by Sam Waldron | Sep 6, 2013 | Historical Theology
We must never allow church history in general or any part of church history in particular to exercise a divine authority over our faith. Nevertheless, there are some persons and events of church history that are so close to the core of what historical Christianity is that to deny their legitimacy seems close to denying the faith. One such event might be the conversion of Luther via his understanding of justification by faith alone. Another such event is the conversion of Augustine. We may well say, “If Augustine was not a Christian, and if his conversion was not true conversion, then whose conversion is?” Thus, we may well ask, indeed, we must ask, What lessons about true conversion can we learn from Augustine’s conversion?
Our Seventh Lesson: The Reality of the Mixture of Error in Conversion
Another important practical truth about all true conversion illustrated by the conversion of Augustine is that we must expect a mixture of misconception and error both in doctrine and practice in true conversions. Of course, this is not to say that such error is a matter of indifference or justifiable, but it is to say that in a fallen world and in an imperfectly redeemed church such error must be expected to be mixed in with even true conversions. Such error, assuming it is not an error which overthrows the foundation of the Christian faith, does not mean that the conversion in question is false. We know of two such serious errors which accompanied Augustine’s conversion.
Misconception about the Necessity of Celibacy
It was the example of St. Antony and the Egyptian monks which fired his imagination and deepened his conviction. It is clear that Augustine could contemplate no Christian life for himself which did not involve a commitment to celibacy. It is clear that he did not make this a standard for everyone else, but he certainly required it of himself. By rights his teachers and his conscience should have told him to go find Adeodatus’ mother and marry her! Sadly, this was not even on Augustine’s radar. This glorification of the monastic ideal including celibacy was not Christian, but it colored Augustine’s vision of Christianity.
Misconception about the Sovereignty of Grace
As becomes clear in the anti-Pelagian writings of Augustine, and as we will see in a later lecture, Augustine later confesses that he was not at first clear about the sovereignty of grace in salvation. While Augustine had never been Pelagian, he will tell us that he was for a while as a Christian semi-Pelagian in his views. That is to say, he believed, if we only take the first step, then the grace of God will intervene for our salvation. Of course, Augustine should have known that this was wrong from his own experience. It was, however, only his gradually maturing understanding of grace that showed him the error of semi-Pelagianism.
I have spoken to certain Christians who think that an Arminian cannot be a Christian. I have been asked by others who wonder if Arminians can be saved. Much can be said in response to those with such questions and such views. It is, however, certainly important to realize that the first Christian to affirm the sovereignty of grace in salvation and predestination in unmistakable terms was not himself a believer in these things when he himself was converted.
All of this teaches us the requirement of divine forbearance and mercy in the conversion of every sinner. Every sinner comes into the Christian faith with many misconceptions about both doctrine and practice from which he must be weaned by progressive sanctification. If God exercises such merciful forbearance towards his children, then so must we.
Our Eighth Lesson: The Consequence of the Seal of Baptism in Conversion
Paedobaptists will, of course, find all sorts of ways to explain away the fact that Augustine was not baptized as an infant. It is, however, clear that he was only baptized as a believer some months after the time of his conversion and only after a period careful instruction in the Christian faith had been completed.
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 | Sep 4, 2013 | Ecclesiology, Family-Integrated Church, Regulative Principle
Some of you may have already heard or seen that I will be speaking at The Worship of God Conference of the National Center for Family-Integrated Churches. This conference will be held October 31-November 2, 2013 at the Ridgecrest Conference Center near Asheville, NC. I am excited to take the two slots that Scott Brown has asked me to fill. The subjects are ones that I care passionately about. I will be speaking once on the subject of The Worship of God in the Great Confessions of the Church and once on the important question Is There a Regulative Principle? In this session I will show that, while all of life is addressed by the sufficient Scriptures, the sufficiency of Scripture has a special and detailed relevance and application to the church and its worship that is different than its application to the rest of life. This special application of the Scriptures to the church and its worship is historically known as the regulative principle of worship.
