“Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” 1 Corinthians 10:31
(Titus 2:3-5) Ladies’ Breakfast
(Titus 2:6-8) Men’s Breakfast
(Romans 12:2) Singles & Young Adult Gatherings
(1 Peter 4:8-10) Mid-Week Hospitality & Family Worship
(Proverbs 22:6) Home School Get-Togethers
(James 5:13) Hymn Sing Gatherings (a-cappella & instrumental accompaniment) with Prayer and Scripture reading on Special Occasions
Messages
* Note: As with any ministry outside the local church, we may not endorse every aspect of one’s theology, teaching, or associations.
Worship & The Regulative Principle
The Regulative Principle of Worship - Jason Dohm
The sufficiency of scripture: God's church God's Way - Paul Washer
Men and Women in Worship - Kevin Swanson
Women in the Church meeting - Jason Dohm
Modesty in worship - Jeff Pollard
Male and Female Church Roles (series) - Albert Martin
Church officers (series)- Albert Martin
Reformed Doctrine
What is a Calvinist Series
Total Depravity - Rob Ventura
Irresistible Grace - Rob Ventura
Perseverance of the Saints - Rob Ventura
The Gospel of Sovereign Grace
The Doctrines of Grace (series) - Albert Martin
Calvinism & related messages - Albert Martin
Election, Reprobation, and The Gospel (series) - Curtis Knapp
Imputed Righteousness
Justification by Grace Through Faith (series) - Cutis Knapp
Righteousness apart from the works of the Law - Voddie Baucham
The Lords Day
Christian Sabbath (Series) - Sovereign Grace Audio Treasures
Repentance
Repent or Perish (series) - Albert Martin
Great Plenty for the Morrow - Jerry Dorris
Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God (youtube) - Jonathan Edwards, read by Max McLean
Modesty
outward and inward adorning - Jeff pollard
Women and modest Modest Apparel 1 - Jeff Pollard
Women and modest Modest Apparel 2 - Jeff Pollard
Nakedness, Shame, and Modesty - Jeff Pollard
Validating the Gospel in Modesty - Albert Martin
Validating the Gospel in Femininity - Albert Martin
Biblical Roles
Biblical Headship - Voddie Baucham
Calling Men to Lead in the Church and the Home - Voddie Baucham
Encouragement for women (series) - Jeff Pollard, Mont Zion Bible Church
The Sufficiency of Scripture for Manhood and Womanhood - Voddie Baucham
Biblical Gender Roles - Jason Dohm
The Dominion Mandate and Marriage - Kevin Swanson
Discipleship & Obedience
A life of Principled obedience - Albert Martin
Shocking Youth Message - Paul Washer
The Sufficiency of Scripture in the Disciple-Making Ministry of the Church and the Home - V. Baucham
Sanctification - Kevin Swanson
Family Integrated vs. Youth Ministry
What is family Integrated Church - Scott Brown
The Sufficiency of Scripture and Family Integration - Kevin Swanson
Youth Ministry - Voddie Baucham (interview)
Is Children’s Church Biblical? - Right Response Ministries
Scripture is Sufficient for Youth Ministry - Scott Brown
Bible Based Education
The Children of Caesar (video part 1 & 2, July 2024) - Voddie Baucham
Scripture is Sufficient for Your Educational Decisions - Kevin Swanson
Generations Radio on Public Schools - Kevin Swanson
Generations Radio on Home School - Kevin Swanson
Home Education - Jason Dohm
Biblical Courtship
What He Must be to Marry My Daughter - Voddie Baucham
What She Must Be (can be found on youtube) - Voddie Baucham
Courtship Catastrophe Mitigation - Kevin Swanson
Biblical Courtship (series) - Paul Washer
Head Coverings
Headship and Biblical Order [1] - Robert Truelove (Christ Reformed Baptist Church)
Head Coverings [2] - Robert Truelove (Christ Reformed Baptist Church)
Headship and Headcovering - Mark Fitzpatrick (Arann Reformed Baptist Church)
Headship and Headcoverings - Chalan Hetherington (Bethel Reformed Baptist Church)
Headcovering-Women in the Church - Chalan Hetherington (Bethel Reformed Baptist Church)
Headship and Headcovering [Studies in the Scriptures] - A.W. Pink ( Particular Baptist Church Sydney)
Head Covering at Church - Right Response Ministries
To Cover or not to Cover - R C Sproul
Books
* Note: As with any ministry outside the local church, we may not endorse every aspect of one’s theology, teaching, or associations.
What He Must Be; Family Shepherds; Family Driven Faith - Voddie Baucham
A Weed in the Church; Feminine by Design; Beyond Modesty - Scott Brown
The Forgotten Fear: Where have all the God fearers gone? Albert N. Martin
What is a Biblical Christian? - Albert N. Martin
The Pilgrim's Progress - John Bunyan
Christian Modesty and the Public Undressing of America - Jeff Pollard
A Cover for Glory - Dale Partridge
The Theology of the Family - Scott Brown, Jeff Pollard
Old Light on New Worship - John Price
The Sovereignty of God - A. W. Pink: original unabridged version - Baker Books
The Attributes of God - A. W. Pink
Absolute Predestination - Jerome Zanchius (1516-1590)
The reformed doctrine of predestination - Lorraine Boettner
Five Points of Calvinism: Defined, Defended, and Documented - Steel, Thomas, Quinn
The five points of Calvinism: a study guide - Edwin H. Palmer
The Doctrines of Grace - Jeffery Riddle
A Defense of Calvinism; For Whom Did Christ Die; Particular Redemption -C. H. Spurgeon
The Canons Of Dort (1618-1619) an exposition of reformed soteriology against Arminianism
Gill’s Exposition of the Bible Commentary; Cause of God and Truth - John Gill
Calvin’s Commentaries; Institutes of the Christian religion - John Calvin
The Potters Freedom; The Forgotten Trinity - James White
The Holiness of God; Chosen by God; Grace unknown - R. C. Sproul
The Death of Death in the Death of Christ; Display of Arminianism - John Owen
Mortification of Sin - John Owen
Holiness - J. C. Ryle
Worship in the Melting Pot; God’s Rules for Holiness - Peter Masters
Covenant Theology From Adam to Christ - Nehemiah Cox, John Owen
An Antidote Against Arminianism - Christopher Ness
Websites
* Note: As with any ministry outside the local church, we may not endorse every aspect of one’s theology, teaching, or associations.
