In our Ask FGBC Anything video series, listeners submit questions that we then answer in a video format.
Transcript
Transcript is AI generated, with slight modifications for readability.
SPEAKERS
Pastor Jim Butler, Pastor Mike Kirkpatrick, Wim Kerkhoff
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
reformed baptist, reformed, baptist, confession, worship, scripture, faith, preaching, definition, grace baptist church, importance, helpful, calvinism, confessed, baptists, centrality, calling, historical, covenant theology, polity
Wim Kerkhoff 00:06
So here at Free Grace Baptist Church, we’re starting a new video series, basically asking questions or answering questions that people have about theology, faith and different things. So we’ve got a form on our website to facilitate those questions. They can do anonymous if they like, and, and the short videos easy to share with your friends with your family, easy to consume. So for the first question, I thought we’d start with something really fundamental to who we are. So I have a question from Justin, and the question is what is Reformed Baptist? So is there a sufficient answer on that one?
Pastor Mike Kirkpatrick 00:52
It is a little weird, because reformed is typically associated with infant baptism. And so I think it’s helpful for us to add the Baptist moniker to distinguish ourselves from our paedo Baptist brothers and sisters. But certainly, let’s talk about reformed first and what that means. And so I think John de Witt’s book is pretty helpful, What is the Reformed faith, and I’ll try to just summarize a few points. But the importance of the authority of Scripture, certainly that is, cardinal for anyone who’s reformed, especially against the papacy, it’s against Roman Catholicism, which views you know, tradition on par with scripture. We’re not against tradition, but it’s not on par with scripture. Scripture is our final authority and our ultimate authority, concerning all things that pertain to life and godliness, so the authority of Scripture with that the centrality of worship, that we worship our Triune God, acceptably, according to Hebrews chapter 10, he is a consuming fire, so we must approach him acceptably. That is, according to John, For we worship Him in spirit and in truth. So you don’t get to do anything we want. And when we come together, but we worship him according to his ways, and mainly his words. So we sing the word, we pray the Word, we preach the Word, and we partake of the word in the sacraments, so centrality of worship. And then I guess, as a subheading with that is the centrality of preaching that is the pinnacle of the worship service, God’s speaking to his people, and encouraging them uplifting them calling the elect out of darkness into marvelous light calling sinners to everlasting life. It is by by the word that faith is rot. So preaching is important. And then also as well, the importance of the covenants. That is I have, I think many I’ve heard one, one of my professors say that Reformed theology is Covenant Theology, how does God interact with human beings? Or I guess more precisely, how do we interact with God? And it is by way of covenants, so So those things are central and important. If there’s anything I forgot, I’m sure pastor Butler can can add a few things as far as what reformed is.
Pastor Jim Butler 03:09
I think commitment to the second London confession and the commitment isn’t slavish. It’s not recognizing it as the authority and authority like the Bible. But we believe that confession not insofar as it is biblical, but because it is biblical. We believe that it does teach the truth of those chief doctrines from Scripture. So I think the Reformed Baptist is one that embraces those things that Mike has mentioned. So, you know, I think today it’s quite commonplace for somebody to say I’m a Reformed Baptist, and by that they mean they’re a Calvinist. And I’m not denigrating Calvinism certainly reformed includes Calvinism. But Calvinism is a part of reformed. So as Mike said, Covenant Theology, regulative principle of worship, the sorts of things that we see in our confession of faith, those distinctives that ultimately is, I think, a good working definition of Reformed Baptist. And of course, our our theological forefathers were called particular Baptists, which I personally wouldn’t have a problem with that that sort of nomenclature or that moniker. I think that’s an acceptable and a good name, probably could have saved us a bit of confusion in the 20th and 21st centuries in terms of in terms of the language, Reformed Baptist. So I’ve been here for several years. And it was more commonplace when I first got here than it is now. But the question always came, how can you be reformed and Baptist? So I think the confession of faith is a good starting point. And I think sort of subscription to that confession not loosely, but in what we might call a fuller a strict way is most helpful for definition.
Pastor Mike Kirkpatrick 04:54
And then if I can go on to define Baptists, I think Dr. Renihan has a helpful day definition of what a Baptist is. And I’ll try to paraphrase as best as possible. But he uses the language of a self-confessed proponent of the historical traits of the Baptist movement. And so I think the key thing there is self-confessed. Well, there are a lot of churches that believe and practice believers baptism. They’re not self-confessed as Baptist. And they would not certainly espouse the historical traits and understand the historical movement. And its unfolding, and it’s beginning in the 16th and 1700s, I guess, 1600s. And so I think that’s important, self-confessed, espousing the historical traits. So certainly important for our particular Baptist forefathers was the believers baptism. We don’t practice infant baptism, but also following the Congregationalists and the importance of congregational church polity, as opposed to Presbyterian Church polity. And so I think I think that’s a helpful depth definition of what a Baptist self-confessed proponent of historical movement.
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