The Ark of the Covenant and its Contents

"Behind the second veil, the part of the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of All, which had the golden censer and the ark of the covenant overlaid on all sides with gold, in which were the golden pot that had the manna, Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tablets of the covenant; and above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat." (Hebrews 9:3-5)

The “Holiest of All” is the same thing as “The Most Holy Place” or “the Holy of Holies.” Only the High Priest could enter the Holy of Holies and he could only enter it once a year on the Day of Atonement. There was only one piece of furniture in this room – the Ark of the Covenant. It was overlaid with pure gold. Inside the ark were three special items of significance to God’s people –the golden pot that had the manna, Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tablets of the covenant. The jar of manna was a memorial of God’s miraculous provision for the people of Israel during their time in the wilderness. Manna signifies Jesus as the living bread who daily sustains us by his grace. Each day the Israelites had to go out and gather the manna. If they kept it over to the next day it would spoil. So the believer in Jesus needs to feed on Him daily and receive new grace each day. We cannot rely on yesterday’s prayers and time in the word. We must seek the Lord each day and abide in him always.

Aaron’s rod was also inside the Ark. This was Aaron’s rod which had budded overnight to indicate that out of all the tribes, the tribe of Levi and the descendants of Aaron alone were authorized to serve in the Tabernacle. According to Numbers 17 each of the 12 tribes were to place a rod with their name on it before the Lord. The name of Aaron was written on his rod. The next day the one which budded would be the one God had chosen. The reason this was done was to silence the complaints of the people against Aaron and Moses and to prove that Aaron’s authority as High Priest was of God. Aaron’s rod budded, proving that he was the one God had chosen. Aaron's rod that budded also speaks of Jesus. The rod was something that had died and supernaturally came to life again. Jesus died and came to life again on the third day. He also said, "I am the resurrection and the life." 

The last item mentioned that was in the Ark were the two unbroken tablets of the covenant with the Ten Commandments written on them. The unbroken tables of stone set forth Jesus as the One who perfectly kept the Law and never broke God's Commandments. The Bible says that He "committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth."  The Ten Commandments reflect the very character of God and also reveal His will for our lives. He desires that we be like His Son Jesus, who kept the law perfectly. The Ten Commandments show us our sin, our need of a Savior and then they show us the way of life as saved sinners.

The Ark itself was important for it was the place where God especially dwelt and would speak from there. We might say that the Ark was God’s throne on earth. Verse 5 says that above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. The Ark of the Covenant was where Gods justice and judgment toward sin was satisfied.  It represents the Lord Jesus because he is the Mercy Seat where sin was atoned for. When Jesus died, the veil of the Temple was torn in two. It was the veil to the Holy of Holies, which signified that through the atoning death of Christ the way has now been opened for believers to be ushered into the very presence of God and His throne of grace. God no longer communes with man from between the wings of the cherubim on top of the mercy seat. He communes with man through his Son Jesus Christ. He alone is the propitiation for our sins, the one true Mercy Seat. When we come to God by Him, we have atonement for our sins, we have access to God and we have communion with God.

The Tabernacle was a symbolic sanctuary. It was an outwardly beautiful, sensory experience of worship. But remember, it was all a parable for the true sanctuary and the true worship we are to bring to God in and through Jesus Christ. Today in the church we must not become enamored with the material building of worship and its accouterments. When we make the outward, visible things more important than the things of the Spirit, we are in danger of going back to a form of Judaic religion. The worship of the New Covenant is simple worship of the Father in spirit and truth. Apart from the elements used in the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper, the worship we engage in today is not focused on earthly things, but on heavenly realities.

In conclusion, the Tabernacle was given by God as a display of grace and truth as it is found in Jesus Christ. Each item in the Tabernacle was a visual aid to show the sinner his true need, to symbolize God’s provision to meet that need, and to point them to the coming Messiah who fulfilled all that it symbolized. Thank God for this symbolic sanctuary. And thank God for the true Tabernacle of God, the person of Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, the Lord of Glory, the true Mercy Seat, the Lamb of God, the Great High Priest, the Way, the Truth and the Life! Come to Jesus today. Worship Him, trust Him, serve Him. "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom, And strength and honor and glory and blessing!"

