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Making a Good Profession ______ Making A Good Profession __________________________________________________ A Course in Basic Christian Faith and Practice in Preparation for Making Public Profession of Faith ___________________________________ 1 Timothy 6:12 “Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life, to which you were also called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” by Pastor Gregory Edward Reynolds, D. Min. 2011 First published 1998; Revised in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2007, 2011 Copyright © 2011 by Gregory Edward Reynolds All rights reserved Making a Good Profession – Introduction Contents Introduction v The Purpose of the Course v Participation in the Course vi Reading for the Course vi The Proper Tools for Bible Study vii Schedule of Classes x 1. Scripture: The Foundation of Our Profession 1 The Authority of Scripture 1 Seven Views of the Bible’s Authority 1 Two Types of Revelation: Special and General 2 The Three-fold Testimony that the Bible Is God’s Word 4 The Sufficiency of Scripture 6 The Clarity of Scripture 6 The Necessity of Scripture 7 The Unity of Scripture 7 The Confession and Scripture 8 2. Salvation Accomplished: The God of Our Profession 10 The God of the Bible 10 The Attributes of God 10 The Trinity 11 The Sovereignty of God 13 The Creator 14 The Providence of God 16 The Sin of Man 16 The Fall 17 Total Depravity 18 Christ the Redeemer 20 The Promise of a Redeemer 20 The Person of the Redeemer 21 The Work of the Redeemer 22 3. Salvation Applied: The Realization of Our Profession 25 The Holy Spirit 25 The Order of Application 26 Calling 26 Union with Christ 27 Regeneration 27 Conversion: Repentance and Faith 28 Justification 30 Adoption 31 Sanctification 32 Perseverance 33 ii Making a Good Profession – Introduction Glorification 34 4. Salvation Applied: Living Our Profession 37 The Mandate of Sanctification 37 The Measure of Sanctification: God’s Law 38 The Third Use of the Law 38 The Summary of the Law 39 The Preface to the Ten Commandments 40 The First Commandment 40 The Second Commandment 41 The Third Commandment 43 The Fourth Commandment 44 The Fifth Commandment 46 The Sixth Commandment 47 The Seventh Commandment 48 The Eighth Commandment 49 The Ninth Commandment 51 The Tenth Commandment 52 The Means of Sanctification 52 Get Saturated with the Word of God 53 Cultivate the Proper Motivation 53 Use the Proper Power 54 Mortify Your Sin Daily 54 Follow the Proper Models and Modes 54 5. The Church: The Context of Our Profession 56 The Definition of the Church 56 Scriptural Names 56 Scriptural Attributes 57 Visible and Invisible 59 Confessional 60 Three Modes of the Church’s Existence 61 The Spirituality of the Church 62 The Marks of the Church 62 True and False Churches 62 The Three Marks 63 Separation 63 The Government of the Church 63 Christ Is the Only Head 63 Presbyterian Government 64 The Offices: General and Special 65 The History of Presbyterianism 66 The History of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church 67 Membership in the Church 67 The Necessity of Membership 67 The Benefits of Membership 69 iii Making a Good Profession – Introduction The Responsibilities of Membership 69 Procedure 70 The Means of Grace 70 Definition 70 The Word 71 The Sacraments 72 The Sacrament of Baptism 73 The Meaning of Baptism 73 The Mode of Baptism 74 The Application of Baptism 75 The Efficacy of Baptism 77 The Responsibility of Parents 77 The Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper 78 Prayer 80 Public Worship 82 6. Mission: The Propagation of Our Profession 84 The Task of the Church 84 The Message of Missions 85 Deed Ministry in Missions 86 The Method of Missions 86 Apologetics in Missions 87 7. Last Things: The Fulfillment of Our Profession 89 Personal Eschatology 89 Historical Eschatology 90 Conclusion 93 Appendices 94 A. Questions for Public Profession 94 B. The Apostles’ Creed 95 C. The Lord’s Prayer 96 D. The Ten Commandments 97 E. The Five Points of Calvinism 98 Total Depravity 98 Unconditional Election 98 Limited Atonement 99 Irresistible Grace 100 Perseverance of the Saints 100 Scripture quotations: The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles. iv Making a Good Profession – Introduction Making A Good Profession Introduction This little book is intended to serve the needs of the local session in fulfilling its task of training people to make “a good profession” of their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ before his church. The material is based on Scripture and our secondary standards The Westminster Confession and Catechisms and assumes the use of the “Questions