“…Even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him…” – ^ESV Ephesians 1:4

When the Eternal Son of God, the One who is eternally begotten, not made, who is very God of very God, became man, he took to Himself our nature, conceived by the Holy Spirit, from the substance of Mary (Luke 1:31-35). It is hard for us to understand, but the Scriptures teach that the Lord Jesus Christ, the only Redeemer of God’s people, became man, and so was, and continues to be, God and man in two distinct natures (human and divine), and one Person forever (see Shorter Catechism, Q&A 21).

This means that while the Eternal Son did not change in His Being or substance or power as God in the Incarnation (Heb. 1:1-3), by assuming our nature into permanent hypostatic (personal) union with Himself, He did become something He was not before, namely man (Heb. 2:14-18; 4:16-18). As our Redeemer, Jesus Christ serves as our Mediator, and we must seek to honor the One Person, and acknowledge properly and biblically the two natures of Christ.

In considering the Spirit of Holiness, we will focus on the human nature of Christ today. What was done by the human nature was done by the one Person, so that we understand that the Eternal God does not die, yet He who was God did die, as man. The one Mediator died for sinners, the one Mediator between God and man who is both God and man in one Person. Jesus was God-Man. How does the Spirit’s work on Jesus Christ, God-Man, help us understand our holiness before God that we find in Him? Let us understand this in a time when the true humanity of Jesus Christ is begin undermined or misunderstood. While our Mediator was God and Man, He was truly God and truly man.

As a man, he was our representative in permanent-personal union with the Eternal Son, and He had to perform perfect obedience before God as man. There is to be no confusion, or mixture of His divine and human natures, but careful distinctions made. We should want to stress in understanding Christ’s true humanity, that like us He depended upon the Holy Spirit for grace, although He was without sin, He was truly man, dependent as a creature upon Almighty God. As Joel Beeke writes: “Christ’s obedience in our place had to be the real obedience of a human being. He did not cheat by relying on His own divine nature while He acted as the second Adam. Rather, by receiving and depending upon the Spirit, Christ was fully depending upon HIs Father (John 6:38).”

John Owen wrote: “The Lord Christ, as man, did and was to exercise all grace by the rational faculties and powers of His soul, His understanding, will, and affections; for He acted grace as a man….His divine nature was not unto Him in the place of a soul, nor did [the divine nature] immediately operate the things He performed, as some of old vainly imagined; but being a perfect man, His rational soul was in Him the immediate principle of all His moral operations, even as ours in us…. [Christ’s] growth in grace and wisdom was the peculiar work of the Holy Spirit; for as the faculties of His mind were enlarged by degrees and strengthened, so the Holy Spirit filled them up with grace for actual obedience” (John Owen, Works, 3:169-170). Puritan Richard Sibbes  wrote similarly: “Whatsoever Christ did as man, He did by the Spirit” (R. Sibbes, Works, 1:102).

The Spirit of God that Jesus received from the Father is the same Spirit that the Father and the Son have sent to be within His people. What the Holy Spirit helped Jesus to do: live by faith, resist temptation, endure by grace, be a faithful servant, be comforted in affliction, etc. is what the Spirit still does for God’s people united to Jesus. The ministry of the Holy Spirit upon Jesus Christ has tremendous implications for believers’ holiness in Christ (Psa. 133; Isa. 61:1ff).  Jesus is our sanctification (1 Cor. 1:30). As theologian Mark Jones writes: “Jesus Christ, in His human nature, is the holiest man ever to have lived on earth. He exercised faith, hope, and love in a manner so extraordinary that if there were millions of worlds of loving creatures, they would not have, combined together, the same degree of love that was in the heart of our Savior. These graces bestowed upon Jesus did not remain on Him alone, but trickled down, as oil on His forehead, to His bride.” Jesus as exalted King poured out His Spirit upon His people (Acts 2:33).

We should understand that there was a twofold mission of the Triune God to secure the salvation of God’s people that are intimately (covenantally!) related, but should be distinguished: 1) The sending of the Eternal Son by His Father to become man and to perform and accomplish as Mediator of God’s people all of the acts of obedience unto death as Prophet, Priest and King; 2) The sending of the Eternal Spirit by the Father and Jesus the Enthroned King at God’s right hand to His people to enable them to follow Him in obedience and suffering and holiness until they would meet safely in heaven, and behold the Son face to face. This is the grace we speak of when we say that we do all things for Christ “because of His grace, by His grace, through His grace, in light of His grace, etc. The grace is particularly the “grace of the Lord Jesus Christ” given to us by God’s Spirit to enable us (although sinful) to make progress in obedience and holiness (we are saved by faith alone but not a grace that is alone; we are saved to be holy and obedient unto God, Eph. 1:3-5, 2:10; Phil. 1:6, 2:12-13).

John Owen wrote: “If Christ is our mediator, our union with Him means not only that we must be holy (that it is necessary), but also that we will be able to be like Him (and in our motives desire this), and, of course, that we will enjoy being holy (in communion with Him).” The grace we need for sanctification as believers is the grace of God that is given to believers in and through Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 13:14). Whatever grace we received for our holiness first belonged to our Savior who is “full of grace” (John 1:16). To be holy is both to look at Christ’s substitutionary work for us in reconciliation, but it is also to labor after conformity to His image because of, and in dependence upon His grace in Christ (Rom. 8:29; Eph. 1:4).

Although Christ was sinless and needed no grace as sinners need grace, nevertheless, Christ Jesus lived by faith in his estate of humiliation. Christ is the holiest man who ever lived and the greatest “believer” (or man of faith) ever to have lived (Heb. 12:2). There has never been, nor will there ever be, a more perfect example of living by faith than Jesus. By faith, He believed the word and promises of God. If Christ had not had faith, His people would remain in their unbelief; if Christ had not been vindicated (1 Tim. 3:16), adopted (Psa. 2:7; Rom. 1:4), sanctified (Rom. 6:9-10; John 17:19), and glorified (1 Cor. 15:35-49), His elect would not receive these blessings!

There is no grace we received by the Spirit that was not first present in Christ Himself, particularly the grace of faith. The Holy Spirit bestows all the blessings of Christ upon the members of His church only because they were first bestowed on Christ. Richard Sibbes wrote: “We have not the Holy Spirit immediately from God, but we have Him as sanctifying Christ first [not from sin, but consecrating him as man to the Father’s will], and then us, and whatsoever the Holy Spirit does in us, He does the same in Christ first, and He does it in us, because of Christ.”

The life of holiness is the life of faith. The way we begin the Christian life with faith is the way we continue in the Christian life until we get to heaven and faith becomes sight. Those who belong to Christ are as dependent upon the Spirit for their holiness as they are dependent upon air to breathe.  Just as Christ lived by faith and depended upon the grace of the Holy Spirit to work on His human nature, so we are likewise to live by faith and depend upon the Holy Spirit to enable us to love God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength.

To be continued….*

* For further reading:‘A Puritan Theology’, ed. Beeke and Jones; ‘Holy Spirit’, S. Ferguson; John Owen, ‘Works’, Vols. 1-4; ‘Hebrews’, Vol. 3; ‘Works’, R. Sibbes; ‘Antinomianism’, M. Jones.

 “There is a general omission in the saints of God, in their not giving the Holy Spirit that glory that is due to His person, and for His great work of salvation in us, insomuch that we have in our hearts almost lost this Third Person [of the Blessed Trinity]…He is a person in the Godhead equal with the Father and the Son, and the work He does for us in its kind is as great as those of the Father or the Son” (Thomas Goodwin, Works, Vol. VI, Book 1, chap. 2).

Have you seen your sinful condition? Have you been humbled because of it? This is the work of the Blessed Spirit of Jesus! (John 16:8). Give thanks for His grace and power.

Have you repented because of your sins? Have you turned from sin to God? This is the work of the Blessed Spirit of Jesus! (1 Thess. 1:5; Acts 5:31-32; 11:18). Give thanks for His grace and power.

Do you have faith that unites you to Jesus Christ, and receives Him as a perfect and sufficient Savior? Have you a spiritual sight of Christ and God’s free grace in Him? Has your heart been drawn to Jesus in love? This is the work of the Blessed Spirit of Jesus! (2 Cor. 4:13; Acts 6:5; Gal. 3:1). Give thanks for His grace and power.

