Walking Through Westminster, WCF 7.1-3

Westminster Confession of Faith 7.1-3

I. The distance between God and the creature is so great, that although reasonable creatures do owe obedience unto Him as their Creator, yet they could never have any fruition of Him as their blessedness and reward, but by some voluntary condescension on God's part, which He has been pleased to express by way of covenant.

II. The first covenant made with man was a covenant of works, wherein life was promised to Adam; and in him to his posterity, upon condition of perfect and personal obedience.

III. Man, by his fall, having made himself incapable of life by that covenant, the Lord was pleased to make a second, commonly called the covenant of grace; wherein He freely offers unto sinners life and salvation by Jesus Christ; requiring of them faith in Him, that they may be saved, and promising to give unto all those that are ordained unto eternal life His Holy Spirit, to make them willing, and able to believe.

Summary

The fall of mankind into sin created a great divide between God and man. The divide is so great that the only way we are able to have a restored relationship with God is if God willingly condescends to us, that is, if He stoops down to our level, as a rich man to a beggar. Since He is the offended party in this relationship, and we the offenders, it falls on Him whether to restore the relationship, or not. By His grace, He does condescend to meet with us and be our God, and He expresses His condescension by way of covenant. 

A "covenant" is defined in various ways, but the Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible defines it as an "Arrangement between two parties involving mutual obligations". Manser's Dictionary of Bible Themes defines it, "God’s commitment to, and requirement of, his people expressed in promise, law, judgment, faithfulness and mercy." A covenant is many things, but it is primarily about relationship. It can refer to contracts and political agreements, but it is more often used in Scripture with the idea of marriage, especially regarding the covenant between God and His people. For God to covenant with His people means that He initiates an intimate relationship with them, both parties being subject to stipulations and duties.

God's first covenant with mankind was a covenant of life made with Adam, in which life was promised to Adam, and all his descendants, upon the conditions of "perfect and personal obedience", meaning total and heartfelt obedience. (Genesis 2:8-17) Because Adam fell in the original sin, and all mankind fell with him and in him, all mankind is now incapable of receiving life through that covenant. In other words, you and I are in no way capable of meriting life through any of our own works. We are dead in Adam and unable to live again. (Romans 5:12-21)

If God did not act, we would remain dead in Adam and come under the judgment of God's wrath in the Last Day. But God is gracious, loving, and good to sinners, and so made a second covenant with mankind: the covenant of grace. Whereas the first covenant of life is made with all mankind through Adam, the covenant of grace is made with elect mankind through Christ. Whereas the covenant of works extended an offer of life with a requirement attached, the covenant of grace extends a free offer of life with all the requirements being fulfilled through the work of Jesus. The only requirement on the part of the elect is to have faith in Jesus Christ. Even that faith is a gift from God, as it is the Holy Spirit who makes the elect willing and able to believe in Jesus. Therefore, the covenant of grace is gracious from top to bottom. All the work required is accomplished by Christ and given as a free gift to the elect, and even the faith required on our part is given as a free gift by the Holy Spirit.

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Walking Through Westminster, WCF 6.3-6

Westminster Confession of Faith 6.3-6

III. They being the root of all mankind, the guilt of this sin was imputed; and the same death in sin, and corrupted nature, conveyed to all their posterity descending from them by ordinary generation.

IV. From this original corruption, whereby we are utterly indisposed, disabled, and made opposite to all good, and wholly inclined to all evil, do proceed all actual transgressions.

V. This corruption of nature, during this life, does remain in those that are regenerated; and although it be, through Christ, pardoned, and mortified; yet both itself, and all the motions thereof, are truly and properly sin.

VI. Every sin, both original and actual, being a transgression of the righteous law of God, and contrary thereunto, does in its own nature, bring guilt upon the sinner, whereby he is bound over to the wrath of God, and curse of the law, and so made subject to death, with all miseries spiritual, temporal, and eternal.

