Comfort Ye My People: Joy Dudley

Comfort, comfort my people, says your God,

Speak Tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her.

that her warfare has ended, that her iniquity is pardoned

that she has received from the Lord's hand double for all her sins.

Isaiah :40 1-2

What is your only comfort in life and in death?

That I, with body and soul, both in life and in death, am not my own, but belong to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ, who with His precious blood has fully satisfied for all my sins, and redeemed me from all the power of the devil, and so preserves me that without the will of my heavenly Father in heaven, not a hair can fall from my head; indeed, that all things must work together for my salvation. Wherefore, by His Holy Spirit, He also assures me of eternal life, and makes me heartily willing and ready from now on to live unto Him. (Heidelberg Catechism Q and A 1)

           As 2019 comes to a close and with the rise and fall of Advent, I have been reflecting upon a single word that I believe summarizes the season that I have enjoyed thus far. This word is comfort. The Meriam Webster Dictionary defines the word comfort in this way: to give strength and hope to; to ease the grief or trouble of.  According to the dictionary the word can also be described as a noun: strengthening aid; consolation in time of trouble or worry;  a feeling of relief or encouragement; a satisfying or enjoyable experience. As the dawn that will soon be the first day of 2020 approaches, as I have watched my beloved friends suffer unspeakably hard circumstances, as I anticipate the freightening possibility of my own suffering, as I have been consistently reminded of the sufficiency of Christ in my life every Lord's Day, I have come to realize that comfort , particularly Gospel comfort, is what is needed to travail this veil of tears that we call life. Where will the people of God find comfort in 2020? I cannot think of any other place more satisfying than the source of all comfort: Christ. 

Jesus comforts us in His incarnation

Comfort is found in a little babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, this Christ who condescended to dress Himself in the frailty of human likeness. He also endured this veil of tears and wept with us and for us, with the culmination of His suffering being at the cross, forsaken by the Father. He did this to reconcile us back to the Father. He did this to become our great and merciful high priest who is able to sympathize with our weakness because " he is one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin" Hebrews 4:15. By His suffering, He learned obedience, the perfect obedience that is granted to those grafted to Christ by faith, able to withstand judgement.

The Gospel comforts our hearts and assures us before God.

 We believers have been regenerated, and with that comes a new awakening and awareness to our sin. The more we behold the holiness of God in the law, the more we can see our sin for what it is. With this heightened sensitivity to our sin,  it is easy waiver into doubt and despair. For how can a holy and righteous God still love us after we have blown it over and over again?  The Gospel consoles us. It calms our terrified consciences and assures us that Christ did all that was necessary to approach God as our Father. He lived a life of perfect obedience in our place. He absorbed the wrath of God in our place. He was buried and was raised for our justification three days later. He is now sitting at the right hand of the Father interceding for us. This age old Gospel story is not just for unbelievers, but also for the comfort and consolation of the people of God.

Comfort is found in the promise of the age to come. 

The world we live in is plagued by the consequences of the sin of our first parents. Believers and non-believers alike live with these consequences every day. We endure the sting of disappointment, the hurt of broken relationships, and the loss of loved ones. We see injustice, hatred, and malice. We endure the wasting away of our own bodies and eventually we all will succumb to the sting of death. We live in the tension of the already and not yet. As believers we wait with joyful anticipation of the second coming of Christ. It will be a time of great joy for us, for our faith will be made sight. We will see and be satisfied by the coming of the Lord. He will wipe away our tears forever. He will be our everlasting light. Our long and arduous struggle with sin will be won in a blink of an eye. We will be transformed into the image of Christ- perfectly impervious to sin and death. What a glorious day that will be!

To know that we belong to Christ is a great comfort. It is a comfort that fills our hearts with joy and gratitude.  May Paul’s words from the last few verses of Romans 8 give you the comfort to wait patiently and endure with hope the trials that are sure to come in 2020:

31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be[i] against us?32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?33 Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.[j] 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written,

“For your sake we are being killed all the day long;
    we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”

37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:31-37)

 

Joy Dudley is co-host of Church Chats with Gospel Gal podcast, a contributor to Gospel Gal blog, and member of a URCNA church in Southern California. She loves pointing people to the kindness, love, and sufficiency of Christ in their day to day lives.

Doubts

 Last night a friend asked me if I had ever felt I lost my faith, and if so, what helped. I hope this response is helpful to you also.         

My experience is a bit different than most who say they doubted their faith. I don't think I ever completely lost hope in Christ, but I have seriously lost hope in what I was taught was the Christian life, and went through a dark season when the Lord taught me to lose faith in myself and to put it in Christ alone. Self, sin, and perception drove me to despair, but confidence in Christ brought joy, hope, and peace. What helped was learning to look to Christ rather than to myself for assurance.

A constant diet of the Gospel, the work of Christ *outside of me, for me, has been most helpful, assuring, and life-giving. We cannot lose something that has been permanently given to us freely, and all the promises of God are in Christ, yes, and amen. When we are faithless, He is faithful!

We can rest right here:

"How are you righteous before God?"

