68 Question. Were erroneous doctrines creeping into the Free Church before 1893?
Answer. Yes. Errors such as (1) that God is the universal Father of mankind; (2) that natural men are capable of winning God’s favour by their own good works; (3) that Christ loved and died for all men alike; had found acceptance in the Free Church before 1893.
69 Q. Is God the universal Father of mankind?
A. God is not the Father of mankind, for Christ said tothe unbelieving Jews, ‘Ye are of your father the devil’ (John 8:44)[1]
70 Q. Is it true that the Fall left some spiritual good thing in us toward God?
A. No, man’s fall into a state of sin utterly ruined all mankind.[2]
71 Q. Can we not think good thoughts and perform good works?
A. No, while the matter of our thoughts and actions may be commanded by God and of good use to ourselves and others, coming from a heart not purified by faith and not done in a right manner, or to a right end, they are therefore sinful and cannot please God,[3] in proof of which Christ says, “Without me ye can do nothing” (John 15:5, see also Rom. 7:18 and Rom. 8:7).
72 Q. May we not get to heaven by our own good works?
A. No; it is only through Christ’s merits and believing in his name that we can ever get to heaven; “We conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law” (Rom. 3:28).
73 Q. Is it true that Christ died for all men?
A. No, the view that Christ died for all men is contrary to the teaching of God’s Word which expressly tells us that Christ died for his sheep and for such as the Father gave him (John 10:11, 15).
74 Q. Does Christ save all those for whom he died?
A. Yes, Christ will infallibly save all those for whom he died and those only,[4] so that it is a serious error to teach that Christ loved Peter and Judas alike and died for them both.
75 Q. Is it important for a Church to teach sound doctrine?
A. It is very important that the Church teaches only sound doctrine (Titus 2:1; 2 Timothy 1:13), for false doctrine is like a deadly poison.
76 Q. How does Christ warn us against false teaching?
A. Christ compares false teaching to leaven and warns us to take heed what we hear (Mark 4:24), so that it is unsafe and very dangerous to sit under false teaching.
77 Q. What should we do if we have to live in a place where we cannot get sound teaching?
A. If we cannot move our home or find a place of worship nearby where sound doctrine is preached, we should worship God at home and pray that God, in his providence, would bring us to a place where we will hear his truth preached.
[1] See Westminster Confession of Faith, Chapters 7 and 12.
[2] See Larger Catechism, Question 25 and Romans 3: 10–12.
[3] See Westminster Confession of Faith, Chapter 16, section 7.
[4] See Westminster Confession of Faith, Chapter 8, section 8.