The Sin of Unbelief

In our study class on the Westminster Confession we discussed whether unbelief is a sin. I cannot recall the specifics - but the question was asked in regards to the Christian. I came across this sermon from Spurgeon on the “The Sin of Unbelief”, based on 2 Kings 7:19. This excerpt was originally preached on Jan. 14, 1855 at the New Park Street Chapel. Jump to the last paragraph and than read the whole thing for the Spurgeon’s compelling answer.

His sin was unbelief. He doubted the promise of God.

In this particular case unbelief took the form of a doubt of the divine reality, or a mistrust of God’s power. Either he doubted whether God really meant what he said, or whether it was within the range of possibility that God would fulfill his promise. Unbelief has more phases than the moon, and more colors than the chameleon. Common people, when speaking of the devil, say, that he is sometimes seen in one shape, and sometimes in another. I am sure this is true of Satan’s first-born child--unbelief, for it has a multitude of forms.

At one time I see unbelief dressed up as an angel of light. It calls itself humility, and it says, “I would not be presumptuous; I dare not believe that God would pardon me; I am too great a sinner.” We call that humility, and thank God that our friend is in such a good condition. I don’t thank God for any such delusion. It is the devil dressed as an angel of light; it is unbelief after all.

At other times we detect unbelief in the shape of a doubt of God’s immutability: “The Lord has loved me, but perhaps he will cast me away tomorrow. He helped me yesterday, and under the shadows of his wings I trust; but perhaps I will receive no help in the next affliction. He may have thrown me away; he may not remember his covenant, and forget to be gracious.”

Sometimes this infidelity is embodied in a doubt of God’s power. Every day we see new problems, we are involved in a net of difficulties, and we think “surely the Lord cannot deliver us.” We strive to get rid of our burden, and finding that we can’t do it, we think God’s arm is as short as ours, and his power as little as human might.

A fearful form of unbelief is that doubt which keeps men from coming to Christ; which leads the sinner to distrust the ability of Christ to save him, to doubt the willingness of Jesus to accept such a great transgressor. But the most hideous of all is the traitor, in its true colors, blaspheming God, and madly denying his existence. Infidelity, deism, and atheism, are the ripe fruits of this deadly tree; they are the most massive eruptions of the volcano of unbelief. Unbelief has become full mature, when removing the mask and laying aside the disguise, it profanely stalks the earth, uttering the rebellious cry, “There is no God,” striving in vain to shake the throne of the divinity, by lifting up its arm against Jehovah, and in its arrogance would,

“Snatch from his hand the balance and the rod,
Rejudge his justice--be the god of God.”

Then truly unbelief has come to its full perfection, and then you see what it really is, for the least unbelief is of the same nature as the greatest.

I am astonished, and I am sure you will be too, when I tell you that there are some strange people in the world who do not believe that unbelief is a sin. I must call them strange people, because they are sound in their faith in every other respect, but they imagine and they deny that unbelief is sinful.

I remember a young man joining a circle of friends and ministers, who were disputing whether it was a sin for men and women not to believe the gospel. While they were discussing it, he said, “Gentlemen am I in the presence of Christians? Are you believers in the Bible, or are you not?” They said, “Of course we are Christians.” “Then,” he said, “doesn’t the Scripture record Jesus as saying, ‘When the Holy Spirit comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin . . . . because men do not believe in me?’ And isn’t it the damning sin of sinners, that they do not believe on Christ?” I could not have thought that persons should be so fool-hardy as to venture to assert that, “it is not a sin for a sinner not to believe in Christ.” I thought that, however far they might wish to push their sentiments, they would not tell a lie to uphold the truth, and, in my opinion this is what such men are really doing. Truth is a strong tower and never requires to be reinforced with error. God’s Word will stand against all man’s schemes. I would never invent such an illogical argument to try to prove that it is not a sin on the part of the ungodly not to believe, for I am sure it is, for I am taught in the Scriptures that, “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light,” and when I read, “whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son,” I affirm, and the Word declares it, unbelief is a sin. Surely with rational and unbiased persons, it cannot require any reasoning to prove it. Is it not a sin for a creature to doubt the word of its Maker? Is it not a crime and an insult to the Divinity, for me, an atom, a particle of dust, to dare to deny his words? Is it not the very summit of arrogance and extremity of pride for a son of Adam to say, even in his heart, “God I doubt your grace; God I doubt your love, God I doubt your power?” Oh! dear friends believe me, if you could roll all sins into one mass--if you could take murder, and blasphemy, and lust, adultery, and fornication, and everything that is vile and unite them all into one vast ball of filthy corruption, they would not, even then, equal the sin of unbelief. This is the king of all sins, the epitome of guilt; the mixture of the venom of all crimes; the dregs of the wine of Gomorrah; it is the number one sin, the masterpiece of Satan, the chief work of the devil.

