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Theological term

Five Points of Calvinism

4 sermons · All terms

Nov 1, 2020

The Utility of Confessions and Introduction to the Second London Baptist Confession

Jim Butler

Confessions of faith are not competitors to Scripture but are faithful summaries of biblical doctrine, and the church has historically depended on them for good reason. This address introduces the Second London Baptist Confession of 1689, tracing its historical origins among the Particular Baptists of the 17th century and its relationship to the Westminster Confession and the Savoy Declaration. Five interlocking uses of a confession are then examined: defining church doctrine, defending it against error, discriminating between members and officers on doctrinal grounds, disciplining departures from orthodoxy, and distinguishing confessed doctrine from matters of Christian liberty. The goal is not confessional enslavement but confessional clarity — guardrails that protect the church and free her members to worship and grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ.

Audio
May 7, 2014

Judges 12

Jim ButlerJudges 12

Judges 12 brings the Jephthah cycle to its close with a civil war provoked by Ephraimite pride, the famous shibboleth test, and the sparse notices of three minor judges. The Ephraimite confrontation exposes a recurring flaw — the desire for personal glory rather than gratitude to God for deliverance — and Jephthah's response with the sword rather than diplomacy reveals both his character and the escalating moral disorder of the period. The absence of the formulaic 'rest in the land' after Jephthah's judgeship signals Israel's deepening Canaanization. Throughout the study, the central interpretive principle is maintained: the judges, however flawed, are not the heroes — Yahweh is, and they point forward to the true deliverer, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Mar 22, 2014

Free Grace Baptist Church - March 21 Missions Event

Unknown

A Reformed Baptist missionary with thirty years of service in the Philippines presents an overview of the work in Metro Manila and beyond: church planting, a three-year pastoral training institute covering biblical languages and systematic theology, and itinerant teaching among pastors in remote provinces. The presentation is grounded in Revelation 5 and Romans 10 — Christ has purchased a people from every tribe, tongue, and nation, and messengers must be sent to gather them. The evening closes with prayer requests for the elders of Moonwalk Community Bible Church, the graduates scattered across the Philippine islands, and the ongoing effort to bring the gospel to Roman Catholics, Muslims, and those ensnared in health-and-wealth Christianity.

Audio
Apr 11, 2010

From Persecutor to Preacher, Part 2

Jim ButlerGalatians 1:15–24

Paul's early Christian career in Galatians 1:15–24 demonstrates that his apostolic commission and gospel were received directly from God, not derived from or validated by any human authority. His separation from the womb, effectual calling by grace, and the revelation of Christ in him establish divine sovereignty over his entire ministry — from persecutor to preacher. The sermon engages the 'new perspective on Paul,' arguing that the Reformation reading rightly identifies individual sin and grace as the heart of Paul's theology, not merely the corporate sociological question of Jew-Gentile relations. The hearer is pressed to trust in Christ alone, whose blood atones for great and invincible sins, and to see every human supplement to that atonement as an assault upon the cross itself.