Archive
What is a Reformed Baptist Church?
“Reformed Baptist” is a term not particularly well-known in evangelical circles. The name indicates both historical roots and distinct theological characteristics.
Historically, a Reformed Baptist identifies with a tradition that emerged directly from the Reformed Protestant movement. During the Reformation in 16th -17th century England there was a group of churchmen called the Puritans. The Puritans were believers who desired to see the church fully reform beyond any vestiges of Roman Catholicism or any other false teaching. There were three primary groups that made up the Puritans: Presbyterians, Independents, and Particular Baptists, which today are referred to as “Reformed Baptists.” They all shared common beliefs in the gospel and reformational doctrines, but the Baptists were set apart by a few beliefs. They believed in a church independent from state control that was governed congregationally and overseen in each local congregation by a group of elders. Also, they rejected the doctrine of paedobaptism (infant baptism). The summation of their beliefs were written down in the 2nd London Baptist Confession of 1689. Adhering to this historic reformed confession of faith is the primary distinctive of a Reformed Baptist. It shares themes and most….
Read the entire article at Gracechapel.
Benjamin Keach on Justification
by Tom Nettles
Editor’s Introduction
Benjamin Keach (1640–1704) became a Baptist at age 15, preached as a General Baptist, and suffered persecution, imprisonment, and the pillory for his convictions as a Baptist. After serving as an elder in a General Baptist congregation from 1668-1672, he became a Particular Baptist minister and founded the church at Horse-lie-Down in Southwark in London. He spent the remainder of his years as a zealous preacher of the gospel, an effective polemicist, a theoretician on principles of biblical interpretation, a poet, a hymn-writer, and a writer of allegory. His clear and bold defense of the doctrines of grace was informed by his previous years as an Arminian. He lived with sincere conviction that the doctrine of justification by faith was indeed the doctrine on which the church stands or falls. His sermons and expositional writings were filled with explanations of the centrality of this doctrine to a proper understanding of the grace of God.
In an exposition of Luke 7:42, “And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both,” Keach had an applicatory section explain how grace reigns through righteousness. Grace is not elevated in an unjust way………..
Read the entire article at Founders Ministries.
The Case for Credobaptism
A note from Executive Editor, Jonathan Master:
Theology matters. Place for Truth has no interest in smoothing over the rough edges of disagreements within the Reformed confessional tradition. But we also know that debates can often descend into name-calling and straw man arguments. Over two days, we are posting two brief summaries – one by a pastor of paedo-baptist persuasion, one by a Baptist pastor – on a subject that matters. We hope you’ll read both. They’ve each read the other’s article, and they’ve both presented their own arguments clearly and fairly. Both men argue – as you’ll see – from a theological perspective that reflects the framework of the Reformed confessions. Neither backs down. But the arguments they employ, and the spirit with which they employ them, are worthy of our time and attention.
by Samuel Renihan
The practice of baptizing professing believers is grounded upon two complementary foundations. The first is an argument from the covenants of Scripture. The second is an argument from the commands of Scripture related to those covenants. Credobaptists and paedobaptists often assume, or argue, that the people of a given covenant receive the covenant sign. Thus, in the case of the subjects of baptism one must simply identify the covenant people. This is insufficient. The administration of covenantal ordinances is governed by specific laws, which must be obeyed strictly. For example, women were members of Abraham’s covenant but they were not recipients of its sign, circumcision. Likewise, infant males were circumcised, but only on the eighth day. As a result, to determine the subjects of baptism one must first identify and distinguish the covenants involved and then examine the accompanying laws.
Read the entire article here.
A Reformed Baptist Perspective on Public Theology: The Pauline Epistles, Part IX – 1 Corinthians 15-16
William F. Leonhart III
You can read earlier posts in this series by clicking on the links below:
The Reformed Confessions (Part I)
The Reformed Confessions (Part II)
The Reformed Confessions (Part III)
Redemption and Creation in Kuyper
Introduction to the Book of Acts
The Ministry of Peter and John in Acts
The Ministry of Paul in Acts, Part I
The Ministry of Paul in Acts, Part II
The Pauline Epistles, Part I – Romans 1-8
The Pauline Epistles, Part II – Romans 9-11
The Pauline Epistles, Part III – Romans 12, 14-16
The Pauline Epistles, Part IV – Romans 13
The Pauline Epistles, Part V – Galatians
The Pauline Epistles, Part VI – 1 Corinthians 1-10
The Pauline Epistles, Part VII – 1 Corinthians 11
The Pauline Epistles, Part VIII – 1 Corinthians 12-14
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Every year around April, an onslaught of news stories are published claiming to have discovered Jesus’ pinky toe, and the like. Where these “scientists” got the original, authoritative labs to determine a DNA match is never disclosed. Rather, we are expected to grant more credence to these “scientists” than to 500 eyewitness contemporaries of the resurrection itself, because we have become an elitist culture: a culture that lives in the shallow end of the intellectual pool and defers whenever possible to the “elites” among us.
