Cited in sermons
Sam Waldron
23 sermons · All people cited
2LCF Chapter 20 - Of the Gospel and of the Extent of the Grace Thereof
The gospel was not discovered by human reason but revealed by divine initiative — beginning with the protoevangelium of Genesis 3:15 and unfolding through progressive special revelation. This session works through Chapter 20 of the Second London Confession of Faith (1689 LBCF), examining the promise of the gospel, the insufficiency of general revelation for salvation, the sovereign freedom of God in spreading the gospel, and the absolute necessity of the Holy Spirit's effectual work upon sinners dead in trespasses. The doctrinal stakes are practical: a right understanding of general and special revelation is the indispensable foundation for evangelical and missionary enterprise.
2LCF Chapter 5 - God's Providence
God's providence, as defined in 2LCF Chapter 5, is not blind fate or impersonal chance but the active upholding, directing, disposing, and governing of all creatures and things by the good Creator, according to his infallible foreknowledge and the free and immutable counsel of his own will. The chapter roots providence in the eternal decree of Chapter 3 and traces its scope across four domains: the whole system in general, fortuitous events, the free actions of men, and even the sinful actions of men — the last illustrated supremely by the crucifixion of Christ in Acts 2:23, where God's absolute sovereignty and man's full culpability are held together without cancelling either. The session works through paragraph 1 of the chapter in detail, drawing on Psalm 73, Isaiah 46, Daniel 4, Acts 17, Proverbs 16 and 21, Ephesians 1 and 2, Philippians 2, and Genesis 50 to show that Scripture, not merely the confession, grounds these claims. Believers are exhorted to interpret every circumstance — including political wickedness and social evil — through the axiomatic principle that God is good, while continuing to pray, preach the gospel, and live according to God's revealed will rather than retreating into fatalism.
Introduction to the 1677/1789 2nd London Baptist Confession of Faith
The 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith — formally composed in 1677 and adopted by particular Baptist churches in 1689 — stands in deliberate continuity with the Westminster Confession and the Savoy Declaration, adapting their language to reflect distinctively Baptist convictions while maintaining solidarity with the broader Reformed tradition. This introductory session traces the Confession's historical origins, its relationship to the First London Confession of 1644–46, and the legal and ecclesiastical context in which particular Baptists operated under the Act of Toleration. Six reasons are then advanced for why a 21st-century church should subscribe to a 17th-century confession: to define, defend, discriminate, discipline, distinguish matters of Christian liberty, and develop an appreciation for the history of the church. The session closes by urging that confessionalism, rightly understood, is not proud biblicism but the humble reception of gifts Christ has given to his church across the ages.
2LCF Chapter 5 - Of Divine Providence
The 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith, Chapter 5, on Divine Providence, teaches that God upholds, directs, disposes, and governs all creatures and all their actions from the greatest to the least — not by blind fate or fortune, but according to his infinite power and wisdom, his infallible foreknowledge, and the free and immutable counsel of his will. The chapter unfolds in seven paragraphs, moving from the general definition of providence (paragraph 1) through its relation to second causes, ordinary means, miracles, the fall, remaining sin in believers, the hardening of unbelievers, and finally the special care God exercises over his church. God's sovereignty does not make him the author of sin nor does it remove human responsibility; first causality establishes rather than annuls second causality. The doctrine is a source of deep comfort: whatever befalls the elect is by God's appointment for his glory and their good.
The Appointment of the Seven
Acts 6:1–7 records the Jerusalem church's response to a logistical crisis that threatened to pull the apostles away from prayer and the ministry of the Word. The passage establishes the diaconate in seed form: men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, appointed to serve the practical needs of the congregation so that those charged with preaching and teaching may be undistracted. Expounding 1 Timothy 3:8–13 alongside the Acts text, this sermon examines the qualifications, function, and appointment of deacons, and the connection between a biblically ordered church — with both elders and deacons — and the advance of the gospel.
