What is a Reformed Baptist

Hold on.

Among misfits. A Misfit in the trailer park at night a misprint with the six cents. Been sick ever since my brother died of a no. It's never made sense either to me or anyone else's side of the sheet.

On my right side. Tell me what's the bottom line. The bottom line is I'm not In the deep end and I can't find my assigned seat to sit in. My theology don't fit in black sheep of the Reformation sheep.

The Baptist baptized again the bastard child of Anabaptist. Child of Reformation. Cigars bourbons and beer cans.

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the open-air theology show Theology hallelujah and. And I'm also one of the elders at Covenant Reformed Baptist Church in Tallahoma Tennessee. If you're ever in this area, please come check us out.

Also if you like the song to that intro the single drops the 22nd of this month and I'm gonna need y 'all to go check that out. All right, why don't y 'all go.

Go ahead Tom. Okay. Yeah, my name is Tom Shepherd. I'm with Grace Bible Church of Bernie. I'm a member there and I head up the evangelism team that goes out every weekend To Fredericksburg, San Antonio Bernie all over the place making much of Christ in the open air knocking on doors having having gospel conversations and Telling people to repent and believe and I am blessed to be a part of the show with open-air theology and these yahoos.

That's down to that guy.

Hi there. I am Braden Patterson. I'm the pastor of Valley Baptist Church as of right now. Come December though I am having the great blessing of being called to be the pastor of Grace Bible Church of Moorpark, California.

If you live in Southern, California I would love to see you in December. Go check out Grace Bible Church in the meantime. But it'd be a great blessing if you live in Southern, Idaho. Come worship God with me until December until my family and I move.

I have a YouTube channel called reformed ex-mormon and it is. It's alright being a co-host with these yahoos.

It's a great blessing. I'll tell you what man like sometimes. I'm telling you what. Y 'all get on my nerves.

Oh.

Right in here. He's you know, he can only talk for an hour tonight. So We can't get too crazy tonight. We got to give him some grace. Well first we got to go through how our day was. Right, yes. Yeah.

Did y 'all have a Lord's Day today?

Yes every day. Set apart as Reformed Baptists. We've been in seven. So sure. So how was your Lord's Day Tom, man? It was really good. So this this weekend we had dr John Street, who is a ACBC counselor.

Matter of fact, he's the president of.

ACBC.

Biblical counselors and he came and he did a conference on marriage and I'm telling you I mean the first day, you know, he said everything up the second day. It was just ouch. It was it was. It was you know.

Not not the big hurdles that we have the big sins that we see in our life that messes up. But the little little things like irritability and and it was convicting it was really convicting but it was it was wonderful.

I got to meet him and our whole church was a part of it. And then he got he preached today on bitterness, which was another ouch. It was just it was so good and then we went out both days doing evangelism in Bernie still which made for a long day later.

What was going on, but it was fantastic and God is good. Good. What about you Brayden?

It was good. I my co-elder here at Valley Baptist he preached today and so he preached on Galatians 3 verses 10 through 14 and Just brought some some interesting insights on how today some some things that are outside of religion.

Some some cultural aspects of what people say you can't be a Christian and do X Y or Z things that are just not biblical and so he really pulled that in and showing how we have modern-day Judaizers that are both religious and Non-religious Judaizers that that just make different classifications on on what a Christian is.

So it was it was good. It was a blessing just to be able to worship with the Saints here and Valley Baptist was awesome. And just to sit and hear the word preach was good. How about you Jeff?

Yeah, it was good, man. I feel like it started yesterday me and red we went out and evangelizing and man I'll tell you what. Yesterday was truly a blessing to be out there. It was raining here. So we preached in the rain for a little while and man We had a ton of people stopping able to have good gospel conversations.

Was able to help a woman get into a homeless woman get into some fine shelter and get into a rehab program. Like the Lord was just doing some some work out there and a lot of people heard the gospel. And then I come home hung out with the family today.

I woke up for the Lord's Day and it was really good man. I preached on John Chapter 13 talking about washing feet and got the pail and water out and And wash some clean feet. No, I'm just playing. But I mean like, you know, like it the way that it presents itself.

It seems like it's a positive wall, right? Jesus tells us that this is something we should be doing if we're not doing it. We need to understand why we're not doing it and I'm kind of touched on that a little bit today.

