As a student at the new Institute of Reformed Baptist Studies Theological Seminary (IRBS), I recently took a class titled Theology of Ministry, taught by Dr. James Renihan. It was such an encouragement for me, as we spent much of our time together learning about the preaching of the Puritans.

As a class, we enjoyed listening to the lecture below by Dr. Joel Beeke of Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary.  In the lecture, Dr. Beeke shows how we should, and should not preach like the Puritans. 

Enjoy… 

 

“I do want to make the point here that Christians are not divided between those who have creeds and confessions and these who do not; rather, they are divided between those who have public creeds and confessions that are written down and exist as public documents, subject to public scrutiny, evaluation, and critique, and those who have private creeds and confessions that are often improvised, unwritten, and thus not open to public scrutiny, not susceptible to evaluation and, crucially and ironically, not, therefore, subject to testing by Scripture to see whether they are true.“

~ Carl Trueman 

 

Brandon Adams joins the Semper Reformanda Radio podcast to discuss Republication, Westminster Federalism, Covenant Theology, Infant Baptism, and his recent debate with Patrick Hines, found here. This is part-one of what looks to be a very informative series.

Check out the full episode below…

 

https://thorncrownministries.com/srr/2018/10/22/srr-92-interview-with-brandon-adams-on-covenant-theology

Chapter 17 – The Perseverance of the Saints

1. Those God has accepted in the Beloved, effectually called and sanctified by his Spirit, and given the precious faith of his elect can neither totally nor finally fall from a state of grace. They will certainly persevere in grace to the end and be eternally saved, because the gifts and callings of God are irrevocable. Therefore, he still brings about and nourishes in them faith, repentance, love, joy, hope, and all the graces of the Spirit that lead to immortality.¹

Even though many storms and floods arise and beat against them, yet these things will never be able to move the elect from the foundation and rock to which they are anchored by faith. The felt sight of the light and love of God may be clouded and obscured from them for a time through their unbelief and the temptations of Satan.²

Yet God is still the same; they will certainly be kept by the power of God for salvation, where they will enjoy their purchased possession. For they are engraved on the palms of his hands, and their names have been written in the book of life from all eternity.³

¹John 10:28, 29; Philippians 1:6; 2 Timothy 2:19; 1 John 2:19. ²Psalms 89:31, 32; 1 Corinthians 11:32. ³Malachi 3:6.

34 Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.

35 For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.

36 And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household.

37 Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

~ Matthew 10:34–37

“This pact of salvation, however, further forms the link between the eternal work of God toward salvation and what he does to that end in time. The covenant of grace revealed in time does not hang in the air but rests on an eternal, unchanging foundation. It is firmly grounded in the counsel and covenant of the triune God and is the application and execution of it that infallibly follows…It is a false perception that God first made his covenant with Adam and Noah, with Abraham and Israel, and only finally with Christ; the covenant of grace was ready-made from all eternity in the pact of salvation of the three persons and was realized by Christ from the moment the fall occurred…For though God communicates his revelation successively and historically makes it progressively richer and fuller, and humankind therefore advances in the knowledge, possession, and enjoyment of that revelation, God is and remains the same….Although Christ completed his work on earth only in the midst of history and although the Holy Spirit was not poured out till the day of Pentecost, God nevertheless was able, already in the days of the Old Testament, to fully distribute the benefits to be acquired and applied by the Son and the Spirit. Old Testament believers were saved in no other way than we. There is one faith, one Mediator, one way of salvation, and one covenant of grace.”

~ Herman Bavinck 

“Revivalism began the process of turning people from a thoughtful and theological faith to an experience-oriented belief. Modernism brought new ideas into the churches. Fundamentalism circled the wagons and reduced the faith to a few requisite doctrines. And Dispensationalism swept in to fill the void. In every case, covenantalism was shunted to the side, and Baptists lost their rightful heritage. A beautiful system of faith was exchanged for a novelty.

This book is one small attempt to correct this problem. It consists of three sections, historical, exegetical and theological. It is an attempt to demonstrate that this rich legacy must be recovered and reasserted. Not only were our fathers thoroughly covenantal, we must be too. History, theology, and exegesis are all on the side of covenantalism. For too long, Baptists have followed the false roads of Revivalism, the diminished pathways of Fundamentalism, and the dead-end street of Dispensationalism. The time has come to restore exegetical and theological rigor and vigor to our churches and ministries.”

~ James Renihan 

This important collection of essays is currently sold out at www.rbap.net but can be purchased at the link below.

https://www.amazon.com/Recovering-Covenantal-Heritage-Covenant-Theology/dp/1499714483

 

 

“But although our mind cannot conceive of God, without rendering some worship to him, it will not, however, be sufficient simply to hold that he is the only being whom all ought to worship and adore, unless we are also persuaded that he is the fountain of all goodness, and that we must seek everything in him, and in none but him. My meaning is: we must be persuaded not only that as he once formed the world, so he sustains it by his boundless power, governs it by his wisdom, preserves it by his goodness, in particular, rules the human race with justice and judgment, bears with them in mercy, shields them by his protection; but also that not a particle of light, or wisdom, or justice, or power, or rectitude, or genuine truth, will anywhere be found, which does not flow from him, and of which he is not the cause; in this way we must learn to expect and ask all things from him, and thankfully ascribe to him whatever we receive.”

~ John Calvin – Institutes of the Christian Religion 2.1

“One week-night, when I was sitting in the house of God, I was not thinking much about the preacher’s sermon, for I did not believe it. The thought struck me, How did you come to be a Christian? I sought the Lord. But how did you come to seek the Lord? The truth flashed across my mind in a moment- I should not have sought Him unless there had been some previous influence in my mind to make me seek Him. I prayed, thought I, but then I asked myself, How came I to pray? I was induced to pray by reading the Scriptures. How came I to read the Scriptures? I did read them, but what led me to do so? Then, in a moment, I saw that God was at the bottom of it all, and that He was the Author of my faith, and so the whole doctrine of grace opened up to me, and from that doctrine I have not departed to this day, and I desire to make this my constant confession, “I ascribe my change wholly to God.”

Very thankful for pastor Hines, his work for *HIS* kingdom, and his apology to Brandon here. Please note the first 6:35 of video where he apologizes to BA, but also reveals what we have mentioned repeatedly on the Twitter. That being an unfamiliarity with 1689 Fed., and a frustrating response because of this unfamiliarity. I thinks it’s awesome that pastor Hines is going to read our material and see what the majority of authors of the 1689 Confession held to. Looking forward to future dialouge between these two men. Click the link below for video. 

The first 6:35 of video. 

https://t.co/iMl9P0bNZI