The First Principle - Pt. 1

All right, good lord's day he is risen. All right, we're gonna be

Several announcements today. So first of all, we had a plea hearing scheduled for a disciplinary matter but it is going to be rescheduled due to a

Family emergency on the for the person who is involved We also have this

Thursday we'll Be The Reese's will be hosting some hospitality for whiskey in the word

We're looking at potentially breaking it up into a couple of groups this time going back to men and women

But we're not quite sure we'll get back to you quickly The Monthly council meeting is next

Lord's Day. That's the stated usual time on the 5th We will be reading

Exodus 19 we will be singing Psalms 12 and 13 we will have the deacon minute the deacon

Schaefer will be giving a psalm meditation on Psalm 13 today and they will be continuing in the

Main teaching on 2nd Timothy 3 and If you have the if you don't have the handout, please raise your hand if you need the handout you got it.

Okay All right. So let's begin with a call to worship. Please stand for the reading of God's Word The call to worship is from Deuteronomy chapter 6 verses 4 through 9

Hero Israel The Lord our God the Lord is one You shall love the

Lord your God with all your heart with all your soul and with all your strength And these words which

I command you today Shall be in your heart You should teach them diligently to your children and she'll talk of them when you sit in your house

And when you walk by the way, and when you lie down and when you rise up You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes

You should write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. You may be seated.

Let's pray Father we come before you and ask that you would cause your glory to be displayed

Powerfully that your name would be holy to us and that we would value you and your glory

That we would seek first your kingdom and your righteousness And father we pray that you would cause your kingdom more and more under the kingship of Christ To be manifest and visible in the earth

We ask that you would cause the kingdom of grace to grow to increase for the government of Christ to be increased in the earth and We ask that you would cause him to be acknowledged as the king of kings that magistrates would bow the knee

We ask that you would cause many men to come to be quick to run to the temple of God that they would

Desire to see the truth and to participate in the ordinances that have been given in your holy word

Father we pray that you would cause the church to be matured to be filled with those who desire to work together

Father we ask that you would cause an increase of faith and hope and love that we would be motivated

More and more out of gratitude for the forgiveness that we have in Christ To see your glory manifest in the earth father

We pray that you would cause the law to be useful that you would cause it to be useful to us that we would

See our guilt and our need of salvation that you would cause the law to Restrain the wickedness of men in the earth and that you would cause the law more and more to be useful to us as a lamp unto our feet

We pray that you would give us a heart to promptly and sincerely

Obey you Father we pray that you would bless us with all provision

That you would give us all of the capital goods and all of the things that are necessary for our immediate

Consumption and all of the things that allow us to enjoy the good things of this life that you provide

We ask that you would give these things to us and help us to see our children and our wives and to see our houses

Prospered with these things and that we would have the joy of seeing our friends blessed

We pray that you would cause our daily bread All the things necessary for us to do all of our duties to be provided for us

Father we confess that we are breakers of your law that we are ungrateful that we do not glorify you as we ought we do

Not search out the knowledge of you as we should So we ask that you would forgive us

That you would forgive our Breakings of your law and you would forgive our failures to do what you command

We ask that you would forgive the sin of Adam imputed to us And you would do all of this

Looking upon the blood of Christ as a satisfactory payment Father we pray

That you would look upon us as righteous because of Christ's perfect obedience

Father we ask that you would forgive these things and that you Would help us to be quick to forgive each other that you would cause us to look upon each other

Charitably to interpret each other in the best way You'd help us when we see failings to be careful to consider if we can cover faults in love or whether they are things that Must be extirpated

And father we ask that you would help us when we do engage in conflict and when there are offenses that must be rebuked

That we would be quick to repent and quick to forgive Father we ask you would help us to be a people who repents biblically and fully and properly and that we would be when we are those who sin that you would cause us to be quick to go through a full process of Repentance and to search out those that we have offended seeking to know what must

I do? To see things restored what repentance is lacking that I might be restored

Father we pray that you would help us when we are offended that we would be clear and not add things beyond what your word requires that we would be wise to know and Moderate to exercise our rights knowing what the minimums and maximums are in terms of what we can require of people

To see them restored that we would not be a foolish people who never sees any discipline and we would not be a

Over -rigorous people who require the maximum of everything all the time But father we pray that you would help us to do these things rightly

Father we know that We are surrounded by temptations and causes for stumbling We ask you'd help us to remove those causes to remove those temptations to put our lives and time and space relations in good order to remove temptation

Father we ask that you would help us to be strong when we confront temptation when we fail to prepare properly when we trip over things or when we even go headlong into temptation as fools that you would forgive us and Deliver us from evil that you wouldn't just forgive us, but that you would deliver us from the power of evil

Father we also come before you knowing that there are many difficulties and Sufferings in this life that we face

And father we ask that you would help us to overcome opposition to resist the adversary to endure overcome

Father we pray that you would help us to deal with various difficulties in life

Mr. Marsh's father we know is in trouble with his health and we ask that you would convert his father and that you

Would heal his father While we pray Also for Deanna parish that she would be healed of her sickness we pray for the

Humphreys and that you would in particular bless them with a speedy delivery soon and That you would protect mother and child

Father we ask that you would provide these things knowing that you are powerful to give

Father we ask that you would do this knowing that you have the authority to grant Father we ask these things and we do it publicly that you might give and get glory for it father

We praise you that one of the things we have prayed for But the healing of my wife that you have granted and we thank you for that and we give you praise and glory for that Father we ask that you would continue to bring glory to your name by giving

Lawful answers to lawful prayers. We pray this in the name of Jesus Christ.

