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59. Which day of the seven hath God appointed to be the weekly Sabbath?
From the beginning of the world to the resurrection of Christ, God appointed the seventh day of the week to be the Sabbath, and the first day of the week ever since, to continue to the end of the world, which is the Christian Sabbath.

60. How is the Sabbath to be sanctified?
The Sabbath is to be sanctified by a holy resting all that day, even from such worldly employments and recreation as are lawful on other days, and spending the whole time in public and private exercises of God's worship, except so much as is to be taken up in the works of necessity and mercy.

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57. What is the fourth commandment?
The fourth commandment is, "Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God. In it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; for in six day the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested on the seventh day. Wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.

58. What is required in the fourth commandment?
The fourth commandment requireth the keeping holy to God such set times as He hath appointed in His Word, expressly one whole day in seven, to be a holy Sabbath to Himself.

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53. What is the third commandment?
The third commandment is, "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh His name in vain."

54. What is required in the third commandment?
The third commandment requireth the holy and reverent use of God's name, titles, attributes, ordinances, Word, and works.

55. What is forbidden in the third commandment?
The third commandment forbiddeth all profaning or abusing of anything whereby God maketh Himself known.

56. What is the reason annexed to the third commandment?
The reason annexed to the third commandment is that however the breakers of this commandment may escape punishment from men, yet the Lord our God will not suffer them to escape His righteous judgment.

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49. Which is the second commandment?
Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water beneath the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them nor serve them: for I, the Lord thy God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate Me; and showing mercy unto thousands of them that love Me and keep My commandments.

50. What is required in the second commandment?
The second commandment requireth the receiving, observing, and keeping pure and entire, all such worship and ordinances as God hath appointed in His Word.

51. What is forbidden in the second commandment?
The second commandment forbiddeth the worshiping of God by images or any other way not appointed in His Word.

52. What are the reasons annexed to the second commandment?
The reasons annexed to the second commandment are God's sovereignty over us, His propriety in us, and the zeal He hath to His own worship.

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47. What is forbidden in the first commandment?
The first commandment forbiddeth the denying, or not worshipping and glorifying, the true God as God and our God, and the giving of that worship and glory to any other which is due to Him alone.

48. What are we specially taught by these words "before me" in the first commandment?
These words "before me" in the first commandment teach us that God, who seeth all things, taketh notice of, and is much displeased with, the sin of having any other God.

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45. What is the first commandment?
The first commandment is, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me."

46. What is required in the first commandment?
The first commandment requireth us to know and acknowledge God to be the only true God, and our God, and to worship and glorify Him accordingly.

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39. What is the duty which God requireth of man?
The duty which God requireth of man is obedience to His revealed will.

40. What did God at first reveal to man for the rule of his obedience?
The rule at which God first revealed to man for his obedience was the moral law.

41. Wherein is the moral law summarily comprehended?
The moral law is summarily comprehended in the ten commandments.

42. What is the sum of the ten commandments?
The sum of the ten commandments is to love the Lord our God with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our strength, and with all our mind; and our neighbor as ourselves.

43. What is the preface for the ten commandments?
The preface for the ten commandments is in these words, "I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage."

44. What doth the preface to the ten commandments teach us?
The preface to the ten commandments teacheth us that because God is the Lord, and our God, and Redeemer, therefore we are bound to keep all His commandments.

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37. What benefits do believers receive from Christ at death?
The souls of believers are at their death made perfect in holiness and do immediately pass into glory, and their bodies, being still united in Christ, do rest in their graves till the resurrection.

38. What benefits do believers receive from Christ at the resurrection?
At the resurrection, believers, being raised up in glory, shall be openly acknowledged and acquitted in the day of judgement and made perfectly blessed in the full enjoying of God for all eternity.

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35. What is sanctification?
Sanctification is the work of God's free grace whereby we are renewed in the whole man after the image of God and are enabled more and more to die unto sin and live unto righteousness.

36. What are the benefits which in this life do accompany or flow from justification, adoption, and sanctification?
The benefits which in this life do accompany or flow from justification, adoption, and sanctification are assurance of God's love, peace of conscience, joy in the Holy Ghost, increase of grace, and perseverance therein to the end.

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33. What is justification?
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.

34. What is adoption?
Adoption is an act is God's free grace whereby we are received into the number and have a right to all the privileges of the sons of God.

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31. What is effectual calling?
Effectual calling is the work of God's Spirit, whereby, convincing us of our sin and misery, enlightening our minds in the knowledge of Christ, and renewing our wills, he doth persuade and enable us to embrace Jesus Christ, freely offered to us in the gospel.

