Nick Roark's Blog, page 12

“The Ninth Commandment” – The Westminster Larger Catechism (1647)

“Question 143: Which is the ninth commandment?
The ninth commandment is, ‘Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.‘ (Exod. 20:16)

Question 144: What are the duties required in the ninth commandment?
The duties required in the ninth commandment are, the preserving and promoting of truth between man and man, (Zech. 8:16) and the good name of our neighbour, as well as our own; (3 John 12) appearing and standing for the truth; (Prov. 31:8–9) and from the heart, (Ps. 15:2) sincerely, (2 Chron. 19:9) freely, (1 Sam. 19:4–5) clearly, (Josh. 7:19) and fully, (2 Sam. 14:18–20) speaking the truth, and only the truth, in matters of judgment and justice, (Lev. 19:15, Prov. 14:5,25) and in all other things whatsoever; (2 Cor. 1:17–18, Eph. 4:25) a charitable esteem of our neighbours; (Heb. 6:9, 1 Cor. 13:7) loving, desiring, and rejoicing in their good name; (Rom 1:8, 2 John 4, 3 John 3–4) sorrowing for, (2 Cor. 2:4, 2 Cor. 12:21) and covering of their infirmities; (Prov. 17:9, 1 Pet. 4:8) freely acknowledging of their gifts and graces, (1 Cor. 1:4–5,7, 2 Tim. 1:4–5) defending their innocency; (1 Sam. 22:14) a ready receiving of a good report, (1 Cor. 13:6–7) and unwillingness to admit of an evil report, (Ps. 15:3) concerning them; discouraging tale-bearers, (Prov. 25:23) flatterers, (Prov. 26:24–25) and slanderers; (Ps. 101:5) love and care of our own good name, and defending it when need requireth; (Prov. 22:1, John 8:49) keeping of lawful promises; (Ps. 15:4) studying and practicing of whatsoever things are true, honest, lovely, and of good report. (Phil. 4:8)

Question 145: What are the sins forbidden in the ninth commandment?
The sins forbidden in the ninth commandment are, all prejudicing the truth, and the good name of our neighbours, as well as our own, (1 Sam. 17:28, 2 Sam. 16:3, 2 Sam. 1:9,10,15–16) especially in public judicature; (Lev. 19:15, Hab. 1:4) giving false evidence, (Prov. 19:5, Prov. 6:16,19) suborning false witnesses, (Acts 6:13) wittingly appearing and pleading for an evil cause, out-facing and overbearing the truth; (Jer. 9:3,5, Acts 24:2,5, Ps. 12:3–4, Ps. 52:1–4) passing unjust sentence, (Prov. 17:15, 1 Kings 21:9–14,10–11,13) calling evil good, and good evil; rewarding the wicked according to the work of the righteous, and the righteous according to the work of the wicked; (Isa. 5:23) forgery, (Ps. 119:69, Luke19:8, Luke 16:5–7) concealing the truth, undue silence in a just cause, (Lev. 5:1, Deut. 13:8, Acts 5:3,8–9, 2 Tim. 4:16) and holding our peace when iniquity calleth for either a reproof from ourselves, (1 Kings1:6, Lev. 19:17) or complaint to others; (Isa. 59:4) speaking the truth unseasonably, (Prov. 29:11) or maliciously to a wrong end, (1 Sam. 22:9–10, Ps. 52:1–5) or perverting it to a wrong meaning, (Ps. 56:5, John 2:19, Matt. 26:60–61) or in doubtful or equivocal expressions, to the prejudice of truth or justice; (Gen. 3:5, Gen. 26:7,9) speaking untruth, (Isa. 59:13) lying, (Lev. 19:11, Col. 3:9) slandering, (Ps. 50:20) backbiting, (James 4:11, Jer. 38:4) talebearing, (Lev. 19:16) whispering, (Rom. 1:29–30) scoffing, (Gen. 21:9, Gal. 4:29) reviling, (1 Cor. 6:10) rash, (Matt. 7:1) harsh, (Acts 28:4) and partial censuring; (Gen. 38:24, Rom. 2:1) misconstructing intentions, words, and actions; (Neh. 6:6–8, Rom. 3:8, Ps. 69:10, 1 Sam. 1:13–15, 2 Sam. 10:3) flattering, (Ps. 12:2–3) vain-glorious boasting; (2 Tim. 3:2) thinking or speaking too highly or too meanly of ourselves or others; (Luke 18:9,11, Rom. 12:16, 1 Cor. 4:6, Acts 12:22, Exod. 4:10–14) denying the gifts and graces of God; (Job 27:5,6, Job 4:6) aggravating smaller faults; (Matt. 7:3–5) hiding, excusing, or extenuating of sins, when called to a free confession; (Prov. 28:13, Prov. 30:20, Gen. 3:12–13, Jer. 2:35, 2 Kings 5:25, Gen. 4:9) unnecessary discovering of infirmities; (Gen. 9:22, Prov. 25:9–10) raising false rumors, (Exod. 23:1) receiving and countenancing evil reports, (Prov. 29:12) and stopping our ears against just defense; (Acts 7:56–57, Job 31:13–14) evil suspicion; (1 Cor. 13:5, 1 Tim. 6:4) envying or grieving at the deserved credit of any, (Numb. 11:29, Matt. 21:15) endeavoring or desiring to impair it, (Ezra 4:12–13) rejoicing in their disgrace and infamy; (Jer. 48:27) scornful contempt, (Ps. 35:15–16,21, Matt. 27:28–29) fond admiration; (Jude 16, Acts 12:22) breach of lawful promises; (Rom. 1:31, 2 Tim. 3:3) neglecting such things as are of good report, (1 Sam. 2:24) and practicing, or not avoiding ourselves, or not hindering what we can in others, such things as procure an ill name. (2 Sam. 13:12–13)”

