The Sacraments: How? What? Which?

The 91st question of the Westminster Shorter Catechism asks, "How do the sacraments become effectual means of salvation?" It answers,
"The sacraments become effectual means of salvation, not from any virtue in them, or in him that doth administer them; but only by the blessing of Christ, and the working of his Spirit in them that by faith receive them." 

Christ uses not only the word, but also the sacraments, to save his people. In fact, the sacraments are a visible extension and application of the word, symbolizing and confirming the same covenant presented in the gospel. In the sacraments, we do not get a different Christ than we do in the word, but we get Christ better. They are well adapted to our nature, to build us up unto salvation, in Christ, through faith.

Do the sacraments themselves have an intrinsic power to save? 

No, the grace that is conferred in or by the sacraments rightly used is not conferred by any power in them (“virtue” refers to “power”). We should not think of them as magical charms, crediting the means rather than the Savior. They do not work automatically or by the work itself. Not all who are baptized or who take the Lord’s Supper are saved (1 Cor. 10:1-5). Simon Magnus was baptized but proved himself to be in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity (Acts 8:12-24).

Does the efficacy of the sacraments come from the person who administers them? 

No, for the sacraments are signs from God, not from man. Just as the word of God remains true and powerful, even if declared by an evil man or through selfish motives (Phil. 1), so the sacraments, being appointed by God, do not receive their efficacy from the person who administers them. Those who plant and water are nothing, but only God who gives the growth (1 Cor. 3:7). They do not depend upon the piety of the administrator, which was the error of the Donatists. Nor do they depend upon the inward intention of the administrator, which would many all sacraments uncertain.

So how are they made effectual means of salvation? 

By the blessing of Christ and the working of his Spirit in them that by faith receive them (Matt. 28:20, 1 Cor. 12:13, 1 Peter 3:21). Jesus makes his people clean and members of his body by his Spirit (1 Cor. 12:13, Titus 3:5). Jesus feeds his people with his flesh and blood by his Spirit (John 6:53-63).

How is this made evident in the administration of the sacraments? 

By the fact that they are administered with prayer and according to Christ’s “word of institution, which contains, together with a precept authorizing the use thereof, a promise of benefit to worthy receivers” (WCF 27.3). Baptism is administered using the words Christ gave us, “into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matt. 28:19). The Lord’s Supper is administered with his words that this is his body and this is his blood of the covenant (Matt. 26:26-29, 1 Cor. 11:23-25). By these words, he not only instituted these sacraments, but he also promises benefit to worthy receivers.

Are the sacraments effectual to unbelievers? 

No, the things promised in the sacraments are received by faith. The sacraments are not given to outsiders to convert them, but to members of the visible church, who are supposed to be believers, to further build them up in Christ. The sacraments should be received by faith. Those who use them with faith in Christ can be confident of receiving what is symbolized, but those who lack faith should not presume their own salvation simply because they have received the sacraments (1 Cor. 10).

The 92nd question of the catechism asks, "What is a sacrament?" It answers,
"A sacrament is an holy ordinance instituted by Christ; wherein, by sensible signs, Christ, and the benefits of the new covenant, are represented, sealed, and applied to believers." 

Did the old covenant also have sacraments? 

Yes, it had sacraments instituted by God to represent Christ and his benefits and to confirm his people’s interest in him, such as circumcision and the Passover. 

Who instituted the sacraments of the new covenant? 

Jesus Christ, during his earthly ministry. Christ came in the flesh to fulfill the covenant of grace, setting up its permanent form, the new covenant. Only he is authorized to appoint its sacraments. 

What are the parts of a sacrament?

"The parts of a sacrament are two; the one an outward and sensible sign, used according to Christ’s own appointment; the other an inward and spiritual grace thereby signified.” (WLC 163; cp. Matt. 3:11, 1 Peter 3:21, Rom. 2:28-29) A “sensible sign” refers to a sign that can be sensed, a tangible, physical sign. 

What is held forth in the sacraments? 

Christ and the benefits of the new covenant (Gal. 3:27, Matt. 26:26-28, Acts 2:38, 1 Cor. 10:16).

What kind of sign is a sacrament? 

Not a natural sign, like how smoke signifies fire; and not a bare sign that simply calls something to mind, like how a picture you took might call a person to mind; but a sign that seals and conveys something, like a handshake or wedding ring or a crown (Rom. 4:11). It is a symbol given to signify the will of the person giving it and to confirm a right to the thing promised. The sacraments are not bare signs, but truly offer and apply Christ and the benefits of the new covenant to believers, confirming our interest in Christ (cp. WLC 162, WCF 27.1).

What other related purposes does God have in instituting sacraments? 

The answer to question 162 in the Larger Catechism begins much like the Shorter Catechism’s answer but adds more to it: “A sacrament is an holy ordinance instituted by Christ in his church, to signify, seal, and exhibit unto those that are within the covenant of grace, the benefits of his mediation; to strengthen and increase their faith, and all other graces; to oblige them to obedience; to testify and cherish their love and communion one with another; and to distinguish them from those that are without.” Likewise, the Confession of Faith (27.1) begins with the main end, “Sacraments are holy signs and seals of the covenant of grace, immediately instituted by God, to represent Christ, and his benefits; and to confirm our interest in him,” and continues by saying, “as also, to put a visible difference between those that belong unto the church, and the rest of the world; and solemnly to engage them to the service of God in Christ, according to his Word.” The apostles appeal to the sacraments in motivating God's people to gratefully live as God's people (Rom. 6:2-4, 1 Cor. 10:21, 12:13, etc.), for they visibly mark us as his people and seal our covenant obligations to our God and to one another. 

Is confirmation a sacrament? 

No, to the extent that "confirmation" is biblical, it is a profession of faith, not a sacrament. Tangible ceremonies used in some denominations, like the use of oil, are not instituted by Christ. 

Is penance a sacrament?

No, repentance is an inward reality, expressed by deeds; and the sign and seal of forgiveness continues to be baptism, the promise and use of which is life-long. Church discipline is an ordinance, but not a tangible sign and seal of the covenant.

Is the anointing of the sick a sacrament? 

No, Christ did not appoint anointing with oil as a sign of the covenant. Elders should pray for the sick and minister to them, as James 5 teaches, but the mention of anointing in that passage is incidental, debatable, and given no sacramental significance.

Is ordination a sacrament?

No, it is not a sign of Christ and the benefits of the new covenant. It is the solemn setting apart of a person to a public church office.

Is matrimony a sacrament? 

No, it is a creation ordinance, common to humanity. It is also not a sensible sign, but is fundamentally an invisible reality, often with its own sensible signs (e.g. rings). 

The 93rd question of the Shorter Catechism asks, "Which are the sacraments of the New Testament?"
It answers, "The sacraments of the New Testament are baptism and the Lord’s supper." 

With the coming of Christ, new sacraments were instituted by him as part of the clearer and more powerful new covenant administration: baptism and the Lord’s supper (Matt. 26:26-29, 28:18-20). Both of these are holy ordinances instituted by Christ; wherein, by sensible signs, Christ, and the benefits of the new covenant, are represented, sealed, and applied to believers.

