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1689 Baptist Confession Chapter 10: Of Effectual Calling - Commentary

Simon Wartanian | 20,895 views | 14,049 words | 1:13:47 hours | 04 March 2015 21:42

...99cc00;"by virtue of the gracious covenant in which they together with their parents are included, godly parents ought not to doubt the election and salvation of their children whom God calls out of this life in infancy.” As Reformed Baptists, we have a different Covenant Theology and our issue would be with the idea that the natural offspring of believers are included in someway in their parents’ covenant. See chapter 7 on the covenants and chapter 29 on Baptism.

Children of believers are not sent to heaven or specially favored by God because they’re children of believers. It is no doubt a great blessing to have faithful parent(s). But it does not place one in a Covenant of Grace with God or grant special covenantal privileges. John 1:13 says that the children of God “were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” They are reborn by the will of God. It is the children of promise, not of the flesh who are heirs of salvation (Rom. 9:8). Therefore, if God has decided to choose between infants who would go to hell and those who would go to heaven, I don’t see any reason for believing parents to have confidence that their child is with God just because they’re believers. Plus, God does not punish the sin of the parents (e.g., unbelief) on the children (Ezek. 18:20; Deut. 24:16), rather, everyone pays for their own sins. Therefore, in this case, unbelieving parents could also have confidence (but unbelievers want nothing to do with the true God) that their children may be with God. The consequences of sin may come upon more generations, but the sin of the father is not imputed to the son. Therefore, I believe that God will not consider the sin of the parents in making His choice, otherwise, it would not be free in the highest sense as in Romans 9:11 (see above).

The Lord was angry with the generation of the Israelites in the wilderness who continually tempted Him. He promised that they shall not enter into His rest (Heb. 3:16-19). The Lord promised that “Not one of these men of this evil generation shall see the good land that I swore to give to your fathers” (Deut. 1:35). The Lord waited 40 years until that generation completely died out (Num. 32:13). Yet, in Deuteronomy 1, the Lord answers the concern of this “evil generation” about their children. The Lord said, “And as for your little ones, who you said would become a prey, and your children, who today have no knowledge of good or evil, they shall go in there. And to them I will give it, and they shall possess it” (Deut. 1:39). The Lord denied the blessings to the fathers, yet granted them to the children. They are described as those who “have no knowledge of good or evil”. This means that they are not mature enough to understand and act upon that understanding as their parents were. Notice also that the description of “have no knowledge of good or evil” is directly attached to “your children” and “your little ones”. It is not spoken of those who are of age and understanding. Dr. Albert Mohler writes:

We believe that this passage bears directly on the issue of infant salvation, and that the accomplished work of Christ has removed the stain of original sin from those who die in infancy. Knowing neither good nor evil, these young children are incapable of committing sins in the body – are not yet moral agents – and die secure in the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.^[6]

This passage would serve as an indication that God’s mercy and grac...

1689 Baptist Confession Chapter 11: Of Justification - Commentary

Simon Wartanian | 23,004 views | 23,400 words | 2:03:21 hours | 04 March 2015 21:54

The 1689 Second Baptist Confession Of Faith Confession Commentary Reformed Baptist Chapter 11 Chapter Eleven Justification Justification By Faith Alone Sola Fide Sola Gratia Imputed Righteousness Infused Righteousness Roman Catholicism Protestantism

...fused righteousness.” This means that in salvation, the merits of the Lord Jesus on the cross are infused with the righteousness of the sinner and together they constitute the basis of salvation. Meaning, Christ’s righteousness is not enough, rather it is given to help us with our own righteousness through works and obedience to God and the Roman Catholic Church. In their own words, the Catechism of the Catholic Church says:

1999 The grace of Christ is the gratuitous gift that God makes to us of his own life, infused by the Holy Spirit into our soul to heal it of sin and to sanctify it. It is the sanctifying or deifying grace received in Baptism. It is in us the source of the work of sanctification:^[5]

This “infused righteousness” is attained by a work, namely Baptism. That is the way you get this righteousness. Basically, this position teaches that salvation by grace alone is not enough. You have to add your works and obedience to the work of Christ. It is wrong to think that Roman Catholics do not believe in the necessity of grace. Rather, they don’t believe in the sufficiency of grace. Grace alone is not enough to justify. In their own words from the Council of Trent:

“If any one saith, that by faith alone the impious is justified; in such wise as to mean, that nothing else is required to co-operate in order to the obtaining the grace of Justification, and that it is not in any way necessary, that he be prepared and disposed by the movement of his own will; let him be anathema,” (Council of Trent, Canons on Justification, Canon 9).^[6]

Rome, in these words, has denied the gospel of Christ. They place their curse upon the Protestant and biblical doctrine of justification by faith alone. which is the gospel of our salvation. They have denied justification by faith alone, which I will seek to make a case for below. They confess that faith is necessary, but it is not enough. They confess that grace is necessary, but it is, again, not enough. I assert and will seek to prove that the Bible teaches that faith alone is that which justifies the wicked and not grace/faith plus anything in us.

Imputed Righteousness

Christ’s active obedience is what was imputed to us, which we discussed in chapter 8 (see here). His active obedience refers to Lord’s keeping the Law of God perfectly for us and in our place. All that righteousness which the Lord Jesus earned, the Father credits to us. It is as though we had lived the perfect life of Christ in complete obedience to God. That is how God sees His children. But it is not only His active but also passive obedience which justifies us. His passive obedience refers to His obedience to the Father even to the point of death and torture. It is through Christ’s righteousness and death that we are justified and are in the right with God. Christ provided us a perfect righteousness by perfectly obeying and living the Law of God in our place and He took the penalty of the Law, which was ours, upon Himself. Christ’s righteousness is given and credited to us. It is not mixed and infused with our own righteousness. The apostle Paul says:

Phil. 3:9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—

Paul does not find comfort in his own righteousness, which comes through the law and doing “good” things which the law commands. But he finds his comfort, peace, and rest i...

Review of Wayne Grudem's Systematic Theology

Simon Wartanian | 17,332 views | 1,938 words | 0:010:06 hours | 19 July 2015 19:18

Wayne Grudem Systematic Theology Book Review Calvinism Baptist Continuationist Premillennialism

...deals with Ecclesiology. I’ve learned a ton in this part, because it wasn’t something that I’ve read about before.

Being a baptist, he argues for a congregational and independent type of church and makes the case for the consistent plurality of elders in NT congregations.

What I also liked was the distinction that he made with with more and less pure churches. He admits that in the present time there will not be a church which is perfect in doctrine, but there will be churches which are more or less pure churches. There are no perfect churches.

Being a Reformed Baptist myself, I loved his treatment of Baptism (chapter 49) and his interaction with Louis Berkhof’s Systematic Theology on Protestant Infant Baptism. I though that his case for CredoBaptism was strong and he was gracious toward our Padeobaptist brethren.

An important doctrine which he got me more thinking about was the Gifts of the Spirit. He being a continuationist and I...kinda undecided, but was practically a cessationist, but couldn’t make up my mind from the Scriptures because according to my judgment I didn’t see any where in the NT the idea that the spritual gifts would stop.

A few things should be said, Dr. Grudem is an excellent theologian, so he is not like the prosperity preachers and the Benny Hinns. He does not believe that “NT congregational prophecy” is the speaking of the very words of God, but he defines prophecy as “telling something that God has spontaneously brought to mind.”^[3] He does not believe that NT congregation prophecy is predicting the future. Further, he believes that in the OT the prophets spoke the very words of God and to disobey a prophet was the same as to disobey God. But this is not the case in the NT. In the NT, the prophets are replaced with the Apostles (which is an office limited to the first century he believes) which are given the authority to write the God-breathed word of God. It is the Apostles, not the prophets in the NT which write and speak the very words of God. At first I found this rather strange and I was committed that the prophets were God’s mouthpiece as that is the case in the OT, but Dr Grudem argues that the Apostles replace the prophets in the NT.

As for healing, Dr Grudem believes that God heals through the prayers of people. He does not believe that the reason why people are not healed is caused by lack of faith, as the prosperity heretics do. But that it is the sovereign and free will of God which grants healing.