Amen Please open your

Bibles to the book of Exodus chapter 19 Deacon Rodriguez, please come forward

Please stand for the reading of God's Holy Word Exodus Chapter 19 in the third month after the children of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt on the same day

They came to the wilderness of Sinai For they had departed from Rephidim had come to the wilderness of Sinai and camped in the wilderness so Israel camped there before the mountain and Moses went up to God and the

Lord called to him from the mountain saying Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob and tell the children of Israel You have seen what

I did to the Egyptians and how I bore you on eagles wings and brought you to myself Now therefore if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant

Then you shall be a special treasure to me above all people For all the earth is mine and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation

These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel So Moses came and called for the elders of the people and laid before them all these words, which the

Lord commanded him Then all the people answered together and said all that the

Lord has spoken we will do So Moses brought back the words of the people to the Lord And the

Lord said to Moses Behold, I come to you in the thick cloud that the people may hear when

I speak with you and believe you forever So Moses told these the words of the people to the

Lord Then the Lord said to Moses Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow and let them wash their clothes and Let them be ready for the third day

For on the third day the Lord will come down upon Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people You shall set bounds for the people all around saying take heed that yourself

Take heed to yourselves that you do not go up to the mountain or touch its base Whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death

Not a hand shall touch him, but he shall surely be stoned or shot with an arrow

With a man or beast he shall not live When the trumpet sounds long they shall come near the mountain so Moses went down from the mountain to the people and sanctified the people and they washed their clothes and He said to the people be ready for the third day.

Do not come near your wives Then it came to pass on the third day in the morning

That there were thunderings and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain and the sound of the trumpet was very loud so that all the people who were in the camp trembled and Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God and they stood at the foot of the mountain

Now Mount Sinai was completely in smoke because the Lord descended upon it in fire

It's it's smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace and the whole mountain quaked greatly and When the blast of the trumpet sounded long and became louder and louder

Moses spoke and God answered him by voice Then the Lord came down upon Mount Sinai on the top of the mountain and the

Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain And Moses went up and the Lord said to Moses Go down and warn the people lest they break through to gaze at the

Lord And many of them perish Also, let the priests who come near the

Lord consecrate themselves Lest the Lord break out against them But Moses said to the

Lord The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai for you warned us saying set bounds around the mountain and consecrate it

Then the Lord said to said to him away Get down and then come up you and Aaron with you

But do not let the priests and the people break break through to come up to the

Lord lest he break out against them So Moses went down to the people and spoke to them.

Please open your Psalters to Psalm 13 Deacon Walker Psalm 13 to chief musician a psalm of David How long

Lord will you forget me? Will it be forever? Oh How long will it be that you will hide your face from me?

How long will my soul take counsel having sorrow in my heart in heart How long will my most bitter foe exalt himself over me?

Oh Lord my God, please consider and so then hear my cry enlighten my eyes lest the sleep of death overtake me and Should my enemy now say

I have prevailed against him and should those who now trouble me rejoice when

I am moved I have all my confidence set firmly on your mercy

My heart within me will rejoice in your great salvation. I Will now surely sing aloud my praise unto the

Lord because the Lord has dealt with me in a bountiful way You may be seated.

All right, some Psalm 13 So Psalm 13 is colloquially known as the how long psalm

So it's a psalm that those who seek the Lord will understand more and more as they progress through the

Christian life When when undergoing trials of various types, we may cry out how long and this is the psalm for those times so the outline the outline of this psalm

In in our Psalter, it's there are six metrical verses and it's really three pairs of two

So metrical verses one and two are expressing anxiousness

Three and four are expressing David's prayer and five and six are

Express it expressing David's expectation. So let's look at the first part about Expressing this this anxiousness

So metrical verse one, how long Lord will you forget me? Will it be forever? Oh, how long will it be that you will hide your face from me?

So how long is an interesting phrase so for for any of us?

How long could just be an expression of impatience? Like how long is this gonna go on? And while the

Lord often does use Trials to teach us patience to wait on him the cry of how long can also become a statement of grief

Rather than just simple childlike impatience So it's it's how long must

I wait in this line verse how long must the wicked rule over us So David David asks will it be forever?

And of course It's not going The all -knowing

God has not Totally forgotten us cannot forget us But he can withdraw blessing for a time and for the elect that is a terrible feeling and David goes on to explain that In the next part of the verse so magical verse two

How long will my soul take counsel having sorrow in heart? How long will my most bitter foe exalt himself over me?

So David is expressing here. One of the most troubling aspects of being in sorrow At times not only are we in sorrow, but our foe our foes are joyful at our sorrow

And so that temptation there is to further respond with ungodly wrath or despair and the enemy takes joy in Seeing the righteous distraught

The enemy takes their joy in that What else what else though?

Do they have to take joy? And this is where David finds himself. So From here.

We move to David's prayer. That's this is the second of the three parts of the psalm.