—The Westminster Larger Catechism (1647), as cited in Creeds, Confessions, and Catechisms: A Reader’s Edition, ed. Chad Van Dixhoorn (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2022), 386-388.

“It is the pleasant face of God in Christ that puts gladness into the believer’s heart” by Edward Fisher

EVANGELISTA, a Minister of the Gospel.
NOMISTA, a Legalist.

“NOMISTA: ‘Then, sir, it seems to me, that God in Christ, apprehended by faith, is the only true rest for man’s soul.’

“EVANGELISTA: ‘There is the true rest indeed; there is the rest which David invites his soul unto, when he says, ‘Return unto thy rest, O my soul! For the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee,’ (Psalm 116:7), ‘For we which have believed,’ says the author to the Hebrews, ‘have entered into his rest,‘ (Heb. 4:3).

And ‘Come unto me,’ says Christ, ‘all ye that labour, and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest,’ (Matt. 11:28).

And truly, my neighbours and friends, believe it, we shall never find a heart’s happiness, and true soul’s rest, until we find it here.

For howsoever a man may think, if he had this man’s wit and that man’s wealth, this man’s honour and that man’s pleasure, this wife, or that husband, such children, and such servants, his heart would be satisfied, and his soul would be contented; yet which of us hath not, by our own experience, found the contrary?

For, not long after that we have obtained the thing we did so much desire, and wherein we promised ourselves so much happiness, rest, and content, we have found nothing but vanity and emptiness in it.

Let a man but deal plainly with his own heart, and he shall find, that, notwithstanding he hath many things, yet there is ever one thing wanting: for indeed man’s soul cannot be satisfied with any creature, no, not with a world of creatures.

And the reason is, because the desires of man’s soul are infinite, according to that infinite goodness which it once lost in losing God.

Yea, and man’s soul is a spirit; and therefore cannot communicate with any corporal thing; so that all creatures, not being that infinite and spiritual fulness which our hearts have lost, and towards which they do still re-aspire; they cannot give it full contentment.

