The sermon discusses the concept of superarrogation, which is doing more than what is required by God. It explores the Catholic Church's teachings on councils of perfection and the storing up of merits for salvation. The sermon emphasizes that no one can perfectly keep God's commandments and that our good works do not merit salvation. However, good works are seen as important as they are the fruit of a true and lively faith. The sermon concludes by highlighting that our imperfect works are covered by the blood and righteousness of Christ, and our Heavenly Father delights in our feeble efforts to do good.

Last time, our paragraph focused on the ability of doing good works coming holy from the Holy Spirit, not in any way coming from ourselves. It also focused on our need to diligently stir up the grace of God in doing good works. The next two weeks, the Confession helps us to put into perspective what our good works cannot do. This week, the Confession teaches against the possibility of superarrogation, even for the most sanctified persons. So we'll start by looking at the definition of superarrogate, it's a big word, and try to better understand what is being said here.

Noah Webster tells us this means to do more than duty requires. Our paragraph today also gives us a clue to do more than God requires. Online I found a basic definition of superegoire acts as moral acts that go beyond duty which are praiseworthy when performed but not blameworthy when not. Another site commented that some good works are morally good, but not mandatory, just optional. The Good Samaritan situation is often cited as an example when it's not required, according to this line of thinking, to go out of one's way to help someone.

But in doing so, that person stores up spiritual extra credit, which can be applied to others or to oneself. This, I think, is where we get into trouble, but we'll come back to this after a bit. First, let's take a moment here to understand where this is coming from and why this appears in our confession. Primarily, our paragraph today in the Confession is there to directly refute this teaching of the Catholic Church. There was and still is a practice in the Catholic Church called councils of perfection, or evangelical councils.

These councils are used as the basis for the vows that monks and will take in other religious societies under the Catholic Church. These councils touch on the doctrine of perfection, the storing up in heaven, merits of good works, the separation of God's commands into commandments for everyone and counsels for some. And I'm highlighting portions. I will here highlight portions of the catechism of the Catholic Church to describe their position. And the catechism, if you're interested, can be found on the Vatican's website.

Number 915, the evangelical councils are a call to practice chastity, poverty, and obedience. Number 916, This is done in pursuit of the consecrated life by following Christ more nearly, giving themselves to God and pursuing the perfection of charity in the service of the kingdom, to signify and proclaim in the church the glory of the world to come. Number 956, regarding the intercession of the saints, they proffer the merits which they acquired on earth. Number 1475, the holiness of one profits others. Number 1476, we also call these spiritual goods of the communion of saints the church's Treasury.

And number 1477, this Treasury includes the prayers and good works of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the prayers and good works of all the saints. In this way, they attained their own salvation and at the same time cooperated in saving their brothers in the unity of the mystical body." These come from the catechism of the Catholic Church. Some of that doesn't sound so disagreeable, but some of it, I think we can say we have a big problem with. So where does this come from? Where do they get this?

What bases for these positions exist? Scripturally, these councils come primarily from Matthew chapter 19 and 1 Corinthians chapter 7. We'll look at chastity, poverty, and obedience here that's alluded to. Chastity is alluded to in the story of the eunuch, specifically those who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. In Matthew 19 12, for there are some eunuchs which were so born from their mother's womb.

There are some eunuchs which were made eunuchs of men, and there be eunuchs which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it." Furthermore, in Paul's letter to the Corinthians in chapter 7, verses 6 and 25, we read, but I speak this by permission and not of commandments, in verse 6 and in verse 25. Now concerning virgins, I have no commandment of the Lord, yet I give my judgment as one that hath obtained mercy of the Lord to be faithful." In poverty, it's alluded to in the story of the rich young ruler in verses 16 through 22 of Matthew 19. And behold, One came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life? And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good?

There is none good but one that is God. But if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. He saith unto him, which? And Jesus said, thou shalt do no murder, thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not bear false witness, Honor thy father and thy mother, and thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. The young man saith unto him, all these things have I kept from my youth up.