And I'll get back into it next week on why it is that we do not wash feet. But other than that, it was a fantastic Lord's Day, man. It was truly blessing had a lot of different people from my congregation.

Walk up to me and tell me how much they really was blessed by the message. Although whenever I was preaching it, I felt off. I didn't feel like I was there my so but I haven't heard it yet. I Didn't feel like it was flowing.

Well, so it was good to hear people say that it was amen.

If you Were Tom ever try to greet me with a holy kiss. You're getting a holy fist, right?

Try out.

Those big hands. Go ahead. I heard a rumor that that that pastor Braden Patterson might be come to Texas here soon. Ooh.

Yes.

Gonna hang out the old gray-haired man. Yeah.

I figured it was time. I spent some time with you before we we put you out. Oh, you're not allowed to. You're not allowed to kill the deer in my yard. Yeah, there's gonna be at least three dead deer by the time I'm.

You're gonna wake up and there's just gonna be a slit deers neck right in front of it's gonna be great. In Texas.

Let me catch someone up. So someone just asked about Jackson just asked about the the church building. We still haven't heard anything new. We're just waiting. I I did speak with one of the well, the president of the The Duck River Baptist Association Here who talked to the main guy over the church that we're getting it from.

I spoke with him had breakfast with him. And he mentioned that that they're not going to they're not trying to make money off of the building. So that's a good thing and So it looks pretty good. It looks like we're going to get it and So when I'm not sure I was hoping we'd have it in October so that we could do some kind of outreach at that time nearing the Halloween and Thanksgiving and Christmas to try to reach out to the the neighborhood around us, you know in a way to bless them, but we'll see.

That still can happen. I'm in the process right now of building me a new pulpit and.

You got all the wood and everything.

The legs for the pulpit will be here tomorrow. I had some handmade legs for it.

Yeah, it's not it's gonna be nice. I heard you were standing on your last one and that's why it broke.

Yeah, well it is what it is.

We are doing the show on reform. What is a reformed Baptist today, right?

Yeah, so the first thing that we go. So we are talking about what is a reformed Baptist and I'm gonna name off because a lot of people they just talk about the three C's I'm gonna name off my list. And if y 'all have some other things, that's fine.

We'll go over it.

But we'll just go ahead. Let me just say point something out real fast, though. The reason that we want to do this because being a Baptist really means that you believe in believers baptism. That's what qualifies you as being a Baptist and usually that you hold on to some form of congregationalism.

Or yeah being a congregationalist in some form or fashion. But there's a lot of people today that use the term reformed Baptist who are not reformed Baptists. Stop it. So many come at you look if you if your Facebook profile has reformed Baptist on and you're dispensational.

I.

Know before we hit the season in the D's and the before we go through that I'm about to pease me off. To be a reformed Baptist is to learn how to toast the cigar and what you want to do as a reformed.

You don't want the flame to touch the end of the cigar.

This is the reformed Baptist way to toast this. No no a reformed Baptist way is the Zippo.

See there's your Calvinism.

I.

Say I'm gonna have to check the confession. I don't know if either of you are right on that.

Well, also one of the things about being a reformed Baptist. This goes for women, too.

Y 'all women need.

I.

Mean what do you expect? What do you expect? Okay, what do you expect? The black of the Reformation sheet pan, okay, let's go. Okay. I got a list here. And this list is gonna piss some people off, okay, and that's okay because if it does you're just not a reformed.

Take it off your Facebook profile.

YouTube stuff. You ain't a reformed Baptist. Stop it. You're just confused. Look, you're just muddying the water and we live in a culture That shouldn't be muddying the water any more than it already is.

Stop it. We baptize in clean.

Clear water. Not. That's right. That's right. All right. Let me get to my list and y 'all can add. But we'll go through and talk about it. Right first one is Catholic Credo creedal confessional covenantal Calvinistic long gospel distinction and we host the means of grace.

That's my list.

Cessationist.

Well, yeah, but we have to define I'm a neo-sensationist just so everybody knows neo.

Ah, I would call myself a biblical sensationist. Because we're not in agreement on sensationism. I kind of did not put that in there. However, we can talk about that and we're going to be doing a show on.