The Baptist Catechism - Keach's Catechism of 1695
Monergism - Reformed Resources
Chapel Library Great Resource for Reformed Literature
Church and family life - Scott Brown
Sovereign Grace Audio Treasures - Albert Martin & other Reformed Sermons
Generations Radio - Kevin Swanson
Eternal life Ministries - Reformed, Calvinistic and Puritan resources
The Baptist Particular - Reformed Calvinistic Resources
Pink Gems - Arthur W. Pink Resources
Arthur W. Pink - Sermon Audio
The Works of A.W. Pink (from 1917-1952)
Spurgeon Gems - Charles Spurgeon Resources
What is a Reformed Baptist Church?
What is a Reformed Baptist church? The elders and members of these churches have been asked time and again such questions as, “What do you mean by Reformed Baptist?” and “What are you trying to reform?” Many find themselves tongue tied in trying to answer such questions quickly, succinctly, and easily. Some simply say, “We are what Baptists used to be!” This statement is certainly true. However, for most modern believers and unbelievers, that statement explains little. The purpose of this little booklet is to seek to answer the question, “What is a Reformed Baptist church?” in a way that is both brief and substantial. In answering the question, “What is a Reformed Baptist church?” three things will be discussed: First, there is a need to address the difficulty of the question. Secondly, a definition of the terms will be given. Thirdly, the key distinctives of Reformed Baptist churches will be articulated.
The answer to the question, “What is a Reformed Baptist church?” is difficult for two reasons. It is difficult to answer in the first place because the terms Reformed and Baptist are often seen to be at odds with one another. Many theologians, from Reformed and Baptist camps, would say that such a title is a misnomer. They would say, “It is not possible to be both Reformed and baptistic! Though Baptists have been and can be Calvinistic they are not and cannot be Reformed.” The reason for this charge is simple: Reformed theology is almost always associated with paedo-baptism (infant sprinkling). Many who are Reformed view this perspective as the sine qua non of Reformed Theology.
Secondly, the subject is difficult because there exists an ever widening gulf between churches that call themselves Reformed Baptists. The term has not been copyrighted and, thus, there exists no definitive statement regarding who can lay claim to the title. No two Reformed Baptist churches walk in lock step. There are churches who call themselves Reformed Baptists who simply mean that they hold to the so-called five points of Calvinism and to the immersion of believers. There are Reformed Baptists who hold to the Second London Baptist Confession of Faith of 1689 and there are those who call themselves Reformed Baptists, who hold only a few articles of that Confession. While most Reformed Baptists hold to a biblical and Puritan view of the Lord’s Day Sabbath, there are some Reformed Baptists who reject the doctrine. You will, furthermore, find Reformed Baptist churches who differ in regard to their understanding of the exact application of the regulative principle of worship (the conviction that the Bible alone dictates the worship and life of the church). You will find differences in who is invited to the Lord’s table, differences in Bible translations, hymnals, the structure of prayer meetings, and even spiritual gifts. The list could go on and on.
We must, therefore, explain the parameters of this study. Though the term, “Reformed Baptist” is not copyrighted or patented (we could perhaps wish it were to avoid confusion!), I must define what I mean when I am using the term. The heart of this study will center around churches that adhere to the 1689 Confession in practice as well as in theory. What is confessed is what is lived out in the life of the congregation. It is not simply something that a pastor holds to, nor what is given on paper as the doctrinal statement of the church, but rather that which is known, embraced, and practiced by the congregation. A doctrinal and practical embrace of the Confession will settle beforehand such controverted issues as the so-called “law and grace debate,” the issue of the regulative principle, and the doctrine of the Lord’s Day. To adhere to the Confession, in practice as well as in theory, is to have such doctrines clearly delineated and defended by the Word of God.
Two questions will be answered under this heading. What do we mean by Reformed? and, What do we mean by Baptist?
What We Mean by “Reformed”
We have taken the name “Reformed” purposefully. There are two reasons for this name. First of all, it helpfully explains our historical and theological roots. There is a body of biblical, historic, and theological beliefs that is commonly referred to as, “The Reformed Faith.” Such biblical truths as sola fide (justification by faith alone), sola gratia (salvation by God’s grace alone), sola scriptura (the Bible alone is the basis for faith and practice), solo Christo (salvation by Christ alone), and soli Deo gloria (the fact that God alone is to receive glory in the salvation of sinners) are the hallmarks of the Protestant and Reformed Faith.
The Reformed Faith is perhaps best known for its understanding that God is sovereign over all things in general and over the salvation of sinners in particular. This understanding of God’s Word embraces the fact that before the foundation of the world, God had chosen certain sinners for salvation. Romans 8 and Romans 9, as well as Ephesians 1 are but a sampling of the prominent texts which are foundational to this biblical conviction. The Reformed Faith teaches that in time Christ came and died for the sins of the elect. It teaches that in conversion the Holy Spirit works in harmony with the decree of the Father and the death of the Son by applying the work of redemption to the elect.
When we say that we are Reformed we are saying that we embrace, as biblical, that system of theology commonly called, “the doctrines of grace.” These doctrines speak of the total depravity of man, the unconditional nature of election, the limited or particular nature of the atonement, the irresistibility of the effectual call, and the perseverance and preservation of the saints. In this “Reformed” tradition are the great names of church history. John Calvin, John Knox, John Bunyan, John Newton, Matthew Henry, George Whitefield, Jonathan Edwards, Adoniram Judson, William Carey, C. H. Spurgeon, A. W. Pink and a host of others held tenaciously to the Reformed Faith. We must underscore however, that we hold to these truths not because Calvin and these other great men of church history held to them, but because Jesus and the apostles so clearly taught them.
