Theology - Ethics/The Christian Life (WCF 19-20, 22-24; WSC #39-84, 88-107; SLC 91-152, 154-196) Flashcards
1
Q
What is the moral law?
A
The declaration of God’s will, directing and binding everyone to conformity and obedience to it.
* Includes the Creation Ordinances (Adam) and Ten Commandments (Moses).
Moral
* WLC #92: 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 #93: The moral law is the declaration of the will of God to mankind, directing and binding every one to personal, perfect, and perpetual conformity and obedience thereunto, 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 oweth to God and man: promising life upon the fulfilling, and threatening death upon the breach of it.
* Fulfilled by Christ (with regards to justification) but still applicable today.
2
Q
What laws besides the moral law did God give his people under the Old Covenant?
A
The ceremonial law and the civil law (judicial)
Ceremonial
* WCF 19.3: Beside 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; and partly, holding forth divers instructions of moral duties. All which ceremonial laws are now abrogated, under the New Testament.
* Fulfilled in Christ. Little argument over this.
Judicial
* WCF 19.4: 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 thereof may require.
* Fulfilled in Christ. Most argumentation is here…over the judicial laws for today.
3
Q
Are believers under obligation to the law today? Explain and defend your answer with Scripture proofs.
A
- 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 (e.g. Calvin’s “3rd use”)
- The moral law forever binds all, though it is by no means a way to merit salvation, which may only come through faith in Jesus Christ as he is freely offered in the gospel.
- WCF 19.5: The moral law doth forever bind all, as well justified persons as others, to the obedience thereof; and that, not only in regard of the matter contained in it, but also in respect of the authority of God the Creator, who gave it. Neither doth Christ, in the gospel, any way dissolve, but much strengthen this obligation.
- WCF 19.6: 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 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. It is likewise of use to the regenerate, to restrain their corruptions, in that it forbids sin: and the threatenings of it serve to show what even their sins deserve; and what afflictions, in this life, they may expect for them, although freed from the curse thereof threatened in the law. The promises of it, in like manner, show them God’s approbation of obedience, and what blessings they may expect upon the performance thereof: although not as due to them by the law as a covenant of works. So as, a man’s doing good, and refraining from evil, because the law encourageth to the one, and deterreth from the other, is no evidence of his being under the law; and, not under grace.
- Mt 5:17-18…”I have not come to abolish the Law/Prophets, but to fulfill them…until heaven and earth disappear, not the least stroke of a pen will disappear from the law…”
- 1 Pet 1:16 be holy as I am holy - God’s law reflects his nature
- Rom 13:8-10…”for he who loves his fellow man has fulfilled the law…the commandments…are summed up in this one rule: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’…”
- Eph 6:1-3…”honor your father and mother, which is the first commandment with a promise, that it may go well with you…”
4
Q
What is “theonomy?” Evaluate it biblically.
A
- In it’s simplest definition, it means “God’s law.”
- Theonomy encompasses a fairly broad spectrum of views about the exercise and authority of the civil, social, and religious laws of the Mosaic Law and the legal system of the Old Testament theocracy
- Essentially its taking the civil law of the OT and applying it to the civil law today
- “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
- Mt 5:17-18: Jesus came not to abrogate but fulfill the law.
- Jn 4: Law said to stone the adulteress woman at the well but Jesus doesn’t do it. 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.
5
Q
Where is the law of God summed up?
A
- Mt 22:37-40; Mk 12:29-31; Lk 10:27
- You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. This is the first and greatest commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two laws depends all the Law and the Prophets.
- WSC #41: The moral law is summarily comprehended in the Ten Commandments.
6
Q
Can believers keep God’s law? Explain and defend your answer with Scripture proofs.
A
- Yes, but not perfectly.
- WSC #82: 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 3:9-23)
- Rom 3:10-12…”there is none righteous, no not one”
- 1 Jn 1:8…”if we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us”
- Gal 5:17…”the sinful nature does what is contrary to the Spirit”
- Rom 7 desiring the law even if not able to perfectly keep it
7
Q
What is at stake in the current “Lordship Controversy?” Explain and defend your view.
A
- Ultimately, the unity of the person of Christ. He is both Lord and Savior in his person and work.
- 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 rule of life (man or Christ)
- Lordship salvation puts more emphasis on the works of a Christian providing assurance – if Christ is not actively your “Lord” i.e., surrendering to him then you cannot be as sure of salvation
- Jesus must be acknowledged as Lord and King for true saving faith
- Rom 10:9-10…”that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus Christ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead you will be saved”
- James 2 teaches that true saving faith is always accompanied, in varying but sure degrees, by works of obedience. It is not a meriting of salvation, but a necessary fruit of saving faith, giving evidence that the person is being transformed more and more by the indwelling Spirit into the image of Christ.
- In other words, the works are evidence that the person has a different Lord reigning in them.
