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A Book Review: True Love in a World of False Hope

Castleman, Robbie. True Love in a World of False Hope: Sex, Romance & Real People. Downer’s Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1996. 178 pp.


In the beginning, God said that it was not good for man to be alone, so he created woman, and today we are more than mildly confused about this thing sex. In her book, True Love in a World of False Hope, Robbie Castleman aims to answer many of the common questions that Christians face regarding sex, love and marriage. Her style is engaging and humorous, yet marked by a sincerity and sobriety concerning truth.
From a counseling perspective, Robbie Castleman is amply qualified to author a book about evangelical sexual ethics, for she has been counseling men and women for years. Much of what she writes stems from various cases that she has encountered. She is also apparently qualified from a theological perspective, because she is an associate professor of biblical studies at John Brown University.
The basic outline and content of Robbie Castleman’s book is summarized in the following paragraphs. In the prologue and first chapter, Castleman establishes the fact that we are no longer living in Eden and that people and relationships are no longer perfect. In fact, they are often quite complicated. However, even though people are now fallen, Castleman informs the reader that sex is not inherently bad and that God is not embarrassed by it because he created sexual beings. That being said, dating is not necessarily something from which to shy away, because we can build our trust in God through relationships, even ones that are potentially romantic in nature. In the following chapter, Castleman further explains the nature of human sexuality within God’s creation and how it is not good for Christians to deny that sexuality. Rather, we must acknowledge it for what it is, a good gift from God whose expression is to be disciplined.
In the next chapter, Robbie gives us a healthy dose of reality by confirming that there is no “perfect” person for anyone. This is a reminder that our ultimate satisfaction can only come from God. However, even though there is no perfect relationship, there are “just right” relationships amongst men and women who are being sanctified in the Spirit. In seeking this relationship, we need to remember to KYEOJ (Keep Your Eyes On Jesus). Although men and women are very different, Robbie Castleman reminds us that we are created in the image of God. Therefore, there is no opposite sex, only an other sex, and as Christians, we are all part of the family of God.
Because we are all of the family of God, the next chapters are focused on how Christian singles should relate to one another. First, we need to speak the truth to one another in love, otherwise, we might come to misunderstandings with one another. For men and women to act as if they belong to each other without speaking truly about the nature and direction of the relationship is tantamount to emotional fornication. This can be avoided by honestly discussing the relationship and by building a friendship. Castleman offers three questions to ask yourself when talking to that special someone. 1. Is it true? 2. Is it necessary? 3. Is it loving? (70) If people ask these questions before they speak, much heartache will be prevented.
The next relationship indicator that Castleman examines is that of time. How do you spend your time together? Do you need to know each others’ schedules? Are you being courteous? Distraction is not necessarily bad; it is being consumed with and by the relationship that is sinful. After time, Robbie Castleman looks to the physicality of relationships. Not underestimating the reality of temptation, she offers four rules of conduct to help burgeoning relationships refrain from falling into sin. First, Four Feet On the Floor (100). This will deter the temptation that comes from snuggling. Second, No Clothes Off (102). It is more difficult to sin when everybody keeps all of their clothes on and completely fastened. Third, No Erotic Fondling (104). This rule is rather self-explanatory. Finally, No French Kissing (107). Kissing is inherently erotic and is one of the most intimate physical expressions of romantic love.
If a person has already lost their way and desires to get back to purity, Castleman has hope for them as well. Often times, however, this will include starting a relationship over, as though from the beginning. There is forgiveness to be found, and Robbie looks to Philippians 3 as an example of an apostle who, despite past failures, was forgetting that past and pressing on toward the prize of the gospel. Just as Paul was forgetting his past, so should other people who have fallen into sin and desire to leave that sin. In the next chapter, Castleman balances the need for forgiveness with the story of God’s grace shown to David and Bathsheba.
As she comes to the conclusion of the substance of her book, Robbie Castleman brings us back to the reality that, even if everything is right with both the man and a woman, sex might not always be great. Sometimes it will be difficult or painful, but God gives grace to work through these issues. Lastly, how do you know when you are in love? The answer, according to Castleman, is by knowing what true love is. Love is not a noun; love is a verb, and the best definition is found in 1 Corinthians 13. Compare that to your “love” and you will know the answer.
True Love in a World of False Hope is a book chocked full of good advice and helpful hints on how to maintain oneself with sexual purity. Castleman’s anecdotes from her own life experiences and counseling cases demonstrates the inherent value of her wisdom. Chapter 8, which focuses on the physicality of relationships offers four useful guidelines to keep from going too far. They are rules that every couple pursuing a romantic relationship should consider and probably implement.
Robbie Castleman also presents a realistic vision of the state of the world. She debunks the myth that there is one right or “perfect” match for each person. Since every person is sinful, this is impossible. But it is even possible that there could be more than one person who is right for you. Castleman also assumes that sexual temptation will not be easy to face and gives good counsel for preserving purity.
The emphasis given to the necessity for truth within relationships is invaluable. Too often, people assume that hiding and masking important facts or feelings will help the relationship progress. But this is absolutely false, as Castleman attests. Solid relationships can only be founded upon truth, with both people speaking the truth to one another in love. All in all, Robbie Castleman’s guidelines are founded upon common wisdom and are sound advice. Many people would be much happier, or least find less heartache, if they would listen to Castleman’s insight.
But for all of its good moral advice, True Love in a World of False Hope fails to communicate some core issues that every book on Christian sexual ethics should address. These issues are (1) the centrality of Christ and the gospel in every area of life, particularly in the realm of Christian dating and marriage, (2) the Christian life within the context of the local church and (3) the necessity and practicality of repentance. Castleman also presents a one-sided view of sexual immorality—that it will be disappointing and dissatisfying. Almost all of her counseling anecdotes are stories of people who came to saying that they had failed and regretted it terribly. Castleman does not deny the reality of infidelity, but underestimates its powerful attraction. If regret were the only thing that followed fornication, fewer people would be unfaithful, and chastity would be much easier. However, there are also many case of people who have committed fornication or adultery and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. This is where biblical teaching must be applied and where the challenge for sanctification is greater.
My first accusation is that Robbie Castleman fails to underscore the centrality of Christ and the gospel in every area of life. This book does not address how sexual purity maintains the purity of the church or how it glorifies Christ. Nor does the book address how physical adultery is a painful symbol of Israel’s spiritual adultery against God. If the only goal of physical purity is to lead a better, more moral life, then that goal has been set too low. However, if physical purity is maintained for the sake of the gospel, so that it should not be maligned, then this is a worthy goal. Physical purity can never be an aim unto itself. Many cultures prize sexual purity, but they do not prize the gospel with their “purity.” Castleman also fails to reinforce the truth that physical purity can only be accomplished through the blood of Christ. It is in Christ that we are pure, and not because of any plan of action that we may take before or after salvation.
Second, Castleman undermines Christ’s plan for his people, that is to live out the gospel within the context of the local church. It is in the local church that love is shown and sanctification for all the saints occurs. In one example that Castleman gives (chapter 9), Castleman tells of how she led one couple to restoration after sexual impurity, but all of this was done apart from the authority of the local church. Sex is not private; it is communal in that every member of the body affects the other members of the body. Therefore, it is difficult for restoration to be private. Paul spends much of his letters to the Corinthians instructing the church at Corinth on how to deal with sexual immorality. Castleman does not follow Paul’s example and instead tells the couple to “restart” their relationship. If sexual immorality, which is a public sin, is not handled within the church, then the purity of the church and its testimony to the world is harmed.
Third, Robbie Castleman leaves repentance undefined. She does imply that repentance is necessary when sin has occurred, but her version of repentance looks mostly like regret. If we are left only with regret and tears, we might possibly be left with a sorrow that leads only to death. Because sexual sin is serious, the practicalities of repentance and the discipline, not punishment, that comes as a result must be made very clear. A low view of sin and repentance leads to a low view of Christ and the cross, and all must be done to give a high view of Christ. A seemingly severe repentance and disciplining, however harsh it may seem, can lead to the most glorious restorations of fellowship—not only between the two people who have sinned, but also within the body, the Bride of Christ, the Church.
Castleman also wrongly interprets Philippians 3 (124-125). The assumption is that Paul is describing his regrets over his past sinful life but is now working to forget those things, striving for the inheritance that he has in Christ Jesus. But a quick look at the context shows that Paul is not describing his wretchedness in the flesh. Philippians 3:4-7 is not a catalogue of Paul’s guilt; he is describing the overwhelming favor of position and knowledge that he had within the Jewish nation. Paul is reciting the story of how he had done everything correctly, according to the flesh, to win God’s favor. Verses four, six, and seven clue us in to this. In verse four, Paul declares that he had more reason for confidence in the flesh than most everyone else. In six, he says that he was blameless according to the law. Finally, in verse seven, Paul says that whatever he had counted as gain, he now counts as loss for the sake of Christ. This is not the language of someone who is haunted by their past and is making a limping effort to overcome that so that they might do some good for the kingdom of God. This is the language of a person who is out to prove that there is nothing that is done according to the flesh that is pleasing to God; only a consuming trust and obedience to Christ is worthwhile. This would be rather unimportant, but this passage is foundational to one of Robbie Castleman’s key arguments. Her writings on the possibility of renewal are founded on her interpretation of Philippians 3, and everything that she says within that chapter after her explanation is undermined by her poor exegesis.
Some side issues include some questionable advice on how to seek God’s will. Rather than pointing people to Scripture, she exhorts us to search for signs and progress (155). However, the Word of God is clear that it is sufficient for understanding the will of God, and all impressions and signs must be brought back to Scripture and compared to see if they are indeed in accordance with the clear teaching of the Word of God.
Finally, Castleman’s theology is directionally faulty. She would send us back to Eden and hold it as the goal of our purified sexuality. However, Scripture is clear that we are not to be seeking Eden, which has fallen away; rather, we are to look to the coming of the kingdom of God when there will be a new heaven and a new earth and Christ shall reign as the risen Lord over all. This focus links Castleman and Eden in a very specific way—both only hint at Christ but do not portray the fulfillment of all history, of all things, in Him. This is the fatal flaw of True Love in a World of False Hope. Chapters upon chapters about how we are to relate to one another as sexual beings compared to a simple KYEOJ reveals the focus of True Love in a World of False Hope. Jesus has become a grace note to embellish the musical canon of our relationships with one another.

