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Collected Writings of John Murray #1
Collected Writings of John Murray: Claims of Truth
The most important of John Murray's shorter writings illustrating his own conviction that theology should be 'shot through with arden devotion'.
374 pages, Hardcover
First published November 1, 1976
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About the author
John Murray
33 books74 followersJohn Murray was a Scottish-born Calvinist theologian who taught at Princeton Seminary and then left to help found Westminster Theological Seminary, where he taught for many years.
Murray was born in the croft of Badbea, near Bonar Bridge, in Sutherland county, Scotland. Following service in the British Army in the First World War (during which he lost an eye, serving in the famous Black Watch regiment) he studied at the University of Glasgow. Following his acceptance as a theological student of the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland he pursued further studies at Princeton Theological Seminary under J. Gresham Machen and Geerhardus Vos, but broke with the Free Presbyterian Church in 1930 over that Church's treatment of the Chesley, Ontario congregation. He taught at Princeton for a year and then lectured in systematic theology at Westminster Theological Seminary to generations of students from 1930 to 1966, and was an early trustee of the Banner of Truth Trust. Besides the material in the four-volume Collected Writings, his primary published works are a commentary on the Epistle to the Romans (previously included in the New International Commentary on the New Testament series but now superseded by Douglas J. Moo's commentary), Redemption Accomplished and Applied, Principles of Conduct, The Imputation of Adam's Sin, Baptism, and Divorce.
Murray preached at Chesley and Lochalsh from time to time until his retirement from Westminster Theological Seminary in 1968. He married Valerie Knowlton 7 December 1967 and retired to Scotland where he was connected with the Free Church of Scotland. Writing after a communion season at Lochalsh, Murray said, “I think I feel most at home here and at Chesley of all the places I visit.” There had been some consideration that upon leaving the seminary, Murray might take a pastorate in the newly formed Presbyterian Reformed Church, but the infirmity of his aged sisters at the home place necessitated his return to Ross-shire, Scotland.
Murray was born in the croft of Badbea, near Bonar Bridge, in Sutherland county, Scotland. Following service in the British Army in the First World War (during which he lost an eye, serving in the famous Black Watch regiment) he studied at the University of Glasgow. Following his acceptance as a theological student of the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland he pursued further studies at Princeton Theological Seminary under J. Gresham Machen and Geerhardus Vos, but broke with the Free Presbyterian Church in 1930 over that Church's treatment of the Chesley, Ontario congregation. He taught at Princeton for a year and then lectured in systematic theology at Westminster Theological Seminary to generations of students from 1930 to 1966, and was an early trustee of the Banner of Truth Trust. Besides the material in the four-volume Collected Writings, his primary published works are a commentary on the Epistle to the Romans (previously included in the New International Commentary on the New Testament series but now superseded by Douglas J. Moo's commentary), Redemption Accomplished and Applied, Principles of Conduct, The Imputation of Adam's Sin, Baptism, and Divorce.
Murray preached at Chesley and Lochalsh from time to time until his retirement from Westminster Theological Seminary in 1968. He married Valerie Knowlton 7 December 1967 and retired to Scotland where he was connected with the Free Church of Scotland. Writing after a communion season at Lochalsh, Murray said, “I think I feel most at home here and at Chesley of all the places I visit.” There had been some consideration that upon leaving the seminary, Murray might take a pastorate in the newly formed Presbyterian Reformed Church, but the infirmity of his aged sisters at the home place necessitated his return to Ross-shire, Scotland.
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February 26, 2023
“Christianity is not something tacked on to our worldview; it is itself a world view. And the central features of our Christian faith are conditioned by, and in turn condition, that world view.”
July 1, 2024
VOLUME ONE OF THE SERIES: CONTAINING SHORTER ARTICLES AND ADDRESSES
John Murray (1898-1975) was a Scottish-born Calvinist theologian who taught at Princeton Seminary and helped found Westminster Theological Seminary, where he taught Systematic Theology for thirty years until his retirement in 1966.
