Featured Protestant South Becoming a New Catholic Stronghold

All things good even come to an end and diminish into corruption. Thus your OP on Southern apostasy. And you celebrate. Go figure.

 

A better more biblically accurate and informed laity is needed. Simply resorting to name-calling is not the all-encompassing solution some have imagined it to be. (And it is not going on here on this thread - I am speaking in general).

You can't be debating against your own Baptist Confession of Faith and then hope to present a clear line of distinction to the people that attend each week.

The result will be - "Every wind of doctrine" and a lot of "well those scriptures don't apply to us". What religion could NOT come up in that kind of context?

in Christ,

Bob

 

First of all I believe that Baptists as well as the rest of us - have free will and can war against their own Baptist Confession of Faith of 1689 if they so choose.

I would never deny them the right to their endless in-house debates.

As for the idea that the Baptist Confession of Faith of 1689 does not exist - it would be like arguing that the Westminster Confession of Faith does not exist.

You may differ with it - but it is hard to argue that it does not exist.

I believe you and most Baptists would agree that C.H. Spurgeon existed as well.
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Baptist Confession of Faith 1689[FONT=&quot]

19. The Law of God

1. God gave to Adam a law of universal obedience which was written in his heart, and He gave him very specific instruction about not eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. By this Adam and all his descendants were bound to personal, total, exact, and perpetual obedience, being promised life upon the fulfilling of the law, and threatened with death upon the breach of it. At the same time Adam was endued with power and ability to keep it.


2. The same law that was first written in the heart of man continued to be a perfect rule of righteousness after the Fall, and was delivered by God upon Mount Sinai in the ten commandments, and written in two tables, the first four containing our duty towards God, and the other six, our duty to man.

3. Besides this law, commonly called the moral law, God was pleased do give the people of Israel ceremonial laws containing several typical ordinances. These ordinances were partly about their worship, and in them Christ was prefigured along with His attributes and qualities, His actions, His sufferings and His benefits. These ordinances also gave instructions about different moral duties. All of these ceremonial laws were appointed only until the time of reformation, when Jesus Christ the true Messiah and the only lawgiver, Who was furnished with power from the Father for this end, cancelled them and took them away.

4. To the people of Israel He also gave sundry judicial laws which expired when they ceased to be a nation. These are not binding on anyone now by virtue of their being part of the laws of that nation, but their general equity continue to be applicable in modern times.

5. The moral law ever binds to obedience everyone, justified people as well as others, and not only out of regard for the matter contained in it, but also out of respect for the authority of God the Creator, Who gave the law. Nor does Christ in the Gospel dissolve this law in any way, but He considerably strengthens our obligation to obey it.


6. Although true believers are not under the law as a covenant of works, to be justified or condemned by it, yet it is of great use to them as well as to others, because as a rule of life it informs them of the will of God and their duty and directs and binds them to walk accordingly. It also reveals and exposes the sinful pollutions of their natures, hearts and lives, and using it for self-examination they may come to greater conviction of sin, greater humility and greater hatred of their sin. They will also gain a clearer sight of their need of Christ and the perfection of His own obedience. It is of further use to regenerate people to restrain their corruptions, because of the way in which it forbids sin. The threatenings of the law serve to show what their sins actually deserve, and what troubles may be expectedin this life because of these sins even by regenerate people who are freed from the curse and undiminished rigours of the law. The promises connected with the law also show believers God's approval of obedience, and what blessings they may expect when the law is kept and obeyed, though blessing will not come to them because they have satisfied the law as a covenant of works. If a man does good and refrains from evil simply because the law encourages to the good and deters him from the evil, that is no evidence that he is under the law rather than under grace.

7. The aforementioned uses of the law are not contrary to the grace of the Gospel, but they sweetly comply with it, as the Spirit of Christ subdues and enables the will of man to do freely and cheerfully those things which the will of God, which is revealed in the law, requires to be done.

http://www.spurgeon.org/~phil/creeds/bcof.htm#part24


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In any case - when a non-Baptist comes along affirm some of these very points - it is apparently not too difficult to find some baptists lining up to oppose the positions of the "Baptist Confession of Faith 1689".

How then would it come as a surprise that the evangelical stronghold in the south would start to weaken under such faction and division?

in Christ,

Bob

 

CH Spurgeon
“The Perpetuity of the Law of God”

Very great mistakes have been made about the law. Not long ago there were those about us who affirmed that the law is utterly abrogated and abolished, and they openly taught that believers were not bound to make the moral law the rule of their lives. What would have been sin in other men they counted to be no sin in themselves. From such Antinomianism as that may God deliver us. We are not under the law as the method of salvation, but we delight to see the law in the hand of Christ, and desire to obey the Lord in all things. Others have been met with who have taught that Jesus mitigated and softened down the law, and they have in effect said that the perfect law of God was too hard for imperfect beings, and therefore God has given us a milder and easier rule. These tread dangerously upon the verge of terrible error, although we believe that they are little aware of it.

http://www.angelfire.com/va/sovereigngrace/perpetuity.spurgeon.html
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Again if we go back to the OP - who is more likely to agree with the statement by CH Spurgeon above? Many of today's Baptist??

Or Catholics?

Seems like we have one or two Catholics even on this board that may be in agreement with the quote above - precisely on the points where the Baptists of late have been posting opposition.

in Christ,

Bob

 

Agreed.

My point is that the more splintered and fractured the divisions with the Baptist denomination - the easier it is for non-evangelical groups to increase the South - which gets me to the subject of this thread.

 

If you want to quote a Baptist confession, why not use the earliest one, the Thomas Helwys confession of 1611?

 

I have to admit that one is petty impressive as well!

 

Southern Baptist growth rate - in the negative.

Catholic overall growth rate in the positive.

Better Biblically informed Southern Baptists is the solution for Baptists.

in Christ,

Bob

 

From the OP -

The self-cloistered circle the wagons model does not work for Protestants. Nor does just-stick-to-name-calling.

Biblically informed Christians tend to evangelize.

in Christ,

Bob

 

You're right

"When the Son of Man will come again, will He find faith on earth?"

It means He will find no faith on earth when He comes again.

The diminishing Reformed Protestant Faith on earth is surest sign of Christ's soon Return. I cannot help to see in this, Protestant America converted into Roman Catholic anti-Christ America and the angel or messenger of Christ that “holds back, removed”.

It is extremely sad. But Christ's coming will put things forever right again—the only solace to God’s Elect.

 

In other words, Baptist converted to SDA ..........

 

..... and what everyone prefers to keep silent about ... the ethnic ratio in population growth viz. in Roman Catholicism. Protestant North America, you will disappear as your race will disappear in you.

 

That oath can be taken under pretense, like I think it has been taken before.