H. THE CHRISTIAN LIFE (WCF 19-20,22-24; WLC 91-152, 154-196; WSC 39-84, 88- 107) Flashcards
What is the moral law?
• The declaration of God’s will directing and binding everyone to conformity and obedience to it.
• “The rule of obedience revealed to Adam in the estate of innocence, and to all mankind in him, besides a special
command not to eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, was the moral law.”-WLC 92
• “The moral law is the declaration of the will of God to mankind, directing and binding everyone to personal,
perfect, and perpetual conformity and obedience there unto, in the frame and disposition of the whole man, soul and
body, and in performance of all those duties of holiness and righteousness which he owes to God and man:
promising life upon the fulfilling, and threatening death upon the breach of it.”-WLC 93
What laws besides the moral law did God give his people under the Old Covenant?
• The ceremonial law and the judicial (civil) law.
• “Besides the law, commonly called moral, God was pleased to give to the people of Israel, as a church under age,
ceremonial laws, containing several typical ordinances, pa11ly of worship, prefiguring Christ, His graces, actions,
sufferings, and benefits; and partly holding forth diverse instructions of moral duties. All which ceremonial laws are
now abrogated, under the new testament. “-WCF 19.3
• “To them also, as a body politic, He gave sundry judicial laws, which expired together with the State of that
people; not obliging any other now, further than the general equity there of may require. “-WCF 19.4
Are believers under obligation to the law today? Explain and defend your answer with Scripture
proofs.
• While believers are no longer under the law to be justified or condemned by it, it remains for them the rule of life,
informing them of the will of God which they are to obey.
• The moral law forever binds all, though it is by no means a way to merit salvation, which only come through faith
in the Lord Jesus Christ as he is freely offered in the gospel.
• “Although true believers be not under the law, as a covenant of works, to be thereby justified, or condemned; yet
is it of great use to them, as well as to others; in that, as a rule of life informing them of the will of God, and their
duty, it directs and binds them to walk accordingly; discovering also the sinful pollutions of their nature, hearts, and
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lives; so as, examining themselves thereby, they may come to further conviction of, humiliation for, and hatred
against sin, together with a clearer sight of the need they have of Christ, and the perfection of His obedience.” –
WCF 19.6
• “The moral law does forever bind all, as well justified persons as others, to the obedience thereof; and that, not
only in regard to the matter contained in it, but also in respect of the authority of God the Creator, who gave it.
Neither does Christ, in the Gospel, any way dissolve, but much strengthens this obligation. “-WCF 19.5
Are believers under obligation to the law today? Scripture proofs.
• “Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellow man
has fulfilled the law. The commandments, ‘Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not covet,’ and
whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ Love
does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.”-Romans 13:8-10
• “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and mother-which is the first
commandment with a promise–that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth “-
Ephesians 6:1-3
• “We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says, ‘I know him, “ but does
not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. “-1 Jn 2:3,4
• “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill
them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen will by
any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.”-Matthew 5:17-18
What is “theonomy?” Evaluate it biblically.
• Theonomy in its simplest definition means “God’s Law.”
• Theonomy encompasses a fairly broad spectrum of views about the exercise, and authority to exercise the civil,
social, and religious laws of the Mosaic Law and the legal system of the Old Testament theocracy of the nation of
Israel.
• “All laws of the Old Testament were equitable for the era for which they were designed. But great care must be
taken to determine precisely how they apply to the present era.” – PP, 556
• Matthew 5:17-18 (see above)
• “When you build a new house, you shall make a parapet for your roof, that you may not bring bloodguilt on your
house if anyone falls from it.1 – Deuteronomy 22:8
• In John 4, Jesus could have carried out Lev. 20:10 by putting the adulteress to death (or insisting she be put to
death), but instead he reveals himself as the messiah. This incidence illustrates Jesus’ pattern with respect to the
judicial laws. His emphasis in ushering in the kingdom is on the redemptive nature of the gospel; there will come a
time when he will carry out the retributive justice of the Law
Where is the law of God summed up?
The ten commandments-Love God and love your neighbor.
• “The moral law is summarily comprehended in the Ten Commandments.”-WSC #41
• “He answered: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and
with all your mind’; and; ‘Love your neighbor as yourself “-Luke 10:27
Can believers keep God’s law? Explain and defend your answer with Scripture proofs.