"Only by true faith in Jesus Christ. In spite of the fact that my conscience accuses me that I have grievously sinned against all the commandments of God, and have not kept any one of them, and that I am still ever prone to all that is evil, nevertheless, God, without any merit of my own, out of pure grace, grants me the benefits of the perfect expiation of Christ, imputing to me his righteousness and holiness as if I had never committed a single sin or had ever been sinful, having fulfilled myself all the obedience which Christ has carried out for me, if only I accept such favor with a trusting heart." ~HC60

Prayer & Praise

Two of the spiritual disciplines I have been trying to put into practice in the last month or so are spontaneous prayer and daily, purposeful thanksgiving.

A pastor friend of ours recently encouraged a group to practice praying in the moment, rather than saying, "I'll pray for you". Do it then and there. As we talk to one another, we are able to petition our Father. The difference is, talking has limited power. The Lord has unlimited power and says He works through the prayers of His people. It is also, so deeply encouraging to the one for whom and with whom you're praying.

The second discipline is purposeful daily thanksgiving. I lead a Catechism review online, and we're currently studying the section on gratitude. Gratitude is the third element in the paradigm of the Christian life. It is the natural outflow of having understood our guilt and then finding forgiveness of sin, consolation, assurance of pardon, and life everlasting in our generous Savior and Triune God. So, taking the time to think of our daily blessings can help motivate our praise to God, and spur us on to love God and neighbor more and more. The heart and intentional practice of gratitude to God can free us from complaint and bitterness.

Impatient

"We become impatient because we focus on the creatures that oppose us rather than on God who does these things to us not as our adversary but as our Father..." ~Caspar Olevianus: An Exposition of the Apostles’ Creed

Why Is God Silent During Our Darkest Hours?: Chad Bird

Why Is God Silent During Our Darkest Hours?

Chad Bird

God is most silent during the hardest times in our lives. So it seems anyway. And so it must have seemed for Israel. From the time Jacob left for Egypt (Gen 46:1ff) until the time God spoke to Moses in the burning bush (Exod 3), there was no divine revelation, no direct speech from Yahweh. It was the longest gap of divine speech in the OT.

Yet these 400 years were some of the hardest years of Israel's history. When they suffered most, God was most silent. And yet he wasn't truly silent for he had given them his word, his promise that he would be with them in exile, would bring them up again to freedom after they had suffered. He was teaching them to live by faith in the word he had spoken before their suffering.

He wanted his people to rely not on new revelations but old promises.

This is a lesson for us. When we are going through hard times, we often cry out, "God, just tell me what to do! Just speak to me! Why are you silent?" In that silence, however, God is pointing you to the word and promise he has already spoken in his Scriptures. He is silent but not silent, for once for all, he has given us his Word made flesh, Jesus Christ, and his written word, which cannot lie. And in Christ, and in his Scriptures, we have the sure promise that he will never leave or forsake us, that even in our sufferings he is as close as the breath in our lungs and the blood in our veins.

When we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, he walks with us. Our Jesus, our Emmanuel, our God-with-us.

Christ Our Advocate: Joy Dudley

Christ Our Advocate: Joy Dudley

(Heidelberg Q&A 49) How does Christ's Ascension into heaven benefit us?

First he is our Advocate in heaven before the Father. Second we have our flesh in heaven as a sure pledge that he, our Head will also take us, his members up to himself. Third he sends us his Spirit as a counter pledge by whose power we seek the things that are above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God, and not the things that are on earth

My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. (1st John 2: 1-2)

Advocate: a person who pleads for or in behalf of another, intercessor.

Have you ever felt exhausted and weighed down by the condemnation that can come from your own heart? Is your mind an endless list of evaluations of motives and sins? Weary one, are you close to despairing in your wavering? Some of us have been duped into thinking that we can achieve a false victory by looking to our own ability to obey God. The more we look to the law to sanctify us, the more the law does what it was meant to do: to show that we are utterly hopeless and in desperate need of a perfect law keeper. I've been there. I've felt like I was running on a treadmill that got me nowhere but exhausted. I've wanted to give up and walk away completely, with no hope of perseverance.

Oh weary, restless, wanderer there is a perfect rest purchased for you in Christ. The Holy God has called you to reconciliation through His righteousness. You can freely say that you are weak, but your Savior is sufficient. You may fail frequently, but His love is sure and unwavering. As Spurgeon says, "You are safe in the wounds that constantly plead for you!" When you are overwhelmed with the fear of falling away, see Christ seated at the right hand of God praying that your faith would not fail.

He is faithful to preserve you and present you blameless before the Father's presence with great joy! (Jude 1:24)Come and rest! Cease the meaningless striving for what has already been freely given to you and come and exult in Christ your great treasure. Behold the Christ, whose striving and perfect obedience is now freely imputed to you as righteousness. Look to the Lamb of God, slain to satisfy divine justice for the sins of His people. Fix your eyes upward to Him who advocates for you constantly before the throne. Exhale deeply, knowing that the Spirit also prays for you in your weakness. The greatest consolation for your despair is to know that God is the just and justifier of the ungodly. (Romans 3:26) No longer despair in your wavering, but rejoice in His faithfulness.

"Come to me all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly at heart and you will find rest for your souls" 

Matthew 11:28-29

Joy Dudley is co-host of Church Chats with Gospel Gal podcast, a contributor to Gospel Gal blog, and a member of a URCNA church in Southern California. She loves pointing people to the kindness, love, and sufficiency of Christ in their day to day lives.