How Should the Word Be Read and Heard?

The ninetieth question of the Westminster Shorter Catechism asks, "How is the word to be read and heard, that it may become effectual to salvation?" It answers,
"That the word may become effectual to salvation, we must attend thereunto with diligence, preparation and prayer; receive it with faith and love, lay it up in our hearts, and practice it in our lives."

If you want to benefit from the word of God, you should read it and hear it in the right manner. Consider how the elements of this catechism answer are found in Proverbs 2:1-6 as it directs us to seek wisdom and the knowledge of God.

• Verse 1 speaks of faith (receiving) and laying up: "My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you,"
• Verse 2 speaks of attending with diligence: "making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding;"
• Verse 3 speaks of preparing with prayer: "yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding," 
• Verse 4 speaks of a diligence moved by love: "if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures,"
• Verses 5-6 then say regarding those who do these things: "then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God. For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding..."

What does it mean to "attend thereunto with diligence"? 

To attend to the word of God with diligence refers to reading and listening to the word consistently and teachably, setting your mind to understand it. You should attend to the word, and you should do so diligently. The church described in Acts 2 set a good example when they "devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching" (Acts 2:42). Peter writes in 2 Peter 1:19 that we have been given the word of God, and "you will do well to pay attention [to it] as to a lamp shining in a dark place." Proverbs teaches that earnest teachableness is essential to profiting from instruction. Proverbs 2:2 exhorts you to make your ear attentive to wisdom and to incline your heart to understanding, that you might find the knowledge of God.

How should we attend to it with preparation? 

Preparation refers to putting yourself in a teachable frame of mind, turning away from rebellion, and remembering whose word this is that you are receiving. As you come to read or hear it, consider the majesty and presence of God (Acts 10:33) and lay aside all sins that might choke out the word (James 1:19-21, 1 Peter 2:1-3, Matt. 13:22). 

How should we pray as we come to God’s word? 

The prayer we should pray is that God would give us a true understanding of his word and bring it to us, not only in word, "but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction" (1 Thess. 1:5). "Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law … Make your face shine upon your servant, and teach me your statutes" (Ps. 119:18, 135). We should also pray for those who preach the word, that they might make it clear (Col. 4:4), and declare it boldly (Eph. 6:19-20), and that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored (2 Thess. 3:1).

Is it important to receive the word with faith? What does that mean? 

Hebrews 4:2 tells us that the gospel did not benefit the generation that died in the wilderness because they did not receive the word with faith. To receive it with faith means to accept it as the word of God (1 Thess. 2:13, 2 Tim. 3:16), as therefore having divine authority and infallible truth, giving assent to what it asserts and teaches, and to trust in it and its promises. The Westminster Confession of Faith helpfully explains a believing reception of the word of God when it says,

By this faith a Christian believeth to be true whatsoever is revealed in the Word, for the authority of God himself speaking therein; and acteth differently upon that which each particular passage thereof containeth; yielding obedience to the commands, trembling at the threatenings, and embracing the promises of God for this life and that which is to come. (WCF 14.2)

Is it important to receive the word with love? What does that look like? 

2 Thessalonians 2:10 says of those who are perishing, “that they refused to love the truth and so be saved.” We should love the truth and cherish God's word. To paraphrase Thomas Vincent, our love to the word should be shown in three ways: (1) in highly prizing the word of God, above all the treasures of this world. As Psalm 119:72 says, “The law of your mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver pieces.” (2) In earnestly desiring the word of God. As 1 Peter 2:2 says, “Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation…” (3) In taking delight in the word of God. As Psalm 119:24 says, “Your testimonies are my delight; they are my counselors.”

What do people usually do with treasure? 

They store it up. They are careful to watch over it, that they might use it well. So also with the word of God: you should lay it up in your heart. Take it to heart and put it on your heart (Deut. 6:4). Meditate upon it and bring it to remembrance. "I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you" (Ps. 119:11). Do not be a hearer who forgets. Jesus described those who received the the word well by saying, "As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience" (Luke 8:15). 

What does James say is the opposite of the hearer who forgets? 

The doer who acts. "But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing" (James 1:25). God wants you to keep his word and practice it in your lives, more and more. Act upon his word by believing in it and learning to obey it. The one who hears the words of Christ and does them that is like the man who built his house on the rock, but he one who hears his words and does not do them is like the man who built his house on the sand (Matt. 7:24-27).

Here are a few additional Q&As from the Westminster Larger Catechism on this topic:

Q. 157. How is the Word of God to be read?


A. The holy Scriptures are to be read with an high and reverent esteem of them; with a firm persuasion that they are the very Word of God, and that he only can enable us to understand them; with desire to know, believe, and obey the will of God revealed in them; with diligence, and attention to the matter and scope of them; with meditation, application, self-denial, and prayer.

Q. 159. How is the Word of God to be preached by those that are called thereunto?


A. They that are called to labor in the ministry of the word, are to preach sound doctrine, diligently, in season and out of season; plainly, not in the enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit, and of power; faithfully, making known the whole counsel of God; wisely, applying themselves to the necessities and capacities of the hearers; zealously, with fervent love to God and the souls of his people; sincerely, aiming at his glory, and their conversion, edification, and salvation.

Q. 160. What is required of those that hear the word preached?


A. It is required of those that hear the word preached, that they attend upon it with diligence, preparation, and prayer; examine what they hear by the Scriptures; receive the truth with faith, love, meekness, and readiness of mind, as the Word of God; meditate, and confer of it; hide it in their hearts, and bring forth the fruit of it in their lives.

How Is the Word Made Effectual to Salvation?

The eighty-ninth question of the Westminster Shorter Catechism asks, "How is the word made effectual to salvation?" It answers, "The Spirit of God maketh the reading, but especially the preaching of the word, an effectual means of convincing and converting sinners, and of building them up in holiness and comfort, through faith, unto salvation." 

The Holy Scriptures are the word of God, and they “are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” (2 Tim. 3:15). God has delivered his message to man, and all of Scripture is that message. All of that message (special revelation) is contained in Scripture.

How is the word to be administered? 

Both by the reading of the word and the preaching of the word.

Is the Word of God to be read by all? 

This question is asked by the Larger Catechism. It answers, "Although all are not to be permitted to read the Word publicly to the congregation, yet all sorts of people are bound to read it apart by themselves, and with their families: to which end, the Holy Scriptures are to be translated out of the original into vulgar languages." How do we know that each of us should read it? At the very least, from what the Bible says about meditating upon God’s word daily (e.g. Psalm 1). The word can be read from the page or remembered from what you have memorized. That said, each one should learn to read to be able to read the Scriptures, all of which is profitable (2 Tim. 3:16).

How do we know that we should read it with our families? 

Because the Bible says to diligently teach these words to your children and to talk of them throughout the day (Deut. 6:7). This implies both a reading or recalling of Scripture and instruction in it. 

How should each Christian promote knowledge of the word of God? 

