by Sam Waldron | Jan 30, 2019 | Systematic Theology
[Recently, I submitted an essay for an upcoming book in memory Dr. Robert Paul Martin entitled: A Contemporary Treatment of the Covenant of Works in the Tradition of John Murray. I do not intend to reproduce the entirety of that essay in these blog posts. I introduced my treatment of the Covenant of Works with some Preliminary Thoughts on John Murray and the Covenant of Works. I did so because John Murray’s treatment of this subject (which he entitled, “The Adamic Administration”) has caused many rumors and suspicions about his orthodoxy among some Reformed folks. I have always felt that these suspicions were unfair. In these Preliminary Thoughts I explain why.]
Those in the mainstream of the Reformed tradition have become increasingly sensitive to the importance of holding proper views of the Covenant of Works if one is to hold and defend the traditional Protestant and Reformed doctrine of justification. The modern voices calling for a revision of this article of faith (which has been called the article of the standing or falling of the church) have one after another made clear their opposition to the notion of the Covenant of Works as it has been held and defended in the Reformed tradition. The proponents of the New Perspective on Paul, the advocates of the Federal Vision, and those allied with John Piper’s mentor Daniel Fuller have generally denied the Covenant of Works and universally revised the Protestant and Reformed doctrine of justification.[1]
There is, indeed, in my view an important and logical connection between right views of the Covenant of Works and the Protestant doctrine of justification. It is not surprising, then, that inadequate views of the Covenant of Works have increasingly been recognized as dangerous, suspicious, and tantamount to a denial of the traditional doctrine of justification. While such suspicions are understandable and may even be proper, they are not always well-grounded. Innocent people have sometimes been caught in the crossfire over the Covenant of Works and been accused of views which they have not taught. Those whose views of justification are mostly or entirely traditionally Protestant have been accused of heterodoxy and associated with the New Perspective on Paul or the Federal Vision because their views of the Covenant of Works have not come up to the standards of their critics. While we do well to understand that proper views of the Covenant of Works are the final and firm foundations of the traditional Protestant doctrine of justification, we must not accuse those who fail to dot our I’s or cross our T’s with heterodoxy. We must allow people to be logically inconsistent with their basically orthodox views of justification in their inadequate views of the Covenant of Works. Of course, we must point out to them the danger in their inconsistent views of the Covenant of Works, but we must not accuse them of actually holding views which we think their errors logically lead to. People are inconsistent.
[1] Sam Waldron, Faith, Obedience, and Justification: Current Evangelical Departures from Sola Fide (Palmdale, CA: Reformed Baptist Academic Press, 2006), 127-223.
Dr. Sam Waldron is the Academic Dean of CBTS and professor of Systematic Theology. He is also one of the pastors of Grace Reformed Baptist Church in Owensboro, KY. Dr. Waldron received a B.A. from Cornerstone University, an M.Div. from Trinity Ministerial Academy, a Th.M. from Grand Rapids Theological Seminary, and a Ph.D. from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. From 1977 to 2001 he was a pastor of the Reformed Baptist Church of Grand Rapids, MI. Dr. Waldron is the author of numerous books including A Modern Exposition of the 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith, The End Times Made Simple, Baptist Roots in America, To Be Continued?, and MacArthur’s Millennial Manifesto: A Friendly Response.
by Sam Waldron | Jan 18, 2019 | Uncategorized
In the first post in this short series I acknowledged that we are spending a good bit of time, effort, and money to achieve accreditation with the Association of Reformed Theological Seminaries. When I was asked why this matter of accreditation was so important to CBTS, I thought that was a natural, legitimate, and important question. Having briefly mentioned what the reasons for accreditation are not, I now come to speak to what they are.
What the Reasons Are: As I see it, there are three reasons for CBTS to pursue accreditation. Before I state those reasons, let me say that we would not pursue such accreditation if we were shut up to the traditional accrediting agencies. Being accredited by such agencies would entangle us in trying to meet merely traditional, highly complicated, and likely unattainable standards which would distract us from our mission. It is only because an agency like the Association of Reformed Theological Seminaries exists that we are able pursue accreditation. It caters to smaller, conservative, confessionally Reformed seminaries like our own. But given the existence of such an accrediting agency, we are happy to pursue accreditation for the following reasons.
