Sunday School Reading - June 21, 2009

I apologize for how late the recommendations are this week. Unfortunately one of the difficulties of church and culture is that there just isn't one good book out there that I think summarizes this subject well. According I'm going to recommend a number of different books that I'm pulling some of this material from and try to list why I think each is helpful.

• Redemptive History and the New Testament Scriptures by Herman Ridderbos - This short book outlines the basis for why the church accepts the 27 New Testament books as canonical. Ridderbos stresses that it is the progression of redemptive history that leads to a New Testament canon. One of the things that he deals with that relates strongly to church and culture is the Sermon on the Mount. Ridderbos describes the meaning of the Sermon in redemptive history and also compares it to relevant passages about the state like Romans 13.
• The Coming of the Kingdom by Herman Ridderbos - Again, the important part of this book for church and culture is Ridderbos' sensitivity to redemptive history. This is particularly apt as Ridderbos explains how the kingdom is present in Jesus' person and teaching, in his accomplishment of redemption, and still to come with his return. His explanation of the nature of the kingdom of God applies to church and culture.
• Essays on Religion, Science, and Society by Herman Bavinck - This book was written near the end of Bavinck's career. It works out Bavinck's theology in a number of different areas and particularly applies Reformed theology to cultural issues.
• Lectures on Calvinism by Abraham Kuyper - Kuyper was a theologian who was also heavily involved in social issues, even to the point of serving as Prime Minister of the Netherlands (Bavinck also served in the National Congress). These lectures were given at Princeton Theological Seminary in the beginning of the 20th century. Kuyper shows that Calvinist theology is not just a system of doctrines but that it is a whole worldview with implications for politics, art, science, and religion. You can probably find this online for free due to copyrights expiring. This is probably the most important item on this list to read.
• The Philosophy of Revelation by Herman Bavinck - Bavinck delivered the Stone Lectures at Princeton Theological Seminary the year after Kuyper did and these are nearly as valuable thought not nearly as well known. Bavinck demonstrates that revelation is the presupposition for all human activity and then works out the implications of that fact.
• Christ and Culture Revisited by D.A. Carson - While this book does not set forth many conclusions about Christ and Culture it is important to read for the purposes of understanding past debates, particularly Niebuhr's work, and dealing with the biblical theological issues at stake. There is a section in there on postmodernism that is also helpful.
• The Kingdom and the Church by Geerhardus Vos - Vos here applies the nature of the kingdom as God's kingly self-assertion in time and history. One of the applications is what this means to the various spheres in culture. I think that Vos discussion in this chapter is invaluable.
• Discussions of Robert Lewis Dabney - Because of the cost I don't expect that anyone actually wants to purchase this. But the Southern Presbyterians did write a number of helpful things on the relationship of church and culture. I would be happy to recommend some of the articles if anyone sends me a message. The three volume Banner of Truth compilation of Dabney's writings also contains a number of these articles and this is available in the church library.
• The Complete Writings of James Henley Thornwell - Like with Dabney, the cost will likely keep many people from buying this. But I would be happy to recommend some articles upon request. In particular his article, "The Regulative Principle Applied to Church Government" is helpful.

Sunday School Reading - June 14, 2009

Here are some recommended readings on the Lord's Supper. I'm going to go ahead and include everything here even though we'll finish our discussion on who should come to the Table next week. I really only have two books to recommend separately and both are older (one from the nineteenth century and one from the Reformation era). But with that said I want to point out that the majority of our systematic theologies are really very helpful on this subject and so I want to encourage you to look in those. I also would encourage you to read John Murray's articles on the Lord's Supper in Volume 2 of his Collected Writings.

First, here are the confessional sections dealing with the Supper:

• Westminster Confession of Faith - Chapter 29
• Westminster Larger Catechism - Q&A 168-175
• Westminster Shorter Catechism - Q&A 96-97
• Belgic Confession - Article 35
• Heidelberg Catechism - Q&A 75-82

Second, here are some book recommendations on the topic:

• The Mystery of the Lord's Supper by Robert Bruce - Bruce was a Scottish Reformer who was a key figure for furthering Reformation preaching and ministry in Edinburgh and also during several exiles to Northern Scotland. This book is a collection of sermons preached by Bruce for the purpose of instructing his congregation on the Supper. I think that this book is very helpful in understanding a Presbyterian view of the Lord's Supper and while it is not the easiest read it is more than worth the effort of working through.
• The Mystical Presence by John Williamson Nevin - Nevin was a German Reformed minister in Pennsylvania in the 19th Century. While there are some problems with other parts of his theology, I would argue that this book remains the best book devoted to the Lord's Supper written in American theology. It is a tough read but in terms of understanding what Presbyterians believe about communion with Christ in the Supper as opposed to Lutheran and Catholic views (or even mistaken Presbyterian views) it is essential.

Third, here are the relevant sections in several Presbyterian and Reformed systematic theologies:

• Institutes of the Christian Religion by John Calvin - Calvin's excellent presentation of this doctrine is in Book 4, Chapters 17-18.
• Reformed Dogmatics by Herman Bavinck - Bavinck discusses the Supper in Volume 4, Holy Spirit, Church, and New Creation, Chapter 11.
• Systematic Theology by Charles Hodge - The Supper is discussed in Volume 3, Chapter 20, Sections 15-19 (free at the link provided).
• Outlines of Theology by A.A. Hodge - The Supper is dealt with in Chapter 40 (available free at the link provided).
• Systematic Theology by Robert Lewis Dabney - His treatment of the Supper is in Chapter 42 (available free at the link provided)
• Systematic Theology by Louis Berkhof - Berkhof writes on the Supper in Chapter 5 of Part 5. This is available in the Church Library.
• Concise Reformed Dogmatics by W.H. Velema and J.H. VanGenderen - They cover the Lord's Supper in section 53 under Chapter 14.

Finally, here are some articles and essays on the Supper that you can read online for free:

• "Re-thinking the Lord's Supper" by Michael Horton
• "The Lord's Supper" by John Calvin
• "A Short Treatise on the Lord's Supper" by John Calvin
• "An Overview of the Lord's Supper" by Charles Hodge
• "The Reformed View of the Lord's Supper" by Shane Rosenthal
• "This Do in Remembrance of Me" by Robert Murray M'Cheyne
• "Against Consubstantion" by Francis Turretin - This and the next article are relatively early defenses of the Calvinist view of the Supper against the Lutheran.
• "Is Christ Corporally Present in the Eucharist?" by Francis Turretin
• "A Summary of the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper" by John Knox

Sunday School Reading - June 7, 2009

Here is the recommended reading from this week's Sunday School. This week we covered the mode, subjects, and efficacy of baptism. As I promised last week, here are all the recommendations on baptism.

First, here is where baptism is addressed in the Reformed and Presbyterian confesssions:

• Westminster Confession of Faith, Chapter 28 - I would recommend reading this chapter carefully, it is very helpful.
• Westminster Larger Catechism, Q&A 165-167
• Westminster Shorter Catechism, Q&A 94-95
• Belgic Confession, Article 34
• Heidelberg Catechism, Q&A 69-74 - I think that you'll find the personal language in this catechism about this subject very comforting and helpful.