Only some Christians are called to be ministers of the word, but all Christians have some responsibility to promote the knowledge of the word of God. We should all confess Christ before men (Matt. 10:32-33) and be ready and eager to give a defense of the faith and a reason for our hope (1 Peter 3:15) and to invite and encourage others to come to Christ and his word (Is. 2:2-3, Zech. 8:21, 2 Chron. 30:1, Acts 10:24, 33). Likewise, we should also encourage one another with the teachings of Scripture in a brotherly way (1 Thess. 4:18, Acts 18:26).

How should ministers of the word administer the word? 

Both by the public reading of Scripture and by the preaching of Scripture (Deut. 31:9-13, Neh. 8, 1 Tim. 4:13-16, 2 Tim. 4:2, 1 Cor. 1:21). Paul told Timothy to devote himself to “the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching” (1 Tim. 4:13) because if he kept a close watch on himself and on the teaching, he would save both himself and his hearers (1 Tim. 4:16). The word of God is to be preached only by such as are sufficiently gifted, and also duly approved and called to that office (WLC 158, 1 Tim. 3:2, 6; 2 Tim. 2:2, 1 Cor. 12:28-29, Rom. 10:15, 1 Tim. 4:14), or in preparation, under the supervision of the church. 

Why might the catechism say “but especially the preaching”?

Consider how 1 Corinthians 2-3 and Romans 10 speak of the preaching of the word. In preaching, when it is rightly done, the message of Scripture is explained, so that it is especially clear and convicting (Neh. 8:8-9, Acts 8). As the Ethiopian said when Philip asked him if he understood what he read, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” (Acts 8:31). In his wisdom, God uses mortal men, vessels of clay, to proclaim the treasures of the gospel (2 Cor. 4:7, see also 2 Cor. 5:20).

Where does the efficacy of the word come from? 

The Spirit of God makes the word of God effectual to salvation. The Spirit of God is the one who delivered the word of God to us, producing Scripture by working through its human authors (2 Tim. 3:16, 1 Peter 1:10-12, 1 Cor. 2:13). The Spirit of God is also the one who makes the word effectual to salvation. The natural person is not able to understand the word of God, but the spiritual person (the one who has the Spirit of God) is able to understand it (1 Cor. 2:11-14). While men may “plant” and “water” by preaching, yet it is God who gives the increase (1 Cor. 3:6-7).

How does the Spirit make the word effectual for salvation in the calling of sinners? 

The Spirit makes the word an effectual means of "convincing and converting sinners." It is the instrument he uses to bring sinners from darkness to light, from death to life. It is the ordinary means by which the Spirit produces active faith and repentance in sinners (Rom. 10:17, Acts 26:18, 1 Peter 1:23-25). It is through the word that the Spirit

• convicts the sinner of his sin and convinces him of his misery and danger;
• enlightens the sinner in the knowledge of Christ, persuading him of God’s mercy in Christ; and
• draws the sinner to convert, to embrace Christ for salvation and to repent from sin to God.

How does the Spirit make the word effectual for salvation in the life of believers?

The Spirit uses the reading and preaching of the word to build up those who have been converted. He builds them up in holiness and comfort, through faith, unto salvation. In this way, he prepares and preserves us for glory. He keeps us on the narrow way by the word.

• Those who have been born again by the word ought to long for the word, as infants long for milk, that by it they may grow up into salvation (1 Peter 2:2).
• Christ gave the apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastor-teachers not only for the gathering of the elect, but also for the training and perfecting of the saints, that they might be steadfast and mature (Eph. 4:12, Col. 1:28, 2 Tim. 3:16-17).
• The word of God shows us the way of holiness and motivates us to walk in it. By the word, the Spirit sanctifies us.
• The word of God is also the means by which the Spirit - the Comforter - comforts and strengthens us, giving us hope and confidence (Rom. 15:4, John 14:26).
• We are built up in holiness and comfort by the word through faith. Just as faith is worked in us by the word, so it is strengthened by the ministry of the word too (1 Thess. 3:2, 10).

What Are the "Means of Grace"?

The eighty-eighth question of the Westminster Shorter Catechism asks, "What are the outward and ordinary means whereby Christ communicateth to us the benefits of redemption?" It answers, "The outward and ordinary means whereby Christ communicateth to us the benefits of redemption, are his ordinances, especially the word, sacraments, and prayer; all which are made effectual to the elect for salvation."

What does it mean for Christ to communicate to us the benefits of redemption? 

This phrase does not simply refer to telling us about it, but actually sharing these benefits with us, giving them to us, giving us communion in them. Christ purchased redemption on the cross, and he then in due time gives the benefits of that redemption to the elect (e.g. justification, adoption, sanctification, the benefits that accompany or flow from them). 

What are means? 

A mean is something that is between, a middle point or place, and in this context it refers to an instrument, that which is used to accomplish a goal, to achieve an effect; the medium through which something is done.

What are the inward means whereby Christ communicateth to us the benefits of redemption?

The catechism explains in questions 29-31 that we are made partakers of the redemption purchased by Christ by the work of the Spirit in us, who applies it to us by working faith in us, and thereby uniting us to Christ in our effectual calling (John 6:35, 44, 63, 1 Cor. 6:11).

Does Christ also ordinarily use outward means to communicate to us the benefits of redemption?

Yes, this catechism answer points out that Christ ordinarily uses outward means to give us the benefits of redemption (Rom. 10:14-17, 1 Tim. 4:15-16), both initially and continually, in our effectual calling and growth in grace. The Spirit makes these outward means effectual. Sometimes we refer to these outward and ordinary means as “the means of grace.”

Why do we call them the ordinary means?

First, because there may be exceptions, such as with elect infants who die in infancy and are nevertheless regenerated and saved by Christ through the Spirit, who works when, and where, and how he pleases (John 3:8). Second, because these means are the ordinary means and we should use them with that expectation. You should seek Christ and his benefits by a diligent and right use of the ordinary means appointed by him, as was said earlier. 

Are they made effectual for salvation to everyone?

No, the wilderness generation is used several times in the Bible as an illustration of those who had the means of grace but did not benefit from them (Heb. 4, 1 Cor. 10). Apart from the Spirit’s work, the gospel is veiled to those who are perishing, for their minds are blinded, kept from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ (2 Cor. 4:3-4).

To whom are they made effectual to salvation? 

God makes them effectual to the elect for salvation. “…and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed” (Acts 13:48). These outward means are how God effectually calls and preserves his elect unto salvation. The efficacy of all the means of grace come from God, who removes our spiritual blindness and stubbornness, not from the means themselves.

Generally speaking, what are these outward and ordinary means?

They are Christ’s ordinances. Why is it important for us to specify that? Because it is only through ordinances of his appointing, appointed in his word, that we should expect to find salvation, not through ordinances invented by man. As Thomas Vincent (1634-1678) explains, “We ought not to make use of any ordinances which are of men’s appointment only, in order unto salvation, because this is will-worship, which is both vain and offensive; and we cannot groundedly expect the blessing of the Lord upon, or to receive any true benefit of any ordinances, but by those alone which are of his own appointment only.”

What are the chief ordinances of Christ? 

