A Baptist study on the Westminster Larger Catechism, Question 40, held at the Old Paths Christian Church on 6 January 2020. Topics include Christology and the Trinity; ancient creeds and councils; Nestorianism and other ancient heresies; Greek philosophy, essentialism, realism, metaphysics and existence; Roman Catholic teaching; the problem of the one and the many; and more!

Q. 40. Why was it requisite that the Mediator should be God and man in one person? 

A. It was requisite that the Mediator, who was to reconcile God and man, should himself be both God and man, and this in one person, that the proper works of each nature might be accepted of God for us,t and relied on by us, as the works of the whole person.u

(t) Matt 1:21,23; Matt 3:17; Heb 9:14
(u) 1 Pet 2:6

Resources

+https://www.chapellibrary.org/book/lbcw/the-london-baptist-confession-of-faith-of-1689-with-preface-baptist-catechism-and-appendix-on-baptism

+https://reformedbrotherhood.com/trb-113-nestorianism/

“Human nature, therefore, although endowed with intelligence and will, may be, and in fact is, in the person of Christ impersonal. That it is so is the plain doctrine of Scripture, for the Son of God, a divine person, assumed a perfect human nature, and, nevertheless, remains one person.” (Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, https://www.ccel.org/ccel/hodge/theology2.html)

+Bruce Shelley, Church History in Plain Language, Fourth Edition Zondervan Academic, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GCG55EM/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_awdb_t1_x_V8cfEbQNFNPY7

+J.N.D. Kelly, Early Christian Doctrines: Revised Edition, https://www.amazon.com/dp/006064334X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_YBnNEbZ1WRQ8W

Roger Olson, The Story of Christian Theology: Twenty Centuries of Tradition & Reform, https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/372001517

+The Distinctiveness of Baptist Covenant Theology: A Comparison Between Seventeenth-Century Particular Baptist and Paedobaptist Federalism [Revised Edition] by Pascal Denault, https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23827777

+Gordon H. Clark, “Atheism,” http://www.trinityfoundation.org/journal.php?id=50

+Gordon H. Clark, The Trinity, http://www.trinitylectures.org/trinity-the-p-78.html; and The Incarnation, http://www.trinitylectures.org/incarnation-the-p-92.html

Carlos and Tim discuss James White’s recent defense of Doug Wilson over against R. Scott Clark; warn against Jason Petersen and Messianic Jewish Ministries; and continue the series on John Piper’s view of final salvation based on the articles, When Protestants Err on the Side of Rome: John Piper, “Final Salvation,” and the Decline and Fall of Sola Fide at the Last Day. They resume Part 2 of the article with:

Fatal Flaw #6: Deadening the Resurrection

References

https://thorncrownministries.com/blog/2018/5/6/john-piper-final-salvation-and-the-decline-and-fall-of-sola-fide-part-i

https://thorncrownministries.com/blog/2018/9/16/john-piper-final-salvation-and-the-decline-and-fall-of-sola-fide-part-ii

- https://www.aomin.org/aoblog/2020/01/28/cruise-details-joe-biden-tim-keller/

https://thorncrownministries.com/srr/2020/2/4/srr-120-Doug-Wilson-nails-his-coffin

https://thorncrownministries.com/srr/2019/12/18/srr-117-Doug-Wilson-Federal-Vision-James-White

- http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p3s1c3a2.htm

-https://youtu.be/l2PMWKmaNSE

https://thorncrownministries.com/blog/2019/9/4/contradictions-are-carnal

Soul Sleep: An Unbiblical Doctrine https://www.amazon.com/dp/1795751495/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_UZuPDbVAD7DR6

https://megiddoradio.com/2018/03/09/312-responding-to-john-pipers-latest-comments-on-final-salvation-by-works

Carlos, Hiram, and Tim announce Pastor Hines’ departure from the ThornCrown Network and discuss the alleged conversion of Kanye West. Is Kanye a true Christian? Is it too soon to tell? Has he passed the Rich Young Ruler test?

References

https://www.faithwire.com/2019/10/07/pastor-working-with-kanye-west-reveals-details-of-rappers-radical-salvation-several-months-ago

Carlos, Tim, and Hiram continue the series on final salvation based on the articles, When Protestants Err on the Side of Rome: John Piper, “Final Salvation,” and the Decline and Fall of Sola Fide at the Last Day. They continue Part 2 of the article with:

Fatal Flaw #6: Deadening the Resurrection

Intro music created by Semiotician, titled "Narratives".