Have you been brought close to Jesus for justification and righteousness? Have you come to Christ for the perfect righteousness that the Father provides for ungodly sinners and imputes to needy sinners by faith alone? This is the work of the Blessed Spirit of Jesus! (John 6:37, 44; Rom. 4:5; Eph. 2:18). Give thanks for His grace and power.

Do you recognize God as your Father in Christ Jesus? Can you freely call out to him in prayer or in need “Abba, Father!” This is the work of the Blessed Spirit of Jesus! (Gal. 4:6; Rom. 8:15; 8:26). Give thanks for His grace and power.

Do you have communion with the Father and the Son? This is the work of the Blessed Spirit of Jesus! (John 16:14-15; 1 Jo. 1:3; Phil. 2:1; 2 Cor. 13:14). Give thanks for His grace and power.

Do you have joy and peace in believing? Who has brought you that peace with God that passes all understanding and comprehension? This is the work of the Blessed Spirit of Jesus! (Rom. 15:13; Phil. 4:7; Rom. 14:17; Jude 20). Give thanks for His grace and power.

Suggested Hymn: ‘For Your Gift of God the Spirit’ -339

In Christ’s Love,

Pastors Biggs and Halley

Dear KCPC Congregation of Jesus,

This is an important invitation. Would you read it prayerfully and carefully with your family? I love you.

This is an invitation to our congregational prayer meeting this Lord’s Day evening! Would you consider making plans to attend our prayer meeting this Sunday evening at 6 pm?

We plan to gather as a congregation and cry out to God for help this Sunday evening at 6 pm at our church building. Would you join us? Let us talk straight: We make time for what is most important to us. If our favorite sports team is playing, we are diligent to arrive on time to see it (or sit down in front of it); if we have tickets to a play, a concert, a ballet, etc. we make time to attend it (and arrive promptly, too!). What is most important to you? What do you rise early to do? What do you put aside free time to work on? What do you make time to do with great earnestness and diligence?

I encourage you to think seriously about making attendance to prayer meeting important on your schedule, especially when it is on the Lord’s Day. I realize that sometimes there are things that prevent us from attending, but let us seek to be faithful and well-pleasing to Jesus (2 Cor. 5:9).

Come this Sunday evening NOT merely because you got this invitation. No, rather, come because this invitation served as a reminder to you of the glorious riches found in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Your heart was moved because of God’s grace, reminding you that you’re an undeserving sinner for whom Christ has lived and died, and God the Father loves you and calls you His own, and has added you to His Glorious Church! May this invitation whet your spiritual appetite for a prayer feast together with God’s people at the Throne of Grace! May you meditate upon the beauty and glory of Christ as He lives to pray for us and the importance Christ placed on prayer for us in His ministry in His humble estate of humiliation, and now, in His glorious estate of exaltation (Heb. 4:16; 7:25)! May you mediate about how we can come together and see the king before the eyes of our faith, who will grant us encouragement, endurance, and steadfastness in our faith on our pilgrimage! The King delights in changing us by His Spirit when we pray! (2 Cor. 3:18).

Let us meditate on the wonderful scriptures that God has revealed to us that teach us the importance of praying together and the spiritual riches that will come from it! (see Eph. 1:15-23 and 3:14-21 as just two examples, but I have listed more below).

Why is it important for us to pray together as a congregation? We are a desperately needy people. We have many things to pray about. Here are just a few:

“Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.”

– ^ESV James 5:16

• Prayer is a foundational and vital part of our spiritual life as a congregation (Acts 2:42; Eph. 6:18-20; 2 Cor. 1:11).
• All things are possible when we pray! (Mark 9:23; Luke 18:7-8).
• Some spiritual matters in the congregation can only be handled through prayer (And how do we know which ones? We don’t know! Therefore we always pray—especially together, Mark 9:29).
• We are commanded to pray without ceasing, and at all times (Luke 18:1; 1 Thess. 5:17; Eph. 6:18-20; 1 Tim. 2:1, 8).
• As God’s people we are powerless, thankless, immature, and spiritually lazy without prayer (Col. 1:9-11; 4:2-4; 2 Thess. 1:11-12; Col. 4:12; James 5:16).
• We are commanded to “watch and pray” by our Lord Jesus Christ (Matt. 26:41). The Lord Jesus told this to his disciples corporately because there are many temptations, and many things that trouble us are not so obvious to us, and we are easily self-deceived by sin.
• If we humble ourselves and pray as a congregation, we are promised that God will hear and heal us and our church (this is ultimately that He will continue to make us holy, 2 Chr. 7:14).
• We are told to pray because it will build our faith and increase our love for God (Psa. 116:1-4).
• We are to pray in the Holy Spirit to build up our faith (Jude 20).
• We are told to pray for laborers to help in the building of the church and to make the Gospel known (Matt. 9:38).
• The Holy Spirit loves to minister to God’s people by taking us to Christ in prayer teaching us the truth, and helping us to pray more effectively (John 16:13; Rom. 8:26).
• We are to see in Scripture the saints praying for one another and be encouraged that God hears, and that these prayers together increase our love for each other! (Acts 2:42; Rom. 15:30; 2 Cor. 9:14; Col. 1:3; 1 Thess. 1:2; 3:10; 5:25; 2 Tim. 1:3; Philemon 1:4; Heb. 13:18).

I am praying that you will make a special effort to come to this opportunity to pray together as a congregation!

“O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who delight to fear your name…”

– ^ESV Nehemiah 1:11

In Christ’s love,
Pastor Biggs

Reformata Semper Reformanda!

Introduction

On October 31, 1517, a young pastor and Bible teacher in Wittenberg, Germany posted 95 Theses (or “things he wanted to discuss with other pastors and teachers in the church” — what we might call a group distribution email to the clergy or a blog today!) on the door of the Castle Church in his home town.

Not intending anything other than a discussion with other pastors and teachers, Martin Luther was used by God to begin a reformation of the church by returning to the foundation of Scripture alone.

Scripture alone taught that salvation was not sold by indulgences and grace was God’s alone to give. The Pope was offering salvation, hope, and the chance for Uncle Buck to get out of purgatory if the people of the town would pay the right price.

Luther’s ’95 Theses’ questioned the authority of the Pope to be able to offer salvation, hope, or redemption for money. These 95 things Luther wanted to discuss caused Luther to seek ultimate authority for the church in the Scriptures and not in the whims of popes and councils, because both had erred; Scripture alone was the Church’s authority and sole rule of faith.

What came from this study of Scripture alone, and asking what Scripture taught concerning man’s salvation, hope and life in Christ, was the realization and experiencing of true salvation, real hope, and the abundant life found only in Christ.

The doctrines, or teachings of the Reformation established upon, and rediscovered in Holy Scripture alone were: faith alone, grace alone, Christ alone, to the glory of God alone.

The “Solas”

The “Solas” or the “Alones” of the Reformation were affirmed by the reformers as the foundational teachings of Scripture that accentuated the heart, or foundational teaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, against the false gospel of the Medieval Roman Catholic Church (cf. Galatians 1:6-9).

These five “Solas” could be called the pillars of our faith because they teach us about our great salvation in Christ.

The “Solas” exalt God in his sovereignty and grace, and direct a sinner to their only hope of salvation found in the Person and Work of Jesus Christ.

These five “Solas” also define and affirm what it means to be an Evangelical. In a day when many of those who claim to be evangelicals teach a gospel that is closer to the Medieval Roman Catholic “gospel” (which is/was no gospel at all!), it is important to be reminded of these five “Solas” or “alones”.

The term “Evangelical” or “Gospeler” was first made popular by Martin Luther. It was a term used in opposition and contradistinction to Medieval Roman Catholic theology that had made the traditions of man equal with Scripture’s authority; this Medieval system of belief taught that man was saved by cooperating with God’s grace; in addition to Christ as Mediator, there were also saints and Mary that should be venerated; the focus of the scriptures was not Christ as much as man, and the heart of the gospel found in justification by faith alone was denied.

To be an “Evangelical” during the Reformation, as well as to confess to be one today means to know, understand and believe these five biblical “Solas” or “Alones”: 1) Sola Scriptura; 2) Sola Fide; 3) Sola Gratia; 4) Solus Christus; and 5) Soli Deo Gloria.

This 497th anniversary of the Reformation, let us at KCPC be reminded of our commitment as confessing evangelicals, and we will prayerfully ask God to continue to help us by his grace to make these known to our community.

On Reformation Sunday every year it is good to be reminded of the essential “Solas” of what we believe, and to continue by God’s grace in making them known, with hopes for a more profound Reformation in our own hearts, and in the hearts of those in our community. May God send another reformation today through the preaching of the true gospel!

