Theological term
Cessationism
196 sermons · All terms
2LCF Chapter 1 - Of the Holy Scriptures, Part 2
What does it mean to interpret the Bible correctly, and how does the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith guide that task? Working through paragraphs 5 to 10 of Chapter 1, this study introduces the discipline of hermeneutics — the science of biblical interpretation — by tracing six principles the Confession sets forth: the scope of Scripture (the glory of God in the salvation of sinners through Christ), the sufficiency of Scripture (expressly stated and necessarily implied), the perspicuity of Scripture (clear enough for the unlearned on all saving matters), the translation of Scripture (grounded in divine inspiration and providential preservation), the interpretation of Scripture (the analogy of Scripture and the analogy of faith), and the finality of Scripture (Holy Scripture as the supreme judge over all councils, creeds, and private opinion). The practical burden is that a faulty hermeneutic produces bad doctrine, and that reading the Old Testament through the lens the New Testament apostles themselves provide is not optional but the pattern Christ himself commanded.
Pray for Buckets of Courage to Stand Up for Jesus
The church is called to proclaim the word of God with boldness, not to capitulate to cultural pressure or the fear of man. Drawing on the example of Paul before Festus and the rulers who secretly believed yet feared the Pharisees, this clip argues that a feeble, accommodating church fails its Lord and its neighbors. The remedy is not relevance or likability but buckets of wisdom, courage, and faith — and the preaching of law and gospel in season and out of season.
The Necessity to Walk in Wisdom, Part 3
What does it mean to be filled with the Holy Spirit, and how does that filling express itself in the life of the church? Expounding Ephesians 5:19–21, this sermon argues that the Spirit's presence produces four concrete effects: mutual instruction through song, praise to the Lord Jesus Christ, gratitude to God the Father, and submissive regard for one another — all of which together constitute Trinitarian Christian worship. A sustained lexical, theological, and contextual case is made that the 'psalms and hymns and spiritual songs' of verse 19 refer to the biblical Psalter as the divinely authorized songbook of the church, and the sermon closes by grounding the call to walk in wisdom in the sufficiency of Scripture and the free grace of God in Christ.
The Necessity to Walk in Wisdom, Part 2
Ephesians 5:18–21 sets a prohibition against drunkenness alongside a positive command to be filled with the Spirit, and this sermon works through both in sequence. A biblical theology of alcohol is developed first: Scripture neither condemns moderate use nor condones drunkenness, and the sinner — not the substance — bears the blame. The filling of the Spirit is then interpreted not as a charismatic second work of grace but as the ongoing pursuit of the Spirit's presence and power through prayer, illuminated by the parallel text in Colossians 3:16 where 'being filled with the Spirit' corresponds to 'letting the word of Christ dwell richly.' The congregation is urged to seek more of the Spirit's influence through prayer, knowing that the evidences of that filling are speech, song, thanksgiving, and mutual submission.
The Infallible Rule of All Saving Knowledge
Second Timothy 3:16–17 grounds the authority and sufficiency of Scripture in its divine origin: God breathed out these words, making them infallible, inerrant, and profitable for every purpose of the Christian life and ministry. The sermon works through the identity of Scripture (the whole Old and New Testament canon), its authority as the God-breathed word that admits no human arbitration, and its fourfold utility — doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness. The specific profitability of verse 17 is shown to fit the man of God for every good work, with the primary work being the preaching of the word commanded in 2 Timothy 4:2. The practical summons is to receive Scripture's reproof and correction without shrinking, and to value sound doctrine as the very means by which God shepherds, sanctifies, and equips his people.
The Cessation of Revelatory Gifts
First Corinthians 13:8–13 declares that tongues, prophecy, and words of knowledge have a designed and determined end, giving way to the completed New Testament canon. This sermon argues from Acts 2, 1 Corinthians 13–14, Hebrews 1–2, Ephesians 2, and Daniel 9 that the revelatory gifts were temporary, apostolic, and tied to the first advent of Christ and the foundational era of the church. The 'perfect' of 1 Corinthians 13:10 refers not to the eschatological consummation but to the inscripturated fullness of divine revelation in the New Testament scriptures. Christians today are called to glory in the completed Word of God and in the abiding work of the Holy Spirit in regeneration and illumination, rather than seeking gifts that have ceased.