8
Q
What are the “means of grace?”
A
- The Word, Sacraments, and Prayer.
- These are the ordinary ways by which God’s grace is extended and received by man.
- WSC #88: The outward and ordinary means are, his ordinances, especially the Word, sacraments, and prayer, all which are made effectual to the elect for salvation. (Mt 28:18-20; Acts 2:41-42)
9
Q
What is “Christian liberty?” Explain and defend your answer, including Scripture proofs.
A
- The freedom of a Christian, on the basis of the work of Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit, to be free from the power of sin.
- Often referred to as a transfer from the master of sin/flesh to the master of the Spirit
- “where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom…”
- 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; 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 childlike 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.
- Rom 6:18-22…”you have been set free from sin, and have become slaves to righteousness…you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God”
- Rom 8:1-2
- 2 Cor 3:17…”now the Lord is Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom”
- 1 Pet 2:16-17…”live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil”
10
Q
Who or what is the Lord of the conscience? Defend your answer, including Scripture proofs.
A
- God alone.
- WCF 20.2: God alone is Lord of the conscience, and hath left it free from the doctrines and commandments of men, which are, in anything, contrary to his Word; or beside it, if matters of faith, or worship. So that, to believe such doctrines, or to obey such commands, out of conscience, is to betray true 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.
- Jas 4:12…”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?”
- Rom 14:4…”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”
- Rom 8:33…”who will bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God alone who justifies”
11
Q
How does Christian liberty bear on the Christian’s obligation to the state?
A
- Since God intends our liberty, not to destroy, but to uphold the powers that he has ordained, we are to submit to the state.
- WCF 20.4: And because the powers which God hath ordained, and the liberty which Christ hath purchased, are not intended by God to destroy, but mutually to 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. And, for their publishing of such opinions, or maintaining of such practices, as are contrary to the light of nature, or to the known principles of Christianity (whether concerning faith, worship, or conversation), or to the power of godliness; or, such erroneous opinions or practices, as either in their own nature, or in the manner of publishing or maintaining them, are destructive to the external peace and order which Christ hath established in the church, they may lawfully be called to account, and proceeded against, by the censures of the church.
- Rom 13
12
Q
What is the “regulative principle?” Defend from Scripture.
A
- The principle that the manner in which we worship God should be in accordance with what he has instituted himself in the Scriptures, his revealed will.
- Simply, that acceptable worship is that which God prescribes in his Word and nowhere else.
- WCF 21.1: …But the acceptable way of worshiping the true God is instituted by himself, and so limited by his own revealed will, that he may not be worshiped 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.
- Is 29:13…”these people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their heart is far from me…their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men”
- Mt 15:9…”they worship me in vain; their teaching are but rules taught by men”
- Deut 12:32…”see to it that you do all I command from you, do not add to it or take away”
- 2nd commandment
13
Q
Who is to be worshipped? Defend your answer with Scripture proofs.
A
- God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit, and Him alone.
- WCF 21.2: Religious worship is to be given to God, the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; and to him alone; not to angels, saints, or any other creature: and, since the fall, not without a Mediator; nor in the mediation of any other but of Christ alone.
- Mt 4:10…”away from me Satan! For it is written: you shall worship the Lord your God, and serve him only”
- Is 42:8…” I am the Lord, that is my name, my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols”
14
Q
What are the ordinary parts or elements of worship?
A
- Reading of Scripture, preaching and hearing the Word, singing, and administration of the sacraments.
- WCF 21.5: The reading of the Scriptures with godly fear, the sound preaching and conscionable hearing of the Word, in obedience unto God, with understanding, faith, and reverence, singing of psalms with grace in the heart; as also, the due administration and worthy receiving of the sacraments instituted by Christ, are all parts of the ordinary religious worship of God: beside religious oaths, vows, solemn fastings, and thanksgivings upon special occasions, which are, in their several times and seasons, to be used in an holy and religious manner.
15
Q
Are Christians under obligation to keep a Sabbath? Defend your answer with Scripture proofs.
A
- Yes.
- 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: 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, which, in Scripture, is called the Lord’s day, and is to be continued to the end of the world, as the Christian Sabbath.
- Gen 2:1-3…”thus the heavens and earth were completed in their vast array. By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing, so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done”
- Exod 20:8-11…”remember the Sabbath day by keeping 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 do no work…for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth and the sea and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day”
- Exod 31:12-17…”you must observe my Sabbaths. This will be a sign between me and you for the generations to come, so you may know that I am the Lord, who makes you holy. Observe the Sabbath, because it is holy to you…anyone who desecrates it must be put to death…”
- Isa 58:13-14…”if because of the Sabbath, you turn your foot from doing your own pleasure on my holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy day of the Lord honorable, and honor it, desisting from your own ways, from seeking your own pleasure and speaking you own word, then you will take delight in the Lord, and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth…”