Pray for God's Mercy on America!

"Your mercy, O LORD, is in the heavens; Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds."  (Psalm 36:5)

God’s mercy is free. To set up merit is to destroy mercy. Nothing can deserve mercy, because we are polluted in our blood; nor force it. We may force God to punish us, but not to love us. ‘I will love them freely.’ Hos 14:4. Every link in the chain of salvation is wrought and interwoven with free grace. Election is free. ‘He has chosen us in him, according to the good pleasure of his will.’  Eph 1:1. Justification is free.  ‘Being justified freely by his grace.’ Rom 3:34. Salvation is free.  ‘According to his mercy he saved us.’  Titus 3:3. Say not then, I am unworthy; for mercy is free.  If God should show mercy to such only as are worthy, he would show none at all.

God’s mercy is an overflowing mercy; it is infinite.  ‘Plenteous in mercy.’  Ps. 86:6. ‘Rich in mercy.’ Eph 2:2. ‘Multitude of mercies.’  Ps. 51:1: The vial of wrath drops, but the fountain of mercy runs.  The sun is not so full of light as God is of mercy.  God has morning mercies.  ‘His mercies are new every morning.’ Lam 3:23.  He has night mercies.  ‘In the night his song shall be with me.’  Ps. 13:3. God has mercies under heaven, which we taste; and in heaven, which we hope for.

God’s mercy is eternal.  ‘The mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting.’  Ps. 103:37. ‘His mercy endureth for ever,’ is repeated twenty-six times in one psalm, Ps. 136.  The souls of the blessed shall be ever bathing themselves in this sweet and pleasant ocean of God’s mercy.  God’s anger to his children lasts but a while, ‘but his mercy lasts for ever.’ Ps. 103:3.  As long as he is God he will be showing mercy. As his mercy is overflowing, so it is everflowing.  Use one: We are to look upon God in prayer, not in his judgement robes, but clothed with a rainbow full of mercy and clemency.  Add wings to prayer.  When Jesus Christ ascended up to heaven, that which made him go up thither with joy was, ‘I go to my Father;’ so that which should make our hearts ascend with joy in prayer, is, ‘We are going to the Father of mercy, who sits upon the throne of grace.’  Go with confidence in this mercy; as when one goes to a fire, not doubtingly, saying, perhaps it will warm me, perhaps not.
Believe in his mercy.  ‘I will trust in the mercy of God for ever.’ Ps. 52:2.  God’s mercy is a fountain opened.  Let down the bucket of faith and you may drink of this fountain of salvation.  What greater encouragement to believe than God’s mercy?  God counts it his glory to be scattering pardons; he is desirous that sinners should touch the golden sceptre of his mercy and live.

Taken and adapted from, “A Body of Practical Divinity, Volume 1: The Mercy of God (sermon)” by Thomas Watson, pp. 101-107, London, 1869.
http://deadpuritansociety.org/thomas-watson-on-gods-mercy/

Pray for God’s Mercy upon Our Land – Holy Father, I humbly plead for Your undeserved mercy upon my life, my church, my nation and world. Lord, help us come before You with deep awareness we deserve Your judgment far more than Your blessing. By Jesus’ blood alone, we plead for Your merciful grace to revive and bless us once again. (Psalm 85:4-7; Lamentation 3:22; Daniel 9:18-19)

Psalm 85:4-7 Restore us, O God of our salvation, And cause Your anger toward us to cease. Will You be angry with us forever? Will You prolong Your anger to all generations? Will You not revive us again, That Your people may rejoice in You? Show us Your mercy, LORD, And grant us Your salvation.

Lamentations 3:21-23 This I recall to my mind, Therefore I have hope. Through the LORD’S mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.

Daniel 9:18-19 "O my God, incline Your ear and hear; open Your eyes and see our desolations, and the city which is called by Your name; for we do not present our supplications before You because of our righteous deeds, but because of Your great mercies. O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and act! Do not delay for Your own sake, my God, for Your city and Your people are called by Your name."