Sensationism in the future here saying how about this cessationism in the sense of the close of Canon and that there's no more Apostles that are speaking authoritatively for the church for sure. Yeah, no.

Close canonist. I'm gonna go with that. Yeah. Yeah, we're close canonist, but cessationist though is one of the C's is all I'm trying to say. Yeah, for sure for sure.

There's two C's In close canonists. There is there's more C's in close canonists.

Shall we were wondering about you girl.

Who we got we got Michelle we got Melissa. We go. Oh we got red got Nathan. Yeah Yeah, we got a good man. Y 'all y 'all please be sharing this around with everybody.

We hope that this creates a little bit of a wave amongst those that are claiming to be a reformed Baptist. That shouldn't be so. Get back to your list.

What was number one? So the first one Catholic we are for a reformed Baptist is Catholic. Now, what do we mean by Catholic Brayden not Roman Catholic? Yeah for sure. I had a we witness we was talking to one of those the other day, but also met a really good gen.

I'm really nice a gentleman who's Who's a Catholic that seems to? Well, I feel like he lied to me before a second because but then I had to show him that he's conflating some things. However, I don't think he actually realized he was lying to me.

And so I'm hoping to have some continual conversation for him. But what do we mean by Catholic? It means the universe.

Universal body of Christ. So if you are a part of the body of Christ meaning Christ paid for your sins. You're in the black person. You are a sheep. You are a part of the Catholic Church.

Universal, right?

So we would also say that that the Catholic Church is made up of of everybody that is in Christ. They are professing believer. They are not only professing believers, but they are actually in Christ. They are true believers in Christ.

Mm-hmm.

All right, are we good there? Yeah. All right. Let's go to the next one credo. This is where we're Baptistic, right? We believe that only Believers are baptized now. This separates us from Roman Catholic as well as other Protestant denominations that are a part of the Reformation.

Mm-hmm. All right. So this is a This is distinct for us Who come out of the the reformed movement, right? I was about to say something else. I better chill out because I about jumped over to to hear another one.

It's really hard to keep this in order, right? Right. So we believe that you know that a person has to enter into the new covenant, which is the new birth I mean they enter into the kingdom and that in the kingdom of God.

The covenant that surrounds the kingdom of God is the new covenant and in order to enter into that kingdom that covenant You must be born again. And then when a person is born again, they receive the sign of the covenant right continuity.

With the old covenant when someone entered into the old covenant the earthly kingdom people of God the Jews they had a first enter in by birth and if they were a male child they partook in the sign of the Covenant which was circumcision translate that over to what we're saying in the new covenant a person is to Enter this new covenant kingdom of God by being born again and those who are born again male and female Receive the new covenant sign which is baptism.

That's right. That's right. Amen. All right, y 'all have anything y 'all want to add to that? Let's talk about it.

No, I would just say to Jackson somebody that commented on our YouTube. We did do an episode on our Scott Clark because he does argue that Baptist shouldn't be using the word reformed. Yeah, he. The whole confession the 1689.

It was written to show commonality and trying to show unity along with the Presbyterians and the Congregationalists, right? And so just because the term Particular Baptist was being used back then it was distinguished.

It was to distinguish yourself from the general Baptists. Which was trying to show association with the other reformed groups. And so just because that term wasn't being used in that that time period doesn't mean that they weren't arguing that they were to reformed.

Reformed typically reform means the three C's which is confessional Calvinistic and Covenantal and so that's what reformed Baptist you're gonna see here a moment are and so.

That.

There is such a thing as a reformed Baptist. Sorry our Scott Clark. You're wrong. That's right. That's right.

Yeah.

And so the particular right there when they called us particular Baptists as you were just pointing out that we hold to particular Redemption we hope to limited atonement.

The general Baptist for going astray and actually if you if you extend that out it was turning into universalism. They got everyone.

Yeah.

So which are Calvinism in that time? Because there are Calvinistic Baptists that come to the same conclusions regarding doctrines of graces reformed Baptists do but back then to be coming to the conclusion of Calvinism was meaning that you were a confessional Calvinist that you held to the confession and Because of covenant theology you were swated to believe in Calvinism.

And so by saying that you were a particular Baptist you were saying I believe in covenant theology like my other Presbyterian brothers and sisters in the faith do it with some some nuances here there, but There was unity with that reformed.

