Heidelberg Q8 - Wholly incapable - but not hopeless!

The turning point:

Q8: Are we then so corrupt that we are wholly incapable of doing any good, and inclined to all wickedness A: Indeed we are; except we are regenerated by the Spirit of God. Scripture Proofs: Gen.8:21, John 3:6, Gen 6:5, Job 14:4, Job 15:14, Job 15:16, 15:35, Isa 53:6, John 3:3, John 3:5, 1Cor 12:3, 2Cor 3:5

Heidelberg really beats this idea of total depravity to death in the first few questions.  We certainly have a pretty good understanding of this idea by now.  But Q8 also represents the turning point in Heidelberg's exposition of the Gospel.  The turning point from hopeless depravity to hopeful expectation.  It lies in the second part of the answer, "...except we are regenerated by the Spirit of God."

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We are totally depraved, incapable of being in a relationship with God, and incapable of helping ourselves - except the Spirit of God has regenerated us!

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I'm not an expert in English grammar by any stretch, but this does not appear to be subjunctive mood here.  Heidelberg does not say, "...except we be regenerated...," meaning that it's merely possible that the Spirit could regenerate us.  We are confidently confessing our belief and understanding that we are already regenerated by the Spirit of God despite our depravity!

Week Twelve: God's Heart Toward the Lost

Does Christ Grieve for the Lost?

"As He approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it...."   Luke 19:41

At our morning Bible study this week, a question was asked about God's heart toward those that will be judged.  The question had to do with how God can show compassion toward those who will come under His righteous judgment.  After, all, the Bible gives graphic pictures of the Lord's judgment upon sin. And to judge sin is to judge people.

The picture of the Lord's judgment in the last days is given in this way in Matthew 25:41, "Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels."  There is no more fearful word to be heard than this. The Lord Himself says that it is the judgment to be pronounced upon those who are without Christ. In other places, the Bible pictures hell as a place of everlasting darkness, a place weeping and gnashing of teeth, and as a place where the worm never dies. In at time of graphic portrayal of evil and of violence on T.V. and movies, there is no more searching, horrifying picture than what the Bible gives of the eternal punishment of those without Christ.

Yet when Christ approached  Jerusalem on the day that we call "Palm Sunday,"- knowing that He would be crucified, knowing that the city  had rejected the prophets sent to it and now rejected Him - he wept over the city, saying, "If you, even you had only known on this day what would bring you peace - but now it is hidden from your eyes."

Christ went on to speak of the terrible judgment that was to come to that city, a picture of the greater judgment to come to all who are outside of Christ.

He knew the judgment would come, He rode into the city knowing that the hour of his own crucifixion had arrived, and He wept over the city.

Who can know the mind and the heart of our Lord who weeps over those who will know His judgment, and who went into Jerusalem to die in the place of those given to Him by the Father from before the beginning of creation?

May God give us something of His own mind and heart!  May we not shirk from the reality of His amazing love or from His fearful judgment.

"Christ loves and pities all, even those who are His open enemies.
None are hated, though none but believers are finally saved."

J. C. Ryle

Heidelberg Q7: So how did we get ruined?

Reformed Christians believe that we are all seriously flawed people living in a seriously flawed world.  This idea is really one of the most foundational ideas in the Reformed worldview.  To most of us that grew up Presbyterian, this seems so readily apparent in our every transaction in the world that it surprises us when we find someone who either doesn't think about it that way or doesn't think about it much at all.

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We've seen in the previous Heidelberg Catechism questions, that God created men good - wholly capable of pleasing God and living in harmony with Him (Q6), but somehow we all got to be as ruined as we are now.  This brings us to Heidelberg Question #7:

Q7: Whence then proceeds this depravity of human nature? A: From the fall and disobedience of our first parents, Adam and Eve, in Paradise; hence our nature is become so corrupt, that we are all conceived and born in sin. Scripture Proofs: Gen3, Rom5:12, Rom5:18-19, Psa51:5, Gen5:3

That scripture proof from Psalm 51 preceeds one of my favorite Bible verses, which, in turn, hearkens back to Ezekiel, who knew long before the Reformers that men were wholly ruined, but not without hope...

Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. (Psa 51:10;NKJV)

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. (Ezek36:26;NKJV)

There's a New World coming!