Nay, let me say more; howsoever a man may, in the midst of his sensual fulness, be convinced in his conscience that he is at enmity with God, and therefore in danger of his wrath and eternal damnation; and be thereupon moved to reform his life and amend his ways, and endeavour to seek peace and rest to his soul.

Yet this being in the way of works, it is impossible that he should find it; for his conscience will ever be accusing him, that this good duty he ought to have done, and has not done it; and this evil he ought to have forborne, and yet he has done it; and in the performance of this duty he was remiss, and in that duty very defective; and many such ways will his soul be disquieted.

But when a man once comes to believe, that all his sins, both past, present, and to come, are freely and fully pardoned, and God in Christ graciously reconciled unto him, the Lord doth thereupon so reveal his fatherly face unto him in Christ, and so make known that incredible union betwixt him and the believing soul, that his heart becomes quietly contented in God.

For hereupon there comes into the soul such peace, flowing from the God of peace, that it fills the emptiness of the soul with true fulness, in the fullness of God, so that now the heart ceases to harass the understanding and reason and is satisfied and truly quieted.

For when a man’s heart is at peace in God, and is become truly full in that peace and joy passing understanding, then the devil hath not that hope to prevail against his soul, as he had before.

He knows right well that it is in vain to bait his hook with profits, pleasures, honour, or any other such like seeming good, to catch such a soul that is thus at quiet in God; for he hath all fullness in God, and what can be added to fulness but it runneth over?

‘Whom have I in heaven but thee?‘ says David, ‘and there is none upon earth that I desire besides thee,’ (Psalm 73:25).

It is the pleasant face of God in Christ that puts gladness into the believer’s heart (Psalm 4:7).”

–Edward Fisher, The Marrow of Modern Divinity (Fearn, Scotland, UK: Christian Heritage, 1645/2009), 261-262.

“That is all we want” by Charles Spurgeon

“Stagnation in a church is the devil’s delight.

I do not think he cares how many Baptist chapels you build, nor how many churches you open, if you have only lukewarm preachers and people in them.

He cares not for your armies if your soldiers will but sleep; nor for your guns if they are not loaded.

“Let them build as much as they like,” says he, “for those buildings are not the batteries that shake the gates of hell.”

What we want is new zeal, fresh energy, more fire; our old Baptist cause has become very slack.

The great mass of Baptists appear to be ashamed of their opinions, and many of our ministers say so little about baptism that people forget that there is such an ordinance of Christ.

If we have held our tongues concerning baptism, we have that sin lying at our door, for which we shall have to give account; and I trust that we shall not continue in it any longer.

If believers’ baptism is an ordinance of Christ,—and we know that it is,—we ought to speak out plainly about it.

I recommend our brethren and sisters to distribute tracts upon the subject, as widely as ever they can; and, especially, to make known the teaching of the New Testament upon this matter.

If Paedobaptist ministers will only preach upon it, I need not do so, for that will send some of their people to search the Scriptures, and that is all that we want.

If our views are not in accordance with God’s Word, let us abandon them; but if they are in harmony with our Lord’s teaching, let us not hold our tongues concerning them.

We have had too much of this guilty silence, let us boldly proclaim the whole truth; and, by terrible things in righteousness, answer thou, O God!

Bring on the clash of arms once again, and let thy Church win the victory!

Give the victory to the right and the true, and let all error be trampled under foot!

So be it, O Lord, and unto thy name be all the glory! Amen.”

–Charles H. Spurgeon, “Lukewarmness,” in The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit Sermons, vol. 48 (London: Passmore & Alabaster, 1902), 514–515.

“He is the center of everything” by Sinclair Ferguson

“So when we are in Jesus Christ, all the blessings of the gospel are ours.

The New Testament uses the illustration of marriage to help us understand union with Christ. If you asked a married man, “What do you love most about your wife?” and he answered that it was her cooking, her sporting ability, or how well she does her job, any of these would be true but would miss the main point.

All these may be blessings that he enjoys. But what a right-thinking married man most enjoys about his wife is his wife herself.

