Well, thank you very much for being here today. Muchos gracias para estar aquí hoy. We're discussing the issue of Baptist identity. Discutir el asunto de identidad bautista. We are distinguishing Baptist identity from Baptist distinctives. Estamos distinguiendo la identidad bautista de los distintivos bautistas. Baptist identity is a much more comprehensive idea about how to look at Baptist life. La idea de identidad bautista es una idea más complejo para ver la vida bautista. As we will see today, Baptist distinctives are a part of Baptist identity. Como vamos a ver hoy, distintivos bautistas son parte de la identidad bautista. We looked, first of all, at the issue of orthodoxy. Primero vemos el asunto de ortodoxia. We talked about God as a revealing God. Hablamos de Dios como Dios que revela, que revela quien es. We talked about the issue of the trinity. Hablamos del asunto de trinidad. We talked about the deity and humanity of Christ. Hablamos de la deidad y humanidad de Cristo. And then we began talking about Baptists are evangelical. And we dealt a little bit more with the idea of the inspiration of scripture. So now we have begun to talk about the issue of justification by faith. We talked about how people are saved only by grace. This grace is are communicated to us in our minds by the Word of God. So faith comes by hearing. Today we want to continue looking at this issue of evangelicalism. And we will start with the idea that there's the necessity of an immediate operation of the work of the Spirit of God for salvation. And we will start with the idea that there's the necessity of an immediate operation of the work of the Spirit of God for salvation. And we will start with the idea that there's the necessity of an immediate operation of the work of the Spirit of God for salvation. And we will start with the idea that there's the necessity of an immediate operation of the work of the Spirit of God for salvation. And we will start with the idea that there's the necessity of an immediate operation of the work of the Spirit of God for salvation. And we will start with the idea that there's the necessity of an immediate operation of the Spirit of God for salvation. And we will start with the idea that there's the necessity of an immediate operation of the Spirit of God for salvation. And we will start with the idea that there's the necessity of an immediate operation of the Spirit of God for salvation. And we will start with the idea that there's the necessity of an immediate operation of That is effectual calling and sanctification. You could also look at the work of the Spirit in the life of the church. And how he gives gifts to all believers for the edifying of the body of Christ. But we will focus mainly on these two issues of effectual calling and sanctification. Effectual calling is called that, effectual, because it is something that actually gives what it intends to give. Look, it's a Yama yamamento effect also porque es esto tiene un efecto y causa y tener este efecto que hace lo que propone de hacer. Factual calling is not just the offering of salvation by the Holy Spirit. Look, yeah, my mentor effect also not so limitless office sendo la salvación por espíritu santo. but is the actual granting of a changed heart by the power of the Holy Spirit. We do not get regenerated by having faith, but we get faith by being regenerated. Here is what one Baptist theologian has said about the issue of effectual calling. Until a man is given life and renewed by the Holy Spirit, And by the way, this is the Second London Confession, chapter eight. I'll let you find it. I got it. So, until a man is given life and renewed by the Holy Spirit, he is dead in sins and trespasses. What paragraph are you in? Well, let's say, oh, no, no, no. I'm sorry. All right. Second London Confession, Chapter 10, Section 2, unless I made my notes wrong. Sorry. Got it. No worries. Is that what it says? Uh-huh. He said, I said, Okay, so is entirely passive in this work of salvation. As seen to enter into the placebo, I'll start working on since the latest epicals. a work that does not proceed from anything good foreseen in him, nor from any power or agency resident in him." Would you like to just go ahead and read the rest of the next couple lines, as the case vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv Uh, now the New Hampshire confession says this. Look, confession in New Hampshire, the West. Oh, we believe that in order to be saved, we must be regenerated or born again. Cremos. Okay. But I said, Salvo, Timo's guess. They're regenerated or not still in Nuevo. that regeneration consists in giving a holy disposition to the mind, and is effected in a manner above our comprehension or calculation. by the power of the Holy Spirit in connection with divine truth, so as to secure our voluntary obedience to the gospel, and that its proper evidence, is found in the holy fruit which we bring forth to the glory of God. So we see how the New Hampshire Confession combines effectual calling and sanctification. As a work of the Spirit that begins in the sinner's heart and then continues until the time of his death. So let's look at some of what the Second London Confession says about sanctification. Now, I don't have my particular reference. I got it. You start reading, I'll find it. Okay. They who are united to Christ, effectually called and regenerated, Aquellos que están unidos a Cristo son llamados eficazmente y regenerados, having a new heart and a new spirit created in them, teniendo un nuevo corazón y un nuevo espíritu creados en ellos, through the virtue of Christ's resurrection, en el virtud de la muerte y resurrección de Cristo, And that phrase means by the same power that raised Christ from the dead. Este frase quiere decir el mismo poder que levantó Cristo entre los muertos. As Paul argues in Ephesians 1. Como Pablo argumenta en Efesios 1. Are also further sanctified really and personally. Son aún más sanctificados de un modo real y personal. through the same virtue by his word and spirit dwelling in them. Mediante la misma virtud por su palabra y espíritu que mora en ellos. Now I skipped some and I pick up at this next phrase. It begins, although true believers be not under the law. Okay. Got it? Yep. Although true believers be not under the law as a covenant of works, Hold on just a second. Como los verdaderos creentes no siendo bajo la ley como una obra, como un pacto de obras, perdón, no están bajo la ley como un pacto de obras. To be thereby justified or condemned. Para ser justificado o condenado. Yet it is of great use to them as well as to others. Pero es de gran uso a ellos a otros también. This is talking about one of the uses of the law. Está hablando de los usos de la ley. In that as a rule of life in forming them of the will of God. Como una