Have you ever wished for a new planet that you could go live on just to be rid of the troubles of this world - a world where people did right instead of wrong? Well, in the end of 2nd Peter, we find:

Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. (2Peter3:13; NKJV)

Hey! It's not just me!  This is encouraging in these present times. Not only do we wish it, but He has promised it!  There's a new world coming - a better one.  This reminds me of the Nina Simone song, New World Coming:

There's a new world commin'

And it's just around the bend

There's a brand new mornin'

That belongs to you and me

A new world commin'

The one we had vision of

And its commin' in peace

Is commin in joy

and commin in love...yea...yea...yea

There's a new world commin'

And its just around the bend

There's a new day dawning

the one that's for you and me

A new world commin'

The one we've had vision of

and its commin in peace

commin' in love

Commin' in peace

Commin' in joy

and commin in peace

commin' in joy

And commin in love

And I saw another sign in Heaven

Great and marvelous

Seven angels having the seven last plagues

for in them is filled up the Wrath of God

And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire

And them that had gotten the victory over the beast

And over his image

and over his mark

and over his name,

stand on the sea of glass

with the harps of God all around them.

There's a new world commin'

and its just around the bend

There's a new day dawning

That middle section comes from Revelation 15, if you were wondering.

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With that New World in mind, turn back to 2nd Peter:

Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? (2Pet3:11-12;NKJV; emphasis mine)

...and from there to the end of John's Revelation:

He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming quickly.” Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus! (Rev 22:20;NKJV)

Having a bad day?

For those of you who are having a bad day because you think the world is not working the way you'd like it to - someone directed me to Psalm 22. There's a lot there to take my mind off my trivial troubles and redirect my attention in a better direction.

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning? O my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, and am not silent. Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One; you are the praise of Israel. In you our fathers put their trust; they trusted and you delivered them. They cried to you and were saved; in you they trusted and were not disappointed. But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by men and despised by the people. All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads: "He trusts in the LORD; let the LORD rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him." Yet you brought me out of the womb; you made me trust in you even at my mother's breast. From birth I was cast upon you; from my mother's womb you have been my God. Do not be far from me, for trouble is near and there is no one to help. Many bulls surround me; strong bulls of Bashan encircle me. Roaring lions tearing their prey open their mouths wide against me. I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart has turned to wax; it has melted away within me. My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of death. Dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet. I can count all my bones; people stare and gloat over me. They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing. But you, O LORD, be not far off; O my Strength, come quickly to help me. Deliver my life from the sword, my precious life from the power of the dogs. Rescue me from the mouth of the lions; save me from the horns of the wild oxen. I will declare your name to my brothers; in the congregation I will praise you. You who fear the LORD, praise him! All you descendants of Jacob, honor him! Revere him, all you descendants of Israel! For he has not despised or disdained the suffering of the afflicted one; he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help. From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly; before those who fear you will I fulfill my vows. The poor will eat and be satisfied; they who seek the LORD will praise him— may your hearts live forever! All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations will bow down before him, for dominion belongs to the LORD and he rules over the nations. All the rich of the earth will feast and worship; all who go down to the dust will kneel before him— those who cannot keep themselves alive. Posterity will serve him; future generations will be told about the Lord. They will proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn— for he has done it.

Week Eleven: Is Christ the Only Savior?

Is Christ the Only Savior?

There are a number of ways to answer this question.  Obviously the first and most concise answer is simply to say "yes."

After all, that is what the Bible teaches.  Acts 4:12 is one of the clearest statements given. Having been imprisoned overnight for "proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead," Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, jumped right back into action the next day by boldly saying to the rulers and elders of the people:

"Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which they must be saved."

The problem comes in when some say, "Yes, I agree that salvation is only through Christ and I also believe that Christ will save everyone, at least in the end."

But universal salvation can't be read into this passage and is also denied elsewhere. In fact, this statement of Peter given in Acts 4:12 calls attention to the necessity of saving faith by adding that that there is "no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."  John  3:18 says,"Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son."

I have been studying the second half of Acts 19 in preparation for a Sunday sermon. This text relates "a great disturbance" that arose in Ephesus "about the Way."   This is the third time in Acts that the Christian faith and life has been spoken of as "the Way"  (9:2; 19;9; 19:23).  Again, not "a way," but "the way" (the article "the" is used in the Greek).