The Preface to this 1976 collection states, “Prior to John Murray’s death… the present publishers had put tentative proposals to him for the contents of a volume of his Collected Writings, and these proposals… he had accepted. It was to be a volume containing substantial theological material, some hitherto unpublished and some which had appeared in former years in The Westminster Theological Journal… this first volume differs greatly from what was then envisaged, for after his death the opportunity occurred to examine all the manuscripts of lectures, addresses and sermons which he left…
“The scope of the Collected Writings has thus been enlarged by the introduction of many more articles and addresses than were known to the publishers when their proposal was originally discussed with the author. This first volume now contains a wide range of shorter articles and addresses, originally prepared not so much for ministers and theological students as for Christians in general. None of these has previously appeared in book form and together the present an aspect of his ministry which may not be familiar to those who have only seen the major volumes which came from his pen.”
Murray wrote in a 1960 address to Christian college students, “We say Scripture is infallible not because we can prove it is infallible. The impossibility of proof lies on the face of Scripture. For example, how could we prove that the first chapter of Genesis is substantially true, not to speak of its being infallible?... We must not depreciate science. But science has to deal with existing realities, not with that which was antecedent to created existence. Or again, if we think of the third chapter of Genesis, who can prove that the events there recorded are true, or that it provides us with an infallible account of what is alleged to have occurred?... It is our obligation to defend Scripture against allegations of error and contradiction… Oftentimes, though we may not be able to demonstrate the harmony of Scripture, we are able to show that there is no necessary contradiction.” (Pg. 9-10)
He says of Anglican bishop J.A.T. Robinson [e.g., Honest to God], “we wonder how far removed from the whole biblical framework of thought and feeling a bishop of the Church of England can be. While we may be in sympathy with Dr. Robinson in his devastating criticism… of the colossus of organizational structure found in so many denominations… and while we may admire his courage in exposing the sterility of a church that has lived on its fat and the fat is running out, yet we cannot but be appalled by the complete disparity between the basic patterns of his thought and those that Scripture would dictate and create.” (Pg. 17)
He says that the Westminster Shorter Catechism “is the most perfect document of its kind that the Christian church has produced… we are not saying that it is perfect; it is a human document and is therefore not inspired or infallible. Of all literature only the Word of God is perfect, and it is perfect because it is the Word of God, the only infallible rule of faith and practice.” (Pg. 29)
He states, “We have found that there are included in the design of the atonement benefits which accrue to the non-elect… In this sense, therefore, we may say that Christ died for non-elect persons… [But] these fruits or benefits all fall short of salvation… These non-elect persons, however reforming may have been the influences exerted upon them and however uplifting their experiences, come short of the benefits accruing from the atonement, which the truly and finally saved enjoy. It is, therefore, apparent that the atonement has an entirely different reference to the elect from that which it sustains to the non-elect…” (Pg. 68-69)
He asserts, “There is no evidence to support the notion of a secret [Second] coming. The ‘rapture’ of 1 Thessalonians 4:17 is nothing more than the snatching up of believers to meet the Lord in the air, and contains no suggestion of an advent prior to that which is uniformly set forth as the public, visible coming.” (Pg. 89)
He said to an Alumni Banquet at Westminster’s 15th Commencement in 1944, “two facts must not be forgotten. The first is that Princeton Seminary, the downfall of which was the reason for the founding of Westminster, had been… a nursery for the training of ministers of many denominations… Westminster Seminary was not to be any less hospitable… The second fact is … the widespread defection both of churches and theological schools throughout the world… God raised Westminster Seminary to train men for the great work and battle of the faith in a great variety of denominations.” (Pg. 101-102)
He suggests, “It might be supposed that the doctrine of election could not properly be … the topic of an evangelistic message. This is a grievous mistake… the doctrine of election, when properly conceived and handled, has the closest bearing upon the lost. It may be used in arousing the lost from lethargy and indifference… The truth of election may thus be used to bring the unsaved to the most earnest solicitude concerning their salvation….” (Pg. 126-127)
