Looking for Signs to Assure Us of Salvation?

Photo by Austin Chan on Unsplash

In the Westminster Confession of Faith, the divines addressed the nature of our assurance of salvation. While many in our day strive after special signs or think they need a verbal affirmation from God before they'll be assured, we believe that the ordinary use of the means of grace is the greatest source of assurance to us! Why? Because these are the means the Holy Spirit uses to build up our faith and direct our lives! We don't need neon signs or fleeces (see story of Gideon in the book of Judges) - we need the Word of God!

—Westminster Confession of Faith 18.1, 3

Although hypocrites and other unregenerate men may vainly deceive themselves with
false hopes and carnal presumptions of being in the favor of God, and estate of salvation
(which hope of theirs shall perish): yet such as truly believe in the Lord Jesus, and love
him in sincerity, endeavoring to walk in all good conscience before him, may, in this life, 
be certainly assured that they are in the state of grace, and may rejoice in the hope of the
glory of God, which hope shall never make them ashamed.

This infallible assurance doth not so belong to the essence of faith, but that a true
believer may wait long, and conflict with many difficulties before he be partaker of it: 
yet, being enabled by the Spirit to know the things which are freely given him of God, 
he may, without extraordinary revelation, in the right use of ordinary means, attain
thereunto. And therefore it is the duty of everyone to give all diligence to make his call-
ing and election sure, that thereby his heart may be enlarged in peace and joy in the
Holy Ghost, in love and thankfulness to God, and in strength and cheerfulness in the
duties of obedience, the proper fruits of this assurance; so far is it from inclining men to
looseness.
 

On the Office of Deacon...

On the occasion of Mr. Gerald Epp's ordination as a deacon in our congregation (for which we give thanks!), we reflected together on 1 Timothy 3:1-13 and what the Lord says regarding the elders and deacons which are to serve in each congregation of Christ. We take this instruction very seriously and believe that churches which do not have elders or deacons (or worse, fail to have either office) will surely be weak. Why? Because this is to neglect the means that Christ Jesus has established for his church!

So what is the particular calling of the deacons?

In brief, they are to serve as stewards of the needy and caretakers of the church. 

Arising from the division of responsibilities in the book of Acts, chapter 6, the calling of the deacon is to be of service to those who are in need – first to the widows of the Greeks who were being overlooked in the distribution of bread to alleviate poverty – and through the history of the church as those who minister to the various needs of those who are beset by sickness or accidents or hardships of many kinds. 

The office of the deacon was established by Christ through his apostles so that the poor and distressed may be relieved and comforted, according to their needs.

We should see in the deacons the hand of mercy of our LORD and his recognition that the weak and weary, the hungry and poor, are so precious to Him that he prepares men with a particular calling to oversee and provide for their care. 

This doesn't alleviate you of any responsibility to the needy but rather it directs us to be responsibly giving to others and ensuring their well-being. 

Much more could be said about the hundreds of ways that the deacons can actively take up their service – for they are much more than just the offering collectors and bill-payers for the church. They are men of dignity and thoughtfulness – who hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. They are Christ Jesus' gift to the church and the church knows great blessing through the active ministry of the deacons!

"Do Not Forsake the Work of Your Hands" -- Psalm 138

The Psalmist David closes Psalm 138 with a remarkable plea that we echo as believers in this age: 

"Do not forsake the work of your hands."

Dean John. W. Burgon, an Anglican preacher from the 19th century, composed a beautiful reflection on David's plea in which he wrote: 

“His creating hands formed our souls at the beginning;
His nail-pierced hands redeemed them on Calvary;
His glorified hands will hold our souls fast and not let them go forever.

Unto His hands let us commend our spirits, sure that even though the work of our hands have made void the works of His hands,
Yet His hands will again perfect all that our hands have unmade.”

Augustine, the great 4th century church father, also wrote similarly in his Confessions: 

“Behold in me thy work, not mine;

for mine, if thou seest, thou condemnest;

Thine, if thou seest, thou crownest.

For whatever good works there be of mine, from Thee are they to me;

and so they are more Thine than mine.”

As you reflect on this, our prayer that the Lord will build you up in Christ Jesus and assure you with the confidence of the Apostle Paul: 

I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. (Philippians 1:6)

New Book on the Psalms of Ascents

This past Lord's Day, we read from Psalm 123 and Pastor Norm preached a sermon on this text entitled "The Soundtrack of the Sermon on the Mount." Well, one day later an email arrived from the Banner of Truth publications crew with details of a forthcoming book about the Psalms of Ascents. 

If such a book interests you, read on to learn more about this work by Rhett Dodson: 

---

“The Psalms of Ascents (Psalms 120-134) were sung by Israelites as they made their way to Jerusalem for the annual feasts of Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles. As pilgrim songs, they provide a way for believers to express their fears, needs, and aspirations as they journey through this life.