Prayer: Access to God's Throne of Grace

Hebrews 4:14-16  Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.  For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.  Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Ezekiel Hopkins writes: "All access was barred against sinners until Christ opened a passage for us by his own death and precious blood. Shall we not make use of this privilege purchased for us at so dear a rate? Nothing is so desirable in this world as a faithful friend, to whom we may at all times unburden ourselves, and make all our secrets and grievances known. Prayer directs us to go to God himself; he is our most faithful friend who can best counsel and help us."

We ought to make use of this privilege of access to God's throne of grace and contemplate how we might take more advantage of this privilege.  Psalm 20 encourages us to approach God's throne in prayer.

1 May the LORD answer you in the day of trouble; May the name of the God of Jacob defend you;
2  May He send you help from the sanctuary, And strengthen you out of Zion;
3  May He remember all your offerings, And accept your burnt sacrifice. Selah
4  May He grant you according to your heart’s desire, And fulfill all your purpose.
5  We will rejoice in your salvation, And in the name of our God we will set up our banners! May the LORD fulfill all your petitions.
6  Now I know that the LORD saves His anointed; He will answer him from His holy heaven With the saving strength of His right hand.
7  Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; But we will remember the name of the LORD our God.
8  They have bowed down and fallen; But we have risen and stand upright.
9  Save, LORD! May the King answer us when we call.

Father in heaven, help us to see how great a privilege we have in prayer.  Help us to make use of the access we have to your throne of grace.  Oh Lord, answer us when we call.  Send help when we need it this week.  Only let us remember to give thanks and praise to your great name.  Thank you for Jesus, our great High Priest who has passed through the heavens and cares so much for us.  In His name.  Amen.

Hopkins wrote that "Our prayers are like two buckets in a well. Our prayers ascend to God in heaven, and his mercies and blessings descend upon us."  Send up buckets full of prayers and then look for buckets full of blessings.

Why Don't We Use the Church Calendar?

Written by John Fesko

Though the ARP Church allows for following the church calendar, to do so is not consistent with the Reformed understanding of worship.  John Fesko, ordained in the OPC, explains why we should refrain from following the church calendar.

"The Church Calendar conflicts with the biblical view of worship and what the Reformed tradition calls the regulative principle.  There is the constant theme in Scripture that God sets the standards for worship, not man (Deut. 12.32; Matt. 15.9; Lev. 10.1-2; 1 Cor. 14.1ff).  For this reason the Westminster divines write that “the acceptable way of worshiping the true God is instituted by Himself, and so limited by His own revealed will” (WCF 21.1b).  God has not instituted the Church Calendar." 

Pilgrim’s Progress – Introduction

Pilgrim’s Progress was written by John Bunyan while in a jail cell and was first published in 1678.  Bunyan was born in 1628 in the village of Elstow, England. His father was a tinker, a lowly occupation that referred to “a mender of pots and pans, a metal worker and plumber, a user of hammer and forge.”  Bunyan learned this trade from his father. His father also sent him to school to learn to read and write.  

John Bunyan was a nonconformist, Baptist preacher and writer who ministered mostly in the regions of Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire, England. During that time there was an intense conflict between the established religion of the Church of England and zealous Puritanism. His boundless zeal and leadership in traveling throughout this area, and occasionally to London, eventually earned for him the nickname of “Bishop Bunyan.”

Bunyan was married in 1647 to a “praying Christian” and she pointed her husband to the Lord and they read good Christian literature together.  His conversion occurred during the 11 year period of parliamentary rule under the protectorate of Oliver Cromwell. He was baptized in the River Ouse, Bedford, and received into membership with the local Baptist congregation. 

In Pilgrim’s Progress Bunyan might be said to give an account of his own conversion and Christian journey.  However, most Christians who read the book find their own conversion therein.

