Oct. 29, 2017 The Five Solas - Our Precious Heritage Pastor Josh Sheldon

These passages that Conley read To among many that could be selected for the purpose this morning

Which is to bring forth some Reformation truths the idea of the absolute unmitigated sovereignty of God in the matter of salvation

In a couple of days October 31st is what we like to call Reformation Day And this

October 31st we will have the 500th anniversary of the Reformation The Reformation being pegged to that day in 1517

October 31st in that year when this little -known monk

Martin Luther then becoming a doctor of the church preaching at that place called

Wittenberg When he nailed his 95 theses to the wall of the church and thus sparked the

Reformation 95 theses, which if we could encapsulate them all we're not going to read them all to you this morning made a single point

That salvation is of the Lord and that is none of man and that all that has to happen in order for man to be saved is from God Even the faith that we have that we have towards Jesus Christ is a gift of God And So it's calmly read to you from Isaiah 55 where the

Lord calls all to come to the true and living waters everyone who thirsts

Come to the waters he who has no money come by and eat and Martin Luther's day

It was come and by the indulgence and thus pay off your sins and all these others errors that in that time

Were troubling that man and so we have in a couple of days that 500th anniversary half a millennium of living in the

Doctrines and the theology and the recovery that was that Reformation The Reformation actually has or had a sort of a motto to it

There's a battle cry to this Reformation which in a couple of days we celebrate for its half millennium anniversary

And mottos can be great Mottos and slogans can encapsulate an entire ethos

You can think of the United States Marine Corps well known for Semper Fi always Faithful which ties very well to that ad that they used to run which is the few the proud the

Marines slogans which kind of encapsulate a Feel for an entire organization the armies this we will defend the 1775

Continental Marines don't tread on me We as a Reformed Church Have a motto of sorts and like those military ones.

I just named. It's a sort of a battle cry. It's a short memorable summary of what we stand for And what

I speak of is what we call the five solas The five solas the battle cry of the

Reformation sparked those 500 years ago And what are these? very simple sola scriptura sola dea gloria solo

Christo solo gratia solo fide Solo and solo have slightly different meanings we're going to cover that but the idea of the whole shines through By these alone is salvation known and made available and applied to sinners these solas

Scripture is our highest authority and by it alone Do we know God's will and in Scripture is the

Son of God Jesus Christ revealed sola scriptura Scripture alone

Sola gratia sola gloria God's glory alone moves him to do anything all God does is for his glory

Which is a great motive for us to live for his glory all you do do to the glory of God Why because all

God does is for his glory and for that alone sola gloria Solo Christo in Christ alone is salvation

Not by works of righteousness, which we have done the Apostle writes, but according to his mercy

He saved us by the washing and regeneration of the Holy Spirit And what does that washing regeneration do but drive us to Jesus Christ as Christ said in his great high priestly prayer

He will glorify me He will lead you to me all that the

Holy Spirit does is to place us in Christ in Christ alone in his cross alone is salvation solo

Christo Solo gratia How does

God's mercy come to us by grace alone by grace alone? Does God give his mercy to any sinner at all much less sinners in an innumerable throng?

by his grace alone and finally sola fide all this

Ours by the soul means the only way by faith

Which in of an in and of itself is a gift of God? Which does not take away the imperatives that you are commanded to repent you are commanded to believe this gospel and yet How are you able to believe this gospel?

By faith and faith alone which God gives So I thought it good

Here a couple of days before the 500th anniversary Just to go over this motto of the church

Just to speak for a little while on each of these and their biblical foundation and what they mean to us

Why they're so central to us and how we view God how we know the salvation that we have is in his son

Jesus Christ there are summary really of Volumes of the sacred text in these five slogans is this one

Comprehensive model and Lord willing as we go through these it will strengthen us in the Lord It will serve to encourage us to stay the course so the five solas

Sola scriptura the scripture alone is our standard As Martin Luther said at the

Diet of Worms. He says I don't want to listen to Popes I don't want to listen to counsel they contradict each other

We go to scripture. We go to scripture alone the doctrine that the Bible alone is the as the ultimate authority was the what we call the formal principle of the

Reformation and At 1521 where I was speaking of Martin Luther being interrogated at the

Diet of Worms He declares his conscience to be captive to one thing and one thing only

The Word of God the scripture may give you his whole quote Remembering as he as I read these words he was facing men who could put him to the stake and burn him alive as It happened to others like Jonathan Huss not long before When he said this is what he expected would be the result or knew it was very probable

Unless I'm overcome with testimonies from scripture or with evident reasons For I believe neither the

Pope nor with the council since they have often erred and contradicted one another Pardon me.

