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1689 Baptist Confession Chapter 29: Of Baptism - Commentary

Simon Wartanian | 29,297 views | 45,510 words | 3:58:30 hours | 06 March 2015 23:14

...ay about three thousand souls. 42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.

There is a link in this passage between those who believed, were baptized and devoted themselves to the blessings of the New Covenant, including the Lord’s Supper (see here for this designation). The same “they” (1) received the word, (2) were baptized, (3) were added to the church at Jerusalem, (4) were devoted the Means Of Grace including celebrating the Lord’s Supper. We will leave you here with Hercules Collins’ strong criticism of this paedobaptist inconsistency:

Why are Children denyed the Lords supper if fit for baptism? what, are Children believers, and kept from the Lord’s Table? do we ever read it was denied to a true Believer? what, are Children New Creatures, Regenerated, Born again, and deny them the Elements of Bread and Wine: Oh! hard Father of Infants Men as wise as your self gave Infants the Eucharist for several hundred years, from some of your own Topicks, and will you deny it them? all your long harangue about Infants being capable of one Ordinance, and not of another, is but wind; will you say in the Ordinance of the Lord’s Supper, there must be inherent Grace, and also Grace exercised; but a state of Grace, tho not exercised, say you, is sufficient for Baptism; But how doth this Gentleman know Infants are in a state of Grace to qualifie them for Baptism? The word doth not help him here, and if he conclude so from Charity, then there is the same reason to have the same Charity for Children of Unbelievers, and more too some times, because the Believers Child often falls from a pretended Covenant, State, Faith, Inherent Holiness, New Birth, Regeneration, when the Unbelievers, Child abides in all Truly...I do Assert what ever is Sealed to a Believer in one Ordinance, is Scaled to him in another; nay, there is more particular words of Incouragement added unto Baptism, than to the other: ‘Tis true, ‘tis all comprehended in this, This is my Body broken for you, and my Blood shed for the Remission of your Sins, but for Baptism in Acts 2. you have the promise of Remission of Sins and gift of the Holy Ghost: in Acts 22. ‘tis said to Wash away Sins Symbolically, Mark 16. Salvation is annexed unto Faith and Baptism; the Lord’s Supper, was never so Dignified as Baptism by the Procession of the Holy Ghost; and it is a Symbol of Regeneration and Justification, Rom. 6. Do I see my Sins Pardoned, my Person Justified, God Reconciled, my Person Sanctified, Heaven assured at the Lord’s Supper? I behold the same in Baptism, there I see my Sins Buried in his Grave, as in the other Nailed to his Cross; here I behold my Soul Washed in his Blood, Justified by his Righteousness, Saved by his Death; and is not this a Marriage Feast? And ought I not to have the Wedding Garment now as at the Table of the Lord?^[70]

God’s Initiative and Parental Vows

I’ve attended Reformed infant baptisms while I went to church with my now-wife. Reformed churches here in the Netherlands read the form for infant baptism wherein all the arguments which we tried to refute above are presented with the regular texts. In this ceremony, infant baptism is presented as something which comes from God and which displays God’s initiative for saving man. For example, the Form for the Administration of Baptism says:

And although our young children do not understand these things, we may not therefore exclude th...

1689 Baptist Confession Chapter 14: Of Saving Faith - Commentary

Simon Wartanian | 22,509 views | 21,954 words | 1:58:30 hours | 05 March 2015 18:34

The 1689 Second Baptist Confession Of Faith Confession Commentary Reformed Baptist Chapter 14 Chapter Fourteen Saving Faith True Faith Temporal Faith Historical Faith Nature Of Faith Ground Of Faith Elements Of Faith Blessings Of Faith Gift Of Faith Pisteuo Pistis Greek Word Study Expressions For Faith

...lone-instrument-of-justification"chapter 11:2). Furthermore, this grace of faith...is the work of the Spirit of Christ (John 6:63; Ezek. 36:25-27). Faith is our response to the call of God, but it does not originate with us. It is granted to us by God and it is worked in us by the Holy Spirit through regeneration and the creation of the new man in Christ. It is ordinarily wrought by the ministry of the Word (2 Thess. 2:13; 1 Pet. 1:23), i.e., by the preaching of the gospel coupled with the work of the Spirit of Christ. This faith is further strengthened by the Means Of Grace. These are the gospel ordinances, baptism and the Lord’s Supper. But also prayer, Bible reading and study, the communion of the saints and other things prescribed and commended in the Word of truth. By these means, faith is not created, but it is increased and strengthened.

