In Time of Temptation...

Richard Sibbes: 

"In time of temptation, apprehensive consciences look so much to the present trouble that they need to be roused up to behold Him in whom they may find rest. In temptations it is safest to behold nothing but Christ the true brazen serpent, “the true Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). This saving object has a special influence of comfort to the soul, especially if we look not only on Christ, but upon the Father's authority and His love for us in Christ. For in all that Christ did and suffered as Mediator, we must see God in Him reconciling the world unto Himself ( 2 Corinthians 5:19). What a support to our faith is this, that God the Father, the party offended by our sins, is so well pleased with the work of redemption! And what a comfort is this, that seeing God's love rests on Christ, as well pleased in Him, we may gather that He is as well pleased with us, if we be in Christ! Let us, therefore, embrace Christ, and in Him God's love, and build our faith safely on such a Savior that is furnished with so high a commission. See here, for our comfort, a sweet agreement of all three persons: The Father gives a commission to Christ; the Spirit furnishes and sanctifies it, and Christ Himself executes the office of a Mediator. Our redemption is founded upon the joint agreement of all three persons of the Trinity." 

Refreshment for the Soul: Daily Readings by Richard Sibbes (BT), 47.

H/T Tony Phelps

What Is "Acceptable Worship"?

Thoughts on an Acceptable Worship:

"We all agree there should be truth in worship. But shouldn’t worship also be in truth? There’s a big difference between having truth in worship and worshipping in truth. Having truth in worship means you got some Bible in there. But worshiping in truth means the whole thing is by the Book. So the Bible commands us to worship acceptably (Heb 12). When the Bible commands acceptably, the Bible means the Bible. Where else would the Bible appeal the command than itself?

"And there is order in Hebrews 12’s exposition of worship. We are called to offer “acceptable worship with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.” Acceptable means worship accordingly. Reverence and awe means formality. Consuming fire means you should smell the charred remains of Nadab and Abihu in the smoke and tremble before your God asking only one question, “Has God commanded this worship?”" - Jared Beaird, The Antecedent To Worship 

Although I agree with the teaching that Rev. Beaird goes on to make in his essay regarding Reformed liturgical worship, I'm not sure that the writer's focus in Hebrews 12 is the regulative principle. Here's verse 28 that he refers to:

"Wherefore, receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us have grace [or gratitude], whereby we may offer worship well-pleasing [acceptable] to God with reverence and awe." - Heb 12:28

It strikes me, that this verse follows on heels of the overall gospel theme of Hebrews, that of the necessity of faith in Christ alone for acceptance with God (as opposed to the ceremonial law-keeping of the Old Covenant); i.e. a lively faith in Jesus' blood shedding sacrifice for sins once for all, his eternal priesthood, and his mediation as revealed in the much more excellent New Covenant.

Here are some earlier verses in Hebrews that depict this theme of faith in Christ for our acceptance with God:

"so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises." - Heb 6:12

"a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God... but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them." - Heb 7:19b, 24-25

"Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance... For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf." - Heb 9:15a, 24

"let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water... but my righteous one shall live by faith,

and if he shrinks back,

my soul has no pleasure in him.”

But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls. "- Heb 10:22, 38-39

"And without faith [in Christ alone] it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him." - Heb 11:6

And of course, "looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith" -Heb 12:2 that is at the beginning of the chapter under consideration.

Here is what John Calvin writes in his commentary on Hebrews 12:28 -

 

"He makes hence a transition to another exhortation, that we are to lay hold on that kingdom which cannot be shaken; for the Lord shakes us for this end, that he may really and forever establish us in himself. At the same time I prefer a different reading, which is given by the ancient Latin version, "Receiving a kingdom, we have grace," etc. When read affirmatively, the passage runs best, -- "We, in embracing the Gospel, have the gift of the Spirit of Christ, that we may reverently and devoutly worship God." If it be read as an exhortation, "Let us have," it is a strained and obscure mode of speaking. The Apostle means in short, as I think, that provided we enter by faith into Christ's kingdom, we shall enjoy constant grace, which will effectually retain us in the service of God; for as the kingdom of Christ is above the world, so is the gift of regeneration."

And what does Scripture mean by to worship in truth? Looking to the apostle John:

"Ye worship that which ye know not: we worship that which we know; for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth: for such doth the Father seek to be his worshippers." - John 4:22-23

Those born of the Spirit and faith in Jesus are the true worshipers of God.

Again, John Calvin:

"It amounts to this, that God is not properly worshipped but by the certainty of faith, which cannot be produced in any other way than by the word of God...

"Now that they [the Jews] deny the Son, they have nothing in common with the Father... The same judgment must be formed concerning all who have turned aside from the pure faith of the Gospel to their own inventions and the traditions of men.

"The worship of God is said to consist in the spirit, because it is nothing else than that inward faith of the heart which produces prayer, and, next, purity of conscience and self-denial, that we may be dedicated to obedience to God as holy sacrifices...

In all ages God wished to be worshipped by faith, prayer, thanksgiving, purity of heart, and innocence of life; and at no time did he delight in any other sacrifices.

To worship God through faith in Christ alone is what makes our prayers, thanksgivings, and praises to be well-pleasing and acceptable to him.

Finally, Rev. Beaird's thoughts on a gospel-centered liturgical worship are excellent.  I very much appreciate these words near the end:

"I prefer a liturgy structured: gospel, law, gospel. To begin and end with the gospel secures me in my only comfort in life and in death...