Pressing On In Christ for Sanctification
Philippians 3:10–21 sets out the doctrine of sanctification as the necessary and purposeful continuation of justification — not its cause. The justified believer, having been conformed to Christ's death by the Spirit's regenerating work (Romans 6), is called to press forward in mortification of the old nature and vivification of the new, never resting in past attainments. Christ's purpose in saving sinners is not merely to deliver them from hell but to conform them to his image for the glory of God — the ordo salutis moving through justification and sanctification toward final glorification. The sermon calls believers to disciplined, Christ-dependent pressing on through Word, prayer, church attendance, and zealous good works, while warning that those who corrupt the gospel by mingling works with grace are enemies of the cross whose end is destruction.
Of Good Works (2LCF16.13)
Matthew 7:1, 'Judge not that you be not judged,' is one of the most frequently misapplied verses in Scripture, often weaponized to prohibit every form of ecclesiastical discernment and render church discipline illegitimate. This session from a study of the 1689 London Baptist Confession examines 2LCF 26.13 on the conduct of the offended church member, then exegetes Matthew 7:1–6 to show that Christ forbids a nitpicking, censorious, fault-finding spirit toward fellow believers — not the lawful exercise of judgment required by Matthew 18, 1 Corinthians 5, and 1 Timothy 5. The positive application calls believers to mortify the censorious plank in their own eye, apply biblical law rather than personal preference to matters of judgment, cultivate humility, and look to Christ and his gospel as the continual remedy for self-righteousness.
2LCF Chapter 22 - Of Religious Worship and the Sabbath Day
The Regulative Principle of Worship, grounded in the Second Commandment and confessed in Chapter 22 of the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith, holds that God alone determines the acceptable way in which He is to be worshipped — nothing more, nothing less, and nothing else than what He has commanded in Scripture. Working through paragraphs 1 and 2 of the confession, this session distinguishes the first commandment (who is to be worshipped) from the second (how God is to be worshipped), showing from Romans 1, Deuteronomy 12, 1 Timothy 3, Hebrews 12, and the narrative of Saul that innovation in worship — however well-intentioned — constitutes a form of idolatry. The practical application is that the elements of corporate worship must be drawn from Scripture alone: prayer, the reading and preaching of the Word, singing, and the sacraments — with no addition, subtraction, or substitution from the imaginations and devices of men.
2LCF Chapter 21 - Of Christian Liberty and Liberty of Conscience
Christian liberty is grounded not primarily in political or personal freedoms but in the perfect saving work of Christ, who has purchased freedom from the guilt, power, and punishment of sin for all his elect. This study works through 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith chapter 21, paragraphs 1–3, tracing the biblical foundations of liberty of conscience against both Roman Catholic ecclesiastical imposition and antinomian abuse of grace. The New Testament enlarges the freedom already held by Old Testament believers by releasing them from the ceremonial law's yoke, granting bolder access to the throne of grace, and communicating the Spirit more fully. True Christian liberty issues not in licentiousness but in cheerful, childlike obedience to God, freed from slavish fear and self-imposed religious scrupulosity alike.
2LCF Chapter 20 - Of the Gospel and of the Extent of the Grace Thereof
The gospel is necessary, revealed only through special revelation, and made effectual solely by the sovereign work of the Holy Spirit — natural law and general revelation are wholly insufficient for salvation. This session expounds 2LCF Chapter 20, tracing why John Owen and the Congregationalists added this chapter to address both the rise of salvation-through-natural-law teaching and the false charge that Reformed and Baptist churches were anti-missional. The sermon argues that the gospel advances to the ends of the earth through preaching, according to God's sovereign will, as the Spirit regenerates the elect who are dead in trespasses and sins. The practical burden is confidence and perseverance in gospel proclamation, grounded not in human ability or ecclesial authority but in the sovereignty of God.
2LCF Chapter 19 - Of the Law of God
God's moral law — first written on Adam's heart in the covenant of works, codified in the Ten Commandments at Sinai, and distinguished from the temporary ceremonial and judicial laws of Moses — remains perpetually binding on all humanity because it perfectly expresses the unchangeable holy character of its divine Author. This study works through chapter 19 of the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith, examining the original revelation of the law, its survival after the fall, the threefold distinction of moral, ceremonial, and judicial law, and the abiding obligation of the Decalogue across all covenants. The threefold use of the moral law is treated in sequence: its civil use in restraining sin, its pedagogical use in exposing sin and driving the conscience to Christ, and its normative use in directing the regenerate life of the believer. Believers are called to embrace the moral law not as a covenant of works but in gratitude, enabled by the Spirit through the ordinary means of grace, standing in Christ's righteousness alone before the holy lawgiver.
