May Baptist Churches Use the Adjective "Reformed"? The Ongoing Debate

Quite frankly, I am not at all interested in whether RSC likes our use of “Reformed Baptist”. Anyone on a quest to exclude fellow believers from the visible church is little more than a Reformed Randy Weaver, hiding out on his mountaintop of traditional purity with his small band of followers. The Reformed camp is far better represented by the newer generation of men who seek God’s will in the Scriptures than by those for whom the confessions determine who is “reformed”. Hyperconfessionalism is not reformed.

Why Every Believer is a Missionary

It seems perhaps that too many people see “evangelism” and mission work as something to be left to the professionals. That attitude is little different from the mentality that sees large areas of ministry as also reserved for professionals. Instead, I see the (largely unfinished) work of the evangelist, pastors, etc as equipping the whole body for the work of ministry rather than doing ministry on the behalf of the greater body.

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. (Eph 4:11-16)

Restoring Family Worship, Part 2: Some Biblical Support

I know they are off topic, just me musing online! I would be curious to hear your rationale at a later date.

Restoring Family Worship, Part 2: Some Biblical Support

A couple of questions. I would be interested in seeing the linkage between family worship and Christian education. In other words, can we fulfill our God commanded obligations to “bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord” if our children spend most of their waking hours in their formative years being taught by someone else, especially in a secular setting? Can math or science or history that is not God honoring be appropriate for Christian children?

Another question I would pose. When you said pertaining to Abraham commanding his children: “Certainly, I am not suggesting that fathers start administering circumcision or baptism or the Lord’s Supper in their homes.”, may I ask why that is? This may be way outside of the scope of this topic, but if fathers are given primary responsibility for educating their children and leading the family in worship, why are fathers prohibited from baptizing their children or conducting the Lord’s Supper in their home? If I am acting faithfully in my responsibility to raise my children in the fear and admonition of the Lord, teaching them the things of God, why then could I not baptize my own children? If we are to make our house a little church, it would seem appropriate that that would extend to the Supper and baptism as well. It seems inconsistent that our homes be places of worship led by the fathers, but when it comes to baptizing those children after professions of faith we need to get someone else to do it.