Month: June 2014

M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan: July

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July 1

 

July 2

 

July 3

 

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July 30

 

July 31

 

CCF Episode Twenty-One: The Gospel According to the 1689

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CredoCovPodcastMaster

In this episode, Billy and JD sit down to discuss the gospel as it is summarized in The Baptist Confession.

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There is a chapter in The Baptist Confession called “Of the Gospel and the Extent of the Grace Thereof.” Quite a mouthful, ay? Anyway, I just wanted to make note of it, since we really didn’t take time to explore it in this episode. It’s there. Perhaps the reason we don’t spend a whole lot of time on discussing that one chapter is because we see it primarily as functioning as a type of summary of the confession itself, insofar as the confession is a summary of the gospel and its implications. Anyway, if you’d like more reading on this chapter, check this out from Dr. Bob Gonzales:

This chapter on “the gospel” is not found in the Westminster Confession. The Congregationalists added this chapter to the Savoy Declaration, and the Baptists incorporated it into their Confession.” Read more…

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The book we skimmed over:

BaptistConfessionLeather1689

 

The Baptist Confession & The Baptist Catechism
edited by James Renihan

We’d love your participation. Contact us with your comments and questions about the confession’s contents:

“Yes, child, if you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ you will be saved.”

/ formofsoundwords / 6 Comments

Since I’m not watching the World Cup and just watching my Texas Rangers continue to struggle with injuries (it is still baseball season. I don’t know what I will be watching in October.), I wanted to say I just read Mark Jones’ latest blog post over at Reformation21. He asked “If you are a Christian parent with young children, do you consider your children to be Christians?” My initial answer is no. But then my second answer would be, “Can they and have they believed in the Lord Jesus Christ for justification?” Let me say at the outset I am a Reformed Baptist.

I do not hold to an age of accountability, yet I find it hard to believe that my 7 month old child could grasp and comprehend her sinfulness and my plea for her to believe and trust in the Lord Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the Living God, or to be as believing Thomas when he said upon seeing Jesus, “My Lord and my God.” That would be the simplest belief one would need to state in order to be saved.  I know my daughter cannot say this and believe with any assurance at this point in her life, yet even now I call on her to repent. This is mostly so that I will be in the habit of leading her to Christ, and also to cultivate this in her from a very early age. Pastor Jones also states that when thinking about this issue the Presbyterians were “judging this to the terms of the covenant.” Again, as a Reformed Baptist, I whole heartedly agree. So I must ask the question: “Which covenant?” Jeremiah 31:31-34 says:

31 “Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, 32 not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord. 33 “But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the Lord, “I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34 They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the Lord, “for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more” (NASB).

The New Covenant in the blood of Christ says that God will be their God and they shall be my people. They will not teach…each man…to know the Lord, for they will all know Me…” This tells us that there will not be a mixed people. We shall not have to teach those in the covenant to know the Lord. They will know the Lord and be part of His covenant people. This is the foundation of the New Covenant. The Covenant promises will be found in those who have God’s law written on their heart because their sin is forgiven and not remembered for it was nailed to the cross of Christ. Knowing this, we can now answer Pastor Jones questions. He asks 5:

When my children sin and ask forgiveness from God, can I assure them that their sins are forgiven?”

Yes, the same way you would with an adult. Our justification is in Christ alone. Those who had the faith of Abraham are the ones who are the children of Abraham. Chapter 14, paragraph 2 from the Second London Confession quoting the Westminster states of the grace of saving faith the following, “By this faith, a Christian believeth to be true whatsoever is revealed in the Word, for the authority of God Himself…acteth differently, upon that which each particular passage thereof containeth; yielding obedience to the commands, trembling at the threatenings, and embracing the promises of God for this life and that which is to come: But the principal acts of Saving Faith have immediate relation to Christ, accepting, receving, and resting upon Christ alone for justification, sanctification, and eternal life by virtue of the covenant of grace(italics are my emphasis and bold is added in the Baptist Confession).” If your child can believe in Jesus Christ for justification, sanctification and eternal life then you can tell them their sins are forgiven. When can they believe this? The earlier the better, and all Christians have the solemn obligation and command to raise our children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

When I ask my children to obey me in the Lord should I get rid of the indicative-imperative model for Christian ethics? On what grounds do I ask my three-year old son to forgive his twin brother? Because it is the nice thing to do? Or because we should forgive in the same way Christ has forgiven us?”

No. We instruct our children to “forgive us our debts as we forgive others.” Our forgiving others is to be based on the forgiveness found in the Lord Jesus Christ. All of this is a tool to evangelize our children. The way our children treat their siblings is an opportunity to show how we are rebel children in Adam and that reconciliation with God means reconciliation in our elder brother Jesus. Only when we have true forgiveness can we forgive others. We must tell our children to come to the Father in the name of Jesus Christ and only then can we forgive in the same way God has forgiven us.