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December 15, 2007  |  Permalink   |  Comments (0)   |  TrackBack (0)

Check your homework

Why should we study the Creeds and Confessions? Guy Waters - RTS professor writes in A Debtor to Mercy Alone: an interview with Guy Waters, part 1:

We don’t place the Standards over the Scripture, of course (WCF 1.10). The Standards and other faithful summaries of Christian doctrine allow us, as a friend of mine once put it, to “check our homework,” to compare our studies in the Scripture with those of competent and recognized students of the same.

I'm also watching a series of lectures on the Federal Vision given at Woodruff Road in February. Dr. Waters is one of the lecturers. He proves his point - the Westminster Confession of Faith allows us to "check our homework" as we look at errors such as the Federal Vision.
One of the complaints at the PCA General Assembly was that the study report on the FV needed more exegesis. But, if the study report is drawing from the Westminster Standards, we can have a level of confidence that a thorough exegesis has been done, unless of course we are looking to amend the Standards. Which may be the question for FV advocates.

June 26, 2007  |  Permalink   |  Comments (0)   |  TrackBack (0)

Biblical vs. Systematic Theology

Most of my friends don't have a clue what the Emerging/Emergent Church movement is - but they do share some of the same concerns that the Emerging church has with Reformed/Presuppostional Theology. My friends (and I) like narrative. As Paul Helm points out:

What happens is that in this effort to combine a narrative and a logical approach to theology the narrative approach invariably wins out. Stories are so much more fun than logical deductions and discriminations.

Donald Miller, known for his lived or hated "Blue Like Jazz", and his influence in the Emerging Church movement says in this month's issue of Christianity Today:

"Truth is rooted in story, not in rational systems. The Christian mission is not well served when we speak in terms of spiritual laws or rational formulas. Propositional truths, when extracted from a narrative context, lack meaning. "The chief role of a Christian," he says, "is to tell a better story."

The tension between the two is magnified on both sides - presuppositional apologetics vs. emerging metanarratives. I like Helm's piece because it highlights the strength of Biblical Theology and Systematic Theology.

Yes, I would agree that great minds like Helm and even Miller (in very different ways) probably can't hold the tension between the two. Me, I like my Biblical Theology with a strong dose of Systematics thrown in - my small mind has no problem holding the two as compatible.

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June 1, 2007  |  Permalink   |  Comments (0)   |  TrackBack (0)

Ordo Salutis - Circle or Line

In our study of the Westminster Confession we've been sharing our conversion stories. Conversion narratives bring home God's work and grace in saving us. We've used the Ordo Salutis to highlight each part of God's plan of salvation. In doing this we've struggled to narratively explain that regeneration precedes faith, that faith and repentance go together and are two sides of one coin, that justification, regeneration, and effectual call are instantaneous. It all gets rather confusing - but it's important that we see each part - as we relate the whole.
Paul Helm gives a helpful illustration at Helm's Deep::

Let us take an illustration. The ordo salutis (Rom 8.28 etc.) is a sequence, part of the grand narrative of redemption. But the concepts introduced into our understanding of that sequence, and the distinctions between them, between regeneration, conviction of sin, penitence, faith, assured faith, the external call, effectual calling, justification and sanctification etc. are logical distinctions. Do they all also record temporal distinctions as well? Is justification an event? And is sanctification another, coupled to the carriage of justification and pulled along by it? Is the carriage of justification in turn pulled along by the carriage of faith? Where does adoption fit in? Has it to be squeezed in somewhere between regeneration and faith? Or between faith and justification? Or is adoption simply another description of one or more of these elements? And what about union with Christ: is this also part of the temporal sequence of separately-identifiable occurrences? If so, can we find a gap for it, a spare carriage for it to occupy? Is the decree of God, eternally foreknowing the redeemed, also an event?

Later he quotes from Geerhardus Vos:

In Biblical Theology the principle is one of historical, in Systematic Theology it is one of logical construction. Biblical Theology draws a line of development. Systematic Theology draws a circle.

The Ordo Salutis for each of us is a circle with a our line of narrative drawn through it. Helpful illustration.

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June 1, 2007  |  Permalink   |  Comments (0)   |  TrackBack (0)

Benefit of Catechisms

Tim Challis posts on the Benefits of Catechisms. I particularly appreciate his posting on seeking God’s guidance. Lately I’ve been thinking about discerning God’s will - how do we do that. This is a great reminder.

