Covenant Protestant Reformed Church
83 Clarence Street, Ballymena BT43 5DR
Rev. Angus Stewart
Lord’s Day, 23 October, 2022
“And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and
heirs according to the promise” (Gal. 3:29)
Morning Service – 11:00 AM
Faith or Works? (6)
The Abrahamic Covenant Is Not Annulled! [youtube]
Scripture Reading: Galatians 3:1-18
Text: Galatians 3:15, 17-18
I. Its Divine Author
II. Its Historic Precedence
III. Its Gracious Character
Psalms: 34:1-10; 44:16-26; 33:10-17; 105:6-12
Evening Service – 6:00 PM
Faith or Works? (7)
Christ the Seed of Abraham [youtube]
Scripture Reading: Genesis 13
Text: Galatians 3:16
I. The Singular Seed
II. The Plural Promises
III. The Singular Covenant
Psalms: 78:1-6; 45:1-6; 47:1-9; 89:24-29
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
John Brown on Galatians 3:15-18: “If the observance of the law were constituted the procuring cause or necessary means of justification, such a constitution would necessarily annul the covenant before ratified, and render the promise of none effect. It follows, of course, that the law was appointed for no such purpose. Whatever end it might serve, it could not serve this end; it could never be appointed to serve this end.”
John Eadie on Galatians 3:18: “… if the law abrogate the promise, inheritance comes of law; but law and promise are quite antagonistic in nature, so that if it be of law, the promise is completely set aside. The one hypothesis excludes the other—there is no middle ground.”
John Calvin on Galatians 3:18: “Let us carefully remember the reason why, in comparing the promise with the law, the establishment of the one overturns the other. The reason is, that the promise has respect to faith, and the law to works. Faith receives what is freely given, but to works a reward is paid. And he immediately adds, God gave it to Abraham, not by requiring some sort of compensation on his part, but by free promise; for if you view it as conditional, the word gave, would be utterly inapplicable.”
Announcements (subject to God’s will)
After the worship service this morning, we ask the catechumens and younger children to gather in the front for a photo for Ignited by the Word (a children’s magazine of the PRC).
Monday catechism classes:
5:00PM: Corey, Jason, Katelyn, Maisie & Sebastian (Seniors OT)
5:45PM: Eleanora, Felicity, Hannah, Jorja, Keagan, Lucas, Sammy, Somaya, Sophie & Yossef (Beginners NT)
6:30PM: Penelope & Xander (Juniors OT)
7:15PM: Angelica, Bradley, Jack, Josh, Samuel & Taylor (Heidelberg, Book 2)
8:00PM: Alex, Jacob & Nathan (Pre-confession)
Membership Class: Billy & Val McCaughern, Monday at 9 PM.
Tuesday Bible study at 11 AM will meet to discuss Roman Catholicism on faith.
Belgic Confession Class meets this Wednesday, 26 October, at 7:30 PM. We will discuss the meaning of Daniel 9’s 70 weeks in connection with Article 37.
The Reformed Witness Hour broadcast next Lord’s day (Gospel 846 MW at 8:30 AM) by Rev. Bruinsma is entitled, “I Am God” (Ps. 46:8-11).
The church visitors from the PRC will be Rev. DeVries and Elder Pete VanderSchaaf. They plan to come with their wives on 27 January – 6 February.
Offerings: £1,408.19. Donations: £100 (London), £21.12 (Massachusetts, USA).
Translation Additions: 2 Hungarian, 1 Polish and 1 Russian.
Sister Church News: Rev. Smidstra declined the call to Randolph PRC. Rev. Kortus declined the call to Georgetown PRC. Last Lord’s day, Marcus Wee was ordained as a pastor of the CERC in Singapore, alongside Rev. Josiah Tan.
Warned of Debt and Surety
Brian D. Dykstra
“My son, if thou be surety for thy friend, if thou hast stricken thy hand with a stranger, thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth. Do this now, my son, and deliver thyself, when thou art come into the hand of thy friend; go, humble thyself, and make sure thy friend. Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine eyelids. Deliver thyself as a roe from the hand of the hunter, and as a bird from the hand of the fowler” (Prov. 6:1-5).
Solomon just instructed his son about the blessings of a godly wife and the dangers of a strange woman. As this chapter begins, Solomon seems to shift to an entirely unrelated topic. However, there is a connection between these passages. Solomon continues to teach his son about aspects of life which, if the son strays into sin, will lead to his ruin.
