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20 Cards in this Set
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What is saving faith? Defend your answer with Scripture proofs.
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WSC 86 Faith in Jesus Christ is a saving grace whereby we receive and rest upon him alone for salvation, as he is offered to us in the gospel
WCF 13.1- The grace of faith, whereby the elect 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 the sacraments, and prayer, it is increased and strengthened. John 1.12- “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God…” Philippians 3.8-9- “I consider [all things] rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ- the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.” Galatians 2.15-16- “man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified. |
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Where does saving faith come from? Defend your answer with Scripture proofs.
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Saving faith is worked in the heart by the Holy Spirit and the word of God.
2 Thessalonians 2.13 “But we ought to thank God for you brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth.” Ephesians 2.8-9 “for it is by grace you have been saved, through faith- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God- not by works, so that no one can boast.” |
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What does saving faith believe? Defend your answer with Scripture proofs.
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Romans 10.9- “That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
John 5.24- “I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes Him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.” Believes whatever is taught in Scripture. WCF 13.2 “By this faith, a Christian believes to be true whatever is revealed in the Word, for the authority of God himself speaking therein; and acts differently upon that which each particular passage thereof contains; yielding obedience to the commands, trembling at the threatening, and embracing the promises of God for this life, and that which is to come. But the principal acts of saving faith are accepting, receiving, and resting upon Christ alone for justification, sanctification and eternal life, by virtue of the covenant of grace.” |
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Is all faith alike? Defend your answer with Scripture proofs.
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No - there is saving and non-saving faith - and of the saving faith there are degrees of weak and strong;
WCF 13.3 This faith is different, weak and strong; may be often and many ways assailed, and weakened, but gets the victory; growing up in many to the attainment of a full assurance, through Christ, who is both the author and finisher of our faith. Hebrews 5.13-14- “Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not aquatinted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. Matthew 6.30- “If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith.” James 2.19- “You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that- and shudder.” |
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Define "repentance." Defend your answer with Scripture proofs.
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Repentance unto life is a saving grace, whereby a sinner out of a true sense of his sin, and apprehension of the mercy of God in Christ, does with grief and hatred of his sin, turn from it, unto God with full purpose of and endeavor after new obedience. WSC #87
Acts 2.37-38 “When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “ Brothers, what shall we do? Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, everyone of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.” Joel 2.13-14 “Even now, declares the LORD, return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning. Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity.” |
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In what sense is repentance "necessary?" Defend your answer with Scripture proofs.
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Repentance is necessary in that no sinner may expect pardon without it.
WCF 15.3 “Although repentance is not to be rested in, as any satisfaction for sin, or any cause of the pardon thereof, which is the act of God’s free grace in Christ; it is of such necessity to all sinners, that none may expect pardon without it. Luke 13.3 “I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. Acts 17.30-31 “In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead. |
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How ought we to confess our sins? Defend your answer with Scripture proofs.
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Specifically in public or private
WCF 15.5 Men ought not content themselves with a general repentance, but it is every man’s duty to endeavor to repent of his particular sins, particularly. WCF 15.6 As every man is bound to make private confession of his sins to God, praying for the pardon thereof... forsaking of them... find[ing] mercy; He that scandalizes his brother, or the church of Christ, ought to be willing, by public or private confession, and sorrow for his sin, to declare his repentance to those that are offended, who are thereupon to be reconciled to him, and in love to receive him. Luke 19.8- But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount. Proverbs 28.13 “He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy. 1 John 1.9 “ If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. |
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What are good works? Defend your answer with Scripture proofs.
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WCF 16.1 Good works [are those things which] God has commanded in His Holy Word... [and not things] devised by men out of blind zeal, or upon any pretense of good intention.
Micah 6.8- He has showed you, O Man, what is good and what the Lord requires of you. To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. Hebrews 13.20-21- May the God of Peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen |
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What is the relation of good works to faith? Defend your answer with Scripture proofs.
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Good works are the fruit of true faith.
James 2.18,22 But someone will say, You have faith but I have deeds. Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. Ephesians 2.8-10- For we are saved by grace, through faith and this is not of ourselves it is a gift from God. We are God’s workmanship, created to do good works, which were prepared in advance for us. WCF 16.2 good works are: 1) are done in obedience to God’s commandments, 2) are the fruit and evidences of a true and lively faith They are performed by believers to 1) manifest their thankfulness, 2) strengthen their assurance, 3) edify their brethren, 4) adorn the profession of the gospel, 5) stop the mouths of the adversaries, 5) glorify God, whose workmanship they are, created in Christ Jesus thereunto, that , having their fruit unto holiness, they may have the end, eternal life. |
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Are good works necessary for salvation? Defend your answer with Scripture proofs.
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No, they are not necessary for salvation, but they are the necessary fruit of saving faith.
James 2.18,22 But someone will say, You have faith but I have deeds. Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. |
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Can our good works save us? Defend your answer with Scripture proofs.