Absolution

Many years ago, I was struggling with a real and besetting sin. At the time, our family was church-homeless (Church Homelessness is discussed on my podcast, here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiYi-4OmPNs). And I am sure that this homelessness only lent to and exacerbated the problems. Nonetheless, the Lord was faithful and was with me even when "I made my bed in hell" (Psalm 139:8). And He provided a couple of close friends for me to confide in, to pray for me, and to encourage me even in that very dark time. Much like absolution, one of those friends was not only loyal, walking with me through the valley, but was persistent in reminding me that the bed I'd made for myself did not define me. It was the Lord Who bought me Who did.

Within the last several months I have found my spiritual home in the Anglican Church and absolution has become a treasured discovery. Priests, His ministers, have been given the power to assure us of Christ's pardoning favor (absolution) and to restore sinners to His church.

Listen to the words of the Book of Common Prayer that disclose to us the forgiveness of sin  found in our Triune God, and the comfort provided to us by His servants: 

The Reconciliation of  Penitents

The Penitent begins: Bless me, for I have sinned.

The Priest says: The Lord be in your heart and upon your lips that you may truly and humbly confess your sins: In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Penitent: I confess to Almighty God, to his Church, and to you, that I have sinned by my own fault in thought, word, and deed, in things done and left undone; especially [the sins of my past]. For these and all other sins which I cannot now remember, I am truly sorry. I pray God to have mercy on me. I firmly intend amendment of life, and I humbly beg forgiveness of God and his Church, and ask you for counsel, direction, and absolution.

(Here the Priest may offer counsel, direction, and comfort.)

The Priest then declares: Almighty God have mercy upon you, pardon, free, and forgive you all your sins through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen you in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, keep you in eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen. 

The Lord has put away all your sins.

Penitent: Thanks be to God.

Priest: O most loving Father, by your mercy you put away the sins of those who truly repent, and remember their sins no more. Restore and renew in your servant whatever has been corrupted by the fraud and malice of the devil, or by her own selfish will and weakness. Preserve and protect her within the fellowship of the Church; hear her prayers and relieve her pain; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Priest concludes: Go in peace, and pray for me, a sinner.

If your soul is sore and your sin has left gaping wounds on your heart and mind, look to Jesus. He lived for us. He died for these very sins of yours and mine. He was buried and rose again for us. He ever lives to make intercession for us. And He provides faithful ministers to care for our souls. Go and seek one out. We have a real accuser who delights in dredging up the past, so it is good to hear the word of promise from someone outside of ourselves. Absolution has been a salve for my sin-sick spirit.

Our One Comfort: Joy Dudley

The Heidelberg Catechism opens with one question whose answer has become a much beloved and cherished rehearsal that plays over and over again in my head and my heart:

What is your only comfort in life and in death?

That I am not my own, but belong with body and soul, both in life and in death, to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ. He has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood and has set me free from all the power of the devil. He also preserves me in such a way that without the will of my heavenly Father not a hair can fall from my head; indeed all things must work together for my salvation. Therefore, by his Holy Spirit he also assures me of eternal life and makes me heartily willing and ready from now on to live for him.

Recently through listening to this fantastic sermon by John Fonville (I will provide the link at the end of the post), I have come to the understanding that this comfort is what is needed as we travail through the storms and valleys of this life. This comfort is what is needed to live unto righteousness and die onto sin. This comfort counteracts and destroys our lack of confidence in the benevolence of God's favor towards us in Christ. This comfort brings the assurance that God will not forsake us in our trials, that He does not turn away from us when we sin, and that He is kind and merciful to us.

This one comfort lays waste to our distrust in God's provision, lays waste to our trust in our own righteousness, lifts our eyes to Christ who is seated at the right hand of God, and cocoons us in the care of the triune God. This comfort shows us that God's kindness leads us to repentance. This comfort means the difference between exhaustion and rest, despair and rejoicing. This comfort hushes the voices of condemnation and guarantees us the declaration "Well done thou good and faithful servant", for the sake of Christ. Gospel comfort preserves, protects, and presents us before God with confidence.

Please listen as Pastor John Fonville eloquently lays out a paradigm that enables us to live and die in this comfort. I pray that if you are discouraged by your lack of obedience, if you are weary from frustration, and if you are unsure of God's disposition towards you in Christ, the words of this sermon would be streams of living water for your soul.

https://www.paramountchurch.com/sermons/sermon/2019-07-28/guilt-grace-gratitude:-a-paradigm-for-comfort

"May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and the steadfastness of Christ" - 2 Thessalonians 3:5

Joy Dudley is co-host of Church Chats with Gospel Gal podcast, a contributor to Gospel Gal blog, and member of a URCNA church in Southern California. She loves pointing people to the kindness, love, and sufficiency of Christ in their day to day lives

Beholding Christ

While the directives to pray, read Scripture, 

to "be holy as God is holy" are biblical, they 

have no power to effect change. It is beholding 

Christ in the Gospel by the power of the Holy 

Spirit that we become holy. 

~Gospel Gal

The Sacraments

On the last episode of Church Chats we discussed church homelessness, the state of being without or apart from a local church, and I blogged on the topic prior to that. (Episode here: Episode #6 : "Church Homelessness": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiYi-4OmPNs. Blog post here: Church Homlessness: https://gospelgalblog.blogspot.com/2020/07/church-homelessness.html.)

