faith – The Reformed Parish

“Life Judicial”

You know, when a man receives a pardon from Government, he is said to receive his life. So it is here. This word is used in the same sense in [John 5:24], “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.” In this verse, you will notice that life is opposed to condemnation, and it appears to mean justification. The same meaning may be attached to those words in the 20th chapter, 31st verse, “These are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that, believing, ye might have life through his name.” See also the first epistle of John, 5th chapter, 12th verse, “He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son hath not life.” In this passage, life appears to be the pardon of all sin, and admission into the favour of God. And it is said in Proverbs, “He that findeth me findeth peace.” Now, Christ, when he stood in the midst of the Jews, knew that they were all under the sentence of the broken law, and he knew that he was to die for sinners: therefore, he said to them, “Ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.” In my hand there is a pardon: “The Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins:” yet ye will not come to me. This is true among yourselves: He is as much here present as he was then. He has suffered, the just for the unjust. He has died for sinners, and now he offers you pardon. Why are ye not saved? The reason is, ye will not come to him, that ye might have life.

-Robert Murray M’Cheyne (1813-1843)

“Of Baptism”

I. Baptism is a sacrament of the New Testament, ordained by Jesus Christ,^a not only for the solemn admission of the party baptized into the visible Church,^b but also to be unto him a sign and seal of the covenant of grace,^c of his ingrafting into Christ,^d of regeneration,^e of remission of sins,^f and of his giving up unto God, through Jesus Christ, to walk in newness of life:^g which sacrament is, by Christ’s own appointment, to be continued in his Church until the end of the world.^h

a. Mat 28:19. • b. 1 Cor 12:13. • c. Rom 4:11 with Col 2:11-12. • d. Rom 6:5; Gal 3:27. • e. Titus 3:5. • f. Mark 1:4. • g. Rom 6:3-4. • h. Mat 28:19-20.

The Creaking on the Stairs

Just finished listening to this audiobook, The Creaking on the Stairs: Finding Faith in God Through Childhood Abuse. Very highly recommended. Rosaria Butterfield says in the forward, “The most disturbing book that I have ever read, and I cannot recommend it highly enough.” While I can’t say it is the most disturbing book I’ve ever read, the subject matter is beyond doubt extremely disturbing … and yet heavenly at the same time, which is why I heartily second Rosaria.

The Second Commandment

Q. 107. Which is the second commandment?
A. The second commandment is, Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; and showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

Ex. 20:4-6.