Summary

Since Adam and Eve are the root of all mankind, their corruption and sinful nature extends to all their descendants by ordinary generation (sexual reproduction). Just as surely as you can't make a good omelette with bad eggs, so we cannot expect Adam's descendants to be anything but sinful. All mankind descending from Adam by ordinary generation has entered the same fallen condition in him. As an aside, this is one reason why the virgin conception and birth of Jesus Christ is so fundamental to the gospel. If Christ was descended from Adam via ordinary generation (whether by Joseph impregnating Mary or any other man violating her), then Christ could not be without sin, and He would therefore be unable to reconcile us to God by taking sin upon Himself and giving His people His own sinlessness. Some false teachers have tried to lay aside the virgin birth of Jesus as not necessary for the gospel, but these people are ignorant or foolish and don't even understand the gospel as given to them. 

This sinful nature that all mankind has through Adam means that we are completely incapable of doing good, and only and entirely inclined to do evil. There may be people who appear better or more moral or more good than another, but the human soul is totally corrupted by sin, so that even the good we may do is still tainted with evil. When we define good as God defines it, we are wholly inclined against it unless God changes our hearts. From this original sin nature comes all actual sins which we commit. We sin, because we are sinful. We do not become sinful when we sin, but we are sinful and therefore commit sins. Jesus said in the gospel, "What comes out of a man, that defiles a man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed all evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile a man." (Mark 7:20-23) We covet, because we are covetous. We commit adultery, because we are adulterous. We murder, because we are murderous. While some men express their sinfulness more openly than others, we all have the root of it in our souls. We are all just as capable of any of these wicked acts, and often commit them ourselves.

The corruption of sin remains, even when a sinner is converted and born again of the Holy Spirit. Through Christ, the believer's sin is pardoned, and by the working of the Holy Spirit, is mortified, but it still remains until death and unification with Christ. Further, it still remains sinful, even when present in the believer. The doctrine of perfectionism which teaches that believers are capable of achieving such a level of holiness that they cease to sin is despicable, repugnant to the word of God, and worthy of trampling under foot. Paul did not say, "I was the chief of sinners", but "I am the chief of sinners." The corruption of sin still warrants physical death, even for believers (with the biblical exceptions of those translated straight to heaven). We are still subject to death, but we are no longer subject to the miseries of death, both temporal and eternal. We will die physically, but Christ has died for our souls. The believer is granted eternal life through Christ such that they will never experience the spiritual death of eternal damnation in hell. Christ will also finally conquer death for good in the Resurrection, when He will raise all the elect believers from the dead, freeing them eternally from the bonds of physical death; a full reversal of the curse Adam brought upon us. This is our chief hope in God, and, without it, we are most pitiable. (1 Corinthians 15:19)

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Walking Through Westminster, WCF 6.1-2

Westminster Confession of Faith 6.1-2

I. Our first parents, being seduced by the subtilty and temptations of Satan, sinned, in eating the forbidden fruit. This their sin, God was pleased, according to His wise and holy counsel, to permit, having purposed to order it to His own glory.

II. By this sin they fell from their original righteousness and communion, with God, and so became dead in sin, and wholly defiled in all the parts and faculties of soul and body.

Summary

Mankind, in Adam and Eve, was originally created with the ability to truly obey or disobey God, being left by God to the freedom of their own will. However, being seduced and tempted by Satan in the garden of Eden, our first parents ate the forbidden fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and thereby fell from this state of original righteousness and communion with God. God had warned them in the beginning "in the day you eat of [the tree of the knowledge of good and evil] you shall surely die." (Gen 2:17). While Adam and Eve's physical life did not end the moment they ate the forbidden fruit, they did die spiritually. The spiritual death which they endured would bring physical death with it, as well. Part of being dead in sin also meant that mankind became wholly, or completely, defiled in every part of our soul and body. There was no part of the human person that was left unstained by sin's corruption. 