On both the episode and blog post I made use of the Belgic Confession, Articles 28 and 29, to aid the understanding of the functions and marks of the true church. The Confession states,

"...The true church can be recognized if it has the following marks:

engages in the pure preaching of the gospel;

it makes use of the pure administration of the sacraments as Christ instituted them;

it practices church discipline for correcting faults."

As the pure administration of the Sacraments is one of the marks, I wanted to provide some additional information and resources to define and clarify the nature, function, and administration of the sacraments, as well as the context, recipients, and attitude of those who receive them.

What are sacraments?
They are the means of grace.
"Historically in Reformed scholastic theology, media gratia (means of grace) was a

technical term. The classification of the Word and sacraments as media gratiae does not intend to exclude the general operation of grace, but rather to indicate the function of both the Word and sacraments in the effectual call and sanctification of man as objective channels of special grace (gratia specialis). The Word and sacraments are thus essential both in the inception of salvation and in the believer’s sanctification. The Word and sacraments are the sole officially ordained objective means of grace. God has promised His grace to faithful hearers of the Word and faithful participants in the sacraments, when the Word is rightly preached and the sacraments rightly administered." ~J.V. Fesko: Word, Water and Spirit: A Reformed Perspective on Baptism

They are signs and seals declaring God's promises to us in Christ.

In the Abrahamic Covenant (Gen 17:10-14) all males in his household circumcised. Circumcision is a sign and seal of the covenant to remind the people of the Lord’s covenant with Abraham and his offspring.

Wherever there was a covenant, there was a sign. Gen 9: God’s covenant with Noah was the sacrament, sign of covenant the rainbow. "When I see the sign, I will remember."

"The word sacrament is widely used by a variety of Christian traditions but for some evangelicals it is a word that is associated with Romanism and a false view of baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Our English word sacrament is derived from the Latin military term, sacramentum, which was a military oath of loyalty. In the Latin translations of Scripture where the New Testament uses the term mystery the Latin text often uses the word sacramentum...In the Heidelberg Catechism we define sacrament this way:

66. What are the Sacraments?
The Sacraments are visible holy signs and seals appointed of God for this end, that by the use thereof He may the more fully declare and seal to us the promise of the Gospel: namely, that of free grace, He grants us the forgiveness of sins and everlasting life for the sake of the one sacrifice of Christ accomplished on the cross." ~R. Scott Clark: https://heidelblog.net/2018/07/what-do-we-mean-by-sacrament-sign-and-seal/

"The sacraments are the gospel made visible. We need these visible promises and guarantees because we are sinners and our faith is sometimes weak. We waver. So, we say to the believer (this qualification is essential), that just as surely as you were washed with water, that is how certain it is that you were cleansed by Christ and by his Spirit. Baptism does not do this. Christ does it by his Spirit but baptism testifies to the believer that it is really true. "~R Scott Clark: https://www.theaquilareport.com/what-do-we-mean-by-sacrament-sign-and-seal/

XXV. Of the Sacraments.
"Sacraments ordained of Christ be not only badges or tokens of Christian men's profession, but rather they be certain sure witnesses, and effectual signs of grace, and God's good will towards us, by the which he doth work invisibly in us, and doth not only quicken, but also strengthen and confirm our Faith in him..." ~39 Articles of Religion (Anglican)

"Sacraments... are exercises which confirm our faith in the word of God; and because we are carnal, they are exhibited under carnal objects, that thus they may train us in accommodation to our sluggish capacity, just as nurses lead children by the hand. And hence Augustine calls a sacrament a visible word (August. in Joann. Hom. 89), because it represents the promises of God as in a picture, and places them in our view in a graphic bodily form..." ~Calvin's Institutes

How many sacraments are there?

XXV. Of the Sacraments.
"...There are two Sacraments ordained of Christ our Lord in the Gospel, that is to say, Baptism, and the Supper of the Lord." ~39 Articles of Religion (Anglican)

"How many sacraments has Christ instituted in the new covenant?Two: holy baptism and the holy supper. 1

1.Mt 28:19, 20; 1 Cor 11:23-26. " ~Heidelberg Catechism 68

What is Baptism? 

Baptism is the new covenant sign and seal of the Gospel for believers and their households.

"Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" ~Matthew 28

Paul, against the Judaizers, showed that the same spiritual realities connected to circumcision, are now in Baptism. They are identical. Each signifies the forgiveness of sins according to the promises ratified in His own blood. Genesis 17 gives us the model (Abraham) of the New Testament believer: believing in the promise, then receiving the administration of that promise. The pattern of receiving the Gospel never changed. Abraham received *believers circumcision and his male offspring received *infant circumcision. Circumcision was *not something done to show God that a convert meant business. It was something that God did, to show that He meant business with His people.

"Christ instituted this outward washing with water and joined therewith this promise: that I am washed with His blood and Spirit from the pollution of my soul, that is, from all my sins, as certainly as I am washed outwardly with water, whereby commonly the filthiness of the body is taken away." ~Heidelberg Catechism 60

"The ground for the administration of baptism is the command and covenant promise of God, for adults and children. The signs of the covenant: circumcision and baptism are *His signs of *His covenant. They signify His promise to save us. They are not only tokens of our commitment to God, but His sign and seal of grace and good will toward us." ~John Fonville: https://www.paramountchurch.com/sermons/sermon/2018-07-01/the-recipients-of-baptism-part-4

What is Communion?