It's a magical verse three. Oh My god, please consider and so then hear my cry

Enlighten my eyes lest the sleep of death overtake me So when we find ourselves

Distraught our first turn should be to the Lord David cries out not initially for a removal of the trials but to enlighten his eyes

So for King David, he's likely Referring both to physical death to be spared from it in this in this circumstance

But he's also calling out for the enlightening of his mind his understanding so that he would not give way to despair

And that's what we need to remember without the spirit upholding our minds. We will give way to utter utter despair

In the second part of his prayer and should my enemy now say I have prevailed against him and should those who now trouble me

Rejoice when I moved So this this part of David's prayer is for God's glory

He's asking God to not allow to disallow the wicked to prevail over him

Not simply for his own for his own Venice benefit But he doesn't want them to be able to rejoice in defeating the righteous

He's asking God to display his glory by saving by saving David in this and that's what

God does Christ was not defeated. God's people will not be defeated. They will endure much but not ultimate defeat and We now move into the final portion, which is

Looking at David's expectation. So he says I have all my confidence set firmly on your mercy

My heart within me will rejoice in your great salvation So David displays his understanding of the

Lord by stating what he believes will happen He begins by saying that despite all the trouble he has no doubt that salvation will come

And that's what we should remember in our own trials our Savior has come King David was looking forward to to what we already have

And he ends his prayer with I will now surely sing aloud my praise unto the

Lord Because the Lord has dealt with me in a bountiful way David finished the psalm on a very different note than it began from how long how long?

To the Lord has dealt with me in a bountiful way The salvation was greater than imagined and this is what the psalm helps us to see trials are difficult, but trials are temporary

They're temporary. We will see salvation. It is glorious and God's salvation is permanent so some sort some 13 the how long psalm was

Is for when we're enduring and during a trial We can we can use the song we to sing we can reflect on its meaning and it it addresses our our feelings in the situation it gives us a form of prayer to the

Lord and Also, what we can expect to have happen any comments questions or objections

Thank you, please stand for the singing of Psalm 13

Psalm 13 to the chief musician a psalm of David Mm -hmm

Will you forget me? Will he for his prize all day?

counsel having sorrow a most

Bitterful Exalt him sir, he's

Considered and so then here my cross and Lighten has the sleep of death

Take me and sure say against him and sure those who now

Trouble a joy is when I am

As Bibles now 2nd

Timothy chapter 3 starting at verse 14 2nd

Timothy chapter 3 starting at verse 14 But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of knowing from whom you have learned them

And that from childhood you have known the holy scriptures which are able to make you wise for salvation

Through faith, which is in Christ Jesus all scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine for a proof for correction for instruction in Righteousness that the man of God may be complete

Thoroughly equipped for every good work. I Charge you therefore before God and the

Lord Jesus Christ Who will judge the living and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom?

preach the word Be ready in season and out of season convince rebuke

Exhort with all long suffering and teaching For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine

But according to their own desires Because they have itching ears they will heap up for themselves teachers and they will turn their ears away from the truth and Be turned aside to fables

But you be watchful in all things endure afflictions

Do the work of an evangelist fulfill your ministry?

You may be seated the text that we have just read is a text that emphasizes to you

Not only that the scriptures are the Word of God and that they are sufficient But they also emphasize to you what ought to be taught by teachers and therefore it provides for you a rubric to judge teachers

There is a great temptation amongst teachers To scratch the ears of the people that hear them

There is a desire in the hearts of men to receive praise from men

There is a desire to entertain There is a desire to give things that people will find interesting and comment upon There is a desire to get men to praise the teacher and on the part of those who listen there is a desire to be entertained and It desire to find teachers who will entertain and so there is a need

For teachers to be courageous to speak the Word of God in the face of opposition to speak the

Word of God when what it says is unpopular to speak the Word of God in its whole counsel and to not skip over things and to not

Choose to not deal with things as they come up in the scriptures There is a need to give the whole of what has been given the whole counsel of God And there is a need for those who listen to develop a discerning taste

To develop a competency to judge To tell light from darkness and bitter from sweet there is also a need as you deal with the world to know what they need to hear and A need as you engage with other

Christians to know what things they need to hear And so the scriptures are that and we must have a high view of Scripture And that high view of Scripture is not merely that the scriptures are the

Word of God and not merely That they are therefore infallible and the truth itself

But that the scriptures are the whole of the truth that is available to us with certainty

Until Christ returns Certainty is a very important thing.

If something's infallible you can be certain that it is right Certainty that the scriptures teach a thing and therefore that it is true is a valuable commodity the scriptures provide for us the

Word of God and Therefore provide us with certainty of what is revealed and As you try to engage with certainty and engage with the idea of locking things down.

There's a tendency to view detailed reasoning and careful argumentation and the details of disputes as tiresome or boring beloved

The way you go from merely hearing sermons and Thinking did

I enjoy it or not? to instead transitioning to That was good and it nourished my soul

The way you go between the two is by thinking deeply about the content and when you think

Deeply about the content if you hear the same Pablum over and over again put in nice and flowery words.

You will begin to despise that shallow and profligate teaching

But if you love the truth and recognize that God is infinite and there is an infinite amount to learn about him

You will love it When depth is sought and That rather than merely the entertaining points instead those things that are necessary for stability are provided the difference between Having right opinions and having knowledge that you are certain about is the ability to prove it

How valuable is it to be able to prove a Thing The value of it is that you can nail it down So that when the winds come it doesn't just blow over the side of the ship

When you nail it down, it doesn't move around when you nail it down by argumentation.