Out of this theological understanding came the great Reformed confessions and creeds of the church — The Synod of Dort, The Savoy Declaration, The Westminster Confession of Faith, The Heidelberg Catechism. Our own Second London Baptist Confession of Faith of 1689 is deeply rooted in these historic Reformed Documents. (In most places it is a word for word copy of The Westminster Confession or The Savoy Declaration), which is why, historically and theologically, we lay hold of the title Reformed.
We also use the term “Reformed” in a second way: We are seeking to reform ourselves and the churches of our generation back to the Bible. The vast majority of announcements from mainline denominations concerning the reformation of the church in recent days has been to move it away from its biblical and historical roots to that which is man-centered and culturally pleasing. There is a reformation going on in our day! It is an attempt to change the nature of the church from the House of God to the House of Entertainment. Sinners are being coddled rather than convicted. God’s power and majesty are things of a by-gone era!
Reformed Baptists are making it their aim and ambition to come more and more in line with the Word of God. In this sense Reformed Baptists are not static churches. We do not claim to have arrived. We want to go back again and again to the Scriptures. We do not want to do things because the Puritans did them or because other Reformed churches do them, we want to do what we do because we see it in our Bibles. “To the law and to the testimony” must be upon our banners!
As modern day reformers, Reformed Baptists are calling on all churches everywhere to repent from their man-centered ways, their man-pleasing worship, and their shallow theology. We will, if need be, stand as a lone “voice in the wilderness” calling the church of Jesus Christ to its biblical beauty and uniqueness. We say, with no sense of carnal pride, that much that goes on in the name of church growth and innovation is an insult to the Spirit of Grace and the Word of God. It is our desire to see all churches have “zeal for God’s house” eat them up (John 2:13-17).
What We Mean by “Baptist”
The name Baptist is a form of verbal shorthand for us to convey certain truths. First of all we are stating the biblical truths concerning the subjects and the mode of baptism.
When we speak of the subjects of baptism, we refer, without apology, to the truth that baptism is for believers only. We, as Reformed Baptists, owe a great debt to our Paedobaptist brethren. Their writings have shaped us and guided us again and again. We count them as our dear brethren. Their excellent writings, sharp thinking, and powerful exegesis have made many Baptists wonder if infant baptism might be right. After all, how could so many good and godly men be wrong? Without wishing to be unduly offensive to my Paedobaptist brethren, we assert that they are wrong on this issue. The Bible is not silent about the issue of who is to be baptized and how that baptism is to be administered. The fact that baptism is for believers only is the clear and indisputable teaching of the Word of God. The subjects of baptism are not discovered in Genesis (though it is my contention that a correct understanding of the Abrahamic Covenant proves believers baptism and demolishes infant baptism), but in the Gospels and in the Epistles. I assert as clearly and as plainly as I know how that there is not one single shred of evidence in the pages of the Old or New Testament to support the notion that the infants of believers are to be baptized. Every single biblical command and every single biblical example as well as every doctrinal statement regarding the nature of baptism proves that it is for believers only. I would strongly encourage you to take up your concordance and examine every text along with its context in which the word “baptism” is used. Ask yourself: Who is being baptized? What does baptism signify in this text? and Of whom are these things true?
By mode we are referring to the fact that baptism is properly and biblically administered by immersion. The common Greek word for immersion or dipping is the word used in our New Testament to describe baptism. The argument that the word has an occasional historic example meaning “to pour” or “to sprinkle” is surely special pleading. There are perfectly good Greek words meaning “to sprinkle” and “to pour.” In fact there are numerous occasions in the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament) where the words for immerse and sprinkle are used in the same context, but with their distinct and separate meaning intact (the instances of the priest dipping his finger in blood and sprinkling an object).
The name Baptist secondly is meant to convey that only those who are converted and baptized have a right to membership in Christ’s church. This is often referred to as a regenerate membership. A careful reading of the New Testament Epistles shows that the apostles assumed that the readers were “saints,” “faithful brethren,” and “cleansed by Christ.” Sadly, many Baptist churches of our day are more concerned with having a “decisioned membership” and a “baptized membership” than a regenerate membership (Jer. 31:31ff). It is the duty of the pastors and people of true churches to ensure according to the best of their ability that no unconverted person makes their way into the membership of a church.
Someone may be saying, “I understand all of that, but what practical difference can be seen in Reformed Baptist churches?” Let me say at the outset that numerous truths concerning the marks of true churches are not going to be addressed. As churches we must be distinguished by such things as fervent love for Christ, the presence of the Spirit of God, and sincere and earnest love for the brethren. My purpose here is to lay out the practical differences that exist in our particular churches. I am dealing here with the issues where certain battles are raging within the evangelical church. These are areas that must be addressed if we would be faithful in our generation. Martin Luther once wrote:
If I profess with the loudest voice and clearest exposition every portion of the truth of God, except precisely that little point which the world and the devil are at the moment attacking, I am not confessing Christ however boldly I may be professing Christ. Where the battle rages, there the loyalty of the soldier is proved, and to be steady on all the battle front besides is mere flight and disgrace if he flinches at that point.
Reformed Baptist churches are distinguished by their conviction regarding the sufficiency and authority in addition to the inspiration and infallibility of the Word of God.
What do I mean by all that verbiage? All true Christians believe in the inspiration and infallibility of the Word of God. All true Christians believe that the Bible was “breathed out” by God and that it is infallable and without error in all of its parts. To deny this is to lose your soul. But while all true Christians believe this, they do not all seek to regulate the life of the church in every area by the Word. There is a common belief, whether it is clearly stated or not, that the Bible is not a sufficient guide to tell you “how to do church.” Is this not behind much of what we see in the modern church growth movement? It is founded by and large upon a belief that the Bible is silent regarding the nature and purpose of the church. It is for this cause that many feel the freedom to “reinvent the church.” For some reason they seem to argue that God has no principles in His Word concerning the corporate life of his people! The clarion cry of the day by the Christ appointed shepherds of sheep needs to be that of the prophet Isaiah: “To the law and to the testimony if they speak not according to this word it is because there is no light in them” (Isaiah 8:20).