But he adds, “there are in particular two evils that have to be avoided. The first is the presentation of the gospel … on an Arminian basis… It must be admitted that this construction of the gospel and of man’s responsibility and opportunity has many appealing and plausible features… people of Reformed persuasion have readily fallen into line with this type of evangelistic effort… there has been fostered a certain type of high-pressure appeal and of emotional excitement that is scarcely compatible with the sobriety and dignity that ought to characterize the preaching of the gospel… The second evil is hyper-Calvinism… deep persuasion of the particularism of the plan of salvation, and revulsion from Arminian evangelism, have sometimes been the occasion for the abandonment of evangelism altogether.” (Pg. 130-131)
He argues, “The plea that it is wrong to urge Sabbath observance on unbelievers is invalid for several reasons: 1. Are we to say that it is improper or irrelevant to confront unbelievers with the law of God, with the sin of transgression, and with the wages that accrue?... 2. By the law is the knowledge of sin… Failure to observe the Sabbath law is a conspicuous manifestation of dispute with the authority and goodness of God. 3. Sustained emphasis upon the necessity of Sabbath observance… is a restraining influence that prevents unbelievers from multiplying the transgression that reaps the judgment of God… 4. The observances which the Sabbath law enjoins are means of grace and therefore channels of salvation… 5. The outward observance of the Sabbath promote public order and makes for the preservation of our most cherished rights and liberties.” (Pg. 225-226)
In a report he prepared for the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, he wrote, “how is the church to proclaim then counsel of God as it bears upon civil affairs? It is obvious that there are two means, in particular, of proclaiming the Word of God, namely, the pulpit and the press. The church… must make its voice heard and felt in reference to public questions. The church may not supinely stand aside and ignore political corruption, for example… When there is political revolution which contravenes the principles of God’s Word and is directed against the kingdom of God, the church may not be an idle spectator… and in the interests of equity, the church may not refrain from expressing by like media the favorable judgment which the principles of the Word of God dictate.” (Pg. 257)
He states, “Presbyterian government knows no diocesan episcopacy. But Presbyterian government… gains all and more of the coordinated supervision which diocesan episcopacy seeks to achieve. Presbyterianism has its archbishop and that archbishop is Christ.” (Pg. 268)
In a 1965 address to a group of English ministers, he pointed out, “It is apparent that the most basic contradictions of unbelief may coexist with a watertight doctrine of Scripture. An Arian view of Christ’s person may be entertained by one affirming the most orthodox doctrine of Scripture. And thus… the bond of fellowship must be extended to include other aspects of the Christian confession, and there is opened a wide area of Christian witness that a creed adequate to fellowship must comprise.” (Pg. 281-282)
He argues, “If I must listen to the voice of the Church… and particularly in definitive pronouncements of the Roman Pontiff, I must be assured that this voice in invested with divine authority… where am I to find God’s own certification that the Pope’s… definitive pronouncements of doctrine on faith and morals, are infallible and therefore binding me to faith and obedience? I do find that the Lord Jesus said to Peter, ‘On this rock I will build my church…’ [Mt 16:18-19]. But I also find that Jesus breathed on the ten apostles and said, ‘Receive ye the Holy Ghost: whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained. [Jn 20:22-23]. So the binding and loosing referred to in the word addressed to Peter is not the exclusive prerogative of Peter… I look in vain in the teaching of the New Testament, or in the practice of the apostolic church, for any primacy of Peter.” (Pg. 301)
He observes, “Oftentimes it is pleaded that the Christian message must be adapted to the modern man. It is true that the message must be proclaimed … to modern man in the context in which he lives and in language he can understand. But it is much more true and important to plead that modern man must be adapted to the gospel… But when a man today becomes earnest about the Christian faith… he cannot rest with anything less than the consistency and vigor which the [Westminster] Confession exemplifies.” (Pg. 322)
In an essay written in the height of World War II, he contends, “We do not need any profound knowledge of history to be able to discover the source of the departure [from the gospel in Germany], and therefore the source of the moral and spiritual debacle witnessed in that religion of blood and race and soil embodied in the ideology of Nazi Germany. This source is found in the naturalistic and destructive criticism of our Christian faith that found a ready home and active sponsorship in German soil. This war is the logical issue of that religion … embraced by German Nazism, and that religion is the logical outcome of that pseudo-Christianity that is based upon the denial of the divine authority and finality of Holy Scripture as the infallible Word of God.” (Pg. 348)
The volumes in this series will be virtual “must reading” for anyone seriously studying contemporary Evangelical Reformed theology.