What lack I yet? And Jesus said unto him, if thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven, and come and follow me. But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions." And finally, per website catholicpreaching.com, regarding obedience. The little children have been seen by many fathers of the Church as a paradigmatic example of obedience. Good children lovingly obey their parents, trusting in them even when they ask them to do something difficult or that they don't understand, loving and honoring their parents.

Moreover, their obedience is always filial rather than servile. It is to such obedient, trusting, faithful children that the kingdom of heaven belongs. That's Matthew 19, 13 through 15 that they pulled that from. It is from Matthew 19 verse 21 that I read where we see a connection to the doctrines of perfection. If thou wilt be perfect, and we also see this verse, the idea of treasures in heaven for the rich young ruler.

If he sells all that he has and gives it to the poor, quote unquote, thou shalt have treasures in heaven. And the final point to touch on here is the distinction between commandments and councils. It was St. Thomas Aquinas who distinguished between the commandments and the council. The commandments under the new law have been given those necessary for salvation.

On the other hand, the councils deal with matters that render this, quote unquote, salvation more assured and expeditious. Said another way, they are counsels for those who desire to become perfect. And the Catholic Church interprets this to mean that they are not binding upon all, and hence not necessary conditions to attain eternal life. Rather, they are acts of super-arrogation that exceed the minimum stipulated in the commandments in the Bible. So that was a lot to go through just for a little background.

But what do we think about that? And most importantly, what does scripture say about that? There are a lot of different opinions regarding whether there exists commands and counsels distinct from one another. I'm not going to comment too much on that. But I think it's better to point out that there are no commands or counsels or recommendations or judgments, whatever you want to call it, that are outside the commandments that we read in the New Testament.

Jesus said unto him in Matthew 22, thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." This is our duty. This is how God tells us to live.

There are no special acts that we can do that give us extra credit. There are no special acts that we can do that bring us to a more perfect state than others in the eyes of God. Regarding marriage or singleness, neither one is inherently superior to the other. In each state, you can serve the Lord. There is no one person better in God's eyes than any others.

The Jews are not better than the Gentiles. Paul tells us, what then? Are we better than they? No and no wise, for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles that we are all under sin, Romans 3.9. And Paul stresses this point later in the same chapter.

For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. No one can keep the basic commands that God gives us. No one can perfectly keep the commandments of God. Only Christ did this. If we think we're doing this, if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves.

And the truth is not in us, 1 John 1.8. Remember what we learned in the chapter on sanctification. Everything we do is tainted by sin. Every day, we should be dying more and more to sin. And every day, we should be growing more and more in holiness.

Yet until we die and are glorified in Christ, all that we do is still tainted by sin. We read in Isaiah 64, six, all our righteousness are as filthy rags. Our good works do not merit salvation. Only Christ's good works merit our salvation. But again, what about Matthew 21?

In Jesus's own words, if thou wilt be perfect, go and sell, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven. How do we respond to that? By keeping perfectly all the commandments, the young rich ruler would have eternal life. That's what it's saying. This is the condition and the reward of keeping the covenant of works.

But we know since Adam's fall, we send all. We know that no one can perfectly keep the commandment, no one but Jesus. In Psalm 51 5, behold, I was shapen in iniquity and in sin did my mother conceive me. If we look closely, though, at the command to go and sell all, this is not the end of the command. What follows at the end is come and follow me.

Matthew Poole states, perfection here is not made to lie in a voluntary poverty only, but in the coming after and following of Christ with a free taking up of the cross. Only those given faith will choose to follow that Christ after Christ and freely take up the cross. So what about these treasures in heaven? We find a number of passages touching on this in scripture. In Matthew five, verses 11, 12, blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.

