Topic
Bibliology
415 sermons · All topics
CTF 2024 Session 5 - Confessional Guidelines for Scripture Interpretation
Christ is the scopus scripturae — the bullseye around which the entire canon coheres. Drawing on Luke 24, John 5, and Acts 2, this lecture argues that the Old Testament was a messianic document independent of Christ's own self-witness, and that the apostles, particularly Peter, interpreted Scripture exactly as Jesus taught them: finding the sufferings and glory of Christ throughout the law, prophets, and writings. The session establishes that when Scripture cites and explains Scripture, the explanatory words need not appear in the cited text — a pattern that legitimates expository preaching and creedal formulation alike.
CTF 2024 Session 6: Further Explorations in Scripture Interpretation
Christ is the scope of the whole of Scripture — this is the claim Peter makes in Acts 3 and unpacks theologically in 1 Peter 1:10–12, and it is the claim this session presses upon interpreters of the Bible today. Beginning with Peter's sermon in Acts 3 and moving to his mature reflection in 1 Peter 1, the lecture traces how God spoke through the writing prophets from Moses onward concerning the sufferings and glory of Christ, how those prophets studied one another's writings in search of a fuller understanding, and how the coming of Christ together with the New Testament's explanatory revelation made explicit what was implicit in the Old Testament all along. The session closes with several hermeneutical implications: the analogy of Scripture is not a Reformation invention but a prophetic practice; the Old Testament contains a surplus of divinely embedded meaning that awaits later revelation to unveil; and subsequent revelation does not reinterpret the Old Testament but fulfils and illuminates the meaning that was always there.
CTF 2024 Session 7 - Q&A Panel Discussion
A conference Q&A panel addresses a wide range of confessional, theological, and pastoral questions arising from lectures on the 1689 Second London Baptist Confession and its relationship to broader Reformed orthodoxy. Topics range from the nature of creedal subscription and what it means to be Reformed, to the hermeneutics of typology, the mystery language of Ephesians 3, the humanity and knowledge of Christ, divine immutability and impassibility, and the differences between the Second London Confession and the Three Forms of Unity. The panel consistently grounds its answers in the churchly authority of confessions over individual interpretation, the centrality of the means of grace for generational faithfulness, and the necessity of theological humility before the accumulated witness of the church.
CTF 2024 Session 1: An Engaging Overview of the Second London Confession of Faith
The Second London Confession of Faith (1689) did not arise in a vacuum but was forged in response to specific doctrinal crises and pastoral needs within the 17th-century particular Baptist churches. This address traces the historical circumstances behind the Confession's 1677 publication — including the Christological heresies of Thomas Collier and Matthew Caffin, the threat of Quaker mysticism, fear of Roman Catholic resurgence, and the pastoral concern for family catechesis. The speaker then surveys the Confession's 32 chapters as a coherent theological architecture, showing how its structure reflects the covenant of grace viewed from both divine and human perspectives. Listeners are urged to recover the Confession as a living instrument of orthodoxy, protection, instruction, and proclamation for the church today.
CTF 2024 Session 2: Jesus Christ as the Scope of Scripture
What does the 1689 Second London Baptist Confession mean when it says 'the scope of the whole is to give all glory to God'? This lecture argues that Christ — specifically his incarnation, sufferings, and entrance into glory — is the scopus scripturae, the bullseye to which every part of Scripture aims. Drawing on the First Helvetic Confession, William Ames, John Owen, and Luke 24, the speaker demonstrates that Jesus himself read the entire Old Testament canon as pointing to his own sufferings and resurrection glory, and that the apostles after Pentecost interpreted Scripture in precisely the same way. The governing hermeneutical principle is that subsequent revelation often makes explicit what is implicit in antecedent revelation, so that Scripture is organically unified, self-interpreting, and consummated in the person and work of the Son of God.
CTF 2024 Session 4: The Uniting Power of our Reformed Confessions
The ecumenical creeds of the first five centuries — the Apostles' Creed, the Nicene Creed, the Chalcedonian Definition, and the Athanasian Creed — form the doctrinal bedrock upon which the Reformation confessions, including the Westminster Confession, the Savoy Declaration, and the Second London Confession of Faith, were deliberately built. This address traces the historical controversies (Arianism, Eutychianism, Monophysitism, Monothelitism) that provoked each creed, demonstrates the precise linguistic dependence of the 1689 LBCF upon creedal formulations, and argues that this shared inheritance constitutes genuine theological unity among confessional Reformed and Reformed Baptist churches. The practical conclusion is that ministers must teach these creeds and their underlying doctrines — Trinitarian theology, the hypostatic union — as the bedrock of Christian comfort, not merely as academic curiosity.
