Covenant Protestant Reformed Church
Ballymena
Rev. Angus Stewart
Lord’s Day, 12 February, 2012
“Those that be planted in the house of the Lord
shall flourish in the courts of our God” (Ps. 92:13)
Morning Service – 11:00 AM
The Circumcision Without Hands [youtube]
Scripture Reading: Colossians 2
Text: Heidelberg Catechism, Lord’s Day 27
I. Its Meaning
II. Its Relationship to Baptism
III. Its Implications for Paedobaptism
Psalms: 87:1-7; 119:113-120; 105:4-9; 127:1-5
Evening Service – 6:00 PM
Zechariah’s Night Visions (1)
The Rider Upon the Red Horse [youtube]
Scripture Reading: Zechariah 1
Text: Zechariah 1:7-17
I. His Identity
II. His Message
Psalms: 104:1-7; 119:121-128; 45:1-6; 102:13-18
For CDs of the sermons and DVDs of the worship services, contact Stephen Murray
If you desire a pastoral visit, please contact Rev. Stewart
CPRC website: www.cprc.co.uk
CPRC YouTube: www.youtube.com/cprcni
CPRC Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Ballymena-United-Kingdom/Covenant-Protestant-Reformed-Church-N-Ireland/337347932331
Quote to Consider:
Calvin’s prayer after Zechariah 1:17: “Grant, Almighty God, that though we are continually tossed here and there by various trials, and Satan ceases not to shake our faith,—O grant, that we may yet stand firm on the promise that thou hast once given us, and which thou hast also confirmed through thine only-begotten Son, even that thou wilt ever be propitious and reconcilable to us, so that we may not despair in our greatest troubles, but relying on thy goodness may utter our groans to thee, until the ripened time of our deliverance shall come: nor let us in the meantime envy the evanescent happiness of thy enemies; but patiently wait, while thou showest that the chief object of desire is to have thee propitious to us, and that accursed is every good thing which the ungodly receive while they provoke thee and make thee angry, until Christ shall at length reveal to us the real happiness and glory of thy Church, when he shall appear at the last day for our salvation.—Amen.”
Announcements (subject to God’s will)
Upon request of the Limerick Reformed Fellowship and in consultation with the PRC, the CPRC Council has approved the administration of baptism in the LRF.
The Lord’s Supper is scheduled this year for 25 March, 24 June, 30 September, and 23 December.
Sunday Catechism: 10 AM – O.T. Juniors
Monday Catechism: 6 PM – O.T. Beginners (Alex & Nathan) 6:45 PM – O.T. Juniors (Jacob & Joseph) 7:30 PM – Heidelberg (Timothy, Zoe, Amy & Lea)
Our Tuesday morning Bible study meets at 11 AM on Revelation 17
Belgic Confession Class meets Wednesday at 7:45 PM for our last class on “The Devin and the Demons” (Art. 12). We will deal with “The Devil’s Attack Upon the Believer.”
The Reformed Witness Hour broadcast next Lord’s Day (Gospel 846MW at 8:30 AM) will be “Boaz: A Willing Redeemer” (Ruth 3:11-18) by Rev. R. Kleyn.
Lectures:
S. Wales, 23 Feb., Rev. McGeown, “Peter, the Papacy & the Keys of the Kingdom”
S. Wales, 12 April, Rev. Stewart, “God’s Sovereignty & Man’s Responsibility”
Ballymena, 20 April, Rev. Stewart, “God’s Sovereignty & Man’s Responsibility”
Offerings: General Fund: £692.75. Building Fund: £347.55. Donation: £250.
PRC News: Seminarian Erik Guichelaar will be doing his internship from July to December in Loveland PRC.
Deuteronomy 10:16: “Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked.”
Deuteronomy 30:6: “And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.”
Jeremiah 4:4: “Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest my fury come forth like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.”
Jeremiah 6:10: “To whom shall I speak, and give warning, that they may hear? behold, their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot hearken: behold, the word of the LORD is unto them a reproach; they have no delight in it.”