Bunyan relates his conversion and post-conversion struggles in a book titled Grace Abounding To The Chief Of Sinners.  Before his conversion Bunyan had learned a profane lifestyle from a tutor named Harry.  Bunyan described Harry as, “a young man in our town, to whom my heart before was knit more than to any other, but he being a most wicked creature for cursing, and swearing, and whoring.”  On one occasion, when belching forth oaths like a madman, an overhearing loose and ungodly women was led to declare Bunyan to be, “the ungodliest fellow for swearing that ever she heard in all her life,” and thus “[he was] able to spoil all the youth in a whole town.” Following this humiliation, John began to read his Bible. Some outward reformation did result for about a year and many were impressed. However, one day on overhearing a group of godly women earnestly conversing about the joy of their new birth and their sinful state by nature, Bunyan was deeply convicted and shaken in his heart. Their godly testimony, though unsolicited, continued to haunt and challenge him so that he began to seek the company of “these poor people,” as he describes them.

Now Bunyan searched his Bible as never before, even as represented by Christian earnestly reading his book in the City of Destruction. With intensifying enquiry he wrestled with countless questions that arose from his investigation, though now his interest moved from an earlier study of the Gospels to the Epistles of Paul. Did he have saving faith? Could he perform a miracle? Was he one of God’s elect? He relates in Grace Abounding how, at this time, a memorable dream convinced him of his lost condition and the hope of his deliverance. He was on the dark side of a valley separated by a wall, with a narrow gap, from the opposite sunny side of a mountain. By striving, Bunyan squeezed through to the comfort of the sunny side of the valley. Thus he interprets: “The mountain signified the church of the living God; the sun that shone thereon, the comfortable shining of his merciful face on them that were therein; the wall, I thought, was the Word, that did make separation between the Christians and the world; and the gap which was in this wall, I thought, was Jesus Christ, who is the way to God the Father.”

Breaking off friendship with a depraved acquaintance, yet he wondered if he was too late to receive mercy and grace from God. Nevertheless, he adds, “I continued for a time, all on a flame to be converted to Jesus Christ.” Then did godly friends introduce Bunyan to John Gifford, the pastor of a baptistic Bedford meeting, who took time to give personal counsel and encouragement. Other Christians offered pity and advice, yet sensitivity to personal corruption only increased. “I was never more tender now; I dare not take a pin or a stick, though but so big as a straw, for my conscience now was sore, and would smart at every touch. . . . I found myself as on a miry bog [like the slough of despond?] that shook if I did but stir.”

Again he feared that he was a reprobate. Then blasphemous thoughts and inward uncleanness plagued him. Satan attempted to “sift him as wheat” (Luke 22:31). Scriptural comfort was but fleeting, that is, until the conversion he sought became a reality. He describes this experience as follows:

But afterwards the Lord did more fully and graciously discover himself unto me; and, indeed, did quite, not only deliver me from the guilt that, by these things, was laid upon my conscience, but also from the very filth thereof; for the temptation was removed, and I was put into my right mind again, as other Christians were. I remember that one day, as I was traveling into the country and musing on the wickedness and blasphemy of my heart, and considering the enmity that was in me to God, that Scripture came in my mind. He hath ‘made peace through the blood of his cross’ (Col. 1:20). By which I was made to see, both again, and again, and again, that day, that God and my soul were friends by this blood; yea, I saw that the justice of God and my sinful soul could embrace and kiss each other through this blood. This was a good day for me; I hope I shall never forget it.

Did this mean that Bunyan had reached a plateau of stability? By no means, for Grace Abounding indicates that a degree of instability remained for approximately two years hence. Then came a further revelation of the substitutionary, imputed, perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ that did result in a more settled state.

Now Christ was my all; all my wisdom, all my righteousness, all my sanctification, and all my redemption. Further, the Lord did also lead me into the mystery of union with the Son of God, that I was joined to him, that I was flesh of his flesh, and bone of his bone, and now was that a sweet word to me in Ephesians 5:30. By this also was my faith in him, as my righteousness, the more confirmed to me; for if he and I were one, then his righteousness was mine, his merits mine, his victory also mine. Now could I see myself in heaven and earth at once; in heaven by my Christ, by my head, by my righteousness and life, though on earth by my body or person.”

Only after this post-conversion experience was Bunyan received into the Bedford church as a member.

As far as essential doctrinal convictions are concerned, Bunyan was a classic Puritan insofar as that title is more comprehensively used, an experiential Calvinist, and a zealous pastor and preacher of separatist persuasion. Though lacking even an adequate secondary education, let alone formal theological and pastoral training, yet his quest for truth was so intense that, chiefly with his English Bible, he attained a breadth and depth of biblical and theological knowledge that is impressive by any standard.