The Word of God, the sacraments (baptism and the Lord's Supper), and prayer (Matt. 6:5-13, 26:26-29, 28:18-20). Acts 2:41-42, 47 describes how these ordinances were diligently observed by the apostolic church, and how God made them effectual to the elect for salvation. “And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved” (Acts 2:47). 

What Is Repentance unto Life?

The eighty-seventh question of the Westminster Shorter Catechism asks, "What is repentance unto life?" It answers, "Repentance unto life is a saving grace, whereby a sinner, out of a true sense of his sin, and apprehension of the mercy of God in Christ, doth, with grief and hatred of his sin, turn from it unto God, with full purpose of, and endeavor after, new obedience." 

Repentance ought to be preached as part of the gospel proclamation (Luke 24:47). “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15). Along with faith, repentance ought to be our response to the gospel of Christ. While our repentance does not earn salvation or pardon (Christ does), nor is it a means by which we receive Christ (faith alone is), yet it is a condition of the gospel, of the covenant of grace, as something that is inseparable from saving faith and which prepares us for the enjoyment of glory. No one can expect pardon without it (WCF 15.3). “…unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” (Luke 13:3). “Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out…” (Acts 3:19, cp. 2:38).

Where does repentance unto life come from? 

It comes from God. He works it in our hearts by the word and Spirit. “And they glorified God, saying, ‘Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life’” (Acts 11:18, see also Ezekiel 36:26-32). It is something that man does, as God works within him to produce it (Phil. 2:13). 

What knowledge leads to repentance unto life?

Repentance begins with a true sense of your sin and an apprehension of the mercy of God in Christ (Ezek. 36:31, Acts 2:36-38, Joel 2:12-13, Is. 55:7). If you do not think you are a sinner, there is no reason to repent. Likewise, if there is no mercy for repentant sinners in God, then there is no hope in turning to God, but only despair. So Scripture exhorts people to repent by revealing the truth about their sin (in the light of God’s righteousness, God’s law, and God’s goodness) and the truth of God’s mercy in Christ.

Is a conviction of sin repentance? 

No, a conviction of sin is not in itself repentance. Someone like Judas can be convicted that he did wrong, and even be distressed and seek to do something about it, and yet not repent and turn to God. There is a worldly grief that leads to death rather than salvation (a conviction that causes despair as in Judas or that passes away as in King Saul). A mere conviction of sin is not repentance unto life, but it can lead to it when combined with an apprehension of God’s mercy in Christ.

What attitude and action does this knowledge of your sin and God’s mercy lead to? 

With this understanding, a repentant person grieves for his sin and hates his sin. With that grief and hatred, he therefore turns from sin unto God (Joel 2:12-13, Acts 26:18, 20). He confesses his sin, he grieves for his sin, and he turns from his sin to God. Godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret (2 Cor. 7:8-11). Repentance is fundamentally a turning, a return to God from the heart, a conversion. It involves repudiating the ways of sin which we formerly practiced and devoting ourselves to the Lord.

What purpose and endeavor forms part of repentance? 

A purpose of new obedience and an endeavor after new obedience. Those who turn from sin to God will sincerely purpose and endeavor to obey all the commandments of God. “I have sworn an oath and confirmed it, to keep your righteous rules” (Ps. 119:106). “All that the LORD has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient” (Ex. 24:7). 

How is obedience and good works related to repentance? 

Obedience and good works are the fruits of repentance. “Bear fruits in keeping with repentance” (Luke 3:8, see also 3:10-14). “... that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance” (Acts 26:20).

Should we seek to make satisfaction for our sins? 

We should seek to give restitution to our neighbor and to repair the damage caused by our sins when possible (Lev. 6:2-5, Luke 19:8), confessing and declaring our repentance to those whom we have offended (Luke 17:3-4, Matt. 5:23-24), but before God we confess our sins to him and rest in and appeal to the satisfaction of Christ as we repent of and forsake our sins (1 John 1:7-9).

Is repentance done only once in the Christian life? 

No, while repentance forms an essential part of the beginning of the Christian life, to which we ought to conform, repentance is to be practiced throughout life as we turn from particular sins and in general put to death the deeds of the body and strive after holiness (Col. 3:5ff). Repentance is the human side of sanctification, which has a decisive beginning and continual progress to the end of this life.

What Is Faith in Jesus Christ?

The eighty-sixth question of the Westminster Shorter Catechism asks, "What is faith in Jesus Christ?" It answers, "Faith in Jesus Christ is a saving grace, whereby we receive and rest upon him alone for salvation, as he is offered to us in the gospel."

What is the object of saving faith? 

Saving faith is faith in Jesus Christ. It is not a mere sense of dependance or optimism. It is not faith in just anything. The object of our faith matters greatly. Those who place their faith in false gods, money, or themselves will be disappointed and put to shame. Those who believe in Jesus Christ shall be saved (Acts 16:31).

What is faith?

Faith in its fullest sense, as in saving faith, is knowledge, assent, and trust. Saving faith is not a mere awareness of Christ and his claims about himself. Nor is it merely assenting to the truth of his claims. The demons admitted that Jesus was the Son of God, and yet they remained his enemies. Saving faith is not only knowledge and assent, but also trust. A believer not only recognizes that Jesus is Lord and Savior, but receives Jesus as his Lord and Savior and rests upon Jesus for salvation (John 1:12, Acts 10:43). 

Where does God offer Jesus to us? 

In the gospel, in the covenant of grace. In the Old Testament, God presented this Savior to his people by promises, sacrifices, and other types and ceremonies. In the New Testament, the Christ who has come is offered in the gospel and the new covenant sacraments with greater clarity and efficacy to all nations. But in both administrations, sinners have been saved by faith in Christ, by whom they have had full remission of sins and eternal salvation. As Philip Melanchthon wrote,

Accordingly, faith is nothing else than trust in the divine mercy promised in Christ, and it makes no difference with what sign it has been promised. This trust in the goodwill or mercy of God first calms our hearts and then inflames us to give thanks to God for his mercy so that we keep the law gladly and willingly. (Loci Communes (Westminster Press, [1521] 1969), 92.)

Saving faith does not take hold of some invention of the imagination, but it takes hold of Jesus as he is offered to us in the gospel, as God presents him to us. How is Jesus offered to us in the gospel? 

He is held forth to us, (1) freely, (2) as the Son of God who became our redeemer, as prophet, priest, and king, (3) for justification, sanctification, and eternal life. Acts 16:31, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” As Petrus van Mastricht wrote,

Yet, the proper object of faith, as it is the faith of a sinner, is Christ the Mediator (Acts 10:43; John 1:11-12; 2:23; Acts 4:12; 1 Tim. 2:5; etc.) ... and not according to this or that function of his office separately - either as Prophet, Priest, or King only - but as it embraces the threefold office in its entirety. ... Therefore, specifically, he must be received by faith not only as the Redeemer through whom we are freed from the punishments of our sins and eternal destruction, but also as the Lord to whom we offer ourselves obedient in all things. (Theoretical-Practical Theology, vol 2 (Reformation Heritage, [1698] 2019), 11)

More broadly, what else does saving faith receive?