It's stable Beloved we emphasize much here at Puritan the need to do private worship and family worship

It is possible to do that in a shallow way Now it's much better to go from no worship to a shallow worship

Right no worship far worse But when you have been in the kiddie pool for a while It is valuable to learn to swim and So the way that you go to a deeper worship of God beyond just singing the psalms reading a text and praying is

To think about the text more deeply to not just think

I'm not sure what this says But it said something to going.

I don't know what this says. Let me try to think about what it actually means Let me have certainty about the interpretation.

Let me dig into it. Let me think about it in Family worship.

It looks like talking With the members of your family about it that's called holy conference.

That's sort of a meditation out loud If you have small children, well the kiddie pools for for kids, right?

So you have small children, of course, you're going to provide for them the children's pool their children

So I'm not rebuking you with small children for having a shallow family worship and building the habit in there

You have to judge your children build the habit, you know Five minutes is the great start to going from zero to five minutes

The point is that when you are by yourself or when you're with your wife then you really must think more deeply and You must recognize.

I don't know what this text means And I need to figure it out

When you run into stuff and you have no idea what it means or you're not certain about it There's multiple possible interpretations the way you wrestle with God It's by reading it carefully considering it

Studying looking at what other godly people have said to try to get help on that argumentation

You pray for understanding and if you can't figure it out Come to your pastor come to your deacons come talk to somebody about it and seek help with it when you're meditating

When you're thinking deeply it generates questions One of the symbols of thinking deeply is having questions

One of the signs that manifests itself is having questions Think about that when you've studied hard and you've had significant growth in your life before Didn't you have lots of questions?

Nailed it So that idea that when you're growing that there's a need to get questions answered

That reality it's not just that asking questions means you're growing but if you're growing you'll have questions and So there's a need to get

Questions answered there. So as you study questions come up questions generate questions as you get them answered

People stop asking questions when they start to feel like searching for answers is fruitless

There's a great value to asking questions if you get useful answers And so this idea of the need to get questions answered as you study.

So this certainty this ability to grow Something I want you to see the value of Chapter 3 verse 14 says but you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of Knowing for who you've learned them.

We talked about this before who did Timothy learn it from he learned it from He learned it from God God is the teacher and That from childhood you have known the

Holy Scriptures Which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith, which is in Christ Jesus Faith in Christ Jesus makes you wise for salvation and We learn from God both in the terms of his word

The Scriptures but also in terms of the illuminating work of the Holy Spirit to teach So those are things we talked through before now.

I want to Move with you to the next page here.

I actually look at the bottom of page 2 of the outline. I So many people that claim to be even reformed who will deny

What at the bottom of the page is said in Westminster Confession of Faith chapter 1 section 6

The whole counsel of God Concerning all things necessary for his own glory man's salvation faith and life is either expressly set down in Scripture or by good and necessary consequence

May be deduced from Scripture Unto which nothing at any time is to be added

Whether by new revelations of the Spirit or traditions of men Okay, this is called the first principle.

Let me remind you of something It's a good thing it's a thing that's worthy of remembrance

Whatever you prove a thing by That thing by which you prove is the higher authority

The thing by which you prove is the higher authority Is there anything higher than God Is there anything higher than his word in terms of how we know?

No There is a first principle that first principle is God's Word God's Word is the starting point and we will find this principle repeated in Scripture over and over again the first principle that we start with is that the

Bible is the Word of God written and We must begin there and we must know that we learn because God teaches

There are a few things we have to recognize when we talk about the idea of what comes first We can when we talk about knowledge we can become very confused

Because when we talk about knowledge and how we know things sometimes we just talk about the experience, right?

Do you remember you remember you remember times when you learned a big lesson in your life? Like these are very strong memories for people when you had

Something that was bothering your soul that was scourging your soul that you were unhappy about a problem

You couldn't solve some problem. You couldn't figure out something that troubled you that thing was a big deal

And when you got the answer to it, it was very memorable and you can tell the story you can say

I remember I was going through my life. This was happening. This was going on. I was being troubled by this I was thinking about this stuff and this happened that happened and you know

I just was ready to hear and this guy came to me and and you know a friend of mine and he told me blah blah blah and he pointed me to these scriptures and I read that and I remember

It was it was like, you know light shone on me and blah. You've got stories of times

Where you had some problem and the answer came and it was like life to you

Sometimes that's your conversion going from unbelief to belief. Sometimes it's just some problem

You had in the Christian life that you couldn't figure out and Some of those things might even be things you remember from before you were a believer where you think you got an answer and then

You were disillusioned by something that wasn't from God's Word that process is called the psychological process or your experience the existential process that you go through and so when we talk about how do you know a lot of people give that answer in terms of the experience

And you need to recognize that your experience is not a reason why you can defend something is true

Okay, so we talk about the Bible as being the first principle. We're not talking about it being the thing that you first experienced

That brought you to a knowledge of God The other thing we can talk about in terms of coming to knowledge go to page three

We can talk about if you look at sub point C Roman numeral two

You have a metaphysical causation of knowledge Metaphysical causation is like what are the things?

That effectually brought something about no remember this God controls everything so God causes everything, right?