regla de vida para formarlos en la voluntad de Dios. And their duty. Y su deber. It directs and binds them to walk accordingly, discovering also the sinful pollutions of their natures, hearts, and lives. So as examining them thereby, para examinarlos entonces, they may come to further conviction of, humiliation for, and hatred against sin. Ellos llegan aún más a la convicción de humillación de y convicción de los pecados. So this is sort of normal Protestant evangelicalism set within a reformed context. Ese es evangelismo o evangélicos normal puesto en un contexto reformado. And is a part of evangelical identity in Baptists. Y es un parte de la identidad evangélico en los bautistas. Now, the next part of evangelicalism has to do specifically with the work of Christ. So we affirm the necessity and completeness of the work of Christ. Now this is in the Second London Confession, Chapter 11, Paragraph 3. This is in the Second London Confession, Chapter 11, Paragraph 3. By his obedience and death, Christ paid in full the debt of all those who are justified. Cristo, por su obediencia y muerte, salvó totalmente la deuda de todos aquellos que son justificados. By the sacrifice of himself in his bloodshedding on Calvary, y por el sacrificio de sí mismo en la sangre de su cruz, and his suffering on their behalf of the penalty they had incurred, sufriendo en el lugar de ellos el castigo que mereceran. He fully and absolutely satisfied all the claims which God's justice had upon them. Satisficio, adecuada, real, y completamente a la justicia de Dios en favor de ellos. Yet their justification is altogether a free grace. Sin embargo, por cuanto Cristo fue dado por el Padre por ellos, su justificación es completamente por la gracia libre. Firstly, because Christ It was the free gift of the Father to act on their behalf. Primeramente que Cristo fue el dadiva gratis de Dios para actuar, o libre de Dios para actuar en su lugar. Secondly, because Christ's obedience and his satisfying the demands of the law was freely accepted on their behalf. Segundo porque Cristo su evidencia y su justificación a la ley en su lugar. God's exact justice and his rich grace la riqueza exacta de Dios, perdón, la precisa justicia como la rica gracia de Dios, are alike rendered glorious in the justification of sinners. Fueron glorificadas en la justicia de los pegadores. Now, let me say, just make a remark about why that article is framed as it is. The first half of it talks about how our payment is paid absolutely in accordance with God's justice. And some people object if God's full justice is satisfied, then our salvation is not something given to us freely. It would be owed to us by the justice of God. Well, it is true that God's exact justice had to be satisfied. But there did not have to be any kind of covenant of grace in eternity to provide such salvation. So the freeness of it is pushed back into eternity. La libertad de este está puesto en eternidad. In the father's giving of the son. En el padre dando su hijo. In the son's determination to come and die for the people that God the Father gave him. En la determinación del hijo de venir a morir por los que el padre le había dado. and because nothing in the sinners themselves deserved this. Y porque nada en los pecadores mismos merecía esto. Therefore, salvation is free and totally a result of the love of the Father and the death of the Son and the efficacious work of the Spirit. Entonces, la salvación dado de Dios es completamente libre en la elección del Padre, la muerte del Hijo y el llamamiento eficaz del Espíritu Santo. Good. All right, let's look now at another element of evangelicalism. Vamos a ver otro elemento de evangelismo. That is what I call conversion above nurture. At bottom, this means that we look for people to be converted by the Spirit of God. We do not think that we can educate people into conversion. Now that does not mean that we do not preach the word or teach people the truth. Because we believe that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. But if a person is to be converted, it must be by an operation of the Spirit of God on his soul. It's possible for a person to know many things about the scripture and even to believe that those things are true without having a heart. Go ahead. without having an affection for those things. It's possible for a person to believe that Jesus actually is the Son of God, even as the devils do, but have no genuine faith in Him arising out of a love for what He has done. Pero no tenía ni un fe en él saliendo de un amor por lo que él ha hecho. So different from many denominations that baptize their infants. Diferente de muchas denominaciones que bautizan sus infantes. And suppose that they will simply grow up to be Christians. Y se pone que van a crecer a ser cristianos. Although we train our children, we look for a genuine conversion given by the Spirit of God. Therefore, that's why I call a part of our evangelicalism, conversion above nurture. Por eso llamo parte de nuestro evangélico, siendo evangélicos, conversión arriba de naturaleza. And so we do have nurture for the purpose of truth-based conversion. Cristian, ¿cómo se dice nurture? A training, a purposeful training. But we do not consider the nurture itself the same thing as conversion. All right. That's what I deal with under the statement of evangelicalism. Now, are there any questions about that? People can accept what we are offering, but that is not conversion. For example, when the Presbyterians baptize their children, they are superimposing nature to conversion. That is, contrary to what Dr. Tom just told us. How do they do it? I don't understand that point, because in evangelicalism, He says, according to what you've just taught, we understand that. And as Baptists, it's very easy to see. But how in the world do the Presbyterians understand that? I think the Presbyterians are schizophrenic on that point. They have a strong doctrine of effectual calling and the necessity of conversion. But they believe that the covenantal relationship of baptism places their children within the covenant of grace until they deny it. So adverse to their confession, They believe in a kind of falling from grace. I've spoken to Presbyterians about this many times, and they have said that they don't want their children ever to think of themselves as anything other than Christians. I've spoken to Presbyterians about this many times, and they have said that they don't want their children ever to think of themselves as anything other than Christians. I've spoken to Presbyterians about this many times, and they have said that they don't want their children ever to think of themselves as anything other than Christians. I've spoken to Presbyterians about this many times, and they have said that they don't want their children