As we memorize the Westminster Shorter Catechism - remember the benefits pay off for years

There is no substitute for investing in children when they are still young. The catechisms that have survived to this day and have stood the test of time are worth knowing. They are worth teaching to our children. They are worth teaching to ourselves.

Later in I began to examine Christianity outside of the Reformed fold. I was faced with terms and theology that were foreign to me. I had never heard of this thing called the rapture and burst out laughing the first time someone explained it to me, convinced that he was pulling my leg! One of my greatest surprises, and one I found most disconcerting, was the constant discussion in mainstream Protestantism about knowing God's will and receiving guidance from Him. Before leaving Reformed circles I had never heard anyone claim to hear from God nor had I really seen people wrestle with issues of God's guidance. These were foreign concepts to me.

It took me some time to figure out why this was not a struggle for me. I did not wrestle with issues of God's guidance because I had been taught firm principles from my years of catechetical instruction. Read these words by Sinclair Ferguson (taken from his book Faithful God):

Christians in an earlier generation rarely thought of writing books on guidance. There is a reason for that (just as there is a reason why so many of us today are drawn to books that will tell us how to find God's will). Our forefathers in the faith were catechised, and they taught catechisms to their children. Often as much as half of the catechism would be devoted to an exposition of the answers to questions like the following: Question: Where do we find God's will? Answer: In the Scriptures. Question: Where in particular in the Scriptures? Answer: In the Commandments that God has given to us.
Why were these questions and answers so important? Because these Christians understood that God's law provides basic guidelines that cover the whole of life. Indeed, in the vast majority of instances, the answer to the question 'What does God want me to do?' will be found by answering the question: 'How does the law of God apply to this situation? What does the Lord require of me here in his word?'

I think Ferguson is exactly right. I have seen Christians wrestle and fight almost to the death with issues of guidance. More often than not, they finally take refuge in some type of circumstance or irrelevant detail that provides only brief comfort or assurance. I know of a person who made a major, critical decision in life based upon tossing a Bible in the air three times and randomly placing his finger upon a verse on the page which the Bible had fallen open to. I know of people who have made decisions based on hearing a particular person on the radio at a particular time or based on stirrings, feelings and emotions.

The catechisms, based as they are on firm Scriptural principles, do not allow for any of this. They are firm: we find God's will in the Scriptures, particularly in the commandments. We listen and obey. God gives us great freedom to know and do His will within the situations in which He has placed us and by using the gifts and talents with which He has blessed us. Making decisions should not be difficult. Hearing the voice of God and receiving guidance from Him is as simple as opening the Scriptures.

This is just one of many examples in which I know that years of catechetical instruction have been a blessing to me and have helped me avoid the trappings of poor theology. I am grateful, now and always, that my father and theological forefathers were faithful in teaching and applying Scripture through the catechisms. I hope and pray that I will so bless my children.

I have been remiss in posting much here. Between Pulpit Search Committee, WIC, Bible Study...... I’ve needed to prioritize. I hope to post more as we talk about God’s Covenant promises in Chapter 7.

April 19, 2006  |  Permalink   |  Comments (3)   |  TrackBack (0)

There is no Plan B

The Doctrine of God leads us to a study of God's attributes. A. W. Pink has written the classic book, The Attributes of God. It is in this small book that he covers the infinite attributes of God's foreknowledge and the decrees of God.

Before going into Pink's writing let me demonstrate an unfortunate error (heresy) that is growing in the evangelical church today. It is the Openness of God controversy - or Open Theism. I find this thinking occasionally creeping in, as I am in conversation with other dear Christians.

Lignon Duncan has written about this controversy - and demonstrates one compelling example of the error - read and think!

