Friday, March 4, 2011

Fri.-Sabbath, 3/4-6/11 Devotion

Hip, hip, hooray--it's almost Sunday! In order to get ready for church, let us hear from Thomas Watson, in his great book, "A Body of Divin-
ity." . . .

"Justification is 'inamissibilis'; it is a fixed permanent thing. It can never be lost. The Arminians hold an apostasy from justification; to-
day justified, tomorrow unjustified; today a Peter, tomorrow a Judas; today a member of Christ, tomorrow a limb of Satan. This is a most uncomfortable doctrine. Justified persons may fall from degrees of grace, they may leave their first love, they may lose God's favour for a time, but not lose their justification. If they are justified they are elected; and they can no more fall from their justification than from their election. If they are justified they have union with Christ; and can a member of Christ be broken off? If one justified person may fall away from Christ, all may; and so Christ would be a head without a body.

"Use one: See from hence, that there is nothing within us that could justify, but something without us; not any righteousness inherent, but imputed. We may as well look for a star in the earth as for justifica-
tion in our own righteousness. [Heretics] say we are justified by works; but the apostle confutes it, for he says, 'Not of works, lest any man should boast,' (Eph. 2:9)."