Tie and Toga 5 December 2006

On today's program, the apocryphal books are up for discussion in connection with what we confess in Article 6 of the Belgic Confession.

ARTICLE 6 - THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE CANONICAL AND APOCRYPHAL BOOKS

We distinguish these holy books from the apocryphal, namely, 3 and 4 Esdras, Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, Ecclesiasticus, Baruch, additions to Esther, the Prayer of Azariah and the Song of the Three Young Men in the Furnace, Susannah, Bel and the Dragon, the Prayer of Manasseh, and 1 and 2 Maccabees. The church may read and take instruction from these so far as they agree with the canonical books. They are, however, far from having such power and authority that we may confirm from their testimony any point of faith or of the Christian religion; much less may they be used to detract from the authority of the holy books.

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The music at the beginning and end of the program is from the Indelible Grace CD, For All the Saints. To learn more about Indelible Grace, go to their website.

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Tie and Toga 28 November 2006

On today's program, we're discussing Articles 3 and 4 of the Belgic Confession....

ARTICLE 3 - THE WORD OF GOD

We confess that this Word of God did not come by the impulse of man, but that men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God, as the apostle Peter says (2 Pet 1:21). Thereafter, in His special care for us and our salvation, God commanded His servants, the prophets and apostles, to commit His revealed Word to writing¹ and He Himself wrote with His own finger the two tables of the law.² Therefore we call such writings holy and divine Scriptures.³

¹ Ex 34:27; Ps 102:18; Rev 1:11, 19. ² Ex 31:18. ³ 2 Tim 3:16.

ARTICLE 4 - THE CANONICAL BOOKS

We believe that the Holy Scriptures consist of two parts, namely, the Old and the New Testament, which are canonical, against which nothing can be alleged. These books are listed in the church of God as follows.

The books of the Old Testament: the five books of Moses, namely, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy; Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, 1 and 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther; Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, the Song of Songs; Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.

The books of the New Testament: the four gospels, namely, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John; the Acts of the Apostles; the thirteen letters of the apostle Paul, namely, Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon; the letter to the Hebrews; the seven other letters, namely, James, 1 and 2 Peter, 1, 2 and 3 John, Jude; and the Revelation to the apostle John.

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Tie and Toga 21 November 2006

On today's podcast, we're continuing our series on the Belgic Confession. Article 2 is up for discussion today.

ARTICLE 2 - HOW GOD MAKES HIMSELF KNOWN TO US

We know Him by two means: First, by the creation, preservation, and government of the universe; which is before our eyes as a most beautiful book,¹ wherein all creatures, great and small, are as so many letters leading us to perceive clearly the invisible things of God, namely, His eternal power and deity, as the apostle Paul says (Rom 1:20). All these things are sufficient to convict men and leave them without excuse. Second, He makes Himself more clearly and fully known to us by His holy and divine Word² as far as is necessary for us in this life, to His glory and our salvation.

¹ Ps 19:1-4. ² Ps 19:7, 8; 1 Cor 1:18-21

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Tie and Toga 7 November 2006

On today's program, we continue with our series on the Belgic Confession. Pastor Bredenhof reads an excerpt of a letter from Guido De Bres to his wife. You can find the full letter by clicking here. We spend the rest of the program with Article 1:

ARTICLE 1 - THERE IS ONLY ONE GOD

We all believe with the heart and confess with the mouth¹ that there is only one God,² who is a simple and spiritual Being;³ He is eternal,⁴ incomprehensible,⁵ invisible,⁶ immutable,⁷ infinite,⁸ almighty,⁹ perfectly wise,¹⁰ just,¹¹ good,¹² and the overflowing fountain of all good.¹³

¹ Rom 10:10. ² Deut 6:4; 1 Cor 8:4, 6; 1 Tim 2:5. ³ Jn 4:24. ⁴ Ps 90:2. ⁵ Rom 11:33. ⁶ Col 1:15; 1 Tim 6:16. ⁷ Jas 1:17. ⁸ 1 Kings 8:27; Jer 23:24. ⁹ Gen 17:1; Mt 19:26; Rev 1:8. ¹⁰ Rom 16:27. ¹¹ Rom 3:25, 26; Rom 9:14; Rev 16:5, 7. ¹² Mt 19:17. ¹³ Jas 1:17.

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Tie and Toga for October 31, 2006

Today is Reformation Day and to commemorate this occasion, Tie and Toga is beginning a series on the Belgic Confession. On today's program we discuss the purpose of confessions, the nature of their authority, some of the history of the Belgic Confession and a bunch of other stuff. Enjoy!

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Tie and Toga for October 17, 2006

On today's program, the Langley co-pastors talk about the church situation in the Netherlands, particularly with the sister churches of the Canadian Reformed. They also discuss this video by Mark Driscoll, pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle. You'll want to watch the video before listening to our discussion...



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