That very description sounds rather uncompromising, doesn't it?  It's a reminder that Christianity is a way of life, not just an empty profession of Christ. The name reflects the fact that others regarded the Christian life as "the Way."

Not only is Christ the only way of salvation, but to trust in Christ is to follow "the Way."

Heidelberg Q6: Did God create men out of true?

Photo courtesy of Justanamethingie

Well, in Q5 of Heidelberg we saw that men are completely incapable of obeying God's law - even when it is stated as simply as, "Love God and love your neighbor."  We are as out of true as the barn in this picture.  Does this mean that God created us unable to satisfy him?  That would be strange, wouldn't it?  That would be like a man deciding to build a barn - but deliberately making it too small and leaky and falling down.  Did God build us that way?

Q6: Did God then create man so wicked and perverse? A: By no means; but God created man good, and after his own image, in true righteousness and holiness, that he might rightly know God his Creator, heartily love him and live with him in eternal happiness to glorify and praise him. Scripture Proofs: Gen1:31, Gen1:26-27, Col3:9-10, Eph4:23-24, 2 Cor3:18

How to spot a false teacher

Today the Men's Tuesday morning group spent some time on 2nd Peter chapter 2. 
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Peter warns us that just like there were some false prophets in the old days (like Balam) there will be false teachers with us till the end. Peter not only tells us that false teachers are bad and dangerous, but he gives us a list of things to watch out for.  A checklist of characteristics of false teachers.  For instance, per 2Peter...

False Teachers...

• can work in secret from within the church (v1)
• deny the gospel (v1)
• are sensually attractive (v2, v18)
• cause others to blaspheme (v2, v14)
• are greedy and exploitative liars (v3, v14, v15)
• are irrational, follow their base instincts, and speak of things they don't know (v12)
• are bold, willful, open, public, and proud of sins of which they should be ashamed (v10, v13)
• they are adulterous, insatiable for sin (v14)
• they entice others to sin (v14)
• they falsely promise freedom (v19)

Peter gives us these characteristics so that we can be on the lookout for false teachers and he underscores this passage with an incredibly vivid proverb.

Week Ten: Do Beliefs Matter?

Do Beliefs Really Matter?

"There is a way that seems right to a man, but it the end it leads to death.”
Proverbs 14:12

The first observation to be made from this truth is that the ideas, judgments, and wisdom of men are not to be trusted. The infallible guide to truth is not the collective wisdom of people, nor the standard of one human, nor even the decisions and choices of my own heart, for the Bible says, “The heart is deceitful above all else; who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9)

This being the case, I must have some other objective standard, one that does not come from me or from other men (humans).

The second observation to be made is the finality and fatality of a wrong choice. The way that is thought to be right leads to death. The Bible doesn’t say that the results consist of one or two bad consequences. Nor is it a matter of simply choosing the lesser over the greater, of a desirable consequence over a less desirable one. The end is death. In the biblical sense of the word, this points to spiritual death. We are reminded of the finality and fatality of a way that seems right to us.

Putting these two thoughts together, we are taught that ways of men that “seem right” lead to death. We can make a wrong choice and that choice is fatal.

Does it matter what you believe?

What do you think?

Or, I should say, “What does the Bible say?”

P. S.    Do you know that this same statement is given twice in the book of Proverbs?  It’s found in Proverbs14:12 AND 16:25.  It seems like the Lord really wants us to hear - and to heed - this warning, doesn’t it?

False Prophets

Chapter three of Micah has a consistent pattern.  The theme of the chapter  is corrupt leadership and the judgment to come to those who have failed in their leadership.  It seems that God expects leaders to do what they have been given to do and to do it faithfully!

The pattern is: 
      An Address  (vs. 1, 5, 9)
     An Accusation  (vs. 2, 5,9)
     A Resulting Judgment  (vs. 4,6,12)

God spoke to the leaders in verses 1-4, these most likely being civil leaders who had the responsibility to practice biblical judgment and who had failed to do so, treating God's people like animals to be butchered and used for the gain of the unfaithful leaders.

