H. The Christian Life (WCF 19-20, 22-24; WLC 91-152, 154-196; WSC 39-84, 88-107)

Question 1

What is the moral law?

Answer 1

• The law from the beginning which is summarized in the Ten Commandments (Rom 2 - requirements of the law written on their hearts, Exod 20)

Question 2

What laws besides the moral law did God give His people under the old covenant?

Answer 2

Ceremonial and Civil

WCF 19:3 Besides this 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; partly of worship, prefiguring Christ, His graces, actions, sufferings, and benefits;(1) and partly of divers instructions of moral duties.(2) All which ceremonial laws are now abrogated under the new testament.(3)

(1) Heb. 9; Heb. 10:1; Gal. 4:1,2,3; Col. 2:17.
(2) 1 Cor. 5:7; 2 Cor. 6:17; Jude 23.
(3) Col. 2:14,16,17; Dan. 9:27; Eph. 2:15,16.

Question 3

Are believers under obligation to the law today? Explain and defend with Scripture.

Answer 3

• Not the civil or ceremonial
• We are still bond to kept the moral law- Christ does not dissolve but strengthens this obligation (Matt 5)
• We are not under the Sinai covenant but have been enabled by God’s Spirit to keep his law more and more fully (Gal)

Question 4

What is “theonomy?” Evaluate it biblically.

Answer 4

Theonomy means literally, “God’s law,” or the belief that the moral laws of the Old Testament are still binding today and we should enforce them. This idea states that only Old Testament laws specifically fulfilled in the New Testament are non-binding (such as sacrificial laws, ceremonial laws and dietary laws). The moral Law of God is still the ethical standard for governing individuals and society.

Question 5

Where is the law of God summed up?

Answer 5

• The Ten Commandments (is where the moral law is summarized) (Ex 20, Deut 5)

Question 6

Can believers keep God’s law? Explain and defend with Scripture proofs.

Answer 6

• No mere man since the fall is able in this life perfectly to keep the commandments of God, but doth daily break them in thought, word, and deed. (Rom 3:23)

Question 7

What is at stake in the “Lordship Controversy?” Explain and defend your view.

Answer 7

Does saving faith require us to obey. Yes. We are not saved by works but faith will result in increasing obedience (Pastoral Letters, Eph 2, 1 John)

Question 8

What are the “means of grace?”

Answer 8

• Word, Sacraments, and prayer (1 Peter 2 - grow up in salvation, Acts 2)

Question 9

What is “Christian liberty?” Explain and defend with Scripture proofs.

Answer 9

Freedom from sin, guilt, curse, wrath, Satan, death, and evil; as well as access to God and the ability to follow him. (Rom 8 - no condemnation, freedom from law, Gal 5 - freedom to live to God)

WCF 20:1 The liberty which Christ hath 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;(1) and, in their being delivered from this present evil world, bondage to Satan and dominion of sin;(2) from the evil of afflictions, the sting of death, the victory of the grave, and everlasting damnation;(3) as also, in their free access to God,(4) and their yielding obedience unto Him, not out of slavish fear, but a child-like love and willing mind.(5) All which were common also to believers under the law;(6) 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,(7) and in greater boldness of access to the throne of grace,(8) and in fuller communications of the free Spirit of God, than believers under the law did ordinarily partake of.(9)

(1) Tit. 2:14; 1 Thess. 1:10; Gal. 3:13.
(2) Gal. 1:4; Col. 1:13; Acts 26:18; Rom. 6:14.
(3) Rom. 8:28; Ps. 119:71; 1 Cor. 15:54-57; Rom. 8:1.
(4) Rom. 5:1,2.
(5) Rom. 8:14,15; 1 John 4:18.
(6) Gal. 3:9,14.
(7) Gal. 4:1,2,3,6,7; Gal. 5:1; Acts 15:10,11.
(8) Heb. 4:14,16; Heb. 10:19-22.
(9) John 7:38,39; 2 Cor. 3:13,17,18.

Question 10

Who or what is Lord of the conscience? Defend your answer with Scripture.

Answer 10

• “God alone is Lord of the conscience”

* Romans 14 - to his own master he stands or falls, Gal 5 - for freedom Christ has set us free

Question 11

How does Christian liberty bear on the Christian’s obligation to the state?

Answer 11

• Christian liberty does not mean opposition to lawful authorities and powers (WCF XX:4) (Rom 13, 1 Pet 2)

Question 12

What is the “regulative principle?” Defend it from Scripture.

Answer 12

We worship according to Scripture (Ex 20 - 2nd commandment, Lev 10 - unauthorized fire)

WCF 21:1 ….But the acceptable way of worshipping the true God is instituted by Himself, and so limited by His own revealed will, that He may not be worshipped according to the imaginations and devices of men, or the suggestions of Satan, under any visible representation, or any other way not prescribed in the Holy Scripture (1)

(1)Deut. 12:32; Matt. 15:9,10; Deut. 15:1-20; Exod. 20:4,5,6; Col. 2:23.

