The same good news, explained more fully
For centuries, Presbyterian churches have taught the faith using the Westminster Standards: the Westminster Confession of Faith and its Larger and Shorter Catechisms, written in the 1640s. They are not above Scripture. They are a careful summary of what Scripture teaches. Below, each part of the gospel is set alongside the Shorter Catechism, with references to the Confession (WCF) for further study.
I. God
Q. 1 What is the chief end of man?
Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him for ever.
Q. 4 What is God?
God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable, in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth.
God is not one being among many. He is the Creator, and everything else depends on him. He is self-sufficient and needs nothing from us. Yet he made us to know him and delight in him. Because he is holy and just, he will not treat sin as if it does not matter. Further study: WCF chapters 2–4.
II. Man
Q. 14 What is sin?
Sin is any want of conformity unto, or transgression of, the law of God.
Q. 19 What is the misery of that estate whereinto man fell?
All mankind by their fall lost communion with God, are under his wrath and curse, and so made liable to all miseries in this life, to death itself, and to the pains of hell for ever.
Sin is not only the wrong we do. It is also the good we fail to do (a "want of conformity"). In Adam, humanity's first representative, all mankind fell. We are born with hearts turned away from God, and left to ourselves we will not and cannot turn back. Further study: WCF chapter 6.
III. Christ
Q. 21 Who is the Redeemer of God's elect?
The only Redeemer of God's elect is the Lord Jesus Christ, who, being the eternal Son of God, became man, and so was, and continueth to be, God and man in two distinct natures, and one person, for ever.
Q. 25 How doth Christ execute the office of a priest?
Christ executeth the office of a priest, in his once offering up of himself a sacrifice to satisfy divine justice, and reconcile us to God; and in making continual intercession for us.
Q. 33 What is justification?
Justification is an act of God's free grace, wherein he pardoneth all our sins, and accepteth us as righteous in his sight, only for the righteousness of Christ imputed to us, and received by faith alone.
From the first promise in Genesis 3:15 to its fulfilment in Christ, the whole Bible tells one story of one redemption for one people of God. The Confession calls this the covenant of grace. The saints of the Old Testament were saved the same way we are, by faith in the promised Redeemer.
…the Lord was pleased to make a second, commonly called the covenant of grace; wherein he freely offereth unto sinners life and salvation by Jesus Christ; requiring of them faith in him, that they may be saved, and promising to give unto all those that are ordained unto eternal life his Holy Spirit, to make them willing, and able to believe.
Westminster Confession of Faith 7.3
Further study: WCF chapters 7, 8, and 11.
IV. Response
Q. 85 What doth God require of us, that we may escape his wrath and curse due to us for sin?
To escape the wrath and curse of God due to us for sin, God requireth of us faith in Jesus Christ, repentance unto life, with the diligent use of all the outward means whereby Christ communicateth to us the benefits of redemption.
Q. 86 What is faith in Jesus Christ?
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.
Q. 87 What is repentance unto life?
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, doth, with grief and hatred of his sin, turn from it unto God, with full purpose of, and endeavour after, new obedience.
Notice the words "as he is offered to us in the gospel." Christ is freely and sincerely offered to every person who hears the gospel. You do not need to find out first whether you are among God's elect before you may come. You are commanded and invited to come now. God's choosing is the reason anyone comes at all. It is never a reason to stay away.
Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat!
Isaiah 55:1
Further study: WCF chapters 10, 14, and 15.
Can I be sure?
Assurance does not rest on remembering a moment of decision or the strength of your feelings. It rests on the promises of God in Christ, on the inward evidence of grace, and on the testimony of the Holy Spirit with our spirits that we are children of God (WCF 18.2). Christians may struggle with doubt, but God keeps those who are his. Further study: WCF chapters 17 and 18.
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
Romans 8:1
How does Christ keep his people?
Q. 88 What are the outward means whereby Christ communicateth to us the benefits of redemption?
The outward and ordinary means whereby Christ communicateth 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.
The Christian life is not lived alone. Christ feeds his people through the preaching of his Word, through baptism and the Lord's Supper, and through prayer, all in the life of a local church.Find a church near you.
Read the full Westminster Confession and Catechisms.