32. What benefits do they that are effectually called partake of in this life?
They that are effectually called do in this life partake of justification, adoption, and sanctification, and the several benefits which in this life do either accompany or flow from them.

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29. How are we made partakers of the redemption purchased by Christ?

We are made partakers of the redemption purchased by Christ by the effectual application of it to us by His Holy Spirit.

30. How doth the Spirit apply to us the redemption purchased by Christ?

The Spirit applieth to us the redemption purchased by Christ by working faith in us and thereby uniting us to Christ in our effectual calling.

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27. Wherein did Christ's humiliation consist?

Christ's humiliation consisted in His being born, and that in a low condition, made under the law, undergoing the miseries of this life, the wrath of God, and the cursed death of the cross, in being buried, and continuing under the power of death for a time.

28. Wherein consisteth Christ's exultation?

Christ's exultation consisteth in His rising again from the death on the third day, in ascending up to heaven, in sitting at the right hand of God the Father, and in coming to judge the world on the last day.

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25. How doth Christ execute the office of a priest?

Christ executeth the office of a priest in His once offering up of Himself a sacrifice to satisfy divine justice and reconcile us to God and in making continual intercession for us.

26. How doth Christ execute the office of a king?

Christ executeth the office of a king in subduing us to Himself, in ruling and defending us, and in restraining and conquering all His and our enemies.

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23. What offices doth Christ execute as our Redeemer?

Christ, as our Redeemer, executeth the offices of a prophet, of a priest, and of a king, both in His estate of humiliation and exaltation.

24. How doth Christ execute the office of prophet?

Christ executeth the office of prophet in revealing to us, by His Word and Spirit, the will of God for our salvation.

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21. Who is the Redeemer of God's elect?

The only Redeemer of God's elect is the Lord Jesus Christ who, being the eternal Son of God, became man and so was, and continueth to be, God and man in two distinct natures and one person forever.

22. How did Christ, being the Son of God, become man?

Christ, the Son of God, became man by taking to himself a true body and a reasonable soul, being conceived be the Holy Ghost in the womb of the virgin Mary and born of her, yet without sin.

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19. What is the misery of that estate whereinto man fell?

All mankind by their fall lost communion with God, are under His wrath and curse, and so made liable to all the miseries of this life, to death itself, and to the pains of hell forever.

20. Did God leave all mankind to perish in the estate of sin and misery?

God, having out of His mere good pleasure, from all eternity, elected some to everlasting life, did enter into a covenant of grace to deliver them out of the estate of sin and misery, and to bring them into an estate of salvation by a Redeemer.

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17. Into what estate did the fall bring mankind?

The fall brought mankind into an estate of sin and misery.

18. Wherein consists the sinfulness of that estate whereinto man fell?

The sinfulness of that estate whereinto man fell consists in the guilt of Adam's first sin, the want of original righteousness, and the corruption of his whole nature, which is commonly called original sin, together with all actual transgressions which proceed from it.

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15. What was the sin whereby our first parents fell from the estate wherein they were created?

The sin whereby our first parents fell from the estate wherein they were created was their eating the forbidden fruit.

16. Did all mankind fall in Adam's first transgression?

The covenant being made with Adam, not only for himself but for his posterity, all mankind, descending from him by ordinary generation, sinned in him and fell with him in his first transgression.

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13. Did our first parents continue in the estate wherein they were created?

Our first parents, being left to freedom of their own will, fell from the estate wherein they were created by sinning against God.

14. What is sin?

Sin is any want of conformity unto, or transgression of, the law of God.

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11. What are God's works of providence?

God's works of providence are His most holy, wise, and powerful preserving and governing all His creatures and all their actions.

12. What special act of providence did God exercise towards man in the estate wherein he was created?

When God had created man, He entered into a covenant of life with him, upon condition of perfect obedience, forbidding him to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, upon the pain of death.

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9. What is the work of creation?

The work of creation is God's making all things of nothing by the word of His power in the space of six days and all very good.

10. How did God create man?

God created man, male and female, after His own image, in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness, with domain over the creatures.

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7. What are the decrees of God?

The decrees of God are His eternal purpose, according to the council of His will, whereby, for His own glory, He hath foreordained whatsoever comes to pass.

8. How doth God execute his decrees?

God executeth His decrees in the works of creation and providence.

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5. Are there more Gods than one?

There is but one only, the living and true God.