Reformed Baptists have a conviction that the Bible and the Bible alone tells us what a church is (see 1 Tim. 3:15). The Bible and the Bible alone defines the offices of the church. The Bible tells us their number (two — elders and deacons), and it tells us of their qualifications and their function (see Acts 20, 1 Tim. 3, Titus 1, Heb. 13, and 1 Peter 5.) The Bible and the Bible alone tells us what worship is and how it is to be given (see John 4:23, 24). The Bible tells us who can be a member and what is required of members. Paul told Timothy that the God-breathed Scriptures would thoroughly equip the man of God for every good work (2 Tim. 3:17). We have plenty of conservative churches who believe the Bible, but not enough who are defined by the Bible!
Reformed Baptist churches are distinguished by an unshakable conviction that the church exists for the glory of God (Eph. 3:21; 5:26, 27 and 1 Tim. 3:15).
Because the church exists for the glory of God, the worship of God and the Word of God are central to its life. We have seen far too much in our own day to indicate that the measure of a church is seen in what it has to offer man: Does it meet felt needs? Is it fun? Is it relaxing? Is it entertaining? Is it a place to meet people? etc. We believe that churches need to be far more concerned with the smile of God than with the smile of man. The church is God’s house and not man’s. This does not mean that it is to be a dull, grim, unfeeling, insensitive place. The place where God dwells is the most glorious place on earth to the saint and it is an oasis to the thirsty soul of a sinner seeking the grace of God. That being said however, the place of God’s dwelling is solemn and holy. “How awesome is this place — it is no other than the house of God and the gate of heaven,” were Jacob’s words in Genesis 28. It is this conviction that explains the reverence and seriousness with which we approach the worship of God.
The call of many today to make the church more palatable and “user-friendly” is nothing new. In the latter part of the 19th century, a student and close friend of Spurgeon and an esteemed pastor, Archibald Brown, warned:
An evil is in the professed camp of the Lord, so gross, so brazen in its impudence, that the most short-sighted men can hardly fail to notice it. During the past few years it has developed at an abnormal rate, even for evil. It has worked like leaven until the whole lump ferments. Look which way you may, its presence makes itself manifest. Amusement for the people is the leading article advertised by [churches]. . . . It is only during the past few years that “amusement” has become a recognized weapon of our warfare and developed into a mission. There has been a steady “down grade” in this respect. From “speaking out,” as the Puritans did, the Church has gradually toned down her testimony; then winked at and excused the frivolities of the day. Then she has tolerated them in her borders, and now she has adopted them and provided a home for them under the plea of “reaching the masses and getting the ear of the people.” The devil has seldom done a cleverer thing than hinting to the Church of Christ that part of her mission is to provide entertainment for the people with a view of winning them into her ranks. The human nature that lies in every heart has risen to the bait. Here, now, is an opportunity of gratifying the flesh and yet retaining a comfortable conscience. We can now please ourselves in order to do good to others. The rough old cross can be exchanged for a “costume,” and the exchange can be made with the benevolent purpose of elevating the people. All this is terribly sad, and the more so because truly gracious souls are being led away by the specious pretext that it is a form of Christian work. They forget that a seemingly beautiful angel may be the devil himself, “. . . for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light” (2 Cor. 11:14). My first contention is that providing amusement for the people is nowhere spoken of in Holy Scripture as a function of the church. . . . Now, surely, if our Lord had intended His Church to be the caterer of entertainment, and so counteract the god of this world He would hardly have left so important a branch of service unmentioned. If it is a Christian work, why did not Christ at least hint [at] it? “Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature,” is clear enough. So it would have been if he had added, “And provide amusement for those who do not relish the gospel.” No such addendum, however, is to be found, nor even an equivalent for such, in any one of our Lords utterances. This style of work did not seem to occur to His mind. Then again, Christ, as an ascended Lord, gives to His Church specially qualified men for the carrying on of His work, but no mention of any gift for this branch of service occurs in the list. “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.” Where do the “public entertainers” come in? The Holy Ghost is silent concerning them, and his silence is eloquence. . . . Were the prophets persecuted because they amused the people or because they refused to? The Gospel of amusement has no martyrology. In vain does one look for a promise from God for providing recreation for a godless world. That which has no authority from Christ, no provision made for it by the Spirit, no promise attached to it by God, can only be a lying hypocrite when it lays claim to be “a branch of the work of the Lord.” But again, providing amusement for the people is in direct antagonism to the teaching and life of Christ and all His apostles. What is to be the attitude of the Church towards the world according to our Lord’s teaching? Strict separation and uncompromising hostility. While no hint ever passes His lips of winning the world by pleasing it, or accommodating methods to its taste, His demand for unworldliness was constant and emphatic. He sets forth in one short sentence what He would have His disciples to be: “Ye are the salt of the earth.” Yes, salt, not the sugar-candy nor a “lump of delight.” Something the world will spit out, not swallow with a smile. Something more calculated to bring water to the eye than laughter to the lip. Short and sharp is the utterance, “Let the dead bury their dead; but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.”
Reformed Baptist churches are distinguished by their conviction that the local church is central to the purposes of God on the earth.
Ours is the day of the parachurch. We live in the day of the independently minded Christian who floats from place to place without ever committing himself to the church. This “Lone Ranger” attitude is not only spiritually dangerous it is thoroughly contrary to the revealed mind of God.
