Covenant Protestant Reformed Church
83 Clarence Street, Ballymena BT43 5DR
Rev. Angus Stewart
Lord’s Day, 14 February, 2021
“O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness:
fear before him, all the earth” (Ps. 96:9)
Morning Service – 11:00 AM
False Swearers Cut Off [youtube]
Scripture Reading: Zechariah 5
Text: Heidelberg Catechism, Lord’s Day 36-37
I. The Sin
II. The Judgment
III. The Context
Psalms: 29:1-6; 116:9-19
Evening Service – 6:00 PM
Abimelech, the Bramble King (5)
God’s Judgment Upon Abimelech and Shechem [youtube]
Scripture Reading: Judges 9:6-24
Text: Judges 9:22-24
I. The Time
II. The Means
III. The Purposes
Psalms: 10:13-18; 11:1-7
For CDs of the sermons and DVDs of the worship services, contact Stephen Murray
If you desire a pastoral visit, please contact Rev. Stewart or the elders
CPRC Website: www.cprc.co.uk • Live Webcast: www.cprc.co.uk/live-streaming
CPRC YouTube: www.youtube.com/cprcni
CPRC Facebook: www.facebook.com/CovenantPRC
Quote to Consider
Herman Hoeksema on Lord’s Day 36: “A common and simple manifestation of profanity, to which we probably do not always call attention, is the thoughtless use of the name God. Thoughtless use is any use of the name of the Lord that is not accompanied by and is not the true expression of a corresponding fear and reverence in the heart. For instance, we often show this lack of fear and reverence in our prayers, especially in public prayers. This is true not only of the vain repetitions of which the Lord spoke in Matthew 6:7, but also of the repeated and useless mention of the name of God in our prayers. The same is often true of our conversations, of our Bible discussions in societies, and even of our preaching and hearing the word of God. All such uses of the name of Jehovah that have no corresponding profound fear and reverence in our hearts are really profanities that reflect the profanity in our sinful natures” (Love the Lord Thy God, p. 249).
Announcements (subject to God’s will)
Tuesday Bible study at 11 AM will meet in the auditorium to consider assurance as the essence of faith.
Belgic Confession Class will meet and be streamed live this Wednesday at 7:45 PM to continue our discussion on Isaiah 2:1-4 on the last days in connection with Article 37.
The Reformed Witness Hour broadcast next Lord’s day (Gospel 846 MW at 8:30 AM) by Rev. R. Kleyn is entitled, “The Beginning of Jesus’ Public Ministry” (Mark 1:9-13).
Offerings: General Fund: £1,677. Donations: £200 (England), $200 (Missouri, USA).
Translation Addition: 1 Polish.
PRC News: Hudsonville PRC has called Rev. Smidstra. Kalamazoo PRC has called Rev. Guichelaar (Randolph, WI). Wingham PRC will call from a new trio of Revs. Smidstra (Holland, MI), Regnerus (Lynden, WA) and N. Langerak (Crete, IL).
On the morning of Sunday, 31 January in Myanmar, the military party that has a long history of being openly hostile to the Christian faith staged a coup against the elected government, arresting many of the legitimate party leaders of government. The military has shut down much of the country, censored much of journalism and periodically shuts down the internet. The citizens have protested the coup in the streets and the military is starting to respond with violence. These events put the Hope PRCM and the saints across Myanmar under duress. The Myanmar Committee of Hope PRC (GR) have been in contact with Rev. Titus as the internet in Myanmar allows in order to encourage him. We do not anticipate Rev. Titus and the Hope PRCM to be in danger in the short term. We wait patiently on Lord’s perfect plan as He directs all events for the glory of His name and for the good of His beloved people. Please keep Rev. Titus and the saints in Myanmar before the throne of His almighty grace in prayer.
Caspar Olevianus’ A Firm Foundation (1567)
on the Assurance of Our Salvation
Source: Caspar Olevianus, A Firm Foundation: An Aid to Interpreting the Heidelberg Catechism, trans. and ed. by Lyle D. Bierma (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1994)
12. Q. What is faith?
A. Faith is not only a sure knowledge, by which I hold as true everything that God has revealed in His Word (for even the Evil One believes and trembles, as St. James says in chapter 2[:19]); it is also a heartfelt confidence that out of sheer grace, solely on the basis of Christ’s merit, forgiveness of sins, true righteousness, and eternal life are bestowed not only upon others but also me. Thus I can say from my heart with the apostle (Gal. 2[:20]): “Christ loved me and gave Himself for me,” i.e., He gave His body to suffer for my body, His soul for my soul.
15. Q. Give me some guidance as to what I should do to derive a firm confidence and sure comfort from the articles of faith.
