Of assurance, the fruit of justification,
An Exposition of the Assembly's Catechism.
ty,unto iniquity ; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness, unto holiness.
Q. 13. May great sinners be sanctified ?
A. Yes ; the Spirit of God can sanctify the vilest heart ; 1 Cor. vi. 11. And such were some of you ; but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified.
Of Assurance, the Fruit of Justification.
W Hat are the benefits which in this life do Quest. 36. either accompany, or flow from justification, adoption, and sanctification ?
A. The benefits which in this life do either accompany, or flow from justification, adoption, andfanctification, areaffurance of God'slove, peace of conscience,joy in the holy Ghost, increase of grace, and perseverance therein to the end.
Q. 1. Is assurance possible to be attained in this life ?
A. Yes ; for some have had it; Cant. vi. 3. I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine. And all Christians are commanded to strive for it ; 2 Pet. i. 10. Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence, to make your calling and election sure.
Q. 2. How many forts of assurance are there ?
A. There is an objective assurance ; 2 Tim. ii. 19. Nevertheless, the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal,
The Lord knoweth them that are his. And a subjective or personal assurance ; Gal. ii. 20. Who loved me, and gave himself for me.
Q. 3. Is personal assurance perfect in this life ?
A. No ; it admits of doubts and fears, which interrupts it, and it is not always at one height ; 1 Cor. xiii. 10. When that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.
Q.4. On what testimony is personal assurance built ?
A. Upon the testimony of God's Spirit witnessing with ours ; Rom. viii. 16. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.
Q. 5. Doth the Spirit make use of signs in us to assure us ?
A. Yes; ordinarily he doth ; 1 John iii. 14. We know that we are passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. Andver. 24. Hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.
Q. 6. How is true assurance discerned from presumption ?
A. True assurance humbles the soul; Gal. ii. 20. I am crucified with Christ : nevertheless I live ; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. And makes the soul afraid of fin ; 2 Cor. vii.
An Exposition of the Assembly's Catechism.
1. Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
Q.7. What is theusualseason of assurance?
A. The time of greatest sufferings for Christ ; 1 Pet. iv. 14.
Ifye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the Spirit of glory, and of God resteth upon you.
Q. 8. Is personal assurance absolutelyneceffary to salvation ?
A. No ; a man may be saved,and in Christ, without it , Ifa. 1. 10. Who is among you that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, thatwalketh in darkness, and hath no light ? Let him trust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon his God.
. Q. 9. What is the fruit of assurance ?
A. Joy unspeakable amidst outward troubles; Rom. v. 1 14 And not only fo, but we also joy in God, through our Lord
Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.
Q. 10. What fins usuallyeclipseour assurance?
A. Negligence in duty starves it; 2 Pet. i. 10. Give diligence to make your calling and election sure : For if ye do these things ye shall never fall. And sinning against light, stabs it; Psalm li. 8. Make me to hear joy and gladness ; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.
Q. 11. What is the first inference from this doctrine ?
A. That no unregenerate person can have any assurance; for it is the fruit of justification, adoption, and fanctification.
Q. 12, What is the second inference?
A. That all the joys of heaven are not to come ; but some communicated in this life; 1 Pet. i. 8. Whom having not seenye love ; in whom thoughnowye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable, and full of glory.
Q. 13. What is the third inference ?
A. That assured believers need to be circumspest persons, that they grieve not the Spirit; Eph. iv. 30. And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
Quest. 1.W Of Peace of Conscience.
Hat doth thewordPeace signify in scripture?
A. In the language of the Old-Testament it signifies all temporal good; I Sam. xxv. 6. Peace be both to thee, and peace be in thine house, and peace be unto all that thouhaft. And in the New-Testament all special good ; as 2Theff. iii, 16. Now the Lord of peace himself give you peace always.
i An Exposition of the Assembly's Catechisms
Q. 2. What are the kinds of special peace ?
A. There is a twofold peace; one without us,by reconciliation ; Rom. v. 1. Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peacewithGod. And peace within us, bywayofconfolation; Col. iii. 15. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts.
Q. 3. What did our peace cost Christ ?
A. It cost him bloody stripes and sufferings; Ifa. liii. 5.
The chastisement of our peace was upon him ; and by his stripes we are healed.
Q. 4. Can none have true peace but such as are in him ?
A. No ; others may have false peace; Luke xi. 21. When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace.
But believers only have true peace; Rom. v. 1. Therefore, beingjustifiedby faith, we have peace with God through our
Lord Jesus Christ Q. 5. Have all believers peace in their consciences at all times?
A. No, they are always in a state of peace,but have not always the sense of peace ; Ifa. 1. 10. Who is among you that feareth the Lord, and obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light ? Let him trust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon his God.
Q. 6. What is that whichhinders the sense of peace in believers?
A. Their fins against the Lord, and grieving of his Spirit ; Ifa. lix. 2. But your iniquities have separated between you and your God; and your fins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear .
९. 7. What maintains the state of peacewhenthe sense of peace is loft ?