"Here’s my application, turn the gospel up to eleven every Lord’s Day. And for that, you will need a proper biblical liturgy." 

The article is well worth reading > The Antecedent to Worship

Calvin: John 19.30 - “It is finished.”

"He repeats the same word which he had lately employed. Now this word, which Christ employs, well deserves our attention; for it shows that the whole accomplishment of our salvation, and all the parts of it, are contained in his death. We have already stated that his resurrection is not separated from his death, but Christ only intends to keep our faith fixed on himself alone, and not to allow it to turn aside in any direction whatever. The meaning, therefore, is, that everything which contributes to the salvation of men is to be found in Christ, and ought not to be sought anywhere else; or -- which amounts to the same thing -- that the perfection of salvation is contained in him…

"If we give our assent to this word which Christ pronounced, we ought to be satisfied with his death alone for salvation, and we are not at liberty to apply for assistance in any other quarter; for he who was sent by the Heavenly Father to obtain for us a full acquittal, and to accomplish our redemption, knew well what belonged to his office, and did not fail in what he knew to be demanded of him. It was chiefly for the purpose of giving peace and tranquillity to our consciences that he pronounced this word, It is finished. Let us stop here, therefore, if we do not choose to be deprived of the salvation which he has procured for us."
[emphasis added]

Calvin, John. Complete Commentaries, Gospel of John

Calvin: The Righteousness of Faith - The Righteousness of Christ

 “Now in speaking of the righteousness of faith scripture leads us to quite another place; that is, it teaches us to turn our attention away from our works to regard only God's mercy and the perfect holiness of Christ. For it shows us this order of justification: that from the beginning God receives the sinner by His pure and free goodness, not considering anything in him by which He is moved to mercy except the sinner's misery, since He sees him completely stripped and empty of good works; and that is why He finds in Himself the reason for doing him good. Then He touches the sinner with a feeling of His goodness so that, distrusting everything he has, he may put the whole sum of his salvation in the mercy which God gives him. That is the feeling of faith, by which a person enters into possession of his salvation: when he recognizes by the teaching of the gospel that he is reconciled to God because, having obtained the remission of his sins, he is justified by means of Christ's righteousness. Although he is regenerated by God's Spirit, he does not rest on the good works which he does, but is reassured that his perpetual righteousness consists in Christ's righteousness alone.”

John Calvin, The Institutes of Religion: The First English Version of the 1541 French Edition

Calvin: Forgiveness of Sins and Imputation of Christ’s Obedience

 The ground of our justification, therefore, is that God reconciles us to himself, from regard not to our works, but to Christ alone, and, by gratuitous adoption, makes us, instead of children of wrath, to be his own children. So long as God looks to our works, he perceives no reason why he ought to love us. Wherefore, it is necessary to bury our sins, and impute to us the obedience of Christ (because [his is] the only obedience which can stand his scrutiny), and adopt us as righteous through his merits.

John Calvin, The Necessity of Reforming the Church

What meanest thou by this word “forgiveness”?

Master: 

What meanest thou by this word “forgiveness”? 

Student: 

That the faithful do obtain at God’s hand discharge of their fault and pardon of their offense: for God, for Christ’s sake, freely forgiveth them their sins, and rescueth and delivereth them from judgment and damnation, and from punishments just and due for their ill - doing.

Master:

Cannot we then, with godly, dutiful doings, and works, satisfy God, and by ourselves merit pardon of our sins? 

Student:

There is no mercy due to our merits, but God doth yield and remit to Christ his correction and punishment that he would have done upon us. For Christ alone, with sufferance of his pains and with his death, wherewith he hath paid and performed the penalty of our sins, hath satisfied God. Therefore by Christ alone we have access to the grace of God. We, receiving this benefit of his free liberality and goodness, have nothing at all to offer or render again to him by way of reward or recompense.

Nowell’s Catechism 1572

John Calvin: Keeping God’s Commandments and Certainty of Faith

And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his
commandments. (1 John 2:3)

But there is no one who in everything keeps them; there would thus be no knowledge of God in the world. To this I answer, that the Apostle is by no means inconsistent with himself. Since he has before shewed that all are guilty before God, he does not understand that those who keep his commandments wholly satisfy the law (no such example can be found in the world); but that they are such as strive, according to the capacity of human infirmity, to form their life in conformity to the will of God. For whenever Scripture speaks of the righteousness of the faithful, it does not exclude the remission of sins, but on the contrary, begins with it.  

But we are not hence to conclude that faith rests on works; for though every one receives a testimony to his faith from his works, yet it does not follow that it is founded on them, since they are added as an evidence. Then the certainty of faith depends on the grace of Christ alone; but piety and holiness of life distinguish true faith from that knowledge of God which is fictitious and dead; for the truth is, that those who are in Christ, as Paul says, have put off the old man. (Colossians 3:9.)

John Calvin’s Commentary of 1 John

Emphasis added

John Calvin and The OPC Third Membership Vow: To Abhor or not to Abhor? (Part 6)

The Third membership vow of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church...
As unpacked in the previous posts, the vow summarizes the Reformed understanding of sinners/saints and their repentance before God. The following prayer of John Calvin seems to be, as it were, an expanded two-part template for the entire third vow:

The Vow (3) 
Do you confess that because of your sinfulness you abhor and humble yourself before God, that you repent of your sin, and that you trust for salvation not in yourself...