John Murray (1898-1975) was a Scottish-born Calvinist theologian who taught at Princeton Seminary and helped found Westminster Theological Seminary, where he taught Systematic Theology for thirty years until his retirement in 1966.
The Preface to this 1976 collection states, “Prior to John Murray’s death… the present publishers had put tentative proposals to him for the contents of a volume of his Collected Writings, and these proposals… he had accepted. It was to be a volume containing substantial theological material, some hitherto unpublished and some which had appeared in former years in The Westminster Theological Journal… this first volume differs greatly from what was then envisaged, for after his death the opportunity occurred to examine all the manuscripts of lectures, addresses and sermons which he left…
“The scope of the Collected Writings has thus been enlarged by the introduction of many more articles and addresses than were known to the publishers when their proposal was originally discussed with the author. This first volume now contains a wide range of shorter articles and addresses, originally prepared not so much for ministers and theological students as for Christians in general. None of these has previously appeared in book form and together the present an aspect of his ministry which may not be familiar to those who have only seen the major volumes which came from his pen.”
Murray wrote in a 1960 address to Christian college students, “We say Scripture is infallible not because we can prove it is infallible. The impossibility of proof lies on the face of Scripture. For example, how could we prove that the first chapter of Genesis is substantially true, not to speak of its being infallible?... We must not depreciate science. But science has to deal with existing realities, not with that which was antecedent to created existence. Or again, if we think of the third chapter of Genesis, who can prove that the events there recorded are true, or that it provides us with an infallible account of what is alleged to have occurred?... It is our obligation to defend Scripture against allegations of error and contradiction… Oftentimes, though we may not be able to demonstrate the harmony of Scripture, we are able to show that there is no necessary contradiction.” (Pg. 9-10)
He says of Anglican bishop J.A.T. Robinson [e.g., Honest to God], “we wonder how far removed from the whole biblical framework of thought and feeling a bishop of the Church of England can be. While we may be in sympathy with Dr. Robinson in his devastating criticism… of the colossus of organizational structure found in so many denominations… and while we may admire his courage in exposing the sterility of a church that has lived on its fat and the fat is running out, yet we cannot but be appalled by the complete disparity between the basic patterns of his thought and those that Scripture would dictate and create.” (Pg. 17)
He says that the Westminster Shorter Catechism “is the most perfect document of its kind that the Christian church has produced… we are not saying that it is perfect; it is a human document and is therefore not inspired or infallible. Of all literature only the Word of God is perfect, and it is perfect because it is the Word of God, the only infallible rule of faith and practice.” (Pg. 29)
He states, “We have found that there are included in the design of the atonement benefits which accrue to the non-elect… In this sense, therefore, we may say that Christ died for non-elect persons… [But] these fruits or benefits all fall short of salvation… These non-elect persons, however reforming may have been the influences exerted upon them and however uplifting their experiences, come short of the benefits accruing from the atonement, which the truly and finally saved enjoy. It is, therefore, apparent that the atonement has an entirely different reference to the elect from that which it sustains to the non-elect…” (Pg. 68-69)
He asserts, “There is no evidence to support the notion of a secret [Second] coming. The ‘rapture’ of 1 Thessalonians 4:17 is nothing more than the snatching up of believers to meet the Lord in the air, and contains no suggestion of an advent prior to that which is uniformly set forth as the public, visible coming.” (Pg. 89)
He said to an Alumni Banquet at Westminster’s 15th Commencement in 1944, “two facts must not be forgotten. The first is that Princeton Seminary, the downfall of which was the reason for the founding of Westminster, had been… a nursery for the training of ministers of many denominations… Westminster Seminary was not to be any less hospitable… The second fact is … the widespread defection both of churches and theological schools throughout the world… God raised Westminster Seminary to train men for the great work and battle of the faith in a great variety of denominations.” (Pg. 101-102)
