Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

• Matthew 28:19-20

Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.
They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

• Acts 2:41-42

He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.

• James 1:18

“Q. 71. What are the outward means whereby the Holy Spirit communicates to us the benefits of redemption?
“A. The outward and ordinary means whereby the Holy Spirit communicates to us the benefits of Christ’s redemption, are the Word by which souls are begotten to spiritual life, Baptism, the Lord’s Supper, Prayer, and Meditation, by all which believers are further edified in their most holy faith (Acts 2:41-42; Jas. 1:18).”

• Charles H. Spurgeon, Spurgeon’s Catechism (Scripture proofs in bold above)

“Q. 88. What are the outward means whereby Christ communicateth to us the benefits of redemption?
“A. 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.”

• The Shorter Catechism (Westminster Assembly)

The Spurgeon Catechism and the Shorter Catechism differ in several things.  The major difference is in who within the Trinity communicates the benefit of redemption.  As a result, the first two Scriptures reflect the Short Catechism answer, while the last two Scriptures reflect the Spurgeon Catechism, sharing the middle Scripture.  The Larger Catechism went a different direction.  We will reintroduce the Larger Catechism next week.

As for the “who” we could write volumes.  In evangelism, we talk of Jesus coming into our hearts, but we gloss over the fact that we will be indwelled by the Holy Spirit, in every fiber of our bodies.  How else can the Holy Spirit guide us?  And the Holy Spirit is our Advocate.  So, who does the communication?  Cannot both?  I tend to lean toward the Spurgeon view here, although I have been in Presbyterian churches all my life, but Jesus stands at God’s right-hand interceding for us.  It needs to be both.

The ”how to” for the communication differs basically in wording.  The Shorter Catechism adds “ordinances” but how could those ordinances be communicated other than from God’s Holy Word?  Even the creeds and confessions of the church are supposed to meet the same rigorous biblical proofs as do these catechisms.  Thus, the added words are redundant, but to someone that argues that mankind can screw up when writing a church confession, this could be a significant difference.

While the Shorter Catechism states sacraments, the Spurgeon catechism spells out the two sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Prayer.  The same in this case as we will soon discover in the following questions.  And then the Spurgeon Catechism adds meditation to the prayer.

But the last phrasing is considerably different with Spurgeon trying hard to avoid the word “elect.”  His addition, or redirection, toward “faith” is an important addition.  I recently heard H. B. Charles, Jr. preach a sermon, and I liked it a great deal.  Afterward, I looked up his biography and other articles about him and although a Baptist, he believes in many tenets of the Reformed faith.  He stated in an interview that when the Scriptures went toward faith and free will, he preached on them with fervor, but he did the same fervor when the Scriptures pointed toward the elect.  In either case, we are saved by Grace through faith.  Avoiding the concept of the elect has been a stumbling block creating church division, but the concept is clearly stated in the Scriptures and it does not take away from free will, although many may argue that point.  I personally feel that Jesus gave me an offer that I could not refuse.  I had the free will to do it, but any other choice would have led to a lifetime of misery.  And I think in similar manner, Jesus makes Himself known to all who God knew before time began.

And we should spread the Gospel to find those who remain who will accept Jesus as their Savior.

And now let us sing.

The following song is sung by the Gaither Homecoming Crowd, I Will Sing of My Redeemer, with the last two verses sung by Shane McConnell and Larry Ford, and a lot of repeats of the refrain.

“I will sing of my Redeemer,
  And His wondrous love to me;
On the cruel cross He suffered,
  From the curse to set me free.

Refrain
Sing, oh, sing of my Redeemer,
  With His blood He purchased me,
On the cross He sealed my pardon,
    Paid the debt, and made me free.

I will tell the wondrous story,
  How my lost estate to save,
In His boundless love and mercy,
  He the ransom freely gave. <Refrain>

I will praise my dear Redeemer,
  His triumphant pow’r I’ll tell,
How the victory He giveth
  Over sin, and death, and hell. <Refrain>

I will sing of my Redeemer,
  And His heav’nly love to me;
He from death to life hath brought me,
  Son of God with Him to be. <Refrain>”

• Philip Paul Bliss, I Will Sing of My Redeemer

Closing Prayer

Dear Lord,
You are all we need.  You are our Redeemer.  You communicate with us in many ways, but we must be eager to read Your Word and pray and meditate.  Help us to learn Your Voice, and to validates what we hear with Scripture.
In thy Name we pray.
Amen

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.