (building), £18 (Limerick).

PRC News: Rev. T. Miersma accepted the call to Lacombe (Alberta, Canada). Holland called Rev. Haak (Georgetown, MI). Trinity called Rev. Slopsema (First, MI). Bethel PRC has a trio consisting of Revs. Koole (Grandville, MI), Kuiper (Randolph, WI), and Vander Wal (Redlands, CA). Cornerstone’s new


Martin Luther on Assurance (Excerpts from his Commentary on Galatians 4:6)

VERSE 6. And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts. ... the Holy Ghost is sent forth into the hearts of the believers, as here stated, "God sent the Spirit of his Son into your hearts." This sending is accomplished by the preaching of the Gospel through which the Holy Spirit inspires us with fervour and light, with new judgment, new desires, and new motives. This happy innovation is not a derivative of reason or personal development, but solely the gift and operation of the Holy Ghost.

We ought to have no misgivings about whether the Holy Ghost dwells in us. We are "the temple of the Holy Ghost" (I Cor. 3:16). When we have a love for the Word of God, and gladly hear, talk, write, and think of Christ, we are to know that this inclination toward Christ is the gift and work of the Holy Ghost. Where you come across contempt for the Word of God, there is the devil. We meet with such contempt for the Word of God mostly among the common people. They act as though the Word of God does not concern them. Wherever you find a love for the Word, thank God for the Holy Spirit who infuses this love into the hearts of men. We never come by this love naturally, neither can it be enforced by laws. It is the gift of the Holy Spirit.

The Roman theologians teach that no man can know for a certainty whether he stands in the favour of God or not. This teaching forms one of the chief articles of their faith. With this teaching they tormented men’s consciences, excommunicated Christ from the Church, and limited the operations of the Holy Ghost.

St. Augustine observed that "every man is certain of his faith, if he has faith." This the Romanists deny. "God forbid," they exclaim piously, "that I should ever be so arrogant as to think that I stand in grace, that I am holy, or that I have the Holy Ghost." We ought to feel sure that we stand in the grace of God, not in view of our own worthiness, but through the good services of Christ. As certain as we are that Christ pleases God, so sure ought we to be that we also please God, because Christ is in us. And although we daily offend God by our sins, yet as often as we sin, God’s mercy bends over us. Therefore sin cannot get us to doubt the grace of God. Our certainty is of Christ, that mighty Hero who overcame the Law, sin, death, and all evils. So long as He sits at the right hand of God to intercede for us, we have nothing to fear from the anger of God.

This inner assurance of the grace of God is accompanied by outward indications such as gladly to hear, preach, praise, and to confess Christ, to do one’s duty in the station in which God has placed us, to aid the needy, and to comfort the sorrowing. These are the affidavits of the Holy Spirit testifying to our favourable standing with God.

If we could be fully persuaded that we are in the good grace of God, that our sins are forgiven, that we have the Spirit of Christ, that we are the beloved children of God, we would be ever so happy and grateful to God. But because we often feel fear and doubt we cannot come to that happy certainty.

Train your conscience to believe that God approves of you. Fight it out with doubt. Gain assurance through the Word of God. Say: "I am all right with God. I have the Holy Ghost. Christ, in whom I do believe, makes me worthy. I gladly hear, read, sing, and write of Him. I would like nothing better than that Christ’s Gospel be known throughout the world and that many, many be brought to faith in Him."

 

VERSE 6. Crying, Abba, Father. The fact that the Spirit of Christ in our hearts cries unto God and makes intercession for us with groanings should reassure us greatly. However, there are many factors that prevent such full reassurance on our part. We are born in sin. To doubt the good will of God is an inborn suspicion of God with all of us. Besides, the devil, our adversary, goeth about seeking to devour us by roaring: "God is angry at you and is going to destroy you forever." In all these difficulties we have only one support, the Gospel of Christ. To hold on to it, that is the trick. Christ cannot be perceived with the senses. We cannot see Him. The heart does not feel His helpful presence. Especially in times of trials a Christian feels the power of sin, the infirmity of his flesh, the goading darts of the devil, the agues of death, the scowl and judgment of God. All these things cry out against us. The Law scolds us, sin screams at us, death thunders at us, the devil roars at us. In the midst of the clamour the Spirit of Christ cries in our hearts: "Abba, Father." And this little cry of the Spirit transcends the hullabaloo of the Law, sin, death, and the devil, and finds a hearing with God.

Let the Law, sin, and the devil cry out against us until their outcry fills heaven and earth. The Spirit of God outcries them all. Our feeble groans, "Abba, Father," will be heard of God sooner than the combined racket of hell, sin, and the Law.

The Spirit intercedes for us not in many words or long prayers, but with groanings, with little sounds like "Abba." Small as this word is, it says ever so much. It says, "My Father, I am in great trouble and you seem so far away. But I know I am your child, because you are my Father for Christ’s sake. I am loved by you because of the Beloved." This one little word "Abba" surpasses the eloquence of a Demosthenes and a Cicero.

I have spent much time on this verse in order to combat the cruel teaching of the Roman church, that a person ought to be kept in a state of uncertainty concerning his status with God. The monasteries recruit the youth on the plea that their "holy" orders will assuredly recruit them for heaven. But once inside the monastery the recruits are told to doubt the promises of God.

On every page the Scriptures urge us to believe that God is merciful, loving, and patient; that He is faithful and true, and that He keeps His promises. All the promises of God were fulfilled in the gift of His only-begotten Son, that "whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." The Gospel is reassurance for sinners.

If our opponents are so uncertain about their status with God, and even go so far as to say that the conscience ought to be kept in a state of doubt, why is it that they persecute us as vile heretics? When it comes to persecuting us they do not seem to be in doubt and uncertainty one minute.

Let us not fail to thank God for delivering us from the doctrine of doubt. The Gospel commands us to look away from our own good works to the promises of God in Christ, the Mediator. The pope commands us to look away from the promises of God in Christ to our own merit. No wonder they are the eternal prey of doubt and despair. We depend upon God for salvation. No wonder that our doctrine is certified, because it does not rest in our own strength, our own conscience, our own feelings, our own person, our own works. It is built on a better foundation. It is built on the promises and truth of God.

Let us never doubt the mercy of God in Christ Jesus, but make up our minds that God is pleased with us, that He looks after us, and that we have the Holy Spirit who prays for us.

(For more from Luther on assurance, go to www.cprf.co.uk/quotes/lutherassurance.htm)