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WCF 16.5 We cannot by our best works merit pardon of sin, or eternal life at the hand of God, by reason of the great disproportion.... infinite distance that is between us and God... we can neither profit, nor satisfy for the debt of our former sins... when we have done all we can, we have done but our duty, and are unprofitable servants. Our works are good because they proceed from His Spirit... yet when done by us they are defiled... mixed with weakness and imperfectio.n.. cannot endure the severity of God’s judgment-
Romans 3.20- Therefore no will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin. Ephesians 2.8-9 for it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this not from yourselves, it is a gift of God- not by works, so that no one can boast. Titus 3.4-5 But when the kindness and love of God our savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. |
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Can unbelievers do good works? Defend your answer with Scripture proofs.
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WSF 16.7 No, though unbelievers might do that which is perceived by fellow man to be good (and even commanded by God), the unbeliever's heart is so impure (lacking saving faith) as that nothing untainted by sin may proceed from them (must proceed from the HS) and therefore nothing which God considers good.
Gen. 6.5 The Lord saw man’s wickedness ... every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. Jer. 17.9- The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? Rom. 3.10-12 There is no one righteous no not one... Rom. 8:7 …The sinful mind is hostile to God. does not, cannot submit to God’s law; it is controlled by sinful nature cannot please God. Eph. 2.1-3 you were dead in your transgressions & sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world... |
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Define and defend (include Scripture proofs) the doctrine of "perseverance."
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John 6.44 no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up in the last day.
John 10.28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. Phil. 1.6 be confident of this, he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus Rom. 8.29-30 those God foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined....called.... justified.... gorified 1 John 2.19 they went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us, but their going showed that none of them belonged to us. WCF 17.1- They, whom God has accepted in His Beloved, effectually called, and sanctified by His Spirit, can neither totally nor finally fall away from the state of grace, but shall certainly preserve therein to the end, and be eternally saved. |
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Can a saved person later be eternally lost? Defend your answer with Scripture proofs.
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WLC #79 True believers, by reason of the unchangeable love of God, and his decree and covenant to give them perseverance, their inseparable union with Christ, his continual intercession for them, and the Spirit and seed of God abiding in them, can neither totally nor finally fall away from the state of grace, but are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation
1 John 2.19 they went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us, but their going showed that none of them belonged to us. John 10:28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand John 6:44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up in the last day Phil. 1:6 …being confident of this, he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Romans 8:29-30 For those God foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also... called.. justified, he also glorified. |
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On what does a believer's persevering depend? Defend with Scripture proofs.
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The immutability of God’s free election of them in Christ.
WCF 17.2 This perseverance of the saints depends not upon their own free will, but upon the immutability of the decree of God’s free election, flowing from the free and unchangeable love of God the Father; upon the efficacy of the merit and intercession of Jesus Christ, the abiding of the Spirit, and the seed of God with them, and the nature of the covenant of grace: from all which arises also the certainty and infallibility thereof. John 10.28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand John 6.44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up in the last day Phil. 1.6 be confident of this, he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. |
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Can a person be sure he is saved? Defend your answer with Scripture proofs.
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Such as truly believe in Christ, and endeavor to walk in all good conscience before him, may without extraordinary revelation, by faith grounded upon the truth of God’s promises, and only by the Spirit enabling them to discern in themselves those graces to which the promises of life are made, and bearing witness with their spirits that they are the children of God, be infallibly assured that they are in the estate of grace, and shall persevere therein unto salvation WLC #80
1 John 5.13- I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life (2:5, 5:13& 20) Romans 8.16- The Spirit himself testifies with your spirit that we are God’s children |
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Should a person be sure he is saved? Defend your answer with Scripture proofs.
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WCF 18.3 it is the duty of everyone to give all diligence to make his calling and election sure, that thereby his heart may be enlarged in peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, in love and thankfulness to God, and in strength and cheerfulness in the duties of obedience, the proper fruits of this assurance; so far is it from inclining men to looseness
1 John 5.13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life (2:5, 5:13 & 20) 2 Peter 1.10-11 Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ |
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How could a person know he is saved? On what could such assurance be based?
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• By examining one’s self to see if one has true belief (2 Cor 13:5 - Examine yourselves)
• By clinging to God’s promises (2 Peter 2:4 through his promises you may be partakers of the divine nature...) • By the Spirit’s testimony (Rom. 8:16 testifies that we are God's children...) • Discipline tells us that we are children of God (Hebrews 12) • Good works- know them by their fruit (Matt 7.16-17) • Love for our brothers (1 John 3.14) WLC #80 Such as truly believe in Christ, and endeavor to walk in all good conscience before him, may without extraordinary revelation, by faith grounded upon the truth of God’s promises, and only by the Spirit enabling them to discern in themselves those graces to which the promises of life are made, and bearing witness with their spirits that they are the children of God, be infallibly assured that they are in the estate of grace, and shall persevere therein unto salvation- WLC #80 |
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What should a person do who lacks assurance of salvation?
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Avail oneself to the means of grace
WSC #88 The outward and ordinary means whereby Christ communicates to us the benefits of redemption are his ordinances, especially the word, sacraments, and prayer; all which are made effectual to the elect for salvation. 2 Peter 1:10-11 Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. |
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Where does Westminster deal with Salvation Applied?
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WCF 14-18
WLC 72-73, 76, 79-81, 153 WSC 85-87 |