Question 13

Who is to worshiped? Defend your answer with Scripture proofs

Answer 13

The Triune God Alone (Deut 6 - the LORD is one/worship him alone, John 5 - honoring the Son as the Father, 2 Cor 13 - Trinitarian benediction)

WCF 21:2 Religious worship is to be given to God, the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; and to Him alone:(1) not to angels, saints, or any other creature:(2) and, since the fall, not without a mediator; nor in the mediation of any other but of Christ alone.(3)

(1) Matt. 4:10; John 5:23; 2 Cor. 13:14.
(2) Col. 2:18; Rev. 19:10; Rom. 1:25.
(3) John 14:6; 1 Tim. 2:5; Eph. 2:18; Col. 3:17.

Question 14

What are the ordinary parts or elements of worship?

Answer 14

•	Reading of Scripture
•	Singing psalms and hymns
•	Offering prayer
•	Preaching the Word
•	Presenting offerings
•	Confessing the faith
•	Observing the Sacraments
•	Taking oaths (on occasion)
- (Acts 2, Col 3)

Question 15

Are Christians under obligation to keep a Sabbath? Defend your answer with Scripture proofs.

Answer 15

Yes, but it has changed to Sunday (Ex 20 - 4th commandment, Acts 20 - Sunday as the Lord’s day and a day of meeting)

WCF 21:7 As it is the law of nature, that, in general, a due proportion of time be set apart for the worship of God; so, in His Word, by a positive, moral, and perpetual commandment binding all men in all ages, He hath particularly appointed one day in seven, for a Sabbath, to be kept holy unto Him:(1) which, from the beginning of the world to the resurrection of Christ, was the last day of the week; and, from the resurrection of Christ, was changed into the first day of the week,(2) which, in Scripture, is called the Lord’s Day,(3) and is to be continued to the end of the world, as the Christian Sabbath.(4)

(1) Exod. 20:8,10,11; Isa. 56:2,4,6,7.
(2) Gen. 2:2,3; 1 Cor. 16:1,2; Acts 20:7.
(3) Rev. 1:10.

Question 16

If so, how should the Sabbath be kept? Defend your answer with Scripture proofs

Answer 16

• Public exercise of religion (going to church) (Heb 10)
• Private exercise: rest from unnecessary labors, refrain from recreations lawful on other days, do works of mercy, piety, and charity, family devotions (prayer, readings, singing, etc.)(Ex 20)

WCF 21:8 This Sabbath is then kept holy unto the Lord, when men, after a due preparing of their hearts, and ordering of their common affairs beforehand, do not only observe an holy rest, all the day, from their own works, words, and thoughts about their worldly employments and recreations;(1) but also are taken up, the whole time, in the public and private exercises of His worship, and in the duties of necessity and mercy.(2)

(1) Exod. 20:8; Exod. 16:23,25,26,29,30; Exod. 31:15; Neh. 13:15-19,21,22.
(2) Isa. 58:13; Matt. 12:1-13.

Question 17

Differentiate between the “Continental” and “Westminster” views of the Sabbath.

Answer 17

• The Puritan doctrine of the Sabbath includes a strong emphasis on literal resting from labor, recreation, and other cultural activity. The Continental view (Heidelberg and Calvin), by contrast, “spiritualizes” the rest required in the old covenant. It is no longer a literal ceasing from worldly employments and recreations, as in the Puritan Sabbath, but a purely spiritual rest in Christ.

Question 18

Should a Christian ever take an oath or vow? Explain. Defend your answer with Scripture proofs.

Answer 18

Yes in rare circumstances (1 Thess 5 - I put you under oath)

WCF 22:2 ….Yet, as in matters of weight and moment, an oath is warranted by the Word of God, under the New Testament as well as under the Old (Exod. 20:7; Jer. 5:7; Matt. 5:34,37; James 5:12).

Question 19

What should be our attitude towards civil authorities? Defend your answer with Scripture proofs.

Answer 19

• Honor and respect and obey them, since they have been ordained by God
• Romans 13; 1 Peter 2

Question 20

What is the relationship between church and state?

Answer 20

The State should not interfere with the church and the church should not seek earthly rule. (Matt 22 - Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and God what is God’s.

WCF 23:3 Civil magistrates may not assume to themselves the administration of the Word and Sacraments;(1) or the power of the keys of the kingdom of heaven;(2) or, in the least, interfere in matters of faith

Question 21

What are the proper duties of civil authorities? Defend your answer with Scripture proofs.

Answer 21

To punish evil and to uphold and defend good, including the rights of the church (1 Pet 2, Romans 13)

WCF 23:3 ….Yet as nursing fathers, it is the duty of civil magistrates to protect the Church of our common Lord, without giving the preference to any denomination of Christians above the rest, in such a manner that all ecclesiastical persons whatever shall enjoy the full, free, and unquestioned liberty of discharging every part of their sacred functions, without violence or danger.(4) And, as Jesus Christ hath appointed a regular government and discipline in his Church, no law of any commonwealth should interfere with, let, or hinder, the due exercise thereof, among the voluntary members of any denomination of Christians, according to their own profession and belief.(5) It is the duty of civil magistrates to protect the person and good name of all their people, in such an effectual manner as that no person be suffered, either upon pretense of religion or infidelity, to offer any indignity, violence, abuse, or injury to any other person whatsoever; and to take order, that all religious and ecclesiastical assemblies be held without molestation or disturbance.(6)

(4) Isa. 49:23
(5) Ps. 105:15; Acts 18:14-16
(6) 2 Sam. 23:3; 1 Tim. 2:1; Rom. 13:4

Question 22

What obligations do believers have to civil authorities? Defend your answer with Scripture proofs.