I found it strange that Dr. Grudem believes that tongues can in fact be a nonexistent language, but in the words of John MacArthur “gibberish.” I have not studied this very deeply, but I cannot say that I agree. Dr Grudem argues that just because in Acts 2 tongues were actual languages, does not mean that that will always be the case because he believes that 1 Corinthians14 supports the idea of tongues not actually being a language sometimes.

I cannot say that now I’m fully a continuationist, but I can say that I see now more support for continuationism and weakness for cessationism.

The Doctrine of the Future

Part 7 of this Systematic Theology deals with the study of the last things, Eschatology.

Dr Grudem shows convincingly for me the support for the coming of Christ, the Final Judgment and Hell, the New Heavens and New Earth. With all these I agreed on most points, except the Millennium.

Dr. Grudem is a Classic Premillennial. He fairly represents the four major...

Quotes from A. W. Pink's The Divine Covenants

Simon Wartanian | 4,619 views | 780 words | 0:04:06 hours | 16 June 2017 22:13

AW Pink Covenant Theology Divine Covenants Covenant Of Grace New Covenant Westminster Federalism 1689 Federalism

...erlasting covenant of grace”, was “made” with Noah and not simply a gracious covenant. In light of everything else that he says it seems to me that he may have the idea of “renewal” in mind, or maybe a gracious covenant and not the Covenant of Grace absolutely being made with Noah. But I’m unsure.

While I may have my doubts about certain points in Pink’s covenant theology, it very clear to me that his model is very different from Westminster Federalism. In fact, it seems very clear to me that he was a Baptist and provided counter-exegesis to passages as Genesis 17:7; Romans 4:11; Colossians 2:11-12 which are often used in support of infant Baptism, although he did not desire to pick up the topic of Baptism specifically.

If you can’t see the iFrame below, take a look here.

Footnotes

a, b Arthur W. Pink. The Divine Covenants. (Memphis, TN: Bottom of the Hill Publishing, 2011). p. 48.
^ ibid. p. 44.
^ Ibid. p. 52.
^ Ibid. p. 9.

...

Irresistible Grace, Effectual Calling - Scripture List

Simon Wartanian | 11,018 views | 2,545 words | 0:13:07 hours | 23 March 2014 22:21

Calvinism Election Predestination Mercy Sovereignty Verse List God Is In Control Irresistible Grace Effectual Calling

... flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

Jn 5:21 For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will.

Rom 6:3-4 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by Baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

Col 2:13-15 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. 15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.

2Cor 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

Titus 3:4-7 But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

Jas 1:18 Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

1Pet 1:3-5 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

1Jn 5:1 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him.

The work of God the Holy Spirit

Rom 8:14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

Eph 1:13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

Eph 4:30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

1Cor 2:9-12 But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”— 10 these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. 11 For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God.

1Cor 3:16 Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you?

1Cor 6:9-11 Or do you not know that the unr...

1689 Baptist Confession Chapter 4: Of Creation - Commentary

Simon Wartanian | 17,633 views | 6,589 words | 0:34:34 hours | 04 March 2015 21:12

The 1689 Second Baptist Confession Of Faith Confession Commentary Reformed Baptist Chapter 4 Creation Young Earth Creationism Image Of God Imago Dei

...hey were happy in their communion with God, and had dominion over the creatures. 1

Gen. 1:26, 28; 2:17

Besides the law of God which was written in their hearts, they receive a positive commandment (Gen. 2:16-17). Something which is not grounded in the nature of God. The Ten Commandments, for example, are things that are grounded in the nature of God. They are commanded because they are good and reflect God. Positive commands, on the other hand, are good because they are commanded. Examples of positive commands are the Lord’s Supper and Baptism. They do not have their ground in the nature of God neither in man. But since they are commanded by God, they are good and they are to be obeyed. So also, in addition to the moral law of God in their hearts, God gave Adam and Eve the command not to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil (Gen. 2:16-17) and while they kept it, they were happy in their communion with God. Not only that, but this obedience to God and His command made it such that Adam and Eve had dominion over the creatures. Their obedience did not only affect their vertical relationship, but also the horizontal so much so that all other creatures helped them to fulfill or was obedient to their God-given commission to subdue the earth and have dominion over the other creatures (Gen. 1:28).