While many have rightly diagnosed the failure of the church to do its mission, the answer is not to abandon the church but to seek its reformation and its biblical restoration. Among the many problems that undermine the special place of the local church in the plan of God is an unbiblical application of the doctrine of the Universal Church. Many seem content to say that since I am part of the “Universal and Invisible Church” then I have no need of the local church. One need only to search out the many scriptural references to the church to see that its primary use is in regard to local, definable congregations with elders and deacons and members serving Christ together. The gathered church alone is the special dwelling place of God upon the earth (Eph. 2:22). When believers gather together they, as living stones, form the new temple of God in which He dwells by the Spirit. The great commission of the church is fulfilled as preachers of the gospel are sent out by local churches to plant new churches by means of conversion, baptism, and discipleship. If you want to be where the special presence of God is, then find a biblical church made up of true believers!
Reformed Baptist churches are distinguished by their conviction that preaching is foundational to the life of the church.
How is God most often pleased to save sinners? How is God most often pleased to exhort, challenge, and build up his saints? How is Christ most powerfully displayed to the mind and heart? It is through the preaching of the Word of God! (1 Cor. 1:21; Eph. 4:11-16; 2 Tim. 4:1ff).
Therefore, as Reformed Baptists, but more particularly as serious biblically minded Christians, we reject the trends of our day toward shallow teaching, cancelled preaching services, and the giving over of worship services to testimonies, movies, drama, dance, or singing. The Word of God is to be central in the worship of God.
Paul warned of the day that would come when professed churchmen would no longer tolerate sound doctrine. He stated that according to their own desires they would heap up for themselves teachers who would tickle their itching ears. The apostolic command thundered forth to Timothy in the midst of such mindless drivel, “Preach the Word!” (2 Tim. 4:1ff).
We abominate lazy preaching and unfaithful shepherds who will not feed the sheep. The condemnation of the Word of God is clear to such: “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD to the shepherds: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flocks?” (Ezekiel 34:2).
Reformed Baptist churches are distinguished by their convictions regarding the leadership of the church.
Many churches in America are governed by the so-called principles of democracy. One man, one vote! Is this how the Bible tells us the church of Jesus Christ is to be run? The answer is a clear and unequivocal, “No!” The Bible teaches us that the local church is ruled by the Lord Jesus by His Word and Spirit. But this rule is implemented on earth through those that the Holy Spirit has made overseers of each particular flock. These men offer real rule within the local body of believers. The Lord Jesus has given to them real authority that is to be recognized by the flock (Heb. 13:17). The Bible shows us that it is the norm for each church to be governed by a plurality of men whose gifts and graces are articulated in Scripture (see 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1). If these virtues are not present in a man or if they cease to be present in a man, he must not be an elder in Christ’s church. The Lord Jesus has given these men to shepherd the flock, to feed the flock, and to watch over the souls of the flock (Acts 20:28, Heb. 13:17). They are to take this awesome responsibility soberly, graciously, humbly, and after the pattern of the Chief Shepherd, the Lord Jesus (1 Peter 5).
Reformed Baptist churches are distinguished by the conviction that salvation radically alters the life of the convert.
It is tragic that such a thing even needs to be mentioned. We live in the day of decisionism. The idea is that you pray a certain formula prayer and that you are therefore declared to be saved. It matters not whether you break with sin or pursue holiness (Heb. 12:14). You can live like hell and go to heaven! What a bargain! Many popular Bible teachers declare this as the great defense of the grace of God. We see it clearly as a “turning of the grace of God into licentiousness” ( Jude 4). When Paul describes the conversion of the Ephesians in chapter five he uses the greatest antonyms in the human language — you were darkness but now you are light in the Lord. Paul asks the rhetorical question in (2 Cor. 6:14) — What fellowship has light with darkness? The Jesus we proclaim is a great Savior. He does not leave His people in their lifeless condition. We proclaim the Jesus who came to save his people from their sins (Matt. 1:21). We proclaim the biblical truth that if anyone is in Christ he is a new creature (2 Cor. 5:17). We proclaim the Jesus who came to make a people zealous for good works (Titus 2:14). We reject as unbiblical the modern notion that a man can embrace Christ as Savior and reject His Lordship. The Word of God nowhere teaches that Christ can be divided. If you have Christ at all, you have received a whole Christ — Prophet, Priest, and King.
Reformed Baptist churches have a conviction that the Law of God (as expressed in the Ten Commandments) is regulative in the life of the New Covenant believer.
The modern church has a love/hate relationship with the Ten Commandments. There has been a great cry to get the commandments into the public sector, in schools and into the courts. However, there are many voices seeking to get rid of God’s commandments in the life of the church! The argument is that the commandments are from the Old Testament and therefore have nothing to do with a New Covenant believer. In contrast with this novel idea is the biblical declaration that God writes His moral precepts upon the hearts and minds of all those who enter into the New Covenant (Jeremiah 31:31ff). Rather than the law of God being made meaningless in conversion, obedience to God’s commandments is one of the key indications that one has saving faith (1 John 2:3, 4). While the ceremonial law has been fulfilled in Christ, Paul says in 2 Cor. 7:19, “circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing, keeping the commandments of God is what matters.” We assert to this antinomian (lawless) age of Christianity that makes no demands: God’s way of holiness has not changed. The law written on the heart in creation is the same law codified in the Ten Commandments on Sinai and is the same law written on the hearts of those who enter into the New Covenant.