Answer 22

To obey them, pay taxes, and to pray for them (Rom 13 - obey, Matt 22 - taxes, 1 Tim 2 - pray)

WCF 23:4 It is the duty of people to pray for magistrates,(1) to honour their persons,(2) to pay them tribute or other dues,(3) to obey their lawful commands, and to be subject to their authority, for conscience sake.(4) Infidelity, or difference in religion, doth not make void the magistrates’ just and legal authority, nor free the people from their due obedience to them:(5) from which ecclesiastical persons are not exempted,(6) much less hath the Pope any power and jurisdiction over them in their dominions, or over any of their people and, least of all, to deprive them of their dominions, or lives, if he shall judge them to be heretics, or upon any other pretence whatsoever.(7)

(1) 1 Tim. 2:1,2
(2) 1 Pet. 2:17
(3) Rom. 13:6,7
(4) Rom. 13:5; Tit. 3:1
(5) 1 Pet. 2:13,14,16
(6) Rom. 13:1; 1 Kings 2:35; Acts 25:9,10,11; 2 Pet. 2:1,10,11; Jude 8-11
(7) 2 Thess. 2:4; Rev. 13:15-17

Question 23

By whom and for what purpose was marriage designed? Defend your answer with Scripture proofs.

Answer 23

• WCF 24:2 Marriage was ordained for the mutual help of husband and wife,(1) for the increase of mankind with legitimate issue, and of the Church with an holy seed;(2) and for preventing of uncleanness.(3)
• a picture of Christ and the church (Eph 5)

(1) Gen. 2:18 - helper
(2) Mal. 2:15 - seed
(3) 1 Cor. 7:2,9 - prevent sexual sin

Question 24

Who may (and may not) lawfully be married? Defend your answer with Scripture proofs.

Answer 24

One man and one woman, who are equally yoked and not unlawfully divorced (Gen 2 - man and woman, Matt 19 - divorce, 2 Cor 6 - do not be unequally yoked)

WCF 24:3 It is lawful for all sorts of people to marry, who are able with judgment to give their consent.(1) Yet it is the duty of Christians to marry only in the Lord.(2) And therefore such as profess the true reformed religion should not marry with infidels, papists, or other idolaters: neither should such as are godly be unequally yoked, by marrying with such as are notoriously wicked in their life, or maintain damnable heresies.(3)

(1) Heb. 13:4; 1 Tim. 4:3; 1 Cor. 7:36,37,38; Gen. 24:57,58
(2) 1 Cor. 7:39
(3) Gen. 34:14; Exod. 34:16; Deut. 7:3,4; 1 Kings 11:4; Neh. 13:25,26,27; Mal. 2:11,12; 2 Cor. 6:14

WCF 24:4 Marriage ought not to be within the degrees of consanguinity or affinity forbidden by the Word.(1) Nor can such incestuous marriages ever be made lawful by any law of man or consent of parties, so as those persons may live together as man and wife.(2) [The man may not marry any of his wife’s kindred nearer in blood than he may of his own, nor the woman of her husband’s kindred nearer in blood than of her own.(3)]

(1) Lev. Chapter 18; 1 Cor. 5:1;Amos 2:7
(2) Mark 6:18; Lev. 18:24-28.
(3) Lev. 20:19-21; this sentence is not present in the OPC version.

Question 25

What is divorce?

Answer 25

• A dissolution of the marriage contract

Question 26

Under what circumstances is divorce permissible? May those who have been divorced remarry? Defend your answer with Scripture.

Answer 26

Adultery or desertion by a non-Christian (Matt 19 - adultery, 1 Cor 7 - desertion by non-Christian)
Remarriage is allowed if divorced under those circumstances.

WCF 24:5 Adultery or fornication committed after a contract, being detected before marriage, giveth just occasion to the innocent party to dissolve that contract.(1) In the case of adultery after marriage, it is lawful for the innocent party to sue out a divorce:(2) and after the divorce, to marry another, as if the offending party were dead.(3)

(1) Matt. 1:18-20
(2) Matt. 5:31-32
(3) Matt. 19:9; Rom. 7:2-3

Question 27

Is divorce an option for those abused by their spouses (physically or otherwise)? Defend

Answer 27

Spiritually no, so remarriage is not allowed, but I think separation and if necessary a legal divorce is allowable for the safety of the abused and their children.

WCF 24:6 Although the corruption of man be such as is apt to study arguments unduly to put asunder those whom God hath joined together in marriage: yet, nothing but adultery, or such wilful desertion as can no way be remedied by the Church, or civil magistrate, is cause sufficient of dissolving the bond of marriage….

(1)Matt. 19:8,9; 1 Cor. 7:15; Matt. 19:6