Origin

Be Persuaded

It occurs to me that I never really talked about where my blog’s identity: “Be Persuaded” came from. It hails from an unlikely Bible verse: Hebrews 13:17, which says:

“Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account, so that they can do this with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.” – HCSB

You might say: “I don’t really see how you’d get “be persuaded” out that. True – it’s not exactly suggested in any of the English versions of the text. But this verse wasn’t originally written in English.

One way of writing it looks like this: “peithesthe tois hēgoumenois hymōn kai hypeikete autoi gar agrypnousin hyper tōn psychōn hymōn hōs logon apodōsontes hina meta charas touto poiōsin kai mē stenazontes alysiteles gar hymin touto”

As a version of this: Πείθεσθε…

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Did Spurgeon hold to 1689 Federalism?

Contrast

Benjamin Keach pastored a fellowship at Horse-lie-down, Southwark for 36 years (1668-1704). He was succeeded by Benjamin Stinton from 1704-1718 (14 yrs), who was succeeded by Joh Gill from 1720-1771 (51 yrs). In 1833 the congregation moved to New Park Street where Spuregon began preaching in 1854 (20 years old).

Keach held to 1689 Federalism while Gill held to a more Westminster-style baptist covenant theology (what has been dubbed “modern reformed baptist covenant theology”).

Which view of covenant theology did Spurgeon hold to?

It’s Important

First, note how important Spurgeon believes this issue is:

“For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts; and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people.” — Hebrews 8:10.

THE doctrine of the divine covenant lies…

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Galatians 3:16

Contrast

Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as of many, but as of one, “And to your Seed,” who is Christ.

Commentators lament that Galatians 3:16 is one of the most difficult verses to interpret in the Bible. Pink says “this passage has occasioned the commentators much trouble, no two of them agreeing in its interpretation. It is commonly regarded as one of the most abstruse passages in all the Pauline Epistles.” Morris notes “At first glance, Gal 3.16 seems to be an example of careful grammatical exegesis; Paul observes and interprets the minutia of the text, stopping to parse a single word in the Biblical text.” I’ve seen the verse used to defend the verbal plenary inspiration of Scripture: “Paul rests his argument of Galatians 3:16 upon a doctrine of verbal inspiration. Here the difference between a singular (“seed”) and…

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The Real Meaning of 1 Thessalonians 5:22

originally posted by Bob Hayton   Anyone with roots in conservative evangelicalism, and particularly fundamentalism, will have heard 1 Thess. 5:22 used as justification for all sorts of personal standards. Going to see a movie, drinking from a dark bottle, using playing cards, wearing facial hair (for men) or wearing pants (for women) — all …

Top Ten Reasons Not To Join A Reformed Baptist Church.

A Twisted Crown of Thorns ®

If you are church shopping [this article was first published in OCTOBER 2011] or looking for a local Christian fellowship a Reformed Baptist Church may not be your cup of tea 🙂

Well you see, Dr. James White has (honestly) noted that in a Reformed Baptist Church…

1. You don’t get to leave after every sermon feeling good about yourself. You may even desire repentance.
2. You don’t get to hear the sermons in the same way you may be used to. It’s frequently verse by verse, maybe not even relevant to your current situation.
3. You don’t get to be entertained. We don’t want to entertain you.

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My Explanation of “The Five Points of Calvinism”

Originally Posted by Bob Hayton   For a while now, I’ve wanted to do a series on the five points of Calvinism, or at least, in my own words, answer the question: “What is Calvinism?”   The wait is over, and my brief (for me) explanation of Calvinism is ready.   You can check it out at …

God’s Sovereign Will: What Was God Thinking?

This is post 5 in our ongoing series reviewing pastor Bill Johnson’s book God Is Good: He is Better than You Think. Pastor Bill Johnson tells a story about a woman he asked to pray for during a church service. She was suffering from cancer. Her reply was, “God has given me cancer to teach …