The Centrality of the Resurrection
Paul doesn’t leave the matter of Christ’s resurrection up to the religious and political elites of his day. Rather, he points to those who knew Christ best. He challenges his contemporaries to do the intellectual leg-work (like Luke; cf. Lk. 1:3) and thoroughly search out the matter of the resurrection. He not only submits the resurrection to the hard scrutiny of his first century contemporaries, but he also declares the resurrection to be of first importance.
Read the entire article here.
What’s new in the revised edition of the Distinctiveness of Baptist Covenant Theology?
Since my book first came out in January of 2013, I wanted to revise it. At first it was minor corrections and typos, but along the way came some important precision that I wanted to include in my work. I have written this blog post to explain what’s new in the revised edition of the Distinctiveness. If you think it’s worth it, you may buy the paperback version or the kindle version (available beginning of next week Feb. 12th) on Amazon. Let’s start with a new endorsement by an important French theologian.
HENRI BLOCHER
The French-speaking Baptists, at least those from Europe (as I am), often ignore the Reformed origin from which the Baptist faith emerged—the genealogical continuity is certain. The fine work of this French Canadian pastor on the theology of the covenant, or the covenants, which was elaborated by the ancient Baptist doctors debating the other Reformed theologians, vividly presents this rooting. It also highlights….
Read the entire article here.
A Reformed Baptist Perspective on Public Theology: The Pauline Epistles, Part VIII – 1 Corinthians 12-14
William F. Leonhart III
You can read earlier posts in this series by clicking on the links below:
The Reformed Confessions (Part I)
The Reformed Confessions (Part II)
The Reformed Confessions (Part III)
Redemption and Creation in Kuyper
Introduction to the Book of Acts
The Ministry of Peter and John in Acts
The Ministry of Paul in Acts, Part I
The Ministry of Paul in Acts, Part II
The Pauline Epistles, Part I – Romans 1-8
The Pauline Epistles, Part II – Romans 9-11
The Pauline Epistles, Part III – Romans 12, 14-16
The Pauline Epistles, Part IV – Romans 13
The Pauline Epistles, Part V – Galatians
The Pauline Epistles, Part VI – 1 Corinthians 1-10
The Pauline Epistles, Part VII – 1 Corinthians 11
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We often place a divide between ecclesiology and public theology but, depending on where we draw that line, we can often be in error. What we do within the church walls can potentially reap major consequences outside the church walls. If the world looks upon the church and sees that she is behaving in an unloving, disunified, or disordered manner, it very well could be that we are setting up unnecessary, though unintended, divisions between us and the culture. If we are more concerned with putting on a show for the world than speaking forth the word of conviction to the world, the world may join in, but they will have no incentive to submit to Christ’s discipleship. Rather, we will inevitably be expected to bow to their customs, preferences, and cultural mandates. Christ’s disciples will be guilted, coerced, or seduced into becoming disciples of the culture.
Preliminary Considerations
In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul begins a discussion that follows through to 1 Corinthians 14. Many, both cessationists and continuationists, erroneously believe that chapters 12-14 center on the topic of tongues. Not only do people in both of these camps believe that tongues is the central theme here, but they falsely interpret tongues as an ecstatic utterance of an unlearned language.
Read the entire article here.
A Reformed Baptist Perspective on Public Theology: The Pauline Epistles, Part VII – 1 Corinthians 11
theroadofgrace
You can read earlier posts in this series by clicking on the links below:
•The Reformed Confessions (Part I)
•The Reformed Confessions (Part II)
•The Reformed Confessions (Part III)
•Redemption and Creation in Kuyper
•The Incarnate Lord (Part III)
•Introduction to the Book of Acts
•The Ministry of Peter and John in Acts
•The Ministry of Paul in Acts, Part I
•The Ministry of Paul in Acts, Part II
•The Pauline Epistles, Part I – Romans 1-8
•The Pauline Epistles, Part II – Romans 9-11
•The Pauline Epistles, Part III – Romans 12, 14-16
•The Pauline Epistles, Part IV – Romans 13
•The Pauline Epistles, Part V – Galatians
•The Pauline Epistles, Part IV – 1 Corinthians 1-10
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As mentioned in the previous blog, Paul wrote his first letter to the Corinthian church in order to address several issues within the Church. We now move into a section in which Paul address an issue that directly intersects with our society today: gender and sexuality. Within the Church, 1 Corinthians 11:1-16 has been discussed extensively and the text has been central to numerous debates (such as the egalitarian/complementarian debate and the debate regarding head coverings). However, this passage has much to teach us regarding the meaning of gender and the relationship between the sexes.
