Presbytopia Session 4

SPIRIT- Applying what God is doing

OPEN IN PRAYER

Father we now call upon you to be with us and be in our presence.

And illuminate our minds by your Spirit and Word.

We thank you Father in all things in Christ name Amen.

Q1 Why is Sanctification Called a Work of God’s Free Grace?

The question ken asks is the same question our Catechism asks in Question 35.

The Westminster Shorter Catechism Question 35

Question 35

What is sanctification?

Sanctification is the work of God’ s free grace, (2 Thess. 2:13) whereby we are renewed in the whole man after the image of God, (Eph. 4:23–24) and are enabled more and more to die unto sin, and live unto righteousness. (Rom. 6:4,6, Rom. 8:1)

2 Thess 2:13 “But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth.”

Because Sanctification is a work of the Spirit in your lives.

God enables you to believe his Word as the truth.

Some people can read the Word of God to and it doesn’t speak to them like it does to you.

And that is because God chose you before the foundation of the World to be his people.

So it starts at the beginning of a Christians life when he or she is converted.

But not just that.

The Spirit enabled you to understand the Word and saves you and Sanctifies you in this life.

So sanctification is an ongoing internal process in the life of a Christian.

Ken asks us to explain the involvement of Renewal in Sanctification

Q2 Explain how Sanctification involves Renewal?

Eph 4:23-24 “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.”

God is making us to resemble his image more because we are as his children to continue to look more and more like him throughout our lives.

A good illustration of this between us and our children is that although they start out as infants

As they learn to speak and one day maybe are married and will have kids of their own.

Throughout this growth they are becoming and looking more like you their parents

Men will work to provide for their families.

Women will raise and educate their children.

Just as your children will develop and look more like you

We as children of God are being made overtime to look more like Jesus.

This being conformed to the image of the Son is spoken of in Romans

Rom 8:29 “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.”

Q3 What role do God’s people play in sanctification?

We are to turn from sin that we are tempted to commit on a daily basis.

We are to cooperate and obey the instructions of our Lord in Rom 6

Rom 6:12-13 “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.”

Ken points out the teaching of Paul in 2 Corinthians 7:1

2 Cor 7:1 “Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.”

So we are to resist sin

And avoid Sin.

We can choose to not lie or to lie

We can choose to come to worship on the Lords Day.

Or to Neglect it.

So in these ways we are obeying the Word of God because we know it to be the truth and what will bring us closer to looking like the image of Christ.

Q4 Can God’s people achieve sinless perfection in this lifetime? Why or Why not?

Ken says absolutely NOT.

Because the Bible says absolutly not.

Lets Look up

Proverbs20:9 “Who can say, “I have made my heart pure; I am clean from my sin”?”

and

Ecc 7.29 “See, this alone I found, that God made man upright, but they have sought out many schemes.”

Isn’t that the teaching Jesus taught to the Rich Young Ruler.

He hadn’t kept the law perfectly from his youth.

Matt 19:16-22 “And behold, a man came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.” He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” The young man said to him, “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?” Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.”

And he did love money more than God.

Christ doesn’t call us to sell everything and follow him.

We are not called to be monks, and give up all our earthly possessions.

But we are called to love God more than anything and everything in this world.

Matt 22.37 “And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”

The next question Ken posses is a good one.

Who can name the three uses of the Law?

Q5 What are the three uses of the law?

First it maintains order in society.

Ken points out that it is God who established all forms of authority on earth. And we are not to resist authority.

Becasue then we are resisting God.

Rom 13:1-2 “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.”

So the First use of the Law is to maintain and order society.

The second use of the law is too to be a school master teaching people they are sinners in need of a savior.

Romans 3:19-20 “Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.”

You won’t know you need the Savior Jesus Christ if you think you actually keep the law perfectly.

In thought, In Word, and in Deed.

And the Third use of the law is it teaches Christians to live a life of gratitude expressed in holiness.

Titus 2:11-14 “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.”

Ken points out that the law of gratitude shows up in various places in the Bible.

But where is it summarily comprehended?