ever to think of themselves as anything other than Christians. I've spoken to Presbyterians about this many times, and they have said that they don't want their children ever to think of themselves as anything other than Christians. I've spoken to Presbyterians about this many times, and they have said that they don't want their children ever to think of themselves as anything other than Christians. I'll inject something here. Their doctrine shows it. Thomas Watson asks, what is the effect of baptism? This is a great Puritan. On point number three, he says this. The child baptized is under a special care and providence. El niño bautizado está abajo de un cuidado especial y providencial. More special of Christ, más especial de Cristo. That designs a tutelage of angels, que diseña una tutela de ángeles. that he would be kept, that they would keep the salvation of the infant. Que cuide la salvación del infante. And then they believe they can lose that. Y creen que pueden perder esto. Yeah, well, if angels are the only ones keeping it, then they certainly will lose it. Si los ángeles son los únicos que lo cuiden, entonces ciertamente van a perderlo. Amen. Okay, and I say that not to make fun of my wonderful Presbyterian friends at all. I just think it's a theological inconsistency. And it was precisely against that point that Baptists moved from this sort of the that infant baptism reform view into Baptist life. Es este punto que lleva los bautistas a salir del punto de vista de reformado de bautismo de infantes al punto bautista. All right, let's look at the next point, then, unless there's something else that we really need to say there. Vamos a ver el siguiente punto, si están listos. Now, this next point is something that probably many people within Baptist life are hesitant about. But I want to affirm that Baptists are confessional and catechetical. Yes. Baptists have not had a creed that defined the entire denomination, such as the Presbyterians have had. But that does not mean that they have not seen the usefulness of confessions But this does not mean that they have not seen the importance of the use of confessions. Both for making clear their views of biblical truth and for achieving unity within their various associations. For both, making clear what they believe, and second, keeping unity between their relationships. And also Baptists have practiced the use of catechetical instruction in order to communicate with precision. The truth to which the heart must be conformed in the experience of faith. The Philadelphia Association encouraged the use of catechisms in the homes. That was the first Baptist association in America. And they reprinted the Baptist catechism to give to their churches for this purpose. Ellos imprimieron el catecismo bautista para dar a sus iglesias para instruir. Charles Spurgeon used a version of the Baptist catechism in instructing the children in his church. Carlos Spurgeon usó una versión del catecismo bautista para instruir a los niños en su iglesia. And he encouraged the parents to use this catechism at home. And he also encouraged the parents to use this catechism at home. Richard Furman, who was pastor of the First Baptist Church of Charleston. Richard Furman was pastor of the First Baptist Church of Charleston, North Carolina. which was the first Baptist church in the South, required that family members teach their children the catechism. And once a quarter would bring all the children before the congregation to ask them the questions that they were to have memorized that quarter. And he would ask them questions from the youngest to the eldest concerning the catechetical responses. One of the ladies who actually was in a group like that has left a testimony about its effect. She said that sometimes he would ask the youngest ones and they would respond in a very soft voice. And then Furman would say, a little louder, my child. Then the child would speak much too loudly, much to the amusement of the congregation. We could give other examples of Baptist pastors and associations that used catechism as a means of teaching biblical truth. We can give other examples and stories about the Baptists who used catechism to show the truth. All right, now I want to look at the Baptist use of confessions of faith. Ahora quiero ver el punto de vista bautista de confesión de fe. Hey, Brother Tom, will you answer just a quick question here? Sure. Will you explain what a catechism is? Some of these guys might not know. I don't think there would be one that would know, but they might only associate it with Catholicism. Right. Some people think that catechisms usually are a substitute for true faith. Because they're used in Anglicanism and in Catholicism before confirmation. And once the child can memorize a certain number of the catechetical responses, they are confirmed. But Baptists have not used it for that purpose. Baptists use it because of their understanding of faith coming by hearing. Faith is not an empty emotional response. It is something that focuses on substantial reality of truth. If we have faith, it will be in Jesus Christ, his person and work. And so the catechism is given in order to put that kind of understanding in the mind to help with expression of faith. I mean, um, real quick, I'm gonna, I'm gonna, I'm gonna say something real quick here. Brother Randall has written a reformed Baptist catechism, hermano Randall escribió una catechismo reformado bautista, it's the only catechism I know of that deals with the church. It's the only catechism I know that deals with the Church. And we're working on getting it translated for you. We're working on getting it translated for you. And it's in the format of a family devotion guide. It's in the format of a family guide, so that you can give it to the people in your churches, so that you can give it to the people in your church, and it'll be a whole plan of their week's worth of family devotion. and it will be a whole plan for his family devotional week in the church. So we're hoping to get that out soon. We're hoping to produce this soon. Good. Bueno. Amen. A good idea. So let's look now at the issue of confessions of faith. Let's look at the issue of confession of faith. In Baptist life, this looks at two elements, which I think is a much more full understanding of confession that is had in non-Baptist congregations. Because it relates, first of all, to cognitive understanding Porque relaciona primeramente al entendimiento cognitivo. And second, to an experiential acquaintance with the leading truths of the gospel. Segundo, una relación experiencial con el evangelio. These two are put together in the book of Romans chapter 10. Esos dos son juntados en el libro de Romanos capítulo 10. Where the apostle Paul summarizes it with If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. So there is the truth, the belief with the mind of the cognitive truth about who Jesus is. And the fact that the affections have fully embraced that cognitive truth. Believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead. So let's look just a bit at this idea of cognitive understanding. John says in 1 John 4, verses 2 and 3, By this you may know the Spirit of God. Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. En eso conoce el Espíritu de Dios. Todo espíritu que confese de Jesucristo ha venido de encarne es de Dios. Y todo espíritu que no confesa que Jesucristo ha venido de encarne no es de Dios. So that is a very strong and important point of cognitive understanding as to who Jesus actually is. And if a person does not believe that truth with the mind, then he cannot be from God. And so we insist on some level of actual cognitive understanding and mental belief of those propositions revealed in Scripture. And it is in a confession of faith that we have those truths synthesized according to various subjects. We do not substitute the confession of faith for biblical exposition. But a confession of faith can help us with our exposition by showing how these passages of Scripture are synthesized with the entire canon of Scripture. ¿Pero una confesión de fe puede ayudarnos en la exposición de la palabra mostrándonos cómo están puestos esas verdades en el contexto de toda la Escritura? Should I expand that some or is that? That would probably be a good idea. There are certain statements of scripture which, if left standing alone, would seem to teach heresy. Hay unos dichos de escritura que, si tomamos afuera de ese contexto, parece que enseña herejía. For example. Por ejemplo. The father is greater than I. In what sense does he mean that? Some could say, well, Jesus is inferior to the father in essence. In fact, this is what Arius in the third century taught, that Jesus was of a different essence from the Father. Another scripture says, I and the Father are one. Now that could be taken in an orthodox sense, that we are of the same essence, Este puede ser tomado en un sentido ortodoxo, que somos de la misma esencia. Or someone like Sebelius could say that the son is merely a modal expression of the father. O alguien como Sebelius puede decir que el hijo solo es una expresión de modo del padre. but we build a doctrine of who Christ is from putting together all the various expressions we have about him, both from his own words and from the apostles. So, nosotros juntamos una doctrina de Cristo de los dos, de sus propias palabras y la doctrina de los apóstoles. And it is a confession of faith that helps us synthesize all of those things into a doctrine of who Jesus Christ is. So that is not to substitute for our own stewardship of the word. But it can help us understand how others with whom God has gifted the church understood those ideas. So in a confession of faith, we get something of the flavor of what Augustine believed. And God has given Augustine to the church only one time. In a confession of faith, we can understand something of what Calvin believed about these scriptures as they are put together. In a confession of faith, we can understand something of what Calvin believed about these scriptures. And God has given only one John Calvin to the church. And God has given only one John Calvin to the church. In a confession of faith, we can understand something about what Martin Luther said those passages meant. And God has given only one Martin Luther to the church. So in a confession of faith, we're able to harvest the truths that God's gifts to the church have bequeathed to us. En un confesión de fe podemos tomar a cosecha de la verdad de los escritores que Dios nos ha dado. Now, you are free to disagree with a confession of faith. Estás libre, completamente libre de estar de acuerdo con una confesión de fe. You need to be sure that your exegesis of scripture is superior to that that is reflected in the confessional article. And if a confession of faith is a part of the unity you have with other brethren, One should make sure that you're involved in a corporate discussion about that before you simply state your disagreement. Y si tu confesión es parte de lo que causa la relación entre otros, debes tener una conversación con esos otros antes que declaras en contra de tu confesión. We are dealing with that particular issue in Southern Baptist life right now, in fact. Should I say more, or is that teasing out enough? I think that's good. I think that was very good. Thank you. Okay. And so cognitive understanding is one of the things that we look for in the confession of faith. But Baptists also want to have a personal confession of belief in those things. We want not only to have a doctrine of sin, but we want a person to express the condemning power of personal sin in his life. We don't want only to say that Christ has died, the just for the unjust, and that his death was the result, actually, of his perfect obedience. No solamente queremos decir que Jesús murió, el justo por injusto, y también que era suficiente su muerte. But we want someone to confess that they sent their hopeless estate without the death and righteousness of Christ. Pero queremos que alguien confesa su vida sin esperanza, sin la obra de Cristo. We don't want a person only to say that they believe Jesus is Lord and thus God. No solamente queremos que la gente decir que Jesús es Señor y entonces Dios. But we want to hear them say that therefore they trust him and will obey his commands. Pero queremos escuchar que ellos confían en él y van a obedecer sus mandamientos. We do not want a person only to say that God gives eternal life to believers. No solamente queremos que una persona decir que Dios da la vida a pecadores. We want to hear At least to some degree, their own personal hope of eternal life. Pero también queremos escuchar a un grado su esperanza personal en Jesucristo. So in our affirming confession of faith, we affirm those two things. Entonces, en nuestra confirmando la confesión de fe, confirmamos esas dos cosas. That is, the cognitive understanding of the totality of Scripture as much as possible. And the submission and love of the heart for those truths that are thus revealed. I want to read just one. I know our time is gone, so this will be the last thing before some questions. I can come back next week and finish this, if you don't mind. That's good. If that would fit in with your schedule. I don't want to usurp what you're doing. We can have you back next week, sir. Okay. B.H. Carroll, who was the founder of the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, taught a course in the English Bible. This is for those who could not take the original languages of Greek and Hebrew. But he wanted them to have a full and