Memory Work:
1. Whence comes such a true faith?
From the Holy Spirit, who works it in our hearts by the preaching of the gospel. (Eph. 2:8)
2. How does he strengthen and preserve that faith?
By the same preaching of the word and by the sacraments. (Hebr. 10:15).
3. What are the sacraments?
They are holy signs and seals, instituted by Christ, to teach and seal to us the gospel, so that we may be assured that we belong to him. (Rom. 4:11)
4. To what, then, do the sacraments point?
Both baptism and the Lord’s Supper point to our Lord Jesus Christ, whose sacrifice on the cross is the only foundation of our salvation. (Rom. 6:3)
Things to Look Up:
- Prove that preaching is necesssary to salvation. Romans 10:13-15.
- How are we commanded to receive the word? I Peter 2:1,2.
- How does God describe the two ways of reacting to His word? Hebr. 6:7,8.
- What happened in a church which abused the Lord’s Supper? 1 Cor. 11:30-32
- Whose fault is it, if we are not converted by gospel preaching? Canons of Dort, III-IV, 9.