charlie 

Israel of Christ Footnotes and Bibliography

FOOTNOTES

1 Charles Baker, Dispensational Theology (Grand Rapids: Grace Bible College Publications, 1971), p 95.
2 William Sanford LaSor, Israel: A Biblical View (Grand Rapids: Williams B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1976), p.83.
3 Kim Riddlebarger, A Case for Amillennialism: Understanding the End Times, (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2003),118.
4 Steven A. Kreloff, God’s Plan for Israel: A Study of Romans 9-11, (Neptune: Loizeaux Brothers Inc., 1995), p. 92.
5 William Sanford LaSor, Israel: A Biblical View, (Grand Rapids: Williams B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1976), p. 84.
6 Kreloff, 26.
7 Rolf, Rendtorff, The Covenant Formula: An Exegetical and Theological Investigation, (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1998), p. 88.
8 Matthew Poole, A Commentary on the Whole Bible: Psalms to Malachi, vol. 2., (Hendrickson Publishers), 593.
9 Graeme Goldsworthy, Gospel and Kingdom, (Carlisle: Paternoster Press, 1981), 104.
10 Goldsworthy, Gospel and Kingdom, 110.
11 LaSor, 96.
12 Riddlebarger, 120.
13 Charles Cosgrove, Elusive Israel: The Puzzle of Election in Romans, (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1997), 67.
14 Oswald T. Allis, Prophecy and the Church: An Examination of the Claim of the Dispensationalists that the Christian Church is a Mystery Parenthesis which Interrupts the Fulfilment to Israel of the Kingdom Prophecies of the Old Testament, (Philadelphia: The Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Co., 1945), 108-109.
15 Johann D. Kim, God, Israel, and the Gentiles: Rhetoric and Situation in Romans 9-11, (Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 1999),139.
16 Johann D. Kim, God, Israel, and the Gentiles: Rhetoric and Situation in Romans 9-11, 133.
17 Riddlebarger, 183.
18 Graeme Goldsworthy, Gospel and Kingdom, 119.