The Blessings of the Ascended Christ
The ascended and glorified Christ actively dispenses blessings to his church from the right hand of the Father. Expounding Acts 2:22–47, this sermon traces three categories of those benefactions: his proclamational gifts (the gift of preachers, the preaching of the Word, and the Spirit's empowering of that preaching), his salvific gifts (effectual calling and the forgiveness of sins), and his ecclesiastical gifts (the creed of the church, the building and unity of the church, the gathering around apostolic doctrine, and the new covenant ordinances of baptism and the Lord's Supper). Believers are exhorted to pray for Spirit-empowered preaching, to attend diligently upon all the appointed means of grace, and to find their unity in the objective content of Christian confession rather than in secondary things.
The Triumph of the Church
Matthew 16:13–18 presents three interlocking realities about Christ and his church: the identity of Christ confessed by Simon Peter, the divine source of that confession, and the indestructible promise Christ appends to his church. The rock upon which the church is built is not Peter's person but the Christ Peter confessed — the second person of the triune God who assumed humanity, died, and rose for his people. Christ himself is the builder, foundation, and protector of the church, which means the gates of Hades assault the church not as a conquering force but as a defensive one being overrun by the church's gospel advance. The practical summons is for the church to fulfil her three marks — the preaching of the word, the administration of the sacraments, and the exercise of discipline — with the confidence that Christ's triumphant headship guarantees the church's survival into the eschaton.
The Ministry of Paul in Ephesus
Acts 19:1–10 presents what appears to be a re-baptism of John's disciples by Paul, but a careful reading of the passage's punctuation and structure reveals that verses 4 and 5 record what Paul said — a summary of John's baptism — while verse 6 records what Paul did: lay hands on these men to confer the extraordinary gifts of the Holy Spirit. John's baptism was Christian baptism, requiring repentance and faith in Christ Jesus, and these disciples had already received it. The extraordinary sign gifts of tongues and prophecy that accompanied the Spirit's coming in Acts 2, 8, 10, and 19 were revelatory gifts suited to the first-century church's founding mission and are not normative patterns for all believers in subsequent ages.
2LCF Chapter 1 - Of the Holy Scriptures, Part 2
Paragraphs 5–10 of the Second London Confession's first chapter contain an implicit hermeneutical program that governs all responsible reading of Scripture. This session works through those paragraphs to identify six distinct interpretive principles: the Christocentric scope of all Scripture, the extent and finality of Scripture's sufficiency, the perspicuity of Scripture for salvation, the availability of Scripture through faithful translation, the analogy of Scripture and faith as the rule of interpretation, and the supreme judicial authority of Scripture over all human councils and traditions. The practical thrust is that every reader, learned or unlearned, is equipped by ordinary means and the Spirit's illumination to understand what God has revealed — and that bad presuppositions inevitably produce bad theology.
2LCF Chapter 1 - Of the Holy Scriptures, Part 1
The necessity of Holy Scripture, as confessed in 2LCF Chapter 1, paragraph 1, arises from the insufficiency of general revelation to communicate saving knowledge. While creation and providence manifestly display God's goodness, wisdom, and power — leaving all men without excuse — they do not and cannot reveal blood atonement, the incarnation, or justification by faith alone. It therefore pleased God to commit His will to writing, producing a Scripture that is the only sufficient, certain, and infallible rule of all saving knowledge, faith, and obedience. The session closes with extended discussion of cessationism, the distinction between inerrancy and infallibility, and the hermeneutical principle that Scripture interprets Scripture.
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.