While the principal acts of saving faith are receiving and resting upon Christ alone for salvation, it also receives God’s word in general. As the Westminster Confession of Faith says,

By this faith a Christian believeth to be true whatsoever is revealed in the Word, for the authority of God himself speaking therein; and acteth differently upon that which each particular passage thereof containeth; yielding obedience to the commands, trembling at the threatenings, and embracing the promises of God for this life and that which is to come. (WCF 14.2) 

We see this in Hebrews 11. By faith, Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place God would show him (Heb. 11:8). By faith, Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. He heeded the warning (Heb. 11:7). By faith the patriarchs, not having received the things promised, yet saw them and greeted them - embraced them - from afar (Heb. 11:13).

And so as Luther says, “what a living, creative, active, powerful thing is faith!” Faith works. Faith produces good works. As Paul says, faith works through love (Gal. 5:6). It is also foundational for our hope and steadfastness. Not only does faith justify us as an instrument by which we receive Christ, but it also sanctifies us. Saving faith sanctifies, not only as a reception of Christ, who is our sanctification, but also as a virtue within us by which we live. We now live by our faith in Jesus Christ, acting upon the God of word by faith. 

In what way is faith unique among Christian virtues? 

It is by faith alone that we receive salvation and are justified. “...yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified” (Gal. 2:16; see also Eph. 2:8). Faith alone is the instrument of justification because only faith receives Christ and unites us to him. The saving act of faith is that of receiving Jesus (John 1:11-12, Phil. 3:8-9), for all of salvation is to be found in him.

How does faith save? 

Faith does not save as a virtue. It does not save as a good work. It is a good work and a virtue, but that is not how it saves. Faith saves as an instrument by which we receive Christ. God pardons us and accepts us as righteous in his sight on the basis of Christ's righteousness. Romans 3:24-25 speaks of this, that we “are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith.”

Must faith be a strong faith to be a saving faith? 

No, faith does not save by its virtue or strength, but by its object. Saving faith may be weak or strong, small or great. We pray that God would increase our faith (Mark 9:24), but whether it is weak or strong, this faith is equally precious in its nature, object, and saving efficacy, giving an equal share in Christ and his promises (2 Peter 1:1).

Where does saving faith come from?

Our faith comes from God. We do not boast about our faith because it is a gift that God gives, producing it in our hearts (Eph. 2:8-9). As Jesus said, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day” (John 6:44).

What does God use to produce faith in us?

The ordinary means by which God works active faith in the heart is the ministry of the word. “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (Rom. 10:17).

What does God use to maintain and increase faith in us? 

The ministry of the word, the administration of the sacraments, and prayer (1 Peter 2:2, Rom. 4:11, Luke 17:5).

What Should We Do to Escape God's Wrath and Curse?

"Q. 85. What doth God require of us that we may escape his wrath and curse due to us for sin?
A. To escape the wrath and curse of God due to us for sin, God requireth of us faith in Jesus Christ, repentance unto life, with the diligent use of all the outward means whereby Christ communicateth to us the benefits of redemption."
(Westminster Shorter Catechism)

Since every sin deserves God’s wrath and curse, and each of us have sinned, the question that arises is how may we escape from God’s wrath and curse? This is what the people asked the apostles on the day of Pentecost, “Brothers, what shall we do?” (Acts 2:37). Or as the Philippian jailer asked Paul and Silas, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” (Acts 16:30). The answers can be found in Acts 2:38–42 and Acts 16:31–33 and are summarized by this catechism question. Here are a few questions and answers of my own to unfold it:

Is the gospel of salvation unconditional?
No, the gospel is not unconditional. If it was, all people would be saved. Christ and the apostles regularly offer salvation upon conditions. "Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out..." (Acts 3:19).

The gospel proclaims the saving work of God in Christ. Christ has obtained full redemption for his people through his life, death, and resurrection. The gospel also calls sinners to respond to the message and receive this salvation. Otherwise, it will not benefit them. “We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God ... Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Cor. 5:20, 6:2).

Are these conditions, duties?
Yes, we are commanded to repent (Acts 17:30) and to believe in Jesus Christ (1 John 3:23) and to diligently use the outward means of grace (Ps. 79:6, Prov. 1:24-26). People ought to “obey the gospel” by receiving it in this way (Rom. 10:16, 2 Thess. 1:8, 1 Peter 4:17).

Man’s duty is obedience to God’s revealed will. The rule which God first revealed to man for his obedience is the moral law. But the moral law reveals man’s sin and need for salvation. The second part of his revealed will (and thus, our duty) is what he requires of us that we may escape his wrath and curse. God tells everyone to do these things.

What is the first thing that God requires of us that we may be saved?
Faith in Jesus Christ (Acts 16:31, John 3:16). We must receive and rest upon Christ for salvation, as he is offered in the gospel.

Why is this a condition?
Because by faith in Christ we are linked to him and receive a share in him (John 6:35, Eph. 3:17). By faith, and only by faith, we receive the righteousness of Christ (Rom 3, Phil. 3:9, Eph. 2:8).

What is the second thing that God requires of us that we may be saved?
Repentance unto life (Acts 2:38, 3:19). We must turn from sin unto God, purposing and endeavoring after new obedience.

Why is this a condition?
Because repentance is necessarily joined with saving faith, and also because it befits those who will be saved and the purpose of salvation.

Must we repent before we believe? Or believe before we repent?
No, saving faith and repentance unto life are a united response. Each is inseparable from the other. They are exercised together.

What is the third thing that is required with these other two?
The diligent use of all the outward means by which Christ gives to us the benefits of redemption (1 Peter 2:2, Acts 22:16). We must diligently make use of the preaching and reading of Scripture, the sacraments, and prayer.

Why is this a condition?
Because faith, produced in our hearts by the Spirit, "is ordinarily wrought by the ministry of the Word, by which also, and by the administration of the sacraments, and prayer, it is increased and strengthened" (WCF 14.1, see Rom. 10:14, 17, 1 Peter 2:2, Rom. 4:11, Luke 17:5). 

Is the use of the sacraments absolutely necessary for a person to be saved?
No, since they are given to confirm grace and strengthen and exercise faith. Grace and salvation is not so inseparably annexed to the sacraments as that no person can be saved without them (WCF 28:5). Nevertheless, we are told to use the sacraments in order to be saved in places like Acts 2:38 and 22:16 because they are ordinary means by which God sustains and preserves us through faith unto salvation.

Does faith, repentance, and use of outward means satisfy the justice of God or fulfill the penalty of the broken law?
No, they do not. Only the satisfaction and obedience of Christ can satisfy divine justice and fulfill the demands of the law of God. We must not trust in our faith or repentance or use of means, but only in Christ. Yet, as John Thompson wrote, "they are the terms and conditions, by the performance of which, by the gospel promises, we may hope for the benefit of Christ’s obedience, which he performed to the law of God, in behalf of all those, who, by grace and assistance of the Holy Spirit, are enabled truly to perform them. John 3:18, Acts 2:37" (An Explication of the Shorter Catechism).

How are we able to do these things?
Through the power of the Spirit. Faith and repentance are saving graces, produced by God in the hearts of the elect (Eph. 2:8, Acts 11:18). We have nothing to boast of, but give glory to God even for the faith and repentance we exercise.