Jeremiah 9:26: “Egypt, and Judah, and Edom, and the children of Ammon, and Moab, and all that are in the utmost corners, that dwell in the wilderness: for all these nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in the heart.”
Ezekiel 44:7: “In that ye have brought into my sanctuary strangers, uncircumcised in heart, and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in my sanctuary, to pollute it, even my house, when ye offer my bread, the fat and the blood, and they have broken my covenant because of all your abominations.”
Colossians 2:10-13: “And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power: In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead. And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses.”
Calvin’s Institutes 4.16.3-4
3. Now, since prior to the institution of baptism, the people of God had circumcision in its stead, let us see how far these two signs differ, and how far they resemble each other. In this way it will appear what analogy there is between them. When the Lord enjoins Abraham to observe circumcision (Gen. 17:10), he premises that he would be a God unto him and to his seed, adding, that in himself was a perfect sufficiency of all things, and that Abraham might reckon on his hand as a fountain of every blessing. These words include the promise of eternal life, as our Saviour interprets when he employs it to prove the immortality and resurrection of believers: “God,” says he, “is not the God of the dead, but of the living” (Matt. 22:32). Hence, too, Paul, when showing to the Ephesians how great the destruction was from which the Lord had delivered them, seeing that they had not been admitted to the covenant of circumcision, infers that at that time they were aliens from the covenant of promise, without God, and without hope (Eph. 2:12), all these being comprehended in the covenant. Now, the first access to God, the first entrance to immortal life, is the remission of sins. Hence it follows, that this corresponds to the promise of our cleansing in baptism. The Lord afterwards covenants with Abraham, that he is to walk before him in sincerity and innocence of heart: this applies to mortification or regeneration. And lest any should doubt whether circumcision were the sign of mortification, Moses explains more clearly elsewhere when he exhorts the people of Israel to circumcise the foreskin of their heart, because the Lord had chosen them for his own people, out of all the nations of the earth. As the Lord, in choosing the posterity of Abraham for his people, commands them to be circumcised, so Moses declares that they are to be circumcised in heart, thus explaining what is typified by that carnal circumcision. Then, lest any one should attempt this in his own strength, he shows that it is the work of divine grace. All this is so often inculcated by the prophets, that there is no occasion here to collect the passages which everywhere occur. We have, therefore, a spiritual promise given to the fathers in circumcision, similar to that which is given to us in baptism, since it figured to them both the forgiveness of sins and the mortification of the flesh. Besides, as we have shown that Christ, in whom both of these reside, is the foundation of baptism, so must he also be the foundation of circumcision. For he is promised to Abraham, and in him all nations are blessed. To seal this grace, the sign of circumcision is added.
4. There is now no difficulty in seeing wherein the two signs agree, and wherein they differ. The promise, in which we have shown that the power of the signs consists, is one in both—viz. the promise of the paternal favour of God, of forgiveness of sins, and eternal life. And the thing figured is one and the same—viz. regeneration. The foundation on which the completion of these things depends is one in both. Wherefore, there is no difference in the internal meaning, from which the whole power and peculiar nature of the sacrament is to be estimated. The only difference which remains is in the external ceremony, which is the least part of it, the chief part consisting in the promise and the thing signified. Hence we may conclude, that everything applicable to circumcision applies also to baptism, excepting always the difference in the visible ceremony. To this analogy and comparison we are led by that rule of the apostle, in which he enjoins us to bring every interpretation of Scripture to the analogy of faith (Rom. 12:3, 6). And certainly in this matter the truth may almost be felt. For just as circumcision, which was a kind of badge to the Jews, assuring them that they were adopted as the people and family of God, was their first entrance into the Church, while they, in their turn, professed their allegiance to God, so now we are initiated by baptism, so as to be enrolled among his people, and at the same time swear unto his name. Hence it is incontrovertible, that baptism has been substituted for circumcision, and performs the same office.