The Unsurpassed Value of Scripture
Second Timothy 3:16–17 grounds the entire ministry of the Word in two foundational claims: that all Scripture is God-breathed in its origin, and therefore profitable in its use for doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness. The sermon establishes the identity of Scripture (Old Testament and apostolic New Testament writings), defends verbal, organic inspiration as distinct from mere human literary inspiration, and distinguishes the attributes of inspired, infallible, and inerrant as three interlocking properties of Scripture. The practical force of the passage is pressed on both the congregation and the minister: a church that neglects biblical doctrine, reproof, and correction will be stunted and vulnerable, while the man of God who saturates himself in the Word is thoroughly equipped for every good work.
The Gifts Given by the Ascended Christ, Part 4
Ephesians 4:15–16 concludes Paul's treatment of the gifts given by the ascended Christ by setting out the positive influence those gifts are designed to produce in the church: spiritual maturity through truth spoken in love, and corporate edification flowing from union with Christ the head. The sermon argues that the Christian ministry is not a free-for-all of entertainment or emotional stimulation but is governed by Christ himself, who gave pastor-teachers to equip the body for growth into the fullness of Christ. Against the twin dangers of internal spiritual complacency and external false teachers, the church is called to the use, consistent use, and persevering use of the ordinary means of grace — preaching, prayer, and the gathered assembly — as the God-ordained path to maturity.
The Gifts Given by the Ascended Christ, Part 3
Ephesians 4:13–16 specifies the duration, goal, and effect of the teaching gifts Christ gives to the church — the pastor-teachers who continue until the Lord returns. The goal of that ministry is threefold: the unity of the faith, the knowledge of the Son of God, and the corporate maturity of the church measured against the fullness of Christ. A faithful preaching ministry functions as preventative maintenance, guarding the congregation against spiritual immaturity, doctrinal instability, and susceptibility to deceitful men. The sermon closes by calling the church to pray for the ascended Christ to raise up qualified men, and to receive their teaching as the God-ordained means of growth and stability.
The Gifts Given by the Ascended Christ, Part 2
Ephesians 4:11–13 presents Christ's ascension gifts to the church — apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastor-teachers — not as a support structure for general congregational ministry, but as the primary agents of three coordinate purposes: perfecting the saints, engaging in the work of ministry, and edifying the body of Christ. The sermon argues at length for a reading of verse 12 that sees all three prepositional phrases as dependent on the gifted men of verse 11, contesting the newer 'every-member ministry' interpretation found in modern translations and commentaries. The church's corporate maturity and doctrinal stability depend on qualified, diligent, Word-centered ministers whom Christ in his wisdom and kindness has given as gifts, and the congregation bears a corresponding responsibility to receive and honor that ministry.
Many Are Chosen, and Called Through Preaching
God's design to save a vast multitude is visible not only in Revelation 7's innumerable throng from every tribe and tongue, but in the very institution of the preaching office itself. The perpetual office of pastor-teacher — continuing until Christ's return in glory — exists precisely to call sinners to faith and repentance and to promise the blessedness of Christ to all who come by grace through faith. The breadth of God's saving purpose and the means he has appointed to accomplish it are together a standing encouragement for any sinner to look to the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Gifts Given by the Ascended Christ, Part 1
Ephesians 4:7–11 presents Christ the ascended Lord as the giver of gifts to His church. This sermon expounds the provision of God's grace in verse 7, the Christological argument drawn from Psalm 68 in verses 8–10, and the specific gifted men named in verse 11 — apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastor-teachers. The preacher argues that Paul's appeal to Psalm 68 is typological: as Yahweh conquered Israel's enemies, received tribute, and distributed it to his people, so Christ conquered sin and death, ascended to the right hand of the Father, and now distributes gifts to His church through the Spirit. The practical weight of the sermon falls on killing pride, praying for elders and deacons, and recognising that the teaching ministry — not celebrity — is the bond that produces the love and unity Paul commands in verses 2–3.
