Tried With Fire

A friend on Facebook shared a quote from an evangelical preacher who opined that marriage is the "greatest instrument of sanctification." "greatest" Really? I question this for several reasons.  - Does that mean those of us who are single, divorced, or widowed will be incompletely sanctified?  - Is the marriage relationship the instrument or the environment where sanctification takes place. If it is the former, then it goes against the 1689 London Baptist Confession 13.1: "They who are united to Christ, effectually called, and regenerated, having a new heart and a new spirit created in them through the virtue of Christ's death and resurrection, are also farther sanctified, really and personally, through the same virtue, by His Word and Spirit dwelling in them ; the dominion of the whole body of sin is destroyed, and the several lusts thereof are more and more weakened and mortified, and they more and more quickened and strengthened in...

There's been a recent post by a well-known Baptist pastor on making church membership more meaningful. One of his points advocates that children be denied baptism and church membership. (See point 5 here. )  I can see why my Presbyterian friends would object to this. As a 1689 Baptist, I would respectfully disagree with the Presbyterians on who is a member of the covenant of grace, but I would also respectfully disagree with Pastor Dever. (Of note, what follows is solely my opinion and not meant to reflect the opinions of my local church.) If Baptists believe that those who have been regenerated by the Holy Spirit and given new life are members of the covenant of grace, why would we deny them baptism? If adults and children are saved in the same manner, then why is the covenant sign denied to one group and not the other? If children need to grow in maturity and may have lapses, don't adults? Does anyone walk so perfectly as a Christian that there was never a moment of doubt...

God, having all life, glory, goodness, blessedness, in and of himself, is alone in and unto himself all-sufficient, not standing in need of any creature which he hath made, nor deriving any glory from them, but only manifesting his own glory in, by, unto, and upon them; he is the alone fountain of all being, of whom, through whom, and to whom are all things, and he hath most sovereign dominion over all creatures, to do by them, for them, or upon them, whatsoever himself pleaseth; in his sight all things are open and manifest, his knowledge is infinite, infallible, and independent upon the creature, so as nothing is to him contingent or uncertain; he is most holy in all his counsels, in all his works, and in all his commands; to him is due from angels and men, whatsoever worship, service, or obedience, as creatures they owe unto the Creator, and whatever he is further pleased to require of them. ( John 5:26 ; Psalms 148:13 ; Psalms 119:68 ; Job 22:2 , 3 ; Romans 11:34-36 ; Daniel 4:25 ...

This true/false quiz is courtesy of  Dr. James Renihan : 1. The sovereign God exercises sovereign control over Himself. True or false? 2. The doctrine of God's aseity teaches us that God has His being from Himself. True or false? 3. Since man is made in the image of God, we may say that in certain ways God's being is like man's being. True or false? 4. Christian monotheism teaches that God progressively reveals Himself first as Father, then as Son, and finally as Holy Spirit. True or false? 5. The incarnation binds the eternal God to the timeline of His people. True or false? So how did you do?

(Update: See postscript at the end of the post.) Dear Darth Vader: I hope this finds you in relatively good health, all things considered, and trust that the spring pollen has not had a detrimental effect upon your breathing apparatus. But lest I be sidetracked by lesser subjects, let me get to the point of my correspondence. This meme came across my Twitter feed a week or so ago, and I wanted to thank you for the good laugh from this clever mash-up. Well done, sir! But at the risk of being force-choked, I would respectfully disagree with your understanding of Reformed Baptists. Anabaptists aren't our fathers. If you search church history, you will find this to be true. Reformed Baptists can trace their origins to English Puritan separatists in the 17th century. In fact, the Philadelphia Baptist Confession of Faith , printed by Benjamin Franklin in 1742, was nearly identical to the 1689 Second London Baptist Confession,  thus American Reformed Baptists share the same herit...

72. Q. Does the outward washing with water itself wash away sins? A. No, only Jesus Christ's blood and the Holy Spirit cleanse us from all sins. 73. Q. Why then does the Holy Spirit call baptism the washing of rebirth and the washing away of sins? A. God has good reason for these words. He wants to teach us that the blood and Spirit of Christ wash away our sins just as water washes away dirt from our bodies. But more important, He wants to assure us, by this divine pledge and sing, that the washing away of our sins spiritually is as real as physical washing with water. *74. Q. Should infants, too, be baptized? A. Yes. Infants as well as adults in God's covenant and are His people/ They, no less than adults, are promised the forgiveness of sin through Christ's blood and the Holy spirit who produces faith. Therefore, by baptism, the mark of the covenant, infants shroud be received into the Christian church and should be distinguished from the children of unbelievers....