BIBLIOGRAPHY

Books

Allis, Oswald, T. Prophecy and the Church: an Examination of the Claim of Dispensationalists That the Christian Church Is a Mystery Parenthesis Which Interrupts the Fulfilment to Israel of the Kingdom Prophecies of the Old Testament. Philadelphia: The Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Co., 1945.

Baker, Charles F. A Dispensational Theology. Grand Rapids: Grace Bible College Publications, 1971.

Cosgrove, Charles H. Elusive Israel: The Puzzle of Election in Romans. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1997.

Goldsworthy, Graeme. Gospel and Kingdom. Carlisle: Paternoster Press, 1981.

Goldsworthy, Graeme. The Gospel in Revelation. Carlisle: Paternoster Press, 1984.

Henry, Matthew. Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible. Hendrickson Publishers, 1991.

Kim, Johann D. God, Israel, and the Gentiles: Rhetoric and Situation in Romans 9-11. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 1999.

Kreloff, Steven A. God’s Plan for Israel: A Study of Romans 9-11. Neptune: Loizeaux Brothers Inc., 1995.

LaSor, William Sanford. Israel: A Biblical View. Grand Rapids: Williams B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1976.

Piper, John. The Justification of God: An Exegetical and Theological Study of Romans 9:1-23. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1993.

Poole, Matthew. A Commentary on the Holy Bible: Psalms – Malachi, vol. 2. Hendrickson Publishers.

Rendtorff, Rolf. The Covenant Formula: An Exegetical and Theological Investigation. Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1998.

Riddlebarger, Kim. A Case for Amillennialism: Understanding the End Times. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2003.

Sproul, R. C. The Gospel of God Romans: An Exposition of Romans. Geanies House: Christian Focus Publications, 2002.

A Lost Art Revived to Remedy Ignorance

When studying the history of Baptists, one rarely expects to find a confessional theology or a systematized statement of faith (or, at least, that has been my own experience). I am grateful to Dr. Tom Nettles, though, for manifesting the historical fact that Baptists, indeed, have been known for a systematized, orthodox theology. One area in particular has surprised me greatly, and that is the area of catechisms.

In this day of relativism, and in a time when Baptists are not known for carefully training their children; there was a time when it was customary for Baptists to teach their children using the Baptist Catechism, as written by Benjamin Keach in the 17th century. I have come to the conclusion that it is to our great disadvantage not to catechize children. There is almost no other tool quite as effective as a well formulated catechism for teaching children the basic, yet profound, truths of the Bible in a clear, logical, and easily memorable fashion. Today, there is no lack of people who claim to know Christ, yet know almost nothing of the contents of the Bible or its doctrines, and it seems that the clearly biblical language of a catechism, along with the biblical references for each doctrine, is an effective remedy to such ignorance. If you seek more reason to return to the catechism, read Dr. Nettles's book Teaching Truth, Training Hearts. (As a sidenote, for those who have not been fortunate enough to take a class from him--besides being somewhat brilliant, he does a great imitation of Barney Fife.)

If you have come this far in the post and are not yet bored out of your senses, I do, for your edification, include the entirety of the Baptist Catechism, as printed by the Charleston Association, in 1813.