The Cross of Christ in the Book of Acts
The cross of Christ is not a threshold event left behind at conversion but the perpetual heartbeat of Christian life and worship. Working through the theme of the cross as it appears across the Book of Acts, this sermon traces six dimensions of the cross under six headings — divine purpose, divine promise, divine providence, divine power, divine proclamation, and divine proficiency — demonstrating that the crucifixion was planned in eternity, foretold throughout redemptive history, carried out through providential means, accomplished by the God-man himself, heralded by apostolic messengers, and effectually applied to all whom the Father gave the Son. The central application is a call to restore the art of marveling in the cross daily, not only on the Lord's Day, as the only fitting response to the reality that the God of heaven and earth took human flesh to bring many sons to glory.
Better Things in Christ
Hebrews 1:1–4 presents Jesus Christ as the apex of divine revelation, the eternal Son who bears the undiminished nature of the Father, and the perfect High Priest whose finished work secures salvation for all His people. The sermon moves through three considerations: the singular greatness of Christ's revelation over all prior prophetic speech, the infinite excellency of His person as the brightness of the Father's glory and the exact imprint of His nature, and the perfection of His redemptive regency demonstrated in His expiatory sacrifice and His session at the right hand of the Majesty on high. Against any drift toward lesser things — whether Old Covenant shadows, Roman Catholic purgatory, or the kenotic diminishment of Christ's deity — the congregation is called to hold fast their Christ, rejoice in the revelation God has given, and fear the consequences of neglecting so great a salvation.
The Practice of the Early Church
Acts 2:41–47 describes the irreducible practices of the early church — the apostles' doctrine, fellowship, the breaking of bread, and prayer — and this sermon argues that those practices are not merely historical description but prescription for the church in every age. The gospel that created the church (sovereign grace working through proclamation to bring dead sinners to faith and repentance) also defines what the church does when it gathers. The sermon presses both the unconverted (to seek the Lord Jesus Christ in whom alone there is forgiveness and an imputed righteousness) and the congregation (to continue steadfastly in the ordained means of grace rather than chasing experience, ecstasy, or entertainment).
The Gentiles and the Covenant of Grace, Part 3
Ephesians 2:19–22 closes Paul's argument about the equal standing of Gentile believers within the covenant people of God. This sermon works through three aspects of the temple Paul constructs in these verses — its foundation (apostles and prophets), its cornerstone (Christ himself), and its materials (believers united to him) — showing that Gentile inclusion is not second-tier membership but full citizenship in the kingdom and full membership in the household of God. The sermon presses hard on the corporate nature of these privileges, arguing from David's anguish in 1 Samuel 26 that to be cut off from public worship is to be cut off from the inheritance of the Lord, and that Christians who treat gathered worship as optional have surpassed David in privileges while falling far short of him in appetite.
The Perfection of Christ as the Prompting of His People
Hebrews 10:19–25 marks the great hinge of the epistle, where doctrinal exposition gives way to exhortation. The perfection of Christ's sacrifice and priesthood — the absolute sufficiency of His once-for-all offering and His unceasing high-priestly office — forms the irreplaceable ground upon which three congregational imperatives rest: draw near to God in full assurance of faith, hold fast the confession of hope without wavering, and consider one another in order to stir up love and good works. Christians are not called to seek experiential novelty or emotional stimulation, but to the settled, corporate, and simple obedience of gathered worship, resting entirely upon the finished work of the One who consecrated a new and living way through His own flesh.
The Conduct of a Faithful Minister
Paul's charge to Timothy in 1 Timothy 4:12–16 sets forth the pattern for every faithful gospel minister: exemplary character, diligent public ministry, ongoing personal growth, and tenacious perseverance to the end. Preached at an ordination service for a newly commissioned pastor, this exposition works through each element of the apostle's command — from the six spheres of a minister's example (word, conduct, love, spirit, faith, purity) to the three pillars of public ministry (reading, exhortation, doctrine). The sermon insists that Christian virtue, however admirable, cannot save souls; it is the word of God, proclaimed boldly and accurately, that the Spirit uses as the instrument of salvation. The congregation is charged alongside the minister: receive the word with joy, reject heresy, prize the public means of grace, and honour those who watch for your souls.