Solomon shows concern about his son’s business dealings. His son has a friend who needs a loan. The son agrees to be surety for his friend. The son has placed himself under the obligation of paying the debt himself if his friend cannot pay. Solomon’s son has taken a financial risk. Solomon advises his son to do all he can to free himself of this financial obligation.
Lending was not forbidden in the Old Testament. Proverbs 3:28 states that if a needy neighbour appears at one’s door, he should not be told to come back later, when it is in one’s power to help him right away. What was important to keep in mind was the character of the borrower and the reason for his need. Could he be trusted to pay back the creditor and be honest about his financial situation? If the friend could not pay the debt, has the son just agreed to pay the creditor more than he himself is able to pay?
Usury was forbidden in the law God gave through Moses. Those who had money to spare were to lend freely to the poor but what of those who wanted a loan in order to advance their business or purchase property? Did the meaning of usury then become interest rates which were too high? Maybe we are too accustomed to business in our era to understand how anyone who lent money could do so with no interest. Helping the poor when the opportunity arose is one thing but to make this a constant business practice doesn’t seem to be sustainable. Paying reasonable interest on a loan would benefit both parties involved. The debtor receives needed money and the creditor will gain increased assets.
Man’s business life developed organically just as did other aspects of society. The financial life of the Israelites in the days of Moses was far different than that of Solomon’s time. Israel under Solomon was prosperous. One is under the impression that operating a profitable business was not a challenge during Solomon’s reign. It’s possible that some faced the temptation to borrow money in order to purchase luxury items or to live above one’s means.
Is this what the friend of Solomon’s son was doing, borrowing money foolishly? Borrowing money in order to advance business which would generate income is far different than borrowing money to purchase a luxury item which will produce no increased value. Was the friend impatient for financial gain? Did the friend not want to go through the long process of year-by-year diligent industry to advance financially? These would be reasons for the son not to become surety for his friend.
The commandment regarding stealing clearly applies here. One may not acquire the neighbour’s goods through fraud. The commandment about bearing false witness also applies. Is the friend claiming to have more capital to back up his debt than he really has? Has he not been honest about other debts which has already has? Has the friend’s financial situation changed so that he is not worth as much as the son would think and his friend has not been open about the change in his situation?
Becoming surety for such a friend puts one at great risk. If the debtor cannot pay the debt, the creditor has the right to come to the son for payment. If the son does not have the money at hand to pay, other arrangements must be made. Would the son have to sell some property to obtain the cash? There were those in Old Testament times who became servants to the creditor in order to work off the debt. The loss of property or freedom is not worth the price of not wanting to offend a friend by not becoming surety for him.
The son’s relationship with his friend would be changed. It would be because of the friend that the son experienced loss, perhaps great loss. It might take years for the financial damage to be undone and to make a recovery to the previous financial level. The friend would be viewed not as a person who gave fellowship and enjoyment, but brought ruin.
Because Solomon knew of the danger of serving as surety, he urged his son to do all in his power to break the agreement. The son was trapped with the words of his mouth. He must escape. Solomon said he would have to go to his friend and the creditor, and humble himself. The word for “humble” here has the idea of being so low that one is walked on, as low as the threshold of a door. It’s humiliating to change one’s mind in this way, but Solomon makes the comparison to a deer or a bird which has been trapped in the hunter’s net. The animals do all they can, to the point of exhaustion, to escape the hunter’s net. The son had better do the same.
Also the son had better take care of this quickly. He must take care of this before he sleeps that night. “Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine eyelids.” It is that urgent. Scripture speaks how the borrower is a slave to the lender. Debt is to be taken seriously. Our society has a casual attitude toward debt. When one sees the national debt of the United States, the total of student debt and credit card debt, and the attitude shown toward such enormous numbers, Christians can also be tempted not to take debt seriously.
As seriously as one is to take earthly debt, one must view spiritual debt even more so. What debt have we incurred because of our sin? What is the status of our account with God? We know the parable of the man who owed his lord thousands of talents of gold (Matt. 18:23-35). Clearly, he could never pay such a debt, even if he were given several lifetimes to work. What if we were to offer God to pay for our sins ourselves? How long would we have to suffer the torments of hell to pay for our first sin before we could begin to pay for the second?
We must implore God’s mercy. God sent His Son in our flesh to take upon Himself our sins. He became our surety. Christ pays in full the debt which we could never pay. Our God delights to forgive our sins. This is for the praise of His name. God elected us in Christ so that there would be those who know the greatness of His grace and mercy. We must live thankfully before Him.