Discussed in a previous entry was the mistaken belief of dualism, common in many false religions, whereby the soul of a person is said to be pure, but the body defiled. This has been dealt with before and is obviously false, as it contradicts the Bible. Something more insidious, however, is a teaching that arose out of the "Enlightenment" of the 18th century. The main tenet of this philosophical movement, which is still embraced as inerrant truth by many today, is the idea that human reason is the supreme authority in all matters. While there were some aspects of the Enlightenment which were admirable and helpful, this teaching in particular has caused much trouble. The main problem with this belief (that human reason is the supreme authority in all things) is that it flies in the face of what God says and who God is. The Bible clearly teaches that all aspects of the human (mind, will, body, soul, etc.) have become corrupted by sin. (Rom 1:18-21) The Bible does not teach that human reason is worthless or unimportant (contra what many foolish people claim), but it does teach that human reason cannot be the supreme authority on any matter, because our ability to reason has been clouded by sin. The Enlightenment wanted to believe that, while sin may have had an effect on certain aspects of the world, the human ability to reason was left untainted and was still capable of objective assessment of reality. But the Bible clearly teaches that even our thinking has become corrupted by sin, so that we do not accurately perceive reality in ourselves. If human reason were a pair of glasses, then sin has smudged them to the point that we can no longer trust them to accurately reflect reality. We must have Someone outside of ourselves come and clean our glasses for us, before we can clearly see the world as it actually is. The Bible calls this "regeneration" or being "born again" and it is an act of God the Holy Spirit alone. (c.f. John 3:1-21)

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Walking Through Westminster, WCF 5.4-7

Westminster Confession of Faith 5.4-7

IV. The almighty power, unsearchable wisdom, and infinite goodness of God so far manifest themselves in His providence, that it extends itself even to the first fall, and all other sins of angels and men; and that not by a bare permission, but such as has joined with it a most wise and powerful bounding, and otherwise ordering, and governing of them, in a manifold dispensation, to His own holy ends; yet so, as the sinfulness thereof proceeds only from the creature, and not from God, who, being most holy and righteous, neither is nor can be the author or approver of sin.

V. The most wise, righteous, and gracious God does oftentimes leave, for a season, His own children to manifold temptations, and the corruption of their own hearts, to chastise them for their former sins, or to discover unto them the hidden strength of corruption and deceitfulness of their hearts, that they may be humbled; and, to raise them to a more close and constant dependence for their support upon Himself, and to make them more watchful against all future occasions of sin, and for sundry other just and holy ends.

VI. As for those wicked and ungodly men whom God, as a righteous Judge, for former sins, does blind and harden, from them He not only withholds His grace whereby they might have been enlightened in their understandings, and wrought upon in their hearts; but sometimes also withdraws the gifts which they had, and exposes them to such objects as their corruption makes occasion of sin; and, withal, gives them over to their own lusts, the temptations of the world, and the power of Satan, whereby it comes to pass that they harden themselves, even under those means which God uses for the softening of others.

VII. As the providence of God does, in general, reach to all creatures; so, after a most special manner, it takes care of His Church, and disposes all things to the good thereof.

Summary

God's providence is so all-encompassing over every event that takes place that it even extends to the fall of man, and all subsequent sins of men and angels. He is sovereign evens over these wicked actions, and not just in that He allows them to happen, but in such a way that He can rightly be said to "order" them to His own holy ends. However, He orders these events in perfect holiness and righteousness, such that He can never be said to be the cause of sin, nor approving of sin. He did not create sin, nor does He force ungodliness upon men, as if we were helpless victims. Yet, He is sovereign, even over the sins of men, and uses sin (without ever sinning Himself) to accomplish His good purposes. 