THE BAPTIST CATECHISM

1. Q. Who is the first and chiefest being?
A. God is the first and chiefest being (Is. 44:6; 48:12; Ps. 97:9).
2. Q. Ought every one to believe there is a God?
A. Everyone ought to believe there is a God (Heb. 11:6); and it is their great sin and folly who do not (Ps. 14:1).
3. Q. How may we know there is a God?
A. The light of nature in man and the works of God plainly declare there is a God (Rom. 1:19,20; Ps. 19:1, 2, 3; Acts 17:24); but his word and Spirit only do it fully and effectually for the salvation of sinners (1 Cor. 2:10; 2 Tim. 3:15,16).
4. Q. What is the word of God?
A. The holy scriptures of the Old and New Testament are the word of God, and the only certain rule of faith and obedience (2 Tim. 3:16; Eph. 2:20).
5. Q. May all men make use of the holy scriptures?
A. All men are not only permitted, but commanded and exhorted to read, hear, and understand the holy scriptures (John 5:38; John 17:17,18; Rev.1:3; Acts 8:30).
6. Q. What things are chiefly contained in the holy scriptures?
A. The holy scriptures chiefly contain what man ought to believe concerning God, and what duty God requireth of man (2 Tim. 1:13; 3:15,16).
7. Q. What is God?
A. God is a Spirit (John 4:24), infinite (Job 11:7, 8, 9), eternal (Ps. 110:2), and unchangeable (Jas. 1:17) in his being (Ex. 3:14), wisdom (Ps. 147:5), power (Rev. 4:8), holiness (Rev. 15:4), justice, goodness, and truth (Ex. 34:6).
8. Q. Are there more gods than one?
A. There is but one only, the living and true God (Deut. 6:4; Jer 10:10).
9. Q. How many persons are there in the Godhead?
A. There are three persons in the godhead, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one God, the same in essence, equal in power and glory (1 John 5:7; Mt. 28:19).
10. Q. What are the decrees of God?
A. The decrees of God are his eternal purpose according to the counsel of his will, whereby, for his own glory, he hath foreordained whatsoever comes to pass (Eph. 1:4, 11; Rom. 9:22-23; Is. 46:10; Lam. 3:37).
11. Q. How doth God execute his decrees?
A. God executeth his decrees in the works of creation and providence.
12. Q. What is the work of creation?
A. The work of creation is God's making all things of nothing, by the word of his power, in the space of six days, and all very good (Gen. 1 throughout; Heb. 11:3).
13. Q. How did God create man?
A. God created man, male and female, after his own image, in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness, with dominion over the creatures (Gen. 1:26, 27, 28; Col. 3:10, Eph. 4:24).
14. Q. What are God's works of providence?
A. God's works of providence are his most holy, (Ps. 145:17;) wise (Is. 28:29, Ps. 104:24), and powerful preserving (Heb. 1:3) and governing all his creatures, and all their actions (Ps. 103:19; Mt. 10:29, 30, 31).
15. Q. What special act of providence did God exercise towards man in the estate wherein he was created?
A. When God had created man, he entered into a covenant of life with him upon condition of perfect obedience: forbidding him to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, upon pain of death (Gal. 3:12; Gen. 2:17).
16. Q. Did our first parents continue in the estate wherein they were created?
A. Our first parents being left to the freedom of their own will, fell from the estate wherein they were created, by sinning against God (Gen. 3:6, 7, 8, 13; Eccles. 7:29).
17. Q. What is sin?
A. Sin is any want of conformity unto, or transgression of, the law of God (1 John 3:4).
18. Q. What was the sin whereby our first parents fell from the estate wherein they were created?
A. The sin whereby our first parents fell from the estate wherein they were created, was their eating the forbidden fruit (Gen. 3:6, 12, 16, 17).
19. Q. Did all mankind fall in Adam's first transgression?
A. The covenant being made with Adam, not only for himself but for his posterity, all mankind descending from him by ordinary generation sinned in him, and fell with him in his first transgression (Gen. 2:16, 17; Rom. 5:12; 1 Cor. 15:21, 22).
20. Q. Into what estate did the fall bring mankind?
A. The fall brought mankind into an estate of sin and misery (Rom. 5:12).
21. Q. Wherein consists the sinfulness of that estate whereinto man fell?
A. The sinfulness of that estate whereinto man fell, consists in the guilt of Adam's first sin, the want of original righteousness, and the corruption of his whole nature, which is commonly called original sin; together with all actual transgressions which proceed from it (Rom. 5:12, to the end; Eph. 2:1, 2, 3; James 1:14, 15; Mt. 15:19).
22. Q. What is the misery of that estate whereinto man fell?
A. All mankind by their fall lost communion with God (Gen. 3:8, 10, 24), are under his wrath and curse (Eph. 2:2, 3; Gal. 3:10), and so made liable to all miseries in this life, to death itself, and to the pains of hell for ever (Lam. 3:39; Rom. 6:23; Mt. 25:41, 46).
23. Q. Did God leave all mankind to perish in the estate of sin and misery?
A. God having out of his mere good pleasure, from all eternity, elected some to everlasting life (Eph. 1:4, 5), did enter into a covenant of grace, to deliver them out of the estate of sin and misery, and to bring them into an estate of salvation by a Redeemer (Rom. 3:20-22; Gal. 3:21, 22).
24. Q. Who is the Redeemer of God's elect?
A. The only Redeemer of God's elect is the Lord Jesus Christ (1 Tim. 2:5, 6); who, being the eternal Son of God, became man (John 1:14; Gal. 4:4), and so was and continueth to be God and man in two distinct natures, and one person for ever (Rom. 9:5; Lk. 1:35; Col. 2:9; Heb. 7:24, 25).
25. Q. How did Christ, being the Son of God become man?
A. Christ the Son of God became man by taking to himself a true body (Heb. 2:14, 17; 10:5), and a reasonable soul (Mt. 26:38); being conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mary, and born of her (Luke 1:27, 31, 34, 35, 42; Gal. 4:4), yet without sin (Heb. 4:15; 7:26).
26. Q. What offices doth Christ execute as our Redeemer?
A. Christ as our Redeemer executeth the offices of a prophet, of a priest, and of king, both in his estate of humiliation and exaltation (Acts 3:22; Heb. 12:25; 2 Cor. 13:3; Heb. 5:5, 6, 7; 7:25; Ps. 2:6; Is. 9:6, 7; Mt. 21:5; Ps. 2:8-11).
27. Q. How doth Christ execute the office of a prophet?
