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Day 52:  2. The Westminster Standards

Introduction
Welcome to the Westminster Standards
The Hard Sell
Day 1: Reformation Day and The Chief End of Man
Day 2: The Holy Scripture, part 1
Day 3: The Holy Scripture, part 2
Day 4: The Holy Scripture, part 3
Day 5: What is God? part 1
Day 6: What is God? part 2
Day 7: What is God? part 3
Day 8: What is God? part 4 - The Trinity
Day 9: Of God's Eternal Decree, part 1
Day 10: Of God's Eternal Decree, part 2
Day 11: Of God's Eternal Decree, part 3
Day 12: Of Creation
Day 13: Of Providence, part 1
Day 14: Of Providence, part 2
Day 15: Of Providence, part 3
Day 16: Of Providence, part 4
Day 17: Of the Fall of Man, of Sin, and the Punishment thereof, part 1
Day 18: Of the Fall of Man, of Sin, and the Punishment thereof, part 2
Day 19: Of the Fall of Man, of Sin, and the Punishment thereof, part 3
Day 20: Of the Fall of Man, of Sin, and the Punishment thereof, part 4
Day 21: Of God's Covenant with Man, part 1
Day 22: Of God's Covenant with Man, part 2
Day 23: Of God's Covenant with Man, part 3
Day 24: Of God's Covenant with Man, part 4
Day 25: Of Christ the Mediator, part 1
Day 26: Of Christ the Mediator, part 2
Day 27: Of Christ the Mediator, part 3
Day 28: Of Christ the Mediator, part 4
Day 29: Of Christ the Mediator, part 5
Day 30: Of Christ the Mediator, part 6
Day 31: Of Christ the Mediator, part 7
Day 32: Of Christ the Mediator, part 8
Day 33: Of Christ the Mediator, part 9
Day 34: Of Christ the Mediator, part 10
Day 35: Of Christ the Mediator, part 11
Day 36: Of Free Will, part 1
Day 37: Of Free Will, part 2
Day 38: Of Effectual Calling, part 1
Day 39: Of Effectual Calling, part 2
Day 40: Of Effectual Calling, part 3
Day 41: Of Effectual Calling, part 4
Day 42: Of Effectual Calling, part 5
Day 43: Of Justification, part 1
Day 44: Of Justification, part 2
Day 45: Of Justification, part 3
Day 46: Of Justification, part 4
Day 47: Of Justification, part 5
Day 48: Of Adoption
Day 49: Of Sanctification, part 1
Day 50: Of Sanctification, part 2
Day 51: Of Sanctification, part 3
Day 52: Of Saving Faith
Day 53: Of Repentance unto Life, part 1
Day 54: Of Repentance unto Life, part 2
Day 55: Of Good Works, part 1
Day 56: Of Good Works, part 2
Day 57: Of the Perseverance of the Saints
Day 58: Of the Assurance of Grace and Salvation, part 1
Day 59: Of the Assurance of Grace and Salvation, part 2
Day 60: Of the Law of God, part 1
Day 61: Of the Law of God, part 2
Day 62: Of the Law of God, part 3
Day 63: Of the Law of God, part 4
Day 64: Rules for Interpreting God's Commandments, part 1
Day 65: Rules for Interpreting God's Commandments, part 2
Day 66: The Preface to the Ten Commandments
Day 67: Duties Required in the First Commandment, part 1
Day 68: Duties Required in the First Commandment, part 2
Day 69: Sins Forbidden in the First Commandment, part 1
Day 70: Sins Forbidden in the First Commandment, part 2
Day 71: Duties Required in the Second Commandment
Day 72: Sins Forbidden in the Second Commandment, part 1
Day 73: Sins Forbidden in the Second Commandment, part 2
Day 74: Reasons Annexed to the Second Commandment
Day 75: Duties Required in the Third Commandment
Day 76: Sins Forbidden in the Third Commandment, part 1
Day 77: Sins Forbidden in the Third Commandment, part 2
Day 78: Reasons Annexed to the Third Commandment
Day 79: Of Lawful Oaths and Vows, part 1
Day 80: Of Lawful Oaths and Vows, part 2

 

 

The second-most popular work in colonial America
(after the Bible)
was the Westminster Standards.

This included a "Confession of Faith," a "Larger Catechism" and a "Smaller Catechism."

On May 12, 1779, in a speech to the Delaware Indian Chiefs, George Washington advised them:

You do well to wish to learn our arts and ways of life, and above all, the religion of Jesus Christ. These will make you a greater and happier people than you are. Congress will do every thing they can to assist you in this wise intention.
The Writings of George Washington, JC Fitzpatrick, ed., Wash. DC: US Gov't Printing Office, 1932, Vol 15, p.55.

