I was thinking about the book for next month. What do you this of "The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment" for our April read? https://www.chapellibrary.org/book/rjoc/rare-jewel-of-christian-contentment-the-burroughsjeremiah Or maybe "The Seven Sayings of the Saviour on the Cross." https://www.chapellibrary.org/book/ssot/seven-sayings-of-the-saviour-the-pinkarthurw

I could not agree more with your assessment. While the battle continues between light and darkness on this earth during this gospel age, Sin cannot triumph. “The warfare between the kingdoms of light and darkness is still maintained; but on the great day of Christ’s second coming, the contest shall be forever terminated, all tears shall then be wiped away from the eyes of God’s people, while his enemies shall be cast into everlasting destruction, and the smoke of their torment shall ascend up for ever and ever.” The assurity that we have in the person and work of Christ in both our own redemption and the destruction of the wicked (both angelic and mankind) is and can only be the work of the all-wise and omnipotent God. This chapter has caused much rejoicing in my own spirit this week.

Isn’t it though. “In human nature the divine authority was set at naught....but in the same nature ample satisfaction was made for sin.”

I love how Haldane ensures that we understand that it man who secured for himself the just wrath of God in judgment against sin. Yet, it is Christ who has purchased for us redemption, removing the just wage of our sin from us. He gains for us that which we threw away in our sin, by taking on that which we justly deserve. O the depths of mercy “He was a voluntary sacrifice; and thus did He restore what He took not away.” -Haldane So far, this book is a thorough explanation of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I am enjoying it very much.

“Nothing could more strongly mark the opposition of heaven and earth, than the birth, the life, and death of Jesus.” James Haldane The humility of the Christ has always intrigued me, convicted me, and helped me to understand the great grace of God toward man. The above quoted phrase struck at my heart this morning.

I absolutely love James Haldane. His brother, Robert, came to the same view of baptism as James. Robert wrote, in my humble opinion, the absolute best commentary on Romans that has been written.

This was such a helpful re-read for me. There are far to many who relegate this ordinance to a simple announcement of their conversion. On the other side of the same coin, there are those who attach mysticism to it. I think Gill struck a biblical balance. Obedience to the ordinance itself is obedience to Christ Himself and in this there is blessing for the saint of God. This is one of the reasons it is so important to have a biblical understanding of these things.

"The covenant of grace was made with Christ as the federal head of the elect in Him, and that from everlasting, and Who is the only head of that covenant and of the covenanted ones. If the covenant of grace was made with Abraham as the head of his natural and spiritual seed, Jews and Gentiles, [then] there must be two heads of the covenant of grace, contrary to the nature of such a covenant and the whole current of Scripture. Yea, the covenant of grace and the promises of it—as it concerns the spiritual seed of Abraham and spiritual blessings for them—were made to Christ (Gal 3:16)." -Gill, The Ordinance of Baptism, page 19 This, I believe, is one of the most concise expressions of why it is that the Baptist sees the subjects of baptism as being only those penitent, repenting sinners who have come to Christ by faith. Unltimately, the paedo-baptist unwittingly denies the federal headship of Christ for a spiritually renewed people.

OF course this speaks to the quote you mentioned from Gill.

To baptism being a gospel issue, I think that it certainly is according to our obedient response to the work of the Spirit of our Lord in our new birth. But this is where it would end as a gospel issue. In fact, I think that for the Reformers of the 16th century (maybe with the exception of Zwingli), baptism was much more a gospel issue in terms of what baptism itself was to them.

Very well put brother.

“We must allow Abraham’s covenant to be a peculiar one and of a mixed kind: containing promises of temporal things to him and his natural seed, and [promises] of spiritual things to his spiritual seed—or, rather, that there was at the same time when the covenant of circumcision was given to Abraham and his natural seed, a fresh manifestation of the covenant of grace made with him and his spiritual seed in Christ. That the temporal blessings of it belonged to his natural seed is no question; but that the spiritual blessings belong to all Abraham’s seed after the flesh and to all the natural seed of believing Gentiles must be denied.” -section on the subjects of baptism All about the covenants. This is the simple understanding of the Abrahamic covenant based on the clear apostolic teaching we find in Galatians 3. This is the redemptive-historical hermeneutic applied. We must view all the OT through the lens of the NT. Thoughts?

Very true. It is a hermeneutical principle call the redemptive-historical principle.

This is certainly a baptist distinctive. Baptism is an ordinance that is for the individual, administered by representatives of a local church, and a prerequisite to the corporate ordinance of the Lord’s supper. As we continue to read through this work, Gill establishes this truth by parsing particular passages of scripture related to the issue at hand.

I’ve been seeing some stuff about this. May it be that this causes a gospel explosion in the Far East.

I believe you are right. I don’t know if its the same guy that I read about in Louisiana but it looked to me that he is a bit of a word of faith guy.

Hey brother. There are different rules for different states. Most have a 10 people or less rule. But for those places with a stay at home order, I would say that for at least the peace of mind for the community it is wise to obey the order for the time being. Pastor’s who are going against the order are answerable to the local government. Some I think are doing it because they are in need of the financial benefit of people being in the service. This is especially true from some of the mega church pastors like the one in Louisiana recently. Others, I have hear about that would be more biblically centered have sought to maintain good legal standing by meeting multiple times a Sunday with small groups. It is a difficult thing, but I would still be of the opinion that for now it is not an issue of persecution against the church or a removal of basic American rights for the sake of central government power. With that said we need to definitely need to keep an eye on the government. Governments do not giving up power gained whatever the reason. Definitely a time for prayer and wisdom.

I understand. I am learning too

First of all brother Larry, I wanna do a fish fry. Second of all, I agree. Did the numbers tonight and we are up to about 2 percent death rate in the USA. Going to continue to practice wisdom with the social distancing.

So it is official, puppies help with the social distancing