6. How many persons are there in the Godhead?

There are three persons in the Godhead: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; and these three are one God, the same in substance, equal in power and glory.

Westminster Shorter 3 and 4

3. What do the Scriptures principally teach?

The Scriptures principally teach what man is to believe concerning God and what duty God requires of man.

4. What is God?

God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable, in His being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth.

Go West, Young Man

I'm going to try a new experiment. In order to help myself go through the Westminster Shorter Catechism, I'm going to post 2 questions a day from the WSC. Today we'll start with questions 1 and 2:

1. What is the chief end of man?

Man's chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.

2. What rule hath God given to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy Him?

The Word of God, which is contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, is the only rule to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy Him.

This Says It Better Than I Can

I mentioned in my blog before last my opinions on Christian music. In a sermon I heard recently, the following Dorothy Sayers quote was given:

It is the business of the church to recognize that the secular vocation, as such, is sacred. Christian people, and particularly perhaps the Christian clergy, must get it firmly into their heads that when a man or woman is called into a particular job of secular work, that is as true a vocation as though he or she were called to a specifically religious work.

The example used was of a carpenter. If he works hard at building a table, that table is a Christian table. It doesn't have to have Scripture verses carved into it. The same goes for music. This is what I have been trying to say, and Sayers says it better than I could.

Fellowship Requires Time

Fellowship. I love it. But it takes sacrifice. I feel that I don't have a lot to sacrifice. I'm already sacrificing a lot of time I could use to write, sleep, or just watch one 30-minute TV show.

Today I spent a lot of time in ministry with middle and high school students from church. I haven't had the chance to spend much time with them this summer, sadly, and it was long overdue. I really enjoyed it. But today I also realized how much time these students demand. It's not them personally, but and youth ministry requires a lot of time and energy.

This is a transition time for me. I graduate from college in just under 3 weeks, and then I am supposed to find a job and become a "real adult." I am swamped with my last class, my internship, and work as it is. I have no time for myself, no time for fellowship. I need someone on my case to pull me back and say, "slow down for 10 minutes and let's talk." I need to find someone and say, "I need to slow down for 10 minutes. Let's talk." But I have too many things on my to-do list for me to allow myself to rest.

Oh, God. How I could use some fellowship.

Christian Music

This could really be an entry in either of my blogs.  My other is a music blog, and this post is about music.  However, it has a lot to do with Christianity as well.

While listening to others scan radio stations during a car ride several days ago, someone mentioned, "Isn't it funny how you can tell something's Christian without even really listening to the song?"  Their point: Christian music just sounds different; usually light, airy, and just recorded differently.

I, personally, don't listen to much Christian music.  In general, if it's not Steven Curtis Chapman or Jars of Clay, I'm going to change the station.  Jars, especially, has addressed frustrations in the Christian life, in life in general.  I feel that Christian music too often tries to be happy - that's the way it sounds to my ears.  However, if my memory serves me right (which is usually not the case, I'm sad to admit), there are more depressing/angry psalms than there are happy ones.  Why can't more Christian music talk about real life?

Actually, I'd rather see Christians making "secular" or "real" music.  What's wrong with making good music that doesn't glorify sex outside marriage or drugs that doesn't necessarily mention God?  Maybe all the listeners won't realize that the artist is using his talents to glorify God.  What's the big deal?  I listen to music all the time, knowing many of the artists I listen to aren't out to glorify God, and I still realize it's a God-given gift they are using to make music.  Does that lessen the quality of the music?  In my opinion, no.

All this to say, I think there are too many Christians ministering to Christians.  We have segregated ourselves from the world, not allowing them in by use of religion and (good and bad) theology in every song.

I love what my pastors and music director have done on Sunday mornings.  We have two song slots that break up the sermon into three parts.  One is an offertory, and the other is a song of reflection.  These slots have been filled by everything from James Taylor to Rihanna to the Beatles to Mr. Mister.  Sure, we've done quite a few songs by Christian artists, but our leadership is not scared to play secular music either.  Our pastors are great at pointing out the truth in the lyrics - the need for a Savior and how that need manifests itself.

For a little more on this, visit my friend Billy's blog post from June 3.

God's Bigger Than Our Decisions

Several friends have made the passing comment to me recently that they hope they are doing what God wants them to do.  I tell them, "God's bigger than our decisions."  He can make good of our mess.  Whew!  What a relief.