Can my children sing ‘Jesus loves me, this I know’ and enjoy all of the benefits spoken of in that song? (‘To him belong…He will wash away my sin’)”

No. Unless they trust in Christ alone for the receiving of those benefits. Chapter 11 in the Second London Confession and the Westminster: “Those whom God effectually called, He also freely justifieth, not by infusing righteousness into them, but by pardoning their sins, and by accounting and accepting their persons as righteous; not for anything wrought in them, or done by them, but for Christ’s sake alone; nor by imputing faith itself, the act of believing, or any other evangelical obedience to them, as their righteousness, but by imputing Christ’s active obedience unto the whole Law, and passive obedience in His death, for their whole and sole righteousness, they receiving and resting on Him and His righteousness, by faith; which faith they have not of themselves, it is the gift of God (bold section added by Savoy and Second London Confessions).” We should teach them the song, but they can only sing it with a true, saving faith when they’re resting on Christ alone.

When my children pray during family worship to their heavenly Father, what are the grounds for them praying such a prayer? Do they have any right to call God their ‘heavenly Father’? Do non-Christians cry ‘Abba, Father’ (Rom. 8:15)?”

Here is how one has the grounds to call out to the heavenly Father: “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:12-13; NASB). We must evangelize our children and yet instruct them to pray as Jesus instructs people to pray. One need only be born again to have the right to call God Heavenly Father. All people have an interest and command in calling out to God as He has revealed Himself. The only way one has the right if He has been born again.

Should I desire that my children have a “boring” testimony? (Though a testimony to God’s covenant promises can never be boring, of course). Is it not enough for them to simply say each day that they trust in Christ alone for their salvation?”

The only desire a parent should have regarding the testimony of our children is that they know God and are known by Him. This comes from an effectual call to God’s elect in Christ in the Covenant of Grace who receive and rest upon Christ alone whereby they become children of the Heavenly Father and can only then have   assurance by loving Him and keeping His commandments.

Thank you Pastor Jones for asking these questions. Even as a Baptist I ask these questions. On the judgment of charity, I call upon my child (Lord willing my wife and I may be able to say children) to call upon the Lord Jesus Christ as Peter did to those who heard him preach and they will be saved and can sing and know for sure “Jesus loves me.” We both have become convinced of this position because we believe “for the Bible tells me so. We are weak and He is strong.” I’m thankful for your work. I don’t consider myself wiser than you. I am simply answering as a convinced Reformed Baptist how I deal with these questions. We still are brothers in Christ and long for the day when all is set right and we know finally who belongs to the Lord. Until that day, Maranatha! Come Lord Jesus Come!

(In case all have forgotten, it is baseball season. I’ll be watching my Texas Rangers until the end of September. October looks like it may be out of sight.)

Introducing a Baptist Larger Catechism

/ Jason Delgado / 2 Comments

Just yesterday, a fellow 1689’r announced that he is working on putting together (in community) a Baptist Larger Catechism.

It has only been in recent years that I discovered the writings, confessions, and catechisms of the original 17th century Particular Baptists. I’ve enjoyed reading through The Baptist Catechism by Benjamin Keach and The Orthodox Catechism by Hercules Collins. Those two catechisms most closely align with the Westminster Shorter Catechism and the Heidelberg Catechism, respectively. What I’ve found interesting is that I haven’t seen a Particular Baptist version of the Westminster Larger Catechism, in which a thorough discussion of credobaptist distinctives have been given in catechetical form. So in my small attempt to pass down sound doctrine and tradition, I have decided to do a Baptist Larger Catechism. So, on a weekly basis, I will post a couple of questions from the catechism that I have completed. I view this as a community project for all other Reformed Baptists who would like to see a Larger Catechism in modern English so if you are interested in assisting in any way, feel free to comment. So, without further ado, here are the first couple of questions of a Larger Baptist Catechism.

Check it out:

[Redux] CCF Episode Twenty: Christianity and the Arts (Part Two)

/ William F. Leonhart III / Leave a comment

CredoCovPodcastMaster

Earlier today, I posted the podcast for this week, but not really. The file I embedded was the one from two weeks ago. However, if you listened to that one (Christianity and the Arts, Part One), it should serve as a good refresher before listening to this week’s episode: Part Two. Enjoy.

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In this episode, Billy and JD sit down to discuss movies, Christian liberty, and paintings. Featuring audio excerpts from the motion pictures Chariots of Fire, October Baby, and Bella.