comprehensive understanding of the whole Bible. And in his commentary on the book of Ephesians, that speaking about the great unities of the faith. He has a very strong statement about the usefulness of confessions and creeds. I'll read this sentence by sentence, not to be tedious, but just to make sure that our translator is not overwhelmed. He says, all the modern hue and cry against dogma is really against morals. Todo el clamor y burla rechazo moderno de la dogma es en realidad en contra de morales. The more we reduce the number of creed articles, the more we undermine practical religion. Más que quitamos de las frases y dichos de los creedos, más quitamos de la mente cristiana. So you can see that this understanding of both the cognitive aspect and the confessional practical aspect. He goes on. Neither Christ nor the apostles predicate morals on any other than a doctrinal foundation. ¿Ni Cristo ni los Apóstoles crece la doctrina sobre moral o otra cosa? Neither Christ nor the Apostles predicate morals on any other than a doctrinal foundation. ¿Que cualquier otro base doctrinal? And what one of the doctrines in the three preceding chapters, that is, of Ephesians, Can we omit from our creed without omitting something profitable in our life? A Christian's creed should enlarge and not diminish up to the last utterance of Revelation in order that each article might be transmitted into experience. A church with a little creed is a church with a little life. Una iglesia con un credo pequeño es una iglesia con una vida pequeña. The more divine doctrines a church can agree on, the greater its power. La más doctrinas divinas que una iglesia puede estar de acuerdo a más su poder. And the wider its usefulness. Y la más ancho su utilidad. The fewer its articles of faith, the fewer its bonds of union and compactness. The modern cry, less creed and more liberty. is a degeneration from the vertebrate to the jellyfish. I don't know how to say jellyfish. Yeah, we got it. And it means less unity and less morality and more heresy. Quiere decir menos unidad, menos moralidad y más herejía. Definitive truth does not create heresy. La verdad definitiva no crea herejía. It only exposes and corrects. Solo expone y correge. Shut off the creed. And the Christian world would fill up with heresy. Unsuspected and uncorrected, but nonetheless deadly. to hold discipline for immoralities and relax it on doctrine. puts the cart before the horse and attempts to heal a stream while leaving the fountain impure. Trata, se pone el carrito enfrente del caballo y trata a sanar un río chiquito y deja la fuente abierto. Very solemnly, I would warn the reader against any teaching that decries doctrines. or which would reduce the creed of the church into two or three articles. We are entitled to no liberty in these matters. It is a positive and very hurtful sin to magnify liberty at the expense of doctrine. Es positivo y una lastima de pecado quitar doctrina. A creed is what we believe. Un credo es lo que creemos. A confession of faith is a declaration of what we believe. Una confesión es una declaración de lo que creemos. The church must both believe and declare. La iglesia debe creer y declarar. The longest creed of history. El credo más largo de historia. Is more valuable and less hurtful than the shortest. Tiene más valor y hace daño menos que más corto. So spoke B.H. Carroll. Así dijo B.H. Carroll. Wow. Yeah, all right. Any questions? Yeah, will you email me that? What a great statement by Carol. Yeah, I'll send that to you. I have a word of encouragement. Tengo un palabra de animo. Seems to be the history of the Southern Baptist Convention. to depart from what we just heard. The confession they hold to just gets smaller. They say less and less and less. I'm not sure why they don't just hold to the second London confession. But their present confession doesn't say much of anything. So then what happens with that, um, line of thought. You look at church web pages and under their section for doctrine or what we believe, they don't say anything. And so there's all this confusion throughout the denomination. And so for pastors like myself and for you guys, we would be better served to say more. Know what you believe. Write out what you believe. Explain to your church what you hold to. The more you can state and teach your people, the stronger your church is going to be. Have a view on what your soteriology is. Ecclesiology, and so on and so forth. We have a Bible given to us by God. Pastors ought to study this Bible. We ought to know what we believe about the things that matter. We need to state those things unapologetically to our churches. And as a result, we work together with other local churches who believe the same things. And we encourage one another and steer one another on to good works. That's a small word of encouragement. Amen, brother. Let me tell you guys something that happened this week. We had to send out a letter, our church this week, of someone who is going to be removed from membership. And here the elders of the church, we met together and and looked at what a church member is. Y vemos que es un miembro de una iglesia. And our confession, the Second London Confession, nuestra confesión, la segunda confesión de Londres, defines this so clearly. Lo define tan claramente. So if we're trying to work in our churches, si estamos tratando a ver nuestra iglesia, and we can study the scriptures, estudiamos las escrituras, and come to a conclusion. conclusion of what a church member is, you got a conclusion, they look as a member of that glacier. The second London Confession says this, the members of these churches are saints by calling. It says, visibly manifesting and evidencing in and by their profession and walking. Dice, en una forma visible manifestación y evidenciendo por su profesión de su fe y conducto, their obedience unto that call of Christ, su obediencia a este llamamiento de Cristo, and do willingly consent to walk together, y dice aquí, y voluntariamente acuerdan andar juntos. These people decided not to walk together. Esta gente decidieron a no andar juntos, so they can no longer be a member. Ya no pueden ser miembro. If we have a robust confession, si tenemos un confesión completo, then we can work and serve our churches better. I love what BH Carroll said there, brother. You might have any questions for brother Tom this morning. Dr. Nettles doesn't need to answer it today since he'll be back next week. I'm sure some of the some of the brothers the pastors on the call probably have questions as well. So I'll spit this out pretty quick. How would Dr. Nettles give distinctions between what confession would be necessary unto salvation versus what confession is necessary unto introduction into church membership versus what confession would be necessary for