The Foundational Analogy
We begin with v. 2-3
“Now I praise you because you remember me in everything and hold firmly to the traditions, just as I delivered them to you. But I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of a woman, and God is the head of Christ. (1 Corinthians 11:2-3, NASB)
We begin with the first statement that Christ is the head of every man. This affirms the truth that since Christ is the Creator and Preserver of all men, he must therefore be the head (or master and ruler) of mankind. Christ is the head of all men in that all gifts are derived from him and as the….
Read the entire article here.
A Reformed Baptist Perspective on Public Theology: The Pauline Epistles, Part VI – 1 Corinthians 1-10
William F. Leonhart III
You can read earlier posts in this series by clicking on the links below:
•The Reformed Confessions (Part I)
•The Reformed Confessions (Part II)
•The Reformed Confessions (Part III)
•Redemption and Creation in Kuyper
•The Incarnate Lord (Part III)
•Introduction to the Book of Acts
•The Ministry of Peter and John in Acts
•The Ministry of Paul in Acts, Part I
•The Ministry of Paul in Acts, Part II
•The Pauline Epistles, Part I – Romans 1-8
•The Pauline Epistles, Part II – Romans 9-11
•The Pauline Epistles, Part III – Romans 12, 14-16
•The Pauline Epistles, Part IV – Romans 13
•The Pauline Epistles, Part V – Galatians
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When discussing Paul’s letters to the church at Corinth, we must recognize that Paul did not merely write to address one single issue, but several. Corinth had asked several very valid questions of Paul. There were also some concerns about which Paul wanted them to know there was no question, because the answer was so clear. There were also reports that were brought to Paul about matters on which the Corinthian church was settled, but they had settled on the wrong side. In the following article, we will address several of these concerns, because many of them are still concerns for us today. Given the theme of our series, we will primarily be dealing with those concerns that touch the issue of public theology and, sadly, we will not have time to address all of the issues as thoroughly as we might desire.
To the Saints
First, let us recognize the endearment that Paul assigns to this church. He calls them saints: “To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling,” (1Cor. 1:2a; NASB). Yes, this church had some major failings. However, he recognizes that they are beloved of God and, even as an apostle, he does not have the right to rail against Christ’s bride. He will go on to rebuke her, but he desires that she see that his rebukes come from a heart of love, not self-righteousness.
Read the entire article here.
The retreat of the Reformed Baptist Movement & there will be no Baptist Library Vol 2 at the moment
It seems that within the last few years the Reformed Baptist movement has taken a step or two backwards. Blogs that used to provide great content for Reformed (Particular) Baptists or websites that did the same, have disappeared over the last few years. The Confessing Baptist site is gone. One cannot click a link for it without getting an error message. Pb Ministries has disappeared. I could go on and on listing sites, but you all should get the picture just by the few I listed.
It also seems that there is little to no interest for a library for Reformed (Particular) Baptists. Having spent upwards to 18 hours a day building the Vol I Library has done nothing to peak the interest among Reformed (Particular) Baptists. I have had a few suggestions that I should build a library that would be Baptist friendly and that would also be an alternative to the Puritan Hard Drive. In other words, several folks have told me that I should build a library that would require the selling of a hard drive for Reformed (Particular) Baptists.
This was my goal. My goal was to build a library that was Baptist friendly and also a library that was so big that it would have to fit on a hard-drive. However, since releasing The Baptist Library Vol I. I have sold absolutely no copies. My posts have been shared on Facebook, Reddit, Tumbler, Youtube, Linkedin, and this blog. I have also had my post shared in several Facebook groups that are centered on Reformed Baptist Theology.
With 350 Cd’s ready to ship, but no buyers of said Cd’s, I have stopped thinking about a library for Reformed (Particular) Baptists and have started concentrating on how I will pay my bills. So for the time being, all work has ceased and it looks like I will be going back out on the road driving a big rig.
Now I don’t mind working and I love truck driving, however, I also love trying to build a library that will equip saints for the ministry of spreading the gospel. This is my number one goal in life and that is to develop something that will aide people in their study of the Bible and in making them more knowledgeable in sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ.
So my heart is divided. I want more than anything to put that drive together, yet I also have to provide for my household. Seeing that a labourer or worker is worthy of his hire, no matter if he has a secular job, or if he is in the ministry of equipping the saints, then whatsoever he does ought to provide for his household. With that said, I have come across many a website that claims one should not make money or be paid for their work in the things of God. This is simply not true. Scripture is plain that a minster is worthy of his hire and that ministry ought to provide for the necessities of this life.
Once I go back out on the road everything will continue on here at Reformedontheweb as usual. I have placed enough post in scheduled post mode, so that I don’t have to touch this blog for several months. However, as I have time, I will log into this site and answer questions, moderator comments, and pre-schedule some more post.
The Baptist Library Vol I will still be available for purchase while I am gone. This includes all individual collections as well. My wife will ship out the orders while I am on the road.
Thank you to all those who have followed this blog over the past 9 years.
Sincerely,
Hershel L Harvell Jr.