He suggests, “It might be supposed that the doctrine of election could not properly be … the topic of an evangelistic message. This is a grievous mistake… the doctrine of election, when properly conceived and handled, has the closest bearing upon the lost. It may be used in arousing the lost from lethargy and indifference… The truth of election may thus be used to bring the unsaved to the most earnest solicitude concerning their salvation….” (Pg. 126-127)
But he adds, “there are in particular two evils that have to be avoided. The first is the presentation of the gospel … on an Arminian basis… It must be admitted that this construction of the gospel and of man’s responsibility and opportunity has many appealing and plausible features… people of Reformed persuasion have readily fallen into line with this type of evangelistic effort… there has been fostered a certain type of high-pressure appeal and of emotional excitement that is scarcely compatible with the sobriety and dignity that ought to characterize the preaching of the gospel… The second evil is hyper-Calvinism… deep persuasion of the particularism of the plan of salvation, and revulsion from Arminian evangelism, have sometimes been the occasion for the abandonment of evangelism altogether.” (Pg. 130-131)
He argues, “The plea that it is wrong to urge Sabbath observance on unbelievers is invalid for several reasons: 1. Are we to say that it is improper or irrelevant to confront unbelievers with the law of God, with the sin of transgression, and with the wages that accrue?... 2. By the law is the knowledge of sin… Failure to observe the Sabbath law is a conspicuous manifestation of dispute with the authority and goodness of God. 3. Sustained emphasis upon the necessity of Sabbath observance… is a restraining influence that prevents unbelievers from multiplying the transgression that reaps the judgment of God… 4. The observances which the Sabbath law enjoins are means of grace and therefore channels of salvation… 5. The outward observance of the Sabbath promote public order and makes for the preservation of our most cherished rights and liberties.” (Pg. 225-226)
In a report he prepared for the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, he wrote, “how is the church to proclaim then counsel of God as it bears upon civil affairs? It is obvious that there are two means, in particular, of proclaiming the Word of God, namely, the pulpit and the press. The church… must make its voice heard and felt in reference to public questions. The church may not supinely stand aside and ignore political corruption, for example… When there is political revolution which contravenes the principles of God’s Word and is directed against the kingdom of God, the church may not be an idle spectator… and in the interests of equity, the church may not refrain from expressing by like media the favorable judgment which the principles of the Word of God dictate.” (Pg. 257)
He states, “Presbyterian government knows no diocesan episcopacy. But Presbyterian government… gains all and more of the coordinated supervision which diocesan episcopacy seeks to achieve. Presbyterianism has its archbishop and that archbishop is Christ.” (Pg. 268)
In a 1965 address to a group of English ministers, he pointed out, “It is apparent that the most basic contradictions of unbelief may coexist with a watertight doctrine of Scripture. An Arian view of Christ’s person may be entertained by one affirming the most orthodox doctrine of Scripture. And thus… the bond of fellowship must be extended to include other aspects of the Christian confession, and there is opened a wide area of Christian witness that a creed adequate to fellowship must comprise.” (Pg. 281-282)
He argues, “If I must listen to the voice of the Church… and particularly in definitive pronouncements of the Roman Pontiff, I must be assured that this voice in invested with divine authority… where am I to find God’s own certification that the Pope’s… definitive pronouncements of doctrine on faith and morals, are infallible and therefore binding me to faith and obedience? I do find that the Lord Jesus said to Peter, ‘On this rock I will build my church…’ [Mt 16:18-19]. But I also find that Jesus breathed on the ten apostles and said, ‘Receive ye the Holy Ghost: whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained. [Jn 20:22-23]. So the binding and loosing referred to in the word addressed to Peter is not the exclusive prerogative of Peter… I look in vain in the teaching of the New Testament, or in the practice of the apostolic church, for any primacy of Peter.” (Pg. 301)