John Calvin:  "Grant, Almighty God, that since we are too secure and torpid in our sins, thy dread majesty may come to our minds, to humble us, and to remove our fear, that we may learn anxiously to seek reconciliation through Christ, and so abhor ourselves for our sins, that thou mayest then be prepared to receive us: and that unbelief may not shut the door against us, enable us to regard thee to be such as thou hast revealed thyself, and to acknowledge that thou art not like us... 

 ... but in Jesus Christ alone?

Calvin continues: "... but the fountain of all mercy, that we may thus be led to entertain a firm hope of salvation, and that, relying on the Mediator, thy only-begotten Son, we may know him as the throne of grace, full of compassion and mercy. O grant, that we may thus come to thee, that through him we may certainly know that thou art our Father, so that the covenant thou hast made with us may never fail through our fault, even this, that we are thy people, because thou hast once adopted us in thy only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen."*

*Prayer of John Calvin from his commentary on Hosea

To Abhor or Not To Abhor? The Reformed Witness of a Credible Profession of Fatih - Part 3

The doctrine regarding the self-abhorence and humility of the believer before God has been part of a Reformed, biblical confession of faith in Christ going back centuries and even longer to the earliest periods of time (Job 42:6). Yet some today would consider the humble repentance of a believing sinner confessing his self-aborrence because of his sinfulness before an holy God to be a destructive self-image-heterodoxy which deceptively entices the Christian down a crooked path to a negative self-esteem (modernism alert!). Those of past ages would be more than a bit perplexed and disturbed by such a self-enhancing denial of Scriptual teaching. The concern raised here is not some theoretical exercise of looking for potential error, but hopefully a corrective to a culturally-influenced mindset in the modern church, a swerving-from-truth that clothes itself in the garment of a supposed "enlightened" biblical understanding of man. (see Part 1 and Part 2)

For those who confess the Westminster Standards here are two more of the many historical witnesses among the Reformed...

Robert Shaw. A Reformed Faith: Commentary on

The WCF. (1800s)

WCF Chapter 15. Of Repentance Unto Life

4. True repentance includes hatred of sin, not only as that which exposes us to death, but as hateful in itself, as the abominable thing, which God hates, and as that which renders us vile and loathsome in his sight. If this hatred of sin is genuine, it will lead us to loathe and abhor ourselves, and it will extend to all sin in ourselves and others.—Job xiii. 6; Ezek. xxxvi. 31; Jer. xxxi. 19; Ps. cxix. 128, 136.

______________________________________________

Thomas Watson. A Body of Divinity: Contained In Sermons Upon The Westminster Assembly's

Catechism 1692, excerpts:

II. Sin is evil in the nature of it. 

... It makes God loathe a sinner, Zech 11:8; and when a sinner sees his sin, he loathes himself. Ezek 20:42....

This is one reason God has left original sin in us, because he would have it as a thorn in our side to humble us. As the bishop of Alexandria, after the people had embraced Christianity, destroyed all their idols but one, that the sight of that idol might make them loathe themselves for their former idolatry; so God leaves original sin to pull down the plumes of pride. Under our silver wings of grace are black feet. 

_____________________

Continuing,

What justifying faith is. True justifying faith consists in three things: 
(1:) Self-renunciation. Faith is going out of one's self, being taken off from our own rmerits, and seeing we have no righteousness of our own. Not having mine own righteousness.' Phil 3:3. Self-righteousness is a broken reed, which the soul dares not lean on. Repentance and faith are both humbling graces; by repentance a man abhors himself; by faith he goes out of himself. As Israel in their wilderness march, behind them saw Pharaoh and his chariots pursuing, before them the Red Sea ready to devour; so the sinner behind sees God's justice pursuing him for sin, before, hell ready to devour him; and in this forlorn condition, he sees nothing in himself to help, but he must perish unless he can find help in another.

(2:) Reliance. The soul casts itself upon Jesus Christ; faith rests on Christ's person. Faith believes the promise; but that which faith rests upon in the promise is the person of Christ: therefore the spouse is said to lean upon her Beloved.' Cant 8:8. Faith is described to be believing on the name of the Son of God,' I John 3:33, viz., on his person. The promise is but the cabinet, Christ is the jewel in it which faith embraces; the promise is but the dish, Christ is the food in it which faith feeds on. Faith rests on Christ's person, as he was crucified.' It glories in the cross of Christ. Gal 6:14. To consider Christ crowned with all manner of excellencies, stirs up admiration and wonder; but Christ looked upon as bleeding and dying, is the proper object of our faith; it is called therefore faith in his blood.' Rom 3:35.
(3:) Appropriation, or applying Christ to ourselves. A medicine, though it be ever so sovereign, if not applied, will do no good; though the plaster be made of Christ's own blood, it will not heal, unless applied by faith; the blood of God, without faith in God, will not save. This applying of Christ is called receiving him. John 1:12. The hand receiving gold, enriches; so the hand of faith, receiving Christ's golden merits with salvation, enriches us… _____________________ 

And,

When once God gives those who now dress themselves by the flattering glass of presumption, a sight of their own filthiness, they will abhor themselves. ‘Ye shall loathe yourselves in your own sight for all your evils.'...

_____________________ 

Last,

How shall we know that we are God's elect people? By three characters.

God's people are a humble people. The livery which all Christ's people wear is humility. Be clothed with humility.' 1 Pet 5: 5. A sight of God's glory humbles. Elijah wrapped his face in a mantle when God's glory passed by. Now mine eye seeth thee, wherefore I abhor myself.' Job 13: 5, 6. The stars vanish when the sun appears. A sight of sin humbles. In the glass of the Word the godly see their spots, and they are humbling spots. "Lo", says the soul, "I can call nothing my own but sins and wants." A humble sinner is in a better condition than a proud angel.