These psalms are also the songs of Jesus. In Marching to Zion you will discover how these ancient songs of Israel affect our faith today, point us to the future, and help keep our eyes on Christ every step of the way.”

— Marching to Zion: Ancient Psalms for Modern Pilgrims

Don't Forget: Remember What Is Important!

"The means God appointed to help the children of Israel were to remember what was important. In his dealings with Moses, God had established a set of repetitive processes by which the Israelites would be constantly reminded of all that God had done for them. Thus, for example, in Exodus 12, God establishes the Passover Feast, the performance of which is designed in part to provoke later generations to ask the question of why this is done. This will then require parents to tell their children about God’s great act of saving grace in bringing the children of Israel out of Egypt even as this was by means of an awesome and terrifying judgment against the Egyptians.

The Passover is just one example of many rituals outlined in the Torah which functioned on one level as reminders of who God was, who the Israelites were, and how they related to each other. Thus, when we come in to the Promised Land and we find the Israelites suffering persistent recurrences of amnesia, it does not take a genius to assume that part of the immediate cause of this was their abject neglect of the means which God had established for keeping his name and his acts fresh in their minds.

What this kind of amnesia tells us is that we need constant reminders of who God is and what he has done if we are to stay on the straight and narrow; and that these are provided by the routines and rituals which God specifies in Scripture. For the Christian, under the terms of the NT age, these are the Word of God, read and preached and heard, and the sacraments, or, if you are a Baptist, the ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s Supper. These things are given to remind us of who God is; and the neglect of them will only help to accelerate any proclivities towards forgetfulness that our instinctive rebellion of God encourages."

(Carl Trueman, "Lest We Forget" in Themelios 34.3 Nov 2009: http://themelios.thegospelcoalition.org/article/lest-we-forget)

Boris Stefanik

On the Psalms and Ephesians 5

From 150 Questions about the Psalter by Bradley Johnston:

Q13. Why does the Apostle Paul use the words 'psalms and hymns and songs' to teach the churches about singing?

A. The Apostle Paul uses the three words 'psalms and hymns and songs' to teach the churches about singing because they were featured in the Greek Old Testament (LXX) used by his original readers. The inscriptions of the Greek Psalter use 'psalm' 67 times, 'hymn' 6 times, and 'song' 36 times. All three words are used repeatedly in the text of the Psalter itself.

For a more in depth treatment of this subject, consider reading the RPCNA Report on Psalmody in the Church (accessible here)

Photo by Matt Briney on Unsplash

The Impact of God's Covenant with King David

What are we to make of the Davidic covenant found in 2 Samuel 7 and described again in 1 Chronicles 17?

First, we should be clear what we mean by 'covenant'. In the memorable words of the Children's Shorter Catechism, a covenant is a "relationship that God establishes with us and guarantees by His Word." Thus, when God made a covenant with King David, the LORD was telling David and his descendants what he could expect in the generations to come. 

The LORD looked upon the shepherd king of Israel and established an everlasting covenant – a binding and constant arrangement between God and David and his offspring. The Davidic covenant established an expectation of a greater Son of David who would come to bring us into an everlasting kingdom! And if we want to summarize the significance of the Davidic covenant in a single sentence, we might say: 

Because God keeps His Word, His promise of an everlasting house (or dynasty) and Kingdom to David gave confidence to all who anticipated the fulfillment of this promise. 

Ray Grau

Augustine and the Defense of the Faith

With the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation being celebrated especially on this day (Oct 31st), it's always important to keep in mind that Luther was not the first to draw attention to the biblical doctrine of salvation by grace alone through faith alone. St. Augustine was one such figure who stridently defended the doctrines of scripture and the attack on the gospel found in the writings of Pelagius. 

The history of the monk Pelagius is a compelling read and illustrates how he frequently crossed heads with the early church’s St. Jerome and St. Augustine. Augustine spoke out against the merited grace doctrine of Pelagius in a series of letters and doctrinal treatises. Historian Rebecca Harden Weaver describes it thus:

“The issue for him was the utterly gratuitous character of grace. Any connection between the divine conferral of grace and human distinctions in merit would have the effect of making the former dependent on the latter. Grace would be a reward. Such an arrangement was totally unacceptable to Augustine. Instead, he argued that God had created human nature as good; yet in Adam all participated in sin and, as a result, deserve damnation. The grace of God, however, rescues some from their just deserts and bestows on them eternal life.” (Rebecca Harden Weaver, Divine Grace and Human Agency: A Study of the Semi-Pelagian Controversy (Macon, GA: Mercer University Press, 1996), 5)