Greek Words

We will start our study of faith by first noting which words are used in the New Testament especially to denote faith and belief. The word faith or belief in our daily lives may be used in a lot of senses. We may say that we believe that someone is speaking the truth and mean that we have confidence. We may say, “I believe that I’ve read that book” when we actually mean that we “think we read that book.” We use it when we have confidence or trust in something without evidence. In secular eyes, faith is always connected with believing something without or contrary to evidence. But is this the nature of biblical faith? Before we answer that, we must take a survey of the Greek words and expressions used to denote faith, particularly in the New Testament.

Pistis

The primary word in the New Testament for faith is the Greek noun πίστις (pistis, G4102). According to Joseph Henry Thayer, pistis primarily means the “conviction of the truth of anything, belief; in the NT of a conviction or belief respecting man’s relationship to God and divine things, generally with the included idea of trust and holy fervour born of faith and joined with it”^[3]. According to my Bible software (TheWord), it is used 227x in the NA28. William D. Mounce says that 'pistis means “belief, trust, confidence,” though it can also mean “faithfulness.”’^[4] If we may at the outset observe, the basic meaning of the word has to do with conviction, trust, reliance, and confidence. It has nothing to do with “faith without evidence.” Louis Berkhof observes:

In classical Greek. The word pistis has two meanings in classical Greek. It denotes: (a) a conviction based on confidence in a person and in his testimony, which as such is distinguished from knowledge resting on personal investigation; and (b) the confidence itself on which such a conviction rests. This is more than a mere intellectual conviction that a person is reliable; it presupposes a personal relation to the object of confidence, a going out of one’s self, to rest in another. The Greeks did not ordinarily use the word in this sense, to express their relation to the gods, since they regarded these as hostile to men, and therefore as objects of fear rather than of trust.^[5]

Now let us observe the different uses of the noun pistis in the New Testament. First of all, there are a few instances in which it is used in a passive sense of faithfulness. This is the case in Romans 3:3 when Paul says, “Does [the Jews’] faithlessness [ἀπιστία, apistia] nullify the faithfulness [πίστιν, pistin] of God?” Or in Galatians 5:22 of the fruit of “faithfulness [πίστις, ...

1689 Baptist Confession Chapter 22: Of Religious Worship and the Sabbath Day - Commentary

Simon Wartanian | 38,749 views | 73,377 words | 6:24:05 hours | 06 March 2015 19:29

The 1689 Second Baptist Confession Of Faith Confession Commentary Reformed Baptist Chapter 22 Christian Sabbath Sabbath The Lord's Day Fourth Commandment Day Of Worship Day Of Rest Sunday Religious Worship Church

...rmore, He ministers grace to us as we intimately meet with Him. Therefore, this holy ordinance should not be neglected.

Some churches choose to partake of the Lord Supper every Lord’s Day, but the danger in this is that it becomes very usual and nothing special. Other congregations celebrate the Lord’s Table once a month (my current church non-Reformed church), or once in three months, or some even once a year. I believe that once a month is pretty good and I find myself often looking forward to the first Lord’s Day of the month to celebrate the Lord’s Supper. Once in three months and once a year seems pretty long to me to withhold the people of God from this Means Of Grace. I think that there is directions in the Word of God to celebrate it every Lord’s Day as in the words of Paul, “as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes” (1 Cor. 11:26). Don’t we want to proclaim the Lord’s sacrificial death and subsequent resurrection every Lord’s Day? Don’t we want to remember Him each Lord’s Day through this ordinance (e.g. 1 Cor. 11:24)? Why then not celebrate this token which the Lord Christ has given us each Lord’s Day? Furthermore and especially for Reformed churches who believe the Lord’s Supper to be a Means Of Grace, why withheld this amazing Means Of Grace from your people for so long? More on the Lord’s Supper in chapter 30, Lord willing.