In his book, (Greg Boyd - The God of the Possible) Boyd tells the story goes that a young woman raised in a Christian home, from a very young age a devoted disciple of Jesus Christ, longed in her early years to be a missionary and longed to marry a godly man who would share a similar goal, and they would go to Taiwan and minister for the rest of the days of their life. That was the desire of her heart. And, lo and behold, at Bible College she met this young man who shared her vision for Taiwan. He was godly, he was committed, and they fell in love. And for three and a half years they courted one another, they prayed together, they went to church together, they prepared themselves for the mission field, and during their senior year, this man proposed to her. Not surprisingly, this young woman named Suzanne immediately said yes. And so for several months they fasted and they prayed over the matter, and they concluded that this marriage was God’s will, and that gave her a sense of confirmation that this is what God would have her do. And so with a sense of joy and peace, they marched into life. But shortly after college, the newly married couple went away to missionary school, and two years into this training, Suzanne learned that her husband was an adulterer. He was cheating on her, involved in an adulterous affair with a fellow student at the missionary college. He repented initially, but then he went right back to the affair, and despite Christian counseling, that pattern repeated itself over and over and over during the next years. As you can imagine, their dream for the mission field was immediately shattered, and eventually, their marriage broke up. And so Suzanne came to Mr. Boyd for counsel. “How do I interpret this? I was trying to do God’s will, and look at what has happened to my life.” Here’s the pastoral counsel, here’s the wise pastoral advice that open theism is ultimately able to offer: “Suzanne, take comfort. God didn’t know this was going to happen. This caught him just as off guard as it caught you. But here’s the good news, Suzanne, sometimes God’s plan B can be just as good as his plan A.” So much for the pastoral counsel of open theism.

Does God have a Plan B?

Let's go to A. W. Pink:

Continue reading "There is no Plan B"

November 21, 2005  |  Permalink   |  Comments (0)   |  TrackBack (0)

New Blog Design

Tim over at Challies Dot Com has created another great blog design for me. About a year ago he worked on my other blog Mine and Thine and now hits a homerun here. Thanks Tim - and Westminster fans - enjoy!

November 18, 2005  |  Permalink   |  TrackBack (0)

Righteousness in the Land of Forgetfulness

Have God's people forgotten? When we forget, we fall by the way.

The Reformation that began with Martin Luther 488 years ago must continue today. We must always be reforming - seeking first the kingdom of God - and His righteousness. We must base our reform on sola Scriptura - the authority of Scripture.

The Confession points to our source - Scripture. Luther called us back to our foundation - the Word of God. Let's not forget what came before us, the creeds, the councils, the work of the church. But let our authority be known - for the

“better preserving and propagating of the truth, and for the more sure establishment and comfort of the Church against the corruption of the flesh, and the malice of Satan and of the world, to commit the same wholly unto writing; which maketh the holy Scripture to be most necessary.” (WCF 1:1)

Are your wonders known in the darkness, or your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness? - Psalm 88:12 Let us not forget!

Thursday, we watch the film Luther and than move on to Chapter 2 - Of God, and of the Holy Trinity. I hate to move on, but much awaits us we look the “one only living and true God”. Shorter Catechism assignments, memory verse and hymn will be discussed in the next post. Happy Reformation Week!

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November 2, 2005  |  Permalink   |  Comments (0)   |  TrackBack (0)

Women of the Reformation

The Reformation was well under way when the Westminster Confession of Faith was written. October 31, 1517 - Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses on the church door at Wittenburg . The Westminster Confession of Faith was written over 125 years later. Yet - Scriptural authority, sufficiency, perspicuity and inerrancy had kept the fires of reformation burning. We pause now... in our study of the Confession to look at the Reformation - that precursor to Westminster - to look at the Reformation, and particularly women of the Reformation.

Women reformers in sixteenth-centruy England played a prominent role in furthering the Reformation. They showed by their faithfulness, in the face of death, their determination to help further the spreading of the true message of Scripture. Let me highlight some research shared by Dr. Susan Felch at the Henry H. Meeter Center for Reformation and Calvin studies.

Ann Boleyn - Henry VIII's second queen is written up in Foxe's Book of Martyrs. She was a steadfast patron of the Protestant movement in England. She encouraged the translation of the Bible and gave money to William Tyndale and Thomas Cranmer. She was later executed.

Katherine Parr - also a queen of Henry VIII. She was a writer and a translator. She translated Erasmus' Paraphrases of the New Testament, a text that was to become required in Reformed English churches. She also wrote a prayer book with themes like original sin, Christ's atoning death and the doctrine of the Elect.

Anne Vaughan Lock - an 11 year old girl who witnessed the execution of Stephan Cobb. She was being tutored by Stephan Cobb and continued her education with zeal after his execution. Later she became close friends with John Knox, Scotland's leading reformer. This led her to Geneva where she translated some of Calvin's works. She went on to write Meditation of the Pentitent Sinner. John Knox respected Anne and her husband. He depended on them for safety and comfort. Knox has written how their support and protection helped the reformation spread throughout Scotland and England.