He observes, “Oftentimes it is pleaded that the Christian message must be adapted to the modern man. It is true that the message must be proclaimed … to modern man in the context in which he lives and in language he can understand. But it is much more true and important to plead that modern man must be adapted to the gospel… But when a man today becomes earnest about the Christian faith… he cannot rest with anything less than the consistency and vigor which the [Westminster] Confession exemplifies.” (Pg. 322)
In an essay written in the height of World War II, he contends, “We do not need any profound knowledge of history to be able to discover the source of the departure [from the gospel in Germany], and therefore the source of the moral and spiritual debacle witnessed in that religion of blood and race and soil embodied in the ideology of Nazi Germany. This source is found in the naturalistic and destructive criticism of our Christian faith that found a ready home and active sponsorship in German soil. This war is the logical issue of that religion … embraced by German Nazism, and that religion is the logical outcome of that pseudo-Christianity that is based upon the denial of the divine authority and finality of Holy Scripture as the infallible Word of God.” (Pg. 348)
The volumes in this series will be virtual “must reading” for anyone seriously studying contemporary Evangelical Reformed theology.
February 19, 2024
After having read a biograph of John Murray last year and being mightily encouraged in the process, I couldn't resist picking up a couple volumes of his works from Banner of Truth. They sadly sat on my shelf unread for a bit too long, but finally near the latter part of this past year, I was in a place where I very much desired to read deep ponderings and meditations on the truths of Christ and the foundation of our faith. Picked this volume up and have been reading it on and off for the past couple months. And oh how beneficial it has been to my soul and my walk with God! This volume contains a number of Murray's writings (either intended for the printed press or addresses that he gave to a variety of audiences) and while the writings are grouped together by subject matter, they are all (more or less) standalone and it is easy to just read one at a time. I did this (of course there were times when I had a plethora of free time and read lots more!) and I'm so grateful to have read this and been so encouraged as I ponder the truths of God. Murray writes clearly and forcefully and certainly doesn't pull any of his punches. Some of his perspectives or beliefs may come across to some as a bit overly conservative or radical now, and though I don't necessarily agree with all his thoughts (mainly thinking about some of his thoughts on the Sabbath, which I shall need ponder on further), I greatly appreciated Murray's perspective, his obvious dedication to the Lord and to the Word of God, and the way in which Murray points to Christ first in all things. Murray seeks to know and to communicate how we may best glorify God and serve Him on this earth, as we find revealed in the Scriptures that He has given us. We all ought spend more time examining our faith and being intentional in our thoughts and private practices. Are we giving God our best? Or is our faith just a hobby and something that is pleasurable to think on now and then? This book of certainty has much of doctrine and theology in it (all we do ought be informed by a proper understanding of theology), but I did not read this book merely to have more intellectual knowledge about God. I read this in a devotional manner, that I would be encouraged as I think on the truths of the Lord and that I would be convicted as I seek to honor God in my daily walk before Him. This book was a firm aid to that, and I am very much looking forward to moving on to Volume 2 sometime this coming year.
May 10, 2023
This is volume 1 of a four-volume set. I should have bought them all when they were at a greatly discounted price years ago at a conference I had gone to. I have volume II of Systematic Theology and at some point, this year I will get to it.
He covers a lot of ground in this volume everything from the Scriptures (which I thoroughly enjoyed) to Jesus Christ, the atonement (The Atonement and the Free Offer of the Gospel Chapter I will be rereading) to the Westminster Theological Seminary. He goes over the practical aspects of the Christian life and gave some interesting insight on the Sabbath.
He gives a little history of the Reformation and some notable men of influence including Calvin and Luther and the impact they have made in church history.
It was 374 pages long and fairly easy to get through. Since these were notes based on his lectures, I surmised that his writing and speaking were palatable to most audiences.
