With this question, we officially dive into the third and final section of the New City Catechism, which focuses upon the Spirit, our restoration, and our growing in grace. We, therefore, begin with this very fitting question: What do we believe about the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit is God. That is the short answer, …
Continue reading Question 36: What Do We Believe About the Holy Spirit?
https://open.spotify.com/episode/4YXY477xSMHgyBrqoehzMm?si=3llhSJ-0QqyvdDHSl8Gc4w This is a wonderful question to conclude the second part of the New City Catechism that has focused upon our redemption through Christ. Having affirmed that we are saved entirely by the grace of our Lord and through faith in Him, it is certainly worth asking where such saving faith comes from. The catechism's …
Last week, we affirmed that the grace of Christ is not merely necessary for our justification but also for our sanctification. But while placing our trust in our good works would be a denial of Christ as our only Savior, His disciples must nevertheless still do good works. Indeed, we can largely make the same …
https://open.spotify.com/episode/44zgfaUe78UmXUE2L59WRW?si=3nT6Ej-xQXi7PzJ3XWNaUA While the complete sufficiency of Christ for salvation is not a newly introduced idea, we should note the progression that we find in the catechism. Questions 20-25 all addressed what foundation we have for believing in the all-sufficiency of Christ's redemption, particularly that He alone is both truly God and truly human, making Him …
https://open.spotify.com/episode/4mfNMf87iWhAAQ6lza43Qi?si=Okc1BO8jSFyc0rGD9-Dakw Throughout the Scriptures, we find our salvation being described to us on three fronts: past, present, and future. We have been saved, we are being saved, and we will be saved. These aspects of salvation are what the terms justification, sanctification, and glorification are naming. Romans 8:30’s golden chain of salvation (“And those whom …
Continue reading Question 32: What Do Justification and Sanctification Mean?
https://open.spotify.com/episode/7Aq1rykzVv05wiLgMnQdC1?si=5QC7eci6Swi-XIjFL3831Q Having answered what it means to have faith in Christ, the New City Catechism now takes us into doctrinal substance of our faith, which is summarized in the Apostles’ Creed. The main reason that we should affirm the Apostles’ Creed is that it is a faithful summary of essential Christian doctrine; it is a …
Continue reading Question 31: What Do We Believe by True Faith?
https://open.spotify.com/episode/0VywrflKYJkopyZ6oqhhLY?si=aF-rVwRFQpahy1JjfVfOBw This question (and answer) is an explanation of the answer to Question 29, which you may recall is the most personally significant question that anyone can ever ask: How can we be saved? That answer began with these words: “only by faith in Jesus Christ.” The meaning of those words is now the subject …
Continue reading Question 30: What Is Faith in Jesus Christ?
https://open.spotify.com/episode/6pYqBYN6YUbGnTHelawztG?si=suF8O04_Rsap8rhx-Aq04w When it comes to our own eternal destinations, there is no question that is more important than this one. Of course, many previous questions are more foundational than this one, and it cannot properly be understood without them. Yet when it comes to each persons immortal soul and future resurrection to either life everlasting …
https://open.spotify.com/episode/7hRCAxXkkZlMCXSGyna21r?si=7_iGsLchReye1iT6_k1Mww Having previously clarified that not all who are lost through Adam will be saved through Christ, we must now address what will become of those who are not united to Christ by faith. Although God will continuously display His common grace to those who reject His Son in this life, that grace will not …
Continue reading Question 28: What Happens After Death to Those Not United to Christ by Faith?
https://open.spotify.com/episode/03pIi4rYQBySIPcu7nZsnz?si=IjtELoQVTMWna48t5khVUg Since Christ's atoning sacrifice is entirely sufficient to forgive all the sins of all people and since Christ will surely redeem the entire cosmos, this question is a necessary one to ask: Are all people, just as they were lost in Adam, saved through Christ? The short answer is no. The slightly longer answer …
B. C. Newton 