[HarleyD]

Wow! How wonderful and EXACTLY as dictated by the Bible. It great to hear of a church following God's word. And the reward was that you have help this gentleman in his walk with the Lord.

[OrthodoxPresbyterian]

To: OrthodoxPresbyterian ~~ Wow! How wonderful and EXACTLY as dictated by the Bible. It great to hear of a church following God's word. And the reward was that you have help this gentleman in his walk with the Lord.

I have "helped" nothing. I am nothing but another Law-Breaker against the Seventh Commandment.

I never encountered my Friend, of whom I speak above, until AFTER I returned to the Church of Jesus Christ... in my own case, specifically the Orthodox Presbyterian Denomination.

I was nothing but a Prodigal Son -- who had forsaken the Church of Jesus Christ for years in Drunkenness, Debauchery, and Adultery -- but even in my Apostasy, the Creed of Dutch Calvinism burned upon my heart like a hateful brand:

What is your only comfort in life and in death?
That I am not my Own, but belong body and soul, in life and in death, to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ. ~~The Heidelburg Catechism

It BURNS! It burns us, it freezes us... Take it off of us, it will kill us!!

Until a Man has wandered far from God... until he has fed from the Trough of Pigs and renounced his own Birthright but Jesus won't let him go... I don't think he can truly understand the awful Horror and Majesty of the Creed of Dutch Calvinism.

I am not my Own, but belong body and soul, in life and in death, to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ.

• I have destroyed hundreds of thousands in hard-earned wealth for my own personal gain... and I belong to Jesus Christ.
  
• I have seduced, and fornicated, and broken marriages in my adulterous lust... and I belong to Jesus Christ.
• But my own Rebellious Will, I have fallen away from the Church for years... and still He will not give up on me. I belong to Jesus Christ.

Even in my Apostasy, I knew, by the Doctrines of Calvinism, that I had been Bought with a Price, and He WOULD NOT let me go. It BURNS! It burns us, it freezes us... Take it off of us, it will kill us!! The Creed of Dutch Calvinism should be rightfully considered as the Greatest Hope, and the most Awful Horror, that any Protestent Christian could ever consider. Westminster pales in comparison.

Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish in the way... when His Wrath is kindled but a little.

But ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry: "Abba, Father!"

And I know that I am not my Own, but belong body and soul, in life and in death, to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ.

The Horror and the Majesty.
The Power and the Glory.

It is a Fearful Thing to fall into the hands of the Living God.
And it is a Fearful Thing to study Dutch Calvinism, and to understand their doctrines.

Truly, the Fear of the LORD is the Beginning of Wisdom.

The Penitent Presbyter of whom I have spoken above, I have taught nothing, aside from a few intellectual Theological points. I'm just a redeemed Prodigal "Punk", a Newbie by Orthodox Presbyterian standards.

But my Friend has taught me much... about Orthodox Presbyterianism, about Church Discipline, and about the Fear of the LORD.

Dutch Calvinism really is quite terrifying.
And really quite beautiful.

Cool stuff. Best Regards, OP