a man ordained to the ministry in that church, what confession should be necessary for the the fellowship amongst churches, you know, there's going to be distinctions between that. I'd just be interested to hear him speak to that a bit. Well, I think that the question is perceptive in that it does see different levels of knowledge for different functions within the body of Christ. And so without going into sort of full explanations of each of these, Not that I could give a full explanation of any of them. But we see for a person to be received into membership, there has to be some sort of union between his experience and the very basic understanding of Christ's person and work. A person also should be committed to being taught in accordance with a larger confession of faith. This is one of the things that a confession of faith serves in a church is so all members know This is what I'm going to hear, and this is what they're driving me toward. Those who are to be officers within a church, either deacons or elders, must have a full working of the confession of faith and conscientiously commit to its truths. Deben saber de la confesión de fe y saber la obra de la confesión de fe. It's very clear from 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus. Muy claro de 1 y 2 Timothy y Tito. and other places in Scripture that those who teach are to have a very deep and intimate acquaintance with Scripture and with a confession of faith. First Timothy 3, right after Paul calls the church the pillar and buttress of truth, He gives a six article confession of faith that summarizes the incarnation and the work and the ascension of Christ. As well as the preaching of the gospel. So the one who is to teach the scripture has to have a deeper grasp and an ability to communicate it clearly to others. So this is the excuse me. This puts together both the experience of the truth and the belief of the truth. The entire congregation. The experience of the truth and the preaching of the truth in the whole congregation. Amen. Does anyone else have another question for Dr. Nettles this morning? Can I ask something? Of course. Go ahead. In these days it is very common that they do biblical school with the children and I am convinced that it is better to use the catechism that all those songs and music of Christ is in my heart to teach the children. What would be a useful or effective argument, let's say, to try to So the question is, today in Sunday school, many people use all kinds of children's Sunday school material. What would be a good argument of using the catechism for Sunday school for children? I would think that the catechism can be a supplementary aspect of the education of children. Yo creo que el catechismo puede ser un aspecto sustitucional para la educación de los niños. There's nothing wrong with teaching them the stories of the Bible. No hay nada mal enseñándolos las historias de la Biblia. Knowing the difference between the Old and the New Testament. Sabiendo la diferencia del Antiguo y Nuevo Testamento. understanding the loving, compassion, miraculous life of Christ. But each week could be given over to some element of catechetical instruction. And there can be graded levels of these catechisms. In fact, there is a catechism called a catechism for girls and boys that could be used like sixth grade through eighth grade. And then, by the time they're they're in the night what we would call the ninth grade, or they could be using us an expanded catechism like the Westminster shorter or the Baptist catechism. or. And as the education becomes more and more focused on exegesis of books of the Bible rather than stories in the Bible, then the catechetical instruction becomes more mature also. So I think putting those two together is a good theory of education in the church. I think that this also should be used in adults. They learn more slowly, but it can be helpful. I also think that this should be used in adults. They learn more slowly, but it can be helpful. Brother Randall, can you speak to that just for a second, just in your family, what you've seen in the catechism? The thing of it is, is there has to be consistency. The thing is, it has to be consistency. And if you can ever get your people to do these things at home, and then to reaffirm them at church, it will bear a lot of fruit for your church family. People need to learn how to answer questions. More than saying just yes or no. And a good catechism will help them to formulate answers. Un buen catechismo lo ayuda a formar respuestas. Have a firm biblical foundation. Tiene un firme fundamento bíblico. And it also will cause them to think if they have good questions. Y lo causa pensar si tiene buenas preguntas. And the very thing our society does not want to do. I've been doing catechism. I have four kids. I've been doing catechisms for 20 years. But children can learn. And they can develop theology and doctrine. And that's what's desperately needed within our churches. I was out with my boys. We got home after dark the other day. And in the yard behind our house, there were lightning bugs. And my youngest son, he's four. Mi hijo menor es cuatro. Dad, look, look, look. Papá, mira, mira, mira. Christopher, who made the lightning bugs? Christopher, quien hizo los bichos? God made the lightning bugs. Dios hizo los bichos. Why did God make the lightning bugs and everything else? Porque Dios hizo los bichos? for his glory, para su gloria. So you can teach people to learn, puedes enseñar a la gente a aprender, and to make application of what they learn. Y hacer aplicación de lo que aprenden in the catechism, en el catecismo. Man, Dr. Nettles, thank you so much for today. It was so beneficial. Gracias, gracias. Muchos gracias por hoy. Mucho beneficio. El gusto es mio. You already speak Spanish. I'm not translating next week. Hablas español. Ya no voy a traducir la siguiente semana. Thank you so much. We'll have Dr. Nettles back with us next week to finish this up. So come loaded with questions. This teaching will be on the firm website. page on Sermonario. Esta enseñanza será en la enseñanza de firm en Sermonario. So if you want to send that out to someone, si quieres mandar a alguien, puedes hacerlo. You can do it. Send me the text you're going to preach this week. Mándame los textos que van a predicar esta semana so I can pray with you. Carlos, Juan Carlos. Yes, sir. Jonathan, nomás para adelantar una pregunta para la siguiente semana, para que la semana que viene usted se prepare. Okay. En el asunto de la ordenación, I think that we need a lot of help because, for example, here in Tabasco, we have many differences in several churches regarding this issue, regarding the fact that if the church orders, or with the ministerial alliance, I have heard phrases like that if the church orders, that