Second, here are some recommended books that deal with Christian baptism:

• Christian Baptism by John Murray - I firmly believe that this remains the best book out there on baptism and our discussion closely followed Murray's. This book will be most rewarding if you read it with his article, The Covenant of Grace, which is also available on the Shady Grove book table for $2 and free online. The book on baptism also only $6 from WTS Books!
• The Biblical Doctrine of Infant Baptism by Pierre Marcel - Marcel was a French pastor who only has a few of his works translated into English. This is a helpful book and is available in the church library.
• By Oath Consigned by Meredith Kline - You may be able to find this book electronically but I do not think that it is in print any longer. It is helpful because Kline focuses on the covenantal meaning of baptism. While I sometimes think that Kline stretches in drawing his conclusions (in his broader writings though not so much in this book) his exegesis is very helpful. The book is available in the church library.
• The Case for Covenantal Infant Baptism ed. by Gregg Strawbridge - While I do not think that this book is as helpful as some of the others because it has so many essays it covers more aspects of baptism from different angles and so helps to answer a lot of different questions and objections.
• Christic Baptism and Patristic Baptism: An Inquiry into the Meaning of the Word by James Dale - While I think that the books by Murray and edited by Strawbridge in particular will be sufficient to tear down the argument that baptism must be by immersion if there are still questions then this is the definitive study on the meaning of the word in Greek.

Third, here are the sections of Presbyterian and Reformed systematic theologies that interact with baptism:

• Institutes of the Christian Religion by John Calvin - Calvin addresses baptism in chapters 15-16 of Book 4.
• Reformed Dogmatics by Herman Bavinck - Bavinck writes on baptism in chapter 10 of volume 4, Holy Spirit, Church, and New Creation.
• Systematic Theology by Charles Hodge - Hodge covers baptism in sections 7-14 of Chapter 20 in Volume 3 (available as a .pdf at the link provided)
• Outlines of Theology by A.A. Hodge - Baptism is covered in chapter 39 (available free at the link provided)
• Systematic Theology by R.L. Dabney - Dabney's treatment of baptism is in Chapter 40 (available free at the link provided)
• Systematic Theology by Louis Berkhof - Berkhof interacts with Christian baptism in Chapter 4 under his section on the means of grace. This is available in the church library.

Finally, here are some free essays and articles that you can read online about baptism:

• "Why We Baptize Infants" by John Murray
• "The Children in the Hands of the Arminians" by B.B. Warfield - While this article is a polemic against Charles Rishell it is helpful because it shows how general doctrines of soteriology impact how we would consistently teach and raise children.
• "Christian Baptism" by B.B. Warfield
• "The Development of the Doctrine of Infant Salvation" by B.B. Warfield - Again, this shows the implications of our soteriology on baptism.
• "The Polemics of Infant Baptism" by B.B. Warfield
• "A Contemporary Reformed Defense of Infant Baptism" by R. Scott Clark
• "The Prevalence and Theology of Infant Baptism in the First Four Centuries, East and West" by Greg Johnson
• "Infant Baptism" by John Calvin
• "Of Infant Baptism" by John Owen
• "Baptism as a Sacrament of the Covenant" by Richard Pratt - A very helpful article.
• "Oath and Ordeal Signs" (Part 1, Part 2) by Meredith Kline
• "God's Grandchildren: The Biblical Basis for Infant Baptism" by Michael Horton
• "Infant Baptism Optional?" by D.G. Hart and John Muether
• "Baptism: It's Meaning and Purpose" by Greg Bahnsen
• "Cross Examination: Infant Baptism" by Greg Bahnsen
• "The Biblical Doctrine of Infant Baptism" by Pierre Marcel - This is a large excerpt/summary from the book mentioned above.
• "The Subjects of Baptism" by Wilhelmus a'Brakel
• "Baptism" by William Ames
• "Is Infant Baptism Scriptural?" by John Murray

Sunday School Reading - May 25, 2009

This is a lot later than I hoped to get this out but here are recommended readings from this week's Sunday School. This week we covered women in the church, particularly in terms of the church offices, and worship.

First, here are the relevant sections of the Reformed and Presbyterian Confessions:

• Westminster Confession of Faith, Chapter 21
• Westminster Larger Catechism, Q&A 104-110
• Westminster Shorter Catechism, Q&A 45-52
• Belgic Confession, Article 32
• Heidelberg Catechism, Q&A 94-98

Second, here are some book recommendations on these topics. Note that while John Frame has two books on worship and I do usually like his work I think that this is a point where his redefinition of the regulative principle of worship is wrong and therefore not very helpful:

• The Church by Ed Clowney - This is the major book that I've been recommending on ecclesiology and it is also helpful here. Clowney's chapter on worship is one of the best in the book. In his chapter on women in the church he does argue that women should be ordained as deacons. I think that this is an incorrect interpretation of 2 Tim. 2-3 so this chapter is not as helpful as the rest of the book.
• Women's Ministry in the Local Church by J. Ligon Duncan and Susan Hunt - This is probably the most helpful book on the ministry of women in the local church because Duncan and Hunt do not focus on prohibitions but rather on the positive commands of what women are to do in local church ministry. Ligon Duncan is one of the pastors at First Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Jackson, MS, and also teaches systematic theology at Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson and Susan Hunt has long been involved in women's ministry in the PCA.
• Women and Ministry: What the Bible Teaches by Dan Doriani - While I would recommend the Duncan/Hunt book above this one I do think that this is also a very helpful book on the topic. Doriani has worked both as a professor of New Testament at Covenant Theological Seminary and as a pastor in OPC and PCA churches.
• In the Splendor of Holiness: Rediscovering the Beauty of Reformed Worship for the 21st Century by Jon D. Payne - Payne is the pastor of Grace Presbyterian Church in Douglasville, GA. This book came from a series of Sunday School lessons led by Payne in his church to introduce people to why we worship the way we do in Presbyterian churches. This is a great little book on worship.
• Reformed Worship: Worship that Is According to Scripture by Terry Johnson - Johnson is the pastor of Independent Presbyterian Church in Georgia. This is a short but helpful book illustrating why how we worship is so important in Scripture.
• Give Praise to God: A Vision for Reforming Worship ed. by Philip Graham Ryken, Derek Thomas, and Ligon Duncan - This is a much longer book than the two above but it is valuable. Though there are two chapters in here from Ligon Duncan that outline why we believe in the regulative principle of worship most of the book deals with the application of it. I think that you'll find Payne's book more focused and helpful but this is also a very useful book for thinking through some specific issues of worship.
• A Better Way: Rediscovering the Drama of Christ-Centered Worship by Michael Horton - Horton deals with the tendencies in modern evangelicalism to make worship service seeker-focused instead of God-focused. He goes to show how it is worship that is according to biblical principles and commands does call people to faith but does so in the ways that God commands.

Third, here are the sections of several Presbyterian and Reformed systematic theologies that cover these topics:

• John Calvin deals with the topic of worship under his exposition of the moral law, see the sections on the Second Commandment in Chapter 8 of Book 2 in his Institutes of the Christian Religion.
• R.L. Dabney also discusses a few aspects of worship in his Lectures on Systematic Theology, Chapter 31 (see link to read online).
• Charles Hodge also deals with worship under the Second Commandment in Volume 3, Chapter 19, Part 6 of his Systematic Theology (available free online at the link provided).