Please try to read this without thinking too much about predestination/free will.  What I am trying to say is that we really can't know whether some decisions were right or wrong.  For instance, the last time I encountered this situation was in a conversation about deciding to go to grad school.  My friend said he hoped grad school was the right decision, rather than going out into the full-time work force.  We can't know which is the "right" decision.  However, he has made his decision, and God is going to use that for good.  Had he chosen the other path, God would have used it for his good as well.

So be encouraged!  Don't fret about whether your decision fits in with God's will - He will use your decision for your good.

I always find it challenging and uncomfortable when my RUF pastor brings up community.  He brought it up again last night, and once again I was guilty of searching out and living in communities that are not Biblical.  Not that these communities are bad, no, but they aren't the type of community God intended of which I should be a part.

Here is a lengthy quote my pastor had on his outline from Marva Dawn:

Too often the concept of community is perceived merely in terms of feeling coziness with God or compatibility with other members of the congregation.  To reduce the importance of genuine community on the part of God's people to such emotions or sentiments is terribly destructive.  Often the result is the formation of an elitist "in" group or narcissism that takes the focus off God...[C]ontemporary images of community...emphasizes "sameness, closeness, warmth, and comfort.  Difference, distance, conflict, and sacrifice are alien to this approach and therefore are to be avoided at all costs.  Modern communities maintain a facade of unity and harmony by eliminating the strange and cultivation the familiar, by suppressing dissimilarity and emphasizing agreement...Those who are strange - other than we are - are either excluded or quickly made like us."  The results are homogeneous communities of retreat where persons must be pretected from one another as well as from outsiders, and where reality is suppressed and denied due to fear and anxiety.  Community in the Biblical sense is more open to the realities of differences, more openly gracious to all, more deliberate, and act of the will.  It does not depend upon feelings of affection.  In fact, sometimes (perhaps always?) God seems to put us in a community together with people whom we don't like so that we learn the real meaning of agape - that intelligent, purposeful love directed toward another's need in which comes first from God and then flows through us to our neighbor.  To develop a community that practices Biblical principles is very difficult in this technologically efficient society.  It takes a lot of work and time, sacrifice and commitment.

I am beginning to see some relationships form with others who aren't like me, but there is a difference between relationships and community.  On the other hand, I see a lot of the false community in the youth group I volunteer with.  The high school group is growing out of it, but I have seen the last few classes to graduate with this false sense of what community should be.

Maybe it's just something that I quickly point out because I don't want to see the same that is happening in me.  However, I have had discussions with some of those graduates who express that they haven't been able to find the right church or this or that that arises from not understanding what true community should be.  In the high school group, I see groups where outsiders are either not let in or forced to change in order to get in.  The result?  A homogeneous community of retreat.  And I have seen this community fail when true community would uplift.

I think this just happens in high school.  It happens everywhere, but more prevalent in high school.  I saw it when I was in high school.  Maybe that is part of the reason I was a "floater" - I would float between groups, never hanging out with one exclusively.  I saw the groups I was floating between were each homogeneous in its own right.  I'm sure I adapted and changed to "fit in."

The college groups of which I am a part are more on track for that eclectic community that brings together different people.  With a big senior class about to move into the college group, I am worried about what will happen when one class more than doubles the college group.  They have some growing up to do (as I did at that age, and we all still do!), and I hope they don't just take over.

Enough venting and enough reading.  G'day.

Things to Think On

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JHS8adO3hM

Watch this video from Penn of Penn & Teller.  It is pretty interesting his take on evangelism.  It won't take long.

I just got back from RUF a few minutes ago (RUF is a Christian campus ministry, subscribing to reformed theology, www.ruf.org), and I am blessed to have a fantastic campus minister.  This semester we are going through the life of Moses.  I have so much I can talk about on this topic, but I am going to limit it to this one point tonight: Christianity is revealed, not discovered.

God speaks.  He doesn't just let His people run around like crazy trying to figure things out.  He speaks Truth to His people.  He reveals Himself.  I can't "discover" God.  I was dead.  Not "mostly dead," not "not dead yet," or anything like that.  (Did you catch the Princess Bride and Monty Python and the Holy Grail references, respectfully?)  I was completely and utterly dead.  He came and saved me.  Now, I still do nothing on my own.  His strength is what gets me up in the morn...afternoon.  And it is He that reveals Himself, not I who discovers Him.

That idea just hit me tonight.  It really stuck out in the outline.  If you want to hear some really good preaching, I encourage you to look up the podcast of tonight's sermon.  Hop on iTunes and search for "RUF at Belmont."  Go do it.  I dare you.