CTF 2024 Session 3: A Robust Defense of the Scriptures
Creeds and confessions are not supplements to Scripture but summaries of its central propositional content, necessary for intelligent faith, faithful evangelism, and the defense of orthodoxy. Drawing on Romans 12:1-2, James Renihan argues that right living always flows from right believing, and that the theological, ethical, and redemptive-historical dimensions of Scripture all demand that Christians be able to articulate the facts of the faith. Confessions function positively to state the contents of the faith and connect believers across time and place, and negatively to identify error and mark the boundaries of true Christianity. The session closes with a survey of confessional language embedded in the New Testament itself — from the Shema to the apostolic christological summaries — demonstrating that creeds are not a human invention imposed on Scripture but a distillation of what Scripture already teaches.
The Regulation of the Church's Worship, Part 2
What right does a congregation have to alter, add to, or subtract from the worship God has ordained for His house? Expounding 1 Timothy 3:14–16, this sermon establishes that Paul's instructions carry divine necessity — the church is the house of God, the pillar and ground of the truth, governed by Christ its head — and that the church's common confession centres on the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ: His incarnation, vindication, proclamation, and the faith He sovereignly produces in the world. The regulative principle of worship follows directly: only what God commands in Holy Scripture is acceptable worship, a principle demonstrated from the Decalogue, Deuteronomy 12:32, Leviticus 10, 1 Samuel 13, and Hebrews 12, and confessionally formulated in chapter 22 of the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith.
Ask FGBC #6 - Why is historical confessional Christianity important?
The question of why historical confessional Christianity matters is addressed by examining what Scripture itself says about the gifts Christ gives to his church. Drawing on Ephesians 4 and Matthew 28, the argument is made that creeds and confessions are the accumulated fruit of those gifts — the best doctrinal articulation the church has produced across centuries of theological controversy, from Nicaea and Chalcedon through the Second London Confession. To reject them in favor of a 'no creed but the Bible' posture is not humility but a subtle repudiation of the very ecclesiology the Bible commands, and it leaves individuals without the guardrails that preserve orthodox Christianity.
The Regulation of the Church's Worship
What gives the church the right to dictate the forms of its own worship — and what happens when it does? Expounding 1 Timothy 3:14–16, this sermon grounds the regulative principle of worship in the nature of the church itself: because the church is the house of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth, God alone determines what is done within it. The sermon surveys the pastoral epistles to show that Scripture consistently prioritizes sound doctrine over therapeutic or culturally-tailored substitutes. The practical call is to use the means God has ordained — corporate prayer, preaching, psalm-singing — trusting that Christ is genuinely present in the midst of his gathered people.
Ask FGBC #5 - Are people who “chose” for Jesus actually saved?
This pastoral Q&A addresses whether Christians who use Arminian or synergistic language — 'I chose Jesus,' 'I accepted Jesus' — are genuinely saved, or whether such language betrays a fatal misunderstanding of the gospel. The response distinguishes sloppy speech from substantive doctrinal error, urging a judgment of charity toward those lacking theological precision while insisting that doctrinal faithfulness is essential to Christian identity. The episode closes with a call for patience with new believers growing in understanding and for the importance of sound preaching and good church membership as the ordinary means by which precision is cultivated over time.
March 24 AM
What does it mean to be justified before God, and on what ground does that justification rest? Working through Romans 4:23–5:1 against the broader backdrop of Romans 3:19–5:5, this sermon expounds four heads: the nature of justification, the receiving instrument of justification, the perfect ground of justification, and the blessed result. Justification is by an act of imputation — the sins of all who believe are reckoned to Christ and His righteousness is reckoned to them — not by any admixture of human works. The resurrection of Christ stands as the divine vindication that the work of atonement is complete, and the call goes forth to believer and unbeliever alike to rest in Christ alone.
March 17 PM
The Lord's Supper rests on a layered theological foundation that most communicants have never fully considered. Drawing from 1 Corinthians 11:23-26, this sermon traces six doctrinal streams — Scripture's divine inspiration, the perfections of God, the person of Christ, covenant theology, the substitutionary cross, and communion with God as a means of grace — showing how all of them converge in the ordinance. Transubstantiation is rejected on the grounds of Chalcedonian Christology, and the new covenant ratified in Christ's blood is anchored exegetically in Jeremiah 31:31-34. Hearers are called to approach the Lord's Table with an informed and joyful obedience, knowing that in this ordinance the risen Christ, by His Spirit, feeds and strengthens the faith of His people.