I am overcome by the scripture texts, which I have adduced and my conscience is bound by God's Word Scripture alone one of the founding principles the formal principle of the of the

Reformation and God willing and in his grace and mercy this very church We're a confessional church the

London Baptist Confession of 1689 reflects exactly what Martin Luther said and By this in God's mercy and his grace this church lives

The whole counsel of God concerning all things necessary for his own glory Man's salvation faith in life is expressly set down or necessarily contained in the

Holy Scripture Unto which nothing at any time is to be added whether by new revelation of the

Spirit or traditions of men 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 and 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 deserved observed

Sola Scriptura, let's understand as we consider this that sola is a different thing than so low

Some of our five solas are actually solo like solo Christus Christ alone

But sola here sola scriptura is different than that. It's not so low Scripture is the final arbiter of all practice and faith.

There is no other repository of God's will than in this one revelation of himself

If we take so low to mean so low We're actually outside of the

Reformation's organizing principle and we're striking out on our own every time We try to interpret and apply the scriptures if we say it's so low and not so la

We're implying that the men who came before us The Puritans whose works have stood up for almost 500 years the men today who labor over the text if we say so low

And not so la we're saying that they're unnecessary We're saying something like close that commentary.

I've got this 2 ,000 years of controversy Settled by moi. I got it figured out

We don't worship we don't revere the Puritans or any of the commentators We respect them and we make hot wise and humble reference to them

What is sola scriptura mean? Scola so scriptura means that the scripture is the arbiter

The others are helps to lead us into that truth and things that are harder to figure out

The Reformers themselves relied on those who came before they referred to them often circumspectly with discretion always with an eye on whether their

Conclusions were true to the scripture and helpful in its exposition. Why is scripture so important to us?

Why are we a church that holds this sola scriptura slogan or Formative principles because the scriptures are powerful to find us that find us

They expose us like the sword of Hebrews 412. They cut away our excuses our denials are left bereft

They leave us bare and they leave us naked with our consciences and our motives completely exposed the scripture is a word powerful to revive our sagging spirits by this sort of Spiritual violence and then to bring us back again to our

Savior found everywhere within it No other work no other book can do in a person in you or in me

What the scriptures do? You think of the great revivals in biblical history

Think of young King Josiah where he seems to have been poorly trained.

Remember he became king of Judah at age 8 And he's prompted by the

Lord to repair the temple after the damage done to it by his father King Ammon Assessed as an evil king who worshiped idols by the way his father

Manasseh had done and He orders young King Josiah orders The priests to clean up the temple to get it back in shape for worship

And while they're cleansing the temple Hilkiah the high priest you remember this this record he finds the book of the law

It seems it had been lying dormant it had been unread unopened forgotten the Word of God left behind The damage it can do to your soul the exposing of your conscience

Unwanted it's like Lord. No, don't come at me like this. We don't want this anymore. And so it's it's left there

It's left unopened. The dust is collecting on it. They find it as they're going through the temple And the way that text reads is the second

Kings chapter 22 It was it was like this mysterious artifact from a bygone era and has read before young King Josiah and The law actually had demanded that the king write himself a copy of the law this

Word of God these scriptures when he's crowned King Deuteronomy 17 says he must write himself a copy and refer to it all his life

Well, he obviously hadn't done that This church is a reformed church one of the hallmarks of reformed theology is this high regard for God's Word Do we hear it as just another book?

Are the epics in it just grand stories? I mean What do we learn when we read for example about?

Israel's judge Samson when he in the power and might of God's Spirit destroyed a thousand men with a donkey's jawbone

Or when he broke the pillars and he died with the Philistine Lords. Well, how do we take that?

Do we hear an impossible fable or do we hear the strains of sola scriptura and see

God's Providential care for his people and his distaste for his determined enemies

How do we take this book when we read for example James 4 17 He who knows the right thing to do but does not do it for him.