God's people are a willing people. A people of willingness;' love constrains them; they serve God freely, and out of choice. Psa 110: 3. They stick at no service; they will run through a sea, and a wilderness; they will follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth.

God's people are a heavenly people. They are not of the world.' John 17: 16. As the primum mobile in the heavens has a motion of its own, contrary to the other orbs, so God's people have a heavenly motion of the soul, contrary to the men of the world. They use the world as their servant, but do not follow the world as their master. Our conversation is in heaven.' Phil 3: 20. 

Such as have these three characters of God's people, have a good certificate to show that they are pardoned. Forgiveness of sin belongs to them. Comfort ye my people, tell them their iniquity is forgiven.

To Abhor or Not To Abhor? Charles Hodge Weighs In - Part 2

This post is part 2 dealing with the 3rd membership vow of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church and whether it is an accurate description of the Christian's confession of faith, specifically focusing on the vow's teaching of self-abhorrence. Part 1 is found here >>> To Abhor or Not To Abhor? That Is The Question.

Prior to the 20th century, the Romans 7 passage below was widely understood among Reformed theologians to be speaking of the normal Christian experience (see Rev. Kim Riddlebarger’s article “Romans 7 and the Normal Christian Life”):

Rom. 7: 21-8:1 - So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin. There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

From the Orthodox Presbyterian Church Book of Church Order, Membership vow #3:

Do you confess that because of your sinfulness you abhor and humble yourself before God, that you repent of your sin, and that you trust for salvation not in yourself but in Jesus Christ alone?

The meaning in both Paul’s words and those of the vow echo one another. They express the normal experience of Christians who, though redeemed, yet remain real sinners who increasingly comprehend the reality of their sinfulness (the flesh) in light of an increasing apprehension of God’s holiness. As the Christian grows in Christ, he is convinced more and more that there is no other remedy for comfort and refuge from his sinfulness but to flee by faith to Christ alone for his salvation.

There is a long and rich Reformed testimony to the doctrine found in the OPC 3rd membership vow stretching from the earliest days of the Reformation to our time. Here is one:

Charles Hodge's Systematic Theology - 1871: 

Chapter VIII - Sin, Section 13. Original Sin, Second Argument from the Entire Sinfulness of Men, 5. Argument From the Experience of God's People. 

"In the New Testament the sacred writers evince the same deep sense of their own sinfulness, and strong conviction of the sinfulness of the race to which they belong. Paul speaks of himself as the chief of sinners. He complains that he was carnal, sold under sin. He groans under the burden of an evil nature, saying, O, wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death? From the days of the Apostles to the present time, there has been no diversity as to this point in the experience of Christians. There is no disposition ever evinced by them to palliate or excuse their sinfulness before God. They uniformly and everywhere, and just in proportion to their holiness, humble themselves under a sense of their guilt and pollution, and abhor themselves repenting in dust and ashes. This is not an irrational, nor is it an exaggerated experience. It is the natural effect of the apprehension of the truth; of even a partial discernment of the holiness of God, of the spirituality of the law, and of the want of conformity to that divine standard. There is always connected with this experience of sin, the conviction that our sense of its evil and its power over us, and consequently of our guilt and pollution, is altogether inadequate. It is always a part of the believer's burden, that he feels less than his reason and conscience enlightened by the Scriptures, teach him he ought to feel of his moral corruption and degradation."

To Abhor or Not To Abhor? That Is The Question - Part 1

The Pharisee and the Publican

The 3rd membership vow of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church reads as follows:

(3) Do you confess that because of your sinfulness you abhor and humble yourself before God, that you repent of your sin, and that you trust for salvation not in yourself but in Jesus Christ alone

Abhor... such an antiquated and negative word, at least as many understand it today. I submit that we moderns really need to refresh ourselves with a biblically and theologically sound understanding of the word abhor. It isn't a word commonly used anymore. Today, the shorthand definition or synonym is "to hate." Yet the word abhor classically understood, in a theological sense and as used in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church 3rd membership vow, does not mean "to hate" (i.e. to dislike intensely or passionately; feel extreme aversion for or extreme hostility toward; to detest). And why, you ask, is this the subject of a blog post? Because in some corners of the OPC the third membership vow is indeed controversial because the understood meaning is that to abhor myself means to hate or detest myself, which I agree is a somewhat negative and extreme position to take as a Christian. And, as the thinking goes, for a Christian to abhor himself because of his sinfulness is to deny that God loves him as he is now in Christ and therefore the use of the word abhor in the vow should be rejected.

My purpose in this post is limited to showing that a believer abhorring himself as a sinner doesn't deny God's love, grace, and redemption in Christ, but rather more clearly affirms it. Or put another way, to abhor oneself because of one's sinfulness and at the same time to affirm God's love in Christ are not inconsistent positions.

From what can easily be found, consulting various dictionary sources, Abhor essentially is defined as "to regard with horror or loathing" and comes from the Latin word *abhorrre* which means to shrink. 