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Chariots of Fire

October Baby

Bella

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The Truth About the Texas GOP Platform on “Reparative Therapy”

/ William F. Leonhart III / Leave a comment

The media’s pro-LGBT bias is raising its ugly head once again. The mainstream media and pro-homosexual activists have been up in arms over the platform language passed this weekend at the Texas GOP Convention. With headlines like “Texas Republicans vote to adopt gay conversion policy” and “Texas Republican Party Adopts Discredited ‘Reparative Therapy’ for Gays” one is left to think Republicans in Texas are supporting mandatory, forced therapy to force gays to become straight.

The stories you have read are false.

The Texas GOP simply adopted a straight forward plank that protects freedom and parental rights by allowing Texans to seek the counseling they desire, free from government interference.

The actual language of the platform reads:

“We recognize the legitimacy and efficacy of counseling, which offers reparative therapy and treatment for those patients seeking healing and wholeness from their homosexual lifestyle.  No laws or executive orders shall be imposed to limit or restrict access to this type of therapy.”

– See more at: http://txvalues.org/2014/06/10/supporting-freedom-the-truth-about-reparative-therapy-in-the-rpt-platform/#sthash.xAy1nz4W.dpuf

CCF Episode Nineteen: Christianity and Communism

/ William F. Leonhart III / 14 Comments

Book Review: The Creedal Imperative by Carl Trueman

/ William F. Leonhart III / Leave a comment

Many of you are no doubt aware that we have already traversed much of the subject matter of The Creedal Imperative over at The CredoCovenant Fellowship. Hopefully my review of it here will inspire a few more to pick a copy of it and read along with us in those episodes.

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Trueman, Carl R. The Creedal Imperative. Wheaton: Crossway, 2012. 197pp. $16.99.

molesworth_reasonably_smallHow might creedal and confessional commitments jeopardize the protestant commitment to Sola Scriptura? Are such commitments not tantamount to the elevation of tradition to the level of, if not above, Scripture itself? Will not such commitments in essence render the church irrelevant in this modern age? Whatever happened to “no creed but the Bible”? Carl Trueman, Professor of Church History at Westminster Theological Seminary (Philadelphia, PA.), seeks to answer these questions and more in The Creedal Imperative. In this book, Trueman argues that “creeds and confessions are, in fact, necessary for the well-being of the church” (20).

Summary

The scope of Trueman’s argumentation is fairly broad sweeping for such a short work (only six chapters). He first approaches the issue from a humanities standpoint exploring some of the key issues in contemporary culture that touch on his topic. Then, in keeping with his academic expertise, he begins a slow and steady trek through biblical and church history mining for principles and events that lend themselves to his thesis. Then, he turns to an examination of the doxological benefits of creeds and confessions before finally concluding with some of the practical and theological benefits he sees in them.

Examining the Other Side

Trueman begins his argumentation in Chapter One by examining some issues in the broader culture to help his readers understand the cultural undercurrents that may, perhaps even unbeknownst to them, be influencing the way they relate to creeds and confessions. He begins by laying on the table three concepts commonly held to be true by those who subscribe to creeds and confessions: the importance and relevance of the past, the propriety of language in the transmission of truth across time and space, and the necessity of an institution that speaks with authority (22-23). He then walks his readers through the modern and postmodern landscape of ideas to demonstrate how all three of these concepts are systematically opposed to the way the contemporary culture in the West has been conditioned to think about the world.

A Stroll through History

Trueman proceeds to walk his readers through history seeking to provide a basis for creedal and confessional subscription. He begins by arguing from a survey of biblical history for the importance of words in redemptive history, the universality of human nature, and the rightful place of the church as an authoritative institution. Given these three premises, he concludes that the church has the obligation and the authority to use a “form of sound words” (creeds and confessions) to speak to man’s common condition. He then traces out a history of the development of creeds in the life of the early church, demonstrating how each one was meant to provide a further clarification upon the original Christian creed: “Jesus is Lord.” Finally, in Trueman’s historical survey, he examines a selection of the most influential Protestant confessions and the marks they bore on the churches that adopted them.

The Benefits

The last two chapters of the book deal primarily with the usefulness of the creeds and confessions for the church. Chapter five explores the doxological benefit of creeds and confessions, while in chapter six Trueman seeks to cover a broad array of other benefits creeds and confessions carry. To bookend the book, Trueman includes an introduction and a conclusion as well as an appendix on revising and supplementing creeds and confessions.

Critical Evaluation

The Creedal Imperative was not meant to deal with an entirely original subject matter. The argument for the necessity and usefulness of creeds and confessions is nothing new. However, where other works have sought to be more exhaustive and academic in their approach, or where older works present themselves with much more archaic language, Trueman has offered the millennial generation something much more pithy and accessible.