Here are some essays and articles that you can read online for free on these topics:

• "What Does it Mean Not to Teach or Have Authority Over Men?" by Douglas Moo - I think this is probably the most helpful of the articles on this subject. While I disagree with him at other points Moo is a fantastic expositor and very helpful.
• "The Church as Family: Why Male Leadership in the Family Requires Male Leadership in the Church" by Vern Poythress - This article is fantastic in explaining the biblical prohibitions on women serving in church office.
• "Silent in the Church: Why Can't Women Preach?" by Ligon Duncan - This is a transcript of a message from Pastor Duncan at a conference on biblical womanhood.
• "Beyond Style Wars: Recovering the Substance of Worship" by Michael Horton
• "Pleasing God in our Worship" by Robert Godfrey - This article is helpful as he deals with the suggestion by Frame and others that all of life is worship, broadening the regulative principle. Godfrey focuses on how we see that corporate worship is a special act of God's people.
• "The Necessity of Reforming the Church" by John Calvin - This paper deals with some of the false practices of worship in the Roman Catholic Church and then moves to the need for worship to only be according to God's commands.
• "Instituted Worship" by William Ames - Ames was an English Puritan Reformer
• "The Manner of Worship" by William Ames
• "What is Reformed Worship: Is it Biblical?" by Danny Hyde
• "Drawing Nigh Unto God" by Jeremiah Burroughs - Like Ames, Burroughs was a Puritan and one of the delegates at the Westminster Assembly. As such he was involved in the protest against false worship in the Anglican Book of Common Prayer. This is a sermon from Burroughs on worship.
• "The Regulative Principle of Worship" by Terry Johnson
• "The Scriptural Regulative Principle of Worship" by G.I. Williamson

Finally, here are some promised resources on the gifts of the Holy Spirit, particularly related to cessationalism:

• "Report of the Committee on the Baptism and Gifts of the Holy Spirit" - This was a study ordered by the General Assembly of the OPC on this topic. I think that this is a very good survey.
• The Holy Spirit by Sinclair Ferguson - Ferguson's treatment of this subject is superb in my opinion. He also deals with the "partial continuationalist" position that is advocated by men like Grudem and Poythress. This is a very helpful discussion in the book.
• The Church by Ed Clowney - Again, Clowney is very helpful on in his chapters on this subject though perhaps not quite as good as Ferguson.
• Perspectives on Pentecost by Richard Gaffin - Though this is the most difficult of these books to read it is still helpful in outlining why we believe that these gifts have ceased in the church.

Sunday School Reading - May 17, 2009

Here are some recommended readings based on our discussion yesterday. This week we covered the last two attributes of the church, metaphors for the church in the New Testament, and the Presbyterian structure of the church.

Confessions:

• Belgic Confession - Articles 27-28, 30-32
• Heidelberg Catechism - Lord's Day 21, Q&A 54-55; Lord's Day 31, Q&A 83-85
• Westminster Confession of Faith, Chapters 25, 26, 31
• Westminster Larger Catechism, Q&A 62-65

Book recommendations:

• The Church by Edmund P. Clowney - Again, I want to highlight that this is probably the best single book that you will find on the doctrine of the church. Next week we will discuss women in the church and I do have some disagreements with Clowney on this topic. However, aside from that I do think that Clowney's work is fantastic. He is very good on metaphors for the church.
• On Being Presbyterian: Our Beliefs, Practices, and Stories by Sean Michael Lucas - I have recommended this book in the past and want to mention it again here, especially for those who want to save money and want books that cover a number of topics. Chapter 8 of Lucas' book deals with Presbyterian church government. I think that this is a very helpful overview and introduction and I think that this is a great book to have in general.
• The Church: One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic by Richard Phillips, Philip Ryken, and Mark Dever - Another repeat from last week. This is a good short book from three pastors on the attributes of the church as set forward in the Nicene Creed.
• The Book of Church Order of the Presbyterian Church in America - I want to highlight this since we did discuss the structure of the church and it can be good to know what our Confession documents, and BOCO is one, say about our church order. This may also be available to read as .pdf from the PCA website but I'm not certain.
• Discussions in Church Polity by Charles Hodge - This is obviously an older book but is interesting for some of the deeper aspects of the structure of the church. It largely came out of some debates with James Henley Thornwell over specific topics and provides some interesting context to present church polity.

Presbyterian and Reformed systematic theologies:

• Institutes of the Christian Religion by John Calvin - In book four, Chapters 3-12 all deal with various aspects of the structure or governance of the church, particularly in the context of the Reformation and the conflict with the Roman Catholic Church.
• Reformed Dogmatics by Herman Bavinck - Bavinck discusses out topics from yesterday at the end of Chapter 5 and in Chapter 6 of Volume 4, Holy Spirit, Church, and New Creation.
• Concise Reformed Dogmatics by J. Van Genderen and W.H. Velema - The discussion in Chapter 13 is helpful on church government and the attributes of the church.

Online essays and articles:

• "The One and the Many: A Case for Presbyterian Government" by G.I. Williamson
• "Church Government Briefly Considered" by Greg Bahnsen - This is a really good article, I recommend reading this one for some biblical evidence for the Presbyterian form of church government.
• "Which Is More Hierarchical, the Reformed or the Presbyterian Form of Church Government?" by G.I. Williamson - Williamson has written a lot on church polity and on the Westminster Standards. Both of these articles are pretty helpful.
• "The Regulative Principle Applied to Church Government" by James Henley Thornwell - The Southern Presbyterians spent a lot of time thinking through and writing on church polity. This is probably the point of doctrine where they are more helpful. This article by Thornwell is a powerful argument for Presbyterianism.

Sunday School Reading - May 3, 2009

We did not make it into the doctrine of the church yesterday but instead finished our discussion of the signs of the times. Accordingly I do not really have many new recommendations for books. I will relist the same books from last week with one addition due to our discussion of the sign of the Antichrist. Please see last week's post for some recommendations from Presbyterian and Reformed systematic theologies. Finally, at the bottom of this e-mail are links to some free or on sale resources that are currently available. Definitely check out the sale on Reymond's work!

First, here are the book recommendations. As I mentioned earlier, all but one of the books on this list are repeats from last week.

• Christ and the Future: The Bible's Teaching about the Last Things by Cornelis Venema - This is the first book that I recommend on these topics. Venema has written a great deal on eschatology and approaches these topics from an "optimistic amillennial" perspective. I think that you'll find this book very satisfying. I'm seeing if the church can get several copies to put on the church booktable to make it easier for people to get.
• The Promise of the Future by Cornelis Venema - This is the earlier and larger work that Venema did on the last things. The topics covered are very similar to what he covers in the above book. The difference is that this is a longer (just under 500 pages) and more scholarly treatment of the subjects. This is a fantastic book and my personal favorite on eschatology but I think that most people (and their wallets) will be satisfied by the shorter book above.
• The Bible and the Future by Anthony Hoekema - This is an older but still very good work on eschatology from an amillennial perspective that Venema borrows heavily from. Hoekema is especially helpful in his critique of dispensationalism. I do want to note that I disagree with Hoekema on his interpretation of "all Israel will be saved" in Romans 11:25-26 (though if you take his side you are certainly in good company with Bavinck, Ridderbos, and others).
• The Man of Sin: Uncovering the Truth About the Antichrist by Kim Riddlebarger - I have to be honest and confess that I have not read this book but if it is on the same level as his Case for Amillennialism then it will be a helpful read. Pastor Riddlebarger is one of the co-host of the White Horse Inn radio broadcast, Senior Pastor of Christ Reformed Church in Anaheim, and an adjunct professor of theology at Westminster Seminary California.