• Yes and no. We are empowered by the Holy Spirit to do good, nonetheless, we cannot fulfill the law perfectly.
• “No mere man since the fall is able in this life perfectly to keep the commandments of God, but does daily break
them in thought, word and deed. “-WSC #82
Can believers keep God’s law? Explain and defend your answer with Scripture proofs.
• “There is not a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sins. “-Ecclesiastes 7:20
• “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned
away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one. “-Romans 3:10-12
• “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us …If we claim we have not sinned,
We make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives. “-1 John 1:8,10
• “For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Sprit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They
are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. “-Galatians 5: 17
What is at stake in the current “Lordship Controversy?” Explain and defend your view.
• The unity of the person of Christ. Christ is both Lord and savior in union of person
• The “Lordship controversy” has implications for the nature of regeneration, assurance, and salvation as well as the
question of who or what will be the sovereign over our life.
• Jesus Christ is indeed Lord (King) and this must be acknowledged for true saving faith
• “That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead,
you will be saved” - Romans 10:9
• James 2 teaches that true faith must manifest itself in works of obedience to the King, Jesus. That is not to say that
we earn or in any way merit salvation, it is completely a gracious gift of the God who predestines, elects,
regenerates, and sacrifice.
• Christ is and must be received as the Lord as well as the Savior of the believer
What are the “means of grace?”
• Word, Sacraments, and Prayer
• The ways by which God’s grace is extended and received by humans. In Protestant theology, the emphasis has
been on the Word and Sacraments as God’s instituted means of conveying the grace that leads to justification -
sanctification.
• “The outward and ordinary means whereby Christ communicates 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. “-
WSC #88
• “Those who accepted his message were baptized…They devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and to
fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. “-Acts 2:41,42
• “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
What is “Christian Liberty?” Explain and defend your answer with Scripture proofs
.
• “The freedom of the Christian, on the basis of the work of Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit, to
be free from the power of sin.
• “The liberty which Christ has purchased for believers under the gospel consists in their freedom from the guilt of
sin, the condemning wrath of God, the curse of the moral law; and, in their being delivered from this present evil
world, bondage to Satan, and dominion of sin; from the evil of afflictions, the sting of death, the victory of the
grave, and everlasting damnation; as also, in their free access to God, and their yielding obedience unto him, not out
of slavish fear, but a child-like love and willing mind. All which were common also to believers under the law. But,
under the new testament, the liberty of Christians is further enlarged, in their freedom from the yoke of the
ceremonial law, to which the Jewish church was subjected; and in greater boldness of access to the throne of grace,
and in fuller communications of the free Spirit of God, than believers under the law did ordinarily partake of.”-WCF
20.1
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What is “Christian Liberty?” Scripture proofs
You have been set free from sin, and have become slaves to righteousness….But now that you have been set free
from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.”-
Romans 6:18-22
• “Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. Show proper respect
to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king. .’-1 Peter 2:16-17
• “Everything is permissible-but not everything is beneficial. Everything is permissible-but not everything is
constructive. Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others. “-1 Corinthians 10:23-24
• “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. “-2 Corinthians 3:17
Who or what is Lord of the conscience? Defend your answer with Scripture proofs.
• God alone.
• “God alone is Lord of the conscience, and has left it free from the doctrines and commandments of men, which are,
in anything, contrary to His Word; or beside it, in matters of faith, or worship. So that, to believe such doctrines, or
obey such commands, out of conscience, is to betray the liberty of conscience: and the requiring of an implicit faith,
and an absolute and blind obedience, is to destroy liberty of conscience, and reason also. WCF 20.2
Who or what is Lord of the conscience? Scripture proofs.
• “There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you-who are you to judge
your neighbor? “-James 4:12
• “Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand for the Lord
is able to make him stand. “-Romans 14:4
• “Eat anything sold in the meat market without raising questions of the conscience, for, The earth is the Lord’s and
everything in it. “-1 Corinthians 10:25-26
How does Christian liberty bear on the Christian’s obligation to the state?
• Since God intends our liberty, not to destroy, but to uphold the powers which he has ordained; we are to submit to
the state.
• “And because the powers which God has ordained, and the liberty which Christ has purchased, are not intended by
God to destroy, but mutually uphold and preserve one another, they who, upon pretense of Christian liberty, shall
oppose any lawful power, or the lawful exercise of it, whether it be civil or ecclesiastical, resist the ordinance of
God…” -WCF 20.4