It is sin or Romans 14 23 Whatever does not proceed from faith is sin

You see sola scriptura is more than a slogan it's more than just a motto It is undergirded by the whole doctrine of inspiration

The Bible's in your hands and the pew backs in front of you. It is the very

Word of God the true and living God It's not too much to say that there's salvation in those pages

James says the implanted Word is able to save your souls How so?

Because it reveals Jesus It exposes ourselves Exposes our sin to us and then reveals

Jesus Christ our Savior in the beginning was the Word The Word was with God and the Word was

God and later John says and the Word became flesh

All scripture says the Word of God about itself in 2nd Timothy 3 16 is inspired by God's little

Literally breathed out by him much the way he by his spirit breathed the heavens and the earth into existence

The power of God's Holy Word to accomplish his purposes. It's what

Conley read to you in Isaiah 55 11 So shall my word be that goes out from a mouth it shall not return to me empty

But he shall accomplish that which I purpose and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it and that's a truth actually proven in history 2nd

Kings 11 the story with Josiah and the Recovery of the law it's a remarkable record of the power of this living word to accomplish

God's purposes If we go on with that scriptural account this account of the power of God's Word to cause repentance and to spark revival

Josiah when he hears the words of the law he realizes in a moment why Israel was in the shape

It was in God's Word explained it to him. The people had sinned by breaking the Lord's Covenant, so Put the convicting book back where it was found

Get this thing away from me is doing a harm to my soul my spirits crushed by his words no listen to what he did

When the king heard the words of the book of the law he tore his clothes and the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest and Ahikam the son of Shaphan and Akbar the son of Micaiah and Shaphan the secretary and Esaiah the king's servant saying go

Inquire the Lord for me and for the people and all Judah concerning the words of this book that was found

For great is the wrath of the Lord that is kindled against us because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book

To do according to all that is written concerning us What did this powerful word have

When Sola Scriptura back then in ancient Judah was recovered if only for that Short moment because we know they slid down very quickly again after that what happened a great revival is what happened

The like of which hadn't been seen hadn't been seen before or after In Nehemiah chapter 8 the preaching of the

Word of God brings national repentance this powerful word that is preached

People mourned their sins so intensely that Nehemiah had to send them home. They're forgetting God's forgiveness and What he feels when the repentant come to him and Asked for forgiveness the

Levites calmed all the people saying be quiet for this day is holy do not be grieved and all the people

Went their way because they had understood the words that were declared to them this powerful Word of God this

Sola Scriptura That can bring such grief to us for our sin

That the Levites that Nehemiah had to dismiss the people say it's enough for now Go home

No, God's forgiveness. No his mercy and his grace this

Word of God on Which we stand Jesus said of it you search the scriptures because you think in them you have eternal life

And it is they that bear witness of me They're all about Jesus This powerful word at the end of Luke's gospel

At least twice Jesus explains to the two disciples on the Emmaus Road and later to the

Apostles that all the scripture The law

The writings meaning the Psalms the histories all of it speak of me meaning himself

It's all about Christ Scriptures our highest authority

Josiah modeled that when he submitted himself and his kingdom to it Ezra modeled it when he read it to Israel and the

Levites were making sure that people understood The authority of scripture is the authority of its giver

Who is God? When we hear it when we obey it we're modeling just what the great revivals did

The power of scripture to convict us of our sin and the lead us to our Savior Jesus Sola Scriptura This is why we stand on the

Word of God Not because the Reformers did the Reformers recovered for us what the

Bible says Sola Deo Gloria for God's glory alone

One of the defining differences between mankind and animals is that man needs purpose Augustine said it this way you have made us for yourself and our hearts are restless till they find their rest in you

Pascal wrote of the God -shaped void that must be filled We're incomplete until it is and only

God can fill that void Only he can give us purpose which makes sense because he made us

We're the work of his hands were the sheep of his pasture. So our purpose must be consistent with his

We exist for him Colossians chapter 1 verse 15 to 17 He is the image meaning

Christ He's the image of the invisible God the firstborn of all creation for by him all things were created in heaven and on earth visible and invisible whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities all

Things were created through him and for him and he is before all things and in him all things hold together

Here's our purpose Do you want to know why you're here? Do you want to know if Lord Terry's and we all survive into tomorrow why you are there tomorrow doing whatever it is

You do in whatever station of life the Lord has you It's for the glory of God for the glory of God alone