We sometimes deal with people in the world who don't believe in God or they claim to not believe in God And what do they do they will claim things like well the metaphysical causes of my beliefs are like brain fizz

Right if my if my if my neurons Have electrical charges and chemical reactions in a certain way it causes me to have certain thoughts those people think the metaphysical cause of their beliefs are a bunch of atoms and electrons and Maybe lipids and quarks moving around Doing stuff and so the thought

Communism is bad is really just a certain combination of electrons protons and neutrons

Moving around in a certain way with a certain type of fizz So that right there that idea that the metaphysical cause of certain thoughts is a bunch of material interaction is one

Metaphysical view the other metaphysical view you might have is the soul is immaterial so either the thoughts you have are just material chains of causation or it's immaterial and So then when we have this idea of the immaterial thinking that occurs

The Bible teaches and what we would call the reformed faith teaches that the causal chain is ultimately

God Causes the thoughts he turns the hearts of Kings wherever he wishes like channels turn water so then that we have the first one is this idea of psychological or kind of the

Experience you're running through the second one would be what are the Causes in terms of strict causation in the nature of reality and then the other one the third one

That we're really talking about when we talk about a first principle. We are talking about how do you know?

What argument can you give what are the reasons you would argue for why you believe?

How are you certain of this? And that's epistemological causation

So epistemology is the study of knowledge and we talk about things being epistemological. We're talking about the rational defense or apologetics being able to give a defense of why now

Sometimes people want to separate logic from the Word of God Well in the beginning was the logos and that word logos is the word we translate word right in the beginning was the word well in the beginning was the logic logic is a part of Words it's a part of this thinking system.

It's the wisdom of God. God is rational. He's eternally rational His wisdom is eternal

By his wisdom he created his word includes logic

Logic is an attribute of God. He is logical logic is the way God thinks So when we think about How do we know we know that God doesn't contradict himself the scriptures cannot be broken

God is a God of truth and not a God of lies. He speaks the truth.

He cannot lie If that to be true There has to be

Something there metaphysical right the very nature of God is such that he can't lie

If he says the thing it's true When he speaks worlds are made you might go there's not a world there because yes, there is boom

When he says it it's true. So when we are thinking about how do we know?

we come back to what God has said and reasoning from it and meditation is thinking about the meaning of God's Word and The reasons why we are certain

What it says Is rightly understood and is true now the

Word of God is the cause of our knowledge in terms of how we know and We don't start with something else

We start with that. The Bible is the Word of God written and it's a defensible position because the denial of it leads to absurdity

Think about that for a second when it when you deny something and it leads to absurdity It's alternative is false

Contrary is false What you're stuck with is this idea of I've got to accept this thing or else

I have to be irrational So you might say well, does that mean I'm making logic higher than the Word of God? No, remember logic is a part of the

Word of God when you use logic to disprove a thing you're using the Word of God to disprove a thing and so We start with this idea of needing to have a word from God and we are stuck in a place of ignorance apart from it

Here's a part of why? The Bible is the first principle. How many possible first principles could there be?

There's an infinite number of possible first principles. I can start with the first principle. The sky is orange Sometimes it is

But as the first principle is not particularly useful It doesn't help me to know what's true broadly or to know what's real broadly or to know what's good broadly

We start with the Word of God and it gives us answers to all of these things but More importantly than that if there's an infinite number of possible first principles then

We need someone who already knows to tell us which one's true You need a mind that knows everything to know all of the wrong ones and to know the true ones

And so we need a word from God The probability of you selecting the right one out of an infinite number is one over infinity which means zero

So you need a word from God So we're dealing with how do we know and we must rely upon a word coming to us from a mind who already knows?

Go to page four this is historically

The what is taught the idea that the Word of God is certain and nothing else is Calvin in his

Institute's has this famous line where he says look at the top of the page for nearly all the wisdom

We possess that is to say true and sound wisdom Consists of two parts.

So nearly all the wisdom we possess and really all of the true and sound wisdom consists of two parts the knowledge of God and the knowledge of ourselves and This is called the double knowledge the double knowledge is the knowledge of God and the knowledge of self and When we think about what the

Bible teaches What does it emphasize it teaches us how to know God and it teaches us about ourselves and the law of God teaches us?

About ourselves what we're designed for so what rule is God given to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him This is from the shorter cat alert

Yeah The shorter catechism the Word of God which is contained in the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments is the only rule to direct us

How we may glorify and enjoy him What are the scriptures principally teach the scriptures principally teach what man is to believe concerning God and what duty

God requires of men? You see John Calvin teaching this you see this taught here in the Westminster Standards This idea that there's two major areas for our wisdom the knowledge of God and the knowledge of self

And this is also what's taught in the scriptures in Ecclesiastes chapter 12 at the end of the book Solomon says this is the end of the matter

This is man's all fear God and keep his commandments John Calvin stole it from God By stealing it from Solomon the

Westminster Assembly stole it from John Calvin who stole it from Solomon who stole it from God The wisdom that we have available to us is the knowledge of God and the knowledge of man and the law of God teaches us about ourselves

Calvin Also in the Institute says it is certain that man never achieves a clear knowledge of himself

Unless he's first looked upon God's face and then descends from contemplating him to scrutinizing himself

You don't know who you are Until you know God one of the things that the Institute says it's fantastic Is this idea that you know if you just look around at yourself and go what about me is better than other people then you?