When someone says that the Ten Commandments are not for today should we not ask them, “Are you saying that we are free in Christ to have other gods? To worship God as we please? To take His name in vain? Are we free in Christ to murder? To commit adultery? To lie? To steal? To covet?” They will say, “Of course not!” What they really mean is that they do not want believers to keep a day holy unto God. Among the laws of God none is so hated as the thought that God requires believers to give of their time to worship him and to turn from worldly pursuits. The Presbyterian pastor and Bible commentator Albert Barnes once wrote, “There is a state of things in this land that is tending to obliterate the Sabbath altogether. The Sabbath has more enemies in this land than all the other institutions of religion put together. At the same time it is more difficult to meet the enemy here than anywhere else — for we come into conflict not with argument but with interest and pleasure and the love of indulgence and of gain.” We agree with John Bunyan who said, “A man shall show his heart and life, what they are, more by one Lord’s Day than by all the days of the week besides. To delight ourselves in God’s service upon His Holy Day gives a better proof of a sanctified nature than to grudge at the coming of such days.” Consider these words of Robert Murray M’Cheyne, “Can you name one godly minister, in any denomination in all Scotland, who does not hold the duty of the entire sanctification of the Lord’s Day? Did you ever meet with a lively believer in any country under heaven — one who loved Christ, and lived a holy life — who did not delight in keeping holy to God the entire Lord’s Day?” How much things have changed in the churches in just over 100 years! Today the idea of keeping a day holy to God is seen as extreme and legalistic. If man cannot stand to give up their pleasure for one day to give themselves to the worship of God one wonders what they will think of heaven!
Modern man is so addicted to his pleasures, his games, and his entertainment that the thought that he must give them up for 24 hours to worship and to delight in God is seen as legalistic bondage. Far from bondage, God’s people love His law and meditate upon it to the delight of their blood bought souls.
Reformed Baptists churches are distinguished by a conviction regarding male leadership in the church.
Our age has witnessed the feminization of Christianity. God created two sexes in creation and gave to each different corresponding roles. While the sexes are equal in Creation, the Fall, and in Redemption, God has nonetheless sovereignly ordained that leadership in the home, the state, and the church is to be male. It is our experience that those whose minds have been unduly influenced by this generation find our worship, leadership, and family structure to be jarring. When the Bible speaks of husbands and fathers leading the home (see Eph. 5, 6, and Col. 3) it is not culturally conditioned. When the Bible speaks of men leading in prayer, teaching, preaching, and serving as elders and deacons we must bow with submissive and dutiful hearts. Culture must not carry the day in the church of Jesus Christ!
Reformed Baptist churches are distinguished by a conviction regarding the serious nature of church membership.
We take seriously the admonition of Heb. 10:24, 25 which tells us that we are not to forsake the gathering of ourselves together even though it is the habit of some (sadly, today we must say, many). We take seriously the duties and responsibilities of church membership. In other words, membership actually means something in Reformed Baptist churches. There ought not to be a great disparity between Sunday morning and evening and mid week. The same membership is expected to be at all the services of the church. It is impossible to share in the life of the church in the manner which God intended and to willingly absent yourself from its public gatherings. We recognize that few churches make such a demand, but biblical churchmanship presupposes such a commitment to God, your pastors, and your brothers and sisters.
In closing let me seek to apply these things to our hearts. First of all a word to my fellow Reformed Baptists. Let us see the importance of our distinctives. I urge you not to surrender them to the pressures to conform to modern Christianity.
To those who are considering joining such a church, I encourage you to count the cost. Realize that you are committing yourself not only to a local body, but to these distinctives as well. If you are a Christian your only excuse for leaving a church committed to such principles is to find one that is more biblical — not less.
To our children I would say that our greatest desire is your conversion to Christ. But after that great transformation we long to see you embrace these biblical truths and to exceed us in your biblical convictions and practices! This then is what we mean when we say that we are Reformed Baptists.
If these truths have echoed in your heart as biblical it is our desire that you will seek out a safe place for the feeding and nurturing of your never dying soul.
Written by Pastor Jim Savastio, Reformed Baptist Church of Louisville
Salvation Tracks
"but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” John 4:14
The Way of Salvation
Arthur W. Pink
What must I do to be saved? Saved from what? What is it you wish to be saved from? Hell? That proves nothing. Nobody wants to go there. The issue between God and man is SIN. Do you wish to be saved from it? WHAT IS SIN? Sin is a species of rebellion against God. It is self-pleasing; it is the utter ignoring of God's claims,—being completely indifferent whether my conduct pleases or displeases Him.
Before God saves a man, He convicts him of his sinnership. By this I do not mean that he says with everybody else, “Oh yes, we are all sinners, I know that.” Rather do I mean that the Holy Spirit makes me feel in my heart that I have been a life-long rebel against God, and that my sins are many.
Have you ever had that experience? Have you seen yourself to be totally unfit for heaven, and for the presence of a Holy God? Do you now perceive that there is no good thing in you, nothing good credited to your account, that all the way through you have loved the things God hates and hated the things God loves?
Has the realization of this broken your heart before God? Has it made you mourn that you have so despised His mercies, misused His blessings, broken His sabbaths, neglected His Word, and given Him no real place at all in your thoughts, affections and life? If you have not yet seen and felt this personally, then at present there is no hope for you, for God says, “EXCEPT YE REPENT, YE SHALL ALL LIKEWISE PERISH” (Luke 13:3). And if you die in your present condition, you will be lost forever.
But if you have been brought to the place where sin is your greatest plague, where offending God is your greatest grief, and where your deepest desire is now to please and honor Him; then there is hope for you. “The Son of man came to seek and to save that which is lost” (Luke 19:10). And He will save you providing you are ready and willing to throw down the weapons of your warfare against Him, bow to His Lordship, and surrender yourself to His control.
His blood can wash the foulest clean. His grace can support and uphold the weakest. His power can deliver the tried and tempted. “Behold now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2). Yield yourself to Christ's claims. Give Him the throne of your heart. Turn over to Him the regulation of your life. Trust in His atoning death. Love Him with all your soul. Obey Him with all your might and Hewill conduct you to heaven. “Believe on the LORD Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:31).
The Way of Salvation
J.C. Ryle
Where must a man go for pardon? Where is forgiveness to be found? There is a way both sure and plain, and into that way I desire to guide every inquirers feet. That way is simply to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior. It is to cast your soul with all its sins, unreservedly on Christ—to cease completely from any dependence on your own works or doings, either in whole or in part—and to rest on no other work but Christ's work—no other righteousness but Christ's righteousness, no other merit but Christ's merit as your ground of hope. Take this course—and you are a pardoned soul.