This doctrine tells us why we're here why we exist. It tells us why God does anything at all the doctrinal lines with our our very lives and The purposes that we have for them

It's for the glory of God alone And if we live for God's glory if we understand that all

God does is for his glory We were right in line with Jesus think of Jesus in his incarnation

Most especially in John's gospel where he spoke so often about how he was glorifying

God God was glorifying him the Spirit would bring glory to him and he would rebound glory back to God the

Father Who would glorify his son? It's all about God's glory It's not just a slogan it's a summary of the very purpose for which

God moves to bring himself glory in John 17 for Our Lord praise

I have glorified you on earth having accomplished the work which you gave me to do

Jesus God in the flesh Jesus the very

Word of God becoming flesh. He did all for God's glory Centuries before Moses.

He asked for this. He says show me your glory God's glory that which he gives to another no other this glory for which all creation stands responsible is for God alone in John chapter 12 verse 41

We read from the inspired author of that book

John That when Isaiah in chapter 6 of his prophecy

Do you remember that when he saw God sitting on his throne high and lifted up?

And he saw the seraphim never ceasing saying holy holy holy Lord God Almighty the whole earth is full of his glory

And what are we told that when Isaiah saw that glory in John chapter 6 verse 41? He beheld Jesus glory

The psalmist tells us that the heavens declare the same refrain of God's glory

The heavens Show the glory of God The firmament shows forth his handiwork

No wonder the ref the reformers were so keen to reclaim the sovereignty of God over all aspects of the believers life

All of life has lived to the glory of God because God does all for his own glory

The Westminster Shorter Catechism asks this way. What is the chief end of man?

Man's chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever John Piper puts a little twist on that says to glorify

God by enjoying him forever This great this all -consuming

Consuming purpose was emphasized by those in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to reform the church according to God's Word in Contrast a monastic division of life into sacred versus secular the thing that the

Roman Church Perpetuated the reformers saw all of life to be lived under the lordship of Christ and to his glory

Every activity of the Christian is to be sanctified to the Lord to the glory of God First Corinthians 10 31 so whether you eat or drink whatever you do do all for the glory of God First Peter 4 11 whoever speaks as one who speaks

Oracles of God whoever serves as one who serves by the strength that God supplies in order that in him

God may be glorified Through Jesus Christ to him belong glory and dominion forever and ever

Amen says peter romans 11 36 for For from him and through him and to him are all things to him be glory forever

And once again, amen one more ephesians 3 21 to him be glory in the church

And in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever. Amen Amen Sola gratia or gloria, excuse me all for God's glory

We live to God's glory this wonderful truth recovered by the reformers living to God's glory

This is our purpose and this is the one purpose that aligns us so directly with God's own purpose for himself

God does all for his own glory. He shares his glory with no other we live for God's glory and in that we align ourselves with him solo

Cristo by Christ's work alone. We are saved

His scripture is sola Christ's work his saving work his cross is so low

Peter ended one of his earliest sermons By saying and there is salvation in no one else

For this for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved

Plain easily understood statement on the exclusivity the supremacy of Jesus Christ and his sacrifice for our sins

And john the baptist anticipated all this when he said pointing to God in the flesh Behold the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world not a lamb of God the lamb of God If the church in the 16th century taught that by God's grace and faith in Christ's cross you're able to perform deeds of righteousness that will merit salvation

And possibly merit salvation you kind of find out when you get there and maybe you come into God's presence Maybe you go to purgatory and later get bought out of there if that's what they taught the scriptures cry out

No, may it never be As Luther said to his confessor von

Staubitz a man needs only Jesus Christ No other

See in Christ. It's not sola is solo Christ Christ alone him him only add nothing to what he did add nothing to his glory

Try not to attain by your own efforts by your own works by your own merit

Anything he did because it's solo he and he alone Can bring salvation a reformation put the church

Back to faith in Christ as a sole mediator between man and God Rome held that there is quote there is a purgatory and that the souls there detained are helped by the intercession of the faithful The reformers countered that salvation was by Christ and his work on the cross and that alone

Calvin put it this way Christ stepped in Took the punishment upon himself and bore the judgment due to sinners

With his own blood he expiated the sins which made them enemies of God and thereby says thereby satisfied him

We look to Christ alone for divine favor and fatherly love the heidelberg catechism

Asks this question Do such then believe in Jesus the only savior who seek their salvation and happiness and saints

In themselves or anywhere else they do not for they boast Excuse me for though they boast of him in words yet.