for Public Profession of Faith in Christ” found in “The Directory for the Public Worship of God,” Chapter IV.B.2, in The Book of Church Order of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church (cf. Appendix B). The Purpose of the Course This course is designed for those who wish to consider membership in this local church, by acquainting them with the teaching and practice of this particular church; and designed to prepare those who wish to make a good profession of Jesus Christ in his church. You will no doubt find that there are many areas that will require more study in the future. This course is only meant to lay the foundation and equip believers with the basic resources for a lifetime of Christian study and growth. Participants should look at this study as a beginning not an end. The course will cover the full range of what it means to be a Christian in faith and life. This involves what Presbyterians believe and how we are to live as a consequence of those beliefs. Such teaching was known in the ancient church as catechizing. Whether or not such instruction should take place before or after one makes a “public profession of faith” before the church may be debatable. Biblical precedent points in the direction or prior instruction, especially for the “unchurched,” who have little of no knowledge of the Christian faith. The book of Acts gives several examples of those who were connected with the synagogue and yet received instruction prior to baptism. Philip explained the passage that the Ethiopian Eunuch was reading in Isaiah and went on to preach Jesus from the rest of Scripture to him (Acts 8:35). Peter instructed the godly Cornelius prior to baptism (Acts 10:34ff). If those connected with the visible church of the old covenant needed instruction, how much more essential is it in our day, which is largely characterized by ignorance of the Bible. Whether instruction takes place before or after membership vows are taken, one thing is clear at Pentecost: the centrality of apostolic teaching in the life of the early church (Acts 2:41–42). There is no more important course of instruction offered in the Christian church than the one which prepares people to make a good profession of Jesus Christ. The lack of such training today, along with the general absence of biblical literacy in our culture adds to the urgency of the task. The Reformation heritage of conservative Presbyterian churches has put us on the cutting edge of education for several centuries. The progress of God’s kingdom in the present day depends upon knowing what and who we believe, and how we are to live. Teaching the “whole counsel of God” lies at the heart of fulfilling our Lord’s Great Commission to “disciple the nations.” We cannot properly worship and serve a Lord and Savior about whom we know little. That is the heart and soul of biblical doctrine. In 1 Timothy 6:12 Paul enjoins Timothy to “Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the v Making a Good Profession – Introduction presence of many witnesses.” Profess means to confess or declare plainly. A Christian profession is an earnest confession that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God; and that eternal life is obtained by faith in him alone, as the Son of the Triune God. Timothy had made such a profession in the presence of the church, not only at the beginning of his Christian life but continually as a disciple who lived according to what he said he believed. The English word believe is derived from two words in late old English, be and lēfan, “to live in accordance with, or loyal to a person.” This word accurately captures the meaning of the Greek word for faith (pistis). To profess a good profession is to take vows before the living God in the presence of his people, the church, that commit the professor to being a life-long disciple of the crucified and risen Christ. One becomes a soldier in God’s spiritual army the church. In order to fight the good fight with Timothy one must be well equipped with a good knowledge of the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God (Eph. 6:17). This is the burden of this course. Along with the effort that goes into study each student has the promise of our Lord: “So everyone who acknowledges me before men, him I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven . .” (Matt. 10:32). Participation in the Course Participation in this course does not necessarily represent a commitment to becoming a member of this church. In order to gain the most benefit from this course the following guidelines are recommended: 1. Study the assigned material prayerfully with an open Bible.
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