Lastly, let me highlight Lady Jane Grey. You might know her as the reluctant queen, or the the nine day queen. Let me quote from Historia ecclesiastica (a terrific blog):

Michael Haykin summarizes:

...the heroes of the Reformation are not simply the remarkable cadre of theologians that emerged at that time, men like Martin Luther, Huldreich Zwingli, Heinrich Bullinger, Thomas Cranmer, and John Calvin. But the faith that these Reformers sought to explicate and promote gripped the hearts of many who were not vocational theologians. Jane Grey was such a one. Only a day or so before her death, Jane wrote in her Greek New Testament a letter for her younger sister Katherine, who was fourteen. She was seeking to encourage Katherine to turn from the fleeting pleasures of this worl

d to embrace Christ and find a treasure that is eternal. She wrote:

“I have sent you, good sister Katherine, a book, which although it be not outwardly trimmed with gold, yet inwardly it is more worth than precious stones. It is the book, dear sister, of the laws of the lord: It is His Testament and Last Will, which He bequeathed unto us wretches, which shall lead you to the path of eternal joy, and if you, with a good mind read it, and with an earnest desire, follow it shall bring you to an immortal and everlasting life. …as touching my death, rejoice as I do and consider that I shall be delivered of this corruption and put on incorruption, for as I am assured that I shall for losing of a mortal life, find an immortal felicity.”



Here we see the typical Reformation love of the Scriptures: “it is more worth than precious stones.” And central to this love of the Scriptures is Jane’s clear understanding as to why they were given: to lead sinners—those whom Jane calls “us wretches”—“to the path of eternal joy” and “immortal and everlasting life.” Finally, she has an assurance of salvation, a basic datum of New Testament Christian experience that had been recovered by the Reformers.


If we ask why she had such an assurance, a final document that she wrote, also on the eve of her execution, tells us. She wrote the following three sentences in her prayer book, the first in Latin, then one in Greek and the final one in English: “If justice be done with my body, my soul will find mercy with God. Death will give pain to my body for its sins, but the soul will be justified before God. If my faults deserve punishment, my youth at least, and my imprudence, were worthy of excuse; God and posterity will show me favour.” She has assurance of salvation because she stands justified before God, she has been made right with God, and thus is now confident of his favour.

I pray that I may be as steadfast as these women who supported the Reformation. Happy Reformation Day!

October 31, 2005  |  Permalink   |  Comments (0)   |  TrackBack (2)

God's Sovereignty

Lots of links and resources for you this week. What a wonderful discussion we had at Bible Study. Lots of thoughtful comments and great insights.

John Piper's article on suffering and God's sovereignty was mentioned - here's the link: Mercy for the Living (thanks Jessica). Another good article in World is Tsunami Atheism.

The audio of John Piper's lecture on The Suffering of Christ and the Sovereignty of God has just been released as well. I think we are hitting the jackpot (is that a Christian term??). I plan on listening to it this weekend.

Keep checking the Resources - I'll be adding new things this weekend, including a link to the Trinity Hymnal and "How to make a PodMod" (you had to be at Bible Study to know this one).

October 15, 2005  |  Permalink   |  Comments (0)   |  TrackBack (0)

Studying Doctrine as a Spiritual Activity

As we begin our study of the Westminster Confession of Faith we are going to be talking about the major doctrines of the Bible. What are doctrines? A doctrine is what the whole Bible teaches us today about some particular topic.

The first chapter of the Westminster Confession deals with the Doctrine of the Word of God. Studying the major doctrines in the confession must be done in a manner prescribed by Scripture. Scripture tells us how we should study God's word. Psalm 119:18 says, "Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law." We should pray that God opens our understanding.

Word and Spirit are intertwined in this first chapter. The Confession says, "Nevertheless we acknowledge the inward illumination of the Spirit of God to be necessary for the saving understanding of such things as are revealed in the Word. "As we approach our study we should study with prayer. It is the Holy Spirit who will help us rightly understand Scriptural doctrines. Let us begin our study this week with prayer for insight and understanding.

With this introduction - we should also allow for praise for what we've learned. Each week as we progress I will try to find a hymn using the Trinity Hymnal that you can sing (or hum) throughout the week as a form of praise for God's word and instruction that week.

One of the most valuable aspects of serious study is remembering what we've learned. What could be better than Scripture? Each week I will list one verse that would be beneficial to commit to memory. In addition I will list the Westminster Shorter Catechism questions and answers that are helpful to review and commit to memory.

Prayer, praise, rejoicing, scripture memory and catechism review are all things we can do to help us seeek God, understand His purpose and will for us, and bring God glory. May we truly say at the end of our study, "The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart." Psalm 19:8

October 10, 2005  |  Permalink   |  Comments (0)