While I understand not everyone is Presbyterian there is a lot of food for thought for the growing Christian.
He covers a lot of ground in this volume everything from the Scriptures (which I thoroughly enjoyed) to Jesus Christ, the atonement (The Atonement and the Free Offer of the Gospel Chapter I will be rereading) to the Westminster Theological Seminary. He goes over the practical aspects of the Christian life and gave some interesting insight on the Sabbath.
He gives a little history of the Reformation and some notable men of influence including Calvin and Luther and the impact they have made in church history.
It was 374 pages long and fairly easy to get through. Since these were notes based on his lectures, I surmised that his writing and speaking were palatable to most audiences.
While I understand not everyone is Presbyterian there is a lot of food for thought for the growing Christian.
February 23, 2017
Excellent!
December 14, 2018
Classic! A basic and wide ranging truths about Christianity.
Read
November 16, 2023I read 5 of the 49 chapters, looking for particular info. For that reason I'm not rating the book.
Notes
The Atonement and the Free Offer of the Gospel
Free offer
"'Unto all the nations' bespeaks universality. And since repentance is redolent of the gospel, the universality of the demand for repentance implies the universal overture of grace. To think otherwise would abstract repentance from the grace to which it is directed in the word of Jesus; it is repentance unto the remission of sins." See Luke 24:47; Acts 17:30; Eph 2:14.
The Sabbath remains an obligation
•It was instituted at creation, before the Fall (Gen 2:2-3).
•It's based on divine example (Gen 2:2; Ex 20:11).
•It's commanded in 10 Commandments, written in stone; the Bible doesn't treat the 4th Commandment as a different category from other 9.
•Jesus confirmed it by declaring lordship over it (Mark 2:27-28).
Works of piety (Matt 12:5), necessity (Matt 12:3-4), mercy (Matt 12:11, 13) are approved on Sabbath.
Weekly Sabbath helps us look forward to eternal Sabbath (Heb 4:9).
The Pattern of the Lord's Day
Just as exodus gave another reason for Sabbath (Deut 5:15), so Christ's redeeming us gives another reason.
1st day of week had religious significance for NT church, which can only be explained by its being the day of Jesus' resurrection (Acts 20:7; 1 Cor 16:2; Rev 1:10).
Jesus didn't relax or abrogate Sabbath, but condemned Pharisaical additions to Sabbath requirements. By declaring His lordship over Sabbath, Jesus showed its continuation in NT.
"The weekly Sabbath is the promise, token, and foretaste of the consummated rest; it is also the earnest." See Heb 4:9; cf Gen 2:2; Ps 95:10-11; Rev 14:13).
The Relevance of the Sabbath
Unbelievers must keep the Sabbath. The 4th Commandment is one of the 10; it restrains sin and can bring conversions.
Notes
The Atonement and the Free Offer of the Gospel
Free offer
"'Unto all the nations' bespeaks universality. And since repentance is redolent of the gospel, the universality of the demand for repentance implies the universal overture of grace. To think otherwise would abstract repentance from the grace to which it is directed in the word of Jesus; it is repentance unto the remission of sins." See Luke 24:47; Acts 17:30; Eph 2:14.
… he commands men that they should all everywhere repent [Acts 17:30]. For the reason already stated this is the full and unrestricted offer of the gospel to all men. Those who deny the free overture of grace must rob the demand for repentance of its gospel implications. Denial dismembers Jesu's word, "repentance unto remission of sins" and it contradicts the plain import of Paul's "all everywhere."Common grace
Many blessings are dispensed to men indiscriminately because God is fulfilling his redemptive purpose in the world. Much in the way of order, equity, benevolence, and mercy is the fruit of the gospel, and the gospel is God's redemptive revelation centered in the gift of his Son. Believers are enjoined to "do good to al men" (Gal. 6:10) and compliance has a beneficent result. … Again, it is by virtue of what Christ has done that there is a gospel of salvation proclaimed to all without distinction. Are we to say that the unrestricted overture of grace is not grace to those to whom it comes?All good dispensed on the world is because of Christ's lordship, which He received as reward for His obedience unto death (Phil 2:8, 9).