In the Ten Commandments.

If God didn’t give us his law

How would we know its not alright to steal from others.

Or not to commit adultery.

Or to not have any other Gods.

Where in the Bible is the Ten Commandments found?

Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5

And our Westminster standards teach in WSC 41

WSC 41

The Westminster Shorter Catechism Question 41

Question 41

Where is the moral law summarily comprehended?

The moral law is summarily comprehended in the ten commandments. (Deut. 10:4, Matt. 19:17)

Deut 10:4 “And he wrote on the tablets, in the same writing as before, the Ten Commandments that the Lord had spoken to you on the mountain out of the midst of the fire on the day of the assembly. And the Lord gave them to me.”

Matt 19:17 “And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.””

So understanding God’s law and living it is a duty of those called by the king because of our love for the law giver Jesus Christ.

Next Ken asks the question

Q6 How should God’s people interpret the Ten Commandments?

Each commandment has a positive and a negative application in our lives.

Each has an internal and external significance.

Our Westminster shorter catechism States this about the commandments in Questions 43-44

The Westminster Shorter Catechism Question 43

Question 43

What is the preface to the ten commandments?

The preface to the ten commandments is in these words, I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. (Exod. 20:2)

Question 44

What doth the preface to the ten commandments teach us?

The preface to the ten commandments teacheth us, That because God is the Lord, and our God, and Redeemer, therefore we are bound to keep all his commandments. (Luke 1:74–75, 1 Pet. 1:15–18)

We can brush up on our knowledge of Gratitude towards God. if we all read some of these passages that Ken has provided in this short study of the law of God.

And for a more detailed Study Read through WSC Questions 45 -81

This is pages 54-57 in your copy of presbytopia

The First Commandment (Whom We Worship)

What does the Bible say about Atheist? Psalm 14:1 “The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; there is none who does good.”

What does the Bible say about other Gods and saviors? Deut 4:39 “know therefore today, and lay it to your heart, that the Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other.”

Psalm 96:5 “For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the Lord made the heavens.”

John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Acts 4:12 “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.””

Is it okay to love something as much as God? Mat 6:24 ““No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”

Second Commandment (How we Worship)

Is it proper to worship God through an image? Exodus 20:4-6 ““You shall not make for yourself a carved 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. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.”

Rom 1:21-24 “For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves,”

Are all images unlawful? NO 1 Kings 6:18 “The cedar within the house was carved in the form of gourds and open flowers. All was cedar; no stone was seen.”

Num 21:8-9 “And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.”

But images can be a stumbling block as we see in 2 Kings 18:4 “He removed the high places and broke the pillars and cut down the Asherah. And he broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the people of Israel had made offerings to it (it was called Nehushtan).”

Are images of Christ appropriate? Col 1:15 “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.”

1 Peter 1:8 “Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory,”

1John 3:2 “Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.”

No one knows what God looks like that is living today.

Third Commandment (Reverence)

What does God’s name describe? (1 Chron. 29:10-13 “Therefore David blessed the Lord in the presence of all the assembly. And David said: “Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of Israel our father, forever and ever. Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all. Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all. And now we thank you, our God, and praise your glorious name.”

What are the consequences of misusing God’s name? Exod 20:7 ““You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.”

Lev 24:16 “Whoever blasphemes the name of the Lord shall surely be put to death. All the congregation shall stone him. The sojourner as well as the native, when he blasphemes the Name, shall be put to death.”

How does this affect the way we treat God’s Word? Psalm 138:2 “I bow down toward your holy temple and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word.”

Fourth Commandment (Entering God’s Rest)

Why did God rest on the seventh day? Gen 2:2-3 “And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.”

Isa 40:28 “Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.”

Psalm 99:1 “The Lord reigns; let the peoples tremble! He sits enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth quake!”

Why did God command His people to rest on the seventh day? Exodus 20:8-11 ““Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.”

Deut 5:15 “You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.”

What is the meaning of God’s rest for his people? Heb 4:9-10 “So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his.”

