 |
I
know thy works, |
🙋🙋 [9/13/2023, 12:21 PM]
Hi, is this Sungai Dua Church?
sing: Yes, how may I assist you? You may like to visit our blog here: https://things-new-and-old.blogspot.com/2008/01/saved-by-grace-through-faith-whose.html
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Am I
corresponding with Pastor Lau himself (I can see the photo of you and your
wife in your WA profile). I am
currently attending xyzReformed Baptist Church's evening service
A
very trusted friend of mine gave me this link: Pruning
7 Deformed Branches: 2005 https://pruning-deformed-branches.blogspot.com/2005/
I
just want to find out if I am attending a sound Reformed church
sing: Yes, I am the pastor.
🙋🙋
I do find xyzRBC's current pastor slightly "controlling" and I am not agreeable to
some of their teachings
sing: Do you mean to ask if xyzRBC is a sound Reformed church?
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Yes. Are all
their teachings correct?
sing: I don't know since I am NOT aware of all their teachings.
I do
have a serious disagreement with not a few important doctrines of salvation
with the reformed Baptists. The “Pruning 7 Deformed Branches” chronicled the
controversy with them. To this day, I have not heard a reply from them..
I was also a member of a RBC in KL for two years (91-93) before moving to Penang to help in the founding of a new church.
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They appear to
be a bit "works-based" to me. I believe salvation is for the Elect and
there is basically nothing much one can do in terms of regeneration, faith n
repentance, and perseverance.
E.g.
they have been evangelizing the same families for years and those ppl are still
hanging photos of other gods in their homes. I believe if one is not elected,
there is no point preaching the Gospel to them every single week in the hope
that they will be saved through Gospel preaching
sing: Thanks
for your interesting observation.
Let me state some basics of salvation.
- God
purposed eternal salvation for His elect in eternity;
- Christ
accomplished the same for the same people on the cross; and
- The
Holy Spirit applied the same salvation to each elect when they were in their
native state of sin and death.
Eternal salvation is purposed, accomplished and applied - freely and sovereignly, without any works of man.
The gospel ministry is ordained to call out those to whom eternal salvation has been applied; the gospel ministry is intended for those to whom God has ALREADY freely applied the eternal salvation; it is irrelevant to all others.
Except a man be born again, he CAN NOT perform any spiritual activities; when an elect had been regenerated, he CAN repent and believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ and work out his own salvation with fear and trembling
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So both of us
have the same bone of contention about them.
I
am just a 5-year-old Christian. But I have been to many churches in the Klang
Valley hoping to settle in a sound church
sing: May our gracious Lord lead you to His truth. Amen.
Take
a look here:
https://things-new-and-old.blogspot.com/2023/08/the-just-shall-live-by-faith.html
There are many articles
on the same subject.
🙋🙋
xyzRBC will have
a new pastor
sing: May the Lord bless him richly, and the man who continue the labour. Amen.
🙋🙋
I was in xyzRBC
for a few months early this year before I started to realize that someone's preaching
is a bit moralistic… So I left and attended a Presbyterian Church in the city. Recently, I returned to xyzRBC's evening service since I am free in the evening. But then again
the same pastor was emphasising the gospel preaching to the unsaved. So I again
start to have some doubts. Also, the new pastor is teaching us 1689 LBCF every
Wednesday night now, and I like the teaching. So I guess I have to be careful and
not just swallow down everything without spitting out the bones
I have been reading some Puritan books to double check on the new
pastor's teaching on Regeneration, Faith, Repentance, Assurance of Salvation,
Holiness, Sanctification etc. So hopefully I am not too lost
I know no church is perfect. I also hope that you won't mind if I occasionally check with you about some of the teachings in Klang Valley which I find "strange" 🤭
sing: This blog, https://things-new-and-old.blogspot.com/, deals with many of the reformed shibboleths that I consider not Scriptural.
Peruse
the blog to find out. You are welcome to ask and raise questions - this will
drive each student of God's word closer to the Scriptures.
But, it is best and most appropriate if you spend time studying the Scriptures, and know the truth for yourself.
