Covenant Protestant Reformed Fellowship
Ballymena
Rev. Angus Stewart
Lord’s Day, 17 October, 2004
"Honour and majesty are before Him: strength and beauty are his sanctuary"
(Psalm 96:6)
Morning Service - 11:00 AM
Jehoshaphat, the Ecumenical King (1)
Jehoshaphat’s Godly Beginning
II Chronicles 17
I. His Early Reign
II. His Teaching Reforms
III. His Great Power
Psalms: 105:1-7; 117:1-2; 119:73-80; 90:8-10, 16-17
Evening Service - 6:00 PM
Heidelberg Catechism, Lord’s Day 23; Romans 3
Righteousness by Faith Alone
I. Is Faith the Basis for Righteousness?
II. Is Faith the Means of Righteousness?
III. Is Faith the Gift of Righteousness?
Psalms: 99:1-9; 118:1-7; 143:1-2, 10-12; 130:1-8
CPRF website: www.cprf.co.uk
Quotes to Consider:
From J. I. Packer’s introduction to James Buchanan’s The Doctrine of Justification: "Martin Luther described the doctrine of justification by faith as ... the article of faith that decides whether the church is standing or falling ... when this doctrine is understood, believed, and preached ... the church stands in the grace of God and is alive; but where it is neglected, overlaid, or denied, as it was in mediaeval Catholicism, the church falls from grace and its life drains away, leaving it in a state of darkness and death. The reason why the Reformation happened, and Protestant churches came into being, was that Luther and his fellow Reformers believed that Papal Rome had apostatised from the gospel so completely in this respect that no faithful Christian could with a good conscience continue within her ranks ... the doctrine of justification by faith is like Atlas: it bears a world on its shoulders, the entire evangelical knowledge of saving grace. The doctrines of election, of effectual calling, regeneration, and repentance, of adoption, of prayer, of the church, the ministry, and the sacraments, have all to be interpreted and understood in the light of justification by faith ... A right view of these things is not possible without a right understanding of justification; so that, when justification falls, all true knowledge of the grace of God in human life falls with it, and then, as Luther said, the church itself falls. A society like the Church of Rome, which is committed by its official creed to pervert the doctrine of justification, has sentenced itself to a distorted understanding of salvation at every point. Nor can these distortions ever be corrected till the Roman doctrine of justification is put right. And something similar happens when Protestants let the thought of justification drop out of their minds: the true knowledge of salvation drops out with it, and cannot be restored till the truth of justification is back in its proper place" (pp. vii-ix).
Announcements (subject to God’s will):
The new SB (containing a report on the BRF Conference) is available today.
Catechism: Monday at 7PM at the manse with the Campbells, and Thursday at 7PM at the Hamills.
Rev. Stewart is to speak at Wednesday’s Harryville Primary School assembly.
At Bible Study on Wednesday at 8 PM, we will consider if the "baptism with the Holy Spirit" is subsequent to regeneration.
Prof. Hanko will hold his last meeting in Porthcawl this afternoon at 2 PM. He plans to leave Wales on Monday but remain in England giving lectures in Cambridge and Leicestershire. The Hankos leave the UK on 25 October.
Advanced Notice: A lecture by Rev. Stewart on "Predestination" is planned for Friday, 5 November, in Ballymena Protestant Hall at 8 PM.
The Reformed Witness Hour next Lord’s Day, 24 October, (8:30-9:00 AM, on Gospel 846MW) is "Who is Going to Heaven, Part 2."