The Ministry of Paul in Corinth
What does faithful gospel ministry look like when met with sustained opposition, rejection, and fear? Expounding Acts 18:1–11 within Paul's second missionary journey, this sermon traces four movements: Paul's strategic arrival in Corinth, his testimony in the synagogue, the fierce Jewish opposition and his response, and the Lord's night vision that commands him to speak because God already has a people in the city. The sermon argues that sovereign election and human culpability stand together — the God who predestines the elect also holds every rejector accountable for his own blood. A closing application presses believers toward faithful gospel proclamation, the planting of churches, and the catechesis of covenant children as genuine instruments of the effectual call.
The Introduction to Ephesians
Ephesians 1:1–2 introduces one of the richest doctrinal letters in the New Testament canon, and this sermon surveys the authorship, historical context, and theological purpose of the epistle before examining Paul's greeting to the saints. The apostle's self-identification as one sent by Christ 'by the will of God' grounds his authority not in self-appointment but in sovereign divine commission, while his description of the recipients as 'saints' and 'faithful in Christ Jesus' defines sainthood in purely biblical terms — all who are justified by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. The sermon traces Paul's founding ministry in Ephesus through Acts 18–19, showing how the gospel's triumph over witchcraft, idolatry, and the cult of Diana provides the backdrop for the letter's emphasis on Christ's supremacy over all powers. The epistle is previewed as a two-part structure — doctrinal foundation (chapters 1–3) followed by practical application (chapters 4–6) — aimed at grounding believers in both the indicatives and imperatives of redemption.
The Denial of the Resurrection
Matthew 28:11–15 records the fabrication of the lie that Christ's disciples stole his body — the original counter-narrative to the resurrection. This sermon exposes the willful unbelief of the Jewish religious leaders, tracing their conspiracy as one episode in a sustained, devil-driven war against the truth of the gospel. The implausibility of the theft narrative is examined on apologetic grounds, and the sermon closes by contrasting the Counter Great Commission of bribe-funded deception with the Great Commission of Christ's abiding-presence-powered truth.
2LCF Chapter 22 - Of Religious Worship and the Sabbath Day, Part 1
The fourth commandment, 'Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy' (Exodus 20:8–11), is grounded not in Mosaic legislation alone but in the creational ordinance of Genesis 2:1–3, where God's sabbathing after six days of work establishes the one-in-seven pattern binding upon all his image-bearers. The Deuteronomy 5 parallel adds redemption alongside creation as a second rationale, and these twin foundations carry into the New Covenant. Surveying Genesis 2–4, Exodus 16, Mark 2, Isaiah 56 and 58, and Jeremiah 31, this exposition demonstrates the trans-covenantal utility of the Decalogue and argues that the Sabbath is not a burdensome restriction but a gracious gift through which God's people enter into fellowship with their Creator.
The Depravity of Man
Romans 1:18–32 presents the universal human condition as one of willful suppression of God's self-disclosure in creation, resulting in inexcusability before a holy God. The sermon traces three movements in the passage: the revelation of divine wrath, the reason for that wrath in humanity's idolatrous exchange of the Creator for the creature, and the nature of God's judgment as a punitive giving-over of sinners to the very sins they pursued. The sermon argues that the preaching of the law — including the full weight of human depravity — is indispensable to the proclamation of the gospel, because sinners must understand their ruin before they will look to the remedy of blood atonement in Christ alone.
The Prayer of the Persecuted Church
When the early church faced arrest and official prohibition of gospel preaching, its first instinct was corporate prayer — not political agitation or fearful compliance. This exposition of Acts 4:23–31 traces the structure of that prayer: an invocation of God as sovereign Creator, an exposition of Psalm 2 applied to the conspiracy against Christ and his people, and a pointed supplication not for safety or comfort but for boldness to declare the word. The sermon calls the contemporary church to the same God-centred prayer, understanding persecution as something always beneath the sovereign hand of God, and faithfulness in proclamation as the unchanging vocation of every Christian steward.