Assuming someone should want to follow George Washington's advice, what exactly is "the religion of Jesus Christ."

Recently the religion of Presidential aspirant Mitt Romney has been in the headlines. He is a member of "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints." Is this "the religion of Jesus Christ" that Washington spoke about?

Definitely not. Aside from the fact that mormonism didn't exist when Washington advised the Delaware Indians, Washington was more familiar with the Christianity of the Westminster Standards.

The Westminster Confession of Faith and the Larger and Shorter Catechisms were written in the 1640's. B.B. Warfield, professor at Princeton in the late 1800's, wrote of the Westminster Standards,

[T]hey are the final crystallization of the elements of evangelical religion, after the conflicts of sixteen hundred years. . . . [T]hey are the richest and most precise and best guarded statement ever penned of all that enters into evangelical religion. . . .

Richard Gardiner, in his impressive collection of "Primary Source Documents Pertaining to Early American History, lists many sources which introduce the average Secular Humanist to the now-unknown religious foundations of American Revolution and Government. Among these sources are the Westminster Standards. Gardiner says of them:

indent.gif (90 bytes)The Westminster Confession of Faith (1646) In addition to being the decree of Parliament as the standard for Christian doctrine in the British Kingdom, it was adopted as the official statement of belief for the colonies of Massachusetts and Connecticut. Although slightly altered and called by different names, it was the creed of Congregationalist, Baptist, and Presbyterian Churches throughout the English speaking world. Assent to the Westminster Confession was officially required at Harvard, Yale, and Princeton. Princeton scholar, Benjamin Warfield wrote: "It was impossible for any body of Christians in the [English] Kingdoms to avoid attending to it."
indent.gif (90 bytes)The Westminster Catechism (1646) Second only to the Bible, the "Shorter Catechism" of the Westminster Confession was the most widely published piece of literature in the pre-revolutionary era in America. It is estimated that some five million copies were available in the colonies. With a total population of only four million people in America at the time of the Revolution, the number is staggering. The Westminster Catechism was not only a central part of the colonial educational curriculum, learning it was required by law. Each town employed an officer whose duty was to visit homes to hear the children recite the Catechism. The primary schoolbook for children, the New England Primer, included the Catechism.  Daily recitations of it were required at these schools. Their curriculum included memorization of the Westminster Confession and the Westminster Larger Catechism. There was not a person at Independence Hall in 1776 who had not been exposed to it, and most of them had it spoon fed to them before they could walk.

Washington probably did not agree with every jot and tittle of the Westminster Standards. Nobody does. But they are a good summary of "the religion of Jesus Christ."

The Smaller Catechism was for children. The Larger Catechism for teens. Both exceed the depth of most seminary graduates in the 21st century.

It takes approximately 11 minutes per day to read through the Bible from cover to cover. It only takes a couple of minutes a day to read through the Westminster Catechisms and Confession in a year. They were written around 1645 and the drafters unequivocally opposed our brand of political libertarianism. But they believed that God is God, and denied that the State is God, a necessary first step on your road to becoming an extraordinary American, an extraordinary Christian, and an extraordinary human being.


And from the Westminster Standards we're going to discover a program that will rapidly and profoundly change our personal character and habits.

Over the course of 365 days, you'll begin internalizing Christianity as a worldview.

You will begin applying Christian principles to every area of your life. Christianity will no longer be a private belief for you, but a public matter. You will become your own "City upon a Hill."


Abraham Kuyper (1837-1920), the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, delivered a series of lectures at the Princeton Theological Seminary in 1898 under the auspices of the L. P. Stone Foundation. Kuyper explained how the Christian faith as set forth in the Westminster Standards related to Religion, Politics, Science, and the Arts. Kuyper said,

"In the total expanse of human life there is not a single square inch of which the Christ, who alone is sovereign, does not declare, that is Mine!"

If Christianity is relegated to Sunday school, then Monday through Friday we can deny justice, infringe on liberty, and destroy the life, liberty and property of others. It is because the Westminster Standard viewed life as a whole, all of it under the jurisdiction of God and His Laws and morality, that America became prosperous and admired. Americans Christianized business, science, the arts, and every area of life. This made America a great place to live.

Consider your alternatives:
An atheistic Soviet Union
Buddhist Sri Lanka
Islamic Uzbekistan
Most people would rather live in America, a Christian nation.
Or any nation that is a part of Christian Civilization.