Yeah. But credo, yes. Amen. You said Jeff. Amen. 100 Sign the sign does not come before birth. It's right birth. Entrance into the kingdom and then sign taking that's that's how we always use. I'm you know, I've said this before on here.

I don't mean to be grotesque, but but the Jews did not enter into the mother's womb Before the child was born to circumcise them nor should we Baptize anyone who has not come out of the canal of the new birth.

Also in in in Genesis when it's talking about the the the covenant with Abraham the the old covenant even People that were Gentiles that would come in it says if you purchase a slave Then you're to circumcise them.

But the question is is what came first the circumcision or the purchasing? Yeah purchasing and then the circumcision. So it's still that continuity and discontinuity that we see between these two things.

First you are born again. You are partakers of Christ and then he purchases with his blood then you receive the sign. It's it's this clear clear line between both Jew and Gentile be born again.

We're Baptists are not big on putting carts before the horses. That's right. We won't. We want the horse to pull the cart. And so that's where our Presby brothers and sisters fall off the wagon. They fall off the wagon because the wagon is in front of the horses.

That's right. It doesn't work.

All.

Right the third one. We're cradle. We're cradle. What does that mean Tom?

Well, we hold to a creed. We hold to a creed. I don't like doing the creed. I wanted to do the Calvinistic one.

Okay, I'll skip you then, you know. You can't handle the cradle.

All.

Right, well that just means that we hold to the the historical creeds of the church. Particularly myself. I hold to the four ecumenical creeds, right? So so each. Each month at our church we read for a whole month one of the creeds right now.

We're going through the Nicene. Next month we'll read through.

The.

Apostles then after that the cost of the Chalcedonian definition then after that the alpha nation and. And that's how we begin our service. We begin our service aligning ourself with one of the four ecumenical creeds Which points us back to?

Catholic, right? So essentials of the faith.

The essentials of the faith right the I believes or the we believe right? So we would say that we are cradle. We align with the historical four ecumenical creeds.

And that that just goes to show that we believe in sola scriptura and tota scriptura, but we don't believe in Solo scriptura meaning for sure. We don't ignore what Christians have taught on the subject.

We don't want to be independent in our faith away from the church at large. And so The if you are a Baptist and you are trying to claim the title of a reformed Baptist. But you're walking around with the saying I have no creed, but Christ right.

Stop it. Yeah, you ain't a reformed Baptist and you should have all two creeds. Creeds are a good thing. In fact that statement no creep of Christ is a creed because of that's agree. Yeah, and I want to be in harmony with all other Christians on these nights, right.

I was just to say keep. Foskey actually had a had a question, you know. He said, you know when people come up when you ask a person if they're a Christian and they would say they're a Christian. You know, you still have a lot of questions, you know regarding what they believe when you're creed.

Oh, it kind of answers those questions when you say that you're a Calvinist. It also answers a whole bunch of questions of actually where you stand in what you believe. That's right.

That's right.

It's a cradle. Are we good? Yeah. All right, we're rolling thumb. I didn't think it was gonna do it.

Good Lord an hour. We might even get done in 45 minutes. What else are we in? I'll pick on you. I.

Would also say that the creeds are something that also distinguishes us from false religions to real quick on that Mormonism as we talked last week Joseph Smith The way that the church the way that the LDS Church the latter-day school the latest day Saints as we taught called it last week how they've gone about showing what Joseph Smith said in the 1800s was That supposedly he was told that all our creeds are an abomination in the sight of the Lord.

And so that's talking about the Nicene Creed. I would also say that that's talking about Specifically the confessions because that's what I remember learning a lot on when I was LDS. But also I mean the creed like I believe that I'm saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone According to Scripture alone all for God's glory alone.

That's a creedal statement. That's the creeds from the Reformation that we hold to and Joseph Smith said no creeds are abomination lies of the Lord. And so Being creedal is is important Beyond just the title of being a reformed Baptist.

You should be a reformed Baptist, but creeds are.

Particularly important. All right, what was next next is confessional. You have to be confessional you're you have to be anchored in the 17th century with a confessional document.

Right, right. No way. Why is it important to hold to a confession? Tell everybody why what is it?

Let me name some of the confessions and then I'll stop talking for a minute. And we'll let someone else take the mic, but I can do whatever. But I was just so so. So whether your first London. So if you're Baptist, you can hold to the first London which which has a update.

