Pastoral Insights from a Reformed Baptist Perspective
Introduction: As I studied this passage, I was reminded of a famous poem by Robert Frost: Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth; Then took … Continue reading The Narrow Way (Matthew 7:13-14 Teaching Outline)
About one year ago I was ordained by Grace Bible Church of Conway as one of the pastors. I have been a member here since 2011 and grew in service and responsibility over a few years before being ordained. I've learned a lot over the past year but what I've learned were not new concepts … Continue reading 3 Things I’ve Learned in my Pastoral Rookie Year.
Introduction: Advocates of “religious tolerance” – or as more accurately termed, advocates of religious relativism or religious pluralism – often cite the Golden Rule as an example of how all religions are essentially teaching the same thing. Of course, it is common knowledge that there are actually a number of ancient religions or ancient philosophers … Continue reading Matthew 7:12 – The “Golden Rule” as Uniquely Taught by Jesus (Teaching Outline)
If we grant the legitimacy and usefulness of a confession of faith, we're faced with two practical questions: first, what particular confession of faith should a local church or collective body of churches adopt? And, second, what type or level of confessional subscription should such a church or body of churches require of its officers … Continue reading Choosing & Using a Confession of Faith
We normally associate the term “subscription” with signing up to receive certain periodicals, journals, and/or magazines to which we’ve “subscribed.” In religious or ecclesiastical parlance, however, the terms “subscription” or “subscribe” when tied to a doctrinal creed or confession refers to one’s affirmation of, agreement with, and commitment to a fixed body of doctrines or … Continue reading Confessional Subscription: Its Terms and Types
The tensions were high. In June of 1922, the Northern Baptist Convention convened under the theme, “Agreed to Differ, but Resolved to Love.” One might dispute whether the resolution was successfully carried out. But no one will debate that they “agreed to differ.” The tensions were high. Perhaps one of the sharpest differences came to a … Continue reading The Validity & Value of Confessions
I love systematic theology. In fact, I have a whole bookshelf dedicated to systematic theology. Some of my favorites are De Doctrina Christiana by Augustine and Peter Lombard’s Sentences. I can hardly resist them. Aquinas, Barth, Bavinck, Berkhof, Brakel, Brown, Dabney, Dagg, Erickson, Frame, Gill, Hodge, Horton, Turretin, Reymond, Vos, Warfield, and the like fill … Continue reading Review of Greg Nichols’ Lectures in Systematic Theology, Vol. 2
May we all stop and ponder for a moment about the story of the gospel as we prepare ourselves for Christmas. I am amazed that God Almighty would sendus such a wonderful gift while we were His enemies and deserving of His wrath. My friend, Tom Nettles, sent me this poem, which prompted … Continue reading Christmas Poem by Tom Nettles
Note: As I have noted in the past two posts (here and here), back in 2015 I posted a a teaching outline entitled The Doctrine of Conversion: Understanding Faith and Repentance, and this three part series is basically an expansion and reworking of that outline. Again, however, rather than take the old one down, I … Continue reading The Doctrine of Conversion (Teaching Outline)
Note: As I have noted in the previous post on saving faith, back in 2015 I posted a a teaching outline entitled The Doctrine of Conversion: Understanding Faith and Repentance, and the three part series I am continuing today is basically an expansion and reworking of that outline. However, as also previously noted, rather than … Continue reading The Doctrine of Repentance (Teaching Outline)
