-
Life Before Confession
If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins. But before we can so confess our sins, the Holy Spirit must impart life into our souls; for the dead know not anything.
-
Introduction
John Hazelton[1] (1822-1888) was a high-calvinist and strict-communion Baptist pastor[2], whose 35 year ministry with the church meeting at Chadwell Street, London, resulted in a congregation that became one of the leading Strict Baptist (SB) churches during the first fifty years of the 20th century. Like most SB’s, Hazelton stood aloof from the ministry of Charles Spurgeon. In many respects, Spurgeon may be regarded as the father of the Reformed Baptist movement—he espoused many of the features that identify this new breed of brethren. Although many Reformed Baptists trace their lineage to the SB’s, this is an illegitimate link. As the sermons of Hazelton will illustrate, the SB’s were unsympathetic to the heretical teachings of Andrew Fuller. Indeed, the SB’s stood with the doctrines espoused…
-
Praise God, From Whom All Blessings Flow
According to Charles Buck, a doxology is "a hymn used in praise of the Almighty". It is typically sung at the end of corporate worship, before the people of God are dismissed. Some of the points covered in this sermon: • James Montgomery’s appraisal of the hymn • A short sketch of Thomas Ken’s life • The occasion and purpose for which Ken wrote the hymn • The larger compositions into which the hymn originally belonged • The theme of the hymn—those made in the image of God, should praise the God in whose image they are made • An exposition of the hymn—(1) the object of praise; (2) the givers of praise • An examination on how the hymn fits within the framework of…
-
12. The Third Confession
Third Confession Drawn up at Dort, at a certain peace convention on the 21st of April, 1632, being a statement of the chief articles of our general Christian faith, as the same are taught and practiced throughout in our church. I. Of God and the Creation of All Things Since we find it testified that without faith it is impossible to please God, and that he that would come to God must believe that there is a God, and that He is a rewarder of them that seek Him; therefore, we confess with the mouth, and believe with the heart, with all the pious, according to the holy Scriptures, in one eternal, almighty, and incomprehensible God, the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, and in none…
-
11. The Second Confession
Second Confession Also drawn up at Amsterdam, on the 7th of October, 1630, called: Confession of Faith, and the principal articles of the Christian doctrine. [Not divided into separate articles, except the articles of belief in God, and the manner of life in the church.] We believe with the heart, and confess with the mouth, that there is one only, eternal, incomprehensible, spiritual Being, which, in Scripture, is called God; to whom alone is ascribed omnipotence, mercy, righteousness, perfection, wisdom, all goodness, and omniscience, and who is called a fountain of life, and the source of all good, the Creator of all things; and the Preserver of the same; who in the Old Testament bears various appellations—the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God…
-
10. The First Confession
First Confession Drawn up at Amsterdam, the 27th of September, 1627, called Scriptural Instruction, concerning who the people are, on whom the peace of God rests, and,how they are bound to peace and unity; given in answer to the following several questions, of which the first is: What are the fundamental and unmistakable marks by which the children of God and members of Jesus Christ (being the church of God) can and must be known, according to the testimony of the word of the Lord? In order to answer this question correctly, we must consider what the means are, by which men become children of God, members of Jesus Christ, and the church of God. For although the blessed Lord Jesus Christ is the only…