A. Christ's continualandpotent interceffion with the Father for us ; 1 John ii. 12. My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye fin not: And if any man fin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.
Q. 8. What is thebestwayto maintainourpeacewithGod ?
A. Strict walking by gospel rules ; Gal. vi. 16. And as many as walk according to this rule ; peace be on them.
Q. 9. Doth this peace come and go with outward peace?
A. No ; wemayenjoy this when no peace is to be had in the world; John xvi. 33. These things I have spoken unto you, that in meye might have peace. In the worldye shall have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.
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An Exposition of the Assembly's Catechism.
Q. 10. What is the first instruction from hence ?
A. That the wicked are in a fad case at all times, but especially in evil times ; Ifa. lvii. 20, 21. But the wicked are like the troubled feawhen it cannot reft, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. There is no peace, faith my God, to the wicked.
Q. 11. What is the second instruction from hence ?
A. That the chief care of a Christian should be to keep his peace with God ; Jer. xvii. 17. Be not a terror to me ; thou art my hope in the day of evil.
Q. 12. What is the last instruction from hence ?
A. Let the faints long to be in heaven, the state of full and perfect peace ; Ifa. lvii. 2. He shall enter into peace ; they thall rest in their beds, each one walking in his uprightness.
Of Joy in the Holy Ghost.
HOM OWmany forts of joy are there amongmen ?
Quest. 1.
A. There is a sensitive joy ; Acts xiv. 17.
Nevertheleis he left not himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness. Afinful joy ; Prov. xv. 21. Folly is joy to him that is destitute of wisdom. And a spiritual joy ; Rom. v. 11. And not only fo,but we alfojoy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Q. 2. Why is fpiritualjoy called joy in the holy Ghost ?
A. Because the holy Ghost is the author of it ; Gal. v. 22.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, &c.
Q. 3. What is the first thingbegetsjoy in the saints ?
A. The first thing they joy in is, their justification before God ; Ifa. lxi . 10. I will greatly rejoice in the Lord ; my soul shall be joyful in my God ; for he hath cloathed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robes of righteousness. Rom. v. 11. And not only fo, but we also joy in God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.
Q.4. What is the secondthing that breeds this joy ?
A. Hope of glory breeds joy in the saints ; Rom. v. 2.
And rejoice, in hope of the glory of God.
Q. 5. What is the inftrumentby which the Spirit conveys this joy?
A. Faith is the instrument of it; Phil. i. 25. And having this confidence, I know that I shall abide and continue with you all, for your furtherance and joy of faith.
O. 6. What is the first property of this joy ?
A. It is joy unspeakable, and full of glory; Pet. i. 8.
An Exposition of the Assembly's Catechism.
Believing,yerejoice with joy unspeakable, and full of glory.
Q. 7. What is the second property of it ?
A. That it is not in the power of men to deprive the saints of it; John xvi . 22. And your joy no man taketh from you.
Q. 8. What is the third property of it ?
A. It makes the soul free and chearful in the ways of obedience ; Psal . cxix. 32. I will run the ways of thy commandments, when thou shalt enlarge my heart.
Q. 9. What is most destructive to a Christian's joy ?
A. Sin, especially fin against light ; Psalm li. 8. Make me tohearjoy and gladness, that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.
Q. 10. What should be the main care of a Christian in this world ?
A. To maintain his joy in God to the last ; Acts xx. 24.
But none of these things move me ; neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy..
Q. 11. Have not hypocrites theirjoys as well as real Christians?
A. Yes; butthejoyof the hypocrite is not grounded upon scripture-warrant, and will vanish away, and will come to nothing at last; John v. 35. He was a burning and a shining light ; an dye were willing for a season to rejoice in his light.
Q. 12. What is the first inference from hence ?
A. Let all thatexpectjoy in the holy Ghost, see that they preserve purity of conscience and conversation ; 2 Cor. i. 12.
For our rejoicing is this,the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity, andgodly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world, and more abundantly to you-wards.
Q. 13. What is the last inference ?
A. That religion is no melancholy thing, but the fountain of all joy and pleasure ; Prov. iii. 17. Her ways are ways of pleafantness, and all her paths are peace.
Of the Increase of Grace.
Quest. 1.
Oth all true grace increase and grow ?
D A. Yes, it doth, like the morning light ; Prov. iv. 18. The path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. And for that end,God hath appointed ministers and ordinances ; Eph . iv.
11 , 12. And he gave some, apostles ; and some, prophets ; and some, evangelifts ; and some, paitors and teachers ; for D 2
An Exposition of the Assembly's Catechism.
the perfecting of the saints,for the work of the ministry, for the edifying ofthebody of Christ.
Q. 2. Cannot false, or seeming,grace grow ?
A. It may spring up, and seem to flourish, for a time, but comes not to perfection ; Luke viii. 14. And that which fell among thorns,are they,which whentheyhaveheard, goforth, and are choaked with the cares, and riches, and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection.
