In this week’s Theology Matters, Dr. Richard Barcellos joins us to discuss the New Testament use of the Old Testament.
CBTS Faculty fully subscribe to the 1689 Confession of Faith, hold an advanced
degree in their field of instruction, and possess significant pastoral experience.
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!
Dr. Richard Barcellos and I were privileged to serve our Savior in Namibia, Africa earlier this month. At the request of several Reformed Baptist pastors and missionaries, we were asked to equip pastors and church leaders in theological training at the newly formed Grace Ministerial Academy in Windhoek. Through the week of August 8th through the 12th, Rich taught a course on Hermeneutics in the morning while I followed up in the afternoon with a course on Worldviews. We had several pastors and church leaders as students as well as a few others auditing our courses. They were hungry to grow in their knowledge of God’s Word and our prayer is that we helped each of them to “hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it” (Titus 1:9). One of the students made my week when he commented after one of my classes something like, “I took a class on Worldviews at [a seminary in Africa]. They taught it philisophically. You are teaching it biblically. Thank you.” I know Rich also received encouraging feedback.
Additionally, we both had opportunities to preach in local churches while in Namibia. Between the two of us, we preached several times at three different churches. Furthermore, Eastside Baptist Church in Windhoek asked me to teach twice during evening meetings at their church. Because I am a former Mormon, their pastors asked me to teach on Mormonism and witnessing to cultists during their midweek service. They also requested that I cover Decision Making and the Will of God at a special Thursday meeting, a topic that I care deeply about. After finishing my message on biblical decision making, the church where Rich and I preached on our second Lord’s Day in Swakopmund requested that I repeat my message at their church. By God’s grace, our preaching and teaching was warmly received. As you can see, these pastors and churches were clearly hungry to spiritually feast on God’s truth taught from His Word. Praise God!
We thank all of you who prayed for us while we were in Africa. The Lord definitely heard your prayers! Our travels went smoothly, we remained in good health, and our families did well while we were away. But most importantly, we were able to serve Christ and His churches in Namibia. Now we look forward to seeing the fruit of our labors. May Christ richly bless His kingdom in Namibia and beyond for His glory!
“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen” (Ephesians 3:20-21).
Because of His grace,
John Divito
Member, Heritage Baptist Church, Owensboro, KY
Administrator, Midwest Center for Theological Studies
CBTS Faculty fully subscribe to the 1689 Confession of Faith, hold an advanced
degree in their field of instruction, and possess significant pastoral experience.
Next week, Dr. Richard Barcellos and I will be flying to Namibia, Africa to teach two modular courses to indigenous pastors and church leaders at Grace Ministerial Academy. He will be covering hermeneutics while I will handle worldviews.
Please pray for us! In training these pastors, we have a wonderful opportunity but also a humbling responsibility entrusted to us. To help you in your prayers, I have included below my course syllabus. May we glorify Christ through the equipping of His people for the growth of His kingdom!
Christianity and Its Competitors:
Contending for the Christian Worldview
Course Purpose
The purpose of this course is to equip each pastor and church leader to “hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it” (Titus 1:9). This will be accomplished through establishing a Biblical foundation of contending for the faith, explaining the Christian worldview, and evaluating other competing worldviews.
Course Reading
James W. Sire, Scripture Twisting: 20 Ways the Cults Misread the Bible (Downers Grove IL, USA: Intervarsity Press, 1980).
Richard Gehman, Who are the Living Dead? A Theology of Death, Life After Death and the Living-Dead (Nairobi, Kenya: Evangel Publishing House, 1999).
Course Requirements
Four Quizzes: each quiz is worth 25 points, 100 points total
A quiz will be given each day on Tuesday through Friday covering the previous day’s lectures. The quizzes will have multiple choice, true or false, matching, fill-in-the-blank, short answer, and listing questions included. Together, they will cover all of the lecture material for the course.
Final Exam: each essay is worth 50 points, 100 points total
A final exam will assess overall competence in the topics covered in the course. Two essay questions will be completed which integrate the course reading with critical reflection on the lecture content and supplemental material.
Final Essay Questions
1) Using Sire’s Scripture Twisting, select ten Scripture reading errors. For each misreading, identify and define it, give an example of it from the lectures or supplemental materials (not included in Sire’s book), and provide a biblical response. 5 pages minimum.
2) Summarize and compare the theology of death, life after death, and the living-dead between three worldviews: 1) African Traditional Religion (using Gehman’s Who are the Living Dead?), 2) a Christian competitor (chosen from the course lectures or the supplemental materials), and 3) the biblical worldview. 5 pages minimum.
Course Evaluation
The student’s final grade will be determined by dividing his total points earned in half. A student will have successfully completed this course by achieving a cumulative grade of 75 percent or above for his course work. The letter equivalents for the percentile grades assigned are as follows:
| A — 96-100 | B- — 81-84 |
| A- — 91-95 | C+ — 78-80 |
| B+ — 88-90 | C — 75-77 |
| B — 85-87 | C- — 71-74 |
Course Outline
First Unit: Christianity
Part 1: Biblical Foundations
I. Jude 1-4
II. 1 Peter 3:14-16
III. Romans 1:18-32
IV. Acts 17:16-34
Part 2: The Christian Worldview
I. What is a Worldview?
II. What is the Christian Worldview?
Second Unit: Its Competitors
Part 1: Recognizing False Worldviews
I. The Five Keys of Biblical Discernment
Part 2: Evaluating False Worldviews
I. Roman Catholicism
II. Prosperity Gospel
III. Seventh-Day Adventism
IV. Jehovah’s Witnesses
V. Mormonism
Appendix
CBTS Faculty fully subscribe to the 1689 Confession of Faith, hold an advanced
degree in their field of instruction, and possess significant pastoral experience.
This week’s video podcast is a brief discussion of Richard Barcellos’ message at the 2011 General Assembly of the Association of Reformed Baptist Churches of America on the Lord’s Supper as a means of grace.
CBTS Faculty fully subscribe to the 1689 Confession of Faith, hold an advanced
degree in their field of instruction, and possess significant pastoral experience.
Richard Barcellos discusses his doctoral dissertation in our latest video podcast, The Family Tree of Reformed Biblical Theology.
CBTS Faculty fully subscribe to the 1689 Confession of Faith, hold an advanced
degree in their field of instruction, and possess significant pastoral experience.