Indeed. They deny Jesus the only deliverer and savior For one of these two things must be true hear this

One of these two things must be true that either Jesus is not a complete savior

Or that they who by a true faith receive this savior must find all things in him necessary to their salvation

Now, what does this do to us? And this eliminates for us one of our prized possessions Our vault of treasures is burglarized by this and his most cherished gem is removed.

And what is this thing? We hang on to this as though our lives depend upon it We give it up begrudgingly at best and whenever we find ways

To bask in its glow with reverential nostalgia. We do so what do I speak of? What is crushed by this doctrine of solo christus?

Our pride Our idea that we can do anything to gain any

Portion no matter how small you want to pretend to make it of what christ has done.

It's him and him alone Our pride is given up only with great battle

We hang on to it hard. We say if only god would look objectively on my deeds Surely he will see the value of them and accept me and know but by christ alone in salvation

Jesus said and notice the exclusivity of the word the he said I am the way and the truth and the life

No one comes through the father except through me Solo christo

What greater truth can we stand on? Then we come here to worship. Jesus christ in him alone because of the salvation that he and he alone

Gained us by the father's will solo gratia salvation by christ alone

Excuse me. I already said that one didn't I? salvation by grace alone solo gratia grace alone another pride crushing truth

If salvation is by faith in christ alone that is by god's grace alone that he designed salvation in the first place

It is by his grace alone that he sent his son to accomplish this gracious design

It is by grace alone that he made you or me or anyone else able to believe This is a central cry of the reformation

Rome taught that his mass is a quote sacrifice, which is truly propitiatory

And that by mass Quote god grants us grace and the gift of penitence remits our faults and even our enormous sins

That all sounds so good Except it's by the work of the mass

What we call the lord's table And this great truth recovered by the reformation to crush such a doctrine

Salvation Salvation by grace alone Our righteous standing before god is imputed to us by grace because of the work of jesus christ our lord

And in contrast to the doctrines of self -merit taught by rome the solas and the doctrines of grace total depravity unconditional election particular particular redemption

Irresistible grace the perseverance of the saints. They were preached by all the reformers throughout the protestant movement

The reformers recoil at the idea That christ is sacrificed over and over again

They return to the biblical doctrine of salvation by grace through faith in a once for all sacrifice

They tell us that when jesus said it is finished it was finished indeed Confession says christ by his obedience and death

Did fully discharge the debt of all those that are justified and did by the sacrifice of himself in the blood of his cross

Undergoing in their stead the penalty due unto them made a proper Real and full satisfaction to god's justice in their behalf

Their justification is only of free grace That both the exact justice and rich grace of god might be glorified in the justification of sinners

The hymn gets it just right grace grace god's grace grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt

Ezra prayed in ezra 9 6. Oh my god I am ashamed and blushed to lift my face to you my god

For our iniquities have risen higher than our heads and our guilt has mounted up to the heavens Which is as true now as it was then

And how do we overcome this we do not? But it's by grace

Grace from god grace alone grace that overcomes our sins better to say grace that overcame our sins by christ

Grace and truth came through jesus christ by christ on the cross

The fifth of these great solas Is sola fide justification is by faith alone

If the question is how then do I enter into this glorious salvation this thing that is revealed in scripture alone for god's glory alone

In christ alone by god's grace alone. How do I enter into this? The answer is very simple

By faith It's by faith by grace through faith as I read from as we read in ephesians 2 8 and 9

For by grace you are saved through faith And it's not of yourselves it is the gift of god not by works

So that no one should boast Faith is a gift It's foreign to us.