A. Christ executeth the office of prophet in revealing to us, by his word and Spirit, the will of God for our salvation (John 1:18; 1 Pet.1:10,11, 12; John 15:15; and 20:31).
28. Q. How doth Christ execute the office of a priest?
A. Christ executeth the office of priest in his once offering up himself a sacrifice to satisfy divine justice (Heb. 9:14, 28) and reconcile us to God (Heb. 2:17), and in making continual intercession for us (Heb.7:24, 25).
29. Q. How doth Christ execute the office of king?
A. Christ executeth the office of a king, in subduing us to himself (Acts 15:14, 15, 16), in ruling (Is. 33:22), and defending us (Is. 32:1, 2), and in restraining and conquering all his and our enemies (1 Cor. 15:25; Ps. 110 throughout).
30. Q. Wherein did Christ's humiliation consist?
A.Christ's humiliation consisted in his being born, and that in a low condition (Luke 2:7), made under the law (Gal. 4:4), undergoing the miseries of this life (Heb. 12:2, 3; Is. 53:2, 3), the wrath of God (Luke 22:44; Mt. 27:46), and the cursed death of the cross (Phil. 2:8); in being buried (1 Cor. 15:3,4), and continuing under the power of death for a time (Acts 2:24, 25, 26, 27, 31; Mt. 12:40).
31. Q. Wherein consisteth Christ's exaltation?
A. Christ's exaltation consisteth in his rising again from the dead on the third day (1 Cor. 15:4), in ascending up into heaven (Mark 16:19), in sitting at the right hand of God the Father (Eph. 1:20), and in coming to judge the world at the last day (Acts 1: 11; 17:31).
32. Q. How are we made partakers of the redemption purchased by Christ?
A. We are made partakers of the redemption purchased by Christ, by the effectual application of it to us (John 1:11,12) by his Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5,6).
33. Q. How doth the spirit apply to us the redemption purchased by Christ?
A. The Spirit applieth to us the redemption purchased by Christ, by working faith in us (Eph. 1:13, 14; John 6:37, 39; Eph. 2:8), and thereby uniting us to Christ, in our effectual calling (Eph. 3:17; 1 Cor. 1:9).
34. Q. What is effectual calling?
A. Effectual calling is the work of God's Spirit (2 Tim. 1:9; 2 Thess. 2:13, 14), whereby convincing us of our sin and misery (Acts 2:37), enlightening our minds in the knowledge of Christ (Acts 26:18), and renewing our wills (Ez. 36:26, 27), he doth persuade and enable us to embrace Jesus Christ freely offered to us in the gospel (John 6:44, 45; Phil. 2:13).
35. Q. What benefits do they that are effectually called partake of in this life?
A. They that are effectually called do in this life partake of justification (Rom. 8:30), adoption (Eph. 1:5), sanctification, and the several benefits which in this life do either accompany or flow from them (1 Cor. 1:30).
36. Q. What is justification?
A. Justification is an act of God's free grace, wherein he pardoneth all our sins (Rom. 3:24, 25; and 4:6, 7, 8), and accepteth us as righteous in his sight (2 Cor. 5:19, 21), only for the righteousness of Christ imputed to us (Rom. 5:17-19), and received by faith alone (Gal. 2:16; Phil. 3:9).
37. Q. What is adoption?
A. Adoption is an act of God's free grace (1 John 3:1), whereby we are received into the number and have a right to all the privileges of the sons of God (John 1:12; Rom. 8:14-17).
38. Q. What is sanctification?
A. Sanctification is the work of God's free grace (2 Thess. 2:13), whereby we are renewed in the whole man after the image of God (Eph. 4:23, 24), and are enabled more and more to die unto sin, and live unto righteousness (Rom. 6:4,6; 8:1).
39. Q. What are the benefits which in this life do accompany or flow from justification, adoption, and sanctification?
A. The benefits which in this life do accompany or flow from justification, adoption, and sanctification, are assurance of God's love, peace of conscience (Rom. 5:1, 2, 5), joy in the Holy Spirit (Rom. 5:5, 17), increase of grace (Pr. 4:18), and perseverance therein to the end (1 John 5:13; 1 Pet. 1:5).
40. Q. What benefits do believers receive from Christ at their death?
A. The souls of believers are at their death made perfect in holiness (Heb. 12:23), and do immediately pass into glory (2 Cor. 5:1, 6, 8; Phil. 1:23; Luke 23:43); and their bodies being still united to Christ (1 Thess. 4:14), do rest in their graves (Is. 57:2) till the resurrection (Job 19:26, 27).
41. Q. What benefits do believers receive from Christ at the resurrection?
A. At the resurrection believers, being raised up in glory (1 Cor. 15:43), shall be openly acknowledged, and acquitted in the day of judgment (Mt. 25:23; Mt. 10:32), and made perfectly blessed, both in soul and body, in the full enjoyment of God (1 John 3:2; 1 Cor. 13:12) to all eternity (1 Thess. 4:17, 18).
42. Q. But what shall be done to the wicked at their death?
A. The souls of the wicked shall, at their death, be cast into the torments of hell, and their bodies lie in their graves, till the resurrection and judgment of the great day (Luke 16:23, 24; Acts 2:24; Jude 5, 7; 1 Pet. 3:19; Ps. 49:14).
43. Q. What shall be done to the wicked, at the day of judgment?
A. At the day of judgment the bodies of the wicked, being raised out of their graves, shall be sentenced, together with their souls, to unspeakable torments with the devil and his angels for ever (John 5:28, 29; Mt. 25:41, 46; 2 Thes. 1:8, 9).
44. Q. What is the duty which God requireth of man?
A. The duty which God requireth of man is, obedience to his revealed will (Mic 6:8; 1 Sam. 15:22).
45. Q. What did God at first reveal to man for the rule of his obedience?
A. The rule which God at first revealed to man for his obedience, was the moral law (Rom. 2; 14, 15, and 10:5).
46. Q. Where is the moral law summarily comprehended?
A. The moral law is summarily comprehended in the ten commandments (Deut. 10:4; Mt. 19:17).
47. Q. What is the sum of the ten commandments?
A. The sum of the ten commandments is, to love the Lord our God, with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our strength, and with all our mind; and our neighbour as ourselves (Mt. 22:37-40).
48. Q. What is the preface to the ten commandments?
A. The preface to the ten commandments is in these words; I am the Lord thy God which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage (Ex. 20:2).
49. Q. What doth the preface to the ten commandments teach us?
A. The preface to the ten commandments teacheth us that because God is the Lord, and our God and redeemer, therefore we are bound to keep all his commandments (Luke 1:74, 75; 1 Pet. 1:15-19).