And then he enjoys the fact that he is married to her, and because he is married to her, all these other blessings are shared with him-just as she likewise shares in what is his.

It is similar when we come to Christ and realize that we are united to Him. We no longer look outside Christ for the blessings of God’s grace.

They are ours in Him. He is the center of everything, and so we seek never to lose our focus on the Lord Jesus Himself.

You may have noticed in preaching and teaching that you have heard, especially in the media, that what you are actually being offered is blessings, but you are not really being offered Christ Himself.

That is a kind of commodity-centered gospel rather than a Christ-centered one.

Not so with Paul! For him, the central point is Christ and the union with Him that undergirds all these blessings.

If we are to have any of them, we must have Christ Himself; and if we have Christ Himself, and are united to Him, then we will have all of them in Him.”

–Sinclair B. Ferguson, Union with Christ: The Blessings of Being in Him (Sanford, FL: Ligonier, 2025), 27.

“He undertakes to do all for us, in us, and by us” by John Newton

“I do not wonder, my dear Sir, that, though you are persuaded God will not fail on His part and forsake you first, yet you have sensible fears and apprehensions lest you should forsake Him.

The knowledge you have of your own weakness, must make your system very uncomfortable, while it leaves your final salvation to depend (as you express it) entirely upon yourself.

It must, it will be so. The admission of a mixed gospel, which indeed is no gospel at all, will bring disquiet into the conscience.

If you think you are in the same circumstances, as to choice and power, as Adam was, I cannot blame you for fearing lest you should acquit yourself no better than he did.

Ah! my dear Sir, Jesus came not only that we might have the life which sin had forfeited, restored unto us, but that we might have it more abundantly; the privileges greater, and the tenure more secure: for now our life is not in our own keeping, but is hid with Christ in God.

He undertakes to do all for us, in us, and by us, and He claims the praise and honour of the whole, and is determined to save us in such a way as shall stain the pride of all human glory, that he who glorieth may glory in the Lord.

I long to see you disentangled from the scheme you seem to have adopted, because I long to see you happy and comfortable.

It is good to have our hope fixed upon a rock, for we know not what storms and floods may come to shake it.

I have no doubt but your soul rests upon the right foundation, but you have incautiously admitted wood, hay, and stubble into your edifice, which will not stand the fiery trial of temptation.

I would no more venture my soul upon the scheme which you commend, than I would venture my body for a voyage to the East Indies in a London wherry.

I know you too well to suppose you will be offended with my freedom.

However, in a point of such importance, I dare not in conscience disguise or suppress my sentiments.

May the Lord, by his Holy Spirit, guide us both into the paths of peace and truth.

I am, dear Sir,

Your affectionate and obliged servant,

John Newton

December 5, 1778”

–John Newton, The Works of John Newton, Vol. 6, Ed. Richard Cecil (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1988), 6: 241-243.

“A minister must be a soldier, a watchman, a shepherd, a husbandman, a builder, a planter, a physician, and a nurse” by John Newton

“Give my love to Mr. ****. He has desired a good work; may the Lord give him the desires of his heart.

May he give him the wisdom of Daniel, the meekness of Moses, the courage of Joshua, the zeal of Paul, and that self-abasement and humility which Job and Isaiah felt when they not only had heard of him by the hearing of the ear, but saw his glory, and abhorred themselves in dust and ashes.

May he be taught of God, (none teacheth like him,) and come forth an able minister of the New Testament, well instructed rightly to divide and faithfully to distribute the word of truth.

In the school of Christ, (especially if the Lord designs him to be a teacher of others,) he will be put to learn some lessons not very pleasant to flesh and blood: he must learn to run, to fight, to wrestle, and many other exercises, some of which will try his strength, and others his patience.

You know the common expression of a jack of all trades.

I am sure a minister had need be such an one: a soldier, a watchman, a shepherd, a husbandman, a builder, a planter, a physician, and a nurse.