You are not born with faith to believe it's given to you as a grant of god by his grace By faith alone, how do we enter into this by faith?

the organizing principle of the reformation justification by faith alone By faith alone Our confession of faith gives a beautifully simple and yet fully orbed definition of what faith is

The grace of faith whereby the elect are enabled notice the passive sound of that Not enable themselves are enabled

To believe to the saving of their souls is the work of the spirit of christ in their hearts

And is ordinarily wrought by the ministry of the word By which also and by the administration of baptism and the lord's supper prayer and other means appointed of god

It is increased and strengthened By this faith a christian believes to be true whatsoever is revealed in the word

For the authority of god himself and so is enabled to cast his soul upon the truth thus believed

But the principal acts of saving faith have immediate relation to christ Accepting receiving and resting upon him alone for justification

Sanctification and eternal life by virtue of the covenant of grace You notice how grace and the scriptures are so intertwined

And notice that there are there are means that god has ordained for the confirmation and strengthening of this faith

You see your faith If indeed you believe in the lord jesus christ if god has given you this gift of faith so that you can believe

It's no static quantity It is meant to be used. It's meant to be worked. It must be exercised.

James says faith without works is dead Faith is a living breathing quality Implanted within the soul by the living god.

It is by grace that this gift is imparted Titus 3 5 would tell us that it comes by the renewing of the holy spirit

He saved us not by works of righteousness, which we have done But according to his own mercy by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the holy spirit

You see if faith accomplishes something within us it accomplishes something else before god Paul in romans 4 23 25.

He refers back to abraham's faith in genesis 15 6 Which says he believed god it was counted to him as righteousness

And paul applies that to us this way The words it was counted to him meaning abraham.

It was counted to him were not written for his sake alone But for ours also It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised jesus

Who raised from the dead jesus our lord who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification faith brings what

Faith brings us right standing before god. This is what it means. Therefore. I haven't been justified by faith

Justified by faith declared not guilty before the bar of the law because christ was punished for our iniquities against that law

Your punishment poured out upon him And this apprehended by you through the gift of faith

And faith bring us this right standing this justification by By before god by faith we appear before him even this moment this very moment as we're gathered together in his son's name

We're in the presence Bearing before us the very righteousness of god christ's righteousness

Considered as our own and how is that by faith and faith alone?

Romans 1 has one of the most quoted of all the old testament verses The very one that sparked martin luther's determination to rely on scripture and scripture alone and to live by faith alone

The righteous shall live by faith the righteous shall live by faith

Now in this life forever in the next all by faith It'll be impossible to pick one of these great truths

And say that this one's more important than the other I couldn't pick a favorite. They they all tie together sort of like our acrostic tulip total depravity unconditional election

Limited atonement irresistible grace perseverance of the saints What we call the doctrines of grace these all tie together

They hang together the one comes from the next and you can't take them out. You can't take one out and leave it behind These solos are kind of like that.

They're all equally important How do we know of christ?

It's in scripture alone by grace alone Through faith alone and god does it saves you saves me for the same reason.

He created all for his own glory They all kind of tie together In scripture alone is found the final authority for all of life most especially salvation in christ

Jesus in him alone whose death on the cross satisfied all of god's demands for us to be able to come before him

Clothed in his son's righteousness Applied to sinner how by god's grace and by that alone through the gift of faith and that alone

And all for the greatest glory of all and this alone His glory So it's just been the briefest summary of these great solos

These reformation principles this one reformation principle I should say That we stand on well, we stand most firmly upon god's word god's word stands above all of it

And yet as these principles Reflect god's word and drive us closer to god's word and tell us how to live in accordance with god's word of the grace of god

That is in jesus christ for the glory of god alone We have great respect

Short of reverence For these wonderful principles because they stood for us

Stood for the church for 500 years. They've held up. They've been questioned. They've been prodded.

They've been attacked They're detractors ever since they were first set down in ink And yet they've held up And over these years been handed to us and that's what this church stands on That's who this church is

Well, I want to wrap this up with just two verses. I'm just going to read these two verses And say amen, and we will continue in song romans chapter 6 verse 4

We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death in order that just as christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the

Father we too might walk in newness of life And then first peter chapter 1 verses 20 and 21

Jesus was foreknown before the foundation of the world But was made manifest in these last times for your sake who through him are believers in god

Who raised him from the dead and gave him glory so that your faith and your hope are in god.

Amen Heavenly father we thank you for this day of worship once again And we thank you father for the men who through the centuries have handed to us these principles

And insofar lord as they are meet with your word and your revelation of yourself and they drive us to the arms of our savior

And lead us father to understand your word better To know you more deeply to love christ and the salvation.

He gave us more as long father as this these works Bring that to our souls

We pray that we would Have high regard for them May your word be that which rules over all and to your glory and because of your grace may we follow it closer and closer