50. Q. Which is the first commandment?
A. The first commandment is, Thou shalt have no other gods before me (Ex. 20:3).
51. Q. What is required in the first commandment?
A. The first commandment requireth us to know and acknowledge God to be the only true God and our God (1 Chron. 28:9; Deut. 26:17), and to worship and glorify him accordingly (Mt. 4:10; Ps. 29:2).
52. Q. What is forbidden in the first commandment?
A. The first commandment forbiddeth the denying (Ps. 14: 1), or not worshipping and glorifying the true God (Rom. 1:21), as God and our God (Ps. 81:10, 11), and the giving of that worship and glory to any other, which is due unto him alone (Rom. 1:25, 26).
53. Q. What are we especially taught by these words before me, in the first commandment?
A. These words before me, in the first commandment teach us, that God, who seeth all things, taketh notice of and is much displeased with the sin of having any other god (Ex. 8:5, to the end).
54. Q. Which is the second commandment?
A. The second commandment is, Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; and shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments (Ex. 20:4, 5, 6).
55. Q. What is required in the second commandment?
A. The second commandment requireth the receiving, observing, and keeping pure and entire all such religious worship and ordinances, as God hath appointed in his word (Deut. 32:46; Mt. 23:20; Acts 2:42).
56. Q. What is forbidden in the second commandment?
A. The second commandment forbiddeth the worshipping of God by images (Deut. 4:15-19; Ex. 32:5, 8), or any other way not appointed in his word (Deut. 7:31, 32).
57. Q. What are the reasons annexed to the second commandment?
A. The reasons annexed to the second commandment are, God's sovereignty over us (Ps. 45:2, 3, 6), his propriety in us (Ps. 45:11), and the zeal he hath to his own worship (Ex. 34:13, 14).
58. Q. Which is the third commandment?
A. The third commandment is, Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain (Ex. 20:7).
59. Q. What is required in the third commandment?
A. The third commandment requireth the holy and reverent use of God's names (Mt. 6:9; Deut. 23:58), titles (Ps. 68:4), attributes (Rev. 15:3, 4), ordinances, (Mal. 1: 11, 14), word (Ps. 136: 1, 2) and works (Job 36:24).
60. Q. What is forbidden in the third commandment?
A. The third commandment forbiddeth all profaning and abusing of any thing whereby God makes himself known (Mal. 1:6, 7, 12; 2:2; 3:14).
61. Q. What is the reason annexed to the third commandment?
A. The reason annexed to the third commandment is, that however the breakers of this commandment may escape punishment from men, yet the Lord our God will not suffer them to escape his righteous judgment (1 Sam. 2:12, 17, 22, 29; 3:13; Deut. 28:58, 59).
62. Q. What is the fourth commandment?
A. The fourth commandment is, Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy: six days shalt thou labour and do all thy work; but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God, in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thy cattle, nor the stranger that is within thy gates: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day; wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it (Ex. 20:8-11).
63. Q. What is required in the fourth commandment?
A. The fourth commandment requireth the keeping holy to God such set times as He hath appointed in His word, expressly, one whole day in seven to be a holy sabbath to Himself (Ex. 20:8-11; Deut. 5:12-14).
64. Q. Which day of the seven hath God appointed to be the weekly Sabbath?
A. Before the resurrection of Christ, God appointed the seventh day of the week to be the weekly Sabbath (Ex. 20:8-11; Deut. 5:12-14); and the first day of the week ever since, to continue to the end of the world, which is the Christian Sabbath (Ps. 118:24; Mt. 28:1; Mk. 2:27, 28; Jn. 20:19, 20, 26; Rev. 1:10; Mk. 16:2; Lk. 24:1, 30-36; Jn. 20:1; Acts 1:3; 2:1, 2; 20:7; 1 Cor. 16:1, 2).
65. Q. How is the Sabbath to be sanctified?
A. The Sabbath is to be sanctified by a holy resting all that day (Ex. 20:8, 10), even from such worldly employments and recreations as are lawful on other days (Ex. 16:25-28; Neh. 13:15-22); and spending the whole time in the public and private exercises of God's worship (Lk. 4:16; Acts 20:7; Ps. 92:title; Is. 66:23), except so much as is to be taken up in the works of necessity and mercy (Mt. 12:1-13).
66. Q. What is forbidden in the fourth commandment?
A. The fourth commandment forbiddeth the omission or careless performance of the duties required (Ez. 22:26; Amos 8:5; Mal. 1:13), and the profaning the day by idleness (Acts 20:7, 9), or doing that which is in itself sinful (Ez. 23:38), or by unnecessary thoughts, words, or works, about worldly employments or recreations (Jer 17:24-27; Is. 58:13).
67. Q. What are the reasons annexed to the fourth commandment?
A. The reasons annexed to the fourth commandment, are God's allowing us six days of the week for our own lawful employments (Ex. 20:9), his challenging a special propriety in a seventh, his own example, and his blessing the Sabbath day (Ex. 20:11).
68. Q. Which is the fifth commandment?
A. The fifth commandment is, Honor thy father and thy mother; that thy days may be long in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee (Ex. 20:12).
69. Q. What is required in the fifth commandment?
A. The fifth commandment requireth the preserving the honour and performing the duties belonging to every one in their several places and relations, as superiors (Eph. 5:21), inferiors (1 Pet. 2:17), or equals (Rom. 12:10).
70. Q. What is forbidden in the fifth commandment?
A. The fifth commandment forbiddeth the neglect of, or doing any thing against the honour and duty which belongeth to every one in their several places and relations (Mt. 15:4-6; Ez. 34:24; Rom. 13:8).
71. Q. What is the reason annexed to the fifth commandment?
A. The reason annexed to the fifth commandment is a promise of long life and prosperity (as far as it shall serve for God's glory, and their own good) to all such as keep this commandment (Deut. 5:16; Eph. 6:2, 3).
72. Q. What is the sixth commandment?
A. The sixth commandment is, Thou shalt not kill (Ex. 20:13).
73. Q. What is required in the sixth commandment?