Communion is the New Covenant sign and seal of the Gospel for discerning believers.

"Then He took a cup, and after giving thanks, He said, “Take this and share it among yourselves. For I tell you, from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes. And He took bread, gave thanks, broke it, gave it to them, and said, “This is My body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of Me.”In the same way He also took the cup after supper and said, “This cup is the new covenant established by My blood; it is shed for you.... I am among you as the One who serves." ~Luke 22

"For whoever eats and drinks without recognizing the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself." ~I Corinthians 11

Communion is also called "The Eucharist," "The Lord's Supper," or "The Lord's Table".
Heidelberg 75. How is it signified and sealed to you in the Holy Supper, that you do partake of the one sacrifice of Christ on the cross and all His benefits?

Thus: that Christ has commanded me and all believers to eat of this broken bread and to drink of this cup in remembrance of Him, and has joined therewith these promises: First, that His body was offered and broken on the cross for me and His blood shed for me, as certainly as I see with my eyes the bread of the Lord broken for me and the cup communicated to me; and further, that with His crucified body and shed blood He Himself feeds and nourishes my soul to everlasting life, as certainly as I receive from the hand of the minister and taste with my mouth the bread and cup of the Lord, which are given me as certain tokens of the body and blood of Christ.

"Let us recollect, then, that the Supper is given us as a mirror in which we may contemplate Jesus Christ crucified in order to deliver us from condemnation, and raised again in, order to procure for us righteousness and eternal life. It is indeed true that this same grace is offered us by the gospel, yet as in the Supper we have more ample certainty, and fuller enjoyment of it, with good cause do we recognise this fruit as coming from it." ~JohnCalvin: Short Treatise on the Lord's Supper

How should believers approach the sacraments? 

For sure, as those coming to the table of the Lord in the Lord's house, we should come in honesty and humility, but also boldly as the Sons and Daughters of the Living God and joint-heirs with Jesus Christ by faith.

XXV. Of the Sacraments.
...The Sacraments were not ordained of Christ to be gazed upon, or to be carried about, but that we should duly use them. And in such only as worthily receive the same, they have a wholesome effect or operation: but they that receive them unworthily, purchase to themselves damnation, as Saint Paul saith. ~39 Articles of Religion (Anglican)

"Because the sacraments are given to the church and are to be visible signs and seals to all who believe, they are to be administered by the church and taken (when possible) in the company of other believers. In Christ, we are not only connected to him but to all others who believe. The sacraments are not just for the individual to be taken in secret but are to be visible to everyone and taken together as the body of Christ. The sacraments are precious ceremonies of the covenant of grace that God uses to bind us to himself and nourish us until we can enjoy fellowship and communion with him in heaven." ~Leah Baugh: https://corechristianity.com/resource-library/articles/what-is-a-sacrament/

Too often people think that they have made peace with God, because they have examined themselves before they received the Lord's supper. They rightly find themselves lacking before God, but do not depend on Christ to make them worthy. They're depending on their own deceitful purposes and resolutions to make themselves worthy. ~ John Fonville

Application:

How does the proper administration and understanding of the sacraments benefit us?

The answer to moralistic, "radical discipleship," legalistic, Christ-less preaching is not to ignore/deny the third use of the Law & apostolic imperatives. The answer is to preach them according to the apostolic pattern - because (Gospel indicative) therefore (imperative). The pattern of the Heidelberg Catechism likewise follows the pattern of apostolic preaching and the structure of Romans - sin/salvation/service or guilt/grace/gratitude or repent/believe/live accordingly. The Gospel must be the focus. Faith is created/confirmed by the means of grace in Word & Sacrament. That Gospel-fed faith then works through love - and that love is guided/shaped by the third use of the Law/ apostolic imperatives. ~Tony Phelps

Because we often find the Gospel hard to believe, and we are prone to unbelief, we struggle with doubt and uncertainty at times. This confirmation of the Lord's good will and favor is necessary to persevere us in our struggle with sin and challenges in life... In these times of doubt, and struggle, and uncertainty, we must receive constant confirmation for our faith. This is why the Lord has given to us baptism and the Lord's supper. Because of His great love, He gives to us these outward signs and seals to assure our faith that every promise of the Gospel is yes and amen. ~John Fonville: http://www.paramountchurch.com/mediaPlayer/#/sermonaudio/406

Resources:
"Let a Person Examine Himself": John Fonville: https://www.paramountchurch.com/sermons/sermon/2017-06-04/let-a-person-examine-himself

"What About Communion": John Fonville: Him We Proclaim Radio:
https://subsplash.com/proclaimradiowithjohnfonville/lb/mi/+7l8zeqr

Baptism Series: John Fonville; Paramount Church: https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=baptism%20series%3B%20fonville&epa=SEARCH_BOX

Rest in the Righteousness of Christ~Joy Dudley

Like lighting one small candle to supplement the sun, is adding man's weak merit to what our Lord has done; For He the books of heaven has cleared by His blood, Our righteousness is in Him, His name the Son of God. - William Williams

A few months ago, I was in a bad state. Suffering under the weight of condemnation, I questioned everything that was “spiritual” about me. I listened to messages and testimonies to determine if I was really saved. I suffered silently and was consistently living in fear due to the state of my soul. The drive to work every morning was particularly painful, and it was there that I decided there was no hope for me. My joy in Christ melted into the fear of judgment from a Holy God, because every time I looked at the state of my own obedience in the sanctification process, I was sorely lacking. Every time I sinned, I thought that God was disappointed in me. I thought He merely tolerated me and was disgusted with everything I did.