Let's look at a verse from the early Christian hymn (Ambrose), Te Deum Laudamus: 

When thou tookest upon thee to deliver man : thou didst not abhor the Virgin's womb

And the Christmas carol, O Come, All Ye Faithful:

God of God, light of light, Lo, he abhors not the Virgin's womb

Let me ask a question or two with the synonym hate in focus. Are we to understand that prior to the incarnation God hated or detested the Virgin's womb? That would not make sense since children, the fruit of the womb, are a blessing of God (Ps. 127:3). Scripture teaches that God, in the person of his Son, did not abhor taking humanity upon himself (Luke 1:26-38; Matt. 1:20). Are we to understand that prior the incarnation God hated and detested  humanity? Certainly the answer is no.

In the beginning God created humanity and saw that man, along with all creation, was very good (Gen. 1:31). Yet after the Fall with the introduction of sin into humanity God shrank back and separated from man, i.e. He removed His immediate presence and communion from sinful man so much so that in the Old Testament sinful man was threatened with death if certain rituals of cleansing from sin were not followed by the Israelites when approaching God in Temple worship. It wasn't because God hated humanity or the Israelites. But God, who is Holy, abhorred or looked upon His once holy but now sinful couple with an holy horror and separated from or shrank back from them. There were two reasons for this separation. First, an holy God and sinful man could not continue to dwell together face to face without the resultant death of man. Secondly, God, though abhorring Adam and Eve as sinners, yet already had a plan for their redemption born of His love (Eph. 1:4-6). God's protection, care, and love for man and his abhorrence of man as a sinner therefore were not inconsistent with one another.

So we see that after the Fall and because of man's sinfulness, God abhorred the sinner in that He looked upon the corrupted man and woman with horror in what they had done and become. He separated Himself or shrank back from sinful humanity (Gen. 3:22-24) as He drove Adam and Eve from the Garden. He did this because of man's sinfulness. And yet God also did this because He had, and has, in His eternal plan a caring and providential love for mankind and a redemptive love specifically for Adam and Eve and their children of promise (Gen. 3:20-21). To stay in God's immediate presence would have meant death for them. In a true sense we can say that for God to abhor the sinners Adam and Eve didn't exclude for God to love the sinners Adam and Eve. And we can thus deduce that if God had not abhorred sinful man by separating from Adam and Eve, then mankind would have died (in them) as can be understood by the warning God gave to Moses, “You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live!” (Ex. 33:20). So God's abhorring or shrinking back from the sinner did not and does not exclude His love for the sinner.

Now looking again at the OPC 3rd membership vow -

(3) Do you confess that because of your sinfulness you abhor and humble yourself before God, that you repent of your sin, and that you trust for salvation not in yourself but in Jesus Christ alone

My focus is the question: Is it unbiblical for the Christian, because of his sinfulness, to abhor and humble himself before God? Some would say yes. Why would someone think that? Well, as the thinking goes, to hate ourselves as Christians is to deny that God loves us! If God loves us and we are now His children it would be an act of unbelief on our part to hate that which God loves as well as a nonacceptance on our part of what Christ has accomplished on the cross to remove our sin and sinner-status before God. We are now children of God, new creatures! In short, the thinking is that to abhor ourselves because of our sinfulness and to be loved by God are exclusive of one another. We should not hate that which God loves. This conclusion is erroneous and based upon an insufficient knowledge of holiness of God and knowledge of the sinfulness of man.

Now back to the third membership vow. How are we to interpret the first clause of the third vow? It says that being sinners who have sinned against and do still regularly sin and offend our Creator's holiness, we should have a certain regard or attitude toward ourselves when it comes to salvation. The attitude we are to have is that because of our sinfulness, we should completely shrink back from or separate from any perceived ground of goodness or righteousness in ourselves. Why? Because even our righteousness are as filthy rags before God (Isa. 64:6; Rom 3:10-1, 7:18-19; Phil. 3:9a). And that we, remaining sinners in this life, should regard ourselves with a kind of self-separation, loathing, or horror of ourselves as sinners who have and still do rebelliously sin against God (Ez. 36:24-32), especially in light of the mercy and grace lavishly bestowed upon us in our blessed Lord Jesus Christ. The Christian acknowledges a truth that is based on a biblically revealed knowledge of self:

That which is OF me produces no good or righteousness IN me. In other words, nothing OF me can move me toward an acceptance with God. Rather what I am in and of myself as a sinner can only move me away from God.

Thus the only ground, source, and hope for forgiveness and righteousness that secures everlasting fellowship with God, and indeed eternal salvation, lies in 1) abhorring oursleves (judging our sinful selves as completely wanting of any righteousness and shrinking from or turning away from ourselves), 2) in repentance humbling ourselves before God, and 3) trusting alone in the One who abhorred not the Virgin's womb. God in Christ Jesus, the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world, ended the separation between Himself and sinful man by uniting Himself with our humanity. Jesus took upon Himself our sins and judgment in order that we should be counted righteous and without sin unto eternal life solely on the basis of His work of the cross (Phil. 2:1-11; 2 Cor. 5:21; John 3:16).

In a word, there is a Gospel necessity, that because of our sinfulness we confess our self-abhorrence and humble ourselves in repentance before God as an integral part of placing our complete trust in Christ and his finished work alone for our salvation.

Grace Alone through Faith Alone in Christ Alone: God's Justification and Sanctification Intersection

“And you shall put the mercy seat on the top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the testimony that I shall give you. There I will meet with you, and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim that are on the ark of the testimony, I will speak with you about all that I will give you in commandment for the people of Israel.” Exodus 25:21-22

The Mercy Seat sits above the Ark of the Covenant of the Old Testament in which is contained the Ten Commandments of the Law. This is a type pointing to Jesus who on the cross bore the penalty of our sins and fulfilled the righteous demand of that Law. It is there that God meets with his people.

