Josiah C > Recent Status Updates

Garris shows in chapter one that feminism has been anti-Christian from the beginning. First wave feminism was just as evil as second and third wave. He shows that while some things may seem good on the surface, like women’s suffrage, the overall goal was to take headship away from the man and treat society as a collection of individuals rather than a collection of families with husbands as the patriarchs.

The Particular Baptists saw Gen 12 as the New Covenant promised, and Gen 15 and 17 separately as the Covenant of Circumcision established. The Presbyterians saw Gen 12, 15, and 17 as the Covenant of Circumcision dispersed as an administration of the Covenant of Grace which gave them grounds for a mixed Abrahamic posterity.

The 2LCF differs significantly from the WCF concerning the Covenant of Grace. While the WCF affirms the Covenant of Grace being established in Gen 3:15 and administered in both the Old and New Covenants, the 2LCF affirms the Covenant of Grace is promised in Gen 3:15, revealed progressively under the Old Covenant but not formally established until the New Covenant.

In the intro and chapter 1, Denault shows that the difference between Baptist Covenant Theology and Presbyterian Covenant Theology has to do with the understanding of the Covenant of Works. While Presbyterians see the Old Covenant as a Covenant of Grace, Baptists saw the Old Covenant as a reaffirmation of the Covenant of Works.

In section one, Partridge shows that the church has been almost unanimous from the church fathers to the late 1800s concerning their understanding and application of 1 Corinthians 11, i.e., women’s heads should be covered in church. It was not until the feminist movement that head coverings were removed in church.

So far Stander has made it clear that infant baptism is nowhere to be found until the third century. When it does appear then, it has nothing to do with covenant children and it is never linked to circumcision. It is understood to be regenerative and is almost exclusively applied to dying infants to secure their place in heaven.

This is the second early church history source I’ve read recently that points out that the normative practice in the early third century/late second century was to baptize completely nude. The several church fathers that record this claim it was an oral tradition passed down from the apostles. Taking off clothes at the baptismal symbolized leaving behind the old man. Wild.

With a membership of 5,000, each of the members of Metropolitan Tabernacle were accounted for and shepherded by the elders. Each of the elders were assigned 100-200 people to shepherd personally. Each of the members were given communion tickets with their name on them. They had to turn these in to receive the elements, and this is how the elders would keep track of attendance for members.

Spurgeon interviewed every single member who was admitted to his church individually. Over his 30 years as a pastor, he admitted 13,797 members, 70% of them new converts. At times he would conduct up to 40 interviews a day.

After part one of this book critiquing CPM methodology, it is very hard to argue with if you are sympathetic to CPM methodology. Rhodes simply quotes the most popular CPM authorities and critiques them very objectively.

Spurgeon called for churches to keep meeting during the influenza epidemic of his time. Many churches cancelled services, but he kept meeting and called for
more prayer meetings to pray concerning the spread of influenza. Dr. Rhea compares this to how we should have handled COVID in our churches.

In a church of 5,000 the Metropolitan Tabernacle took the Lord’s Supper weekly. Despite the logistical and financial challenges that raised, they believed it was a command from God.

The connection that Socrates makes between the music of a society and the laws of the society are very interesting. In his view, music in a perfect state must be regulated. Otherwise, people will be taught corruption through music and this will impact the laws of the State in the long-term.

“Let me tell you, Socrates, when a man thinks himself to be near death, fears and cares enter into his mind which he never had before. The tales of a world below and the punishment which is exacted there of deeds done here were once a laughing matter to him. But now he is tormented with the thought that they may be true…”

Spurgeon was a staunch Sabbatarian his whole life, believing that secular work on Sunday was worthy of church discipline. He even supported legislation to make it illegal for businesses to open on the Lord’s Day. Understanding pastoral work to be a work of piety, he filled the Lord’s Day with preaching, visiting, and evangelism.

Very convicted by Spurgeon’s prayer life, especially as it relates to his dependence on God in preaching and teaching. His deacons would almost have to drag him to the pulpit at times because he was so deep in prayer thinking of the weight of preaching the Gospel just moments before.

I am consistently struck by the fact that all of the early giants of our faith were monks for large portions of their lives. They spent all day every day praying and studying for years of their lives before they took church offices. I gotta pray and study more.

A Nicene bishop named Eusebius forbade Arius from taking communion, counting him as outside the faith. At the time, the emperor was an Arian and opposed Eusebius. In tears, Eusebius called out to God asking that if his own Nicene christology was correct that God would judge Arius. On his way to the Lord’s table, Arius pooped out his own intensities and died in a matter of minutes. Wow.

Lee’s section on biblical argumentation for sabbatarianism has concluded as he moves to historical proofs. The biblical argument was weak. Lots of systematizing. Lots of speculation. Not a lot of exegesis. It seems like he is doing with the Sabbath what Presbyterians do with baptism. He assumes continuity where it is expressly unwarranted.

This book has been excellent so far. I especially appreciated the weight that Dever gives to church membership. If you are outside of church membership, Dever argues, it may be reasonable to assume you are outside of Christ.

Lee argues that Hebrews 4 speaks of a future test. The text doesn’t say that anyone has entered it, but that we should strive to enter it. He argues that Colossians 2 speaks of the ceremonial elements added to the Sabbath as a creation ordinance, but not of the creation ordinance itself.

Lee‘s main argument for sabbatarianism up to this point has been that creation ordinances are fulfilled in Christ, but not yet in their fullness. In the same way that we now know that our marriages point to Christ and the church and yet we still uphold Christian marriage in this age, we know that the Sabbath points to eternal rest while still upholding a Sabbath day in this age.

He mentions in chapter 4 that we live in such an age where people let their emotions to run wild that when we see someone self-controlled we think that they are unemotional and need counseling. This is comforting to me lol.