He addresses the false prophets in verses 5-7, having already referred to them in 2:11 as "prophets of beer and wine" who were just what the people wanted.

Here he speaks of them as "prophets for profit," saying that these false leaders would proclaim peace to anyone who would "feed" them but prepared "to wage war" against anyone who did not cater to their self-serving whims.

God holds his servants accountable for what they teach. We have been given Scripture as a sacred deposit. It is a holy, fearful, blessed privilege to have Scripture and to be held accountable for both teaching and living it!

Micah's word is certainly a word in season. 

More notes from 2Peter1

Peter is writing this letter to Christians who, though younger and less mature than himself, were not considered as inferior or as having a lesser faith than Peter and the other Apostles. He is writing to remind these Christians of things they have already been taught, and says he will continue reminding them of these super-important things as long as he lives.

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The letter is a reassurance that the things that the Apostles have taught them (i.e. the gospel) is true and that their faith in it is not in vain. So, how can you be assured of your salvation? According to 2Peter1:5f...

For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall.

So, since we know that our natural state is spiritual death (Eph 2:5, Col 2:14, Rom 3:23, Rom 6:23) and we know that dead things do not spontaneously get better - rather they decay into greater corruption...
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Then we know that if we see this process of spiritual improvement working within us - if we are moving from simple faith toward love through improvement in these virtues - then we are no longer dead - something is effecting this change in us - we have been saved and are being sanctified (Rom 8:29-30).

Heidelberg Q5: ...to hate God and my neighbor

Photo courtesy of Chop1n

It amuses me (I admit it's kind of a perverse, macabre amusement) how utterly incapable men are of doing good.  We can't follow the rules that God set forth in any way.  God gave Adam a couple of rules - Live with me in harmony here and don't partake of this particular fruit - and he didn't obey.  God gave Moses ten rules - and we couldn't keep them.  God Gave the Levites hundreds of rules - and they bungled that.  Jesus boiled all that down to just a couple of laws again - Love God and love thy neighbor - and we can by no means do those two.  He even spelled it out simply, concisely, and directly how we are supposed to go about being Christians - evangelize, baptize, and teach (Mat 28:19) - and we're pretty lame at even that.
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This brings us to Heidelberg Q5:

Q5: Canst thou keep all these things perfectly? A: In no wise; for I am prone by nature to hate God and my neighbour. Scripture Proofs: Rom.3:10, Rom.3:20, Rom.3:23, 1 John 1:8, 1 John 1:10, Rom.8:7, Eph.2:3, Tit.3:3, Gen.6:5, Gen.8:21, Jer.17:9, Rom.7:23

This is reminiscent of Martin Luther, upon studying and pondering on the righteousness of God, exclaiming, "Love God!!!?  I hate Him!"

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Wow!  Those reformers were bold.  How many people these days would be so bold as to say, "I HATE GOD!"  Sure, there are folks who deny God's existence, but to believe and to understand God's nature and then plainly state that you are completely anti-God - that's bold!

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But we are.  Heidelberg Q5 expresses it as good as it can be expressed.  "I am prone by nature to hate God and my neighbour."

Introducing 2nd Peter

Today we began 2nd Peter in our Tuesday Morning Men's Group.    I have led 2nd Peter before in Sunday School, and here are some of my introductory notes for the book...

WHAT:

• The 2nd epistle of Peter is a letter…

WHO:

• From Simon Bar Jonah, nicknamed Peter or Cephus (2Pet 1:1, John 1:35-42, Mat 4:18-19, Mat 16:16-18, Mat 17:1-6, Mat 26:69-75, Mark 16:5-7, Acts 2:14, Acts 2:22-26, Acts 2:42)
• to Christians in general (2Pet 1:1)

WHEN:

• Towards the end of Peter’s life (2Pet 1:14-15)
• Peter was crucified upside down by Nero probably sometime between the great fire of Rome (AD 64) and Nero’s own death in AD 68

WHERE:

• Peter may have written this from jail in Rome just before his execution
• Perhaps it was written specifically to Christians in Asia Minor (2Pet 3:1, 1Pet 1:1-2)

WHY:

• 2Pet 1:12-15, 2Pet 3:1

HOW:

• John Mark (author of the Gospel of Mark) was Peter’s secretary/translator/scribe, and may have written 2Peter for him.
• Dead Sea scroll fragments found in Qumran suggest that The Gospel of Mark may have been packaged with 2Peter as a cover letter when it was sent to the community at Qumran.