Sola Scriptura – “Scripture Alone” – The Right Foundation

^ESV2 Timothy 3:16-17: All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, ¹⁷ that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.

SOLA SCRIPTURA

We at KCPC reaffirm the infallible and inerrant Scripture to be the sole source of written divine revelation, which alone can bind the conscience. The Bible alone teaches all that is necessary for our salvation from sin and is the standard by which all Christian behavior must be measured.

We at KCPC deny that any creed, council or individual may bind a Christian’s conscience, that the Holy Spirit speaks independently of or contrary to what is set forth in the Bible, or that personal spiritual experience can ever be a vehicle of revelation.¹These affirmations and denials are adapted from ‘The Cambridge Declaration’ of 1996 by the Alliance of Confession Evangelicals. See online: … Continue reading

What was the Formal Cause of Reformation? The formal cause of the Reformation was a return to Scripture alone as the sole and infallible authority of our faith and life. In the Medieval Period, the Roman Catholic Church’s traditions and doctrines of the papacy had eclipsed the authority of the Scripture as final judge of all matters doctrinally and with regard to the Christian life and worship.

When Martin Luther posted his now famous Ninety-Five Theses, he pointed to the importance of Scripture alone being the guide for doctrines and life.

The Reformation was a return after many years to an appreciation of the Word of God, or the Scriptures alone as the sole and infallible rule for faith and life.

In the Medieval times where the Church’s tradition and mere opinions of men were believed more than Scripture, Martin Luther was used by God to bring the Church back to an appreciation of Scripture alone.

It is important to note that the doctrine of Scripture alone does not reject good tradition or faithful teachers in Church History who teach and line up with Scripture, but Scripture alone stresses the importance of testing all beliefs and habits of the Christian’s life and worship as to whether they are Scriptural or not because the Scriptures are the very truth given to the Church by the Holy Spirit.

The Reformation was a return to an understanding and appreciation that Jesus did not leave the Apostles or the Church without objective truth, but that he sent his Spirit to lead them into all truth to give us an inspired, infallible text that teaches us about God, Christ, and how we live, serve and worship as Christians.

The Scriptures are the Foundational Authority for Doctrine and Practice in the Christian Life- 2 Tim. 3:16-17- “All Scripture is God-breathed out…”

The Scriptures are Inspired by God– “God breathed out” (2 Tim. 3:16). This is special revelation from God- -about God.

The Scriptures are Perfect and Sufficient– “All we need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3-4; 2 Tim. 3:15); whereas popes and councils have erred.

The Scriptures are Infallible– Infallibility is the inability to err. Infallibility entails inerrancy which is the actual absence of error.

The Scriptures are Authoritative– God speaks to his people by His Spirit through the Word (Heb. 3-4; 12:18-29)

The Scriptures are Necessary– This includes the Explicit and Implicit Teaching found in Scripture by “Good and Necessary Deduction”

As the Westminster Confession of Faith teaches in chapter 1, section 6:

The whole counsel of God, concerning all things necessary for His own glory, man’s salvation, faith and life, is either expressly set down in Scripture, or by good and necessary consequence may be deduced from Scripture: unto which nothing at any time is to be added, whether by new revelations of the Spirit, or traditions of men. Nevertheless, we acknowledge the inward illumination of the Spirit of God to be necessary for the saving understanding of such things as are revealed in the word; and that there are some circumstances concerning the worship of God, and government of the Church, common to human actions and societies, which are to be ordered by the light of nature, and Christian prudence, according to the general rules of the word, which are always to be observed.

Sola Scriptura teaches that the Bible is the only infallible source of God’s special revelation to mankind. In the Bible, we learn about God, about life and doctrine.

In Scripture we have all we need for life and godliness.

When tradition is scriptural, then we affirm the good and importance of tradition, such as found in creeds and confessions, but we always make the Bible our final authority in all matters pertaining to life and doctrine.

Application- What should I believe and confess?

“I’ll study my Bible together with all the saints (Eph. 3:18). I will seek to learn from my pastor, elders, teachers and other brothers and sisters in Christ. I will seek to realize more and more the privilege I have of the written revelation of God in my own language, and seek to memorize, meditate and pray it, because it is God’s special and sufficient revelation to His people!

“Father, help us to take more time to meditate upon your Word. Grant that we may be more filled with the Word of Christ dwelling in us richly. Let us live as if all the words of Scripture were truly true (because they are!!).”

Sola Fide- “Faith Alone”- The Church Stands or Falls on this “Sola” – The Right Standing before God

^ESV Romans 3:27-28: Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith.²⁸ For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.

^ESV Romans 4:5 And to the one who does not work but trusts him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness…

SOLA FIDE

We at KCPC reaffirm that justification is by grace alone through faith alone because of Christ alone. In justification Christ’s righteousness is imputed to us as the only possible satisfaction of God’s perfect justice.

We at KCPC deny that justification rests on any merit to be found in us, or upon the grounds of an infusion of Christ’s righteousness in us, or that an institution claiming to be a church that denies or condemns sola fide can be recognized as a legitimate church.

What was the Material Cause of Reformation? – The only gospel or “the truth of the gospel” revealed in Scripture alone which is the sole authority given to us by God. This “material cause” of the Reformation was Sola Fide or the important doctrine of Justification by Faith Alone. Righteousness of Christ received by faith- Romans 4: Abraham’s faith was imputed (“reckoned”) to him as righteousness.

Declared righteous/Imputation – We are not made righteous then justified; we are declared righteous by faith alone and Christ’s righteousness is imputed to us; those who are truly justified will grow in grace, sanctification, and good works to show forth their justification (Make important distinction between justification and sanctification, more on this next week, DV).

We are saved, justified by faith, receiving, resting in and accepting the righteousness of God in Christ. Faith is an instrument and/or means to receive the salvation offered to us by God in Jesus Christ. Faith is a gift, not a work. We are not saved because of our faith, but through our faith (again the focus on faith as the means of receiving).

“Christ saves by through faith.”

“The saving power of faith resides not in itself, but in the Almighty Savior on whom it rests….It is not faith that saves, but faith in Jesus Christ….It is not strictly speaking, even faith in Christ that saves, but Christ that saves through faith.” – B. B. Warfield

As believers, we are clothed in Christ’s righteousness, and we are reckoned/declared/considered righteous as was Abraham. We receive an “alien righteousness” from God, the righteousness that was earned by Jesus Christ and is imputed to us; God clothes us in Christ’s righteousness and this is received by faith alone!

As the Heidelberg confesses it so well:

Heidelberg Catechism, Q: 60. How are you righteous before God? A: Only by true faith in Jesus Christ; that is, although my conscience accuse me, that I have grievously sinned against all the commandments of God, and have never kept any of them, and am still prone always to all evil; yet God without any merit of mine, of mere grace, grants and imputes to me the perfect satisfaction, righteousness, and holiness of Christ, as if I had never committed nor had any sin, and had myself accomplished all the obedience which Christ has fulfilled for me; if only I accept such benefit with a believing heart (Heidelberg Catechism).

Or the Westminster Shorter Catechism captures it in such perspicuous brevity:

What is justification? A: Justification is an act of God’s free grace, wherein he pardoneth all our sins, and accepteth us as righteous in his sight, only for the righteousness of Christ imputed to us, and received by faith alone.

Application- What Should I believe and confess?

“I know that my faith is a gift of God. Each day I will look to Christ for all the righteousness I will ever need to make me right before God.

I know that I have a right standing before God based on Christ’s righteousness alone—apart from any works of my own. I don’t hope in my works or best righteousness, neither do I condemn myself for sinfulness. Rather, I hope in Jesus Christ, daily receiving and resting upon His grace, his forgiveness and righteousness. I am clothed in the righteousness of Jesus Christ, the most beautiful bridal gown in all of the cosmos! I will courageously before man and confidently before God knowing that it is Christ who is my Advocate.”

Sola Gratia- “Grace Alone”– The Right Understanding of Man’s Sinful Condition

^ESV Titus 3:5 …He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit…

^ESV Ephesians 2:4-5: But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ- by grace you have been saved…

SOLA GRATIA

We at KCPC reaffirm that in salvation we are rescued from God’s wrath by his grace alone. It is the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit that brings us to Christ by releasing us from our bondage to sin and raising us from spiritual death to spiritual life.

