Joel Beeke explains how to use the means of grace to draw closer to Christ. He mentions reading the Bible, pondering the scriptures, praying in a practical way, and using a spiritual journal as a special practice. In the corporate sphere (church), he invites us to make better use of the preaching of the Word, the sacraments and the communion of the saints. Finally, at the interpersonal level, apply these questions to a life of evangelization and Christian service.
Practice mercy. [?] Let no one despise your youth; on the contrary, to become a standard of the faithful, of word, of coming, of love, of faith, of purity. Until I arrive, apply to reading, exhortation, teaching. Do not neglect the gift in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the rectory; ponder these things and be diligent in them, so that your progress may be manifest to all. care for yourself and doctrine. Continue with these tasks; because in doing so, you will save yourself and your listeners (1 Timothy 4. 7. 12-16).
- The means of grace are the fruit of a wife who wishes to have greater communion with her Husband and not an attempt to be accepted by Christ.
- We are accepted on the basis of her grace.
- And this grace leads us to actively seek the beloved of our soul.
We will consider the means of grace as any personal exercise by which God can bring us closer to Christ. I want to highlight three areas of the means of grace: private, corporate and interpersonal.
It is our daily duty to read the Word of God. For the believer, the Bible is a love letter that God sends to him daily. A Puritan listed eight ways to read the scriptures:
Reading the Bible doesn’t just change you, it has an impact on the people around you, so you should know that you won’t grow much in holiness and that your life won’t have an impact on others if you don’t look, don’t like it, and don’t live. daily writings.
The difference between reading and meditation is that in meditation, you focus on a specific topic or text. Puritans have done much of this, but our generation has lost this practice. The Puritans presented seven steps for meditation:
The reformers said, “Orare and labutare ?? pray and work hard. If they pray but don’t practice, they go in circles. Practice is important, but prayer must take precedence. John Bunyan once said, “You can do more than pray after praying, but you can do nothing but pray until you have prayed. “The more we pray, the more we will know how little we have of this grace. So he prioritizes prayer; give your life to prayer.
One of our problems, even if they are reformed and conservative in our theology, is to marginalize prayer, treating it as an annex to a book. Martin Luther, in the midst of his occupations, said, “I have so much to do today that I think I will spend the first three hours in prayer. “
When he prays, the best way to pray to God is to pray to Him the Word. Show him the promises and say, “Lord, do what you said. “
The Puritans kept track of their spiritual joys and problems, which encouraged them to contemplate God’s action in their lives.
Did the Puritans call Saturday the market of the soul?Just as they went to the market to buy their natural food, they fed their souls on Sundays. A certain Puritan even counseled on how to listen to the sermons, saying, “Before you go to service, prayerfully view your soul; come with a holy appetite; pay attention to the word preached; receive it with faith and kindness; then try to keep her meditating on it; pray about it after the end of the sermon. ?
In addition, we must discuss the sermon with our brothers and sons
The sacraments bring the Word in a more sensory way. We do not have a better Christ in the sacraments than in the Word, but we often perceive Christ more clearly.
We must share our spiritual experiences with one another, counsel, exhort, and edify each other. More mature Christians have a duty to empower younger Christians. You’ll probably become similar to the friends (and books) you relate to.
We must worry about evangelism and Christian service, exemplary and fleeing worldly life.
In all these means of grace we must seek Jesus Christ, all our holiness is in Christ, we use these means of grace to prepare our marriage, where our Wife will perfect us and we will be totally holy, like a Wife without blemishes or wrinkles.
By: Joel Beeke. Faithful Editor 2006? 2012 © All Rights Reserved
Summary by: Let’s Go back to the gospel ©. Website: www. voltemosaoevangelho. com
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