Prophets of Wine and Beer

Prophets of Wine and Beer

I have to admit that the description given by the prophet Micah of false teachers had never caught my attention until I recently studied this text for a Sunday evening lesson. 

Having spoken of false prophets who assure the people that God's judgment will surely not happen and who say that such things should not be spoken, Micah said:

If a liar and deceiver comes and says, 'I will prophesy for you plenty of wine and beer,' he would be just the prophet for this people!  (Micah 2:11)

Prophets of Wine and Beer, in other words!

Such prophets are so called because they tell the people what they want to hear. Their message is one that is less demanding, less offensive, less difficult to practice, and more easily believed because it is what the people want to hear. Such teaching often takes the form of "God is a God of love, He will not judge anyone, be more tolerant, more accepting, don't tell people that God will deal with sin, don't talk about judgment."

Not only are the people given what they want to hear, but what they are given further confuses their minds, just as wine and beer can do.

It's a simple phrase used by Micah to describe the spiritual confusion of the people and those who help to foster such confusion by failing to speak the truth.

As for Micah, he could say of himself:

But as for me, I am filled with power, with the Spirit of the Lord, and with justice and might, to declare to Jacob his transgression, to Israel his sin.  (Micah 3:8)

May God save us from the Prophets of Wine and Beer and from a mindset that is satisfied with anything other than God's truth as given in Scripture!

Week Nine: Creation

What does the Bible teach about creation?

When you and I undertake a project - whether that project involves construction skills, cooking skills, or whatever the case may be - we look for materials to work with. If it's cooking, we need the ingredients to mix together. If it's construction, we need the building materials. Whatever the project, we need something to begin with! The wonder of what God did in creation is that He began with absolutely nothing. He created everything out of nothing! No one else but God can do that.

A second wonder of creation is that God created everything simply by the power of His spoken word. All through the account of creation we read the words, "And God said."   After each of His commands, we read "And it was so."  Something new was created each time God spoke. Again, no one but God can do this!

God made all that He made in the space of six days. The natural sense of the word "day" found in Genesis 1 and 2 is a twenty-four hour day. We believe this on the authority of the Bible. After all, we must remember that time itself is something that God created. It did not exist until God created it!

Finally, everything that God made was "very good." God Himself says that it all He created is good. "God saw all that he had made, and it was very good...." (Genesis 1:31). Sin has marred creation, bringing much sadness and pain. Yet even in a sin-cursed world, the goodness of God displayed in creation is clearly evident. All of creation will one day be restored when God returns in Christ Jesus to bring about the new heavens and the new earth.

Four wonderful, basic, amazing truths about God's work of creation!

• God made all things of nothing
• God made all things by the power of His spoken word
• God made all things in the space of six days
• God made all things "very good"

Items for debate and disbelief? Not at all! Rather, these great truths are great reasons to worship our great God!

You are worthy, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,

for you created all things,

and by your will they were created

and have their being.

Revelation 4:11

 "It pleased God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, for the manifestation of the glory of his eternal power, wisdom, and goodness, in the beginning, to create - or make out of nothing - the world and everything in it, whether visible or invisible, in the space of six days, and all very good."

    -  From the Westminster Confession of Faith, Chapter 4.

Heidelberg Q4 - Summary of the Law

Photo courtesy of Belkus

So far in the Heidelburg Catechism, we have found that Jesus Christ is our only comfort in life and death (Q1), that in order to know that comfort, we must first understand our miserable state in sin (Q2), and that God gives us the Law so that we can understand our need for salvation (Q3).  Now, the Heidelberg Catechism summarizes the Law by quoting Jesus as recorded in the Gospel of Matthew.

Heidelberg Q4: What does the law of God require of us? A: Christ teaches us that briefly, Mat  22:37-40, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength. This is the first and the great commandment; and the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." Scripture Proofs: Deut.6:5, Lev.19:18, Mark 12:30, Luke 10:27

Stick with us, because Heidelberg is taking us systematically through this material - one step at a time!