We at KCPC deny that salvation is in any sense a human work. Human methods, techniques or strategies by themselves cannot accomplish this transformation. Faith is not produced by our unregenerate human nature.

We are dead in trespasses and sins, and God must make us alive, and then willing and able to believe; Jesus says:

“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.”

Grace is not granted so that all men will work and essentially save themselves. Grace alone focuses on the grace of God that works on us long before we’re able and/or desiring to follow Jesus Christ. Cooperation with grace unto salvation is not biblical; cooperating unto sanctification is biblical.

Achieving salvation by cooperating with God to the best of one’s ability was not only found among the first century Pharisees, but there was a very similar situation in the time of the Reformation of the 16^th century.

It was Martin Luther’s high regard for God’s holiness and the great and impossible demands of God’s Law for sinners to achieve, that kept Luther tossing in his bed at night, frightened by the reality that his sins would damn him! It was Martin Luther’s revelation from Scripture that even our best works are tainted by sin and therefore cannot be meritorious before God’s Holy Tribunal! But then by God’s grace, Luther realized that Christ the Judge was also Christ the Savior!

As a Roman Catholic priest, Luther knew that all the cooperation with God that he could muster would only end up damning him! Luther studied the Book of Romans and realized that a righteousness apart from him, found in Christ alone, received by faith alone, was his only hope to be saved and declared righteous!

Martin Luther was taught by the Roman Catholic Church that men were saved “by grace”, but this “grace” was understood as man’s cooperation with God in order to achieve salvation (“synergism”) – -it was not grace received by faith alone in what God has done fully in Christ.

Martin Luther’s struggle to find God’s grace and to have his wrath appeased in the Person of Christ, led to a reformation of the Church and rediscovery of the gospel! The Reformed teaching (and more importantly, the Biblical teaching) is that we are saved by a monergistic work of God (monergistic: mono= “one”, ergo= “work”).

This means that God alone works in us to achieve our salvation and we are saved not by cooperating with God (even with our faith!), but by believing that God has fully accomplished in the Person and Work of Christ our salvation- – and this is believed by faith alone – -which is not our work, but a gift of God!

Faith receives God’s grace held out in Christ, but faith is not a work in any way that is meritorious before God!

You see, this is the Apostle Paul’s point in Ephesians 2:1-10: Dead men, separated from God and following the prince of the power of the air will not and cannot believe, unless God in his mercy makes us alive and gives us the gift of faith.

The truth of Scripture is that there is only one working to achieve our justification, and this is our Sovereign God who seeks us out and loves us! Remember as Romans 3:10-12 teaches:

“No one seeks after God,” but by God’s grace, he seeks after us to enable us to believe and to release our enslaved wills from the domination and mastery of the flesh, in order that we might be justified by Christ’s Spirit!

No cooperation with man, but God’s work alone in salvation- Eph. 2:6-10; John 1:11-13; Romans 9:11-21 (Read: v. 16)

^ESV Ephesians 2:8-9: … 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

The truth of Scripture is that there is only one working to achieve our justification, and this is our Sovereign God who seeks us out and loves us! Remember as Romans 3:10-12 teaches: “No one seeks after God,” but by God’s grace, he seeks after us to enable us to believe and to release our enslaved wills from the domination and mastery of the flesh, in order that we might be justified by Christ’s Spirit!

^ESV Romans 9:15-16: For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.

In a day when many Bible-believing evangelicals think that they are saved by a decision or a choice and not by the Sovereign work of God’s Spirit working alone; when many Christians are closer in doctrines to the Pharisaical and Medieval models of how a person is saved, we need a Reformation!

Application- What should I believe and confess?

“God worked on me, so I would and could believe and work by grace for Him as His child. I understand that I could never have cooperated with God because I was His enemy, opposed to God and His Kingdom by nature, and would have had no saving interest in Jesus had he not shown me grace and pursued me!

Though I was undeserving of grace, and so worthy of condemnation and the judgment of God, God saved a wretch like me (I feel this wretchedness, O Lord). This is not guilt but a true understanding of the magnitude of my sins against a Holy God! This is not shame but a realization that we are desperately corrupt as a people, dead in trespasses and sins, and opposed to God as enemies. He has mercy on us by grace alone. This leads me, O Father, to rejoice in a loving Savior who truly saves!!”

Solus Christus- “Christ Alone”- The Right Focus of Our Lives

^ESV Galatians 3:26 …For in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.

^ESV Hebrews 7:25 …He is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.

SOLUS CHRISTUS

We at KCPC reaffirm that our salvation is accomplished by the mediatorial work of the historical Christ alone. His sinless life and substitutionary atonement alone are sufficient for our justification and reconciliation to the Father.

We at KCPC deny that the gospel is preached if Christ’s substitutionary work is not declared and faith in Christ and his work is not solicited.

Pastor Ian Hamilton has said that “Christ is Our Life” was the heart of the Reformation. “The “Medieval Christ” was a remote Christ, not a near Christ; He was everywhere, but nowhere… The Reformation was the recovery of our Lord Jesus Christ in His saving work.”

Christ is the center and focus of all Scripture.

Christ is the “main character” of the entirety of God’s Story (and ours!).

Christ is our righteousness, sanctification and redemption.

Christ “alone” means we must be aware of our constant temptation to look to ourselves for salvation or to remain in salvation (in our estimation!).

Christ is our gracious friend; he is our Prophet, Priest and King.

All of Scripture points to Christ:

And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! ²⁶ Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” ²⁷ And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.

^ESV John 5:39-40: You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, ⁴⁰ yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.

Christ is our righteousness, our right standing before God, because we are clothed in his righteousness…and so we have peace with God (Romans 5).

Therefore, Paul can say confidently and wholeheartedly that “there is no condemnation” before God, and nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus (Romans 8)!

Let’s keep ‘Christ’ in ‘Christian’. Let us focus on Christ, live for Christ, live by and on Christ, and realize that Christ is our life!

Application- What should I believe and confess?

“I will keep ‘CHRIST’ in Christian, and depend upon and live out of my union with Jesus Christ by faith. I will seek to kill remaining sin in me (mortification) as I draw upon Christ’s life and resources that I have available in my union with Him. I will seek Christ in whatever vocation, station, situation, and/or age, so that I may know Him better and the power and grace of His love as my Prophet, Priest and King.

My sanctification will not be because of “more faith” and/or “more works” and/or “more love” or “more of this and that” first- -I need FIRST- -I need Christ—I need more of a living-breathing-praying-rejoicing relationship with the Risen-Ascended-Enthroned Jesus Christ at God’s right hand! He’s alive- – and my life should show it! Help me, O Lord!”

Soli Deo Gloria- “To God be the Glory Alone”- The Right Goal of Our Lives

SOLI DEO GLORIA

We at KCPC reaffirm that because salvation is of God and has been accomplished by God, it is for God’s glory and that we must glorify him always. We must live our entire lives before the face of God, under the authority of God and for his glory alone.

The “chief end of man” at KCPC is still: “To glorify God and to enjoy Him forever!”

^ESV Ephesians 1:3-6: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.

Let us love and promote God-Centered Worship– Colossians 3:16-17

Let us love and promote God-Centered Living (Coram Deo)- 1 Corinthians 10:31/Romans 14:23 (a practical consideration of living Coram Deo)

Let us love and promote God-Centered Calling– Romans 11:33-36

Romans 11:36: For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.

Application- What should I believe and confess?

“I will boast in God alone for my salvation, and the riches and mercy I have in Jesus! I will give God all the glory for anything good I do in and for Jesus, and seek to do all for Him. Everything I do, let it be done out of gratitude for all you have done for me! Take away my need for acceptance, recognition, and performance and let me serve you with all the Christ that is within me- -all for your glory alone!”

We at KCPC are privileged to serve wine exclusively in the Lord’s Supper that we celebrate weekly. Our use of wine is not intended to be a stumbling block to any, and we certainly recognize with deep compassion the fact that some have struggles with alcoholic beverages.¹I write this as a pastor who no longer drinks alcoholic beverages, and who understands with deep sympathy the great temptations of alcohol abuse from my own experiences in life.

Why would we use wine exclusively then? We believe there are three main reasons: 1) Historical; 2) Theological-Biblical; and 3) Practical.