Our imperfect obedience (i.e. believers' obedience in of itself is still measured as sinful before God's holy and unyielding standard) does not attain to the righteouseness of the Law. Nonetheless it is accepted by God our Father for Christ's sake alone, the Mercy Seat who covers our sins and our less-than-righteous good works. Regarding those imperfect works of believers the Westminster Confession of Faith states -

Notwithstanding, the persons of believers being accepted through Christ, their good works also are accepted in him; not as though they were in this life wholly unblamable and unreprovable in God's sight; but that he, looking upon them in his Son, is pleased to accept and reward that which is sincere, although accompanied with many weaknesses and imperfections. WCF 16:6 

Through faith alone we are united with Christ. Now being identified with him through faith, not only our flawed persons are accepted and rewarded but also our flawed works. 

Grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone - God's justification and sanctification formula!

The Five Solas of the Reformation...

Scripture Alone
VI. Of the Sufficiency of the Holy Scriptures for Salvation.
 Holy Scripture containeth all things
necessary to salvation: so that whatsoever is not read therein, nor may be proved thereby, is not to be required of any man, that it should be believed as an article of the Faith, or be thought requisite or necessary to salvation. In the name of the Holy Scripture we do understand those canonical Books of the Old and New Testament, of whose authority was never any doubt in the Church.
Articles of Religion, The Church of England

Grace Alone
Moreover, the message of free reconciliation with God is not promulgated for one or two days, but is declared to be perpetual in the Church, (2 Corinthians 5:18, 19.) Hence believers have not even to the end of life any other righteousness than that which is there described. Christ ever remains a Mediator to reconcile the Father to us, and there is a perpetual efficacy in his death, viz., cleansing, satisfaction, expiation; in short, perfect obedience, by which all our iniquities are covered. In the Epistle to the Ephesians, Paul says not that the beginning of salvation is of grace, but "by grace are ye saved," "not of works, lest any man should boast," (Ephesians 2:8, 9.)

John Calvin. Institutes of Religion. 3.14.11

Faith Alone
"For the Reformation, reconciliation precedes sanctification... Calvin insists that reconciliation means that the Christian is connected to the perfect righteousness of Christ by that faith that looks away from itself, which is [the] only… instrument of receiving the work of Christ." Faith is the vessel in which the riches of Christ's work are brought to us - reconciling us to God... Faith alone, which looks to Christ alone, has its works, but its works, its fruits, or its outcome are in no way part of justification.” … To say that one is saved by "grace alone" is not enough. The medieval [Roman Catholic] theologians taught that - that grace alone worked to so transform and sanctify one as to be the basis for final justification. Yet such improved life is still imperfect. What one needs to stand in the judgment is a perfect righteousness!

… ”Paul indeed taught that faith stands alone in receiving justification from the work of Christ (Rom. 3:24-26). Justification is not received or maintained by any kind of working, any kind of moral improvement, or any kind of sanctifying moral improvement."

… Peace with God comes only through faith in Christ alone - His merit, His sacrifice and satisfaction for sin...

As Luther wrote, "A man is justified, not by the works of the law, by by faith alone.”
Dr. Robert Godfrey

Christ Alone
If Christ provides only a part of our salvation, leaving us to provide the rest, then we are still hopeless under the load of sin. For no matter how small the gap which must be bridged before salvation can be attained, the awakened conscience sees clearly that our wretched attempt at goodness is insufficient even to bridge that gap. The guilty soul enters again into the hopeless reckoning with God, to determine whether we have really done our part. And thus we groan again under the old bondage of the law. Such an attempt to piece out the work of Christ by our own merit, Paul saw clearly, is the very essence of unbelief; Christ will do everything or nothing, and the only hope is to throw ourselves unreservedly on His mercy and trust Him for all.

J. Gresham Machen: Christianity and Liberalism

To God Be The Glory Alone
And because all this is brought to pass through the only merits and deservings of our Saviour Christ and not through our merits or through the merit of any virtue that we have within us or of any work that cometh from us, therefore in that respect of merit and deserving we forsake, as it were, altogether again faith, works, and all other virtues. For our own imperfection is so great through the corruption of original sin, that all is imperfect that is within us: faith, charity, hope, dread, thoughts, words, and works, and therefore is not apt to merit and deserve any part of our justification for us. And this form of speaking use we in the humbling of ourselves to God and to give all the glory to our Saviour Christ, who is best worthy to have it…

And the said benefits of God, deeply considered, move us for his sake also to be ever ready to give ourselves to our neighbours and, as much as lieth in us, to study with all our endeavour to do good to every man. These be the fruits of true faith: to do good as much as lieth in us to every man, and above all things and in all things to advance the glory of God, of whom only we have our sanctification, justification, salvation and redemption; to whom be ever glory, praise, and honour, world without end. Amen.
Thomas Cranmer, Sermon on the Salvation of Man

Believer's Obedience Resides Under the Mercy Seat...

Were one to have stood in the Holy of Holies and looked upon the Ark of the Covenant, one would have seen that the Mercy seat sits above, covering the Ark in which sit the Ten Commandments of the Law. This divine design is a type (Lev. 16:14) that points to several New Covenant realities of Christ's finished work. One of which is that the good works of those justified by Christ's blood, though still stained with the remnant of sin as measured by God's holy requirement of the Law, are yet accepted fully and mercifully by God for the alone sake of Jesus Christ's perfect obedience and atonement imputed to them.

