The Pilgrim Christian

Questions to answer in this Equipping Hour 1. Who exactly were the Puritans? 2. What can they contribute to your everyday walk with the Lord? John Owen (1616-1683) “Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation.” —Matthew 26:41 Of Temptation: the Nature & Power of it (Matt. 26:41) 1. The evil cautioned against — Temptation 2. The means of its prevalency — Our entering into it 3. The way of preventing it — Watch and Pray fi “Temptation, then, in general, is any thing, state, way, or condition that, upon any account whatever, has a force or ef cacy to seduce, to draw the mind and heart of a man from its obedience, which God requires of him, into any sin, in any degree whatever.” —John Owen fi “So I nd it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand.” —Romans 7:21 Indwelling Sin in Believers (Rom. 7:21) 1. The Power & Ef cacy of indwelling sin — Paul calls it “a law” 2. The way of discovering this law — Paul “found” it 3. The frame of his soul — “I want to do right” fi 4. The state and activity of indwelling sin — “evil lies close at hand” The Believer’s Standing in Christ 1. Union with Christ (Rom. 6:1-11) 2. Temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 3:16, 6:18-20) 3. People of the New Covenant (Jer. 31:31-34) 4. A New Creation (2 Cor. 5:17; Eph. 4:22-24) “…put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” —Ephesians 4:22-24 The Relationship between Positional & Progressive Sancti cation 1. Positional — We are Sancti ed (1 Cor. 1:2; Heb. 10:10; 1 Cor. 6:11) fi fi fi 2. Progressive —We ought to pursue Sancti cation (Rom. 6:19; 1 Thess. 4:3) The Relationship between Justi cation & Sancti cation 1. Obedience is necessary for salvation (Luke 6:46; Rom. 2:6; Rev. 20:12) 2. Obedience isn’t necessary as the meritorious cause (Rom. 5:1) fi fi 3. Obedience is necessary as the demonstrable evidence (Eph. 2:8-10; Titus 2:11-14) “In effect God says to us, ‘Because you believe in Christ, by the Holy Spirit I have joined you to Christ. When he died, you died. When he rose, you rose. He’s in heaven, so you’re in heaven. He’s holy, so you’re holy. Your position right now, objectively and factually, is as a holy, beloved, child of God, dead to sin, alive to righteousness, and seated in my holy heaven — now live like it.’” —Kevin DeYoung The Causes of Sancti cation 1. The Father (Rom. 8:29-30, 1 Thess. 5:23-24) 2. The Son (John 15:4-5, Eph. 5:25-27) 3. The Spirit (Rom. 7:6, 8:3-4) fi 4. The Individual (Rom. 6:11-13, Eph. 4:11-16) The Means of Sancti cation 1. A Consecrated Life 2. A Renewed Mind 3. A Transformed Heart 4. Treasuring the Word 5. Cherishing Prayer fi 6. Devoting oneself to the Church fi fi “Q. What are the outward and ordinary means whereby Christ communicates to us the bene ts of redemption? A. The outward and ordinary means whereby Christ communicates to us the bene ts of redemption are, his ordinances, especially the Word, sacraments, and prayer; all which are made effectual to the elect for salvation.” — Westminster Shorter Catechism (1648) fl fl “Ordinances are conduit pipes whereby the water of life is derived from Christ in the hearts of Christians. As the light and beams of the sun is the chariot to convey the heat and in uence of the sun to the world, so the ordinances of God are the chariots whereby God conveys the heat of his grace, and the in uences of His spirit to men and women.” — George Swinnock fi “Before you go to hear (or read), labor to affect your heart with the necessity, excellency, and ef cacy of the word… Urge your soul with this: The word which I am going to hear… is absolutely necessary to my spiritual and eternal good. I am dead, and it is the word which must enliven me; I am blind, and it is the word that must enlighten me.” — George Swinnock “My soul is sinful, and it is the word that must sanctify it; my soul is sick, it is the word that must heal it; my soul is hungry, and it is the word that must feed it, or I shall starve; my soul is thirsty, and it is the word that must satisfy it, or I shall die for thirst.” — George Swinnock “It is a contempt both of God’s majesty and mercy for you to throw down your prayers before him, and then to run away, not caring what becomes of it.” — George Swinnock fi fl “If you pray for your daily bread, be diligent in your calling, or else expect a crop out of the ocean. If you pray against some particular sin, avoid the occasion of those sins. If it be against drunkenness, avoid evil company. If it be against pride, avoid and discourage such as will atter you, for otherwise you do as he that runs into the re, and prays to God that it may not burn him… “Such a man mocks God, but himself most. If you pray for holiness and grace, hear, read, meditate, watch, use the means, and expect a good issue from God.” — George Swinnock “Make preparation for the day… Truly, friend, it is so with us in matters of higher moment; hearts, like soil, must be prepared for the seed of the word—how many a sermon has been lost because this was wanting!—and the violins of our souls must be tuned to praise God, or otherwise they will sound but harshly in his ears.” — George Swinnock “They that come to duty merely for duty, know not what it means to meet with God… Reader, when you go to the ordinances of God, go to meet God in the ordinances… Go to view the beauty of his face when you inquiry into his holy temple. When you go to prayer, let it be in hope to get your heart nearer to heaven.” — George Swinnock fi “True believers may in various ways have the assurance of their salvation shaken, decreased, or temporarily lost. This may happen because they neglect to preserve it or fall into some speci c sin that wounds their conscience and grieves the Spirit. It may happen through some unexpected or forceful temptation or when God withdraws the light of his face and allows even those who fear him to walk in darkness and to have no light… “Yet they are never completely lacking the seed of God, the life of faith, love of Christ and the brethren, sincerity of heart, or conscience concerning their duty. Out of these graces, through the work of the Spirit, this assurance may at the proper time be revived. In the meantime, they are kept from utter despair through them.” — 2nd LBCF Chapter 18.4 (1689)