Historical

The Church of Jesus Christ has historically used wine in the Lord’s Supper since the time of the apostles. This was never significantly disputed, nor contested in the church until the time of the early twentieth century in America. I stress the date of the early twentieth century, and the narrow context of American Christianity. The reasons for Americans to begin using grape juice instead of wine was due to the movement of Prohibition in America, as well as a fundamentalistic Christianity that avoided alcoholic substances because they believed they were sinful.²See Marsden, George. Fundamentalism and American Culture: The Shaping of Twentieth-Century Evangelicalism, 1870-1925 (Oxford Univ. Press, 1980), 13, 31-36, 66-68, 126-128, 207, . Hart, D. G. … Continue reading Rev. Dr. J. V. Fesko asks the appropriate question about grape juice in communion: “…Grape juice was not used in the sacrament until its invention in the 19th century by Thomas B. Welch, founder of Welch’s Grape Juice. While grape juice is nice, should we not follow Christ rather than Mr. Welch? We must be faithful to the example, and essentially command, of Christ.” “The Use of Wine in the Lord’s Supper” http://www.genevaopc.org/media/pubs/res_pdf_17.pdf (accessed Sept. 6, 2014). There was a right concern about drunkenness in these movements, but we believe that the churches accommodated too much to culture when they changed the historic practice of the church in this way. Today, we live in a very therapeutically charged cultural atmosphere in America, that presents constant challenges to the church to affirm certain legitimate concerns of our culture, while avoiding accommodation to the culture. As Christians, we do not want to lose the uniqueness and distinctives of the historic Christian faith, and we especially want to seek to worship God as God has commanded us to worship Him.³It is important for God’s people to consider whether the use of wine in the Lord’s Supper is a mere circumstance of worship, or an element commanded by God that must be followed (see … Continue reading We affirm that alcohol is a substance that can be abused; we deny that because of this we should serve something other than wine in the Lord’s Supper.

Theological-Biblical

The Bible does not condemn the moderate use of wine (Psa. 104:15; Deut. 14:23; Joel 3:18). But we are taught not to be drunk with wine (Eph. 5:18: “And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit…”). In Ephesians 5:18 the contrast is being controlled by the Spirit or by alcohol. We are forbidden as Christians to be controlled by anything other than the Blessed Holy Spirit Jesus Christ secured for us, Who is our Comforter-Counselor-Guide, Who seals us unto the day of redemption (Eph. 1:14; John 14-16). We are taught clearly throughout Scripture to beware the abuses of wine (Prov. 20:1; 23:19-22, 29-35; Hos. 4:11-12). This we must heed seriously.

Jesus uses fermented wine in the New Testament. His first miracle is turning water into wine at a wedding feast in Cana of Galilee (John 2). The wine of the New Testament may have been to some degree diluted, but nevertheless, when Jesus instituted the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper on the night He was betrayed, He used fermented wine that had always been used for the Passover Supper.⁴The Bible never condemns the moderate use of wine, only it’s abuse. When the Bible speaks of wine, it means fermented wine, see: Proverbs 23:31; Hos. 4:11; Isa. 5:11; 49:26; cf. Eph. 5:18; 1 … Continue reading Fermented wine was set apart as being the common means of communicating grace through Jesus, received by faith.⁵If it was not fermented wine, why would many think the disciples were “drunk with wine” in Acts 2:13? It is obvious that others knew that they used real wine, and this was used as slander … Continue reading Jesus fulfills the Passover Feast in His ministry for sinners, and institutes the Lord’s Supper, both of which were signs and symbols of the Heavenly Feast that Christ would eat in the restoration of all things (Isa. 25:6).

Why wine particularly in the Lord’s Supper? I think the signs are valuable teachers for God’s people. What can be the particular symbolic value of wine for God’s people? Wine in Scripture can be a picture of both blessings and curses (Deut. 28:39; Joel 1:10; Hos. 2:21-22; Amos 9:13). Wine can symbolize God’s goodness to man, for instance in making his heart merry and making his face shine (Psa. 104:15). Wine can also symbolize God’s wrath (Jer. 25:15; Isa. 63:6).⁶Ryken, Leland, Wilhoit, James C., Longman III, Tremper. “Wine” in Dictionary of Biblical Imagery (Downer’s Grove, Il: IVP Press). Isn’t this a lovely picture of the accomplishment of Jesus on the cross for sinners?

On the cross, we see that Jesus is both crushed for our iniquities, and undergoes the curse of the Law and the wrath of God for sinners, but this brings the blessing of joy and eternal life for all who believe. Wine helps us to experience both of these aspects of God’s revelation in the Lord’s Supper: blessing and curse. Jesus gives the blessing to us by grace alone, because Jesus becomes the curse (Gal. 3:13-14); we get the glorious and gracious benediction because Jesus received our malediction. Wine, when we drink it, often goes down with a bitter finish, but it is also sweet: there is the taste of God’s wrath poured out on Jesus, as well as the sweet results that come from the cross that are experienced in our partaking of wine. Let us glory in the cross of Christ! Oh, the sweet love of our Savior–much like wine if we were to write love poetry to Him:

“Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth! For your love is better than wine…Draw me after you; let us run. The king has brought me into his chambers. We will exult and rejoice in you; we will extol your love more than wine; rightly do they love you….How beautiful is your love…How much better is your love than wine, and the fragrance of your oils than any spice!” – ESV Song of Solomon 1:2, 4; 4:10

Practical

For one who struggles with a drinking problem, for one who is struggling with self-control and sobriety, what better picture of redemption than this: that Christ would use the substance that has tried to harm you, to bring healing and sanctification, so that you can live more and more self-controlled and sober in Christ alone. Could this be a stumbling block? If this was a stumbling block to cause you to sin, would our kind and merciful Lord Jesus have used it? Consider this:

The Lord Jesus instituted the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper with wine knowing intimately the dangers of wine abuse that were taught in the Proverbs (23:19-22, 29-35):

¹⁹ Hear, my son, and be wise, and direct your heart in the way. ²⁰ Be not among drunkards or among gluttonous eaters of meat, ²¹ for the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, and slumber will clothe them with rags. ²² Listen to your father who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old… ²⁹ Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaining? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes? ³⁰ Those who tarry long over wine; those who go to try mixed wine. ³¹ Do not look at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup and goes down smoothly. ³² In the end it bites like a serpent and stings like an adder. ³³ Your eyes will see strange things, and your heart utter perverse things. ³⁴ You will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea, like one who lies on the top of a mast. ³⁵ “They struck me,” you will say, “but I was not hurt; they beat me, but I did not feel it. When shall I awake? I must have another drink.”

The Lord Jesus instituted this sacrament with wine as an important element knowing these scriptures, and also encouraging wine use at the Lord’s Table to believers in a culture known for its drunkenness, dissipation, excessiveness, and Bacchanalia feasts. It is possible that some of the disciples were former drunks, we certainly know that Christians in the early church had struggled with this sin (Luke 21:34; Gal. 5:21; Pet. 4:3; 1 Cor. 6:9-11).⁷“Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, … Continue reading

Yet Jesus takes wine, a good gift from God (Gen. 1:31; Psa. 104:15; Judges 9:13; Eccl. 10:19; Prov. 31:6-7; 1 Tim.5:23), even though it had been used and abused as an element at pagan feasts, and sanctifies it be used symbolizing what His blood and powerful grace can do in our hearts.

We can change by God’s grace. I know some folks who are characterized as alcoholics, and who believe that they can never drink again without falling into sin, yet who desire to have wine at the Lord’s Table with Jesus, to make them more sober, careful, watchful, strong in the face of temptations to drunkenness.⁸As Christians, we have Christ. Christ and our relationship with Him is our ultimate identity. We can be tempted to label ourselves according to the culture of our time, using such terms as … Continue reading What a glorious foretaste of the wedding supper of the Lamb!!

Though alcoholics cannot enjoy drinking as a gift of God regularly NOW because of sins that so easily beset them, nevertheless they can feast with Jesus in worship, and have a foretaste of the Heavenly Wine and be joyful, knowing that one day soon, they will be rid of all sin to overindulge, and will enjoy drinking again with Jesus. Isn’t the greatest incentive to stay sober the fact that you have been loved and redeemed by Jesus? Do you think Jesus would do something to harm you? What an incentive to stay sober, yet affirm God’s good gift of wine, and the power of God’s grace, as you partake by faith in worship at the Lord’s Table in communion?!

Because you struggle with self-control, you may have to say with Jesus: “I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the Kingdom of God comes” (Luke 22:18), and this may be the best decision for you. But would you consider that the self-control and temperance you so desperately need is a promise of the Covenant of Grace where God promises to give you all you need for sanctification and complete the work He has begun in you (1 Thess. 5:23-24; Phil. 1:6). The New Covenant is given in signs and seals through bread and wine. Isn’t this a place where you can enjoy a foretaste of the Heavenly, eschatological feast now, as you trust in Christ for all things?