pastor really does not have the right to have dinner with the Lord, he does not have the right to baptize, but only It's a disordered pastor. So we wanted to understand clearly what is the biblical ordination, what is the ordination that is historically called baptist. In the case of churches, where most of us are pastors because the eligibility arose, not because we have really been prepared for that. There was no pastor who put his hands on us. Carlos is saying maybe on next week you can touch quickly. about ordination. What is a biblical concept of ordination? He said they have a big problem where they are in Tabasco that the convention says if a local church has ordained them and not the convention that they don't have power to baptize or administer the Lord's Supper. And so there seems to be some confusion there. And so he's asking the question, as Baptist, what has been historically the position on ordination? And so he wants to go ahead and ask that for next week. Okay, good. Thanks for the heads up. Muchos gracias, hermanos. Mándame los textos para que puedo orar por ustedes. Espero que tengan un excelente día. Before you go, Brother Tom, I want to show you something. This up here, above my head here, if you can see it, I don't know, can you see it? Yeah, is that a frame? Yes, that is the bulletin from the ordination of Adoniram Judson. Are you kidding me? No, it is the only printing of the first edition. There's in the seminaries, there are some printings of the second edition, but it's the only printing of the first edition. And it was a congregational church in Massachusetts. Yes, it was a Presbyterian church where Presbyterian church. Yes, it was ordained Presbyterian along with Luther Rice. And Gardner Springs dad preached the ordination, preached the charge that night. It's an incredible sermon, you can read it online, but he preached, as you go, they're sending him off to Burma, as you go, reject the culture and preach the gospel. And, and then you know the story he later becomes Baptist when he reads meets carry and in India, but that's the the original bulletin, the only one in print and the same man who printed it printed the war of 1812. So I thought you would appreciate that. yeah well that's that is a priceless thing to have and. You know, we're not, we're not fetish, we're not fetishist type people, but we surely do appreciate reminders of God's providence in history, don't we? Absolutely. I charge people $25 to come and get an extra portion of the spirit from Adonai. As soon as the coin in the coffer clings, the cell block from purgatory springs. Exactly. You can get yours out if you're just coming. You can even, for $5, extend your hand right now and you can receive it. Okay. But I figured you would, I also have, there you go. I also have that I'm going, try to get them up this week. Four magazines from the Baptists from the 1820s reporting on the work of Adonai and Judson. And- The Baptist used it, Baptist Missionary Magazine. Exactly. I have four of those reporting on Adonai. One of them has a tribute to John Ryland. And it's funny, I almost sent this out on social media before the convention this past year, but one of them lists out how to confront someone in their sin. That's the theological argument article in it, and it gives five things you have to do to confront someone in their sin. Isn't it amazing how those people thought about things and they thought about all these issues from a biblical confessional standpoint? They would print out, some of them have printed out, this person has been removed from membership and published in the Baptist magazine. But incredible how far we have fallen from that. And so we draw inspiration. So I just wanted to comment to you that I figured you would appreciate that. Thank you for sharing that. You know what's very sad? You'll be saddened by this. The guy who gave me that bulletin tried to sell it to the six Southern Baptist seminaries. And you know what the price of it was? $65. Oh, my goodness. Nothing. He found it at a garage sale, authenticated it, and tried to sell it. And they said, no, we have a later printing of it. We don't need it. A later printing. Oh, boy. It's the only one in existence of the first printing known. Goodness. Oh, wow. I was speaking at a Spurgeon conference up at Midwestern. Jason deucing read a letter that was written from someone in England to EY Mullins, when he was offered the Spurgeons library, man, and the letters talked about. how it's just not worth what they're asking. It's just antiquated. It is just a lot of old Puritan literature that will do no one any good. Said you would do better to invest in modern books than in the library of this antiquated holdover from Puritanism. And so now Midwestern has it and they're doing a beautiful job of housing it and of having these conferences and they've got things in there that they didn't even know they had. Wow. They've got handwritten manuscripts that were in the library at the Metropolitan Tabernacle. Wow. Some of them going back to the glorious revolution. There was a note in one of them, there are sermons on the covenant of grace. Oh man. And sermons that are handwritten, beautiful handwritten. And in the middle of between two sermons, there's this note that says, we give thanks to the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ for his providential deliverance of us from the errors of papacy by the coming of William of Orange to overthrow the papist 1688. Wow, what a jewel. And it's a yeah it's a it's a handwritten big books probably got 250 pages in it, all handwritten sermons from someone. It could be Benjamin Keech. Yes, from the Puritans. Wow, man, what a jewel. All of that was in that library. They've got other documents like that. They're doing a great job. If you get a chance to go up just to see that library and see how they're doing it, it would be a nice little field trip for you. No kidding we're we're taking a trip to a church for pastor appreciation a couple of years ago took up an offering and and through some circumstances we're doing a. Ireland, Scotland and England tour in October. And so I'm trying to lay it all out where I'm going to go and see, but we're going to go to Petit France and see where the confession was written or, you know, right about where it was. see if you can go to the Metropolitan Tabernacle. We're going to. I'm going to go hear Peter Masters. Okay, well they're very generous also about allowing you to see their archives. Oh really? Yeah. I'll have to send an email. Ask to see the inquiry books. Okay. Because that is where the elders would interview people who are inquiring about church membership. Oh, membership. Yeah. And it would give them like the series of questions they would ask and how the people answered and whether or not they recommended