Everything came to a boiling point one night at a bible study, where I mentioned disdain for my own lack of prayer. A woman preached to me the good news afresh, not as though I was hearing it for the first time, but to bring absolution and consolation to my weary soul. You see, the gospel is for Christians too. So much so, that we must be consistently reminded of it, lest we fall into the pit of guilt, condemnation, and despair. 

The one thing that this woman mentioned to me that freed me from my bondage of condemnation was the righteousness that was freely given to me by faith. This righteousness met the legal demands of God’s law and is imputed to all believers by faith.  Christ’s very life of perfect obedience is credited to all believers as righteousness. My hope in writing this, is not just to remind you of what you already know about the gospel, but to show that the very doctrines that we so often assume, are what fuels the fire of rest, of faith, and of obedience motivated by gratitude rather than fear.  As Paul famously wrote in Romans 10:17, “so then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God”, may the declaration of Christ produce new faith afresh.

I hear constantly the need for believers to fix our eyes on Christ. These are very wise instructions because there is no way that we can find any assurance or rest from our weariness in constant naval gazing.  Out of your own weakness fix your eyes on the obedient and faithful Son with whom the Father is well pleased.  Out of your despair and heaviness from meriting favor before God by attempting to keep the law, look to Christ who obeyed this very law perfectly in your place.  Out of fear of punishment from sin, look to Christ “who for the joy that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2).

Look upon that cross and behold the Lamb, slain to satisfy divine justice in the place of the sinner. Out of the trial of temptation, look to the second Adam who was also tempted in every way and triumphed over satan in your place. My sisters, all that is needed for life in godliness is found in the Risen Son of glory. We need not look to anything within ourselves to justify us, but to Christ’s perfect righteousness. The greatest consolation that a Christian can have while battling trials, depression, temptation, weakness, grief, and despair is to know that God is both the just and the justifier of the ungodly (Romans 3:26).

The cure for a weak, droopy, and doubting faith is to fix our eyes on the one who is “able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.” (Hebrews 7:25) That last line brings me to my knees. He makes intercession for us!  Our flesh and Satan’s accusations cause us to believe that the Father’s underlying disposition towards us is merely tolerance, mixed with disgust. Yet the truth tells us that out of love, the Father willingly gives His Son to fulfill all the requirements of the law in our place. The Father is satisfied and well pleased with Christ, and we are hidden in Him.

When the Father sees you, He sees the perfect obedience of the His faithful Son. You are clothed in His righteousness, united to Him by faith. Enter the rest of God.  For Christ says, “Come to Me all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11: 28-30).

I pray the truth of His words would fill your heart with confidence and joy. Know the safety and security of Christ as you continue to wrestle over sin. No spiritual harm can come to those united to Christ by faith. His favor over you never wanes, for He has perfectly made provision for you in every way. His life is your cloak, His death is your freedom. He took your sins as His own and granted His life to you as though you never sinned. This was the Father’s will from the very beginning, and by this may you stand.
Joy Dudley is co-host of Church Chats with Gospel Gal podcast, a contributor to Gospel Gal blog, and a member of a URCNA church in Southern California. She loves pointing people to the kindness, love, and sufficiency of Christ in their day to day lives.

Ecumenical Creeds & Reformed Confessions

"There are plenty of Christians who, out of devotion and sincerity, think we need to get past all this “ritual stuff,” back to the Bible and Jesus. But that’s actually what the creeds do, what they were meant to do! They are the best summaries of the high points of Scripture; they are about the revelation of God in Christ and in Scripture. And most of the creeds, because they were responding to heresies that were about Jesus, are all about Jesus. They’re focused on who he is and what he’s done: the person and work of Christ. Most of the creeds rely on Scripture and many contain summaries of Scripture...

Creeds are the boundary markers between what is Christian thought and non-Christian thought. So if you’re beyond this boundary, then you are outside the scope of the Christian faith on dangerous ground. Confessions color within those lines of denominational distinctives using important but not necessarily first order issues."
~Justin Holcomb (Core Christianity:CREEDS AND CONFESSIONS: Q&A WITH JUSTIN HOLCOMB)

To learn the essentials of the Christian faith, turn to the Ecumenical Creeds:
*Nicene Creed;
*Apostles' Creed;
*Athanasian Creed.
To learn of the particulars of specific Reformed doctrine, study the Reformed Confessions:
*The 39 Articles (Anglican);
*Belgic Confession (Reformed);
*Westminster Confession (Presbyterian).

*Nicene Creed (325AD):

We believe in one God,
the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all things visible and invisible.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
begotten from the Father before all ages,
God from God,
Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made;
of the same essence as the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven;
he became incarnate by the Holy Spirit and the virgin Mary,
and was made human.
He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered and was buried.
The third day he rose again, according to the Scriptures.
He ascended to heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again with glory
to judge the living and the dead.
His kingdom will never end.

And we believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Lord, the giver of life.
He proceeds from the Father and the Son,
and with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified.
He spoke through the prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic church.
We affirm one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look forward to the resurrection of the dead,
and to life in the world to come. Amen.