Do all those who do these things escape God’s wrath and curse?
Yes, there is no condemnation for those who repent and believe in the Lord Jesus. They have passed from death into life (John 5:24, Rom. 8:1).

Must we wait until we feel the Spirit moving us before doing these things?
No, we are called to do these things without delay. The Spirit’s work is known after the fact, from the effect of his work. The Spirit works through our mind and will, which we must exercise to embrace Christ (Phil. 2:12-13).

Must we wait until we know we are elect or regenerate before we do these things?
No, we only know if we are regenerate by whether we have done these things. All men everywhere are told to repent and believe, not just the regenerate or the elect. We only know we are regenerate and elect after we have repented and believed.

Is it legalistic to tell the natural man to diligently use the ministry of the word and prayer?
No, Peter exhorted Simon the sorcerer to repent and pray to God (Acts 8:22). It is through the word of God, read and preached, that people are effectually called by God to salvation (1 Cor. 2, Rom. 10).

Ashbel Green and the American Revolution

Rev. Ashbel Green (1762-1848) was a Presbyterian pastor in Philadelphia, a chaplain of the US Congress from 1792 to 1800, and the president of Princeton College from 1812 to 1822. But when the American Revolution broke out at Lexington and Concord, he was a 12 year old in New Jersey. He later wrote of how at the time, boys of ten to fifteen - too young to join the militia - formed units of their own and trained with fife and drum and wooden guns. Green himself was a leader of one these units.

This training proved to be important, since Green first served in the militia during his fifteenth year on an occasion in which the boys and old men were called out for sentry duty. When Ashbel Green turned 16, he became a regularly enrolled member of the militia and became an orderly sergeant. He was called out several times, including for the battles of Connecticut Farms and Springfield in 1780 when he was 17.

Ashbel Green’s father, Jacob Green, was a Presbyterian pastor. While reluctant to leave his pastoral duties for any amount of time, he served as a member of the provincial congress that formed the constitution of New Jersey in 1776 and the chairman of the committee that produced the original draft, having written an anonymous tract arguing for American independence earlier that year. He returned home to his family and flock as soon as the work of the state’s constitution was done.

In 1840, Ashbel Green wrote the following to his son about differences between the American Revolution and the French Revolution (I have inserted the paragraph breaks):

“MY DEAR A.—I have always been impatient, not to say vexed, when I have heard our national revolution and that of France, represented as similar. It is doubtless true, that our revolution had an influence, and a powerful one, in producing that of France. But the agencies, and what may be called the materials, of those two revolutions, were as different as can well be imagined. 

The leaders in our revolution were good men, as well as great men. If there were a few infidels among them, as no doubt was the fact, they were obliged to conceal their infidelity, because it was unpopular. Our people, speaking comparatively, were an intelligent, moral and religious people. They had been brought up under free institutions, and had the habits and ideas which are produced by such institutions. My quotation also from Mr. Jefferson, shows, that in Virginia, a day of humiliation, fasting and prayer, was acceptable to the people at large, and highly influential. This was still more, far more the case with the population of the eastern and middle provinces. In the most of these provinces, days of fasting and prayer were no novelty — they had been of frequent occurrence. The influence of the clergy, moreover, both in and out of the pulpit, was great and commanding; and it was all exerted against the unrighteous claims of Britain. It is also well known, that the old Continental Congress recommended days of religious observance, both for fasting and prayer, and for thanksgiving. Our army, too, had chaplains, to whom the commander-in-chief gave every facility which military operations would permit, for performing the duties of their sacred office. After the surrender of Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown, there was a special religious service, for thanksgiving to Almighty God for the success he had granted to the united arms of America and France. On that occasion, General Washington directed that the whole army not on special military service, should attend; and he exhorted them, in general orders, to give their attendance with all the seriousness and devout feelings suited to the solemnity. 

Of all this, there not only was nothing, in the origin and progress of the French revolution, but something infinitely worse than nothing; that is, there was the absence of all good and the presence of much evil. An irruption took place of the most ferocious and infernal passions that human nature has ever exhibited. The leaders of this revolution, with no exception known to me, were destitute of every thing like religion, or genuine morality. They talked, indeed, of morality, but they openly professed to abhor religion; unless, after the extermination of every semblance of Christianity, the worship of a harlot, in the guise of the goddess of reason, might be called their religion. Many of the leaders, as every body knows, were avowed atheists. Mr. William Bradford, the successor of Randolph, as Attorney General of the United States, and who died in 1795, told me, that Mr. Jefferson said in his hearing, that before he left France, atheism was table-talk with the bishops; and this was a considerable time before the evil reached its height. The populace of France, before the revolution, had been greatly oppressed by their superiors, both civil and ecclesiastical; and had grown up in servility, and the most brutish ignorance. Hence, when their former restraints were removed, and their passions became excited, they raged like infuriated demons. Every enormity of revenge, cruelty, murder, and savage barbarity, reigned in triumph. These enormities are of too recent a date to be unknown to the present generation. They have filled volumes; and I only advert to them generally, to show that those who proclaim a similarity between our revolution and that of France, are justly chargeable with an intolerable misrepresentation and absurdity. As to chaplains in the French armies, he who should have mentioned it, would first have been laughed to scorn, and then condemned to the guillotine. Their priests were sacrificed by hecatombs.”

This letter can be found in The Life of Ashbel Green (1849). This book, and other writings by and about Ashbel Green, can be found online here: Ashbel Green (1762-1848). 

Charles Thomson (1729-1824)

Before the full list of signers was published, the only name on published versions of the Declaration of Independence besides John Hancock (the president of the Continental Congress) was that of Charles Thomson (the secretary of the Continental Congress). Thomson was a Presbyterian, like twelve of the signers of the Declaration, and he had a remarkable life story. 

Charles Thomson was born in 1729 in Ireland to Scots-Irish parents. After his mother died, his father brought him and his siblings to America in 1739, although his father died as the ship came within sight of land. He was cared for by a blacksmith, educated at school by Rev. Francis Allison, and became a tutor in Latin.

In 1758, Thomson served as secretary to Teedyuscung, the king of the Delawares, and lived with, wrote a report on, and was adopted by the Delaware tribe, being named “The-man-who-speaks-the-truth,” before returning to Philadelphia. He was a member and elder of the First Presbyterian Church of Philadelphia, and was appointed by the synod of New York and Philadelphia to a committee for evangelizing the Indians in 1768.

Thomson was a leading patriot in Philadelphia. John Adams described him as “the Sam. Adams of Phyladelphia—the Life of the Cause of Liberty, they say.” He served as the secretary of the Continental Congress for its whole existence (1774-1789). As such his name appeared on the Declaration of Independence. He helped to design the Great Seal of the USA, adding its Latin phrases Novus ordo seclorum and Annuit cœptis, writing that “The pyramid signifies Strength and Duration: The Eye over it & the Motto allude to the many signal interpositions of providence in favour of the American cause.”

Later in life, Thomson produced the first published translation of the Greek Septuagint version of the Old Testament into English, as well as a translation and harmony of the four gospels, showing their consistency. He died on August 16, 1824.