Academic Accountability—Every institution (including both churches and seminaries) is in danger of becoming narrow, provincial, and complacent. Unless institutions make themselves accountable to other like institutions, they may not live up to reasonable operating standards. While CBTS is more than an academic institution, it is nevertheless an academic institution and ought to hold itself to reasonable and accepted standards for such institutions. ARTS’ standards, in our experience and estimation, represent reasonable and accepted academic standards for institutions like ourselves. Thus, accreditation by ARTS is a way of holding ourselves accountable to high but reasonable academic standards and preventing CBTS from becoming complacent, provincial, and thus sub-standard in our practices.
Financial Development—Holding ourselves to customary academic standards provides verification and confirmation to potential donors. This makes CBTS an attractive recipient of their charitable giving. This is not a mere theory. It is, in fact, the strong encouragement we have received from major donors to the seminary which have been an important incentive for us to pursue accreditation.
Student Recruitment—Accreditation is also important for student recruitment. Of course, such accreditation is not important to all of our students, but it is important to a significant number of the students who we recruit. So much is this the case that our plans are to make a major push for student recruitment after we are accredited (as we hope to be) in the fall of 2019. Accreditation by ARTS also provides a further assurance to our students that their degree from CBTS would be accepted for doctoral studies should they wish to pursue such studies.
Conclusion: This is why we are pursuing accreditation at Covenant Baptist Theological Seminary. It is important for ourselves as an institution to hold ourselves to appropriately high academic standards. It is important for the financial development of the seminary in order to provide credibility to present and potential donors. It is important for student recruitment. It provides a proof of academic credibility to potential students.
Dr. Sam Waldron is the Academic Dean of CBTS and professor of Systematic Theology. He is also one of the pastors of Grace Reformed Baptist Church in Owensboro, KY. Dr. Waldron received a B.A. from Cornerstone University, an M.Div. from Trinity Ministerial Academy, a Th.M. from Grand Rapids Theological Seminary, and a Ph.D. from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. From 1977 to 2001 he was a pastor of the Reformed Baptist Church of Grand Rapids, MI. Dr. Waldron is the author of numerous books including A Modern Exposition of the 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith, The End Times Made Simple, Baptist Roots in America, To Be Continued?, and MacArthur’s Millennial Manifesto: A Friendly Response.
by Sam Waldron | Jan 14, 2019 | Updates
Many of you are already aware of our accreditation visit to South Carolina last October. Kyle Kearbey, Rex Semrad, and I had a safe and successful trip. We were moved from applicant status to candidate status by the Commissioners of the Association or Reformed Theological Seminaries (ARTS). The next step in this process will be the site-visit by a Committee of the Commissioners of ARTS which will take place next June. If we pass this inspection and review, we will become full members of ARTS next October. This will mean that we are fully accredited by ARTS. During this visit I was reminded of how kind God has been to CBTS in this process so far. I remember the unusual providence which has enabled Kyle Kearbey to invest, at just the right time, as much as 1,000 hours of his time in the preparation of the self-study and the review of our practices, and the strength he has given to Rex and me to invest several hundred more hours in this process.
Recently, however, someone asked me about why all this labor for accreditation is necessary for CBTS. It occurred to me that it might be helpful for the readers of this blog to have an explanation of why we think all this effort, time, and money is a good investment for us. I thought that the question was both legitimate and important, so I want to answer it by communicating “what the reasons are not” and “what the reasons are.”
What the Reasons Are Not: We are not pursuing accreditation because it is absolutely necessary according to the Bible. Nor do we regard such accreditation as strictly necessary for the church. The Bible does not require theological degrees at all and certainly not accredited theological degrees for office and ministry in the church. Of course, the Bible does require scriptural and theological knowledge for the ministry (1 Timothy 3:2; Titus 1:9). It does require the church to provide the education that will provide such knowledge for its future ministry (2 Timothy 2:1-2). There needs to be some reasonable, respectable, thorough, and presentable method of providing such education. It is at this point and because of this that I want to argue that there are important practical reasons for CBTS to pursue accreditation…
Dr. Sam Waldron is the Academic Dean of CBTS and professor of Systematic Theology. He is also one of the pastors of Grace Reformed Baptist Church in Owensboro, KY. Dr. Waldron received a B.A. from Cornerstone University, an M.Div. from Trinity Ministerial Academy, a Th.M. from Grand Rapids Theological Seminary, and a Ph.D. from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. From 1977 to 2001 he was a pastor of the Reformed Baptist Church of Grand Rapids, MI. Dr. Waldron is the author of numerous books including A Modern Exposition of the 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith, The End Times Made Simple, Baptist Roots in America, To Be Continued?, and MacArthur’s Millennial Manifesto: A Friendly Response.
