2010 Summer Theological Module: The Doctrine of Christ
Posted by deangonzales on February 22, 2010
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Reformed Baptist Seminary will host a summer theological module on Christology or the Doctrine of Christ from Saturday through Friday, August 21-27 at its new facilities at Grace Baptist Church in Taylors, South Carolina. The module will serve to fulfill the lecture requirements for the seminary’s three-credit course ST 701 Christ. The course instructor, Pastor Greg Nichols, is a graduate and former professor of Trinity Ministerial Academy, Montville, New Jersey. He’s the author of What Does the Bible Say about God? The Biblical Doctrine of God (Truth For Eternity) and “The Emotivity of God,” Reformed Baptist Theological Review 1:2 (July 2004): 95-143. He is currently a pastor of Grace Immanuel Reformed Baptist Church, Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he and his wife, Ginger, reside. The course covers much more than the person and work of Christ. First, it reaches back into eternity and considers God’s predestined plan for a Redeemer and a people. Second, traces the development of the God’s redemptive promise through the historical covenants of Scripture–covenant theology from a Reformed and Baptist perspective! Third, the course systematically explores the revelation of the Person and Work of Jesus the Messiah. Professor Nichols has provide the following abstract, which summarizes the three major segments of the course material:
Part 1: The Eternal Plan of Salvation: Predestination
Before the creation of the world God resolved how he would embark on the greatest rescue mission conceivable. This plan includes his predestination of the redeemed, “he chose us in him before the foundation of the world” (Eph. 1:4), and of the Redeemer, “Christ foreknown indeed before the foundation of the world” (1 Pet. 1:19). Thus we begin with eternal election and reprobation and the eternal counsel of redemption.
Part 2: The Solemn Promise of Salvation: God’s Covenants
Immediately after the fall God solemnly declared war on Satan. He pledged to send a Redeemer to rescue sinners and crush the devil thoroughly (Gen. 3:15). This pledge to apply and accomplish salvation is his covenant of grace. He fulfills his pledge to apply salvation through his gospel; to accomplish salvation through his covenants. Over some four thousand years of redemptive history he sets up a tapestry of pledges that frame the Person and work of the Redeemer. These are: the two Noahic covenants, the Abrahamic, Mosaic, and Davidic covenants, and the Messianic and New covenants. Thus, we study the covenant of grace and God’s covenants.
Part 3: The Accomplishment of Salvation: Christ’s Person and Work
In the fullness of time God sent his Son into the world to accomplish salvation from sin. God the Son became flesh and entered the world as Jesus of Nazareth: “you shall call his name Jesus, for he it is that shall save his people from their sins” (Matt. 1:21). Thus, we first study his Person, his deity and humanity. In his work Christ fulfills God’s solemn promises. As the promised Redeemer, Christ crushes Satan by his perfect life and atoning death. As Abraham’s heir, Christ blesses believers from every nation with every spiritual blessing through the gospel. As David’s heir, the theocratic king, Christ rules God’s people, builds his temple, and subdues his enemies. As high priest, in keeping with the Messianic covenant, Christ makes atonement for his people, intercedes for them, and eradicates their sin. As prophet and mediator of the new covenant, Christ reforms God’s people and reveals his Word. This course concludes with the profound impact of Christ’s Person and work: “neither is there salvation in any other; for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).
Don’t miss out on this important module! Auditors are also welcome. The module fee is $70 for students and $100 for auditors. The members of Grace Baptist Church will provide lodging for those who register early and meals will be provided. The deadline for registration is August 6. To download the PDF module flier, click on this link: 2010 Summer Module-Christ Flier 1.1 If you tentatively plan to attend, please send an email letting us know so that we can begin to formulate a headcount. You can also contact us if you have more specific questions about the module (email: info@rbseminary.org/phone: 864-322-4633).