them to go see Spurgeon. And they would have to give a card to them if they approved that they're going to see Spurgeon. And you can see all of those things. And let's see. I've got, oh, Now, here's a book that has some of them in it. It's called Wonders of Grace. And it is original testimonies of converts during Spurgeon's early years. It's what this one is. but it continued it throughout. They have about six or seven of these volumes. Oh man, and you can get that at the church there? Yeah, this is from Wakeman Foundation, which does a lot of Peter Masters stuff. Right. And they have a big, they have a nice bookstore at the church. Oh, great. This would be available there. Part of it is I'm going to take some money to try to get, I love antiquities, so I want to get some, as old as I can, some of the Puritan works, you know, some go ravage some of the bookstores there. Interesting story. I was a missionary in Mexico. That's how I learned Spanish. And the other elder at Brother Randall's church deals with antique books. And he found that at a garage sale, the bulletin of Anaheim Judson. tried to sell it for $65. And I was a poor missionary, couldn't afford it, but I'm a huge Adonai fan. I've read several biographies and just couldn't make an offer. I knew he needed the money, so I couldn't make an offer. And I moved back here. And so I asked him one day, he was here visiting. I said, John, whoever bought that, where did it end up? He goes, no one bought it. No one wanted it. And so he gave it to me for free. Isn't that amazing? Let me read one of these to you. Oh, absolutely. Yeah. This is on Susan Ng. Lost her parents at age of 10 years. At the age of 18, came up to London, where she fell into all kinds of worldly pleasures and Sabbath breaking. Felt convictions at the same time that it was sinful, but could not resist temptation. Now feels no pleasure save in the house of God. was much blessed under the sermon entitled, The Mission of the Son of Man. Also by an appeal made by our pastor after the ordinance to the spectators in the gallery and felt especially comforted during prayer by the words, though your sins be a scarlet, et cetera. The sermon from the words, he showed them his hands and his side was also very precious to her. She is willing to give up all things rather than Christ. though feeling daily the indwelling of sin, yet feels a sweet sense of forgiveness in Christ. Then another note at the bottom, seen by brother Barrow, who was well satisfied with this case and gave her a cord accordingly, a card accordingly. So they'd give a card to them to go see this virgin if they were satisfied with their testimony. So after that was checked out by someone in the church, you get to go talk to the pastor about seeing if you could become a member. Yeah, all these are elders. These are people that are selected as qualified to listen to the testimonies and the experience of people. I wrote the name of the book down so I can get it. Something very interesting that he read in that was that the spectators were in the gallery. That would suggest communion or a closed table. Yeah, he would not allow anyone who was not baptized. He didn't have closed communion. but he would emphasize the necessity of conversion first and then baptism. And so people who were unconverted or that had a conscience about taking communion before baptism like he did, they would be in the gallery and they could observe and hear what he would say about the bread and the wine and so forth. So they could play as observers. Would he reject a Presbyterian to the table? I don't think so. Yeah, he was more a matter of their conscience. Now, when he was converted, he would not take communion until he was baptized. That was what his conscience believed was from baptized believers. Right. He did not, however, exclude people whose conscience was not that way. But as long as they were thoroughly convinced of God's grace toward them in salvation. We just worked through that here at our church through the Lord's Supper. I didn't know what his position was about our confession. The Second Lenten Confession clearly states about a baptized believer. And so we would say the Presbyterians are wrongly baptized. I mean, that is as things as I was wondering, I wondered about that. I wondered if historically the Baptist would take that position. Well, there's been, there has been some disagreement on that, but basically early, this was one of the things that they believed was absolutely true. There are only two ordinances in the church. One is baptism, which is entrance into the church. The other is the Lord's supper, which is an ongoing, both an expression of communion with the church upon the basis of an open profession of faith In baptism, and is an expression of union, meaning that they have not been disciplined from the church. Exactly. And so anyone who that the church does not have the right to discipline. it should not invite to the Lord's Supper. It's the same conclusion we came to that we as a church have two commandments in the Lord's Supper. I think in Corinthians when it says, judge among yourselves, and if one's found guilty of these things, don't even eat with such a one. I think he's talking about the Lord's Table, and then examine your own self. So the church has to set a limit for judgment there and align, and I don't see how outside of church membership and baptism how we can do that. I agree. Yeah, and you can do it without being snotty toward people. You can express your love for them and all, but just express the desire for a pure church and for a strong witness. This is the way we observe the Lord's Supper. That's what we do. We came to the conclusion here that we announce if you're not a member of this church, we only serve you if you've been invited to the table. So, you know, families in our church know if somebody's visiting, from their family member and they're a baptized believer, faithful member of their church, come talk to me before the service and we'll invite them to the table. But that's what we've done. Well, Brother Tom, it's been incredible to have you with us. Appreciate it and look forward to next week. Thank you for letting me participate. I think today was so beneficial. Some of these guys are really struggling with some of these issues. Well, we'll deal with the ecclesiology next week. Good. Or are consistently separate. Yes, we are. People throw the term around now being separatist, but we are. I mean, yes, we believe things and we really believe. That's where we arose from, a separatism, English separatism. Exactly. Well, brother, have a great week. The separatists weren't consistent enough. They were not. If you think about it, please email me that BH Carroll quote. That was phenomenal. All right. Sure will. Have a great day, sir. Thank you.