Over the years, Bunyan developed a close friendship with the former Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University, Puritan scholar and pastor, Dr. John Owen. This led to his preaching annually in Owen’s church in Moorfields, London, before an aristocratic congregation that included relatives of Oliver Cromwell. It is recorded that the learned Dr. Owen was once asked by King Charles II, “how a courtly man such as he could sit and listen to an illiterate tinker?” To this Owen humbly replied: “Had I the tinker’s abilities, please your Majesty, I would most gladly relinquish my learning.”  Fifty-nine books, tracts, and manuscripts were attributed to Bunyan, twelve of which were written while he was in prison.  Richard Greaves writes that “Bunyan’s thought as a whole was based on the doctrine of the grace of God revealed in Christ—a concept which permeated the whole of his writings and which was the focal point of his preaching and thinking.”

He began preaching in 1655.  Charles II came to the throne in 1660 and a few months later Bunyan was arrested and imprisoned for his independency and field preaching.  The Uniformity Act required people to exclusively attend the Anglican Church or go to prison. The Conventicle Act declared that religious assemblies of five or more persons were only lawful within the Church of England. The Five Mile Act ordered that Protestant preachers must live at least five miles from a town. It was during this repressive reign, ending in 1688, that Bunyan wrote The Pilgrim’s Progress.  In 1688 Bunyan preached his last sermon on John 1:13[1], and died in London of a fever following an errand of mercy. Under the reign of William and Mary the Toleration Act was passed in 1689 that guaranteed religious freedom for the Protestant dissenters.

Pilgrim’s Progress was written in two parts.  Part One, published in 1678, describes the adventure-filled journey of Christian as he flees from the City of Destruction and determines, in the face of fearful trials and encouraging blessings, to go on pilgrimage so that he might obtain release from his burden of sin and ultimately be received as a citizen of the Celestial City. Part Two of The Pilgrim’s Progress was not published until 1684. It reverts back to Christian’s family, his wife Christiana and four sons still endangered in the City of Destruction, as they awaken to their peril and thus press on as pilgrims toward the Celestial City. Bunyan’s motive in composing Part Two was, as his introductory poem makes clear, to counter several spurious attempts at writing a sequel.

So then, Pilgrim’s Progress is an allegory of the Christian life, beginning with conviction of sin and conversion to Christ.  The main character is Christian, who sets out on a journey which describes in a colorful way the journey of the Christian life.  The gospel is clearly portrayed and true conversion is rightly explained.  In this book we find much about the sanctification of the believer and the battle of the Christian with the world, the flesh and the devil.  We discover the many temptations and trials that every Christian faces at one time or another.  This book is full of Scripture and is thoroughly based on the Bible in all that it teaches. 

Read it prayerfully, look up the Scripture verses, write down your thoughts as you read or make notes in your copy of the book.  For next week, read the author’s apology, if you haven’t already, and read the book up to the second encounter with Evangelist, just after his encounter with Mr. Worldly-Wiseman.

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[1] John 1:13 “…who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”

Intro to the Westminster Shorter Catechism and Question One

HISTORY

The Westminster Assembly was called together by an act of the Long Parliament in England – An ordinance of the Lords and Commons assembled in Parliament, for the calling of an Assembly of learned and godly Divines, and others, to be consulted with by the Parliament, for the settling of the Government and Liturgy of the Church of England, and for vindicating and clearing the doctrine of the said Church from false aspersions and interpretations (passed June 12, 1643)

An esteemed group of biblical scholars (divines) and civilians, convened in Westminster, England from July 1, 1643 to February 22, 1648.  The reason that Parliament called this session, rather than a church body, was due to the fact that the “preexisting government of the Church of England by bishops had ceased to exist.”  Thus the parliament was the only universally recognized authority which could convene such an assembly. 

 It was originally tasked with revision of the Thirty-nine Articles, the confession of faith of the Church of England. However, due to the signing of the Solemn League and Covenant (August 1643), Parliament directed the Assembly “to consider among themselves of such a discipline and government as may be most agreeable to God's holy Word.” 