We believe that it is good for us to use wine in the Lord’s Table, and we invite all to come and partake with us as a congregation. The use of wine at the Lord’s Table is not intended in any way to be divisive, and this brief paper is not written as a polemic against other Bible-believing, faithful congregations who may disagree with us. In every congregation, a call must be made that seems good to the elders and to the Holy Spirit in their estimation (see Acts 15:28). This doesn’t mean that this must be the only way to practice the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, but it does mean that we believe it is our way that is consistent with history, biblical theology, and even the practical, sanctifying hopes we have in Christ and His ministry through us in the Lord’s Supper.

In Christ’s love,

Pastor Biggs

God in His glorious grace condescends to give outward covenant signs to believers and to their children that are in essence a beautiful picture of the salvation that is found in Jesus Christ for all who believe.

At KCPC we recognize both the continuity and discontinuity, both the similarities and the differences, between the Old and New Testaments. Let us emphasize clearly that although we make a distinction between the Old and New Testament time periods, there is one and the same Covenant of Grace in both testaments. Although there are differences between the administrations of the one covenant, particularly with regard to the outward signs given, the important continuity between the different administrations of the Covenant of Grace is ultimately Christ Jesus and all of His benefits that are offered to believers and to their children (Gal. 3:14, 16; Rom. 3:21-23, 30; 4:16-17, 23-24; Heb. 13:8).¹As the Westminster Confession of Faith states clearly: “There are not therefore two covenants of grace differing in substance, but one and the same under various dispensations” (WCOF, … Continue reading

In the Old Covenant, Abraham was promised that he would be the father of a multitude of nations (Gen. 12:1-3). In fact, God promises: “…In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Gen. 12:3b). The blessings to Abraham and his own family would be a blessing to all families who believed like Father Abraham (Romans 4:11-12, 16).²â€œThat is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring- not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the … Continue reading. This wonderful Gospel promise from God came to Abraham within the context of the overarching, historical Covenant of Grace that was inaugurated with Adam and Eve in the Garden after their fall into sin when the Covenant of Works was broken (Genesis 3:15; Acts 3:25; Galatians 3:8).³See Westminster Confession of Faith, Chap. 7, sections 2-3, 6.

The covenant sign for the Old Covenant administration was circumcision that symbolized a separation unto God from the world as His Beloved (Gen. 17:7-11). “And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you” (Gen. 17:7). How gracious is our covenant God! He says to us who believe: “To be God to you and to your children!” Those who are blessed to be recipients of the promises of Jesus Christ within the Covenant of Grace are to receive the outward signs of the covenant. Because God is kind and merciful, He also includes the children of believers in the covenant (cf. 1 Cor. 7:14). This is why at KCPC, we call our children particularly and proudly “covenant children” because they are privileged to be born into the covenant.

This sign of circumcision was applied to male children during the time of the administration of the Old Covenant (Gen. 17:10-11). The covenant sign was applied to believers and their children, but particularly males only during the Old Covenant, because the expectations and hopes of the Old Covenant was that the son of the woman, a male, the blessed Seed of the Woman would ultimately come and crush the head of the serpent as fulfillment of the Covenant of Grace God had made with Adam and Eve. In the fullness of time, after the coming of Jesus Christ, the covenant sign changed from circumcision to baptism, and because of the fullness of the covenant, and the grace revealed in Jesus Christ, the sign given to both male and female children (as the blessed promises were fulfilled and the Redeemer had come, the blessings were expanded to include both male and females).⁴Westminster Confession of Faith helps with understanding this discontinuity between the Old and New Covenants: “This covenant was differently administered in the time of the law, and in the … Continue reading

A Sketch of the Covenant of Grace: From Genesis to Galatians

Let us briefly sketch this overarching Covenant of Grace that Scripture reveals to us, that holds within it the Old Covenant with National Israel, and culminates and consummates with the Coming of Christ in the New Covenant. Adam and Eve were made a promise that one born of woman would crush the evil one, and there would be redemption by grace alone received by faith. Abram, who was not an Israelite before he was called by God, but actually a Mesopotamian moon-worshipper (Gen. 12:1ff; Joshua 24:2-4), was promised that he would have a great family based solely on God’s grace (He was old and his wife was barren!).

We are taught in Romans 4, that even before Abraham and his children were circumcised, the covenant promises were his to be received by faith alone (Romans 4:3-13). The Apostle Paul teaches in Romans 4: “[Abraham] received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well…” (ESV Romans 4:11).

In Galatians 3, the Apostle Paul teaches that Abraham’s seed was ultimately referring to Christ: “Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ” (ESV Galatians 3:16). In Christ, all of the promises of God would come to fulfillment (2 Cor. 1:20). Christ ultimately was the recipient of God’s promise to Abraham, and all of those both within the Old Covenant and the New Covenant who put their faith in Him. In fact, during the Mosaic administration of the Old Covenant, during the time of National Israel, there was the giving of the Law that heightened the problem of sin, so that the people would recognize their need of cleansing from sin, and put their trust in Christ alone (Gal. 3:17-24). The Bible says: “Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith” (Gal. 3:23-24).

The Apostle Paul teaches us clearly that all are children of God in Christ Jesus, whether Jew or Gentile, male or female (Gal. 3:27-29). “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise” (Gal. 3:28-29). All are one in Christ Jesus, even the distinctions between male and female that the Old Covenant had formerly distinguished. Again, it is important to reassert the important continuity between the administrations of the one Covenant of Grace is Christ Jesus and His blessed salvation offered to sinners. From Genesis to Galatians we see that believers and their children are included in the covenant privileges, all who have Abraham as their father.

Baptized into Moses, Circumcised in Christ

The signs of circumcision and baptism, although administered differently, were actually symbolizing aspects of union with Jesus Christ (that would be fully revealed in the New Testament). This is why the Apostle Paul can write to the predominantly Gentile Christians at Corinth (from very pagan, non-Jewish backgrounds and worldviews) to tell them that the Old Covenant Jews were their “fathers” who like them were “baptized into Moses” (1 Cor. 10:1-4). Paul could teach that the New Covenant believers at predominantly Gentile Colossae were circumcised in Christ, even though many of them had not been necessarily circumcised (Col. 2:11-14).

The signs, although different, and administered differently within the one Covenant of Grace, nevertheless pointed to union with Christ, and were so similar in meaning that if one was in union with Christ, one was circumcised and baptized. This is the continuity we want to emphasize as Christians submitted to the Bible: “In [Jesus] also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead” (ESV Colossians 2:11-12). Both of the signs, though different, come together in the Person and Work of Jesus Christ. Both circumcision and baptism, though different signs, all are God’s gracious pictures of the benefits of the saving work of Jesus Christ!

“For the promise is for you and for your children…”

We baptize our children because in the time of the Old Covenant, the children were included in the covenant privileges and so this is also emphasized in the New Covenant. In fact, at Pentecost, Peter’s sermon emphasizes the continuity between the promise that God made to Abraham and his children in Genesis 17, and the promises he still makes to us and to our children who live in the fullness of times, when Christ has come: “And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” (ESV Acts 2:38-39). Even in the preaching of the Gospel in the Book of Acts, the promises of the Covenant of Grace that are received by the head of the home are also for all who live within the house: “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” (ESV Acts 16:31).

Why do some not understand this and do not baptize their children? Some overly stress the discontinuity between National Israel and the church of the New Testament. These can easily overlook the way that the unity is emphasized between the two, and this can lead to misunderstandings of the one Covenant of Grace, how one understands the Old Testament, and even have a negative effect on such practices as the keeping of the Sabbath, and the kinds of millennial views one holds.⁵See Wilhelmus a Brakel, The Christian’s Reasonable Service, Vol. IV: Ethics and Eschatology, Appendix: “The Administration of the Covenant of Grace in the Old and New Testaments,” … Continue reading In other words, some do not emphasize enough the fact that the Old Covenant administration is a particular administration of the one Covenant of Grace (or even within the larger Eternal Covenant, that is mentioned in Hebrews 13:20-21 that is rooted in eternity past in the counsel of the Triune God). Some do not stress the similarities between the meaning and substance of the two signs of circumcision and baptism, and emphasize only their differences. The discontinuity is found in the signs not in the substance.