The best place we see this reality in the Bible is in the crucifixion of Jesus. During his sermon in Acts 2, the apostle Peter says to the Jews, "Him [Christ], being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death". Note the two things we have in that verse: we have the "determined purpose and foreknowledge of God" and we have the sins of the people in putting Christ to death by lawless hands. Christ was crucified because of the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, and the instrument God used to accomplish His purpose was the sinful actions of the Jews, and He used the sinfulness of the Jews in such manner that they retain all culpability for their sins and He in no way is unrighteous. 

In His sovereignty, God sometimes gives men over to sins and temptations. He does not tempt men, nor cause anyone to sin, but He may, for a time, remove His hand from holding the sinner back from their sins. A parent's desire is to never see their child hurt, and so will often prevent a child from a foolish action that would hurt them. But there are times when a parent must step back and allow the child to do that foolish thing and hurt themselves. In order to learn the dangers and grow as a child, they must be allowed to experience some pain as a consequence of their folly.

In the same way, God sometimes gives His children over to their temptations. He never sends temptations, but may remove His hand from restraining us. When He does this, His aim is not to hurt, but to heal. He desires that we would see the true nature of our sin and all of its wickedness; that we would see its ugliness and not be deceived. Through this He humbles His children, revealing our own weakness in ourselves and showing our need for His grace and strength. 

God also gives ungodly men over to their sins. Like Pharaoh in the Exodus, God does not force these people into ungodliness, but removes His restraint from them. When God removes His restraining hand, the wicked rush headlong into destruction and sin, because that is what our sinful souls desire most. He never forces anyone to sin, but may give the ungodly over to sin that He might demonstrate His justice in their destruction. For more on that, see Romans 9:14-24.

This is, admittedly, a difficult issue. The most important things to remember when we consider the sovereignty of God over sin are: that He Himself is perfect, righteous, and holy, and completely without sin; that He never forces anyone to sin against their will; that He uses sin to accomplish His own purposes, which must be holy, righteous, and good for His Church. God is good and all things are disposed for the good of His beloved bride, the Church. Whatever else we might say, we must say that, if you are a living member of Christ's Church through faith, then God works all things together for your good, even the most wicked thing ever done: the crucifixion of Jesus.

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Walking Through Westminster, WCF 5.1-3

Westminster Confession of Faith 5.1-3

I. God the great Creator of all things does uphold, direct, dispose, and govern all creatures, actions, and things, from the greatest even to the least, by His most wise and holy providence, according to His infallible foreknowledge, and the free and immutable counsel of His own will, to the praise of the glory of His wisdom, power, justice, goodness, and mercy.

II. Although, in relation to the foreknowledge and decree of God, the first Cause, all things come to pass immutably, and infallibly; yet, by the same providence, He orders them to fall out, according to the nature of second causes, either necessarily, freely, or contingently.

III. God, in His ordinary providence, makes use of means, yet is free to work without, above, and against them, at His pleasure.

Summary

God is in control of all things. He is the sovereign Creator of the world and all things in the world, and He sovereignly governs all His creatures and all their actions. Nothing, whether the greatest or smallest, is outside of His control. Often, as an unbeliever, I mocked athletes for praying before games or events, and I mocked them for giving credit to God after the game. What would God care about your silly football game? Does God control the football? Does God propel your legs to move? I mocked because I was stupid, and did not understand the distinction between controlling all things through primary causes and secondary causes. God is in control of all things, including the outcome of a high school football game. While we might not understand why God would care about the outcome, it's not for us to doubt or question. God brings all things to pass according to His holiness and wisdom, for the praise of His own glory, and it is enough for us to receive and believe it.

He is the first Cause of all things and, in His own mind, all things which He ordains come to pass without variation or failure. Yet, as He has ordered all things to fall out in space and time, He makes use of secondary causes. So, while He controls the outcome of a high school football game, that doesn't negate the reality of secondary causes; in this case, the skill of individual players, the weather, the coaching decisions, etc. God uses these means to bring about His desired ends. 