References

https://thorncrownministries.com/blog/2018/5/6/john-piper-final-salvation-and-the-decline-and-fall-of-sola-fide-part-i

https://thorncrownministries.com/blog/2018/9/16/john-piper-final-salvation-and-the-decline-and-fall-of-sola-fide-part-ii

- http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p3s1c3a2.htm

-https://youtu.be/l2PMWKmaNSE

https://thorncrownministries.com/blog/2019/9/4/contradictions-are-carnal

Soul Sleep: An Unbiblical Doctrine https://www.amazon.com/dp/1795751495/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_UZuPDbVAD7DR6

https://megiddoradio.com/2018/03/09/312-responding-to-john-pipers-latest-comments-on-final-salvation-by-works

Hiram Diaz joins Carlos to continue the series based on the articles, When Protestants Err on the Side of Rome: John Piper, “Final Salvation,” and the Decline and Fall of Sola Fide at the Last Day. They continue Part 2 of the article with:

Fatal Flaw #5: Heaven’s Diaspora

Intro and Outro music created by Semiotician. The opening track is titled "Rushing Out":

https://semiotician.bandcamp.com/track/rushing-out

The closing track is titled "The Hills”:

https://semiotician.bandcamp.com/track/the-hills

References

https://thorncrownministries.com/blog/2018/5/6/john-piper-final-salvation-and-the-decline-and-fall-of-sola-fide-part-i

https://thorncrownministries.com/blog/2018/9/16/john-piper-final-salvation-and-the-decline-and-fall-of-sola-fide-part-ii

https://thorncrownministries.com/blog/2019/9/4/contradictions-are-carnal

Soul Sleep: An Unbiblical Doctrine https://www.amazon.com/dp/1795751495/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_UZuPDbVAD7DR6

https://megiddoradio.com/2018/03/09/312-responding-to-john-pipers-latest-comments-on-final-salvation-by-works/

https://thorncrownministries.com/srr/2018/5/23/tpw-7-misusing-reformed-theologians-past-and-present-in-defense-of-john-pipers-false-gospel 

Carlos discusses Joshua Harris’ recent apostasy beyond the surface level by examining his book, Dug Down Deep. The conclusions may surprise you. Several topics are discussed in a critical, systematic theological fashion, including youth ministry, salvation, justification, sanctification, works, the flesh, repentance and faith, Lordship Salvation, bibliology, transcendence and immanence, confronting opposition, grace alone, law and gospel, and more!

https://twitter.com/cemontijo/status/1155348691785519104?s=21

Our hearts and prayers go out to brother Richard Bennett’s family:

https://bereanbeacon.org

Heidelberg Catechism Q. 26. 

What believest thou when thou sayest, "I believe in God the Father, Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth"?

A. That the eternal Father of our Lord Jesus Christ (who of nothing made heaven and earth, with all that is in them;a who likewise upholds and governs the same by his eternal counsel and providence)b is for the sake of Christ his Son, my God and my Father;c on whom I rely so entirely, that I have no doubt, but he will provide me with all things necessary for soul and bodyd and further, that he will make whatever evils he sends upon me, in this valley of tears turn out to my advantage;e for he is able to do it, being Almighty God,f and willing, being a faithful Father.g

References

+ Divided the movie, https://youtu.be/3fKsWait2pE

+ http://www.trinitylectures.org/what-is-saving-faith-p-60.html

+ https://thorncrownministries.com/blog/2017/04/06/knowledge-faith-marks-true-clarkian

+ https://thorncrownministries.com/srr/2017/02/23/srr-33-deal-lordship-salvation

+ https://thorncrownministries.com/srr/2017/03/09/srr-35-lordship-salvation-controversy-really-saved

+ https://thorncrownministries.com/srr/2018/6/10/srr-83-what-is-doing-the-will-of-my-father-in-heaven-and-demonic-faith

+ https://thorncrownministries.com/polemics

+ https://medium.com/christian-intellectual/the-jesus-storybook-bible-ignores-authorial-intent-to-build-its-own-narrative-41001ab988c4

+ https://www.wretched.org/07-29-2019/

+ http://www.aomin.org/aoblog/2019/08/07/joshua-harris-rainbow-adventure-religious-freedom-critical-theory-and-the-founders-trailer/

Carlos and Tim catch up on emails, recent events, personal updates, and controversies about Apologetics and the Jeff Durbin/Andy Stanley exchange, School dress ups and gender, Christians and entertainment, Roman Catholic Baptism and Presbyterians, Charles Hodge and JH Thornwell, Richard Gaffin and Justification, and Piper and being Counted Righteous in Christ.