But let him not be discouraged; he has a wonderful and a gracious Master, who can not only give instructions, but power, and engages that his grace shall be sufficient, at all times and in all circumstances, for those who simply give themselves up to his teaching and his service.”

–John Newton, The Works of John Newton, Volume 6 (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1988), 6: 102-103.

“Beware of this strange fire” by William Gurnall

“The pulpit is an unseemly place to vent our discontent and passions in. Beware of this strange fire.

The man of God must be gentle and meek, and his words with meekness of wisdom. The oil makes the nail drive without splitting the board.

The Word never enters the heart more kindly, than when it falls most gently: ‘Ride thou prosperously, because of truth and meekness,’ (Psalm 45:4).

Be as rough to thy people’s sins as thou canst, so thou be gentle to their souls.

Dost thou take the rod of reproof into thine hand? Let them see that love, not wrath, gives the blow.

I speak not against the minister’s zeal, only that it be from above, pure and peaceable.

Save all thy heat for God; spend it not in thy own cause. Admirable was the meekness of Moses in this respect.

The Word of God is too sacred a thing, and preaching too solemn a work, to be toyed and played with.”

–William Gurnall, The Christian in Complete Armour (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1662/2002), 2: 289.

“A new and supernatural birth” by John Newton

“My leading sentiment with respect to the divine life is, that it is founded in a new and supernatural birth. In this I doubt not we agree.

Mankind are miserably divided and subdivided by sects, parties, and opinions; but in the sight of God there are but two sorts of characters upon earth,—the children of his kingdom, and the children of the wicked one.

The criterion between them (infallibly known only to himself) is, that the former are born from above, the other not.

If a person be born again, notwithstanding any incidental mistakes or prejudices from which perhaps no human mind in this imperfect state is wholly free, he is a child of God and an heir of glory.

On the other hand, though his professed opinions be quite conformed to the Scripture; though he be joined to the purest church; though he seem to have all gifts and all knowledge, the zeal of a martyr, and the powers of an angel; yet if he be not born of God, with all the splendid apparatus, he is but a tinkling, (or, as I should rather choose to render the word,) a stunning cymbal.

From this new birth, a new life, new perceptions, and new desires, take place in the soul; sin, which was one delighted in, becomes a burden: and God, who before was little thought of, is sought after as our chief good.

The need of his mercy is felt and acknowledged, and Jesus is approved and sought as the only way and author of salvation.

These things I believe are never truly and experimentally known but by the teaching and operation of the Holy Spirit; and, as he is God and not man, unchangeable in purpose, and almighty in power, I believe, when once he begins his work, he will in his own time accomplish it.

I believe hatred of sin, thirst after God, poverty of spirit, and dependence upon Christ, are sure tokens of salvation; and whoever may have them I would esteem my brethren and my sisters, though they should be found among Arminians, Mystics, or Papists.

Yet, I believe, some thus far wrought upon, may be, and are, entangled with errors dishonourable to the grace of God, and detrimental to their own peace.

There is much remaining darkness upon the mind; many persons are greatly hindered by a reasoning spirit, and numbers are kept down by their attachment to a favourite system, sect, and author: so that perhaps they are long strangers to that steadfast hope and strong consolation which the gospel truth, when simply received, is designed to afford us, and which depends upon the sense we have that we are nothing, and that Christ is all in all, and that our best graces and services are, and always will be in this life, defective and defiled, and that the sole exclusive ground of our hope and rejoicing is Jesus Christ, as made unto us of God, wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.”

–John Newton, The Works of John Newton, Vol. 6, Ed. Richard Cecil (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1988), 6: 231-233.

“The love of God is treasured up in Christ” by John Newton

“My dear Friend,

Having no letter to answer, I must fill up my paper as I can. It would be a shame to say, I have no subject.

There is one subject which can never be exhausted: the love of Christ, which is the fountain from whence all our spiritual blessings flow and the the ocean to which they tend.

The love of God towards sinners is in Christ Jesus our Lord. It is treasured up in Him; it is manifested in Him; it is communicated through Him.