Here are some essays and articles that you can read online for free about these topics:

• "What about the Great Tribulation?" by Kim Riddlebarger
• "The Nature of Apostasy" by John Owen - This comes from John Owen's commentary on Hebrews.
• "Apostasy: Hebrews 6:4-6" by A.W. Pink - Note that both this and the next article come from Pink's commentary on Hebrews.
• "A Warning Against Apostasy" by A.W. Pink
• "Prophecy Makes Stranger Bedfellows: On the History of Identifying the Antichrist" by Stephen Nichols
• "Eighteen Sermons on 2 Thessalonians 2 on the Description, Rise, Growth, and Fall of the Antichrist" by Thomas Manton

Finally, as promised, here are some cheap or free resources not necessarily related to eschatology that you should look into:

• Westminster Theological Seminary Audio Resources - WTS has made their online audio archives available for free to anyone who registers. This means that lectures and sermons by men like John Murray, Cornelius Van Til, J. Greshman Machen, Ed Clowney, Richard Gaffin, Vern Poythress, and Scott Oliphint are now available at no cost. This is definitely something to take advantage of!
• A New Systematic Theology of the Christian Faith, 2nd Edition by Robert Reymond - Monergism Books is currently offering this book for 50% off today only. While I do have some minor quibbles with a couple of things in here I still think that Dr. Reymond has done a marvellous service to the church in providing us with a modern, readable systematic theology. And it's going to be hard to beat the discount.
• Finally, for anyone who does not have a pocket copy, Banner of Truth Trust is offering copies of the Westminster Shorter Catechism for just $1 each. Pick up a copy and memorize it!

Sunday School Reading - December 28, 2008

Here are some recommended reading materials from our final discussion in the Fall Sunday School quarter. Again, we will be taking a break during the winter quarter and then resuming (for those interested) in April for three months when we will discuss the Holy Spirit's role in redemptive history, eschatology (last things), ecclesiology (church), sacraments, and the relationship between church and culture (including a brief survey of both Prebyterian/Reformed apologetics and ethics as part of the way that the church relates to culture). Also, I wanted to highlight that Christian Book Distributors have a few excellent items for terrific prices and I provided links to some of them at the bottom of this e-mail.

Yesterday we finished examining the order of the application of salvation by looking at adoption, perseverance, assurance, and glorification. Here are our catechism questions:

Q34. What is adoption?
A34. Adoption is an act of God's free grace, wherby we are received into the number, and have a right to all the privileges of the sons of God.

Q36. What are the benefits which in this life do accompany or flow from justification, adoption, and sanctification?
A36. 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.

Q37. What benefits do believers receive from Christ at death?
A37. The souls of believers are at their deaths made perfect in holiness, and do immediately pass into glory; and their bodies, being still united to Christ, do rest in their graves till the resurrection.

Q38. What benefits do believers receive from Christ at the resurrection?
A38. At the resurrection, believers being raised up in glory, shall be openly acknowledged and acquitted in the day of judgment, and made perfectly blessed in the full enjoying of God to all eternity.

Here are some recommended books on these topics:

Redemption: Accomplished and Applied by John Murray - Continuing to emphasize this book and the one by Hoekema under the application of redemption. Murray deals with all three of these topics. Adoption is chapter 6 in part 2, perseverance is chapter 8, and glorification is chapter 10. I think that you'll find that Murray's discussion of perseverance, in particular, to be very helpful.

Saved by Grace by Anthony Hoekema - Hoekema does not have a chapter devoted to adoption but he does deal with how we are made children of God in two places. He discusses how we are children of God according to spiritual birth under regeneration. He discusses how we are children of God by legal declaration at the end of his chapter on justification (I believe this begins at page 185 but as I do not have the book in front of me now I can't be sure). Perseverance of the saints and assurance of faith are discussed in the last chapter (Hoekema relies heavily on Murray in the beginning of the chapter). Hoekema does not deal with glorification in this work. The reason is because Saved by Grace is the second book in a trilogy. The first is Created in God's Image and the third is The Bible and the Future. Glorification is dealt with in the last volume. For what it's worth while I do have a few minor quibbles with some of the things in both of these other books I think that he is right and helpful far more than I disagree with him and both books are worth checking out.

Assured by God: Living in the Fullness of God's Grace by Burk Parsons - This is a very helpful and pastoral book on assurance. It include essays by Parsons, Philip Ryken, Al Mohler, Rick Phillips, Sinclair Ferguson, Joel Beeke, and R.C. Sproul. This is a very encouraging book.

Heirs with Christ: The Puritans on Adoption by Joel Beeke - The Puritans are often criticized for not having written much on adoption. Beeke does much in this short book (only 134 pages) to dispel this myth and to set forward what the Puritans had to say on the topic. This is a very rewarding book to read.

The Certainty of Faith by Herman Bavinck - This is a fantastic short book about certainty and assurance. Bavinck is masterful as usual in this volume. I will warn you that it has not been rereleased even with the new interest in Bavinck in English and so it is pretty expensive for a relatively small paperback book.

Also, we've been emphasizing two books on the doctrines of grace throughout this class. The first is Michael Horton's Putting Amazing Back into Grace: Embracing the Heart of the Gospel. Horton discusses perseverance of the saints in his chapter entitled "No Lost Causes." He also indirectly discusses glorification in the chapter "A Kingdom of Priests." Richard Phillips addresses perseverance and assurance in the fifth chapter of What's So Great about the Doctrines of Grace?

These topics are also addressed in our systematic theologies. Calvin does not have any chapters devoted to adoption but it does run through his discussion of the Christian life in chapters 6-8 of his Institutes of the Christian Religion. Glorification is briefly examined in chapters 9-10 of the same. And I had my chapter numbers mixed up in class. Calvin's fantastic discussion of assurance is chapters 13-16 of the Institutes (not 12-14). Herman Bavinck deals with perseverance and assurance along with sanctification in Volume 4 (Holy Spirit, Church, and New Creation), chapter 4 of his Reformed Dogmatics. He deals with glorification in chapters 12-14 of the same volume. Adoption is only briefly addressed in Chapter 9 of volume 3 (Sin and Salvation in Christ). Charles Hodge has a long discussion of glorification in Part 4, chapters 1-2 of Systematic Theology volume 3 (warning, large .pdf file) (he does not have chapters dedicated to adoption or perseverance though the latter is dealt with in his writing on sanctification and the law). Adoption, perseverance, and glorification are discussed in chapters 31, 33, and 34-35 respectively in Outlines of Theology (Google books link) by A.A. Hodge. Finally, Robert Lewis Dabney's Systematic Theology includes chapters on perseverance, assurance, death of believers, and the resurrection. He discusses adoption under justification (see the link a few weeks ago). Personally I think you will find Dabney to be incredibly helpful on perseverance and assurance due to his heavy reliance upon the Westminster Confession for both topics.

Here are some articles on these topics that you can read online for free:
"The Doctrine of the Saints' Final Perseverance" by John Gill
"Adoption" by John Murray
"Eternal Security" by A.W. Pink
"Perseverance and Assurance: A Survey and a Proposal" by Thomas Schreiner - Apart from the chapters by Dabney this is the best and most comprehensive thing you can read for free on these doctrines. I normally find Schreiner to be a little frustrating to read but this is an excellent piece. Heads up: it's a .pdf file.
"The Test of Perseverance" by Ligon Duncan
"Faith and Assurance in the Theology of Theodore Beza" by Shane Rosenthal
"Examination for Assurance" by Ligon Duncan

Finally, as promised here are some of those sale items through Christian Book. While often I find that average prices there are higher than those at Monergism books, WTS books, and Amazon I also spot that sometimes CBD offers tremendous sales (for example they recently had the entire 22 volume set of Calvin's Commentaries for $100 and the 10 volume works of B.B. Warfield for $60) and so it's worthwhile to check their bargain sections from time to time. These are just a couple of things that I thought might be worthwhile to point out:

• Systematic Theology by Louis Berkhof - While I have not been including Berkhof's work in the systematic theologies for Sunday School that is not intended as a slight against Berkhof. His volume is helpful though a little dated for a one volume systematic theology. Still, for $13 it is a bargain.
• Systematic Theology by Charles Hodge - I include this because there are some people who can't stand to read things online. Hodge's work is available in three .pdf files so I would recommend saving the money and just downloading those files so you can search them or printing them and putting them in binders. But if you really love having the book formats then this is the cheapest you'll find it. As a quick warning these books are very tightly bound so you will end up breaking the spine opening them.
• Kingdom of Priests: A History of Old Testament Israel by Eugene Merrill - While Merrill is not a Reformed or Presbyterian theologian this book is a very helpful apologetic for how the Old Testament presents the history of Israel. It is very interesting in seeing the historical books of the OT in the socio-political context of the day. It is only $8 now (though this is the older edition).
• Encountering the Old Testament by Bill Arnold and Bryan Beyer - I think it's good to have at least one OT Introduction on your shelves. The Longman-Dillard IOT is better than this. But this is also 60% off and is a huge book for only $20. Worth checking out.