A. The sixth commandment requireth all lawful endeavours to preserve our own life (Eph. 5:28,29) and the life of others (1 Kings 18:4).
74. . Q. What is forbidden in the sixth commandment?
A. The sixth commandment absolutely forbiddeth the taking away of our own life, or the life of our neighbour unjustly, or whatsoever tendeth thereunto (Acts 26:28; Gen. 9:9).
75. Q. Which is the seventh commandment?
A. The seventh commandment is, Thou shalt not commit adultery (Ex. 20:14).
76. Q. What is required in the seventh commandment?
A. The seventh commandment requireth the preservation of our own and our neighbors chastity, in heart, speech, and behavior (1 Cor. 7:2, 3, 5, 34, 36; Col. 4:6; 1 Pet. 3:2).
77. Q. What is forbidden in the seventh commandment?
A. The seventh commandment forbiddeth all unchaste thoughts, words, and actions (Mt. 15:19, 5:28; Eph. 5:3, 4).
78. Q. Which is the eighth commandment?
A. The eighth commandment is, Thou shalt not steal (Ex. 20:15).
79. Q. What is required in the eighth commandment?
A. The eighth commandment requireth the lawful procuring and furthering the wealth and outward estate of ourselves and others (Gen. 30:30; 1 Tim. 5:8; Lev. 25:35; Deut. 22:1, 2, 3, 4, 5; Ex. 23:4, 5; Gen. 47:14, 20).
80. Q. What is forbidden in the eighth commandment?
A. The eighth commandment forbiddeth whatsoever doth or may unjustly hinder our own (1 Tim. 5:8; Pr. 28:19) or our neighbour's wealth or outward estate (Pr. 21:17, and 23:20, 21; Eph. 4:28).
81. Q. Which is the ninth commandment?
A. The ninth commandment is, Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour (Ex. 20:16).
82. Q. What is required in the ninth commandment?
A. The ninth commandment requireth the maintaining and promoting of truth between man and man (Zech. 8:16), and of our own neighbour's good name (Jn. 5:12), especially in witnessbearing (Pr. 14:5, 25).
83. Q. What is forbidden in the ninth commandment?
A. The ninth commandment forbiddeth whatsoever is prejudicial to the truth, or injurious to our own or our neighbour's good name (1 Sam. 17:28; Lev. 19:16; Ps. 15:2, 3).
84. Q. Which is the tenth commandment?
A. The tenth commandment is Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his man-servant, nor his maid-servant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbour's (Ex. 20:17).
85. Q. What is required in the tenth commandment?
A. The tenth commandment requireth full contentment with our own condition (Heb. 13:5; 1 Tim. 6:6), with a right and charitable frame of spirit toward our neighbour, and all that is his (Job 31:29; Rom. 7:15; 1 Tim. 1:5; 1 Cor. 8:4, 7).
86. Q. What is forbidden in the tenth commandment?
A. The tenth commandment forbiddeth all discontentment with our own estate (1 Kings 21:4; Esther 5:13; 1 Cor. 10:10), envying or grieving at the good of our neighbour (Gal. 5:26; James 3:14, 16), and all inordinate motions and affections to anything that is his (Rom. 7:7, 8, 13:9; Deut. 5:21).
87. Q. Is. any man able perfectly to keep the commandments of God?
A. No mere man since the fall is able in this life perfectly to keep the commandments of God (Ecc. 7:20; 1 John 1:8, 10; Gal. 5:17), but doth daily break them in thought, word, or deed (Gn 4:5, and 7:21; Rom. 3:9-21; James 3:2-13).
88. Q. Are all transgressions of the law equally heinous?
A. Some sins in themselves, and by reason of several aggravations, are more heinous in the sight of God than others (Ez. 8:6, 13, 15; 1 Jn. 5:16; Ps. 78:17, 32, 56).
89. Q. What doth every sin deserve?
A. Every sin deserveth God's wrath and curse, both in this life and that which is to come (Eph. 5:6; Gal. 3:10; Lam. 3:39; Mt. 25:41; Rom. 6:23).
90. Q. What doth God require of us that we may escape his wrath and curse, due to us for sin?
A. To escape the wrath and curse of God due to us for sin, God requireth of us faith in Jesus Christ, repentance unto life (Acts 20:21), with the diligent use of all the outward means whereby Christ communicateth to us the benefits of redemption (Pr. 2:1-6, 8:33 to the end; Is. 55:2, 3).
91. Q. What is faith in Jesus Christ?
A. Faith in Jesus Christ is a saving grace (Heb. 10:39), whereby we receive and rest upon him alone for salvation, as he is offered to us in the gospel (Jn. 1:12; Is. 26:3, 4; Ph. 3:9; Gal. 2:16).
92. Q. What is repentance unto life?
A. Repentance unto life is a saving grace (Acts 11:28), whereby a sinner, out of a true sense of his sin (Acts 2:37, 38), and apprehension of the mercy of God in Christ (Joel 2:12; Jer 3:22), doth, with grief and hatred of his sin, turn from it unto God (Jer 31:18, 19; Ez. 36:3 1), with full purpose of and endeavour after new obedience (2 Cor. 7: 1 1; Is. 1: 16, 17).
93. Q. What are the outward means whereby Christ communicateth to us the benefits of redemption?
A. The outward and ordinary means whereby Christ communicateth to us the benefits of redemption are his ordinances, especially the word, baptism, the Lord's supper, and prayer; all which means are made effectual to the elect for salvation (Mt. 28:19, 20; Acts 2:42, 46, 47).
94. Q. How is the word made effectual to salvation?
A. The Spirit of God maketh the reading, but especially the preaching of the word, an effectual means of convincing and converting sinners, and of building them up in holiness and comfort through faith unto salvation (Neh. 8:8; Acts 26:18; Ps. 19:8; Acts 20:32; Rom. 1: 15, 16, 10: 13, 14, 15, 16, 17; 15:4; 1 Cor. 14:24, 25; 1 Tim. 3:15, 16, 17; ).
95. Q. How is the word to be read and heard, that it may become effectual to salvation?
A. That the word may become effectual to salvation, we must attend thereunto with diligence (Pr. 8:34), preparation (1 Pet. 2:1, 2), and prayer (Ps. 119:18); receive it with faith and love (Heb. 4:2; 2 Thes. 2:10), lay it up in our hearts (Ps. 119:18), and practice it in our lives (Luke 8:15; James 1:25).
96. Q. How do baptism and the Lords supper become effectual means of salvation?
A. Baptism and the Lords supper become effectual means of salvation, not for any virtue in them, or in him that doth administer them, but only by the blessing of Christ (1 Pet. 3:21; Mt. 3:11; 1 Cor. 3:6, 7), and the working of the Spirit in those that by faith receive them (1 Cor. 12:3; Mt. 28:19).
97. Q. What is baptism?
