CPRC Bulletin – July 19, 2026
Covenant Protestant Reformed Church
83 Clarence Street, Ballymena BT43 5DR
Rev. Angus Stewart
Lord’s Day, 19 July, 2026
“Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone,
a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste” (Isa. 28:16)
Morning Service – 11:00 AM
The Prophecy of Habakkuk (8)
The Just Shall Live by His Faith [youtube]
Scripture Reading: Habakkuk 2
Text: Habakkuk 2:4
I. The Meaning
II. The Reason
III. The Antithesis
Psalms: 25:1-7; 29:1-5; 36:2-3, 5-9; 40:1-5
Evening Service – 6:00 PM
The Prophecy of Habakkuk (9)
The Just Shall Live by Faith—New Testament [youtube]
Scripture Reading: Romans 1:1-18
Text: Habakkuk 2:4
I. The Importance
II. The Meaning
III. The Application
Psalms: 25:1-7; 29:5-11; 32:1-5; 130:1-8
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
Quotes to Consider
C. H. Spurgeon: “Ay, and is it not singular that this unqualified statement should not mention any other grace … ‘The just shall live by his faith’ [Hab. 2:4] but has he not love, has he not zeal, has he not patience, has he not hope, has he not humility, has he not holiness? Oh, yes, he has all these, and he lives in them, but he does not live by them, because none of these so intimately connects him with Christ as does his faith. I will venture to use a very homely figure, because it is the best I can think of. Here is a little child, a suckling. It has many necessary members, such as its eyes, its ears, its legs, its arms, its heart, and so forth, and all these are necessary to it; but the one organ by which the tiny babe lives is its mouth, by which it sucks from its mother all its nourishment. Our faith is that mouth by which we suck in fresh life from the promise of the ever-blessed God. Thus faith is that which we live by. Other graces are needful, but faith is the life of them all. We do not undervalue love, or patience, or penitence, or humility, any more than we depreciate the eyes or the feet of the babe. Still, the means of the life of the spiritual man is that mouth by which he receives divine food from the truth revealed by the Holy Ghost in sacred Scripture. Other graces produce results from that which faith receives, but faith is the Receiver-General for the whole isle of man.”
John Calvin: “The Prophet, I have no doubt, does here place faith in opposition to all those defences by which men so blind themselves as to neglect God, and to seek no aid from him. As men therefore rely on what the earth affords, depending on their fallacious supports, the Prophet here ascribes life to faith. But faith … depends on God alone. That we may then live by faith, the Prophet intimates that we must willingly give up all those defences which are wont to disappoint us” (Comm. on Hab. 2:4).
O. Palmer Robertson: “The catalogue of the faithful in Heb. 11 which immediately follows this citation [in Heb. 10:38] from Habakkuk [2:4] does not make faith itself a work, thereby cancelling out the heart of Habakkuk’s message. Instead it is ‘by faith’ that all those works have been performed throughout the ages. So two diverse authors of the NT quote the same OT Scripture with a different emphasis to make significantly different points. Yet each author remains true to the essence of the OT Scripture as recorded by Habakkuk. Paul stresses that by faith a person is justified [Rom. 1:17; Gal. 3:11], and the writer to the Hebrews stresses that by faith a person who has been justified shall live [Heb. 10:38-39]. As has been noted, Paul also develops the idea of life by faith in Rom. 6-8″ (The Books of Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah, p. 183; italics Robertson’s).
Announcements (subject to God’s will)
Tuesday Bible study meets this week at 11 AM to continue our study of Acts 15 and the Jerusalem council.
The Reformed Witness Hour broadcast next Lord’s day (Gospel 846 MW at 8:30 AM) by Rev. Spriensma is entitled “I Am Your God” (Gen. 17:7).
A revised BRF Conference programme is on the back table. Castlewellan Castle would like to know numbers for meals and dietary requirements, if any, this week, so please let Kristin or Mary know today if you are planning to visit for a day and what meals you would like. Payment can be made later.
Offerings: £1,372.50. Donation: £200 (N. Ireland), £20 (England).
Translation Additions: 1 Burmese, 1 Chichewa, 1 Polish and 1 Spanish.