2LCF Chapter 16 - Of Good Works
1689 London Baptist Confession chapter 16, 'Of Good Works,' teaches that good works are defined exclusively by God's revealed word, flow necessarily from justification and sanctification, and are enabled entirely by Christ as the believer's vine. The chapter distinguishes scriptural good works — requiring the right matter, root, manner, and end — from both the meritorious works Rome supposes possible and the common-grace works of the unregenerate, which, lacking a heart purified by faith and the goal of God's glory, cannot please God. Believers are exhorted to pursue good works not as the ground of their acceptance before God, but as the fruit of a living faith, performed in Christ's strength and received by God through Christ despite their imperfection.
Of Sanctification (2LCF 13)
What does it mean to be sanctified, and how does that work itself out in the Christian life? Working from 2LCF Chapter 13 and Ephesians 4:17–24 as a core text, this teaching distinguishes definitive sanctification — the once-for-all, irreversible breach with the dominion of sin that occurs at union with Christ — from the progressive sanctification that follows as the Spirit applies Christ's death and resurrection to the believer's daily conflict with the flesh, the world, and the devil. The confession's three paragraphs frame the exposition: the inception and source of sanctification in Christ's virtue, the imperfect yet real struggle with indwelling sin, and the certain progress of grace toward evangelical obedience. Believers are called to reckon themselves dead to sin, take up the means of grace daily, and press on toward holiness as those who are already God's special possession.
2LCF Chapter 5 - Of Divine Providence
Divine providence — God's upholding, directing, disposing, and governing of all creatures and things — is the subject of 2nd London Baptist Confession chapter 5, here expounded in a single-session overview. The chapter is read in full, then traced through its seven paragraphs: the definition and scope of providence, the relationship of God's sovereign first cause to secondary causes, the place of sin within providence (both for believers and unbelievers), and the special providential care God exercises toward his church. The session presses toward pastoral comfort: because the God of chapter 2 — infinitely wise, holy, and good — is the God of chapter 5, whatever befalls the elect is by divine appointment for God's glory and their good.
2LCF Chapter 4 - Of Creation
The doctrine of creation as confessed in chapter 4 of the Second London Baptist Confession of Faith (2LBCF) establishes that the triune God — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — created all things ex nihilo in the space of six literal days, for the primary purpose of manifesting His own glory. Man was made in the image of God, constituted as a dichotomous being (body and soul), endowed with knowledge, righteousness, and true holiness, and placed under a probationary covenant arrangement that sets the stage for all subsequent redemptive history. This session surveys all three paragraphs of the chapter — the overview of creation, the creation of man, and the probation of man — before drawing out ethical implications concerning vocation, the sanctity of human life, marriage, gender, and the rejection of Gnosticism in all its forms.
2LCF Chapter 26 - Of the Church, Part 13
The conduct required of an offended church member, and the proper interpretation of Matthew 7:1–6 in relation to church discipline, stand at the center of this study of 2LCF 26.13. The confession forbids the offended party from absenting themselves from worship or disturbing church order while awaiting the church's further proceeding, and calls them instead to wait upon Christ. Matthew 7:1–6 is not a blanket prohibition against all judgment but a condemnation of the censorious, nitpicking, fault-finding spirit that disregards the law of God and one's own sin. The sermon closes with the exhortation to remove the plank of self-righteous censoriousness before seeking to help a brother with his speck.
2LCF Chapter 25 - Of Marriage
What does Scripture teach about the nature, purposes, and lawful boundaries of marriage? Working through 2LCF Chapter 25, paragraphs 1–4, this study defends the confessional definition of marriage as a monogamous, heterosexual, lifelong covenant between one man and one woman, instituted by God at creation before the fall. The three divine purposes of marriage — companionship, procreation, and conjugal relations — are grounded in Genesis 1–2, and the lawful parties are examined with particular attention to the duty of Christians to marry only in the Lord. The session closes with practical counsel on the dignity of marriage, the responsibility it entails, and the discriminating wisdom required of those who would pursue it.
