How did the church (universal) get to where it is today on this matter of baptism? [Brief survey of church history] Note: Church history is informative, but it is not authoritative. Only Scripture is authoritative. What was the ‘baptism of John’? A baptism of repentance (c.f. Matthew 3:6, 11 / Acts 19:4) Why was Jesus…
Righteousness: “He Gives What He Demands” “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.” (Romans 1:16-17) What is the Gospel? It is established upon a…
Planning with God in mind (James 4:13-17) 13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit” – 14 yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a…
A Parable that Lays out the Problems (v9-18) A parable that says in effect: “You’ve had opportunities…but you haven’t used them. You’ve had warnings…but you haven’t heard them. You had My Son…but you’ve rejected Him. You’re going to die…but you’re not ready.” A Plot Made to Serve God’s Pleasure (19-26) The chief priests & scribes summed up in Luther’s Hymn: “The tyrants…
Two Dangers to our Soul in this matter of Baptism Pride in a (Credo) Baptistic Position 1 Corinthians 4:7 / Jeremiah 9:23 / Rev 2:2, 4 Faithfulness in this area of baptism does not excuse us in other areas of Christian living & doctrine. A Belief in Baptismal Regeneration Defined as the belief that baptism…
A Clash in the Temple & the Composure of the King [Understanding the text] A Clash in the World & the Posture of a Christian Recognize that we will clash with the world on the matter of Authority (c.f. Joshua 24:14-15 / Ps 2:1-3 / 2 Tim 3:16-17 / Acts 5:29) In zeal, exhibit the Character of Christ (c.f. Matthew 10:16 /…