An Act of God's Free Grace

In this part of the sermon: He outlines three primary benefits of confessions and catechisms: they function as a fence (boundary marker and barrier against error), a grid or sieve (to filter truth from…

Confessions of faith function like a fence, marking the boundaries of biblical truth and acting as a barrier against error, helping believers discern what is true and what is false.

what are the so-called Westminster Standards. Second question, what are the primary benefits of such Confessions of Faith, especially when reduced to catechisms? And I want you to think with me under three analogies. First of all, they function like a fence.

17:25 - 17:42 Read in full sermon

The point: Earnestly contend and vigorously fight for the faith once for all delivered to the saints, understanding that it is not dynamic or fluid.

Catechisms function like a grid or sieve, allowing believers to filter out the 'rocks of error' and heresy from genuine biblical truth, especially in the face of new theological challenges.

And so studying in this way helps us to see the fence not only as a boundary marker, but as a barrier against evil. But then secondly, I want you to think of the benefit of this kind of study in that these definitions found in a good catechism function like a grid or a sieve. They function like a grid or a sieve. And when you throw dirt on a sieve to get nice, soft, pure topsoil, you have that various size mesh, wire mesh, so that when you throw the shovel full of the mixed dirt,

22:15 - 22:58 Read in full sermon

The point: Don't be satisfied without a divinely implanted grid in your soul, formed by careful study of Scripture and the ministry of the Holy Spirit, to sift truth from error.

Just as bank tellers master genuine U.S. Treasury bills to detect counterfeits, believers should saturate their minds with biblical truth to readily identify false teachings on justification.

And then, thirdly, they function like a legally printed U.S. Treasury bill. I have been told, I haven't validated this, that the people responsible to know whether the bills that pass into the banks and into the hands of tellers are the real thing, the people that are responsible to identify counterfeit don't spend a lot of time studying counterfeit.

28:01 - 28:23 Read in full sermon

The point: Find solid, unshakable confidence in your acceptance with God in the court of heaven, knowing that God's declaration of righteousness is irreversible and irrevocable.

A quotation from an unnamed servant of God emphasizes that God's authority in the moral government of the universe is sole, supreme, and exclusive, meaning His declaration of justification is final and without appeal.

There is no appeal to a higher court to overturn the opinion of the higher court. He writes, In the territorial limits of another, it's beyond his jurisdiction. In the moral government of the universe, God's authority is sole, supreme, and exclusive. He alone is the lawgiver. He alone is

50:54 - 51:38 Read in full sermon