Say you know I'm pretty good compared to other people on the choice places. I've chosen to emphasize in comparison to them

Because the darkest brown looks white next to blackness but when we look upon God, it's like staring at the

Sun and Our eyes all of a sudden everything else looks like darkness in comparison the knowledge of God is

Necessary for us to rightly interpret ourselves Calvin says also as long as we do not look beyond the earth

We are quite pleased with our own righteousness wisdom and virtue we address ourselves in the most flattering terms but should we once begin to raise our thoughts to God and reflect on what kind of being he is and how absolute the

Perfection of that righteousness wisdom and virtue that formerly delighted us by its false show of righteousness

Will become polluted with the greatest iniquity As we think about God and his holiness

We begin to see ourselves are right the law of God is a mirror that shows us who we are and it shows us

God's holiness Calvin says it must be concluded that the

Word of God is the source of all wisdom the fountain of all righteousness and the treasure house of all knowledge

Calvin's view of scripture is the source of all wisdom and the treasure house of all knowledge

Do you think?

historically It is the reformed view That scripture is the only rule for faith and practice

Do you think it is the biblical view? That the scripture is the only rule for faith and practice

Go to page 5 Westminster Confession Chapter 1 .6.

Nevertheless, we acknowledge the inward illumination of the Spirit of God to be necessary for the saving

Understanding of such things as are revealed in the word. This is a we were just talking about. How do you know the reasons?

Like how do you defend it epistemologically and now we're moving to metaphysics again? What causes it?

Do you have the power to argue men into having faith?

You do not God Takes the words whether you argue well

Or whether you argue poorly and He does with them what he will the

Word of God does not return void It always accomplishes the purpose for which it was sent it either softens and enlivens or it deadens and it hardens

But God always does what he wants in the heavens in the earth and in the seas

He always accomplishes what he wants. I have a bunch of scriptures here about illumination

And I've put these before you a few weeks in a row And the reason I'm doing that is I'm repeating for you having those before you

Because it's important because we are all inclined to worship ourselves and think

I am so smart. I Have the power to figure it out

The race of man delights to think That it is wise and smart and can figure it out

We need the work of God To give us wisdom

We need the Word of God To give us wisdom and we need the work of God in our hearts to give us wisdom

One of the glorious promises of the New Covenant is I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts

No more shall every man teach his neighbor and every man his brother saying know the

Lord for they all Shall know me You go, what are you doing up here yelling at us still in?

Well, the result is going to be that God is going to use my inept communicating

To write his law on your hearts Matthew 23 10 and do not be called teachers for one is your teacher the

Christ Beloved I'm mainly citing that right now to remind you if you haven't read of the teacher by Augustine Do get a copy.

I think we have other ones. It's a little blue book It's 30 pages of Augustine talking about the Holy Spirit being the teacher

Get it go through that meditate on it So the rest of these things are all things that teach the power of God to illuminate hearts and I have the quotes there from Augustine again that I've given to you a few weeks in a row that are there and now go with me to page 6 the beginning of knowledge these verses

Beloved have these Stored up in your heart and do not let yourself be deceived about where knowledge comes from Proverbs 1 7

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction The fear of the

Lord is the beginning of knowledge Proverbs 9 10 is done Which is the knowledge of God and of his law the knowledge of what's good and how to get what's good?

Okay, so with those things there So now if we deal with the knowledge of God the beginning of knowledge is the fear of God that means

The beginning of knowledge in the beginning of wisdom are the same thing nobody has knowledge unless they have wisdom

Nobody has wisdom unless they have knowledge The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge and the fear of the

Lord is the beginning of wisdom When we talk about the fear of the

Lord being the beginning of knowledge, that's true from an argument Standpoint you start with once you know

God you then are able to know more The knowledge of God is the starting point unless you already understand who

God is and believe in the God of the Bible You're not going to believe that the Bible is the

Word of God and you're not gonna have a justification for it God causes you to understand him and Causes you to know him

That's the starting point of your knowledge in terms of the

Defense you start with the knowledge of God and his word Metaphysically, this is true because God causes you to believe the knowledge of him and It results in the rest of knowledge

It's a metaphysical change of causation and it's true experientially or psychologically in your life

You were going along not knowing your right hand from your left until God Gave you the knowledge of himself

So this is true from an argumentative standpoint for a metaphysical standpoint and from experience of your life

And so people want to talk about well, what about Romans 1 and other passages like Psalm 19 that talk about this idea of general revelation

Sort of catechism larger catechism in question two deals with that too. It talks about the appearing that there is a

God The very light of nature in man and the works of God declare plainly that there is a

God But his word and spirit only do sufficiently and effectually reveal him unto men for their salvation

The purpose of general revelation is to make men inexcusable Is to make men inexcusable and it's an appearing it's not something that men can justify men have in themselves

Contradictory thoughts about the attributes of God and they give those to other things.

This is important that you get this men have things like eternality and righteousness and Purpose in their minds and they make judgments about these things and they apply moral authority to things like Vox Populi Vox Dei, they'll say the voice of the people is the voice of God How do

I know right and wrong from culture or tradition or my society or my parents?

Do you know what you do when you say that when you say I know right and wrong? Because my society or my parents or my culture say so or the government has made it lawful

You've made those things God if you say what's eternal you think the universe is eternal you think

You know Jupiter whether the God of the planet you pick is eternal whichever one

If you make it eternal you've made it God these things

As you misapply moral reasoning and misapply Metaphysical reasoning we make things into false gods and we condemn ourselves

That's not knowledge. That's a basis for inexcusability It's not knowledge in the strict sense.