The Whole Armor of God, Part 2
The sword of the Spirit and the necessity of prayer form the offensive weapons of the whole armor of God in Ephesians 6:17–24. This exposition argues that the church is constituted as the pillar and ground of the truth and must wield the Word of God against spiritual enemies rather than substituting entertainment, therapeutic programming, or institutional management for gospel proclamation. Prayer is examined through its manner — constant, Spirit-dependent, watchful, and persevering — and its objects: intercession for all the saints and for gospel boldness in the ministry of the Word. The close of the epistle is read as a benediction grounding grace and peace in the Trinitarian life of God.
2024 Conference Theme - Of the Holy Scriptures
This brief conference introduction previews a study of the Second London Baptist Confession of Faith (1689), Chapter 1, 'Of the Holy Scriptures.' The discussion covers the authority, canon, sufficiency, and interpretation of Scripture, with particular attention to the confessional principle that Scripture interprets Scripture (analogia scripturae). Two scholars — one specializing in historical theology and one in hermeneutics — will situate Chapter 1 in its seventeenth-century context and apply its interpretive principles to the contemporary church.
Introduction to Biblical Hermeneutics
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.
Introducing the Confessing the Faith Conference
This introductory video presents the Confessing the Faith Conference, a new Reformed Baptist conference based in Western Canada. The conference is structured around the 1689 Second London Confession of Faith, beginning with Chapter 1 on Holy Scripture, and features Dr. Richard Barcelos and Dr. James Renahan as speakers. Its three stated aims are: fostering unity among Reformed Baptist pastors in Western Canada, promoting fraternal relations with the broader Reformed church, and providing a confession-centered gathering open to all believers — not limited to pastors or scholars.
Book recommendations related CTF 2024 and the Holy Scriptures
Two teachers discuss book recommendations for those preparing for or following up on a conference treating the Holy Scriptures, with particular focus on expositions of the relevant confession chapter and works on the doctrine of Scripture. Recommendations span classical Reformed confession commentaries, treatments of divine inspiration and inerrancy, and a sixteenth-century disputation on Scripture by William Whitaker. The conversation is a brief supplementary resource guide rather than an expository sermon.
The Announcement of the Betrayal
John 13:18–30 records Jesus announcing the betrayal of Judas Iscariot in the upper room, and this exposition works through the passage in two movements: the announcement of the betrayal (vv. 18–20) and the identification of the betrayer (vv. 21–30). Three features of the announcement receive careful attention — the fulfillment of Psalm 41:9 in Christ's passion, the absolute divinity of Christ declared in the repeated 'I am' of verse 19 (grounded in Exodus 3:14), and the nature of apostolic discipleship as delegated ambassadorship. The removal of Judas from the disciple group exposes the distinction between holding church office and possessing saving grace, a distinction pressed as a question of self-examination for every hearer.
The Promise of Blessings and Curses (Part 1)
Leviticus 26:1–13 opens with a promise of blessing conditioned on Israel's obedience — a structure that raises the question of how the Old Covenant relates to the New. This study expounds the covenantal framework underlying Leviticus 26, arguing that the Old Covenant operated as a covenant of works at the national level, distinct from the covenant of grace realized in Christ. The blessings of rain, peace, and God's presence promised to Israel find their fulfillment in the New Covenant, where the obedience that secures blessing is Christ's own, imputed to his people by faith alone.
The Penalty for Blasphemy
Leviticus 24 addresses both the daily obligations of tabernacle worship and the capital penalty for blasphemy, grounding each in the direct speech of God to Moses. The chapter's narrative pivot — an incident in which a man of mixed Israelite and Egyptian descent blasphemes the name of Yahweh — becomes the occasion for case-law application of the third commandment, surrounded by reminders of the lex talionis and the equal accountability of stranger and native-born alike. The typological furniture of the holy place (lampstand and showbread) points forward to Christ as the true light and bread of life, while the blasphemy legislation, with its witness requirements and retributive principle, reveals a God who guards his own honour and structures justice with both severity and safeguard. The sermon exhorts hearers to put away every profane use of the divine name and to cultivate a reverent, wholehearted employment of it in thought, word, and worship.
The Defense of the Faith
Jude 3 commands every believer — not merely clergy or scholars — to contend earnestly for the faith once for all delivered to the saints. This sermon expounds the exhortation, its rationale in the infiltration of ungodly men who pervert grace and deny Christ, and the practical readiness required: remembering apostolic warnings, building on Scripture, praying in the Spirit, and looking for the mercy of Christ at His return. The defence of the faith is not optional, not confined to specialists, and not finally dependent on human faithfulness — it is God's fight, and He keeps those who contend.
