Can you give a general outline of paragraphs 4, 5, and 6? Can you discuss the distinction between strict and covenantal merit? Why can our good works not merit anything from God strictly? What is meant by the “great disproportion”? What is the infinite distance between us and God? Why can our works not merit anything from God covenantally? What is the “weakness” and “imperfection” in our good works? What is the particular ministry of the Spirit emphasized in this paragraph? Join Nathan, Joel, Shawn, and Kyle as they discuss WCF 16.5:
We cannot by our best works merit pardon of sin, or eternal life at the hand of God, by reason of the great disproportion that is between them and the glory to come; and the infinite distance that is between us and God, whom, by them, we can neither profit, nor satisfy for the debt of our former sins, but when we have done all we can, we have done but our duty, and are unprofitable servants: and because, as they are good, they proceed from his Spirit, and as they are wrought by us, they are defiled, and mixed with so much weakness and imperfection, that they cannot endure the severity of God’s judgment.
The Jerusalem Chamber 