There were Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Independents and Erastians.  The Presbyterians were by far the largest group after the Episcopalians pulled out.  The average attendance at the 1,163 meetings over the 4 ½ year period ranged between 60-80.  They met in Westminster Abbey, initially in the Henry VII's chapel.  After the weather grew cold, they met in the Jerusalem Chamber. 

Richard Baxter  on the Westminster Assembly - “As far as I am able to judge, the Christian world, since the days of the Apostles, had never a synod of more excellent divines than this.”

B. B. Warfield  - “The Westminster Standards … are the richest and most precise and best guarded statement ever penned of all that enters into evangelical religion, and of all that must be safeguarded if evangelical religion is to persist in the world.”

Free PresbyterianPublications  has issued a useful book containing the original WCF, Catechisms, The Westminster Directory, the National Covenant, the Solemn League and Covenant, etc.  The dust jacket reads, “The Church of Christ cannot be creedless and live.  It is her duty (especially in an age of doubt and confusion) to define and proclaim the Christian Faith to the world.  Nowhere has the Reformed Church done it so magnificently as in the Westminster Confession of Faith. Let the reader, while recognizing the supreme place of the Word of God in matters of faith and practice, turn to this Confession as his subordinate standard. Here he will find spiritual treasure; here he will find light and comfort and strength.”

The Westminster Assembly first produced a Directory of Government, Worship and Discipline.  After its completion, towards the end of 1644 a committee was formed to make preparations for the composition of a Confession of Faith. At first the committee worked on the Confession and Catechisms simultaneously.  After some progress, they decided to finish the Confession first and compose the Catechisms on that foundation.  The Assembly presented the finished Confession to Parliament on December 3, 1647.  The Shorter Catechism was finished and reported to parliament on November 5, 1647; and the Larger Catechism on April 14, 1648. (The S.C. was not composed till after the Larger one had been virtually completed. Mitchell)

The Shorter Catechism was intended to be a means by which English-speaking youth were trained in the system of truth contained in the Bible.  As such, we would say that it contains a “systematic theology”.  I.e. a logical and orderly arrangement of the doctrines found in the Bible. 

The S.C. contains 107 Questions and Answers.  It subject matter is divided up into two sections, as Q #3 indicates:

Q3: What do the Scriptures principally teach?
A3: The Scriptures principally teach what man is to believe concerning God, and what duty God requires of man.

The Westminster Shorter Catechism

I. Doctrine (1-38)

            A. God (1-12)

                        1. Word of God

       2. Nature of God

                        3. Decrees of God

                        4. Works of God

            B. Man & Sin (13-19)

                        1. The Fall

                        2. Sin and Misery

            C. Salvation (20-38)

                        1. Covenant of Grace

                        2. Redeemer of God’s Elect

                                    a. His Nature

                                    b. His Offices

                                    c. Humiliation and Exaltation

                        3. Application of Redemption

                        4. Benefits of Redemption

                                    a. Temporal Benefits

                                    b. Eternal Benefits

                       

II. Duty (39-107)

            A. The Moral Law (39-84)

                 1. The Ten Commandments

2. Punishment of Sin

   B. Escaping God’s Wrath (85-107)

                1. Faith and Repentance

                2. The Means of Grace

                        a. The Word

                b. The Sacraments

                                    i. Baptism

                                    ii. Lord’s Supper

                        c. Prayer

                                    i. General Instructions

                           ii. Lord’s Prayer

At least 12 members of the Assembly had prepared catechisms of their own years before the assembly met. Alexander Mitchell said that the Shorter Catechism “is a thoroughly Calvinistic and Puritan Catechism, the ripest fruit of the Assembly’s thought and experience, maturing and fixing the definitions of theological terms to which Puritanism had been leading up to in its legion of catechisms.”

In the Shorter Catechism, we find the essential truths of the Christian faith.  It was intended to be something all Protestant youth could be trained with.  As soon as it passed in Parliament, it became wildly popular in England.  For more than a century it was the most widely recognized manual of instruction, not only among Presbyterians but also among Independents (in England and America).  The Baptists used it with only a few minor changes.  And even John Wesley, who was no Calvinist, allowed it to circulate among his 'societies' in modified form. 