How Should Christians observe this rest? Isa 58:13 ““If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on my holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight and the holy day of the Lord honorable; if you honor it, not going your own ways, or seeking your own pleasure, or talking idly;”

Isa 58:3-4 “‘Why have we fasted, and you see it not? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you take no knowledge of it?’ Behold, in the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure, and oppress all your workers. Behold, you fast only to quarrel and to fight and to hit with a wicked fist. Fasting like yours this day will not make your voice to be heard on high.”

Heb10:21-25 “and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”

What continues or discontinues from the Old Testament Sabbath to the New Testament Lord’s Day? Luke 23:56-24:1 “Then they returned and prepared spices and ointments. On the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment. But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared.”

Col 2:16-17 “Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.”

Acts 20:7 “On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul talked with them, intending to depart on the next day, and he prolonged his speech until midnight.”

Fifth Commandment (Authority)

What is the Christians responsibility in the home? Exod 20:12 ““Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.”

What is the Christians responsibility in the church?Heb 13:17 “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.”

What is a Christians responsibility in society? Rom 13:1-2 “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.”

1 Peter 2:13-17 “Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.”

Sixth Commandment (Life)

What is the basis for this commandment? Gen 9:6 ““Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image.”

What is specifically forbidden in this Commandment? Exo 20:13 ““You shall not murder.”

When does life begin? Luke 1:41 “And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit,”

Psalm 139:13-16 “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.”

Is this commandment only concerned with outward violence? Matt 5:21-22 ““You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.”

Seventh Commandment (Purity)

What is the basis for this commandment? Gen 2:23-24 “Then the man said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.”

Eph 5:25 “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,”

What is specifically forbidden in this commandment? Exodus 20:14 ““You shall not commit adultery.”

What about intimate relations outside of marriage? Deut 22:13-21 ““If any man takes a wife and goes in to her and then hates her and accuses her of misconduct and brings a bad name upon her, saying, ‘I took this woman, and when I came near her, I did not find in her evidence of virginity,’ then the father of the young woman and her mother shall take and bring out the evidence of her virginity to the elders of the city in the gate. And the father of the young woman shall say to the elders, ‘I gave my daughter to this man to marry, and he hates her; and behold, he has accused her of misconduct, saying, “I did not find in your daughter evidence of virginity.” And yet this is the evidence of my daughter’s virginity.’ And they shall spread the cloak before the elders of the city. Then the elders of that city shall take the man and whip him, and they shall fine him a hundred shekels of silver and give them to the father of the young woman, because he has brought a bad name upon a virgin of Israel. And she shall be his wife. He may not divorce her all his d…”

What about Homosexuality? Lev 18:22 “You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination.”

Rom 1:26-27 “For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.”

1 Cor 6:9 “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality,”

What about divorce? Mal 2:16 ““For the man who does not love his wife but divorces her, says the Lord, the God of Israel, covers his garment with violence, says the Lord of hosts. So guard yourselves in your spirit, and do not be faithless.””

Matt 19:3-9 “And Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful to divorce one’s wife for any cause?” He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” They said to him, “Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away?” He said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery.””

1 Cor 7:15 “But if the unbelieving partner separates, let it be so. In such cases the brother or sister is not enslaved. God has called you to peace.”

Is this Commandment only concerned with outward purity? Matt 5:27-28 ““You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”

Eighth Commandment (Stewardship)

What is the basis for this commandment? Ps 50 “A Psalm of Asaph. The Mighty One, God the Lord, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting. Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines forth. Our God comes; he does not keep silence; before him is a devouring fire, around him a mighty tempest. He calls to the heavens above and to the earth, that he may judge his people: “Gather to me my faithful ones, who made a covenant with me by sacrifice!” The heavens declare his righteousness, for God himself is judge! Selah “Hear, O my people, and I will speak; O Israel, I will testify against you. I am God, your God. Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you; your burnt offerings are continually before me. I will not accept a bull from your house or goats from your folds. For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills. I know all the birds of the hills, and all that moves in the field is mine. “If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and its fullness are mine. 13  Do I eat the flesh of bullsor drink the blood of goats?