Sunday School Reading - December 21, 2008

Before getting to reading recommendations for this week I wanted to share a quote from William Willimon's book, Conversations with Barth on Preaching [Nashville: Abingdon, 2006] (HT: Shane Lems). Willimon writes:

The domesticating of revelation… [is] the process of making the gospel respectable. When the gospel is offered to man and he stretches out his hand to receive it and takes it into his hand, an acute danger arises which is greater than the danger that he may not understand it and angrily reject it. The danger is that he may accept it and peacefully and at once make himself its lord and possessor, thus rendering it innocuous, making that which chooses him something which he himself has chosen, which therefore comes to stand as such alongside all the other things that he can also choose, and therefore control. (181)

What Willimon expresses here is the danger of elevating the importance of ourselves in responding to the gospel. It is not just that we may reject the gospel and confirm our condemnation. It is also that we may seek to possess it and then to rule over it rather than to humbly respond in repentance and faith to the message of what God has done to save and gather a people for himself.

With that, on to Sunday School recommendations. There are a few books in the church library that you may want to check out that I did not recommend below. This is mainly because I don't think that they're the best books on these topics but that said, you should still find some of them useful and it is cheaper than buying new books so you might want to look at Five Views on Sanctification, Sanctification by A.W. Pink, and Paul: Apostle of the Heart Set Free by F.F. Bruce. Under book recommendations I've included several books on justification but not on sanctification. This is partly because the above are available in the library and also because I don't think you'll find anything better than Murray's work on the topic. Please see the free articles to read online also. Before moving on to the rest of our book recommendations here are our Catechism questions for this week:

Q32. What benefits to they that are effectually called partake of in this life?
A32. 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.

Q33. What is justification?
A33. 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.

Q35. What is sanctification?
A35. 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.

Here are a couple of book recommendations on the double graces of justification and sanctification:

Redemption: Accomplished and Applied by John Murray - I'm continuing to focus on this and the Hoekema book as the best two on the order of the application of salvation. For this week read the two chapters in Murray on Justification and Sanctification (chapters 5 and 7). Please note that Murray follows the order in the Westminster Standards and so discusses adoption in between the double graces. I don't think that there's anything wrong with this as justification, definitive sanctification, and adoption are all simultaneous benefits of union with Christ. We addressed sanctification before adoption because I think that Calvin's focus on the duplex gratia is very helpful.

Saved by Grace by Anthony Hoekema - Again, this is following along with both of these books. Read the chapters by Hoekema on Justification and Sanctification. Both chapters are helpful though you'll notice that most of Hoekema's discussion on sanctification is following Murray's.

The Doctrine of Justification by Faith by John Owen - Here is a classic work on justification. If you've ever read Owen then you know that he was very technical and his works are not easy to read through. This is certainly true about this book as well. That said, this is one of the easiest places to move into Owen (except for maybe The Death of Death in the Death of Christ) as all of the Greek and Latin quotations have been translated and Carl Trueman (one of the foremost scholars on Owen) has provided a helpful introductory essay.

Justification by Francis Turretin - Being that this is one of the fundamental doctrines coming out of the Protestant Reformation (as Martin Luther wrote, the church stands or falls on the doctrine of justification) sometimes the classics are the best. This is a short book (only 144 pages) by one of Calvin's successors (Turretin was Pastor in Geneva for nearly forty years in addition to teaching theology in the pastor's academy founded by Calvin though Calvin died before Turretin's birth) translated by James Dennison (who also translated Turretin's three volume Institutes of Eclentic Theology). Turretin answers 10 key questions on the doctrine of justification by faith in this work.

Justified in Christ: God's Plan for us in Justification ed. by Scott Oliphint - I'm just mentioning this work again in case anyone bought in on a previous recommendation. Richard Gaffin's article (the first following Sinclair Ferguson's introduction) deals with justification as a manifestation in history of the last judgment. This is not an easy article to read but it is helpful.

Justification: Understanding the Classic Reformed Doctrine by John Fesko - This book was just published this year and is the definitive work currently out there on the doctrine of justification and includes sections addressing the errors in the New Perspective on Paul and Federal Vision theologies. Fesko is Adjunct Professor of Systematic Theology at RTS Atlanta and Pastor of an OPC church in Georgia. This is a well written book that reflects both of those roles. The best thing about this book is that by the author's own admission there is nothing new in it!

As I mentioned, the duplex gratia and union with Christ form the heart of Book 3 in John Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion. See especially chapters 1-5. To see Calvin's pastoral heart in action we have to realize that Calvin believes that only right knowledge and doctrine lead to a right and pious life so go on to read chapters 6-10. Herman Bavinck addresses both of these doctrines in Chapters 3-4 of volume 4 (Holy Spirit, Church, and New Creation) of Reformed Dogmatics. If you have Bavinck's work then it's very helpful how he ties together sanctification and perseverance/assurance in chapter 4. Charles Hodge writes about justification and sanctification in Volume 3 (warning .pdf file), Chapters 17-18 of his Systematic Theology. His son, A.A. Hodge, deals with them in chapters 30 and 32 respectively of his Outlines of Theology (Google Books link). A.A. Hodge actually believed in eternal justification (like Abraham Kuyper) so I do not recommend following him in that particular point. If you'd like to know why then just send me an e-mail. Robert Lewis Dabney writes about justification and sanctification in his Systematic Theology.

Finally, here are some articles and essays that you can read online for free regarding these doctrines:
"The Doctrine of Justification: An Outline of its History in the Church and of its Exposition from Scripture" by James Buchanan - Note that this is a book by Buchanan that has been made available as a large .pdf file.
"Definitive Sanctification" by John Murray - If you only read one of these articles then make sure it's this one.
"The Doctrine of Justification" by A.W. Pink
"The Doctrine of Sanctification" by A.W. Pink
"Sola Fide: The Reformed Doctrine of Justification" by J.I. Packer
"The Importance of Justification" by R.C. Sproul
"Justification: Still the Radical Truth" by Ligon Duncan
"Does Justification Still Matter?" by Michael Horton
"The Indicative and the Imperative: A Reformation View of Sanctification" by Michael Horton
"Putting Sin to Death" by Ligon Duncan
"Expelling Worldliness with a New Affection" by Sinclair Ferguson
"Sanctification" by B.B. Warfield

Sunday School Reading - November 30, 2008

Here are some recommended readings from our discussion this week. Yesterday we discussed the third and fourth aspects of Christ's work in his ascension and baptizing his church with the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. I will refrain from repeating all of the recommendations on the work of Christ that I had the last three weeks. I would encourage you to look at the last three posts on Sunday School Reading (see the tag line at the bottom to get at them quickly) and I'll focus on recommendations for those two aspects of Christ's work in particular. Many Reformed books on the Holy Spirit focus on Pentecost as a unique event the way that we did so even though we looked at it under the doctrine of Christ I put some of these books in the recommendations below, especially keeping in mind that a few of these are available in the church library and so you can save a little cash that way.