Not only was the Law written on their hearts, but they also had a positive command delivered to them verbally so as to cast away any doubt or excuse. The command was simple and to the point:

Gen. 2:15-17 The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

But our parents did disobey God’s command and brought condemnation to all men. But all those who trust in Christ are justified because of what Christ did on their behalf by His perfect life and on Golgotha (Rom. 5:17-21). Our parents, at the moment of their rebellion, lost holy and sinless communion with God for themselves and for all their descendants when they took and ate of the forbidden fruit, and thus bringing condemnation and death upon all men. See chapter 7 for more on the Covenant of Works and chapter 6 for more on the Fall.

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

(Genesis 1:1)

Footnotes

^ Many Scriptural references have been supplied by Samuel Waldron’s Modern Exposition of 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith which was apparently supplied by the Westminster Confession of Faith 1646.
^ See more at Creation Ministries International. For example Jonathan Sarfati. How could the days of Genesis 1 be literal if the sun wasn’t created until the fourth day?
^ What Luther Says. A Practical In-Home Anthology for the Active Christian, compiled by Ewald M. Plass, Concordia, 1959, p. 93.
^ John Calvin. Institutes of the Christian Religion. 3.21.4.
^ Louis Berkhof. Systematic Theology. (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Banner of Truth Trust. 1963). p. 203.
^ John M. Frame. Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Christian Belief. (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2014). p. 785.
^ J. I. Packer. Concise Theology: A Guide To Historic Christian Beliefs. (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House, 1993). p. 71.
^ Wayne Grudem. Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical ...

1689 Baptist Confession Chapter 21: Of Christian Liberty and Liberty of Conscience - Commentary

Simon Wartanian | 13,725 views | 6,372 words | 0:32:47 hours | 06 March 2015 19:19

The 1689 Second Baptist Confession Of Faith Confession Commentary Confession Study Reformed Baptist Chapter 21 Christian Freedom Liberty Liberty Of Conscience Antinomianism

...ant and full effusion which the apostles were permitted afterward to behold had not yet been given. See Acts 2:1-12; Acts 10:44; Acts 10:45.^[6]

It was necessary for the Son to go back to Heaven for the Spirit to descend upon the disciples (John 16:7). The Lord Jesus says that we should be happy that He is going back to heaven, but He will not leave us alone. He will send His Holy Spirit. It is good for us that the Lord Jesus went back to heaven and sent His Holy Spirit. Sam Waldron writes:

The language used of the new presence of the Spirit—Baptism, outpouring, river—all speaks of increase. This seems logical, because really to know the increased truth of the New Covenant requires increased measures of the Spirit.^[7]

Moreover, the gifts of the Holy Spirit are, unlike under the Old Testament, distributed according to God’s will to all believers (1 Cor. 12-14; Rom. 12:3-8). This was not the case under the Old Testament. Back then some of God’s people would have the gifts of the Spirit, but now all of them do. The Spirit came upon the 70 elders of Israel in the wilderness (Num. 11:25). He came upon the judges of Israel (Judg. 3:10, 6:34; 11:29; 14:6, 19; 15:14). He indwelt David (Ps. 51:11; 1 Sam. 16:13). The Holy Spirit could have come upon a person and then depart as in the case of King Saul (1 Sam. 10:6, 10; 11:6; 16:14). But In the New Covenant, not only all covenant members have the Spirit (under the OT all true believers did have the indwelling Spirit), but also all have some gift(s) of the Holy Spirit:

1 Cor. 12:7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.

Oh, beloved brothers and sisters, how great are the liberties that God has blessed us with! Praise God from Whom all blessings and liberties flow!