To reference another example: some have tried to give a naturalistic explanation for something like the parting of the Red Sea during the Exodus. They might try to argue that what actually happened was a great windstorm suddenly coming and, in a freak occurrence, splitting the Sea enough for the Israelites to walk through. The Israelites, seeing this happen, ignorantly interpret it as divine intervention, leading to our story in Exodus 14. What these people typically don't consider is that the Bible already says that the Sea's parting was the result of a natural occurrence! "Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea into dry land, and the waters were divided." The Bible records that the parting of the Red Sea was the result of a strong wind, but it further records that God was using the strong wind to part the Sea. The primary cause of the Red Sea parting was God, and the secondary cause that He used was the strong east wind. The Bible sees no conflict between what we call "natural occurrence" and God's supernatural use of such seemingly natural things. 

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Walking Through Westminster, WCF 4.1-2

Westminster Confession of Faith, 4.1-2

I. It pleased God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, for the manifestation of the glory of His eternal power, wisdom, and goodness, in the beginning, to create, or make of nothing, the world, and all things therein whether visible or invisible, in the space of six days; and all very good.

II. After God had made all other creatures, He created man, male and female, with reasonable and immortal souls, endued with knowledge, righteousness, and true holiness, after His own image;having the law of God written in their hearts, and power to fulfil it; and yet under a possibility of transgressing, being left to the liberty of their own will, which was subject unto change. Beside this law written in their hearts, they received a command, not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; which while they kept, they were happy in their communion with God, and had dominion over the creatures.

Summary 

The Triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, is the Creator of all things, none of the Divine Persons ever being created, formed, nor beginning to exist. God created all things out of nothing, ex nihilo. This means that material existence is not eternal, but had a beginning. Before creation, there was nothing but God, who is spirit. God's first act of creation was to speak matter into existence and then begin His creative work of shaping it. He did not stumble upon preexisting matter and then shape what He had found. God is an Artist who first speaks His paints into existence, and then paints with them. 

He did this to manifest, or demonstrate, the glory of His eternal power, wisdom, and goodness. Some false religions throughout history, and even today, teach that matter is inherently evil and wicked; that the goal of humanity is to escape material existence, which is seen as the cruel prison for our true selves, longing to get out. Some have even gone so far as to say that this world must have been created by an evil god, who trapped our formerly free spirits in material bodies to torment us. The confession, following the teaching of Scripture, rejects that idea entirely. The Creator God did not create the world to entrap us or torment us, but to show forth His goodness, love, and power. Further, the material existence He created is not evil, but all "very good." All this He created in the space of six days by the word of His power, not, as some suppose, in the space of billions of years by the use of "natural" processes. 

As His crowning achievement, God created man in His own image, male and female. One part of being made in God's image is that God created humans with "reasonable and immortal souls". We as humans are both immortal and capable of reasoning; both of which distinguish us from other creatures of God. As well, God endues mankind with "knowledge, righteousness, and true holiness". God did not create man sinful; man became sinful after the fall, which will be dealt with in chapter 6. When God first created man, He created them holy, righteous, with His law written in their hearts, with "power to fulfil it". As an aside, this means that the Ten Commandments, the summation of God's Law, are eternal. While they were officially spelled out through the Mosaic covenant (c.f. Exodus 20, Deuteronomy 5) the Ten Commandments have always been around and always will be, since they are the self-expression of God moral character. Adam and Eve were created with the ability to obey these commandments, but they were also created with the possibility of transgression, since God created them with liberty of will. Besides this moral law, written on their hearts, Adam and Eve also received the explicit verbal command not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. So long as they kept this commandment, they were happily in fellowship with God, and rightly exercised dominion over creation. We don't know how long they maintained this status, but it suffices to say that it did not remain forever.