It's information that's manifest in the mind. It's an appearance to us it's not something we can give a justification for and we can't do it because the fear of the

Lord is the beginning of Knowledge and the fear of the Lord is also the beginning of wisdom until you have wisdom you don't have knowledge

Men are blind until God makes them see Men are dead and futile in their thinking until God gives them life and utility

When people go through the Westminster Standards and try to take the term the Word of God and make it mean whatever they want

Remember that it defines its own terms larger catechism question three says what is the

Word of God the holy scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the Word of God the only rule of faith and obedience

Whenever the Westminster Standards refer to the Word of God they always every time mean the scriptures of the

Old and New Testaments They define their own terms They're not playing around.

It's question three. It's not hidden away. It's not tucked away

It's not hard to find if you can read you probably make it to question three

Question four go to page seven How does it appear that the scriptures are the

Word of God notice appear again? How does it appear that there is a God has it appear at the scriptures of the

Word of God this isn't proof? This isn't proof appear doesn't mean proof because there's no proof higher than the

Word of God How does it appear that the scriptures of the Word of God the scriptures manifest themselves to be the

Word of God By their majesty and purity do you think the Westminster Assembly is arguing that majestic style proves something's the

Word of God? Did they think Handel's Messiah was gonna be the Word of God? I mean what what things do they think are majestic enough to prove that they don't believe this is proof

They believe this is an evidence that Brings it to a human mind not a proof

By the consent of all the parts that's necessary if the Word of God contradicts itself, then it can't be true as a system and The scope of the whole what does it address?

Holistically, which is to give all glory to God it all points to a common direction By their light and power to convince and convert sinners to comfort and build up believers unto salvation

But here's a metaphysical cause the Spirit of God bearing witness by and with the scriptures in the heart of man is

Alone able fully to persuade it that they are the very Word of God. This is metaphysical causation

But also the witnessing by the word is epistemological and we've got these terms You got it.

You got to be clear on these these are important if you want to have depth of understanding Epistemological is the way you argue metaphysical is the chain of causation and Psychological is what you experience what you're going through the stuff that runs through your mind and where you are in life

The Word of God is the epistemological first principle the

Holy Spirit illuminating is the metaphysical cause of you believing and The stuff you're going through in life is

God preparing you to hear or preparing you to be hardened Whichever one he wants now

He can overcome the most hardened man He can take a man who's persecuting the church and convert him on the spot like Paul Paul was very hardened against the

Lord Jesus Christ and the church and When God makes a man very hardened against his truth and then converts him suddenly

He's making a powerful show of his conquest other times he takes men and gradually brings them to more and more submission and In that case, he's making a show of his patience

He shows his attributes differently in different people's lives and when he brings men to bow he displays different things in the different ways he does it and when he causes men to stiffen their necks and jut their jaws and raise their heads in arrogance against him he

Shatters them and he does it to display not only can he see through all of the hypocrisy

But he can destroy every arrogant thing that raises itself up against the knowledge of God God Uses everything and every reaction for his glory

Men are sometimes dissatisfied with the effectiveness of the Word of God Maybe if I had a different argument a different mechanism a different lullaby to lull men a different Trumpet to sound we could win more people

The scriptures are the thing that the heralds are called to herald If you herald something else

You're serving a different God What you meant what you win men with you win men, too

My desire is to win men with the Word of God to the Word of God we are

Puritans if We wanted to just get a crowd together.

We wouldn't have started off as Puritans There are easier marketing methods with higher conversion rates the label

Puritan is A label that is meant to make men Who do not want to serve the

God of the Bible It's to make them run away to save ourselves the horrors of having to do battle with people we covenant with and we pour out our lives into and give our resources and care to to prevent them from coming in and Then clawing out our eyes

The label is meant to make it easy for the buyer If they want to buy wisdom

We will offer it If they want something else there are lots of places they can go

The word scripturalist is another way of just talking about Puritanism in doctrine are the words of God Sufficient for us for life and Doctrine does man live by other things or does man live by the

Word of God? alone man doesn't live by bread alone and man can live without physical bread if God desires

He has the power to preserve men without water without bread without air he can take men in the bellies of fish and Give them life the

Word of God is life. What did the scriptures principally teach?

The scriptures principally teach that man is but man is to believe concerning God and what duty God requires of man

If you say that you can get the knowledge of God outside of the scriptures Then what are the scriptures for?

If you can get the knowledge of his law outside of the scriptures Then what are the scriptures for?

Why did God waste all the paper the genocide of trees in the publishing of Bibles that has occurred?

How many thousands of pages and gallons of ink have been wasted if we can go elsewhere?

To know him and his law The scriptures principally teach what man is to believe concerning God and what duty

God requires of man The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge It's the starting point

It's where it begins in you Psychologically and metaphysically that's the first thing in the chain is the fear of God is given to you page 7 .5

That's mr. Confession chapter 1 .6 And that there are some circumstances concerning the worship of God and government of the church common to human actions and societies

Which are to be ordered by the light of nature and Christian prudence according to the general rules of the word Which are always to be observed the idea here is

That there are some things you have to apply reason to to draw out general principles from the word we will talk about reasoning from the word in the

Second service this evening And we will continue through this handout Are there any questions or comments for the voting members?