So the first London is 1644, but it was updated in 1646 and then the one that we hold to was written in 1677 but wasn't published till 1689. Yeah, as for the the Presbyterians they would hold to the Westminster, which is also Produced in 1646, but also I think it was actually published in 1647 if I'm not mistaken.

So depending on what website you get you get a different year. I was told that truly pressed true Presbyterians owed to the sixth say that it's 1646 no matter what it says. And then you have the Savoy decoration.

Written by John Owen.

Yeah, I mean, I mean.

Yeah.

So to be rooted and found it in a confession right. And if you want to kick off why we hold to confession. I think it's the question you asked, correct?

Yeah, why so I think it goes back to that same argument of Creed so in first Timothy 3 Paul writing to Timothy in the first century. He says Great indeed we confess or by common confession great is the mystery of godliness.

He was manifested in the flesh vindicated by the Spirit seen by angels proclaimed among the nations Believed on in the world taken up in glory. And so this is a first century creedal statement. That was already in Circulation in the early churches before this Holy Scripture was written and it made its way into Holy Scripture so creedal statements are Totally, okay, as long as they're in harmony with Scripture, in fact, I think Paul is actually encouraging common confession with one another and so when we add more so it as Tom already said if somebody said I'm a Christian I have a lot of questions regarding what they believe right a lot of questions because anybody can click LDS are claiming that title however, if somebody came up to me and said I'm a Christian who believes in the five solas and I hold to the 1646 West Minister Confession of Faith and I go to.

And I'm a part of a crack Church, right immediately my mind's popping in with definitions of what they're talking about who they're a part of what they associate with Where their theology is landing I can almost assume insinuate that they're most likely post Postmillennial without them even saying it right and so the can being a confession.

Having a confession is a is a document that's well-worded that Shows your unity with other believers and listen when when I sign my name to the 1689 for example. And I'm not saying I literally signed my name to the 1689.

But when I say I'm a 1689 reformed Baptist My name is sitting next to hundreds of Thousands of other Baptists who said this is what we see in Scripture as well. And so great Great is the common confession amongst brothers.

And so that's that's the point that I would say what's being confessional is it clearly? Defines what we believe if I go and talk to somebody on the street and they want to know more about my beliefs I can just hand them a book and they can take it home and know exactly what I believe.

They can use it as a ministering witnessing tool to themselves, right?

It.

It's one thing to say. I believe the Bible right. Boom. I believe the Bible. Amen, I believe the Bible right, but I believe the Bible doesn't tell me what you believe about the Covenants. It doesn't tell me what you believe about what Christ did.

It doesn't tell you what occasion and justification.

That's.

It helps keep Christians aligned into a faith. You know when you go to an orchestra and you hear everybody playing a sheet of music and everybody's playing in the same Melodic line that keeps us in guide right here as soon as somebody goes outside.

The confession helps us stay inside about what it is that we believe and so when you just look at the type chapter titles In the 1689, what is what is the 1689? What do we believe about the Holy Scriptures?

Well, it's based on what the Bible says about itself. What does the Bible say about the scriptures? What does the Bible say and what do we believe about God's decree? What do we believe about sanctification justification God's Covenant all these things?

So it helps us From from going astray outside the faith. Into some heresy, that's the importance of a confession. Mm-hmm.

Another thing that I find that is quite remarkable that I've seen amongst those that claim the title of reformed Baptist They typically love CH Spurgeon, which everybody loves CH Spurgeon, right? You can't you don't ever really find somebody that doesn't like Spurgeon.

This is what the spur this is what Spurgeon says regarding the 1689. But the confession he says this ancient document is the most Excellent epitome of the things most surely believed among us. It is not Issued as an authoritative rule or code of faith whereby you may be fettered But as a means of edification and righteousness, it is an excellent though not inspired Expression of the teaching of those holy scriptures by which all confessed confessions are to be measured.

We hold to the humility Humbling truths of God's sovereign grace and the salvation of lost sinner salvation is through Christ alone and by faith alone. So Spurgeon was a Reformed Baptist. He was not just a Calvinistic Baptist, right?

He was a reformed Baptist. Amen.