*Apostles' Creed (390 AD):

I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit
and born of the virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to hell.
The third day he rose again from the dead.
He ascended to heaven
and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty.
From there he will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic* church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.

*that is, the true Christian church of all times and all places

*Athanasian Creed (415 AD):
Whoever desires to be saved should above all hold to the *catholic faith.

Anyone who does not keep it whole and unbroken will doubtless perish eternally.

Now this is the catholic faith:

That we worship one God in trinity and the trinity in unity,
neither blending their persons
nor dividing their essence.
For the person of the Father is a distinct person,
the person of the Son is another,
and that of the Holy Spirit still another.
But the divinity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is one,
their glory equal, their majesty coeternal.

What quality the Father has, the Son has, and the Holy Spirit has.
The Father is uncreated,
the Son is uncreated,
the Holy Spirit is uncreated.

The Father is immeasurable,
the Son is immeasurable,
the Holy Spirit is immeasurable.

The Father is eternal,
the Son is eternal,
the Holy Spirit is eternal.

And yet there are not three eternal beings;
there is but one eternal being.
So too there are not three uncreated or immeasurable beings;
there is but one uncreated and immeasurable being.

Similarly, the Father is almighty,
the Son is almighty,
the Holy Spirit is almighty.
Yet there are not three almighty beings;
there is but one almighty being.

Thus the Father is God,
the Son is God,
the Holy Spirit is God.
Yet there are not three gods;
there is but one God.

Thus the Father is Lord,
the Son is Lord,
the Holy Spirit is Lord.
Yet there are not three lords;
there is but one Lord.

Just as Christian truth compels us
to confess each person individually
as both God and Lord,
so catholic religion forbids us
to say that there are three gods or lords.

The Father was neither made nor created nor begotten from anyone.
The Son was neither made nor created;
he was begotten from the Father alone.
The Holy Spirit was neither made nor created nor begotten;
he proceeds from the Father and the Son.

Accordingly there is one Father, not three fathers;
there is one Son, not three sons;
there is one Holy Spirit, not three holy spirits.

Nothing in this trinity is before or after,
nothing is greater or smaller;
in their entirety the three persons
are coeternal and coequal with each other.

So in everything, as was said earlier,
we must worship their trinity in their unity
and their unity in their trinity.

Anyone then who desires to be saved
should think thus about the trinity.

But it is necessary for eternal salvation
that one also believe in the incarnation
of our Lord Jesus Christ faithfully.

Now this is the true faith:

That we believe and confess
that our Lord Jesus Christ, God's Son,
is both God and human, equally.

He is God from the essence of the Father,
begotten before time;
and he is human from the essence of his mother,
born in time;
completely God, completely human,
with a rational soul and human flesh;
equal to the Father as regards divinity,
less than the Father as regards humanity.

Although he is God and human,
yet Christ is not two, but one.
He is one, however,
not by his divinity being turned into flesh,
but by God's taking humanity to himself.
He is one,
certainly not by the blending of his essence,
but by the unity of his person.
For just as one human is both rational soul and flesh,
so too the one Christ is both God and human.

He suffered for our salvation;
he descended to hell;
he arose from the dead;
he ascended to heaven;
he is seated at the Father's right hand;
from there he will come to judge the living and the dead.
At his coming all people will arise bodily
and give an accounting of their own deeds.
Those who have done good will enter eternal life,
and those who have done evil will enter eternal fire.

This is the catholic faith:
one cannot be saved without believing it firmly and faithfully.
*that is, the true Christian church of all times and all places

*The 39 Articles (Anglican): http://anglicansonline.org/basics/thirty-nine_articles.html

*Belgic Confession (Reformed): https://threeforms.org/the-belgic-confession/

*Westminster Confession (Presbyterian): https://opc.org/wcf.html

Resources:

Know the Creeds and Councils (KNOW Series) Paperback – April 29, 2014
by Justin S. Holcomb: https://www.amazon.com/Know-Creeds-Councils-Justin-Holcomb/dp/0310515092/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2ZQCR363FTX5A&dchild=1&keywords=know+the+creeds+and+councils&qid=1594220687&sprefix=know+the+cr%2Caps%2C146&sr=8-1

Recovering the Reformed Confession Paperback – October 15, 2008
by R Scott Clark: https://www.amazon.com/Recovering-Reformed-Confession-Scott-Clark/dp/1596381108/ref=sr_1_1?crid=K49CG2MTRU7C&dchild=1&keywords=recovering+the+reformed+confession&qid=1594220829&sprefix=Recovering+the+Re%2Caps%2C151&sr=8-1

Church Chats Episode #6: "Church Homelessness"

🌷
Fresh Episode: "Church Homelessness"
on Church Chats with Gospel Gal and friends: Joy Dudley, Matthew Rosenblum, Vanessa Cabassa, Russ McCary, Sergio Gonzalez, and Steph.
Listen here: "Church Homelessness": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiYi-4OmPNs

I'm chatting with Joy, Matt, Vanessa, Russ and Sergio about the church and church homelessness. Episode Notes ( and Resources mentioned):

"The Gospel For Those Broken By The Church": Rod Rosenbladt: https://www.1517.org/videos/the-gospel-for-those-broken-by-the-church

Graeme Goldsworthy: Gospel and Kingdom: https://www.amazon.com/Goldsworthy-Graeme-Gospel-Kingdom-Paperback/dp/B00J5TJ7CO/ref=sr_1_7?crid=3J42YUUPFQ2Y4&dchild=1&keywords=gospel+and+kingdom+graeme+goldsworthy&qid=1594135069&sprefix=Gospel+and+Kingdom%3B%2Caps%2C156&sr=8-7

"Church Discipline vs. Spiritual Abuse": Church Chats: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3BPu7E3za0

"Abuse and the Church": Theology Gals: http://theologygals.com/2017/06/abuse-and-the-church-theology-gals-episode-20/

The Church: God's Gift for His People~Joy Dudley

What believest thou when thou sayest, I believe in God the Father, Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth?

