Pastor's Corner — Providence Presbyterian Church

The Morning Devotional: WCF 20.4 (Part One)

The Morning Devotional for July 7, 2023
The Westminster Confession of Faith 20.4
Part One

IV. And because the power which God hath ordained, and the liberty which Christ hath purchased, are not intended by God to destroy, but mutually to uphold and preserve one another; they who, upon pretense of Christian liberty, shall oppose any lawful power, or the lawful exercise of it, whether it be civil or ecclesiastical, resist the ordinance of God.a And for their publishing of such opinions, or maintaining of such practices, as are contrary to the light of nature, or to the known principles of Christianity, whether concerning faith, worship, or conversation; or to the power of godliness; or such erroneous opinions or practices as, either in their own nature, or in the manner of publishing or maintaining them, are destructive to the external peace and order which Christ hath established in the Church; they may lawfully be called to account,b and proceeded against by the censures of the Church, and by the power of the Civil Magistrate.c

Bible Knowledge Project: Matthew 21

Read: Matthew 21

This chapter begins the section of Matthew’s gospel where Jesus is now in his final days and takes the opportunity to teach at the temple. The chapter is divided as follows: First, the triumphal entry into Jerusalem (21:1-11). Here the people praise and magnify the Savior but miss the point of his arrival. In a few days, this same crowd will clamor for his death.

bible readingWilliam HillJuly 7, 2023Matthew 21

The Morning Devotional: WCF 20.3

The Morning Devotional for July 6, 2023
The Westminster Confession of Faith 20.3

III. They who, upon pretense of Christian liberty, do practice any sin, or cherish any lust, do thereby destroy the end of Christian liberty; which is, that, being delivered out of the hands of our enemies, we might serve the Lord without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life.a

The Morning Devotional: WCF 20.2

The Morning Devotional for July 5, 2023
The Westminster Confession of Faith 20.2

II. God alone is Lord of the conscience,a and hath left it free from the doctrines and commandments of men which are in anything contrary to his Word, or beside it, in matters of faith or worship.b So that to believe such doctrines, or to obey such commands out of conscience, is to betray true liberty of conscience;c and the requiring of an implicit faith, and an absolute and blind obedience, is to destroy liberty of conscience, and reason also.d

Bible Knowledge Project: Genesis 21

Read: Genesis 21

Genesis 21 is a critical chapter within the Abrahamic narrative. The opening verses fulfill the promise made to Abraham regarding an heir – a son of his seed that will carry the thematic structure of the seed of the woman forward (See Gen. 3:15). The application of the opening verses should be a comfort to all of us as we ponder the promises of God given to us in his Word, knowing that he will do what he says. In obedience to God’s command, Abraham names his son Isaac (which means “laughter), circumcises him as he is a member of the visible church of old, and Sarah responds in praise to God for his blessing. That leads to another application for our lives. We often pray and ask God to remember his promises to us, but do we also remember to praise and thank him when he responds? It is easy to forget that, but we shouldn’t. We not only need God’s faithfulness, but we need to be faithful to thank him when he blesses us.

bible reading, GenesisWilliam HillJuly 5, 2023Genesis 21

The Morning Devotional: WCF 20.1 (Part Two)

The Morning Devotional for July 4, 2023
The Westminster Confession of Faith 20.1 (Part Two)

I. The liberty which Christ hath purchased for believers under the gospel consists in their freedom from the guilt of sin, the condemning wrath of God, the curse of the moral law;a and in their being delivered from this present evil world, bondage to Satan, and dominion of sin,bfrom the evil of afflictions, the sting of death, the victory of the grave, and everlasting damnation;c as also in their free access to God,d and their yielding obedience unto him, not out of slavish fear, but a child-like love and willing mind.e All which were common also to believers under the law;f but under the New Testament the liberty of Christians is further enlarged in their freedom from the yoke of the ceremonial law, to which the Jewish Church was subjected;g and in greater boldness of access to the throne of grace,h and in fuller communications of the free Spirit of God, than believers under the law did ordinarily partake of.i

The Morning Devotional: WCF 20.1 (Part One)

The Morning Devotional for July 3, 2023
The Westminster Confession of Faith 20.1 (Part One)

I. The liberty which Christ hath purchased for believers under the gospel consists in their freedom from the guilt of sin, the condemning wrath of God, the curse of the moral law;a and in their being delivered from this present evil world, bondage to Satan, and dominion of sin,bfrom the evil of afflictions, the sting of death, the victory of the grave, and everlasting damnation;c as also in their free access to God,d and their yielding obedience unto him, not out of slavish fear, but a child-like love and willing mind.e All which were common also to believers under the law;f

The Morning Devotional: WCF 19.7

The Morning Devotional for June 30, 2023
The Westminster Confession of Faith 19.7

VII. Neither are the forementioned uses of the law contrary to the grace of the gospel, but do sweetly comply with it:a the Spirit of Christ subduing and enabling the will of man to do that freely and cheerfully which the will of God, revealed in the law, requireth to be done.b

a. Gal 3:21. • b. Ezek 36:27; Heb 8:10 with Jer 31:33.

devotional, confessions, Westminster ConfessionWilliam HillJune 30, 2023law, grace, Romans 3, Ezekiel 36

The Morning Devotional: WCF 19.6 (Part Two)

VI. Although true believers be not under the law as a covenant of works, to be thereby justified or condemned;a yet is it of great use to them, as well as to others; in that, as a rule of life, informing them of the will of God and their duty, it directs and binds them to walk accordingly;b discovering also the sinful pollutions of their nature, hearts, and lives;c so as, examining themselves thereby, they may come to further conviction of, humiliation for, and hatred against sin;d together with a clearer sight of the need they have of Christ, and the perfection of his obedience.e It is likewise of use to the regenerate, to restrain their corruptions, in that it forbids sin;f and the threatenings of it serve to show what even their sins deserve, and what afflictions in this life they may expect for them, although freed from the curse thereof threatened in the law.g The promises of it, in like manner, show them God’s approbation of obedience, and what blessings they may expect upon the performance thereof;h although not as due to them by the law as a covenant of works:i so as a man’s doing good, and refraining from evil, because the law encourageth to the one, and deterreth from the other, is no evidence of his being under the law, and not under grace.j

devotional, confessions, Westminster ConfessionWilliam HillJune 29, 2023law, James 2, Ezra 9, Deuteronomy 5, Romans 6

The Morning Devotional: WCF 19.6 (Part One)

The Morning Devotional for June 28, 2023
The Westminster Confession of Faith 19.6 (Part One)

VI. Although true believers be not under the law as a covenant of works, to be thereby justified or condemned;a yet is it of great use to them, as well as to others; in that, as a rule of life, informing them of the will of God and their duty, it directs and binds them to walk accordingly;b discovering also the sinful pollutions of their nature, hearts, and lives;c so as, examining themselves thereby, they may come to further conviction of, humiliation for, and hatred against sin;d

The Morning Devotional: WCF 19.5

The Morning Devotional for June 27, 2023
The Westminster Confession of Faith 19.5

V. The moral law doth forever bind all, as well justified persons as others, to the obedience thereof;a and that not only in regard of the matter contained in it, but also in respect of the authority of God the Creator who gave it.b Neither doth Christ in the gospel any way dissolve, but much strengthen, this obligation.c

The Morning Devotional: WCF 19.4

The Morning Devotional for June 26, 2023
The Westminster Confession of Faith 19.4

IV. To them also, as a body politic, he gave sundry judicial laws, which expired together with the State of that people, not obliging any other, now, further than the general equity thereof may require.a

The Pastor’s Corner

The blog of Pastor William F. Hill, Jr.