ARBCA 2

ARBCA General Assembly 4.05.06
Last night we heard from Fred Malone on the doctrine of Justification. His primary text was Luke 18:9-14, the parable of the pharisee and the tax collector. As a note of background he mentioned that during the inner-testimonial period, the Jews developed unauthorized books falsely attributed to biblical writers as an attempt to give their writings authority. In these books, they taught a justification that comes from obedience to the law. It was this understanding of justification that plagued the pharisee in the given parable.
He stated that the two men in the parable had things in common as well as things which made them distinct.
1. What they shared in common

• They were both Jews
• They were both circumcise
• They were both sons of Adam
• They were both seeking justification from God

2. What made them different

• One stood in the temple near the holy of holies - he felt comfortable in God's presence
• The other stood far off
• One looked at the law and saw his righteous works
• The other looked at the law and saw condemnation

The pharisee had a wrong view of God's holiness. He did not understand that his hatred was murder in God's eyes. By judging the tax collector, he condemned himself by the law by his own self-righteousness.

Dr. Malone says that it is being asserted today that all of the covenants are of grace whereby we enter by grace but remain by obedience. They have redefined justification and grace. Those who create a justification by works, that is a justification that is not sure until the end and is not eternal from the beginning have perverted the gospel.

Even throughout the OT, justification was by faith alone.

• Abraham - he believed and it was accounted to him as righteousness
• Isaiah - Only in the Lord are righteousness and strength (Is. 45)
• Jeremiah - The Lord is our righteousness. This text does not just say the Lord is righteous, it says He is OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.

Malone said justification has to do with a sinner who believes in Jesus as the only savior of the world and then two things happen:
1. Sins are atoned for and washed away
2. Heart is covered with perfect righteousness of His character and love.

This morning's keynote speaker was Eric Freel, pastor of Redeemer Baptist Church in Macon, GA. He spoke on "Quitting."

He has two main points:
1. Jesus, our Lord had reason to quit
2. The reason Jesus, our Lord, did not quit.

1. Jesus, our Lord, had reason to quit.
a. rejection John 1:11
b. He knew the nature of man John 2:23-25
c. ignorance on the part of leadership John 3 (Nicodemus)
d. mans' fear of man John 7:12-15
e. abandonment John 6 - Starts with a huge crowd but ends with betrayal of the disciples.
f. murder plots - plots that were rooted in a genuine desire to kill Him.

2. The reason Jesus, our Lord, did not quit.
a. He was and is radically God-centered John 5:30
b. He had a clear view of His mission and the determination to accomplish it. John 4:34, 5:36
c. He experienced true gospel success John 1:12

This was a great message from a dear brother.

Later in the morning, there was a theological discussion on the topic of eldership. This was the first part of a three part discussion that will continue tomorrow.
The first question that was asked is, "Is the church in proper order with only one elder?"
Fred Malone was the first to respond. I was pleased with his answer as I had noticed a paragraph in the 1689 just before he stood to comment. His comment was rooted in the same text. He had just noticed it himself. It is found in chapter 26, paragraph 9. Speaking of the appointment of a men to eldership, it leads to, "with imposition of hands of the eldership of the church, if there be any before constituted therein."
Our forefathers most likely understood there would be situations we may find ourselves in. For example, a church is just getting started and has only one qualified for elder.
Dr. James Renihan added, "There is a difference between the being of the church and the well-being of the church." It is more important to have the gospel than the form. These men are all for plurality of elders and recognize not only the scriptural precedence but the importance for accountability. They, nor I , are willing to say a church is not a true church or under judgment if they find themselves in a season with only one pastor. That pastor does need, however, to set in place some good accountability and counsel for himself.
Dr. Renihan recommended three books on the subject after agreeing that Alexander Strauch's book on eldership is not only poor but worthy of avoiding.

The three books are:
1. "John Cotton on the Churches of New England" Specifically the section on the keys of the kingdom.
2. "Polity" - Mark Dever
3. "The Church Manual" - James M. Pendleton

The last part of this discussion had to do with the three marks of a true church. Dr. Renihan shared he does not give much attention to the "three marks" as they hail from the Dutch Presbyterians who claim we (reformed Baptist) are not a true church because we do not baptize infants.
He then went on to mention the lack of church discipline being the mark of a false church. He brought up the Corinthian church and mentioned they were not labeled an untrue church.

And there we ran out of time.

To be continued...