His trademark cultural commentary and his masterful use of wit and illustration in the first chapter grabs readers’ attention from the start. However, there is a sharp drop in rhetorical form from chapter one to chapter two. The Trueman-esque humor and wit that the casual reader of the Reformation21 blog has come to expect only reemerges in tiny flashes here and there throughout the rest of the book. Arguably, this approach is commendable in that the author’s personality takes a backseat to the delivery of the intended content.

Regarding the fifth chapter, “Confession as Praise,” the author might have been more forthright in titling the chapter “Creeds in Worship,” because he spends the bulk of the chapter building a case for the recitation of creeds in liturgy. His argument is based on the fact that creeds and confessions provide the theological foundation for doxology. In the end, Trueman does not claim that it is imperatival that creeds and confessions be used in the order of worship at church meetings, but in his words, “The question is not so much ‘Should we use them?’ as ‘Why would we not use them?’” (158). Trueman is not legalistic about his liturgical commitments, but one might argue that such a strong suggestion falls just shy of a direct imperative seeming to equate confessional Christianity with liturgical, high-church Christianity.

Also dispersed throughout the book are Trueman’s trademark warnings about the dangers of evangelicalism. Trueman is not reserved in declaring his conviction that confessional Christianity and evangelicalism find themselves at odds with one another. He argues that evangelical minimalism sends the message to Christians “that issues such as baptism are of minor importance, and that the matters which divide denominations are trivial and even sinful in the way they keep Presbyterians and Baptists from belonging to the same church” (46-47). He also takes issue with the pairing of the terms “confessional” and “evangelical” to describe the same object. He argues:

What we have today in confessional evangelical circles is rather an eclectic pick ‘n’ mix approach to classical confessional Protestantism, where those matters which seem helpful to building a broad evangelical parachurch consensus are highlighted and those matters which divide—and have always divided Protestants—are set to one side as of less importance (132).

Finally, Trueman does well in arguing that an adherence to creeds and confessions does not lead to an abandonment of Sola Scriptura. Rather, it actually aids churches in understanding what they mean when they use such terms. One can claim “no creed but the Bible,” but through what grid then does one interpret the Bible? The answer is obvious. Everyone who sets themselves to the task of Bible interpretation inevitably falls back on some creed or another, whether written or implied. At least with confessional churches, their doctrinal and hermeneutical standards are put in writing for all to see and criticize. However, for those who claim “no creed but the Bible,” there is no such accountability. They can interpret the Bible however they see fit, with as much variation from week to week as seems best to them. In this way, creeds and confessions help explain what churches mean when they claim Sola Scriptura, and they provide a safeguard against those who would abuse it for whatever reason and to whatever end.

Conclusion

Overall, Trueman makes very strong arguments for his case that creeds and confessions are not only beneficial for the church today, but they are also necessary. He touches on a wide array of issues relating to the issue of creedal and confessional subscription. His work is neither original nor exhaustive, but it is nonetheless important. In its construction, it commends itself to both the layman and the academician. At once it is both witty and devotional, both provocative and informative, both succinct and broad-scoped. Finally, it is difficult to over-emphasize the importance of its subject matter for the Christian church in the West today.

Pick up The Creedal Imperative today:

Creedal Imperative

The Creedal Imperative paperback
by Carl R. Trueman

Commentary on the latest podcast

/ formofsoundwords / 4 Comments

For all who are curious, I just gave the recipe for Baptist Milk in the latest podcast talking about the arts. On this episode we deal with music specifically. On the next one we talk about movies. Something we didn’t talk about was what music brings about and our reaction to it. How does it make us feel, but especially how does it make us think? More important to this conversation for the Christian is are we able to still keep “every thought captive to the mind of Christ”(2 Corinthians 10:5), as well as “being transformed by the renewing of the mind”(Romans 12:2). We must listen to music not in a merely passive way. It’s not just for entertainment. “Everything that breathes must praise The Lord.” This is the hard part in our culture when it comes to the arts. Music is subjective, but it must bring about that which is objectively God-glorifying. If an artist is talking about the struggle of human life and the meaning of life and love, he’s asking questions that only God can answer. So we should ask those questions with him, but our answer must be Christ. If someone is talking about liberation from oppression, we should ask what is oppressing you and is it appropriate to ask the question? In regards to race and employment it is good to long for equity and justice (not fairness). In regards to sexual liberty, we must long for what is right in the eyes of God and not in our own eyes. Ultimately music is something we are free to listen, to enjoy, to think, and to praise God. All things must be to that end. Soli Deo Gloria!

CCF Episode Eighteen: Christianity and the Arts (Part One)

/ William F. Leonhart III / 5 Comments


CredoCovPodcastMaster

In this episode, Billy and JD sit down to discuss music as entertainment and how Christians relate to it. Featuring music from Conor Oberst, Pearl Jam, Muddy Waters, Prophets and Outlaws, Stephen the Levite, and Switchfoot.

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