Before I get to recommendations for this week, I wanted to highlight for you that monergism books is offering an 8-part sermon series on the doctrines of grace by Dr. Arturo Azurdia III (Western Seminary) for free - you only pay shipping and handling ($3.99). Please note that these are MP3 cds and so you need a cd-player that has MP3 capability or you'll have to play them through the computer or save them there and then burn as standard audio files. Also, monergism books is offering free shipping on all orders over $50 and they tend to have very competitive prices so you might want to consider packaging this with some other purchases. Later today or tomorrow I will try to put up a post on books that I think every Christian should read so that you can maybe get some gift ideas or winter break reading for yourself.

First, here is the catechism question related to our discussion yesterday:

Q28. Wherein consisteth Christ's exaltation?
A28. Christ's exaltation consisteth in his rising against from the dead 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 at the last day.

Here are some recommended books. I made sure to mention which of these are available in the church library.

Perspectives on Pentecost: New Testament Teaching on the Gifts of the Holy Spirit by Richard Gaffin - This is the best book that you can get dealing with the topic of Pentecost and the gift of the Holy Spirit. The first two chapters deal with our discussion from yesterday about the uniqueness of the Pentecost event and the importance for God's people today. The rest of the book deals with the special gifts of tongues, prophecy, and the like. This is a very helpful book.

The Holy Spirit by Sinclair Ferguson - This is the single best book that I have found on the Holy Spirit. Dr. Ferguson has a chapter devoted to Pentecost and its uniqueness that is very helpful and surpassed only by Dr. Gaffin's book above. I would highly recommend picking up this book. Unfortunately it is not available through the church library.

The Work of the Holy Spirit by Abraham Kuyper - This is the next best book on the Holy Spirit. Abraham Kuyper was a Dutch theologian and later politician (he served one term as Prime Minister) blessed with a brillant mind. He was a contemporary of B.B. Warfield and Herman Bavinck. While the other two are generally more consistent theologians Kuyper is also often worth reading, particularly his Lectures on Calvinism, which we will mention when we talk about the relationship of church and culture. This is a very helpful book that is available online for free and is also in the church library. As a warning, one of the problems with Kuyper is that he did believe in eternal justification and that does come up briefly in his work. We reject that doctrine on both Scriptural and Confessional bases (please send me an e-mail or leave a comment if you'd like to know why).

The Holy Spirit: His Person and Ministry by Edwin Palmer - I have no read this book but it does come with good recommendations and is by a solidly Reformed theologian who used to teach at WTS. I have it on here because it is available in the church library.

Father, Son, and Spirit: The Trinity in John's Gospel by Andreas Kostenberger and Scott Swain - I mentioned this book yesterday morning and I will recommend it again as an excellent study on the Trinity. This is a fascinating book as Kostenberger is a New Testament professor while Swain teaches systematic theology. This means that the book is almost unique in being sensitive to the way that topics are presented in John's gospel while also seeking to set forth the doctrine of truth that the church confesses on the basis of the whole of Scripture. Hopefully we will see many more books like this in the future. I recommend it here because it was mentioned yesterday and also because the authors do take a few pages to deal with the scene where Jesus breathes on the disciples in John 20.

There are not any books out there that I'm aware of that are dedicated to Christ's ascension. Instead I would recommend that you look at the books on the work of Christ from the last few weeks and also the relevant sections in our systematic theologies. Those are Book 2, Chapters 15-17 in John Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion; Volume 3 (Sin and Salvation in Christ), Chapter 8 of Herman Bavinck's Reformed Dogmatics; Volume 2, Chapter 13, sections 2-3 of Charles Hodge's Systematic Theology; and Chapter 23 (under the intercession of Christ) in A.A. Hodge's Outlines of Theology (online).

Finally, here are some papers and articles on these topics that you can read online for free:
"The Ascension and Second Advent Practically Considered" by Charles Spurgeon
"Pentecost, Spirit Baptism, and Charismatism" by Fred Zaspel
"Pentecost: Before and After" by Richard Gaffin
"How Believers Experienced the Spirit Before Pentecost" by John Piper

Note: I don't have much here on the ascension because there really isn't much out there that I could find. In one sense it is the forgotten aspect of Christ's work except wherein it is referenced to diffuse a controversy (for example, Calvin, Zwingli, Bullinger, and Bruce often reference the ascension in responding to Roman Catholic and Lutheran views on the Lord's Supper and the person of Christ). If you want more then please go to www.monergism.com and in the upper righthand corner type in "Ascension" as a search. At the bottom of the string should be a few sermons by Michael Horton on the subject and one by Robert Godfrey. You should enjoy all of those.

Sunday School Reading - November 23, 2008

This week we finished our discussion of Christ's atonement and then turned to his resurrection from the dead. I'll direct you back to last week's post for more reading on the atonement. Below are some recommended readings regarding Christ's resurrection. First the related catechism questions.

Q27. Wherein did Christ's humiliation consist?
A27. Christ's humiliation consisted in his being born, and that in 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.

Q28. Wherein consisteth Christ's exaltation?
A28. Christ's exaltation consisteth in his rising again from the dead on the third day, in ascending up into heaven, in sitting at the right hand of God the Father, and in coming to judge the world at the last day.

Here are some book recommendations on the resurrection. Most of these are repeats from last week as I've generally tried to find books that are on Christ's work as a whole to save money but there are a few new ones.

Resurrection and Redemption: A Study in Paul's Soteriology by Richard Gaffin - I have recommended this book before and I'll put the same disclaimer on it that I did then. It is not an easy book to read. The book is essentially an expansion and development of Dr. Gaffin's Ph.D dissertation on the resurrection in Paul's epistles. Accordingly this is a very academic book. It is also a very useful one with Dr. Gaffin's exegesis and exposition of our union with Christ as life-giving Spirit in his resurrection. It's worth reading but be prepared to go through it carefully two or three times.

Justified in Christ: God's Plan for Us in Justification ed. by Scott Oliphint - This is a repeat recommendation from last week. Again, this book is partly a response to the New Perspective on Paul on the topic of justification and salvation. For this week though I have to say that the article in here by Lane Tipton (professor of systematic theology at Westminster Theological Seminary) is one of the best things you can find on our union with Christ in his resurrection.

The Person and Work of Christ by Benjamin B. Warfield - Again, this is another repeat from last week. Again, Warfield is always worth reading and this is Warfield at his best. There is a paperback copy available from WTS Books for about a dollar cheaper.

The Work of Christ by Robert Letham - And one final repeat from last week. This is a very useful book but probably not as good as Warfield and not as comprehensive on the Resurrection as Gaffin. Still, it's also cheaper and so might fit the budget more easily.

Far as the Curse is Found: The Covenant Story of Redemption by Michael Williams - This is not a book that is really about the resurrection but is rather a biblical theology of Scripture's overall covenantal message. There are two reasons that I have it in here. First, this is the best book that I have read on covenantal theology and biblical theology and would certainly be on a list of books that I think every Christian should read (coming soon!). Second, Dr. Williams (professor of systematic theology at Covenant Theological Seminary) focuses in the opening on how Christ's resurrection from the dead is the turning point of Scripture's narrative and all of history. To see how the Scriptures place such a high emphasis on the resurrection makes this book invaluable.