If you are a Christian, you are a child of Abraham, united by faith because of God’s grace to Christ, who is Abraham’s seed (Gal. 3:16). Christ is the circumcised, baptized Israelite within whom all of the blessings of the covenant are found both for us and for our children (Acts 2:38-39). If you have died with Christ and been raised with Him, you have been circumcised properly, or have received the benefits of what that sign symbolized during the Mosaic Covenant Administration (Col. 2:11-14; cf. Rom. 2:28-29; Phil. 3:3ff). “For we are the real circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh…” (ESV Philippians 3:3)

If you are a Christian, you were also in a sense baptized into Moses (1 Cor. 10:1-4, 6-13) and are a part of that larger Grand Narrative of which the Israelites were a part, and you are the True Israel of God (Gal. 6:16; Romans 2:28-29; 1 Pet. 2:9-11).⁶“[The Old Testament] Church is identically the same with the New Testament Church It has the same foundation; the same condition of membership, faith and obedience; sacraments of the same … Continue reading The promise in the Old Covenant administration of the Covenant of Grace was to believers and their children, how much more in the New Covenant administration of the Covenant of Grace, revealed in all its fullness in Christ, should be to believers and their children as well!

Let us bow in obedience to our Sovereign God, and baptize our children. Let us be grateful for these covenant signs that are theirs because of God’s mercies to believers and their households! Let us not neglect the means God has provided for our children to be nurtured and admonished in the faith as they are growing up in the covenant here at KCPC. As the Orthodox Presbyterian Church Book of Church Order admonishes us: “Although our young children do not yet understand these things, they are nevertheless to be baptized. For God commands that all who are under His covenant of grace be given the sign of the covenant.”⁷Directory for Worship, III.B.1 (4), 2011 Edition.

Questions for Parents at the Baptism of Your Covenant Children

As you bring your children for baptism at KCPC, remember the questions that will be asked of you as parents:

1. Do you acknowledge that although our children are conceived and born in sin and therefore are subject to condemnation, they are holy in Christ by virtue of the covenant of grace, and as children of the covenant are to be baptized?
2. Do you promise to teach diligently to your child the principles of our holy Christian faith, revealed in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments and summarized in the Confession of Faith and Catechisms of this Church?
3. Do you promise to pray regularly with and for [name of child], and to set an example of piety and godliness before (him/her)?
4. Do you promise to endeavor, by all the means that God has appointed, to bring your child up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, encouraging (him/her) to appropriate for (himself/herself) the blessings and fulfill the obligations of the covenant?

As your bring your children in obedience to God, and in light of his condescending grace to you and your children, remember the Lord Jesus’ words: “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me” (Mark 9:37). “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God” (Mark 10:14).

In Christ’s Love,

Pastor Biggs

I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life. – ^ESV 1 John 5:13

As God’s people, we can be grateful that those who are truly believers will never be separated from the love of God in Christ Jesus! NOTHING—absolutely NOTHING can separate you from His love for you!! (Romans 8:31-39; John 10:28-30). As believers, we can truly be joyful and confident in God’s love for us in Christ and so gain assurance of our salvation.

 

The Bible teaches us that assurance is a fruit of our faith in Jesus Christ, but assurance does not necessarily belong to the essence of faith. One can be a true believer in Christ with the slightest and smallest faith because they are taking hold of a great Christ! Salvation is about the greatness of Christ and His saving power, and willingness to save the repentant, not about how much faith we have (“Lord, I believe, help my unbelief”)!

 

Assurance of salvation is a fruit of our faith in Jesus, and it grows out of our faith. Assurance of salvation in Christ comes out of faith growing up and maturing in our walk with God (notice the goal of biblical teaching and preaching is to grow up in Ephesians 4:11-16 so that a Christian will not be tossed around).  We should remember that all obedience in the Christian life is in no way meritorious, but it is a concrete manifestation of the faith that we claim to have in Christ (2 Pet. 1:3-11). As both Paul and James teach, we are saved by faith alone, but not a faith that is alone; we are saved by God through faith alone, but it is a faith that works (Eph. 2:8-10; James 2:18ff).

 

Our Scripture from 1 John 5:13 tells us that the Apostle John wrote His first epistle to the churches so that they would have assurance of God’s love for them in Christ: “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.”  We can know that we know HIM, that is, we can have assurance John tells us in four important ways(1) Loving Obedience to Jesus: “We know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments”(1 Jo. 2:3). (2) Love to Our Brothers: “We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love other Christians” (1 Jo. 3:14). (3) Fruit of the Spirit: “By [loving in deed/action and in truth] we are of the truth and reassure our heart before Him” (1 Jo. 3:18). (4) Witness of the Spirit of God: “By this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us” (1 Jo. 3:19, 24). This is how we gain assurance in our faith as believers.

We must acknowledge that there are many hypocrites and unregenerate persons in the visible church who presume that they are in an estate of salvation, although they show no evidence that they have had any work of grace in their hearts. Therefore because we know that our hearts can deceive us, and that there are truly hypocrites, and that we can easily play the hypocrite, we must seek to examine ourselves as Scripture teaches us (2 Cor. 13:5; cf. Matt. 7:14-24).

 

You should never want your pastors or elders, nor anyone else to ever grant you assurance in the faith if you are not living by faith. To give assurance to one who is not living like a Christian may be to condemn one to hell. If you’re living unrepentantly right now in a sin, it may be that you’re a Christian who has fallen into a trap and you need immediate help through repentance, but you may also be coming to realize you have never been converted. Seek God for help on this. When you’re in this kind of struggle, you need to hear all of the Gospel promises for believers in Christ, but you do not need anyone to assure you first; God may be convicting you in your conscience to inform you of grieving the Spirit and calling you to repentance (John 16:8-11). You may truly be a Christian, but just have weak faith, and you need to be assured of God’s love. Don’t focus on yourself and your failures, but on Jesus Christ and His promises laid out in Scripture. Remember that all of our works, though weak and tainted with sin, are acceptable to God through faith in Jesus (Rom. 12:1; Phil. 4:18; 1 Pet. 2:5).

 

Assurance was described by one of our Reformed forefathers in this way: “Assurance is glory in the bud, it is the suburbs of paradise, it is a cluster of the land of promise, it is a spark of God, it is the joy and crown of a Christian” (Thomas Brooks, Works, Vol. 2, 333).

 

Seek Christ Jesus through HIs Word to find assurance through the Spirit’s help. Remember it is the Spirit of God who not only regenerates us and unites us with Christ in our new birth, it is the Spirit of God who empowers us to live for Christ and become like Christ, resisting our sins, the flesh and the devil, and growing up into our salvation in Jesus. It is the Spirit of God who witnesses with our Spirit that we are children of God (Romans 8:15-26). If children, then we are heirs, and we should live as in the very suburbs of heaven, rejoicing in Christ no matter what difficulty, trial or tribulation, knowing that it will only strengthen our endurance, hope and assurance (Romans 5:1-5). For further study with the family, see Westminster Confession of Faith, chapter 18: Of the Assurance of Grace and Salvation.

In Christ’s love,

Pastors Biggs and Halley

 

“…Preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” ~ 1 Peter 1:13

 

The Apostle Peter desires for God’s people to be sober-minded. Three times in his first epistle, Peter tells God’s people of the importance of being sober-minded (1:13; 4:7; 5:8). Two of the times are imperatives that teach that this is an important truth that God commands for His people in light of His grace to us.

 

Sober-mindedness can mean to be self-controlled, to think sensibly, or seriously, or what we might call being realistic about life. It is to think Christianly ultimately. This means God’s people are to have a biblical understanding about their own sinful hearts, the right perspective and expectations of living in a fallen world, and to be able to grasp at the same time God’s immense love and mercy that He has for His people in Jesus Christ. We are to think realistically about our lives.

 

What particularly are we to be sober-minded about? Peter teaches us to be sober-minded about our hope (1:13), our utter dependence upon God to endure faithfully (4:7), and our agonizing conflict that we are engage in as Christians (5:8). Our hope is to set our hope fully upon the grace to be brought to us at the revelation of Jesus Christ (1:13b). This is thinking soberly. This is not putting your hope in earthly dreams and seeking to be satisfied here in this world. Rather, it is to realize that your great inheritance, and your fortune of grace is with Christ “kept in heaven for you” and is “imperishable, undefiled, and unfading” (1:4-5). This is your hope.