Says Peter "All the prophets testify about Him, that through His name everyone who believes in Him will receive forgiveness of sins." (Acts 10:43). Says Paul at Antioch, "Through this Man forgiveness of sins is being proclaimed to you, and everyone who believes in Him is justified from everything." (Acts 13:38). "In Him," writes Paul to the Colossians, "we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins" (Colossians. 1:14).
The Lord Jesus Christ, in great love and compassion has made a full and complete satisfaction for sin, by suffering death in our place upon the cross. There He offered Himself as a sacrifice for us, and allowed the wrath of God which we deserved—to fall on His own head! For our sins, as our Substitute, He gave Himself, suffered, and died—the just for the unjust, the innocent for the guilty—that He might deliver us from the curse of a broken law, and provide a complete pardon for all who are willing to receive it. And by so doing, as Isaiah says—He has borne our sins. As John the Baptist says—He has taken away sin. As Paul says—He has purged our sins, and put away sin. As Daniel says—He has made an end of sin and finished transgression.
And now the Lord Jesus Christ is sealed and appointed by God the Father to be a Prince and a Savior, to give forgiveness of sins, to all who will have it. The keys of death and hell are put in His hand. The government of the gate of heaven is laid on His shoulder. He Himself is the door, and by Him all who enter in shall be saved. Christ, in one word, has purchased a full forgiveness, if we are only willing to receive it. He has done all, paid all, suffered all that was needful, to reconcile us to God. He has provided a garment of righteousness to clothe us. He has opened a fountain of living waters to cleanse us. He has removed every barrier between us and God the Father, taken every obstacle out of the way—and made a road by which the vilest may return to God. All things are now ready, and the sinner has only to believe and be saved, to eat and be satisfied, to ask and receive, to wash and be clean.
Faith, or simple trust is the only thing required, in order that you and I may be forgiven. That we will come by faith to Jesus as sinners with our sins—trust in Him—and forsaking all other hope, cleave only to Him—that is all and everything that God asks for. Let a man only do this, and he shall be saved. His iniquities shall be found completely pardoned, and his transgressions completely taken away!
Who, among all the readers of this paper, desires to be saved by Christ, and yet is not saved at present? Come, I beseech you! Come to Christ without delay. Though you have been a great sinner, COME! Though you have long resisted warnings, counsels, sermons, COME! Though you have sinned against light and knowledge, against a father's advice and a mother's tears, COME! Though you have plunged into every excess of wickedness, and lived without prayer, yet COME! The door is not shut, the fountain is not yet closed. Jesus Christ invites you. It is enough that you feel laboring and heavy-laden, and desire to be saved. COME! COME TO CHRIST WITHOUT DELAY! Come to Him by faith, and pour out your heart before Him in prayer. Tell Him the whole story of your life, and ask Him to receive you. Cry to Him as the penitent thief did, when He saw Him on the cross. Say to Him, "Lord save me also! Lord remember me!" COME! COME TO CHRIST!
Repent or Perish
Arthur W. Pink
“Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.” (Luke 13:3)
These were the words of the incarnate Son of God. They have never been cancelled; nor will they be as long as this world lasts. Repentance is absolutely necessary if the sinner is to “make peace with God” (Isaiah 27:5), for repentance is the throwing down the weapons of rebellion against Him. Repentance does not save, yet no sinner ever was or ever will be saved without it. None but Christ saves, but an impenitent heart cannot receive Him.
A sinner cannot truly believe until he repents. This is clear from the words of Christ concerning His forerunner, “For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not: but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe Him:” (Matt. 21:32). It is also evident from His clarion call in Mark 1:15, “repent ye, and believe the gospel.” This is why the apostle Paul testified “repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 20:21). Make no mistake on this point dear reader, God “now commandeth all men everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:30).In requiring repentance from us, God is pressing His righteous claims upon us. He is infinitely worthy of supreme love and honor, and of universal obedience. This we have wickedly denied Him. Both an acknowledgement and amendment of this is required from us. Our disaffection for Him and our rebellion against Him are to be owned and made an end of. Thus repentance is a heartfelt realization of how dreadfully I have failed, all through my life, to give God His rightful place in my heart and daily walk.
The righteousness of God's demand for my repentance is evident if we consider the heinous nature of sin. Sin is a renouncing of Him who made me. It is refusing Him His right to govern me. It is the determination to please myself; thus, it is rebellion against the Almighty. Sin is spiritual lawlessness, and utter disregard for God's authority. It is saying in my heart, I care not what God requires, I am going to have my own way ; I care not what be God's claim upon me, I am going to be lord over myself. Reader, do you realize that this is how you have lived?
Now true repentance issues from a realization in the heart, wrought therein by the Holy Spirit, of the exceeding sinfulness of sin, of the awfulness of ignoring the claims of Him who made me, of defying His authority. It is therefore a holy hatred and horror of sin, a deep sorrow for it, and acknowledgement of it before God, and a complete heartforsaking of it. Not until this is done will God pardon us. “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: But whoso confesseth and Forsaketh them shall have mercy” (Proverbs 28:13).In true repentance the heart turns to God and acknowledges: my heart has been set upon a vain world, which could not meet the needs of my soul; I forsook Thee, the fountain of living waters, and turned unto broken cisterns which held non: I now own and bewail my folly. But more, it says: I have been a disloyal and rebellious creature, but I will be so no longer. I now desire and determine with all my might to serve and obey Thee as my only Lord. I betake myself to Thee as my present and everlasting Portion.
Reader, be you a professing Christian or no, it is repent or perish . For every one of us, church members or otherwise, it is either turn or burn — turn from your course of self-will and self-pleasing; turn in brokenness of heart to God, seeking His mercy in Christ; turn with full purpose of heart to please and serve HIM: or be tormented day and night, forever and ever, in the Lake of Fire. Which shall it be? Oh, get down on your knees right now and beg God to give you the spirit of true repentance.