Regarding our works of obedience to God and Christ the Mercy Seat, Westminster Confession of Faith 16.6 explains the anti-type...

Notwithstanding, the persons of believers being accepted through Christ, their good works also are accepted in him; not as though they were in this life wholly unblamable and unreprovable in God's sight; but that he, looking upon them in his Son, is pleased to accept and reward that which is sincere, although accompanied with many weaknesses and imperfections.

A Prayer of John Calvin...

... and a prayer for all Christians...

"Grant, Almighty God, that since we are too secure and torpid in our sins, thy dread majesty may come to our minds, to humble us, and to remove our fear, that we may learn anxiously to seek reconciliation through Christ, and so abhor ourselves for our sins, that thou mayest then be prepared to receive us: and that unbelief may not shut the door against us, enable us to regard thee to be such as thou hast revealed thyself, and to acknowledge that thou art not like us, but the fountain of all mercy, that we may thus be led to entertain a firm hope of salvation, and that, relying on the Mediator, thy only-begotten Son, we may know him as the throne of grace, full of compassion and mercy. O grant, that we may thus come to thee, that through him we may certainly know that thou art our Father, so that the covenant thou hast made with us may never fail through our fault, even this, that we are thy people, because thou hast once adopted us in thy only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen."

Prayers of John Calvin from his Commentary on Hosea

Calvin: The Confession of Sins and The Right Hand that Rescues...

How are we forgiven of our sins? Or put another way, what is entailed in the confession of

our sins that effects our pardon? We have been addressing this topic of confession (Here and Here) by highlighting John Calvin's thoughts on the matter. In the passaged below, Calvin refutes the Roman Catholic teaching of the requirement to confess (list) all of one's sins to a priest in order to be forgiven of those sins. 

As for the fact that they impose a law of listing all sins and they deny that sins can be forgiven unless one has the firm intention of confessing; and they say that the entrance to paradise is closed to those who have scorned the opportunity to confess: those things must not be tolerated at all.

How is this not a sort of "forgiveness through works?" The question isn't whether Christians should or shouldn't confess individual sins. But to focus solely on specific sins is to miss the core corruption which is us, the sinner who sins, the sinner who deceives himself, the sinner who is all too blind to his own weaknesses and trespasses of the moral law. 

For how do they think one can list all sins? Since David who, I believe, had very well thought about the confession of his sins beforehand, nevertheless could not do otherwise than cry: "Who grasps his sins? Lord, purify me of my secret sins!" (Ps. 19:12). In another place he says: "My iniquities have gone over my head, and have overwhelmed my strength like a heavy burden" (Ps. 38:4). Certainly he understood how great was the abyss of our sins and how many kinds of crimes there are in a person, how many heads this monster of sin has, and how long a tail he pulls behind hind him. He did not set himself then to make a full recounting, but from the depth of his sins he cried to God: "I am submerged, buried, suffocated, the doors of hell have closed around me; let your right hand draw me out of this pit in which I am drowning, and from this death into which I have fallen!" Who now will think that he can keep account of his sins, when he sees David could not discover the number of his?... 

... For in occupying themselves completely with listing their sins, they meanwhile forget the secret abyss of vice which they have in the depth of the heart, their inward iniquities and hidden filth. In order to have the knowledge of the latter they have to think chiefly about their wretchedness. On the contrary, this is the right rule of confession: to confess and recognize such an abyss of evil in us as overwhelms our senses. We see that the confession of the publican was composed in that form: "Lord, be favorable to me, a sinner" (Lk. 18:13), as if he said: "All that is in me is only sin, such that my thought and my tongue cannot grasp the greatness of it. So let the abyss of your mercy swallow up the abyss of my sins!" [emphasis added]
- John Calvin. Institutes of the Christian Religion: The First English Version of the 1541 French Edition

"Let your right hand..." One can easily overlook this phrase employed by Calvin. Yet to do so would miss the import of his final sentence, So let the abyss of your mercy swallow up the abyss of my sins! In Scripture and especially the Psalms the right hand of God is a metonym for the mercy and authority of God, i.e. the Messiah (Psalm 17:7; 18:35; 60:5; 63:8; 108:6; 138:7; 139:10). It is by and in the Messiah Jesus Christ that God pardons sinners. It is Christ who offered himself up once for sins who is the abyss of God's mercy, who alone provides complete cleansing of the sinner and all his sins (Hebrews 7:27; 9:12) - known or unknown - which mercy is received freely by all who look to him. As the New Testament writers teach, this Jesus Christ is now at the right hand of God in the heavenly places. He has been given all power and authority (Matthew 28:18) and he is the Savior of sinners (1 Timothy 1:15). By faith let us flee to him...

God Made Favorable To Us - John Calvin

In his exposition on the Apostles' Creed, John Calvin lays emphasis on a gospel truth not often highlighted - that 'God has been made favorable to us' - rather than the reciprocal

truth of we made favorable to God. Calvin extends this marker by stating that 'Christ earned for us God's good will in which lies the principle guarantee and confidence of our life.' Is this a mere rhetorical flare by Calvin? Or is he underlining that God's acceptance of forgiven sinners is not that of a reluctant Judge, but of a loving Father. Believers, often burdened and discouraged by their less than victorious efforts in fighting sin, all too easily lose sight of God's sure and steadfast love sealed for them in the reconciliation that Christ has won. It is not just that we, by the blood of Christ, have been made minimally acceptable to God, slipping in the door of heaven as it were. But by the finished work of our savior Jesus Christ God himself has been made favorable to us! His is a willing and unhesitant embracing of blood-washed sinners for Christ's sake. And that they, now seeing God as their heavenly Father, would then likewise be so bold as to embrace him as his beloved sons and daughters. God was moved by his great love to offer up his own dear son Jesus Christ for us in order that we would not only be reconciled to him but that he would be reconciled to us! Amazing grace...

