Lord’s Day 31, Chapter 3: The Preaching of the Promise (3)

It is self-evident that if the preaching of the gospel is to be a key power, to open and to shut the kingdom of heaven, it must produce a very definite sound. It must not be a vague, general offer of salva­tion, but must proclaim the whole counsel of God. The more definitely and sharply the promise is pro­claimed in the preaching, the more effective an in­strument it will be for Christ to open and to shut the kingdom of heaven. As was said before, the preach­ing must have a four-fold effect. It...