Next our systematic theologies. John Calvin deals with the resurrection in Book 2, Chapters 16 and 17 of Institutes of the Christian Religion. Herman Bavinck discusses it in Volume 3 (Sin and Salvation in Christ), Chapter 8 under Christ's exaltation in his Reformed Dogmatics. Charles Hodge addresses the resurrection in Chapter 13, Section 1 in Volume 2 (warning: .pdf file) of his Systematic Theology. A.A. Hodge focuses on the resurrection in its eschatological importance in Chapter 35 of his Outlines of Theology (available online at Google books; it looks like someone bought the copy in the Shady Grove bookstore so it is no longer available there).

Finally, here are some good articles and papers that you can read for free online about the resurrection:
"The Spiritual Resurrection of Believers: A Sermon on Eph. 2:4-5" by Geerhardus Vos
"Resurrection Living" by William Dennison - This is a very good article!
"Declared to be the Son of God by his Resurrection" by Jack Peterson
"The Exaltation of Christ in the Resurrection" by Ligon Duncan - These next few articles are a series of sermons that Dr. Duncan has preached on Easter Sundays at First Presbyterian Church in Jackson, MS.
"Why the Resurrection Matters" by Ligon Duncan
"United to Christ" by Ligon Duncan
"He is Risen" by Ligon Duncan
"Who Raised Jesus from the Dead?" by Richard Phillips - This is an excellent article on the Trinitarian aspect of the resurrection.
"On the Third Day He Rose Again" by Duncan Thomas
"Redemption and Resurrection: An Exercise in biblical-systematic theology" by Richard Gaffin - This appears to be an abridged article expressing many of the same things in the book recommended above. If you only read one of the articles then this should probably be the one.

Canons of Dort - Second Head of Doctrine

As we continue to think about the doctrine of definite atonement I thought that it would be helpful to post the articles of faith from the Second Main Head of Doctrine in the Canons of Dort along with a very brief commentary on them. This is the Head of Doctrine where the Synod addressed the Arminian claim of universal atonement. Please see the below post of Sunday School reading for books and articles that explain why we believe in a definite atonement.

Article 1: God is not only supremely merciful, but also supremely just. His justice requires (as he has revealed himself in the Word) that the sins we have committed against his infinite majesty be punished with both temporal and eternal punishments, of soul as well as body. We cannot escape these punishments unless satisfaction is given to God's justice.

The first article points us back to the doctrine of God. Because he is not made up of a bunch of independent attributes we have to remember that his attributes define one another. His mercy is a loving and just mercy. His justice is a righteous and holy justice. He cannot compromised who he is or act contrary to his nature. So as we stand before him as sinners in Adam we stand guilty and condemned to eternal punishment by God's righteous judgment.

Article 2: Since, however, we ourselves cannot give this satisfaction or deliver ourselves from God's anger, God in his boundless mercy has given us as a guarantee his only begotten Son, who was made to be sin and a curse for us, in our place, on the cross, in order that he might give satisfaction for us.

The problem is that we can never offer anything to God that would fully satisfy his righteous and just anger that burns against us sinners. Left to ourselves our destination is an eternal suffering from the pains of hell. Yet we find that as God is also merciful he has given us his Son who became a curse for us and offered a perfect satisfaction of God's just wrath. Those who are covered by Christ's atoning death no longer need to fear punishment for their sins.

Article 3: This death of God's Son is the only and entirely complete sacrifice and satisfaction for sins; it is of infinite value and worth, more than sufficient to atone for the sins of the whole world.

The Synod reminds us that God's death is the only sacrifice sufficient to satisfy God's justice. We cannot choose to offer satisfaction by Christ's death or by something else. We cannot even choose to offer satisfaction by Christ's death and or along with something else. Christ's death alone is the satisfaction for sins and his death has such great value and worth that is sufficient to atone for the sins of the whole world.

Article 4: This death is of such great value and worth for the reason that the person who suffered it is--as was necessary to be our Savior--not only a true and perfectly holy man, but also the only begotten Son of God, of the same eternal and infinite essence with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Another reason is that this death was accompanied by the experience of God's anger and curse, which we by our sins had fully deserved.

The reason that we know that Christ's death has such a high value as was described in Article 3 is because of who we know and confess Jesus to be. He is the only true and perfect man who is without sin. Of all men who have ever lived Jesus is the only one who never sinned and never deserved to suffer God's wrath. At the same time he is the Second Person of the Trinity, the eternal God in his own right. So his death has an infinite value as he alone could bear the entirety of God's wrath for our sins.

Article 5: Moreover, it is the promise of the gospel that whoever believes in Christ crucified shall not perish but have eternal life. This promise, together with the command to repent and believe, ought to be announced and declared without differentiation or discrimination to all nations and people, to whom God in his good pleasure sends the gospel.

In this article the Synod affirms the promise of the gospel. We know that anyone who does believe in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ will be saved. Roger Nicole said that in the whole history of humankind there has not been a single person who has come to Christ earnestly seeking salvation in him that was turned away. The promise of Almighty God, who cannot lie and in whom there is no shadow of turning, is that all who believe will be saved. Therefore we believe and hold that the gospel must be preached to all people without any discrimination as all are called to believe and repent.

Article 6: However, that many who have been called through the gospel do not repent or believe in Christ but perish in unbelief is not because the sacrifice of Christ offered on the cross is deficient or insufficient, but because they themselves are at fault.

The universal call does not mean that we believe in universal salvation. There are many who do not obey God's summons in the gospel to believe in the Lord Jesus and repent of their sins. The Synod affirms that the problem is not that Christ's sacrifice was insufficient but rather than they perish because of their own unbelief and refusal to obey the call of the gospel. The sin and punishment of sinners does not take away from the infinite value of Christ's atonement.

Article 7: But all who genuinely believe and are delivered and saved by Christ's death from their sins and from destruction receive this favor solely from God's grace--which he owes to no one--given to them in Christ from eternity.

Here the Synod reaffirms that salvation is a monergistic (one worker) activity. God does not work with those who believe to save them. God effectively saves those who believe. Sinners cannot rightly force God to save them. They can only be saved by him according to the means of salvation that he has revealed in his word. The ones God saves are only the ones that he has chosen in Christ from all eternity (see the First Main Head of Doctrine).

Article 8: For it was the entirely free plan and very gracious will and intention of God the Father that the enlivening and saving effectiveness of his Son's costly death should work itself out in all his chosen ones, in order that he might grant justifying faith to them only and thereby lead them without fail to salvation. In other words, it was God's will that Christ through the blood of the cross (by which he confirmed the new covenant) should effectively redeem from every people, tribe, nation, and language all those and only those who were chosen from eternity to salvation and given to him by the Father; that he should grant them faith (which, like the Holy Spirit's other saving gifts, he acquired for them by his death); that he should cleanse them by his blood from all their sins, both original and actual, whether committed before or after their coming to faith; that he should faithfully preserve them to the very end; and that he should finally present them to himself, a glorious people, without spot or wrinkle.

Here we see the key to the doctrine of definite atonement. Because all those who believe are saved and only those who are chosen believe we must hold that the saving effectiveness of Christ's death, which is a real satisfation of God's justice, efficiently saves and only saves the elect. Again, there is nothing aside from Christ's death that they may plead before the judgment seat of God. The Synod says that Christ's death effectively redeems all those who the Father has given to Christ. Those who are redeemed are certainly cleansed. Those cleansed are preserved. Those preserved are glorified. Christ's death is an efficient and efficacious salvific work. Those for whom he died are saved.