That is why, when it is a question of seeking reassurance of salvation, we must come to this redemption by which God has been made favorable to us, the opening which has been made for us in heaven, and the righteousness which has been obtained for us. For scripture does not teach anything more often than this: that by the power of His sacrifice, Christ earned for us God's good will in which lies the principal guarantee and confidence of our life; that the filth and stains of our sins (by which God's will is turned away and alienated from us) have been washed and cleansed by His blood, as the saying of St. John indicates, that His blood purifies us of all sins (1 Jn. 1:7). Here, then, is the summary of our redemption: that, being delivered from the bonds of sin by Christ's satisfaction, we are restored to righteousness and holiness and reconciled to God who does not hate anything in us except our sin.

John Calvin. Institutes of the Christian Religion: The First English Version of the 1541 French Edition 

Christ our Consolation through Faith...

"Faith, when it is strong, can look through a thick cloud of desertion, and discern the affection of a Father, under the appearance of an enemy.

It is also according to the exercise of their faith, that believers are comforted. If the Christian seldom exercises faith, his consolation is proportionately small: if he exercises it frequently, and rather because it is his duty, than merely because he is impelled to it by a painful sense of need, his holy consolation is, in proportion, great. The more frequently, and simply, he acteth faith on Christ the Consolation of Israel, as the object thereof, and on the good tidings of great joy to all people, as the ground of it; the more, will he have the comfort of being conscious, that he has the grace of faith. Besides, the more cordially and frequently he exerciseth faith, the more of spiritual pleasure, will he enjoy: for, to trust cordially that, Jesus loveth and saveth me, and that, he will save me with an everlasting salvation, is in itself, a delightful, a cheering persuasion. Moreover, faith is the instrument by which, the believer received consolation at first, and by which, he continues to receive it still. It is by trusting daily in the Lord Jesus, for all his salvation, of which, holy consolation is a part; that the Christian derives daily, renewed supplies of spiritual consolation, from his fullness.

"The more frequent, and simple, and lively, his actings of confidence in his gracious Redeemer, are; the more of holy comfort, will he in every time of need receive. To feel comfortable, when he is conscious that, he has clear evidences of his vital union with Christ, is a duty; but, to take his comfort fresh from the fountain, by the direct application and particular trust of faith, is still a greater duty; a duty, by which he glorifies his faithful Redeemer more, and receives an increase of pure and solid consolation. Hence, are these cheering passages of Scripture: "I had fainted, unless I had believed to see goodness of the Lord, in the land of the living." "I have trusted in thy mercy, my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation." "Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me." "Now the God of hope, fill you with all joy and peace in believing." "We who have believed do enter into rest.""

John Colquhoun, A Treatise on Spiritual Comfort

"It is finished!" Calvin unpacks...

John 19.30 - “It is finished.”

"He repeats the same word which he had lately employed. Now this word, which Christ employs, well deserves our attention; for it shows that the whole accomplishment of our salvation, and all the parts of it, are contained in his death. We have already stated that his resurrection is not separated from his death, but Christ only intends to keep our faith fixed on himself alone, and not to allow it to turn aside in any direction whatever. The meaning, therefore, is, that everything which contributes to the salvation of men is to be found in Christ, and ought not to be sought anywhere else; or -- which amounts to the same thing -- that the perfection of salvation is contained in him… 

"If we give our assent to this word which Christ pronounced, we ought to be satisfied with his death alone for salvation, and we are not at liberty to apply for assistance in any other quarter; for he who was sent by the Heavenly Father to obtain for us a full acquittal, and to accomplish our redemption, knew well what belonged to his office, and did not fail in what he knew to be demanded of him. It was chiefly for the purpose of giving peace and tranquillity to our consciences that he pronounced this word, It is finished. Let us stop here, therefore, if we do not choose to be deprived of the salvation which he has procured for us."

[emphasis added]

Calvin, John. Complete Commentaries, Gospel of John

Thomas Bell: Let Christ's Doing and His Dying Be Your Only Boast...

"We may see what must be the only ground of our confidence before God.

"It is not our own works of righteousness, nothing wrought in us, or done by us. Neither faith, repentance, nor new obedience. It is Christ's surety-righteousness, nothing without, nothing beside it, It and it only. What he did in satisfaction of law and justice, that only can be a poor sinner's confidence, when standing at the divine tribunal: nothing else can be sustained there. Every other thing, however fair, firm or bulky in the carnal eye, is but unstable water, or yielding air, and shall leave the unhappy man who leans upon it, under an eternal disappointment. Being originally under a covenant of works, a broken covenant, nothing but what was done by Christ to fulfil its precept, and to satisfy its penalty, can be sustained as the ground of our confidence before God. To think any less sufficient, would be saying that sinners can be justified to the prejudice of the covenant of works; that divine justice has abated its demands, and can be pleased without an adequate satisfaction. Be wise, therefore, sinners, be instructed, as ye value your salvation. Trust not in yourselves, in your own hearts, or your own works. Turn away your eyes from everything, in point of confidence, but Christ, and his surety-righteousness." 

Thomas Bell. A Treatise on the Covenants of Works and Grace, 225