… even the non-elect are embraced in the design of the atonement in respect of those blessings falling short of salvation which they enjoy in this life. This is equivalent to saying that the atonement sustains this reference to the non-elect and it would not be improper to say that, in respect of what is entailed for the non-elect, Christ died for them.Benefits bestowed on ungodly are expressions of God's kindness. This is implied in passages that deal with the gifts of God's general providence. When Jesus teaches us to love enemies (Matt 5:44; Luke 6:27-28), the reason is to be like the Father (Matt 5:48; Luke 6:36) who does good to the ungodly (Matt 5:45; Luke 6:35-36; Acts 14:16-17).
… there is a love in God that goes forth to lost men and is manifested in the manifold blessings which all men without distinction enjoy, a love in which non-elect persons are embraced, and a love that comes to its highest expression in the entreaties, overtures, and demands of gospel proclamation.
… when we think of Christ's 'dying for' in the substitutionary terms which are its proper import, we must say that he did not die for those who never become the beneficiaries of that substitution; he did not 'die for' the non-elect.The Sabbath Institution
The Sabbath remains an obligation
•It was instituted at creation, before the Fall (Gen 2:2-3).
•It's based on divine example (Gen 2:2; Ex 20:11).
•It's commanded in 10 Commandments, written in stone; the Bible doesn't treat the 4th Commandment as a different category from other 9.
•Jesus confirmed it by declaring lordship over it (Mark 2:27-28).
Works of piety (Matt 12:5), necessity (Matt 12:3-4), mercy (Matt 12:11, 13) are approved on Sabbath.
Weekly Sabbath helps us look forward to eternal Sabbath (Heb 4:9).
The Pattern of the Lord's Day
Just as exodus gave another reason for Sabbath (Deut 5:15), so Christ's redeeming us gives another reason.
1st day of week had religious significance for NT church, which can only be explained by its being the day of Jesus' resurrection (Acts 20:7; 1 Cor 16:2; Rev 1:10).
Jesus didn't relax or abrogate Sabbath, but condemned Pharisaical additions to Sabbath requirements. By declaring His lordship over Sabbath, Jesus showed its continuation in NT.
"The weekly Sabbath is the promise, token, and foretaste of the consummated rest; it is also the earnest." See Heb 4:9; cf Gen 2:2; Ps 95:10-11; Rev 14:13).
The Relevance of the Sabbath
Unbelievers must keep the Sabbath. The 4th Commandment is one of the 10; it restrains sin and can bring conversions.
January 18, 2016
Professor John Murray, born in Scotland in 1898, served in World War I (during which he lost an eye from a shrapnel blast), subsequently taught Systematic Theology at Princeton Seminary until 1930, and Westminster Seminary until 1966. This is the first of four volumes of his collected writings. I found the most seminal chapters: (1) Atonement and the Free Offer of the Gospel - - "that there is a love in God that goes forth to lost men" (p.68), but "that there is a differentiation in the love of God" (p.70) for his elect, the church. (2) Banner of Westminster Seminary - - the institution was opposed to the "gateway . . . opened to doctrinal laxity . . . toward brethren who might not be able fully to subscribe to the standards of the church" (p.100), and later, "We do not make progress by discarding our heritage" (p.322). (3) Worship - - "The Reformed principle is that the acceptable way of worshipping God is instituted by himself, and so limited by his revealed will that he may not be worshipped in any other way that that prescribed in the Holy Scripture, that what is not commanded is forbidden" (p.168). (4) The Relation of Church and State - - - "it is only a misconception of what is involved in the proclamation of the whole counsel of God that leads to the notion that the church has no concern with the political sphere"(p.255) and later, "The goal fixed for us by the Christian revelation is nothing less than a Christian state as well as Christian individuals, Christian families and a Christian church" (p.365). However all 49 chapters of volume 1 are well worth reading!
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