A. Baptism is an ordinance of the New Testament instituted by Jesus Christ, to be unto the party baptized a sign of his fellowship with him, in his death, burial, and resurrection; of his being ingrafted into him (Rom. 6:3, 4, 5; Col. 2:12; Gal. 3:27); of remission of sins (Mk. 1:4; Acts 2:38, and 22:16); and of his giving up himself unto God through Jesus Christ, to live and walk in newness of life (Rom. 6:3, 4).
98. Q. To whom is baptism to be administered?
A. Baptism is to be administered to all those who actually profess repentance towards God (Acts 2:38; Mt. 3:6), faith in and obedience to our Lord Jesus Christ, and to none other (Acts 8:12, 36, 37, 38; 10:47, 48).
99. Q. Are the infants of such as are professing believers to be baptized?
A. The infants of such as are professing believers are not to be baptized, because there is neither command or example in the holy scriptures, or certain consequence from them to baptize such (Ex. 23:13; Pr. 30:6; Lk. 3:7, 8).
100. Q. How is Baptism rightly administered?
A. Baptism is rightly administered by immersion, or dipping the whole body of the party in water, into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, according to Christ's institution, and the practice of the apostles (Mt. 3:16; Jn. 3:23; 4:1, 2; Mt. 28:19, 20; Acts 8:38; Rom. 6:4; Col. 2:12), and not by sprinkling or pouring of water, or dipping some part of the body, after the tradition of men.
101. Q. What is the duty of such who are rightly baptized?
A. It is the duty of such who are rightly baptized to give up themselves to some particular and orderly church of Jesus Christ, that they may walk in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless (Acts 2:41, 42; 5:13, 14; 9:26; 1 Pet. 2:5; Lk. 1:6).
102. Q. What is the Lord's supper?
A. The Lord's supper is an ordinance of the New Testament, instituted by Jesus Christ; wherein by giving and receiving bread and wine, according to his appointment, his death is shown forth, and the worthy receivers are, not after a corporal and carnal manner, but by faith, made partakers of his body and blood, with all his benefits, to their spiritual nourishment and growth in grace (Mt. 26:26, 27, 28; 1 Cor. 11:23-26; 10:16).
103. Q. Who are the proper subjects of this ordinance?
A. They who have been baptized upon a personal profession of their faith in Jesus Christ, and repentance from dead works (Acts 2:41, 42).
104. Q. What is required to the worthy receiving of the Lord's supper?
A. It is required of them that would worthily partake of the Lord's supper, that they examine themselves of their knowledge to discern the Lord's body (1 Cor. 11:28, 29), of their faith to feed upon him (2 Cor. 13:5), of their repentance (1 Cor. 11:31), love (1 Cor. 10:16, 17), and new obedience (1 Cor. 5:7, 8), lest coming unworthily they eat and drink judgment to themselves (1 Cor. 11:28, 29).
105. Q. What is prayer?
A. Prayer is an offering up our desires to God (Ps. 62:8), by the assistance of the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:26), for things agreeable to his will (1 Jn. 5:14; Rom. 8:27), in the name of Christ (Jn. 16:23), believing (Mt. 21:22; James 1:6), with confession of our sins (Ps. 32:5, 6; Dan. 9:4), and thankful acknowledgments of his mercies (Ph. 4:6).
106. Q. What rule hath God given for our direction in prayer?
A. The whole word of God is of use to direct us in prayer (1 Jn. 5:14); but the special rule of direction is that prayer which Christ taught his disciples, commonly called the Lord's prayer (Mt. 6:9-13; with Lk. 11:2-4).
107. Q. What doth the preface of the Lord's prayer teach us?
A. The preface of the Lord's prayer, which is Our Father which art in heaven (Mt. 6:9), teacheth us to draw near to God with all holy reverence and confidence, as children to a father, able and ready to help us (Rom. 8:15; Lk. 11:13; Is. 24:8); and that we should pray with and for others (Acts 12:5; 1 Tim. 2:1, 2).
108. Q. What do we pray for in the first petition?
A. In the first petition, which is, Hallowed be thy name (Mt. 6:9), we pray that God would enable us and others to glorify him in all that whereby he maketh himself known (Ps. 67:2, 3), and that he would dispose all things to his own glory (Ps. 83 throughout; Rom. 11:36).
109. Q. What do we pray for in the second petition?
A. In the second petition, which is, Thy kingdom come (Mt. 6:10), we pray that Satan's kingdom may be destroyed (Ps. 68:1, 18), and that the kingdom of grace may be advanced (Rev. 12:10, 11), ourselves and others brought into it and kept in it (2 Thes. 3: 1; Rom. 10: 1; Jn. 17:19, 20), and that the kingdom of glory may be hastened (Rev. 22:10).
110. Q. What do we pray for in the third petition?
A. In the third petition, which is, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven (Mt. 6:10), we pray that God by his grace would make us able and willing to know, obey, and submit to his will in all things (Ps. 67: throughout; Ps. 119:36; 2 Sam. 15:25; Job 1:21), as the angels do in heaven (Ps. 103:20, 21).
111. Q. What do we pray for in the fourth petition?
A. In the fourth petition, which is, Give us this day our daily bread (Mt. 6:11), we pray that of God's free gift we may receive a competent portion of the good things of this life, and enjoy his blessing with them (Pr. 30:8; Gn 28:20; 1 Tim. 4:4, 5).
112. Q. What do we pray for in the fifth petition?
A. In the fifth petition, which is, And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors (Mt. 6:12), we pray that God, for Christ's sake, would freely pardon all our sins (Ps. 51:1, 2, 7, 9; Dan. 9:17-19); which we are rather encouraged to ask because of his grace we are enabled from the heart to forgive others (Lk. 11:4; Mt. 18:35).
113. Q. What do we pray for in the sixth petition?
A. In the sixth petition, which is, And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil (Mt. 6:13), we pray that God would either keep us from being tempted to sin (Mt. 26:31), or support and deliver us when we are tempted (2 Cor. 12:8).
114. Q. What doth the conclusion of the Lord's prayer teach?
A. The conclusion of the Lord's prayer, which is, For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen (Mt. 6:13), teacheth us to take our encouragement in prayer from God only (Dan. 9:4, 7-9, 16-19), and in our prayers to praise Him, ascribing kingdom, power, and glory, to Him (1 Chron. 29:10-13). And in testimony of our desire and assurance to be heard, we say, Amen (1 Cor. 4:16; Rev. 11:20; 22:20, 21).