Q. 3. What is the first respect in which grace grows ?
A. It grows by deeper rooting itself in the soul ; Eph. iii.
17. That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith ; that ye being rooted and grounded in love, may be able, oc
Q. 4. What is the second respect or manner of its growth ?
A. It grows in respect of its greater fitness and readiness for acts of obedience ; Col. i. 11. Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience, and longfuffering, with joyfulness.
Q. 5. What is the third respect or manner ofitsgrowth ?
A. It grows in respect of its abilities to fix the mind more steadily on spiritual things. Hence grown Christians are called spiritual men ; Gal. vi. 1. Ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit ofmeeknefs.
Q.6. Why must all true grace grow ?
A. Because there is a stature to which Christians are appointed; Eph. iv. 13. Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.
Q. 7. What are the causes ofa Christian's growth?
A. Union with Christ ; John xv. 4. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine ; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. And his blessings on the ordinances ; Ifa. Iv. 10, 11. For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither,but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the fower, and bread to the eater; so shallmywordbe that goeth forth out of my mouth ; it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. And providences ;
Phil. i. 19. For I know that this shall turn to my salvation
thro' your prayers, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.
Q. 8. May not true grace sometimes decay ?
A. Yes, it may; Rev. ii. 4. Nevertheless, I have somewhatagainstthee, because thou hast left thy first love. But
An Exposition of the Assembly's Catechism.
not utterly ; 1 John iii. 9. Whosoever is born of God, doth not commit fin ; for his feed remaineth in him.
Q. 9. What is the first inference from hence ?
A. To bless God for gospel ordinances ; Psalm xcii. 13, 14.
Those that be planted in the house of the Lord, shall flourish in the courts of our God; they shall still bring forth fruit in old age ; they shall be fat and flourishing.
Q. 10. What is the second inference ?
A. Hence we fee the miserable state of them, that grow worse and worse ; Jude,ver. 12. These are spots in your feasts of charity,when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: Clouds they are without water, carried about of winds :Trees whose fruitwithereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the root.
Q. 11. What is the third inference ?
A. Christians should not be discouraged at their weakness in grace, for they have a merciful Christ; Ifaiah xlii. 3. A bruifedreedshallhe not break ; and the smoaking flax shall he not quench ; he shall bring forth judgment unto truth.
And a sure promise ; Job xvii. 9. The righteous also shall hold on his way ; and he that hath clean hands, thall be stronger and stronger.
Q. 12. What is the last inference?
A. That all true Christians draw daily nearer and nearer to the heavenly and perfect state ; 2 Cor. iv. 16. For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inwardman is renewed day by day ; Rom. xiii. 11. For now is ourfalvation nearer than when we believed.
Quest. 1 .W OfPerfeverance.
Hat is perseverance to the end ?
A. It is the steady and constant continuance of Christians in the ways of duty and obedience, amidst all temptations and discouragements to the contrary ; Col. i.
23. Ifye continue in the faith, grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven, whereofIPaul am made a minister.
Q. 2. Do all that profess Christ, continue in him ?
A. No ; many that at first zealously profess him, afterwards fall away ; John vi. 66. From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him .
Q. 3. Why do not all persevere ?
A. Because all professors have not a good root and foundation ; Matth. xiii. 20, 21. But he that received the feed into sto-
An Exposition of the Assembly's Catechism. ny places, the fame is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it ; yet hath he not rootinhimself, but dureth for a while ; for when tribulation, or persecution arifeth because of the word, by and by he is offended.
९. 4. What is the first ground of the saints perseverance ?
A. God's electing love, in which they are given to Christ ; John x. 29. My Father which gave them me, is greater than all ; and none is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.
Q. 5. What is the second ground of perseverance ?
A. The immortal nature offanctifying grace ; John iv. 14.
But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him, shall never thirst : but the water that I shall give him, shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. I John iii. 9. For his feed remaineth in him.
Q. 6. What is the third ground of it ?
A. The covenant of grace ; Jer. xxxii. 40. And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them to do them good ; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me.
Q. 7. What is the fourth ground of it ?
A. Christ's effectual interceffion ; Luke xxii. 32. But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not.
Q. 8. Are there nodeclinings of grace in the saints ?
A. Yes, there are ; Rev. ii. 4. Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.
Yet grace cannot be totally or finally loft : For the feed of God remaineth in the sanctified ; 1 John iii. 9. Whosoever is born of God, doth not commit fin; for his feed remaineth in him: And he cannot fin ; because he is born of God.
Q. 9. Is there no hope of salvation for final apoftates ?
A. No, the gospel gives none ; Heb. x. 38. But if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him .
Q. 10. What is the first instruction from hence ?
A. Itwarns all men to layagood foundation, left the buildingsofhope be overturned when the storm comes ; Matth . vii.
24, 25. Therefore, whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doth them, I will liken him unto a wise man,which built his house upon a rock : And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house ; and it fell not, for it was founded upon a rock.
Q. 11. What is the second instruction ?
That all men should look to themselves, left they lose the things which they have wrought ; 2 John verse 8.
Look to yourselves, that we lose not these things which we