It's important to see the goodness of God in His commands. Consider that God created an entire world for Adam and Eve to explore, to maintain, to rule over in His name, and to enjoy as His image-bearers. Of the thousands, even millions of trees which He created, including the tree of life, God made no negative command; Adam and Eve were free to partake of them and enjoy them to the fullest. God only said "No" regarding one tree; that of the knowledge of good and evil. (C.f. Genesis 2:16-17) Any notion that God is a stingy nay-sayer; a cosmic tyrant in the sky, must be dispelled by this truth. God gives humanity a world full of "Yes" and in only one instance says "No". From the beginning, His desire was to do good for men; to see them flourish. And even when man fell, God still pursues them through the law, the prophets, and ultimately, Christ. 2 Corinthians 1:20 says that "all the promises of God in Him [Christ] are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God". God has an abundance of blessings, both temporal and eternal, ready for the human soul, but there is one requirement: man must come humbly, repentant, only through faith in Jesus Christ. (John 14:6)

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Walking Through Westminster, WCF 3.6-8

Friends,

First of all, I apologize for the lack of consistency lately. The move into our new apartment has been busy, stressful, and has left little time for writing. Secondly, it has occurred to me that going through the confession one point at a time is a slow process. While fine for personal progress, it makes for a very sluggish blog series. Considering that, my aim for the future of this series will be to take larger chunks of the confession together, perhaps several sections or even whole chapters at a time. The goal will be to make it through the whole confession by the end of summer 2017, still taking a reasonable amount of time to process and understand. Hopefully, this will also make for easier and more enjoyable reading. Thanks for Walking Through Westminster with me!

Westminster Confession of Faith 3.6-8

"VI. As God has appointed the elect unto glory, so has He, by the eternal and most free purpose of His will, foreordained all the means thereunto. Wherefore, they who are elected, being fallen in Adam, are redeemed by Christ, are effectually called unto faith in Christ by His Spirit working in due season, are justified, adopted, sanctified, and kept by His power, through faith, unto salvation. Neither are any other redeemed by Christ, effectually called, justified, adopted, sanctified, and saved, but the elect only.

VII. The rest of mankind God was pleased, according to the unsearchable counsel of His own will, whereby He extends or withholds mercy, as He pleases, for the glory of His sovereign power over His creatures, to pass by; and to ordain them to dishonor and wrath for their sin, to the praise of His glorious justice.

VIII. The doctrine of this high mystery of predestination is to be handled with special prudence and care, that men, attending the will of God revealed in His Word, and yielding obedience thereunto, may, from the certainty of their effectual vocation, be assured of their eternal election. So shall this doctrine afford matter of praise, reverence, and admiration of God; and of humility, diligence, and abundant consolation to all that sincerely obey the Gospel."

Summary

In foreordaining the salvation of His chosen people, God not only appointed their end, but the ways in which they would reach that end. This logically follows from what has already been established in chapter 3, namely, that God has foreordained all things; from the birth and death of galaxies, to the growth of every leaf on a tree. However, this section specifies this truth with regard to salvation. God has not only ordained the "what" (i.e. that the elect shall be saved), but He has also ordained how, when, where, and why the elect shall be saved. The progression of salvation is laid out as such: fallen state > redemption by Christ > effectual calling by the Spirit > justification > adoption > sanctification > glorification in eternity. Because God is the one doing this work in the believer, the confession specifies that no one but the elect only receive any part of this saving work. Therefore, it is never the case that a reprobate person could participate in any of this progression. 

Rather, the reprobate person is given over by God to dishonor and wrath for their sin. As has already been said, God does not force them to sin and then punish them for it; instead, God merely allows them to do what they desire to do in their sinful nature. God never violates the will of His creatures, whether toward salvation or reprobation. Because of our limited capacity to understand God and His will, which the confession calls "unsearchable", we must handle the doctrine of predestination with great care. Too many Christians run rough shod with this doctrine and do great harm to themselves and/or others. We must remember our finite ability to understand all things, and instead accept that God's ways are always best, because He does all things well. The doctrine of predestination ought to lead the soul to heartfelt obedience, assurance of salvation, and to cause the believer to grow in love for God and love for others.

+ Blessings in Christ +