You can begin to read more about Charles Thomson at these links:

Charles Thomson (Declaration Resources Project - Harvard)

Charles Thomson (Wikipedia)

A Testament to Thomson (American Philosophical Society)

A Blessing to Your Land (Part 2)

In my previous post, I drew attention to Proverbs 11:10-11, which teaches that the righteous are a blessing to society. We who are saved by Christ are members of our respective communities and countries, and we ought to seek their welfare with a grateful patriotism, exercising by God's grace a righteousness that is both private and social. Today, let us look at Proverbs 28:1-5, which helps us see how the righteous are a blessing. It describes some of the qualities of the righteous. 

“The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion.” (Proverbs 28:1)

Let us be righteous, that we might be bold. The one who walks in the ways of the Lord can be confident. It is a sure path with no regret. This is not the case with the way of the wicked. 

If you are righteous and are doing what is right, then therefore be bold. You have reason to be bold and confident. A scared righteous man is like a cowardly lion. 

Do not be scared of the wicked, for they flee even when no one pursues. They may look powerful and fearsome, but looks can be deceiving. 

The righteous are a blessing to their city because they provide courage and confidence. Whether that courage is needed in a literal battle or in facing other challenges, it is helpful to have courage in a people, a strength given through the grace of God.

The righteous are also a blessing because they are bold in doing the right thing and in opposing what is wrong. They have a courage that is directed to the right end. They are able to withstand temptation and threats and ridicule, and press on in doing what is right and good. 

Consider the boldness of those who have done good to their people through courage. Consider Jonathan, who took on the enemy accompanied only by his armor bearer. Consider David, who took on Goliath. Consider Esther, who approached the king for her people. Consider the boldness of Jesus Christ, who went confidently to his sacrifice, laying down his life, despising the shame.

“When a land transgresses, it has many rulers, but with a man of understanding and knowledge, its stability will long continue.” (Proverbs 28:2)

The reference to “many rulers” refers to political instability, whether there are multiple rival rulers at the same time or a quick succession of different rulers or dynasties. You can see this exemplified in the northern kingdom of Israel, with many short reigns and dynasties, in contrast to the kingdom of Judah, which enjoyed longer reigns from the same dynasty.

As the transgressions of a land are judged by and lead to national instability, so the opposite is implied: when a land is righteous, it is stabilized and exalted. In America, it is normal to have multiple people running for office, but I think it is fair to say that people are troubled by an increase in polarization, division, and turmoil in politics. It was a blessing when we had presidents like Washington, who enjoyed widespread support from the country. If America wishes to be blessed and not judged by God, it should turn from transgression unto God and practice righteousness in its government, laws, culture, and common life. America's hardships are from the Lord. America ought to humble itself and repent from sin unto God. 

The first line implies its opposite, but the proverb leaves it merely implied and spends the second line on something additional. It goes on to describe the usefulness of even one individual with knowledge and understanding. It can be discouraging to live in a land where there is so much transgression, but that is not a reason to give up hope of being useful. There are many examples in Scripture where a nation has been blessed and its life extended, or even revived and reformed, by a wise individual, either as a ruler or advisor or official, who had knowledge and understanding. Consider Joseph in Egypt, King Josiah of Judah, Jehoiada the High Priest, Daniel in Babylon, and the reforms of Ezra and Nehemiah.

Therefore let a land turn away from transgression, and at the same time, let each of you be and promote individuals of understanding and knowledge who will bless their land. In other words there is a corporate responsibility of a country to be righteous, so that it may be blessed with good rulers, and not with political instability. At the same time there is a responsibility to be or promote wise leaders that will be a blessing to the people. You should not trust in politics alone, apart from the general condition of a country, neither should we only focus on the general condition of the country and neglect the provision of good leadership.

This can apply also to other organizations and businesses. You, if you are wise and understanding, may be a great blessing to your work place or organization, so that its stability long continues.

“A poor man who oppresses the poor is a beating rain that leaves no food.” (Proverbs 28:3)

You would think that a poor person would have compassion and other poor people. But that is not always the case. The poor person who oppresses the poor is like a rain, which seems promising, but then disappoints. Such a person neglects the golden rule that Jesus taught us, “whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them.” 

The righteous are a blessing to their land because they will not oppress the people, but have compassion upon them. A righteous magistrate will protect them, look out for them, so that others might not take advantage of them (Ps. 82:3-4). A righteous citizen will treat his neighbor well, dealing generously and fairly with him (Ps. 112:5). 

“Those who forsake the law praise the wicked, but those who keep the law strive against them.” (Proverbs 28:4)

Those who forsake the law are set adrift without that anchor and end up praising the wicked. Therefore, be those who keep the law, that you might stand fast against the wicked. Proverbs 25:26 says, “Like a muddied spring or a polluted fountain is a righteous man who gives way before the wicked.” Such a righteous man is like a polluted fountain, for just as you expect a fountain to provide refreshing drinking water, but are disappointed to find it polluted, so it is right to expect a righteous man to oppose the wicked, and are disappointed to find them giving way before them. That a righteous man may remain resolute in righteousness, he must attend to and keep the law of God.

Those who are reconciled to God through faith in Jesus Christ find the law no longer a threat, but a blessed rule of life. Jesus raises his people by the Spirit to new life, writing the law on their hearts. By his grace, through a use of the means he has given us, we can learn and keep the law, more and more.

Those who truly keep the law are not content to let wickedness prosper, but will be active and opposing the wicked. They are active and engaged. They care about others and their society. They are opposed to wickedness from the heart and oppose it by taking action.

This is not limited to politics, but certainly that is one area of conflict. The role of civil government is to strive against wickedness, at least external expressions of it, to be a terror to evildoers and to praise the good (Rom. 13:1-7).

Different people are called to different levels of political involvement. Voting wisely is a basic adult responsibility in American society. You can also write to your legislators. Some will speak with their legislators. Some will donate to candidates and organizations. Some will attend rallies and events. Some will volunteer for campaigns, causes, or organizations that provide education on political issues. Some will run for office. American citizens have a responsibility to strive against wickedness and seek the well-being of their country through politics, and it is those who keep the law who will do this well, although this can look different for each person, since you have different gifts, callings, and stages in life.

Politics is far from being the only area where you must strive against the wicked. Those who keep the law, oppose the wicked in their personal life, resisting temptation. They strive against the wicked by seeking to persuade the wicked to change their ways. They strive against them by counteracting their influence in families, social circles, work places, businesses, and other organizations. They strive against them by arguing against wickedness and for that which is good and right and true.

When John Witherspoon preached on a fast day in the May of 1776, he encouraged his listeners to promote public virtue.

Suffer me to recommend to you an attention to the public interest of religion, or in other words zeal for the glory of God and the good of others. I have already endeavoured to exhort sinners to repentance, what I have here in view is to point out to you the concern which every good man ought to take in the national character and manners, and the means which he ought to use for promoting public virtue, and bearing down impiety and vice. This is a matter of the utmost moment, and which ought to be well understood, both in its nature and principles. Nothing is more certain than that a general profligacy and corruption of manners makes a people ripe for destruction. A good form of government may hold the rotten materials together for some time, but beyond a certain pitch even the best constitution will be ineffectual, and slavery must ensue. On the other hand, when the manners of a nation are pure, when true religion and internal principles maintain their vigour, the attempts of the most powerful enemies to oppress them are commonly baffled and disappointed.

