The Riches of His Glorious Inheritance in the SaintsWeek 7

Westminster Larger Catechism Q57-89

Question Topic Week  

57, 58 The benefits of redemption & how applied 1 10/13/201359, 60 Who are the recipients? 2 10/20/2013

  Justification and Sanctification: What’s the difference?Dr. David Van Drunen

  10/27/2013

61-63 The visible church 3 11/3/201364-65 The Invisible Church 4 11/10/201366-68 Union with Christ &Effectual Call 5 11/17/201369-71 Communion in Grace with Christ – Justification 6 11/24/201372-73 Justifying Faith 7 12/1/201374-76 Communion in Grace with Christ – Adoption & Sanctification 8 12/8/2013

77-78 The Difference Between Justification and Sanctification 9 12/15/201379-81 Perseverance and Assurance of Believers 10 12/22/201382-83 Communion in Glory with Christ – in this life 11 12/29/201384-87 Communion in Glory with Christ – after death 12 1/5/201488-89 The Final Judgment 13 1/12/2013

Where are we going?

“For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe,…”(Eph 1:15-19)

Our theme for the next several weeks:

The WLC Begins with the End

Man’s Chief End:Glorify & Enjoy God [Q1]

An Apology for God’s Being [Q2]

God’s Revelation of Himself [Q3]

An Apology for God’s Word [Q4]

A Summary of God’s Word [Q5]

What to Believe(God’s & His Works) [Q6-90] What to Do (Man’s Duty) [Q91-196]

FOUNDATION

BRIDGE TO THE REST

BIBLICAL PATTERN: BELIEVE DO

What to Believe(God & His Works)

[Q6-90]

A Summary of what to believe about God [Q6]

Who God is… [Q7-11]

What God is… [Q7]

The Persons of the Godhead[Q8-11]

What God does…[Q12 – 90]

What God does…[Q12 – 90]

God’s Decrees [Q 14]

Creation [Q15-17] Providence [Q18-90]

Toward Angels [Q19]

Toward Man [Q 20-90]

God’s Providence Toward Man [Q20-90]

Before the Fall [Q 20]

In The Fall [Q21-22]

After the Fall [Q23-90]

Man After the Fall[Q23-90]

Man’s Condition[Q 23-29]

God’s Grace[Q30-90]

Covenant of Grace [Q30-35]

Redemption Accomplished [Q36-56]

RedemptionApplied [Q57-90]

What did Christ procure? How is it applied?

REDEMPTION HOLY SPIRIT

The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” (John 3:8, ESV)

But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. (Hebrews 9:11-12, ESV)

Who are the recipients of these benefits?

Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” (John 6:35-40, ESV)

Can someone receive redemption through their sincerity?

This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:11-12, ESV)

JESUS

For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. (Ephesians 5:23, ESV)

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6, ESV)

What is the visible church? What are the benefits?A visible, organized, society assumed to exist in the NT• “… tell it to the church….” (Matthew 18:15-17, ESV)• Obey your leaders and submit to them,… (Hebrews 13:17,

ESV)• “… not neglecting to meet together, …” (Hebrews 10:23-25,

ESV)• This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what

remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you— (Titus 1:5, ESV)

• The ordained means for God to dispense His grace– Proclamation of His word– Administration of the sacraments– Overseeing the membership

So, all I need to do is join a church?

What is the invisible church?• the whole number of the elect, that have been, are, or

shall be gathered into one under Christ the head

Humanity

Visible Church

This could represent ALL of time and history.

This could represent a snapshot in time.

SIZE of CIRCLES NOT TO SCALE!!

Q. 65. What special benefits do the members of the invisible church enjoy by Christ?A. The members of the invisible church by Christ enjoy union and communion with him in grace and glory.This question serves as a GATEWAY or OUTLINE to the following questions in the catechism ….

What is union with Christ?What is communion with Him?What does that look like now?What will it look like in glory?

An EFFECTUAL call…

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. (Romans 8:28-30, ESV)

foreknew predestined called justified glorified

The “golden chain” of redemption

Are the elect only effectually called?

Vessels of honor and vessels of dishonor…• Romans 9

– “I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy.”

• QUESTIONS?• COMMENTS?• OBJECTIONS?• MUSINGS?

