Catechism for Week 4

Catechism 2014

Questions for Lord’s Day #4

January 26, 2014

Children

Q.9. Who is God?       

A. God is a Spirit, and does not have a body like men.

Q.10. Where is God? 

A. God is everywhere.

Q.11. Can you see God?       

A. No. I cannot see God, but he always sees me.

Adults

Q. 9. Is God unjust to Mankind by requiring of him in the Law that which he is not able to perform?

A. No, For God had made Man such a one as (l) he might perform it: but Man, by the urging of the (m) Devil and his own stubbornness deprived himself and all his posterity of those Divine Graces.

(l) John 3.5. Ephesians 4.24.

(m) Luke 10.30

Q. 10. Does God leave this stubbornness and falling away of Man unpunished?

A. No. But God is angry in most dreadful (n) manner, as well for the sinful condition in which we are born, as also for those which we ourselves commit, and in most just Judgment punishes them with present and everlasting Punishments as he pronounced: “‘Cursed be anyone who does not confirm the words of this law by doing them. (o)”

(n) Rom. 5.12.

(o) Deut. 27.26. Gal. 3.10.

Q. 11. Is God not merciful?

A.  Yes, Truly He is (p) merciful, but he is also (q) just. Therefore his Justice requires that which is committed against the divine Majesty of God, should also be repaid with extreme, that is, everlasting Punishment both in Body and Soul.

(p) Exod. 34.6. Psalm 5.4, 5, 6.

(q) Exod. 20.5. 2 Corinthians 6.14.

Fighter Verse:

1 Thessalonians 5:14-17

14 And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. 15 See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. 16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing…                                     

Fighter Verse for Week 4: 1 Thessalonians 5:14-17

And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. 15 See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. 16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing...

1 Thessalonians 5:14-17

John 19:30 [Fighter Verse]

John 19:30 When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

2 Timothy 2:2 [Fighter Verse]

2 Timothy 2:2 "and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also."

1 Timothy 6:11-12 [Fighter Verse for 04/25/10]

1 Timothy 6:11 But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. 12 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 presence of many witnesses.

1 Cor 15:58 [Fighter Verse]

1 Cor 15:58 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

How To Fight

• This is how Paul sums up an entire chapter thinking about the resurrection. The implications of this central event in the scriptures are a challenge for us to be undisturbed, to remain firmly planted, to be fruitful in ministry.
• The gospel, as Paul preached it (1 Cor 15:1-5), is that Christ died, was buried, was raised, and appeared to many witnesses. This is a historical reality. Our faith isn't in faith, or in our feelings, or in the music we sing or the fact that we don't watch R rated movies. Our faith is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness... we dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus name. Our faith is in this historical reality. He was dead, and was raised, and appeared.
• Be Steadfast! No matter what happens to you, don't be thrown off the truth. No matter what kind of articles you see in Time or Newsweek, or the specials on the History Channel, know that the apostles gave their lives for the gospel because they saw Him alive. Alive!
• Be Immovable! No matter the political or economic climate, no matter your health or wealth, no matter if you feel like being loving or you are warmly loving the Lord, be immovable in your commitment to Him. He was raised, you will be too (1 Cor 15:20-28). Your body is wearing out, but He will give you a new one (1 Cor 15: 35-49). Death may claim those whom you love, but death has no true hold on the one who knows God (1 Cor 15:50-57).
• Abound in the Work of the Lord. Be about the business of His kingdom. You are a soldier in a war. You are a member of a team. You are a stone in God's holy temple. Be abundantly working for Him. Don't let your zeal for Him be drowned out by suffering or pain or doubt. Abound... He will rescue you at the proper time.
• Knowing that Your Labor in Him is Not in Vain. What you do, do for Him. Don't share the gospel for the sake of the one you're speaking to. If they reject it, won't that make you sad? Don't serve others for the sake of receiving praise. If they fail to perceive it, won't that reduce your motivation? Don't work hard at your job for the sake of a promotion. If your boss passes you over, won't that make you angry? Instead, share the gospel for the honor and glory of God. Even rejection is success, then. Serve for the sake of honoring the one who came not to be served, but to serve. Work, not as unto men, but as unto the Lord... and serve your boss as if he were the Lord, and know that God will honor it. No moment of life, lived for His glory, is wasted. Not one.

2 Corinthians 5:21 [Fighter Verse]

2 Corinthians 5:21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

How to Fight:

• Mercy and grace to the wretched drip all over this passage. This is good news! Break it down clause by clause, as you would divide an orange into pieces, and delight in the sweetness in each section.
• For our sake - Why did God act in the gospel? For His own glory, yes, but also for our sake. The gospel is for us, because God is good and for us! Feel the love of God in this clause.
• He made him to be sin - Jesus is pure and holy, the unblemished lamb of God who comes to take away the sin of the world (John 1:29). Jesus accomplishes this by being made sin, the very thing that God hates, so that God could crush sin in the form of His Son, so that he would not have to crush us. It sounds wicked, to punish the innocent, but we exult in the grace of God that the Son loves the Father's mission and was willing to be made sin.
• Who knew no sin - Jesus never sinned. He is a perfect and pure priest. He has never sinned, and never will... and this makes Him a perfect offering, and makes His righteousness a perfect covering for our sinfulness. Our impurity cannot blot out His perfection.
• So that in him - When we repent and believe in the gospel, the cross of Christ, His death as our death... when we are 'in him', under his protection... He as our Savior:
• We might become the righteousness of God. The gospel means that we are viewed, by God, as though we are as righteous as God. To me, that strikes me as insanity as I type it. I am sinful, worthy of scorn, and shame, and punishment. I deserve hell. Yet in the gospel... in Christ... I am counted righteous.
• Fight against a feeling of condemnation and despair and unworthiness and all that fills you with fear with that. God views you as righteous through Christ! Praise be to God for His gracious gift! Thank you, Lord Jesus.