Charles Hodge on the Roman Catholic Church:

Indeed it is a matter of devout thankfulness to God that underneath the numerous grievous and destructive errors of the Romish Church, the great truths of the Gospel are preserved. The Trinity, the true divinity of Christ, the true doctrine concerning his person as God and man in two distinct natures and one person forever, salvation through his blood, regeneration and sanctification through the almighty power of the Spirit, the resurrection of the body, and eternal life, are doctrines on which the people of God in that communion live, and have produced such saintly men as St. Bernard, Fenelon, and doubtless thousands of others who are of the number of God’s elect. (John Robbins, http://www.trinityfoundation.org/journal.php?id=228)

References

https://thorncrownministries.com/blog/2018/5/6/john-piper-final-salvation-and-the-decline-and-fall-of-sola-fide-part-i

https://thorncrownministries.com/blog/2018/9/16/john-piper-final-salvation-and-the-decline-and-fall-of-sola-fide-part-ii

http://www.trinitylectures.org/sacramental-sorcery-p-161.html

http://www.trinitylectures.org/emperor-has-no-clothes-the-p-182.html

CALVIN ON THE VALIDITY OF 'ROMISH' BAPTISM, http://www.semperreformanda.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Calvin-on-the-Validity-of-Romish-Baptism-Dr.-F.N.-Lee.pdf

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2810687752

https://youtu.be/BnS5Z-A_5jA

http://www.ironsharpensironradio.com/podcast/september-1-2017-show-with-david-j-engelsma-on-the-gospel-truth-of-justification-proclaimed-defended-developed/

https://biblethumpingwingnut.com/2019/04/29/endgame/

Dallas Exhibits

https://www.biblicalarts.org

https://dma.org

https://buc-ees.com/index.php

http://easttexaszoo.com

http://creationevidence.org/

http://adamantbeliever.com

https://www.exministries.com

Carlos and Tim continue their series based on the articles, When Protestants Err on the Side of Rome: John Piper, “Final Salvation,” and the Decline and Fall of Sola Fide at the Last Day. They begin Part 2 of the article with:

Fatal Flaw #4: The Active Obedience and Congruous Merit of the Believer

References

https://thorncrownministries.com/blog/2018/5/6/john-piper-final-salvation-and-the-decline-and-fall-of-sola-fide-part-i

https://thorncrownministries.com/blog/2018/9/16/john-piper-final-salvation-and-the-decline-and-fall-of-sola-fide-part-ii

 https://megiddoradio.com/2018/03/09/312-responding-to-john-pipers-latest-comments-on-final-salvation-by-works/

https://thorncrownministries.com/srr/2017/05/04/heresy-apostasy-false-teaching-oh

https://thorncrownministries.com/srr/2018/5/23/tpw-7-misusing-reformed-theologians-past-and-present-in-defense-of-john-pipers-false-gospel 

Carlos interviews Steve Matthews on his excellent book, Imagining a Vain Thing: The Decline and Fall of Knox Seminary: 

 http://www.trinitylectures.org/imagining-vain-thing-p-170.html

This exposé by a former Knox student demonstrates how neglecting the historical grammatical hermeneutic of the Reformation leads to all sorts of fanciful eisegesis and ultimately heresy. A case in point is Warren Gage, the John-Revelation Project, and the controversy surrounding the medieval hermeneutics he taught at Knox Theological Seminary. It's a shame when such fiascos in reformed institutions are not resolved biblically.

This is a very informative and insightful book, and I learned new things about Reformed hermeneutics, including an enlightening discussion about typology and Marsh's dictum. A must read!

References

+http://trinityfoundation.org/journal.php?id=305

 +http://trinityfoundation.org/journal.php?id=316

+ https://imaginingavainthing.wordpress.com/

Carlos and Tim continue their series based on the articles, When Protestants Err on the Side of Rome: John Piper, “Final Salvation,” and the Decline and Fall of Sola Fide at the Last Day. They cover:

Fatal Flaw #2: To Be, Or Not To Be Saved

Fatal Flaw #3: The Analytic Justification of the Believer

References

• https://thorncrownministries.com/blog/2018/5/6/john-piper-final-salvation-and-the-decline-and-fall-of-sola-fide-part-i

• https://thorncrownministries.com/blog/2018/9/16/john-piper-final-salvation-and-the-decline-and-fall-of-sola-fide-part-ii

• https://thorncrownministries.com/srr/2017/02/23/srr-33-deal-lordship-salvation

• https://thorncrownministries.com/srr/2017/03/09/srr-35-lordship-salvation-controversy-really-saved

Carlos and Tim continue their series based on the articles, When Protestants Err on the Side of Rome: John Piper, “Final Salvation,” and the Decline and Fall of Sola Fide at the Last Day. They cover Fatal Flaw #1: Justified by Faith at First, Saved by Works at Last in this episode.