§2 Liberty Of Conscience

God alone is Lord of the conscience, 1 and hath left it free from the doctrines and commandments of men which are in any thing contrary to his word, or not contained in it. 2 So that to believe such doctrines, or obey such commands out of conscience, 3 is to betray true liberty of conscience; and the requiring of an implicit faith, an absolute and blind obedience, is to destroy liberty of conscience and reason also. 4
1. James 4:12; Rom. 14:4; Gal. 5:1
2. Acts 4:19; 5:29; 1 Cor. 7:23; Matt. 15:9
3. Col. 2:20, 22-23; Gal. 1:10; 2:3-5; 5:1
4. Rom. 10:17; 14:23; Acts 17:11; John 4:22; 1 Cor. 3:5; 2 Cor. 1:24

God alone is Lord of the conscience (Jas. 4:12; Rom. 14:4), which means that God alone can dictate to us what we ought or ought not to do or believe. Therefore, since He is Lord of the conscience, He has left the consciences of men free from the doctrines and comments of men which are contrary to His word, or not contained in it (Matt. 15:9; Acts 4:19; 5:29; 1 Cor. 7:23). God has not left the conscience free and that’s it. He has left it free in a specific place, namely, when it comes to the doctrines and comments of men which are against His word, or not contained in it. Therefore, when a church or a person pushes upon others the following and obeying such commandments and doctrines, it is a betrayal to true liberty of conscience and it requires an absolute and blind obedience because that which is to be believed and followed does not come from God.

As God is the Lawgiver, so likewise He is the only One who has the authority to bind or loose the consciences of His moral creatures (Isa. 33:22; Jas. 4:12). He is the One who gives the “you shall” and “you ...

1689 Baptist Confession Chapter 31: Of the State of Man after Death and Of the Resurrection of the Dead - Commentary

Simon Wartanian | 28,681 views | 63,926 words | 5:35:37 hours | 06 March 2015 23:27

...

Heb. 12:22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering,

In Psalm 2:7, this promise is given to the Davidic king:

Ps. 2:7 I will tell of the decree: The LORD said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you.

This promise, sometimes with some variation, is many times applied to the Lord Jesus throughout the New Testament the first time at His Baptism:

Matt. 3:16-17 And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; 17 and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

See also Matt. 17:5; Act 13:33; Heb. 1:5; 5:5

The Son is the unique Son of the Father. It is then significant that the Lord Jesus identifies Himself to the church in Sardis as the Son of God. First because of their association with Apollo (who was a son of Zeus), and second because the promise given to the Son of God is also extended to them. They will share in His kingly reign from Heaven. In Psalm 2:8-12, the peoples are warned to follow the Son, trust and believe in Him, if they don’t want to come under His wrath and displeasure. The Lord Jesus is receiving the reward for His suffering. Indeed, all that the Father has given Him, He will save (John 6:37-40). He has ransomed and bought for God people from every tribe and language and people and nation (Rev. 5:9). He will receive the reward of His suffering. He will destroy all His enemies, including Death at His coming (1 Cor. 15:24-28), but even now He reigns upon the throne of David as the only Supreme and as the “the ruler of kings on earth” (Rev. 1:5). Things may appear from the outside to be against Him, but He is the only Sovereign and King of this world, even in its fallen state.

The amazing thing is that we are granted to share in Christ’s heavenly reign. All those who depart to be with Him are given this amazing promise to share in His heavenly reign. This promise is important in our understanding of the Millennial reign in Revelation 20:4. What drives me to this conclusion is that the NT points to the inauguration of the Messianic Kingdom of Psalm 2 in the present age, not in some future Millennium. But the present age is an age in which He will rule in the midst of His enemies until He has destroyed them all (Psalm 110:1-2; 1 Cor. 15:23-28). It’s not a golden age. Thus, the reign that we are promised here is not in some future Millennium, but it is the reign going on now in Heaven, in which departed believers are granted to reign alongside Christ. This is seen from “even as I myself have received authority from my Father.” We have identified or at least I have tried to make a case, for the present kingly reign of Christ and that reign, refers to His spiritual reign from Heaven in the present age.

This is also consistent with the promise given in Revelation 3:21 to the Laodicean Church:

Rev. 3:21 The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne.

“…as I also conquered and sat down”: this refers to His death and resurrection, not to a future Millennium. When Christ ascended to Heaven, He received the Kingdom promised to Him in Daniel 7:13-14 and sat upon the throne of Majesty. This happened when He ascended, and not some future M...