Q. 69. What is the communion in grace which the members of the invisible church have with Christ?A. The communion in grace which the members of the invisible church have with Christ, is their partaking of the virtue of his mediation, in their justification, adoption, sanctification, and whatever else, in this life, manifests their union with him.

Virtue of Christ’s

Mediation

JustificationAdoptionSanctificationWhatever Else

How can the sinner go free?

• What if the Judge would let the guilty go free?• What if someone who is not guilty would go to prison or be executed

in their place?• Why would that not be acceptable?

Capone Manson Kaczynski Andrew Kehoe Tom Horn

Lanza Gacy Bundy McVeigh Jones

Q. 70. What is justification?A. Justification is an act of God’s free grace unto sinners, in which he pardoneth all their sins, accepteth and accounteth their persons righteous in his sight; not for anything wrought in them, or done by them, but only for the perfect obedience and full satisfaction of Christ, by God imputed to them, and received by faith alone.

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21, ESV)

Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous. (Romans 5:18-19, ESV)

The Great Exchange

Christ Sinners(HisPeople)

Righteousness

Sin/Guilt

IMPUTATIONBy FAITH ALONE

(Sola Fide)

Q. 71. How is justification an act of God’s free grace?A. Although Christ, by his obedience and death, did make a proper, real, and full satisfaction to God’s justice in the behalf of them that are justified; yet inasmuch as God accepteth the satisfaction from a surety, which he might have demanded of them, and did provide this surety, his own only Son, imputing his righteousness to them, and requiring nothing of them for their justification but faith, which also is his gift, their justification is to them of free grace.

The Logic of Calvin (Institutes)• To save us from judgment, the Son became flesh and

merited our salvation (2.15 – 17)• Thus, the righteousness by which we are saved is alien

to us (3.11.2, etc.)• Yet Christ must not only be given for us; he must be

given to us (3.1.1)• We are not only recipients of Christ’s gifts but of Christ

himself with his gifts (3.1.1; 3.1.4; 3.2.24; 4.17.11)

Roman Catholic Teaching – Council of Trent (1545 – 1563)

Canon 9. If anyone says that the sinner is justified by faith alone ... let him be anathema.Canon 11. If anyone says that men are justified either by the sole imputation of the righteousness of Christ or by the sole remission of sins ... let him be anathema.Canon 12. If anyone says that justifying faith is nothing else than confidence in divine mercy, which remits sins for Christ's sake, or that it is this confidence alone that justifies us, let him be anathema.Canon 24. If anyone says that the justice [righteousness] received is not preserved and also not increased before God through good works, but that those works are merely the fruits and signs of justification obtained, but not the cause of the increase, let him be anathema.

Roman Catholic Teaching – Council of Trent (1545 – 1563)

Canon 30. If anyone says that after the reception of the grace of justification the guilt is so remitted and the debt of eternal punishment so blotted out to every repentant sinner that no debt of temporal punishment remains to be discharged either in this world or in purgatory before the gates of heaven can be opened, let him be anathema.Canon 32. If anyone says that the good works of the one justified are in such manner the gifts of God that they are not also the good merits of him justified; or that the one justified by the good works that he performs by the grace of God and the merit of Jesus Christ, whose living member he is, does not truly merit an increase of grace, eternal life, and in case he dies in grace the attainment of eternal life itself and also an increase of glory, let him be anatherna.

Other Opposition to Justification by Faith Alone• Anabaptists: “… historic Anabaptists ‘never talked about being

“justified by faith.’” • Socinians (Unitarians): rejected forensic justification for a

Pelagian view (cooperation between God and man in salvation).• Arminians: though claiming to hold to justification by faith,

confused justification and sanctification to various degrees:– Charles Finney:

• Imputation of Christ's righteousness is “absurd” and undermines all motivation to personal holiness

• “As has already been said, there can be no justification in a legal or forensic sense, but upon the ground of universal, perfect, and uninterrupted obedience to law…. The doctrine of imputed righteousness, or that Christ’s obedience to the law was accounted as our obedience, is founded on a most false and nonsensical assumption, for Christ's righteousness could do no more than justify himself. It can never be imputed to us…. It was naturally impossible, then, for him to obey on our behalf. “