References

• https://thorncrownministries.com/blog/2018/5/6/john-piper-final-salvation-and-the-decline-and-fall-of-sola-fide-part-i

• https://thorncrownministries.com/blog/2018/9/16/john-piper-final-salvation-and-the-decline-and-fall-of-sola-fide-part-ii

• https://thorncrownministries.com/srr/2017/02/23/srr-33-deal-lordship-salvation

• https://thorncrownministries.com/srr/2017/03/09/srr-35-lordship-salvation-controversy-really-saved

• https://www.logos.com/product/30788/covenant-and-communion-the-biblical-theology-of-pope-benedict-xvi

Carlos and Tim begin a series based on the articles, When Protestants Err on the Side of Rome: John Piper, “Final Salvation,” and the Decline and Fall of Sola Fide at the Last Day. In this episode they discuss justification, faith as “The Instrumental Copula,” “The Last Days of Evangelicalism,” and Michael Horton.

References

• https://thorncrownministries.com/blog/2018/5/6/john-piper-final-salvation-and-the-decline-and-fall-of-sola-fide-part-i

• https://thorncrownministries.com/blog/2018/9/16/john-piper-final-salvation-and-the-decline-and-fall-of-sola-fide-part-ii

• https://thorncrownministries.com/srr/2017/02/23/srr-33-deal-lordship-salvation

• https://thorncrownministries.com/srr/2017/03/09/srr-35-lordship-salvation-controversy-really-saved

• https://www.logos.com/product/30788/covenant-and-communion-the-biblical-theology-of-pope-benedict-xvi

This program is a play by play analysis of Dr. Nate Collins' talk at the Revoice Conference in St. Louis at Memorial Presbyterian Church on the topic of "Lament."

In this episode of The Protestant Witness, Pastor Patrick Hines responds to John Piper's recent attempt to clarify his position on justification and final salvation. 

What the true Arminian Remonstrance taught might shock you. In this episode of "The Protestant Witness" we cover the first head of doctrine concerning Divine Predestination

Join Tim, Carlos and Joseph Rios for a controversial episode, as they take a stand on this issue concerning the "Bible Answer Man." Listen in as Semper Reformanda Radio takes up the defense of Pulpit and Pen in how they called out Hank Hanegraaff and gives their perspective of heretics, apostates, and false teachers. Stay tuned until the end to find out why heretics win battles and hear how Paul the Apostle dealt with those who obscure the gospel. At 1 hour and 30 minutes into the episode, one of our member's states, I think we should be as charitable as the old testament says to be with people who lead people astray from God. At 1 hour and 33 minutes, another member mentions that they would stone false prophets to death and he goes on to explain how he believes that the punishment for those who bring a false gospel is far worse in the light of Galatians 1:6-11.

We need to make it clear that we are not Theonomist and do not believe that false teachers should be stoned as they were in the Old Testament. We must caution that under the Old Testament the Jewish nation could freely exercise the civil power of the sword. Tim Kauffman has pointed out that Roman Catholicism misunderstood the role of the church when it started using the civil sword against heretics starting in the latter part of the fourth century. He offers this caution to the three of us who participated in this episode. "I know the participants on the episode were being hyperbolic, but it almost came across as advocating corporal punishment for heretics. I would caution against such suggestions. It may not actually come across that way to the average listener. My ears are pretty finely tuned to the use of civil power by ecclesiastical authorities, and it never ends well, but I'm glad you came to the defense of Pulpit & Pen on this issue. Very important to stand firm." We thank him for his insight and wholeheartedly agree.

We would also like to congratulate Ryan Dozier on winning the set of books offered in last week's drawing. We also want to thank all those who participated and shared our episode. We hope to have more drawings in the future to show our appreciation for our listeners.

http://trinityfoundation.org/journal.php?id=207

Questions? Comments? Feedback? Find us on Facebook or email us at semper.reformanda.radio@gmail.com