1 Corinthians 10:13 [Fighter Verse]

1 Corinthians 10:13-14
13 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. 14 Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.

How to Fight:

- Focus on provision, then obligation. We're called to fight in the strength God supplies, not our own. Don't focus on how big or tough the temptation is... focus on what God has done for you through the cross of Christ and the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit.

- Remember the 5 big ideas. 4 are provision:

1. Every temptation you struggle with is common. You're not unique in your struggles. Everyone struggles... don't let the devil tell you you're worse than others, or fool yourself into thinking no one can identify with you. Jesus knows what it meant to be tempted.

2. God is faithful. When all else fails, God remains true. He will be there. Believe it.

3. He is restraining the magnitude of the temptation. You can beat it. God says so... He won't let you be tempted beyond your ability to fight... like a big brother or father against a playground bully. There's no contest here... though it may feel like one.

4. With the temptation comes the way of escape, so you can endure it. God has put an escape hatch in every temptation. There are a million ways to divert your attention or put distance between yourself and that temptation... but ultimately it comes down to this: God, in Christ, has given you the ability to escape...

Therefore, knowing these things, we move to idea #5, which is our obligation. In light of 1, 2, 3, and 4... we are called to flee temptation. If the temptation is common, and God is faithful, and it is within my ability (by His grace) to triumph, and He has made a way for me to beat it... then why would I not flee every temptation? Run far from the temptation of sin!

Fight in the Strength God Provides,

Keith

Psalm 27:1 [Fighter Verse for 03/05/10]

Psalm 27:1 The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

How To Fight:
- Are you afraid? Experiencing some kind of fear that is robbing your joy or that is dragging you down? Is there a sinful tendency that you lapse into because of fear?
- Contemplate the fact that God is your light... brighter than any other, driving away all darkness. Call upon Him, and trust Him for light in this present circumstance.
- Contemplate the fact that God is your salvation... He will rescue you, and has rescued you time and again. Call upon Him, and trust Him that He will save you out of this present trouble.
- Contemplate that God is called the stronghold of our lives... impenetrable. Solid. Trustworthy. Safe. What reason do we have to fear? If God is for us, who can be against us?

1 John 5:13 [Fighter Verse for 02/28/10]

1 John 5:13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.

How to Fight:

• Explanation: Rather than just posting the verse, I am going to provide just a little bit of commentary to encourage your meditation on the truth of the scripture. The point of memorizing these verses is not to know the words and have them locked up in your mental RAM so you can spit them out again, but so that you can use them to fight off all manner of sins: Unbelief, anxiety, anger, lust, bitterness, depression, etc... I hope to encourage you in the way you lay hold of the verse. What truths are in it? What does it teach? What does it promise? What conditions are there? How should it make you joyous? Feel free to email me and share additional applications for each passage. Every passage has one defined meaning, but there can be many implications found in every truth of God's Word.
• Fighter Truths: 1 John 5:13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.

1. The truths written in 1 John are written to those who believe in the name of Jesus. If you believe in Him, the promises and blessings and encouragements of 1 John are addressed to you. Believe them! Receive them! Live in them and let them embolden you!
2. The letter is written for a purpose... "that." So that. John writes to give us certainty regarding the truths he is speaking about.
3. The truths are given to give us assurance of our eternal life. Let there be no question in your heart or mind. Do not let your heart be anxious or discouraged. Do not listen to the voice of the devil, the self-defeating voice of the flesh, or the taunting discouragement of the world: If you believe in the gospel, if you are abiding in Christ, if you trust in the work of Christ on the cross, and that God will credit the righteousness of Christ to you if you trust in Christ's sacrifice, then you have eternal life.

This is an amazing blessing! Let there be no doubt! Dive in to 1 John, focus on abiding (which, conveniently, is the subject of this week's sermon) and know with a certainty that you possess eternal life.

For His glory and your joy,
Keith

John 15:7 [Fighter Verse for 02/21/10]

John 15:7

If you abide in me,
and my words abide in you,
ask whatever you wish,
and it will be done for you.

(Follow this link to see the verse on the ESV page, which will also enable you to check the verse out in other versions, if you prefer to memorize in another translation.)

Also, I plan to coordinate with our Sunday School teachers so you can have an up-to-date knowledge of what your kids should be memorizing, and to help you set the pace for them. If dad and mom store the Word up in their hearts, and use it to fight back against sin in their own lives... then the kids will do it too!

For Your Joy,
Keith

Fighter Verse for February 14th, 2010: Psalm 119:11

Psalm 119:11 I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.