Bob Gonzales, Dean
Reformed Baptist Seminary
On the third week of January, Immanuel Baptist Church of Sacramento, California, hosted the 2009 Winter Module on the Doctrine of the Holy Spirit. God helped Pastor John Reuther deliver 17 seventy-minute lectures, including times for Q&A interspersed throughout. The course consisted of a biblical-theological examination of the Person and Work of the Holy Spirit in Scripture. One student summarized the teaching as “excellent, comprehensive, and easy to follow.” Part of what contributed to this was Pastor Reuther’s well-organized, neatly formatted, graphically illustrated, and thoroughly referenced lecture notes. Every student received a bound copy of these notes, and those auditing the course quickly bought up the several extra copies Professor Reuther brought with him. A free PDF version may be downloaded from our website (click 
On Monday, April 27, Pastors Jeffrey Smith and José Alberto García travel to Bogota, Colombia, for the 2009 spring theological module, which is part of the Marrow of Theology program offered by Reformed Baptist Seminary. Pastor Smith will lecture from Tuesday through Friday (April 28-May 1) on those doctrines related to “Salvation Applied, Part 1” (e.g., effectual calling, regeneration, conversion, justification, etc.). Pastor Garcia will serve as our translator. We hope to have between 40 and 50 students attending. This module brings us to the third phase of our instruction. Lord willing, we’ll finish the program with Ethics in July (Richard Barcellos), Covenants in October (Andy Dunkerton), Salvation Applied, Part II in January 2010 (Jeff Smith), The Church in April 2010 (Greg Nichols), and a graduation service some time in the summer. I’d like especially to thank all of you who are making this ministry possible through your prayers and financial assistance.
The blog upgrade, however, is not the best news. This February we “broke ground” and began constructing our new “campus.” This campus will not consist of brick-and-mortar, however. Instead, it will be a “virtual campus” that utilizes Moodle, an open-source learning management software (LMS). The seminary student will be able to login at the Virtual Campus site with a username and password to access the courses for which he’s registered. On the course page, he’ll find a course description and objectives along with an introduction to the course instructor. He will also have access to all the course lectures in MP3 format for streaming on demand or download. Moreover, course textbooks, reading assignments, and course projects will be listed. Furthermore, the student’s proctor will be able to login to the quiz/exam page with a password, enabling the student to take his test online and obtain faster grade results. Some of the quizzes and exams will be graded automatically and immediately! Each student’s grades will be visible to him, his instructors, and the seminary administrators. Finally, the virtual campus will also provide a forum for students and teachers to engage in online discussions related to each course. We have set a target date of mid-summer to have the campus up and functional, at least at a basic level. It’s our hope that the RBS Virtual Campus will make distance-learning a more efficient and profitable experience for our students. Praise the Lord for advances in technology that are making theological training more affordable and accessible!
Several years ago, Pastor Jeff Smith of Easley, South Carolina, and Pastor Oscar Arocha of Santiago, Dominican Republic, discussed the possibility of offering modular theological education to pastors and students in the Dominican Republic. Soon after, Bob Gonzales moved to South Carolina to work with Jeff and, together they, in consultation with Oscar, put together a streamlined theological curriculum consisting of twelve courses that could be offered over the space of a three-year period. After giving it some thought, Jeff and Bob decided to name the program, “The Marrow of Theology,” after the Puritan William Ames’ brief theological compendium. In the summer of 2006, we had the joy of seeing twenty-three Dominican pastors and students graduate from the Marrow program. Now, what began as an “acorn” has taken root and is beginning to sprout into a “tree.” This Lord’s Day, God willing, Iglesia Bautista de Gracia (Grace Baptist Church) will hold a special inauguration ceremony to commence a residential Bible Institute in the city of Santiago. This Bible institute will provide theological education for pastors and students from various parts of Latin America. We rejoice that in some small way the motto of our seminary is being realized: “Today’s Seed, Tomorrow’s Tree.” Below is a letter from Pastor Arocha describing their plans and soliciting our prayers for their upcoming inugural service. Please rejoice with and pray for these brethren.