That the eternal Father of our Lord Jesus Christ (who out of nothing made heaven and earth, with all that is in them; who likewise upholds and governs the same by His eternal counsel and providence) is for the sake of Christ His Son, my God and my Father, on whom I rely so entirely, that I have no doubt that He would provide all things necessary for soul and body; and further that He will make whatever evils He sends upon me, in this valley of tears, turn out to my advantage; for He is able to do it, being Almighty God, and willing being a faithful Father."

One of the many blessings that the Lord has afforded me with lately is the privilege of learning about the Heidelberg Catechism during our second service. Last Sunday we looked at this particular question and answer. It is a favorite for many - and I can understand why! We talked about the Lord's providence and intention behind our suffering and how it directly relates to the Gospel. I wanted to take some time to share two things that were particularly meaningful and comforting to me - and I hope is for you too!

1. That the eternal Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is also my Father and my God.

I have been guilty of relating to God as my judge rather than a loving and faithful Father. I have harbored the secret suspicion that He was going to ultimately judge me and cast me away forever. It all depended on whether I had a "good day" or a "bad day". Did I spend sufficient time in the word and prayer today? Did I make an effort to share the Gospel today? Did I have a good attitude today towards my coworkers and my family members? The list goes on. If my answers to those questions were not sufficient, then I started to question the validity of my faith. If they were sufficient in my own estimation, I became puffed up and self righteous. In both situations, God seemed distant. The constant questioning was exhausting and it seemed that no matter how much I did, I never truly felt that the Lord was pleased with me. It is lonely and terrifying to constantly think and relate to God as Judge, and fear that on judgement day, He would say "Depart from me". I imagine I'm not the only one who has harbored these secret thoughts, too ashamed to share with others for fear that their suspicions are confirmed.

However, the wonderful news of the Gospel declares to us that for Christ's sake- God is also my Father and no longer my Judge. Christ "who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God" (Hebrews 12:2), has exhausted all of the anger and wrath that we deserved. The Gospel declares to us that in His living, He earned our righteousness, so that I am not only forgiven and seen as though I had never sinned, I am also seen as though I have perpetually kept the law. "When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory" (Col. 3:4). The Gospel declares to us that we have nothing to fear on Judgment day - because our Judgment day already occurred 2,000 years ago.

The Gospel gives us the promised Spirit "that bears witness with our Spirit that we are children of God" (Romans 8:16) Because of the Gospel, we can confidently proclaim with Paul that "neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" Romans: 8:38-39. These precious promises purchased for us by Christ, takes us out of the endless navel gazing and turns them to the objective grounds for our assurance. He has done these things for us and therefore, we can confidently declare that God is our Father!

2. He will make whatever evils He sends upon me, in this valley of tears, turn out to my advantage; for He is able to do it, being Almighty God, and willing being a faithful Father.

We live in a broken and evil world that has been destroyed by sin. When Adam and Eve sinned, not only was the human race cursed, but all of creation. We live in the tension of the already and not yet. We already possess eternal life, but we have not yet experienced the fullness of its reality. And we won't until Jesus comes back. So what are we to make of our suffering? What are we to make of the loss and pain that we experience? What are we to make of this "valley of tears" that we call life? The answer is found in the Incarnation: Jesus born in human flesh who became the suffering Savior. Why is our Father able to use adversity and destruction for our good and benefit? Because Christ suffered as we have. He suffered betrayal and loss. He has even tasted the sting of death - so that by His resurrection, we may rise to newness of life.

The worse thing that can possibly happen to us is to be forsaken by God. Yet Jesus was, for our sake, forsaken by His Father. Whatever befalls us this side of redemption cannot be compared to the horrors that He endured, and the glory that is to be revealed. We have been born again to a living hope. As we mourn and despair over sin's destructive attributes, we remember that we can also rejoice with hope and confidence, because He lives and intercedes for us constantly. And if that is not enough to illicit tears of gratitude, the Father is willing! Whatever trials we endure, our faithful Father, is ready and eager to use them for our ultimate good. We truly are safe.

What a beautiful hope and salvation that we have in Christ. So often we can become distracted by the sins that accuse us daily, and unfortunately even what we hear taught to us, that we lose sight of the objective assurance that Christ has indeed accomplished all on our behalf. The Father is willing! let that sink in! Let it move and shape you! He is benevolent and kind towards you in Christ and you are hidden in Him. Beloved may you move forward in this grace always.

Joy Dudley is co-host of Church Chats with Gospel Gal podcast, a contributor to Gospel Gal blog, and member of a URCNA church in Southern California. She loves pointing people to the kindness, love, and sufficiency of Christ in their day to day lives.