Those with speaking rights So the question is you've been dealing with people who say you have to read the

Bible Don't you and so if you're gonna get knowledge it requires you use sensory experience, right?

And so you're saying how do you argue against that and you asked is that by saying that there's a metaphysical chain?

through the eyeballs But an epistemological reasoning chain in the mind, so you're saying okay.

I think that's close the first part the metaphysical chain If a man lays his eyes on the scriptures

He opens it up. He reads a passage with his eyeballs

Does that cause him to know? metaphysically Are there people who have opened up the scriptures and looked on the pages with their eyeballs and not understood them?

Are there people who are literate who have not understood them? Are the people who have literate who have understood them who haven't believed them and therefore don't know them

Yeah, it's not The looking with the eyes or the hearing with the ear that is the metaphysical causal chain

It is the inward work of the Holy Spirit Who goes where he wishes and cannot be seen but the signs of his activity are present

It's the new birth and it's sanctification

Which man has no power to? generate we have no metaphysical capability of Converting men and we have no metaphysical capability of bringing sanctification in ourselves or anybody else

That that's the thing that people don't get and I want you to get this guys The belief that you get knowledge through your experience is inherently

Arminian that's why Thomas Aquinas and Other people who want to make man the center thing believe that salvation

Comes from themselves and their own merit and they also believe that there is this capability to get knowledge in terms of their own analytical capacity as opposed to saying

God sovereignly brings it the Augustinian view of Illumination that you can't make yourself learn and you can't make someone else learn

The book of Jeremiah makes a lot more sense When you believe that he had to go and talk to people and tell them over and over again things

They rejected and Isaiah was told you're gonna go and preach and they're gonna not believe you

Right those things. It's not that Isaiah Wasn't trained on Finney's models of revival and it's not that Jeremiah was lacking a good enough worship band

The issue was that God predestined their words to harden men

Okay, so that does that make solid this idea it's the eyes don't bring the knowledge, okay, okay, so Thank you

So it's not a method It's not a metaphysical causal chain of the photons hitting the page and bouncing into my cones and rods in my eyes that brings knowledge

That's not the metaphysical chain. That's an occasion. It's an ordinary means that God can use and You can also use to harden that is that's the thing when we talk about outward and ordinary means

This is the historic reformed view the outward and ordinary means the external stuff that we experience

Can be used to bring conversion and sanctification or it cannot and God sovereignly determines it.

Okay. Thank you Mr. Now you had your hand up Yeah, and and it becomes knowledge after you're converted general revelation becomes knowledge after you're converted and The content of general revelation is contained in the

Bible Romans 1 explains general revelation

So I can be certain that the eternal power and divine nature of God are a part of general revelation

And I can prove those things and I can show the denial of them to be absurd It's knowledge now.

There's general revelation and I know it Why do I know it? Because I was converted and because I can show it in the

Bible and I can also go and confidently say Every man has this information in their minds

Because the Bible tells me so that makes sense.

Okay anything else? Let's pray

Father we thank you that you are the one who is sovereign over knowledge and we ask that you would teach us We ask that you would enliven us.

We ask that you would quicken us we pray that you would give to us a deep knowledge of yourself father, we know at the

Beginning of knowledge is the fear of you that we cannot know anything without the knowledge of you

And father we know That there is nothing able to give us knowledge apart from your word and spirit

Father we ask that you would give us knowledge that you would use the preaching of the word the reading of the word the singing

Of the word and you would cause it to not be the mere pounding of the ears with sound But that you would cause it to be used

Effectually by the power of your Holy Spirit to give us knowledge and to cause us to bear fruit.

I Pray this in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. I think we have

Psalm 12, please stand Psalm 12

To the chief musician on an eight stringed harp a psalm of David Remember whenever you see anything about musical instruments in the worship of God You're dealing with the public worship and the sacrifices

So it should remind us of the sacrifices and their meaning and the fact that Christ has paid for us as the ultimate sacrifice

And it's to the chief musicians. We're talking about the leader of the Levitical choir. So again public worship the psalm of David Help Lord because the godly man he daily fades away and from among the sons of men the faithful Disappear they speak to neighbors idly each one speaks vanity

Yes with their lips of flattery and double hearts they speak May the

Lord cut off flattering lips and the proud tongues which say Will with our tongue prevail our lips are ours

Who's Lord over us? Because the poor are sorely pressed because the needy sighs

To give the safety they desire our Lord says I'll arise

The Lord's words are indeed most pure They are like silver tried in Earth in furnace seven times that has been purified

Lord you shall preserve and keep them forever from this age

The wicked prowl on every side and vileness is esteemed Mm -hmm

Help Lord because the godly man he daily fades away

And from among the sons of men the faithful disappear

They speak to neighbors idly each one speaks vanity

Yes with their lips of flattery And double hearts they speak

May the Lord cut off flattering lips and the proud tongues which say

Will with our tongue prevail our lips are ours. Who's Lord or us?

Because the poor are sorely The Lord's words are indeed most pure.

They are like silver tried in earth and furnace

Seven times that has been pure Lord, you shall preserve and keep them forever from this age the wicked prowl on every side and vileness is esteemed

Lord bless you and keep you Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you