Permit my pen to enlarge a little upon this thought.

The love of God is treasured up in Christ. He is the Head of His church; and all spiritual and eternal blessings are given in Him, and for His sake alone (Ephesians 1:3-4).

The promise of life is in Him; and to Him we are directed to look, as He in whom alone the Father is well pleased (Matthew 3:17).

God beheld our lost, miserable condition, and designed us mercy; but mercy must be dispensed in a way agreeable to His holiness, justice, and truth.

Therefore, in the covenant of grace, sinners are no further considered than as the persons who are to reap the benefit; but the whole undertaking, both as to the burden and the honour of it, was transacted with, and devolved upon, Jesus Christ the Lord, who freely engaged to be their Saviour and Surety.

The manifestation of the love of God to sinners, is in Christ Jesus. His goodness and forbearance are, indeed, displayed in every morsel of food, and in every breath we draw; but His love to our souls is only revealed in Christ.

And, oh, what love was this, to give His own only Son! In this gift, in this way of redemption, He has commended His love to us, set it forth to the highest advantage possible, so that neither men nor angels can fully conceive its glory (Romans 5:8).

And the apostle there emphatically styles it την εαυτου αγαπην, His own love: love peculiar to Himself, and of which we can find no shadow or resemblance among creatures.

The effects of His love are communicated only through Christ Jesus. He is made of God unto us, wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.

“All fullness is in Him.” He has received, and He bestows, every good and perfect gift. He gives grace, and He will give glory.

All our springs of life, strength, peace, and comfort, are in Him; and without Him we can do nothing.

I trust, my dear Sir, in expressing my own sentiments on this point, I express your’s also.

That Jesus, who was once a man of sorrows, who now reigns the Lord of glory in that nature in which He suffered, is your hope and your joy.

Yes, the Lord who has given you many seeming advantages, as He did to St. Paul, has enabled you, like him, to sacrifice them at the foot of the cross, and to say, ‘The things which were once gain to me, I count loss for Christ: yea, doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Jesus my Lord,’ (Philippians 3:5–10).

This is to build upon a rock, to build for eternity, to rest upon a plea, which will overrule every charge in life, at death, and at judgment.

They that put their trust in Him, shall be like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved.

And there is no ther way of attaining stable peace, or receiving power to withstand and overcome the world.

Believe me to be, dear Sir,

Your obliged and affectionate humble servant,

John Newton”

–John Newton, The Works of John Newton, Vol. 6, Ed. Richard Cecil (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1988), 6: 225-227. Newton wrote this letter on July 7, 1771.

“God in the Dock” by C.S. Lewis

“Apart from this linguistic difficulty, the greatest barrier I have met is the almost total absence from the minds of my audience of any sense of sin.

This has struck me more forcibly when I spoke to the R.A.F. than when I spoke to students: whether (as I believe) the Proletariat is more self-righteous than other classes, or whether educated people are cleverer at concealing their pride, this creates for us a new situation.

The early Christian preachers could assume in their hearers, whether Jews, Metuentes or Pagans, a sense of guilt. (That this was common among Pagans is shown by the fact that both Epicureanism and the Mystery Religions both claimed, though in different ways, to assuage it.)

Thus the Christian message was in those days unmistakably the Evangelium, the Good News. It promised healing to those who knew they were sick.

We have to convince our hearers of the unwelcome diagnosis before we can expect them to welcome the news of the remedy.

The ancient man approached God (or even the gods) as the accused person approaches his judge. For the modern man the roles are reversed. He is the judge: God is in the dock.

He is quite a kindly judge: if God should have a reasonable defence for being the god who permits war, poverty and disease, he is ready to listen to it. The trial may even end in God’s acquittal.

But the important thing is that Man is on the Bench and God in the Dock.”

–C.S. Lewis, “God in the Dock,” in God in the Dock, ed. Walter Hooper (New York: HarperOne, 1994), 267-268.