A. First of all, for each and every article of faith think about God’s promise that if you believe it in your heart and confess it with your mouth [Rom. 10:9, 10], God promises and gives you what is stated in that article. For example, when you confess, “He suffered under Pontius Pilate,” you must not only remember the Passion story (for the Evil One knows it as well) but also believe that in this article God promises and assures you that He suffered for you and that it belongs to you as much as if you yourself had suffered. Or when you confess, “Was crucified” (namely, for me), God promises you that He had His Son suffer for you (as Paul says in Galatians 2[:20], “Who loved me and gave himself for me”) and that this, therefore, belongs to you no less than if you yourself had been nailed to the cross when Christ was, to pay for your sins. In sum, always remember that what is stated in each article is promised and given to you for salvation. That is why you also say, “I believe,” namely, that all this has happened also for my good and is promised and given by God to me as much as to the greatest of saints. In fact, you should be very certain that if you, poor sinner, had been all by yourself on the earth like a lone little sheep, nevertheless Christ would have left the ninety and nine already in heaven and come down to you from His heavenly glory to find you, put you on His back, and save you, as He Himself teaches in the gospel [Luke 15:3-7].
123. Q. But what do you need to do to really delight in the coming of Christ, as He bids us?
A. First, I must have a strong foundation for my faith. Second, I must exercise my faith with the fruits of a true faith. The foundation of faith, however, is not my merit — He gave himself for me. He stood trial in my place before God in the court of Judge Pontius Pilate, in order that I might never have to experience the judgment of damnation. He removed the whole of my curse from me and laid it upon Himself on the cross, a death cursed by God so that I might never hear the terrifying words, “Depart from me, you cursed, into the ever lasting fire” [Matt. 25:31]. Instead, I can be filled with the eternal blessing of the Father and be made an heir of the Kingdom of God, prepared for us not by ourselves, who were not yet born, but by Christ before the foundation of the world. This alone is my foundation, as also St. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 3[:11]: “No other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” It is the body of Christ in which the whole of my curse was paid for and removed and in which the eternal blessing was obtained for and freely given me by grace through the Word of truth, the holy Gospel. Because I have this foundation and will look at the body of Christ with my own eyes, I have a love and a yearning for the coming of our Savior Jesus Christ …
127. Q. What do you believe concerning the Holy Spirit?
A. That He, as well as the Father and the Son, is eternal God, who not only upholds all things but also enlightens, rules, and regenerates the elect unto eternal life. Second, I believe that He has been given to me personally (Matt. 28; 2 Cor. 1), so that, by true faith, he makes me share in Christ and all his blessings (Gal. 3; 1 Pet. 1; 1 Cor. 6), comforts me (Acts 9[:31]), and remains with me forever (John 14[:16]; 1 Pet. 4[:14]).
128 Q. Explain to me a little better the office of the Holy Spirit and thus the fruit that we reap from Him.
A. The office of the Holy Spirit and the benefit he applies to us is summarized in the titles or names that God’s Word ascribes to the Holy Spirit: First, the Scriptures call the third person of the Godhead the “Holy Spirit” because He both regenerates and sanctifies us (Rom. 9:11, 15). Second, He is called the “Spirit of adoption” (Rom. 8[:15-17]): “you did not receive a spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received a Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, ‘Abba, dear Father’ … If we are then children, then we are also heirs — heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ.” Galatians 4[:6, 7]: “Because you are children, God sent the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying out, ‘Abba, dear Father!’ Therefore you are no longer a slave but a child, and if children, then heirs of God through Christ.” Third, he is called a “seal” and “deposit” of our inheritance, since He confirms in our hearts and assures us of the adoption of God and of all His promises (Eph. 1:13; 2 Cor. 1:22). For like a deposit He assures us that our inheritance, namely, eternal salvation, is being carefully preserved by the heavenly Father through Christ His Son (1 Pet. 1:4, 5, 9). He is also called “the firstfruits of the Spirit” (Rom. 8[:23]) because the comfort and peace of the Holy Spirit in our hearts in this life is like the first fruit of the full inheritance that we shall possess in the life hereafter. Fourth, he is called a “water,” because he benefits our souls in the way that water benefits our bodies. In John 4[:13, 14] Jesus says to the Samaritan woman, “Whoever drinks of this water [namely, the water you are drawing] will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” And in John 7[:37-39] Jesus proclaims, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, out of his body will flow rivers of living water. But this he spoke [says the gospel writer] concerning the Spirit whom those believing in him would receive. See also Isaiah 35, 44; Ezekiel 36. Fifth, He is called a “fire,” because He kindles hearts with the genuine love of God and burns away and refines whatever is opposed to the Kingdom of God. Sixth, he is called the “anointing,” because he is dispensed by our Head and King, Christ Jesus, to sanctify us with Him as kings and priests to God Almighty. Finally, Christ often called him “the Comforter,” as in John 14[:26], 15[:26], and 16[:7], because He gives believers such counsel, comfort, and strength in every concern that in the midst of earthly affliction they may have peace and joy in their hearts. In sum, the Holy Spirit is that bond of union by which Christ abides in us and we in Him. As the branches incorporated into the vine receive their nourishment and life from the vine, so we are incorporated into Christ by the Holy Spirit so that we might have true fellowship with Him and receive eternal life from him (John 15:1).