§6 God Is To Be Worshipped Everywhere In Spirit And In Truth

Neither prayer nor any other part of religious worship, is now under the gospel, tied unto, or made more acceptable by any place in which it is performed, or towards which it is directed; 1 but God is to be worshipped everywhere in spirit and in truth; 2 as in private families 3 daily, 4 and in secret each one by himself; 5 so more solemnly in the public assemblies, 6 which are not carelessly nor wilfully to be neglected or forsaken, when God by his word or providence calleth thereunto. 7
1. John 4:21
2. Mal. 1:11; 1 Tim. 2:8; John 4:23-24
3. Deut. 6:6-7; Job 1:5; 1 Peter 3:7
4. Matt. 6:11
5. Matt. 6:6
6. Ps. 84:1-2, 10; Matt. 18:20; 1 Cor. 3:16; 14:25; Eph. 2:21-22
7. Acts 2:42; Heb. 10:25

There was a time when the Lord chose special places where His religious worship ought to have taken place. But now under the gospel and the time of the New Covenant, it is not tied unto, or made more acceptable by any place in which it is performed, or towards which it is directed (John 4:23-24), as Daniel did (Dan. 6:10). Since God is spirit and is everywhere, we can worship Him anywhere we are. Furthermore, believers have God indwelling them! Therefore, He is always with us. Our worship should be in spirit and in truth and at various places and occasions as in private families, in secret each one by himself and most solemnly in the public assemblies on the Lord’s Day, which we should not neglect or forsake (Heb. 10:25).

In the Old Testament, the place for prayer and the proper worship of God was the Temple in Jerusalem. But that is no longer the case. God is to be worshipped everywhere in the universe. There is no special place which God has appointed God He will receive our worship and hear our prayers under the New Covenant. He is everywhere with us. We can worship Him loudly or in silence. Thank You, Lord! See our discussion above on John 5.

We are not to neglect the gathering together of God’s people on the Lord’s Day. Rather, we should look forward to the Lord’s Day on which we come wit...

1689 Baptist Confession Chapter 30: Of the Lord's Supper - Commentary

Simon Wartanian | 17,902 views | 13,619 words | 1:11:21 hours | 06 March 2015 23:22

The 1689 Second Baptist Confession Of Faith Confession Commentary Reformed Baptist Chapter 30 Sacrament Ordinance Lord's Supper Table Of The Lord Communion Eucharist Transubstantiation Roman Catholicism Idolatry Means Of Grace

.../file/286-works-of-john-gill/">Exposition of the Entire Bible. Taken from the TheWord Bible Software. In loc. ...

1689 Baptist Confession Chapter 18: Of the Assurance of Grace and Salvation - Commentary

Simon Wartanian | 14,530 views | 7,284 words | 0:38:12 hours | 05 March 2015 19:23

The 1689 Second Baptist Confession Of Faith Confession Commentary Reformed Baptist Assurance Of Grace And Salvation Assurance Of Salvation Eternal Security Perseverance Of The Saints Assurance Of Heaven

...etimes fall into great sins whereby they come to the false conclusion that they were never saved in the first place, rather than realize that we all are sinners and we need to renew our repentance before God and go to Him and beg for cleansing in Christ’s blood and forgiveness (see chapter 15). We sometimes wonder how long God can tolerate us, we are amazed at how wicked we sometimes can be, yet the Lord does not smite us in His righteous wrath.

Some get their assurance “shaken, diminished and intermitted” because they neglect the Means Of Grace by which we come to know our assurance, for example, Bible reading and communion with God in prayer. They get a season in their life where they are not that interested (anymore) in the things of God, yet because they’re true believers, they will not fall away from the faith and apostatize (see chapter 17), but rather will come again to repentance and seek God earnestly. They cannot go on sinning, because God’s Seed is in them which makes it impossible for the born-again believer to live a life of continual sin (see comments on 1 John 3:9 here). Even in our low times, God will not forsake us, even if we forsake Him. He is always on our side even if we think or feel that He is not and therefore He will not leave us in our sin, but rather lead us back to Him as the Good Shepherd that He is for the straying sheep.

Lord, lead us to test ourselves in light of Your Word and in light of Your work in us and for us in Jesus Christ our precious Lord and Savior. Lord, we are grateful for this blessed assurance that is ours in Jesus Christ. Thank You, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Glory to the Triune! SDG.

I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.

(1 John 5:13)

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.
^ Sam E. Waldron. A Modern Exposition Of The 1689 Baptist Confession Of Faith. (Darlington: Evangelical Press, 2013). pp. 279-280.
a, b John Calvin. Commentaries. Taken from the TheWord Bible Software. In loc.
^ John Gill. Exposition of the Entire Bible. Taken from the TheWord Bible Software. In loc.
^ Matthew Poole. English Annotations on the Holy Bible. Taken from the TheWord Bible Software. In loc.
^ Joseph Henry Thayer’s Greek Definitions. Taken from the TheWord Bible Software. See reference for the Strong’s number.
^ William D. Mounce. Mounce’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words. (Zondervan, 2006). p. 1106, number 1010.
^ Ibid., pp. 1106-1107, number 1011.

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