Lessons from Paul's Ministry - Acts 20:17-31
Acts 20:17–31 presents Paul's farewell address to the Ephesian elders as a model for Christian ministry and congregational faithfulness. The sermon draws four lessons from Paul's example: the transparent, suffering-marked character of his ministry; the divine call and gospel mission that sustained him; the sobering warning against wolves from without and false teachers from within; and the encouraging promise that God and the word of his grace are able to build up and preserve his people to their final inheritance. The application presses both ministers and congregants toward openness before God's people, vigilance against false teaching, and diligent use of the means of grace.
The Feasts of the Lord
Leviticus 23 sets before Israel a calendar of holy convocations — the weekly Sabbath, the spring feasts of Passover, Unleavened Bread, and Weeks, and the fall feasts of Trumpets, Atonement, and Tabernacles — all commanded by God as the covenant head of his people. These feasts served to remind Israel of their redemptive history, promote joy and community, encourage charity, deter idolatry, and provide rest. As ceremonial law, they were typological ordinances pointing forward to Christ, and their perpetuity was covenantally conditioned: with the inauguration of the New Covenant, Christ abrogated them. The weekly Sabbath, however, rests on moral law grounded in creation and redemption and remains binding on the New Covenant people of God, who are called to observe the Lord's Day — not the Old Covenant feasts — as the appointed time for corporate worship.
The Conclusion of Jesus's Public Ministry, Part 2
John 12:44–50 records the conclusion of Jesus' public ministry, and in it He reiterates the three controlling themes of the entire Gospel: His identity as the eternal Son who is consubstantial with the Father, His mission as the Light of the world who came not to judge but to save those abiding in darkness, and His authority as the one who speaks the very words of God. The unbelief described in the surrounding context — including the merely historical faith of rulers who loved the praise of men — sets the stage for Jesus' final public proclamation. Those who reject the Son reject the Father; those who receive Him by grace through faith pass from darkness into everlasting life.
11/26 AM
Psalm 19 is read not merely as a declaration of general and special revelation but as a prophetic anticipation, interpreted by the Apostle Paul in Romans 10, of the apostolic proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Working through seven points across the psalm's three movements, the sermon traces the symbol, referent, and message of each image: heavens and firmament pointing to the apostles, the sun pointing to Christ the Bridegroom and Son of Righteousness, and the law, testimony, statutes, and judgments pointing to the gospel itself. The Word of God is shown to be perfect, sure, right, pure, clean, true, and righteous — qualities that belong to the gospel, not the Mosaic law — and its effects of conversion, wisdom, rejoicing, and enlightenment call both believer and unbeliever to rest in Christ, the Son of Righteousness, whose glory has gone out to the ends of the earth.
2LCF - Chapter 8 - Of Christ the Mediator, Part 1
What does it mean to confess that Jesus Christ is very God and very man, and why does the precision of that confession matter for eternal life? This introductory session on 2LCF Chapter 8 surveys the doctrine of Christ the Mediator by establishing both the necessary posture and the interpretive rules required for sound Christology, then sets out seven reasons why the study of Christ stands at the center of all Christian theology. The session moves from the scope of Scripture as Christ-centered revelation, through the connection of eternal life to a right knowledge of Christ, to the comprehensiveness of all redemptive benefits being located in union with Him, calling the hearer to pursue a high Christology as the only safe and saving confession.
Clip: 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.
Live Stream - November 12, 2023
John 12:34–41 presents what the Apostle John calls a theology of unbelief: the Jewish crowds, confronted with Jesus' announcement that the Son of Man must be lifted up, demand to know how a dying Messiah can be the eternal Christ of the Scriptures. The sermon traces their error — not misquoting the Old Testament but failing to reckon with its full testimony to a suffering Savior — through Psalms 72, 89, and 110, Isaiah 9, 53, and 6, and Genesis 3 and 22. John's appeal to Isaiah 53:1 and Isaiah 6:9–10 establishes that this unbelief was divinely foreknown and judicially confirmed, not a defeat of Christ's ministry but its precise execution according to the Father's plan. The sermon closes with a direct summons to believe in the light while it remains, grounding the call in the hypostatic union and the imputed righteousness secured through Christ's incarnate obedience, death, and resurrection.
2LCF Chapter 7 - Of God's Covenant
The doctrine of God's covenant is not merely one column in the architecture of systematic theology — it is the architecture itself, the organizing and unifying principle of the entire Bible. This session works through 2LCF Chapter 7, examining the ground of covenant necessity in the creator-creature distinction, the nature of God's voluntary and revelatory condescension, the occasion and provisions of the covenant of grace, and the progressive revelation of that covenant from the protevangelium to its formal ratification in the New Testament. The distinctively Baptist formulation — using 'revelation' rather than 'administration' — reflects the conviction that the covenant of grace was not formally and properly a covenant until Christ ratified it in his blood, a distinction with direct bearing on the doctrine of baptism and the composition of the church.