Theological term
Sacerdotalism
3 sermons · All terms
Ask FGBC #10: Why should only believers be baptized?
This Q&A episode addresses the Reformed Baptist argument that only professing believers are proper subjects of baptism. Drawing on the distinction between moral law and positive law, and grounding baptism firmly in the New Covenant rather than the Abrahamic covenant, the speaker argues that circumcision was an ordinance tied to a specific historical covenant now abrogated, and that its recipient-list cannot be transferred to baptism. The episode also traces the historical development of paedobaptism from pre-Reformation sacerdotalism to the covenantal argument codified in the Westminster Confession.
The Authority of the Church
Christ's promise in Matthew 16:19 to give 'the keys of the kingdom of heaven' to the church raises two perennial dangers: authoritarian abuse of ecclesiastical power and the outright abdication of it. This sermon expounds the identity of those entrusted with these keys (apostles, elders, and the gathered congregation together), the nature of the authority delegated (binding and loosing through preaching and discipline), and the proper ground of confidence when the church acts — not sacerdotal infallibility, but the assurance that heaven ratifies the church's faithful obedience to Scripture. The practical conclusion is that the keys are exercised through the proclamation of the Word, the admission and exclusion of members, and the administration of the sacraments — never through entertainment, self-help, or moral do-goodery.
The Establishment of the Church
Matthew 16:18 is, as one commentator notes, the most discussed verse in the most discussed paragraph of Matthew's Gospel — and its controversies are anything but settled. This sermon works through four aspects of Christ's declaration concerning His church: its definition as the catholic or universal assembly of the elect, its foundation in the confession that Jesus is the Christ, its triumph over the gates of Hades, and its builder, who is Christ alone and not any man or institution. The Roman Catholic claim that Peter's person is the rock undergirding a papal succession is examined and rejected on exegetical, historical, and biblical-theological grounds, while the legitimate priority of the apostles in the church's foundation is carefully maintained. Believers are called to hold together the church's certain triumph with the reality of persecution, guarding the deposit committed to them and confessing Christ as Lord.