Sin is social, spreading and corrupting society and custom. But by God’s grace, the righteousness of Christ’s disciples is also social, spreading and reforming society and custom. Both sin and God’s kingdom are compared with leaven. The influence of the wicked must be opposed; and those who keep the law are equipped to do this work.

“Evil men do not understand justice, but those who seek the LORD understand it completely.” (Proverbs 28:5)

Evil men are compromised; their sense of justice is corrupted. Evil men do not understand justice. To understand justice, you should seek the Lord. From the Lord, man is able to gain a right understanding of justice among men. 

Where is God to be found? God is found in his word. Seek God in his word with reverence and teachableness, that you might understand his ways. Scripture shows us the way to God through Christ and Scripture teaches the law of God, which is a joy to those in Christ. Scripture provides a knowledge of justice. As Moses said in Deuteronomy 4:8, “And what great nation is there, that has statutes and rules so righteous as all this law that I set before you today?”

Seek the Lord and listen to his word. Make his law your meditation day and night. His word is perfect and it speaks to matters of righteousness and obligations and the right reaction of man to man in society. Study his word to gain a true understanding of it. Consider the case laws he gave Israel, for example. They are profitable to direct modern man in our social interactions and our understanding of justice, even though their particular context must be kept in mind (more on that here and here). Consider the book of Proverbs and the prophets and the teachings found in the Gospels, and indeed the whole of Scripture. And pray for an understanding and practice of righteousness, as Solomon did. "Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?" (1 Kings 3:9) Seek the Lord in his word and through prayer, that you might understand justice and practice it in your life and society.

Conclusion

Those whom Christ saves from sin, he makes a blessing to their land. Therefore, those who rest upon him for salvation should seek to be a blessing to their land by his grace.

Pursue righteousness, for to this you were called. If you are in Christ, then you have been released from the tyranny of sin. Be therefore righteous, that you might be a blessing to your land. Your community, your neighbors, your country are in need of the righteous. The land rots without the salt of the earth. Be grateful for what you have received in its civic fellowship and come to its aid through the grace of Christ. Go forth this week to work in this world diligently and usefully, not growing weary in doing good, putting forth in action the virtues that God is working within you. Unto him be the glory!

A Blessing to Your Land (Part 1)

Next week we will come to our country’s Independence Day, the 4th of July. While America’s roots go back to the early 1600s, it was 250 years ago on July 4th, 1776, that these United States declared independence from Great Britain and its king. Not only did we successfully maintain our independence in battle, but we have grown and been blessed in many ways since that time. These blessings ought to be ascribed to Almighty God, from whom all blessings flow. A remembrance of our country’s independence should cause you both to be grateful to that founding generation and other generations that have built up what you enjoy today, as well as to give thanks to God and to recall your personal and national obligation to him. As the fourth verse of our national anthem says,

O thus be it ever when freemen shall stand
Between their lov'd home and the war's desolation!
Blest with vict'ry and peace may the heav'n rescued land
Praise the power that hath made and preserv'd us a nation!

As you reflect upon God’s blessings upon the labors of previous generations, it should also recall you to your calling, that you might preserve and build upon the blessings of the past and seek by God’s grace to improve and pass on a country to your children that will be a blessing to them. Those whom Christ saves from sin, he makes a blessing to their land. Therefore, those who rest upon him for salvation should seek to be a blessing to their land by his grace.

When it goes well with the righteous, the city rejoices,

and when the wicked perish there are shouts of gladness.

By the blessing of the upright a city is exalted,

but by the mouth of the wicked it is overthrown. (Proverbs 11:10–11) 

Verse 11 makes explicit what is implied in verse 10. The city rejoices when it goes well with the righteous, because the righteous are a blessing to the city. There are shouts of gladness when the wicked perish, because the wicked tear down their city by their mouth. Consider the example found in the book of Esther: when the decree of Haman was published, the city of Susa was thrown into confusion, but when Mordecai received Haman’s position and went out in royal robes and a golden crown, the city of Susa shouted and rejoiced.

The righteous are a blessing to their city. As John Witherspoon preached in 1776, “it is in the man of piety and inward principle that we may expect to find the uncorrupted patriot, the useful citizen, and the invincible soldier.” God does not call you to a merely private devotion, but to an exercise of righteousness that is also social. Your righteousness must be personal and private, but it must not stop there. In the same Sermon on the Mount in which Jesus teaches us to pray in secret before God, he also teaches us to let our light shine before men, that they may see our good works and give glory to our Father who is in heaven. Your righteousness must be sincere and for God, not hypocritical praise-seeking, but it must also be exercised in the social realm. You must not hide your light under a basket. Jesus has established you all as a city on a hill and as the light of the world. His kingdom is in the world like leaven is in dough - it transforms the whole thing.

“The blessing of the upright” includes prayer for your land and your words and actions in society. The upright bless those around them by their diligence in their work, their honest dealing and faithfulness, and their deeds of mercy. The upright bless others by their wise and righteous use of words - as the mouth of the wicked overthrows the city, so the mouth of the upright is a blessing. May you be upright and exercise that righteousness in your words and deeds, that you might be a blessing.

In Jeremiah 29:7, God told the Jewish exiles in Babylonia, “But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.” If the Jewish exiles were to seek good of the foreign city they lived in for seventy years, how much more should you seek the good of our own city, your own land?

Whether you like it or not, you participate in the well-being of your country. This is all the more the case when when you dwell in your own country, as citizens, not as exiles. In its welfare, you will find your welfare. You are born into a society full of riches you did not work for - institutions, laws, cultural heritage, language, infrastructure, relatives, neighbors, etc. You inherit a place in a commonwealth. This places obligations upon you of filial piety, of reverent gratitude. As R.J. Rushdoony wrote concerning the fifth commandment, 

honor to parents, and to all older than ourselves, is a necessary aspect of the basic law of inheritance. What we inherit from our parents is life itself, and also the wisdom of their faith and experience as they transmit it to us. The continuity of history rests in this honor and inheritance. A revolutionary age breaks with the past and turns on parents with animosity and venom: it disinherits itself. To respect our elders other than our parents is to respect all that is good in our cultural inheritance. The world certainly is not perfect, nor even law-abiding, but, although we come into the world naked, we do not enter an empty world. The houses, orchards, fields, and flocks are all the handiwork of the past, and we are richer for this past and must honor it. (Institutes of Biblical Law, p. 166)

Patriotism is a virtue. Patriotism is an application of the fifth commandment. It is an extension of the command to honor father and mother. You are to honor and make return to your mother country, your patria.

You and I do not have absolute control over whether it will go well with the righteous or not. Ultimately God raises up and casts down. But for our part, may we be among the righteous who are a blessing, so that if we are exalted, it may be a good thing for our society, as when God raised up Joseph and Daniel and Esther. May you be such a person, by God’s grace, that the city rejoices when it goes well with you.