Alexander Mitchell - “I shall never loose hope of the living orthodoxy of the Presbyterian Churches while their rising ministry and church-members are intelligently and affectionately trained in the Shorter Catechism.”

Carlyle - “The older I grow – and I now stand upon the bring of eternity – the more comes back to me the first sentence in the catechism which I learned when a child, and the fuller and deeper its meaning becomes:  What is the chief end of man?  To glorify God and enjoy Him forever.”

              

Question #1: What is the chief end of man?
Answer: Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever.
(1 Cor. 10:31; Psa. 73:25-26)

1. Our chief end ought to be the glory of God, because it is God's chief end in creating, preserving and redeeming us. Proverbs 16:4 says, "The LORD has made all for Himself." 1Cor. 6:19, 20 "You are not your own; for you are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's."

2. We are commanded plainly in Scripture to seek God's glory in all that we do. 1 Corinthians 10:31 "Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."

3. On account of sin, we fail to give God the glory due His name. Romans 3:23 "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."

4. As sinners, we begin to glorify God only when we repent and trust in Christ as our Lord and Savior. Hebrews 11:6 "Without faith it is impossible to please him."

5. Having believed in Christ alone for eternal life, our faith "works through love." Jesus said, "If you love Me, keep My commandments." (John 14:15) We glorify God by obeying His commands. There is no other way to do so.

6. Just as God made us for His own glory, He also created us to enjoy fellowship with Him. How do we begin to enjoy God? We enjoy Him only as we glorify Him. When we aim at His glory, we find our happiness in Him.

7. As Scottish preacher James Fisher said, we enjoy God especially "In all the ordinances of his worship, public, private and secret; such as the word read and heard, the sacraments, prayer, meditation, fasting, thanksgiving, and the like."

8. Since God is eternal and has also given eternal life to His children, we will enjoy Him forever. The best is yet to come! It is the presence of God that will be the joy of heaven. (Psalm 16:11)

* For more info and resources on the Shorter Catechism, go to http://shortercatechism.com/

"Ravening Wolves Who Wreak Havoc" - ~ John Calvin

This portion of one of John Calvin's sermons is a rebuke to many ministers in the ARP Church today.  I pray that some will change their ways and stop attempting a half-hearted transformation of our denomination.

John Calvin - "Ravening Wolves Who Wreak Havoc" - sermon on Galatians 6:12-13)

 There are many today who do not know what they ought to do, and yet they say, ‘I fear conflict and differences of opinion, and the strife that has to be faced in this world.’ Some conclude that they must devote themselves fully to the Lord Jesus Christ, but there are others who follow a more gentle route, and who only desire a half-hearted transformation. Whom should I believe?

Simply open your eyes, for those who use such excuses are not seeking to follow the truth. They are quite happy to veil their turpitude, and to seek the flattery of others. But what do they gain? Satan is leading them to perdition, and they desire to follow him! Because they fear what will happen to them in life, they love the shadows, and devote themselves to pleasure and comfort. They must therefore receive the payment that they deserve. Those who deliberately become brutish in this way have been taken over by Satan, Paul declares, and now remain perplexed, not knowing what to do. They do not stop to think that those who simply preach the truth of the gospel are not to be pliable people, but to pursue their course without worrying about whether or not their doctrine is pleasing to everyone else. Since God has commanded them to speak, they do so.

On the other hand, simpering people who say that we have to tread carefully and not ‘swing beyond our hinges’, who claim that it were better to be counterfeits, and double-minded; such people cannot be driven by zeal or affection for serving God. They do not consider either the edification or well-being of the church. In short, their only concern is that they might escape persecution, and retain their comforts; they do not want anyone to attack them. Now this is indeed worthy of note, for those today who remain in their nests and offend God have no excuse. Why? Because Paul gives us a sure mark which distinguishes the true servants of God from the hirelings from whom we are to flee; that is to say, those who seek only to feed their stomachs and enjoy the comforts of this world.