It was Calvinism that shaped America.


 

Day 81: Religious Worship, part 1
Day 82: Religious Worship, part 2
Day 83: Christian Liberty and Liberty of Conscience, part 1
Day 84: Christian Liberty and Liberty of Conscience, part 2
Day 85: The Word of God in Worship, part 1
Day 86: The Word of God in Worship, part 2
Day 87: The Word of God in Worship, part 3
Day 88: The Word of God in Worship, part 4
Day 89: Of the Sacraments, part 1
Day 90: Of the Sacraments, part 2
Day 91: Of Baptism, part 1
Day 92: Of Baptism, part 2
Day 93: Of Baptism, part 3
Day 94: Of The Lord's Supper, part 1
Day 95: Of The Lord's Supper, part 2
Day 96: Of The Lord's Supper, part 3
Day 97: Of The Lord's Supper, part 4
Day 98: Of The Lord's Supper, part 5
Day 99: Of The Lord's Supper, part 6
Day 100: Of Communion of Saints, part 1
Day 101: Of Communion of Saints, part 2
Day 102: The Fourth Commandment, part 1
Day 103: The Fourth Commandment, part 2
Day 104: The Fourth Commandment, part 3
Day 105: The Fourth Commandment, part 4
Day 106: The Fifth Commandment, part 1
Day 107: The Fifth Commandment, part 2
Day 108: The Fifth Commandment, part 3
Day 109: The Fifth Commandment, part 4
Day 110: The Fifth Commandment, part 5
Day 111: The Fifth Commandment, part 6
Day 112: The Civil Magistrate, part 1
Day 113: The Civil Magistrate, part 2
Day 114: The Civil Magistrate, part 3
Day 115: Of The Church, part 1
Day 116: Of The Church, part 2
Day 117: Of Church Censures, part 1
Day 118: Of Church Censures, part 2
Day 119: Of Synods and Councils
Day 120: The Sixth Commandment, part 1
Day 121: The Sixth Commandment, part 2
Day 122: The Sixth Commandment, part 3 - "Capital Punishment"
Day 123: The Sixth Commandment, part 4 - "Lawful War" I
Day 124: The Sixth Commandment, part 5 - "Lawful War" II
Day 125: The Sixth Commandment, part 6 - "Necessary Defense"
Day 126: The Sixth Commandment, part 7 - conclusion
Day 127: The Seventh Commandment, part 1
Day 128: The Seventh Commandment, part 2
Day 129: The Seventh Commandment, part 3
Day 130: The Seventh Commandment, part 4
Day 131: The Eighth Commandment, part 1
Day 132: The Eighth Commandment, part 2
Day 133: The Eighth Commandment, part 3
Day 134: The Eighth Commandment, part 4
Day 135: The Ninth Commandment, part 1
Day 136: The Ninth Commandment, part 2
Day 137: The Ninth Commandment, part 3
Day 138: The Ninth Commandment, part 4
Day 139: The Tenth Commandment
Day 140: Of Communion of Saints, part 3
Day 141: Of the State Of Men after Death
Day 142: The Resurrection of the Dead
Day 143: Of the Last Judgment, part 1
Day 144: Of the Last Judgment, part 2
Day 145: How to Pray, part 1
Day 146: How to Pray, part 2
Day 147: How to Pray, part 3
Day 148: The Lord's Prayer, part 1
Day 149: The Lord's Prayer, part 2
Day 150: The Lord's Prayer, part 3 - "Thy Kingdom Come"
Day 151: The Lord's Prayer, part 4 - "Thy Will Be Done"
Day 152: The Lord's Prayer, part 5 - "Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread"
Day 153: The Lord's Prayer, part 6 - "Forgive Us Our Debts"
Day 154: The Lord's Prayer, part 7 - "Lead us Not into Temptation"
Day 155: The Lord's Prayer, part 8 - "For Thine is the Kingdom"
Day 156: Aggravated Sins, part 1
Day 157: Aggravated Sins, part 2
Day 158: Aggravated Sins, part 3
Day 159: Aggravated Sins, part 4
Day 160: Aggravated Sins, part 5

Special Supplements

"End," "Nature," and "Works"
The Depravity of Man
"Without Passions"
Does God "Repent?"
Emotions and God's Law
The Enthronement of Christ
Christ's Coming to Judge the World
Westminster and Marilynne Robinson
The Politics of Star-Worship
What is "Worship?"
"The Day of The Lord"
The Fourth Commandment in American History
The Five Stages of Deuteronomy 8