2LCF Chapter 6 - Of the Fall of Man, of Sin, and of the Punishment Thereof
What is sin, where did it come from, and what has it done to us? This confession study works through 1689 London Baptist Confession chapter 6, paragraphs 1–5, examining the origin of sin in the covenantal breach of Adam, the universal solidarity of mankind in that guilt and corruption, and the abiding effects of sin in both the unregenerate and the regenerate. The remedy is shown to be twofold: justification to deal with the guilt of sin and sanctification to deal with its remaining corruption, both secured by Christ as the second Adam who fulfilled what the first Adam failed to keep.
2LCF Chapter 11 - Of Justification
The doctrine of justification — that sinners are legally declared righteous before God on the basis of Christ's work alone — is examined through 1689 London Baptist Confession chapter 11, paragraphs 1, 2, and 5. The sermon distinguishes the essence, grounds, and method of justification, exposing the errors of Rome's infusion theology, Arminian faith-as-righteousness, and Baxterian neonomian imputation, while showing that faith is the instrument, not the ground, of justification. The inseparable yet distinct relationship between justification (a single forensic event) and sanctification (a progressive inward work) is explored against both legalism and antinomianism. Hearers are called to theological precision, assured confidence in their unlosable standing before God, and consistent holy living as fruit of that standing.
The Rich Young Ruler
What must a man do to inherit eternal life? This exposition of Matthew 19:16–22 examines the encounter between Christ and the rich young ruler, showing that the young man's question is at once legitimate — every soul must reckon with eternity — and illegitimate, because it proceeds from the assumption that salvation is earned by human merit. Christ answers him on the terms of the covenant of works, pressing the second table of the Decalogue and then the tenth commandment in particular, not to prescribe a new way of salvation by poverty, but to expose the man's covetousness and unmask the bankruptcy of his self-righteousness. The sermon calls hearers to abandon proud self-righteousness, reckon honestly with the spirituality of God's law, and flee by faith to the one who alone kept it perfectly.
2LCF Chapter 11 - Of Justification, Part 2
The forensic doctrine of justification — God's one-time legal declaration that the sinner is righteous on the sole ground of Christ's imputed righteousness — faces persistent assault in every era. This session surveys three modern deviations: Arminian evangelicalism (which collapses faith into a meritorious work or relocates righteousness within the believer), the New Perspective on Paul (which reframes Paul's argument as a corrective for ethnic exclusivity rather than a remedy for the condemnation of sin), and the Federal Vision (which renders righteousness relational, conflates Christ's faithfulness with the believer's, and anticipates a future eschatological justification grounded in covenantal obedience). Against all three, Scripture and the confession insist that justification is a completed legal verdict, not a process, and that its ground is exclusively the active and passive obedience of Christ credited to the elect.
2LCF Chapter 4 - Of Creation
The doctrine of creation, as confessed in chapter four of the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith, encompasses far more than the sheer scale of the cosmos — it demands precise theological definition on every point from the time and agent of creation to its purpose and result. This study works through three sections of the chapter: the overview of creation (paragraphs on creation ex nihilo, the triune authorship, divine purpose, the full extent of all things visible and invisible, the literal six-day duration, and the verdict 'all very good'), the apex of creation (the constitution, identity, and integrity of man made in God's image in knowledge, righteousness, and true holiness), and the fulcrum of creation (the covenant of works in the garden as the hinge upon which God's redemptive purpose to save sinners by Christ Jesus turns). Creation is neither an emanation nor a reshaping of pre-existent matter, but a free act of the triune God out of nothing, ordered ultimately to the manifestation of his glory and the redemption of his elect to the praise of his glorious grace.
A Brief Survey of Covenant Theology, Part 2
What is the new covenant, and how does it differ from the Mosaic covenant? Drawing from Jeremiah 31, Ezekiel 36, and the book of Hebrews, this lecture surveys both the Old Testament promises and New Testament fulfillment of the new covenant. The new covenant is not conditioned upon the obedience of its members but secures — through the active and passive obedience of Christ — the forgiveness of sins, regeneration, and the indwelling Spirit for every member of the covenant community, both Jew and Gentile. Obedience within the covenant is the fruit of sovereign grace, not the ground of covenant blessing.