My concerns about the Family-Integrated Church movement are no secret. And I have not ceased to be concerned about the theological and practical issues I have raised. Over the past few years, however, I have been pleasantly surprised to discover that men like Scott Brown, Jeff Pollard, and Voddie Baucham are heartily confessional and truly and firmly convinced of the system of doctrine (including the ecclesiology) taught in the 1689 Baptist Confession. Whatever contradictions of the Confession some who identify themselves with FIC movement may believe and practice, these men love the 1689 Baptist Confession. Particularly encouraging to me are their clear and correct views of the Christian Sabbath and the Regulative Principle.
This is why we will be featuring a series of videos created by the NCFIC on The Worship of God on our website for the next few weeks. You will here men like Joel Beeke, Paul Washer, Conrad Mbewe, and others sharing convictions and perspectives about the worship of God to which I can give a loud Amen! and which I can only pray will increasingly spread through the global church of God.
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 | Aug 30, 2013 | Historical Theology
We must never allow church history in general or any part of church history in particular to exercise a divine authority over our faith. Nevertheless, there are some persons and events of church history that are so close to the core of what historical Christianity is that to deny their legitimacy seems close to denying the faith. One such event might be the conversion of Luther via his understanding of justification by faith alone. Another such event is the conversion of Augustine. We may well say, “If Augustine was not a Christian, and if his conversion was not true conversion, then whose conversion is?” Thus, we may well ask, indeed, we must ask, What lessons about true conversion can we learn from Augustine’s conversion?
Our Fourth Lesson: The Centrality of the Word of God in Conversion
The words from Augustine’s Confessions cited previously remind us of another universal feature of all true conversion. They remind us of the centrality of the Word of God as the instrument of true conversion. It was the Word of God and specifically Romans 13:13-14 that God used to renew and speak peace to the soul of Augustine. Augustine’s conversion shows (in the language of Scripture) that men are born again (as 1 Peter 1:23 teaches) “not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God.”
Our Fifth Lesson: The Sovereignty of the Grace of God in Conversion
Another great truth about true conversion underscored in Augustine’s conversion and to Augustine himself is the fact of the sovereignty of God in all true conversion. Augustine’s experience of his own helplessness in the face of his bondage to sexual sin made clear to Him that only the direct intervention of God in power and grace could free him from his sin. I think it is clear that this prepared the way for his later, mature views of the sovereignty of God’s grace and predestination. It was first in His conversion that Augustine learned the truth of Jesus’ words in John 6:44: “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.”
Our Sixth Lesson: The Reality of the Change of Lordship in Conversion
What I am saying under this heading is really a truism. Conversion means conversion! That is, true conversion always involves a radical renewal of the life and conduct of the one converted. Augustine’s conversion is again paradigmatic in this regard. Augustine would have had no peace and no sense of having been saved without the confident awareness that in the moment of his salvation God had delivered him from bondage to his sins and especially the bondage he felt to his sexual sins. This liberation and release from bondage was essential to his conversion and it is essential to every true conversion. Yes, it may be that the outward manifestations of inward repentance may struggle for a period to fully take possession of the life. Yes, it is true that Christians struggle throughout life with the principle of sin, but this sin does not reign over them. It only remains in them. This is why the modern so-called free grace movements which deny that conversion entails such repentance and transformation are fundamentally at odds with true Christian conversion. The Christian doctrine of conversion is found in the famous words of Jesus in Matthew 7:13-14: “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.”
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 | Aug 28, 2013 | Ecclesiology, Family-Integrated Church, Regulative Principle
Some of you may have already heard or seen that I will be speaking at The Worship of God Conference of the National Center for Family-Integrated Churches. This conference will be held October 31-November 2, 2013 at the Ridgecrest Conference Center near Asheville, NC. I am excited to take the two slots that Scott Brown has asked me to fill. The subjects are ones that I care passionately about. I will be speaking once on the subject of The Worship of God in the Great Confessions of the Church and once on the important question Is There a Regulative Principle? In this session I will show that, while all of life is addressed by the sufficient Scriptures, the sufficiency of Scripture has a special and detailed relevance and application to the church and its worship that is different than its application to the rest of life. This special application of the Scriptures to the church and its worship is historically known as the regulative principle of worship.