Rejoice and be glad because great is your reward in heaven. For in the same way, they persecuted the prophets before you." In Matthew 6, 19 through 21, lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth where moth and rust doth corrupt and where thieves break through and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt and where thieves do not break through nor steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart also be." And in Revelations 14 13, and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth. Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors, and their works do follow them.

From Ellicott's commentary on Matthew 6.20, we read, these are the good works, or rather the character formed by them, which follow us unto the unseen world, and are subject to no process of decay. So men are rich in good works, and rich in faith, are made partakers of the unsearchable riches of Christ and His glory. And Dr. Sproul adds to this, the reward that God bestows upon you in heaven will be given according to your works, but not because of your works, not because they're so righteous and meritorious that they impose an obligation upon God to reward them. God has graciously given us the promise that He will reward whatever obedience we give Him.

He doesn't have to, but out of his goodness and grace, as St. Augustine said, he crowns his own gifts. Our entrance into heaven is strictly by the righteousness of Christ. Our reward in heaven will be granted according to the works of obedience that we render. Nowhere is there an indication that your treasures in heaven will be dispensed to others.

Nor is that sensible with respect to salvation, since salvation is through faith alone and Christ alone. We're not saved by our works, yet in the Catholic world, justification comes from faith plus works. That seemingly simple change in the formula for justification is what leads to supererogation. The idea of councils of perfection to a treasury in heaven for the storing up of extra merit to the construction of a system of indulgences so that stored merit can be dispensed to others, as well as many other issues that are in disagreement between the Protestants and the Catholics. So let's go back to our paragraph for this afternoon.

They who in their obedience attain to the greatest height which is possible in this life are so far from being able to superarrogate or to do more than God requires is that they fall short of much which in duty they are bound to do. So let's start with obedience. No one can obey all that God commands. For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. The best we can do is filthy rags.

Everything we do is tainted with sin. There is a constant battle raging within us. Paul tells us that for the flesh lusteth against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh. And these are contrary, the one to the other, so that you cannot do the things that you would." Galatians 5 17. This paints a pretty bleak picture.

So what is this greatest height which is possible in this life? I think it's hard to figure that out specifically, but we know it's quite below what God commands. But if we ponder this question, Where would we be if we would do the best we can, even to the point of doing all things God commanded? Well, we find the answer to this in the Gospel of Luke. So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, we are unprofitable servants.

We have done what was our duty to do in Luke 17, 10. We do our duty, yet we are not profitable to God at all. Again, from Ellicott's commentary on this passage, we read, we are unprofitable servants. There's something very suggestive in the use of the same word here as that which meets us in the parable of the talents in Matthew 25. God, we are taught, may recognize and reward the varying use which men make of gifts and opportunities.

But all boasting is excluded, and in relation to God, the man who has gained the ten talents has to own that he has nothing that he has not received, and confess that he stands, as it were, on a level with the unprofitable servant. Any personal claim on the ground of merit falls to the ground before such a declaration, and still more any speculative theory of works of superarrogation and of the transfer of the merits gained by them from one man to his fellow servants and fellow sinners. We cannot do our duty. We cannot do what is required, much less more than He requires. And I am thankful for my salvation, that my salvation does not rest upon my good works, but on Christ's good works.

My salvation comes from grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. But our good works are important. Good works are the fruit of a true and lively faith. If there are no good works, You may be sure there is no faith. In doing good works, we are serving our God and storing up treasures in heaven.

I'll close with some comments from Dr. Sproul. Since we are created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them," Ephesians 2 10. Every Christian will begin to obey the commandments of God, however hesitantly and flawed that obedience might be. This is true not because we have a divine spark within us that responds to God's grace, but because it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

Since our obedience, like our sin, is covered by the blood and righteousness of Christ, making our imperfect works truly good, our Heavenly Father delights in our feeble efforts to do good. And knowing this to be the case creates, hopefully within us, the desire to obey all the more. I hope this is true for you. I hope that there is a desire in you that grows more and more each day to serve God, to love Him with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. Amen.