“Him hath God exalted with His right hand to be a Prince and a Savior, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins” (Acts 5:31).
“For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death” (2 Cor. 7:10).
Is Christ Your Lord?
Arthur W. Pink
We do not ask: Is Christ your “Savior”?—but is He, really and truly, your Lord? If He is not your Lord, then He is most certainly not your “Savior.” Those who have not received Christ Jesus as their “Lord” and yet suppose Him to be their “Savior,” are deluded, and their hope rests on a foundation of sand. Multitudes are deceived on this vital point, and therefore, if the reader values his or her soul, we implore you to give a most careful reading to this little tract.
When we ask, is Christ your Lord? we do not inquire, Do you believe in the Godhead of Jesus of Nazareth? The demons do that (Mat 8:28-29) and yet perish notwithstanding! You may be firmly convinced of the Deity of Christ, and yet be in your sins. You may speak of Him with the utmost reverence, accord Him, His divine titles in your prayersand yet be unsaved. You may abominate those who traduce His person and deny His divinity, and yet have no spiritual love for Him at all.
When we ask, Is Christ your Lord, we mean, does He in very deed occupy the throne of your heart, and does He actually rule over your life? “We have turned everyone to his own way” (Isa 53:6) describes the course which we all follow by nature. Before conversion every soul lives to please self. Of old it was written, “every man did that which was right in his own eyes,” and why? “In those days there was no King in Israel” (Jdg 21:25). Ah! that is the point we desire to make clear to the reader. Until Christ becomes your King (1Ti 1:17; Rev 15:3), until you bow to His scepter, until His will becomes the rule of your life, self dominates, and thus Christ is disowned.
When the Holy Spirit begins His work of grace in a soul, He first convicts of sin. He shows me the real and awful nature of sin. He makes me realize that it is a species of insurrection, a defying of God’s authority, a setting of my will against His. He shows me that in going my “own way” (Isa 53:6), in pleasing myself, I have been fighting against God. As my eyes are opened to see what a lifelong rebel I have been, how indifferent to God’s honor, how unconcerned about His will—I am filled with anguish and horror, and made to marvel that the thrice Holy One has not long since cast me into Hell. Reader, have you ever gone through this experience? If not, there is very grave reason to fear that you are yet spiritually dead!
Conversion, true conversion, saving conversion, is a turning from sin to God in Christ. It is a throwing down of the weapons of my warfare against Him, a ceasing to despise and ignore His authority. New Testament conversion is described thus: “Ye turned to God from idols to serve [to be in subjection to, to obey] the living and true God” (1Th 1:9). An “idol” is any object to which we give what is due alone unto Godthe supreme place in our affections, the molding influence of our hearts, the dominating power of our lives. Conversion is a right about face, the heart and will repudiating sin, self, and the world. Genuine conversion is always evidenced by “Lord what wilt Thou have me to do?” (Act 9:6); it is an unreserved surrendering of ourselves to His holy will. Have you yielded yourself to Him? (Rom 6:13)
There are many people who would like to be saved from Hell, but who do not want to be saved from self-will, from having their own way, from a life of (some form of) worldliness. But God will not save them on their terms. To be saved, we must submit to His terms: “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord [having revolted from Him in Adam], and He will have mercy upon him” (Isa 55:7). Said Christ, “Whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath [all that is opposed to Me], he cannot be My disciple” (Luk 14:33). Men must be turned [by God] “from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God,” before they can “receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified” (Act 26:18).
“As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him” (Col 2:6). That is an exhortation to Christians, and its force is—Continue as you began. But how had they “begun”? By receiving “Christ Jesus the Lord,” by surrendering to Him, by subjecting themselves to His will, by ceasing to please themselves. His authority was now owned. His commands now became their rule of life. His love constrained them to a glad and unreserved obedience. They “gave their own selves to the Lord” (2Co 8:5). Have you, my dear reader, done this? Have you? Do the details of your life evidence it? Can those with whom you come into contact see that you are no more living to please self (2Co 5:15)?
Oh my reader, make no mistake upon this point: a conversion which the Holy Spirit produces is a very radical thing. It is a miracle of grace. It is the enthroning of Christ in the life. And such conversions are rare indeed. Multitudes of people have just sufficient “religion” to make them miserable. They refuse to forsake every known sin, and there is no true peace for any soul until he does. They have never “received Christ Jesus the Lord” (Col 2:6). Had they done so, “the joy of the LORD” would be their strength (Neh 8:10). But the language of their hearts and lives (not their “lips”) is, “we will not have this man to reign over us” (Luk 19:14). Is that your case?
The great miracle of grace consists in changing a lawless rebel into a loving and loyal subject. It is a “renewing” of the heart, so that the favored subject of it has come to loathe what he loved, and the things he once found irksome are now winsome (2Co 5:17). He delights “in the law of God after the inward man” (Rom 7:22). He discovers that Christ’s “commandments are not grievous” (1 Jo 5:3), and that “in keeping of them there is great reward” (Psa 19:11). Is this your experience? It would be if you received Christ Jesus THE LORD!
But to receive Christ Jesus the Lord is altogether beyond unaided human power. That is the last which the unrenewed heart wants to do. There must be a supernatural change of heart before there is even the desire for Christ to occupy its throne. And that change, none but God can work (1 Co 12:3). Therefore, “Seek ye the LORD while He may be found” (Isa 55:6). Search for Him with all your heart (Jer 29:13). Reader, you may have been a professing Christian for years past, and you may have been quite sincere in your profession. But if God has condescended to use this tract to show you that you have never really and truly “received Christ Jesus the Lord,” if now in your own soul and conscience you realize that SELF has ruled you hitherto, will you not now get down on your knees and confess to God. Confess to Him your self-will, your rebellion against Him, and beg Him to so work in you that, without further delay, you may be enabled to yield yourself completely to His will and become His subject, His servant, His loving slave, in deed and in truth?