🙋🙋
Thanks. But I
noticed that your church also subscribed to the 1689 LBCF? Which is Reformed
also 😅
sing: Yes, there are old-school Particular Baptists and there are new-school Reformed Baptists; the former summarized their understanding of the Scriptures in the 1689CoF; the latter bastardized the same Confession. A serious charge!!!
The charge is documented in the blog Things New and Old. Peruse them yourself... Chapters on the Effectual Call and Justification.
Historically, the Reformed Baptists appeared on the scene ONLY in the 1960s.
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In
your opinion, how long should we keep preaching the Gospel (which according to
this church is the whole counsel of God) to the same group of unbelievers?
In
Acts 10, God sent the Holy Spirit to regenerate and then followed by sending
Peter to preach the Gospel to Cornelius. Cornelius and his family were then
immediately converted. So it's immediate. But I am not sure if this can be
applied to every instance
For e.g., I was converted during Christianity Explored when I heard Rico Tice said Christ came to redeem me of my sins
sing: The gospel (lowercase g; there are 4 Gospels, the first four books of the NT) is the good news of what God has done in and through His Son Jesus Christ to save His people, and freely applied it to them through His Spirit.
Only those to whom the Holy Spirit has applied the same salvation can hear and believe the truth of their salvation by the free grace of God in Jesus Christ.
Some simpletons think that if they keep pouring water over a piece of rock, it will turn it into a piece of sponge to absorb the water!
Most RBs are die-hard gospel regenerationists, i.e. they believe that their preaching is the necessary instrument divinely appointed for the regeneration of sinners dead in their trespasses and sins.
Cornelius was regenerated long before Peter was sent to him to convert him to Christ. If a man cannot perceive this plain and obvious truth, he is probably blind.
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I have to admit
that I agree with u here.
I don’t know why I have so many Qs there. And it appears that I am the only one who asks Qs. The rest of the people there do not seem to have any Qs. So I must be the odd one out
sing: When a man begins to ask questions, he's on the way to discovering and knowing
the truth. Those who don't ask questions probably don't know that they are in
darkness.
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So
u consider yourself a Particular Baptist rather than a Reformed Baptist? 😅 I am in a Reformed Presbyterian church on Sunday mornings. I
hope I find less faults with the Reformed Presbyterian, just that I don't
subscribe to infant Baptism and their Covenant Theology
sing: Often labels are not helpful; if I have to use one for convenience, Old School Particular Baptist would be fine. Reformed Baptists are basically baptized reformed Presbyterians because the early reformed Baptists drank deeply from the wells of the new-school reformed Presbyterian theologians.
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Can ask: do u
consider the Puritans to be Old School Particular Baptists enough? Say from the
era of Jonathan Edwards to Charles Spurgeon? Coz the new pastor in xyzRBC loves
Charles Spurgeon.
Actually,
I only listen to the sermons preached by the new pastor. I
don't listen to the sermons preached by the existing pastor there. The
new pastor seems to read more and is more biblical. Every
time I listen to the sermons by the older pastor there, I have many bones to
spit out
Anyway, I am so glad that I stumbled upon you today; I have plenty of Qs to
ask. And nobody seems to be able to answer them.
sing: The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to rid the Church of England of Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become more Protestant. Many Puritans were reformed Anglicans.
Mr Spurgeon is a peculiar man: he loved and admired and owned John Gill as his mentor but the RBs who love and admire Spurgeon loathe and caricature his mentor John Gill. There was already a serious theological downgrade between John Gill and C H Spurgeon. The new-school theology began with Andrew Fuller and got worse with Charles Surgeon.
I
began my earlier years loving Spurgeon - after reading "The Forgotten Surgeon" by Iain Murray. Then I was led to read the man Spurgeon had high regard for; it dawned on me why the RBs love Spurgeon
but loathe his mentor Dr Gill. Long story.
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So why did the
RBs love Spurgeon but loathe John Gill? I know who is John Gill but people also
tell me that some of his Theology is skewed
sing: [9/14/2023, 8:41 AM]
John Gill was highly respected by his contemporaries of different denominations
as the epitome of sound theology. Today, midgets call him a hyper-Calvinist.
Everyone's theology is skewed to different extents in the opinion of others.
Take
a look here:
https://things-new-and-old.blogspot.com/2008/02/john-gill-and-his-successors.html