Yes, so again for all y 'all people out there who claim. Notice the word claim claim to be reformed Baptist. In order to be reformed Baptist you have to be Confessional. You have to hold to a reformed Baptist confession of faith.

And now I say that not trying to be mean. It's just spitting spitting truth.

I like definitions and one of my biggest pet peeves is when definitions get stolen and then Nuttied and then changed and then adapted and then lowered and then it just fits more and more people. It's so frustrating.

Which we would see that kind of in the Baptist faith and message in a way it's a it's a it's a light Interpretation of of the 69 and it strays. Everything watered down. It's a watered-down confession.

Whereas guys makes it more plausible. It makes it more easy to believe it's it's more inclusive. And so if you if your whole idea is to grow the church in numbers, you know. One of the best ways to do that, you know humanly speaking is to be inclusive.

So there's a distinction a reformed action has a distinction. Yes, we want to include all those who think rightly who divide the scriptures rightly about what it says. So it says to study to show yourselves approved unto God a workman needing not being ashamed rightly.

Accurately handling the word of truth. And so that's what the confession does it accurately handles the infallible Word of God?

Mm-hmm. Yeah, I would say that if and like a baptist a reformed Baptist Church if you were to go to a truly reformed Baptist Church what I'm saying is that all the elders and most maybe even a membership hold to the 1689.

And that that just brings about unity like that that just shows a harmony as I like that. Illustration you did Tom with the art orchestra. Like it would be not good. If you had somebody playing jazz music and someone doing the piano and somebody doing Beethoven and like all these different things going on it wouldn't sound good, right?

And so that's the whole point of this is that this is this is showing that we have unity and the in the deep matters.

Of God in Scripture, right? All right. Are we ready for the next one? All right. Covenantal. We're not only confessional we are covenantal. By covenantal we mean we hold to.

Baptist.

Covenant theology also known as 1689 Federalism. Now, can you be a reformed Baptist and hold to the Presbyterian classical covenant theology? Yes.

We're happy about it, but yes.

We got some problems with you and we ain't afraid to talk about them, right. Y 'all can do y 'all's little you know messages about it all you want, but you're not bringing it to the forefront. You're not bringing it to those that have an issue with it, right?

And you. So here's another question that people aren't gonna like. Can you be dispensational and hold to the 1689?

No, cuz the chapter 7 of the 1689.

7 what are you talking about?

Starts us. Oh, sorry. 7. Sorry. My fault my fault. Listen, you have. In order to be a reformed Baptist. You gotta know we're talking about covenant theology. Shush.

Shush shush.

How dare you the other day. I I corrected you on a chapter and it was a deep chapter.

But but here's the difference what we own up in our theology.

Yeah, we were.

Listen I gotta see some document proof. Here's the question Jeff answer this question. Why is it why is it that the confession the London Baptist confession of faith will will be inclusive? Why is it acceptable to to include Presbyterian covenant theology and?

Baptistic covenant theology. What about the confession makes it loose right there? But yeah, the dispensational wouldn't all be included in there. Well, it's only loose in chapter 7.

As.

As you keep reading chapter 8 chapter 9 chapter 10 so on and so forth it strengthens chapter 7 that covenant and it distinctly puts it in the position of Baptistic that the covenant that we hold to is baptistic.

It's and what we like to go. I mean, it's been coined 1689 federalism. I'm not really big on that name. I call it Baptist covenant theology. Yeah, and so.

Now.

Form of covenant theology in which in which I would You know like like if I was around a Presbyterian and he was arguing with someone about Dispensationalist about covenant theology or if I was around a Baptist that was arguing with a dispensational about covenant theology I would align with him at that moment and help him in that argument.

And then after we defeated that person we'd go toe-to-toe on What it really is, right? Because covenant theology even if it's Presbyterian covenant theology is better than dispensationalism right now.

Tell us why. Why would you say that?

Why would I say that?

What what does it do it? There's there's two extremes you have Presbyterian covenant Theology, which would be all which would expand the covenant of grace over all covenants, right? Dispensationalists would be totally distinct from the New Testament, right to me.

It's two sides of.

You know, it's a road with two sides of a ditch right and I'm trying to stay on the road. The main highway the main highway to me is Baptist covenant theology and if I gear off at any side I'm going to be falling off into error and it's two sides of the error, right?

There are two extremes of my dispensational on the other side.