My concerns about the Family-Integrated Church movement are no secret. And I have not ceased to be concerned about the theological and practical issues I have raised. Over the past few years, however, I have been pleasantly surprised to discover that men like Scott Brown, Jeff Pollard, and Voddie Baucham are heartily confessional and truly and firmly convinced of the system of doctrine (including the ecclesiology) taught in the 1689 Baptist Confession. Whatever contradictions of the Confession some who identify themselves with FIC movement may believe and practice, these men love the 1689 Baptist Confession. Particularly encouraging to me are their clear and correct views of the Christian Sabbath and the Regulative Principle.
This is why we will be featuring a series of videos created by the NCFIC on The Worship of God on our website for the next few weeks. You will here men like Joel Beeke, Paul Washer, Conrad Mbewe, and others sharing convictions and perspectives about the worship of God to which I can give a loud Amen! and which I can only pray will increasingly spread through the global church of God.
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 | Aug 23, 2013 | Historical Theology
We must never allow church history in general or any part of church history in particular to exercise a divine authority over our faith. Nevertheless, there are some persons and events of church history that are so close to the core of what historical Christianity is that to deny their legitimacy seems close to denying the faith. One such event might be the conversion of Luther via his understanding of justification by faith alone. Another such event is the conversion of Augustine. We may well say, “If Augustine was not a Christian, and if his conversion was not true conversion, then whose conversion is?” Thus, we may well ask, indeed, we must ask, What lessons about true conversion can we learn from Augustine’s conversion?
Our Second Lesson: The Necessity of the Conviction of Sin in Conversion
The pages of Augustine’s Confessions which lead up to the account of his conversion reek of sin and the conviction of sin. The increasingly overpowering sense of his
bondage under sexual sin is underscored by the tragic account of the sending away of his much loved concubine because of the marriage arranged for him with an under-age heiress. One can sense Augustine’s crushing sense of moral failure in the astonishing account of his procuring a second concubine because he could not wait the two years till his under-age bride could marry. The deep insight which his experience gave him of the depravity or evil of sin can be read in Augustine’s account of how he and his buddies vandalized the pear tree of a neighbor and did it, as Augustine came to believe, for the sheer evil of it. The profane saying of wicked men about doing something “just for the hell of it” is more true than such men realized, Augustine was convinced. Augustine came to be deeply convinced of both the evil and the power of sin by his own experience. This experience prepared the way for his later insights.
Our Third Lesson: The Over-ruling of the Providence of God in Conversion
Here are Augustine’s remarks about the immediate circumstances of his conversion:
So was I speaking and weeping in the most bitter contrition of my heart, when, lo! I heard from a neighboring house a voice, as of boy or girl, I know not, chanting, and oft repeating, “Take up and read; Take up and read.” Instantly, my countenance altered, I began to think most intently whether children were wont in any kind of play to sing such words: nor could I remember ever to have heard the like. So checking the torrent of my tears, I arose; interpreting it to be no other than a command from God to open the book, and read the first chapter I should find. For I had heard of Antony, that coming in during the reading of the Gospel, he received the admonition, as if what was being read was spoken to him: Go, sell all that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven, and come and follow me: and by such oracle he was forthwith converted unto Thee. Eagerly then I returned to the place where Alypius was sitting; for there had I laid the volume of the Apostle when I arose thence I seized, opened, and in silence read that section on which my eyes first fell: Not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying; but put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, in concupiscence. No further would I read; nor needed I: for instantly at the end of this sentence, by a light as it were of serenity infused into my heart, all the darkness of doubt vanished away.
We are not to learn from the example of Augustine the foolish method of seeking God’s will by opening the Bible at random and putting our finger on a verse. This is what Augustine did, but we are not to imitate his superstition. We are, however, to marvel at the kindness of an over-ruling providence which in spite of the folly of such a practice used it and the striking providence of the child’s chant of “take up and read.” In His kind providence God used things to lead Augustine to the exact Words of Scripture which God used to convert His soul to Himself.
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.