14  Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and perform your vows to the Most High, 15  and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.”

16  But to the wicked God says: “What right have you to recite my statutes nor take my covenant on your lips?

17  For you hate discipline, and you cast my words behind you.

18  If you see a thief, you are pleased with him, and you keep company with adulterers. 19  “You give your mouth free rein for evil, and your tongue frames deceit. 20  You sit and speak against your brother; you slander your own mother’s son.

21  These things you have done, and I have been silent; you thought that I was one like yourself. But now I rebuke you and lay the charge before you. 22  “Mark this, then, you who forget God, lest I tear you apart, and there be none to deliver! 23  The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me; to one who orders his way rightly I will show the salvation of God!”

Matt 25:14-30 ““For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master’s money. Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here, I have made five talents more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 22 And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here, I have made two talents more.’ 23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 24 He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, 25 so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.’ 26 But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? 27 Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. 28 So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. 29 For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 30 And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

What is specifically forbidden in this commandment? Exod 20:15 ““You shall not steal.”

What is the opposite of Stealing? Eph 4:28 “Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.”

Ninth Commandment (Truthfulness)

What is the Basis for this Commandment? Col 3:9-10 “Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.”

Heb 6:18 “so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.”

What is specifically forbidden in this commandment? Exo 20:16 ““You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.”

What else is forbidden in this commandment? Prov 20:19 “Whoever goes about slandering reveals secrets; therefore do not associate with a simple babbler.”

Tenth Commandment (Contentment)

What is specifically forbidden in this commandment? Exo 20:17 ““You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.””

How does this sin lead to other sins? Gen4:1-8 “Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord.” And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground. In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.” Cain spoke to Abel his brother. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him.”

Josh 7:21 “when I saw among the spoil a beautiful cloak from Shinar, and 200 shekels of silver, and a bar of gold weighing 50 shekels, then I coveted them and took them. And see, they are hidden in the earth inside my tent, with the silver underneath.””

What is implicitly encouraged in this commandment? Heb 13:5 “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.””

And we will close by looking at where the Westminster Shorter Catechism points us to after the section on the law Questions 82-86

WSC Question 82

The Westminster Shorter Catechism Question 82

Question 82

Is any man able perfectly to keep the commandments of God?

No mere man since the fall is able in this life perfectly to keep the commandments of God, (Eccles. 7:20, 1 John 1:8,10, Gal. 5:17) but doth daily break them in thought, word, and deed. (Gen. 6:5, Gen. 8:21, Rom. 3:9–21, James 3:2–13)

Question 83

Are all transgressions of the law equally heinous?

Some sins in themselves, and by reason of several aggravations, are more heinous in the sight of God than others. (Ezek. 8:6,13,15, 1 John 5:16, Ps. 78:17,32,56)

Question 84

What doth every sin deserve?

Every sin deserveth God’ s wrath and curse, both in this life, and that which is to come. (Eph. 5:6, Gal. 3:10, Lam. 3:39, Matt. 25:41)

Question 85

What doth God require of us, that we may escape his wrath and cursedue to us for sin?

To escape the wrath and curse of God due to us for sin, God requireth of us faith in Jesus Christ, repentance unto life, (Acts 20:21) with the diligent use of all the outward means whereby Christ communicateth to us the benefits of redemption. (Prov. 2:1–5, Prov. 8:33–36, Isa. 55:3)

Question 86

What is faith in Jesus Christ?

Faith in Jesus Christ is a saving grace, (Heb. 10:39) whereby we receive and rest upon him alone for salvation as he is offered to us in the gospel. (John 1:12, Isa. 26:3–4, Phil. 3:9, Gal. 2:16)

And with that let us close in Prayer

Close in Prayer

Father I pray that today your people have heard you speaking to them this morning.

Father I pray for our Elders Deacons and our Pastor as we will shortly enter into yor presence in Worship.

We Pray that the people will be fed my your Word preached and your Body here at Covenant will be built up upon the Rock of our Salvation.

The Lord Jesus Christ. and it is in his name we pray.

Amen