PRC News: Faith PRC called Rev. Eriks. Calvary PRC called Rev. Engelsma. Heritage PRC called Candidate Feenstra. Grace PRC called Candidate Feenstra. Rev. Bleyenberg preaches his farewell at Immanuel, Lacombe, today.
Total Depravity and the Antithesis (2)
Rev. James Slopsema, an article in the Standard Bearer, vol. 59, issue 11
It is, however; the calling of every child of God to live this antithesis. The antithesis must reflect itself in his life as he lives it from day to day in the world.
This is done when the child of God lives in spiritual isolation from the world. There have been those who made the mistake of trying to live in physical isolation from the world. They have sought to maintain a separate physical existence, apart from society, thinking that they will both escape sin and please God. This is wrong and doomed to failure. God has placed His people in the world; and in the world they are to stay and work and live. We are to be in the world. We are not however to be of the world. Our isolation is to be spiritual only. But spiritually isolated we are to be from the world. We are to stand apart and be distinct.
This means several things. This means first that the direction of our life must be obviously different from that of the world. The spiritual direction of the world is completely away from God. The direction of our life must be towards God. Whereas the world walks in rebellion and disobedience against God, we must humble ourselves before God and His law. Whereas the world stands with all that it is and has and does in the service of sin, we must stand in the service of our God.
Antithetical living means secondly that we must be careful how we use all that the world produces. As we have already seen, all that the world produces—its art, literature, music, science, etc.—it produces in its depravity. Hence, it is all defiled with sin, and by the world pressed into the service of sin. This means that we must be careful how we use these things. That which we can sanctify and press into the service of God we may properly use. But much of the world’s art and literature and culture is beyond this. In fact, as we fast approach the end of time and as the world continues to develop in sin, the culture of the world is becoming so vile that most of it is beyond use by the child of God. He can not possibly sanctify it for use in the kingdom. Then his calling is to turn away from it and repudiate it lest he defile himself.
Antithetical living implies thirdly that there is no room for cooperation with the world in things spiritual. The world may talk in very glowing terms of all its righteous and noble causes. In the name of righteousness it will fight poverty, overcome social injustices, make peace, and alleviate suffering among mankind. But in truth all these works are works of darkness, performed in the service of sin as acts of rebellion and disobedience to God. Anyone who would deny this denies the plain and simple teaching of the Scripture. All these “noble” works of the world are aimed at the establishment of the kingdom of Antichrist. Consequently, there is no room for cooperation in these things with the world. The child of God must have a hands-off policy lest he defile himself with the unfruitful works of darkness. Better yet, the child of God is to oppose these causes of the world in the name of God.
Lest there be any misunderstanding in all this, it must be remembered that in a certain sense all these causes which we have mentioned must be championed by the child of God. Certainly the child of God is called to fight poverty, oppose injustice, make peace, and alleviate suffering. However, he must do this differently than the world. He must do it not according to the wisdom of men but according to the dictates of Scripture. This means that he must do it on a different basis than the world, in a different manner than the world, for a different purpose than the world. This means in turn that he can not do it in cooperation with the world but in cooperation only with his fellow saints.
All this however is undermined and destroyed when the truth of total depravity is denied. Remove the foundation of a building and it will crumble. Deny the truth of total depravity which is the foundation for a truly antithetical life and such a life falls by the way. It simply stands to reason that if there is still some good in the world of unregenerate man and some good that the world can do, then there is a common spiritual ground on which the world and the church can both stand. In those areas where the world is able to please God, there is room for cooperation between the church and the world. In fact, this cooperation is demanded. Insomuch as the world does that which is good the church may embrace the world, follow the world, live as the world, and invite the world into its fellowship. And this is exactly the trend in those churches that have in one way or another turned from the truth of total depravity. It simply is inevitable.
This is a dreadful thing. For the truth of total depravity stands, whether the vast majority in the church world today will acknowledge it or not. And, therefore, by embracing all this “good” of the world, one simply clutches to his bosom the unfruitful works of darkness and defiles himself with them. Vain is the religion of a man who does not keep himself unspotted from the world (James 1:26-27).
Let us therefore hold fast to the truth of total depravity. It is in a way an ugly doctrine. It certainly is not a flattering doctrine. But if we will maintain an antithetical life in the midst of the world it is a necessary doctrine. Let us then confess this doctrine, defend it and then live it.