Article 9: This plan, arising out of God's eternal love for his chosen ones, from the beginning of the world to the present time has been powerfully carried out and will also be carried out in the future, the gates of hell seeking vainly to prevail against it. As a result the chosen are gathered into one, all in their own time, and there is always a church of believers founded on Christ's blood, a church which steadfastly loves, persistently worships, and--here and in all eternity--praises him as her Savior who laid down his life for her on the cross, as a bridegroom for his bride.

Again the Synod affirms that Christ's death is the effective salvation for all of God's elect. Throughout history everyone who is saved is saved by Christ dying for them. All the powers of hell may assault them but God powerfully works his purposes in his elect. So therefore all of God's people, both in Old Testament and New Testament times, belong to the church of Christ that he has redeemed with his precious blood.

If you'd like a print version of the Canons of Dort then you can find it in this book; along with the Heidelberg Catechism, the Belgic Confession, and the Ecumenical Creeds. You can read the Canons of Dort online here.

The Threefold Office of Christ

The Westminster Shorter Catechism follows after John Calvin in making a connection between Christ’s person and Christ’s work by discussing his threefold office. The Catechism says:

Q23. What offices doth Christ execute as our Redeemer?
A23. 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.

It is important for us to think about the offices of Christ as it helps us to keep his person and work together in our minds. He is not the Christ except as he is the perfect Prophet, Priest, and King and the work that he does is in faithfully executing those three offices. Therefore we need to examine each of these offices in terms of who our Lord is and the work that he has accomplished and still does.

Q24. How doth Christ execute the office of a prophet?
A24. Christ executeth the office of a prophet, in revealing to us, by his Word and Spirit, the will of God for our salvation.

When the Samaritan woman expresses her expectation that the Christ would come to teach all things (John 4:25) she shows knowledge of the prophetic announcement of the Christ who is sent as a witness and a messenger from the Father (Isa. 9:6; 28:29; 55:4). The writer of Hebrews also picks up on Christ as Prophet:

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. (Heb. 1:1-2)

The writer here says that a new era of revelation has dawned. In the past God spoke to his people by his prophets and other means of revelation. In the present he has now spoken to them by his only Son who brings the fullness of God’s revelation of salvation. Calvin reminds us that this revelation is also linked to the revelatory work of the Spirit of Christ (Isa. 61:1-2; cf. Luke 4:18). Christ’s prophetic work continues as the Spirit illumines the word of Christ and the word is preached to Christ’s people. So because the whole of doctrine is revealed to us by Christ the Prophet we know that all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Christ (Col. 2:3). As we consider Christ as prophet we are reminded that his Word contains all the things that are necessary for faith and godliness.

Q25. How doth Christ execute the office of a priest?
A25. 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.

Calvin notes that because God’s righteous wrath is set against sinners for Christ to be a Mediator between us and God he first had to come forward as a sacrifice. Our own prayers are not acceptable to God until God’s wrath against us is removed. God’s wrath cannot be removed until the penalty for our sins has been paid and God’s justice has been satisfied. So we now know that Christ has appeared to put away sin by offering up himself as a sacrifice (Heb. 9:26b). So Christ’s perfect sacrifice answers both of our problems. As he has taken our sin on himself (2 Cor. 5:21; 1 Pet. 2:24) the penalty is paid and we are now reconciled to God.

Yet we know that Christ’s priestly work is not finished now that he has ascended into heaven. In fact we find that it is precisely as he has ascended into heaven that he is the perfect Mediator and Intercessor on behalf of his people. Now in heaven he always lives to intercede for us (Heb. 7:25; Rom. 8:34) and he secures our eternal redemption (Heb. 9:11-12).

Q26. How doth Christ execute the office of a King?
A26. 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.

Calvin begins his discussion of Christ’s kingly office by reminding us that it is spiritual in nature and thus is in force for all of eternity. God promises that in his Son he will protect and defend his church (Ps. 89:35-37) and that no enemies may overthrow his Son who is King over the church (Ps. 110:1). Further this spiritual kingship draws the attention of his people to the kingdom that is not of this world (John 18:36) where they are promised eternal life and eternal blessing in the enjoyment of God.

Yet we also know that even as we wait for the consummation of Christ’s spiritual kingdom we enjoy some of the benefits of the kingdom even while we live in this life. As Christ exercises his heavenly rule in the present in anticipation of the great Day of the Lord we can be confident in victory against the spiritual powers that oppose us by Christ’s Spirit (Eph. 6:10ff). Finally, we know that all the glory will go to the King and to the Father. At that last day every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Christ is Lord to the glory of God (Phil. 2:10-11). Yet Christ also rules for the good of his people. He is the good and perfect King. Calvin writes: “The Father has given all power to the Son that he may by the Son’s hand govern, nourish, and sustain us, keep us in his care, and help up.” (John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion ed. by John T. McNeill and trans. by Ford Lewis Battles, 2 vol. (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 1960) 1:500)

Herman Bavinck helpfully reminds us that Christ did not take up these offices at the time of his incarnation or resurrection but that as the work of redemption is a Trinitarian work that begins immediately after the fall Christ was active as prophet, priest, and king in the Old Testament. Furthermore, we need to remember that though we can distinguish the offices we cannot separate his work and limit to a single office. When the Prophet speaks he does so as the One with the authority of the King and his prayer is that of the Priest. After his exaltation he teaches his church by Word and Spirit, rules the church by the same, and intercedes in the same as a prophetic and priestly expression of his royal will. Thus Bavinck says that Christ “does not just perform prophetic, priestly, and kingly activities but is himself, in his whole person, prophet, priest, and king.” Further:

Therefore Christ, both as the Son and as the image of God, for himself and also as our mediator and savior, had to bear all three offices. He had to be a prophet to know and disclose the truth of God; a priest, to devote himself to God and, in our place, to offer himself up to God; a king, to govern and protect us according to God’s will. To teach, to reconcile, and to lead; to instruct, to acquire, and to apply salvation; wisdom, righteousness, and redemption; truth, love, and power – all three are essential to the completeness of our salvation. In Christ’s God-to-humanity relation, he is a prophet; in his humanity-to-God relation he is a priest; in his headship over all humanity he is a king. (Herman Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics: Sin and Salvation in Christ, ed. by John Bolt and trans. by John Vriend (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2006) 367-8)

So we see that the threefold office of Christ is essential to his person and work on behalf of his people. The Heidelberg Catechism affirms this:

Q31. Why is he called “Christ,” meaning “anointed”?
A31. Because he has been ordained by God the Father and has been anointed with the Holy Spirit to be our chief prophet and teacher who perfectly reveals to us the secret counsel and will of God for our deliverance; our only high priest who has set us free by the one sacrifice of his body, and who continually pleads our cause with the Father; and our eternal king, who governs us by his Word and Spirit, and who guards us and keeps us in the freedom he has won for us.

Further, the Catechism reminds us that all believers have a priestly, prophetic, and kingly office as they are brought into union with Christ by the Spirit through faith and that this is the promise of their eternal reward:

Q32. But why are you called a Christian?
A32. Because by faith I am a member of Christ and so I share in his anointing. I am anointed to confess his name, to present myself as a living sacrifice of thanks, to strive with a good conscience against sin and the devil in this life, and afterward to reign with Christ over all creation for all eternity.

If you would like to do some more study on this then I recommend John Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion, Book 2, Chapters 15-16, Derek Thomas' essay on these chapters in The Theological Guide to Calvin's Institutes, and pages 364-8 in Volume 3 of Herman Bavinck's Reformed Dogmatics.