 

We are utterly dependent upon God as we live our lives in this fallen world. We live in the last days, the final chapter of God’s redemptive story, and we must be sober-minded for the sake of our prayers (4:7). Christ’s work has been fully completed for us and we are to pray continually to Him, learning to be ever dependent upon Him. Our sin in Adam has always been self-dependence, and seeking independence from God. Being sober-minded is to know we have a tremendous need of Him, and to learn to have deeper and greater communion with Him. Because He loves us!

 

As God’s people we are to be sober-minded because there is a great conflict in which we are engaged. The Christian life is a great cosmic battle (Eph 6:10-20). We need to think realistically about our own sinful tendencies, the “sin that so easily besets us” (Heb. 12:2), living cautiously and circumspectly, knowing that although Christ has dealt the mortal wound to the wicked dragon, he still seeks to pursue Christ’s Bride and harm us by his evil schemes (Rev. 12; Eph. 6:11; 2 Cor. 2:11). Our enemy is like a roaring lion seeking to devour and so we need to be watchful and prayerful at all times against him; we need to pray continually for one another (Eph. 6:18-20).

 

Surely Peter is drawing on his own experience having sinned against the Lord throughout his life in trying circumstances when he did not have a healthy sober-mindedness. Peter’s faith never completely failed him because our Lord Jesus prayed for Him and forgave Him when he confessed his sin of evil carelessness and unbelief. When our Lord Jesus forgave Peter and restored him, He told Peter that he would go and strengthen his brothers (Luke 22:32). Being sober-minded is one very important message with which God’s people need to be strengthened.

 

Let us be sober-minded, and confess our sins to Christ when we fail, and seek to ask Him for greater faith to know where our hope is, how effectual our prayers our as we remain dependent upon Him, and to trust Him to help us overcome our evil adversary, resisting him and standing firm in the faith.

 

In Christ, Pastor Biggs

 

(Adaption of an application from last Lord’s Day sermon)

 

Our Lord Jesus reserves his harshest criticisms for the Pharisees. The Pharisees were a conservative sect in Judaism whose mission statement was to live pure lives before God and to keep Jews separated from the world by their conformity to God’s Law. The problem was that although the Pharisees knew a lot of the Law of God, they were in fact lawless (Matt. 23:28). They merely kept the Laws of God externally, and they sought by their traditional interpretations of God’s Law to make them “do-able”, not realizing that one of the purposes of the Law of God was to reveal to them their need for Jesus Christ (Gal. 3:15-28; Rom. 2:21-29).

And so while they spoke of God and His Word, their hearts were in fact far from God (Matt. 15:7-9). Although these professors claimed to know God’s Word, they actually did not really know it; they were described by Jesus as those who: “preach but do not practice” and those who made “void the Word of God for their traditions” (Matt. 15:3-6). Jesus said to them that they were religious posers—they were hypocrites, and the condemnation of God awaited these Christ-less, religious men if they did not repent and receive the Lord Jesus as Savior and Lord (Matt. 23:24-28). Jesus clearly revealed that He was the only righteous person acceptable before a Holy God. Only Jesus Christ had perfectly kept the Law of God that required perfection (Matt. 5:48).

A popular notion today is that those who seek to be holy and live out God’s law are ‘Pharisees’ but this is incorrect and very unfair. Sure, there will always be those who try to live out the Law of God through their own self-righteous efforts, rejecting Christ (Rom. 10:3; Gal. 1:6), and these will be damned (Matt. 7:23). But those in Christ, who seek to uphold the Law of God through obedience because of Christ’s love and grace extended to them (Rom. 6:17), should not be called Pharisees. This is very unfair.

How can we be “phunctional Pharisees” then? We can intentionally and unintentionally “shut the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces” in our carelessness as Christians (Matt. 23:13). We can send a message to our community that what is most important to us is not the Gospel and seeking and saving the lost, but our need to stay free from contamination, to categorize those we think are safe and unsafe, or those we think might respond to the Gospel and those who will not, and to subtly make our convictions commands that others are to follow.

I think there are three ways that this is revealed in to us in Scripture as we look at the practices of the Pharisees: (1) Thinking unbelievers are “contagious” in their sins; (2) Unfairly categorizing people; and (3) Making our convictions commands for others to follow.

 

“Sinner: Are you contagious?” The Pharisees would not fellowship and show compassion to folks lost in sin. They thought that folks like tax collectors and prostitutes were “too far gone” to be recipients of God’s grace (with which they themselves were unfamiliar). They thought if they got too close to notorious sinners, then they would be contaminated. One of their interpretations of God’s Word (which was contrary to the mercy and steadfast love of God in Christ) was that if they got too close to sinners, then they would be made unclean before God, so they tried to keep themselves, their family, and their synagogues “sin free” merely in this external way.

Isn’t this how we can behave, too, if we are not careful?! Yes, we must be wise in our interaction with sinful people, and there may be some people and places that would prove too much of a temptation for us, but do our hearts deceive us into thinking that we cannot get near sinful people? Do we not even pray for them? Our commission by our loving and merciful Lord is “Go…making disciples…teaching…” (Matt. 28:18ff). As we learn in the Parable of the Prodigal Son (and throughout Luke 15), we are to imitate Jesus in His grace by “seeking and saving the lost…” by bringing the healing Gospel of the Great Physician to sinners who are sick (Mark 2:17). Have we extended a hand of friendship, or an invitation to table fellowship (Mark 2:13-17), or even an invitation to worship to a notorious sinner in the community lately? Could it be we think that they will contaminate our families, our congregations, etc.? Be honest about this.

We can also unfairly categorize people. We inevitably must use categories, but do our categories that we make of others place them in conditions that we functionally believe they are “too hardened” or “too far gone” for redemption? Remember the parable of the tax collector and Pharisee in Luke 18? The Pharisee refers to, or categorizes other men as “extortioners, prostitutes, adulterers, tax collectors,” etc. He looked on them with “contempt”. In other words, he placed the category of his own making as a priority over the power and grace of God in Christ toward men (don’t we do this with the gay and lesbian community particularly?!).  The Pharisees refered to the “unchurched” or those who didn’t live according to their interpretations as “sinners”. We are all sinners, but this was a special category of “sinners” that implied that they were what we might call “hopeless cases”. Do we categorize people and think that we are better merely because of the things we have been enabled by God’s Spirit to do for Christ? Have we forgotten mercy? Don’t we talk like this? Those “Hollywood people” or “those lawyers” or “those ___________” insinuating that these folks are too far gone, and outside any reach of God’s power and grace revealed in Christ.

Making our convictions commands for others to follow. We can make our convictions commands for others, and imply that those who might disagree with us are not welcome, and so we unnecessarily place a stumbling block in the way of sinners who might seek salvation in Christ. Do we shut up the Kingdom of Heaven in men’s faces, too?! (Matt. 23:13). If we make issues of Christian liberty, like ways we school our children, or political parties we belong to, or our conviction about whether one should drink alcohol or not drink alcohol, we can be functional Pharisees. Why? Because we are adding to God’s Law, and adding to God’s Word which is always prohibited. The Pharisees did not keep God’s Word. They make up additional laws (some 613, I understand!) that were to be followed if one wanted to be in fellowship with them.  If we are making our convictions that have been informed by God’s Word (legitimately) and we are implicitly (or explicitly) saying to others that you must be of the same mind as me on this, or sending the message that another is unacceptable to me, my family or my church, this too, can be a way of being a “phunctional Pharisee”.

We must follow our consciences. We must seek God’s wisdom on important issues of schooling our children, how we vote, and whether we are going to drink or not, but our convictions are not to become measures by which we judge others, or boundary lines to keep from fellowship. Think of how subtle this is, and yet how real this can be in a local congregation of God’s people. Rather than acknowledging the liberty God grants to His people, we insist that everyone live by our convictions. The outside world of sinful people can think a particularly congregation would not welcome them because they do not live specifically as those inside, and functionally something other than the Gospel becomes what separates those who might have “inquired within”. It is true that people will be offended by Christians if the Gospel is preached. But let those from outside the congregation be offended by the Gospel, and not our “phunctional Pharisaism”.

Let us repent of this “phunctional pharisaism”. Let us beat our breast as former tax collectors and sinners, and ask God to have mercy upon us! Let us be thankful for the completed work of Christ and His perfect law-keeping that has been imputed to us by faith. Let us befriend sinners, like our Lord Jesus has befriend us! Let us live with holy hearts and holy compassion as our Lord Jesus displayed to us.

 

In Christ’s love,

Pastors Biggs and Halley