What is a Reformed Baptist..

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com. That's cornerstonerbc.com. Welcome once again to our Bible study. If you have your Bibles, please open them up to Romans, Romans chapter 4.

This evening we are going to continue with our Bible studies. In this case we are going to be addressing the fourth of the solace of the Reformation and that is Salus Christus or Christ alone. Last week we did sola fide, or faith alone. And we're going to be reading the same passage, Romans chapter four, as we did last week. But this time we're going to be reading from verse four to verse eight.

And this is the word of God. This is the apostle Paul writing to the Romans. Romans chapter four, verse four. Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift, but as his due. And to the one who does not work, but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness.

Verse 6. Just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works. This is the blessing. Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven. and whose sins are covered.

Blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin." Amen. That is the Word of God. Beloved, as I said, tonight we're going to be addressing the fourth of the solace of the Reformation. And something that we do every time that we come together is to remind ourselves why we are going through these Bible studies.

As we said many times now, we are trying to address the question of what is a Reformed Baptist Church. And once again, the framework that we've set in order to answer that question is that we're going to go through the evangelical level, then moving into a Calvinistic level, moving into then into a Reformed level, to finally reach a Reformed Baptist level. And now, that is very interesting because those four levels Correspond, if you want, to the development of the reformation that happened in the 16th century. In the 16th century, early 16th century, the Protestant church, or the church that was being reformed, or the church that wanted to get into the Reformation, it was an evangelical church. Those are the five solas of the Reformation.

But there was something that the reformers said, that the church should be always reforming. And they will say, semper reformanda. That means that the church should be always reformed itself. It was not only a process of reforming the Catholic Church, but beyond that, it was a process of fixing and putting things together that were not in place. So this is a continuous process.

Theologians call this the building upon theology or doctrine. We know something here that is given to us from the Bible that we have been called to build upon our faith. Thank you very much. We have been called to build upon our faith. And that's what happened in the 16th century in the Reformation.

The first thing was a reforming of the Catholic Church, an evangelical movement, if you want to put it that way. And those are the five solas of the Reformation. But as the church, the Protestant church, or the church that was in the Reformation, started to advance in understanding of doctrine, then they moved into a more Calvinistic understanding of the Bible. And that's why in the middle of the 16th century we have the first Calvinistic confessions of faith. In 1560 we have one of the first Calvinistic confessions of faith.

It's because now the understanding of the Reformers was evolving. It was improving. They were more light was given to them. So they were moving from an evangelical level of the five solas of the Reformation, which is what we are addressing tonight, into a more Calvinistic understanding of those five solas of the Reformation. That happened in the middle of the 16th century.

And as that started to progress, the Reformed camp, the Reformed theology camp starts to have more structure also. That is the end of the 16th century and the beginning of the 17th century with the Puritans. Reformed theology started to have more structure and in a better shape. But then it is in the late 18th century, or in the beginning of the 17th century, that the Reformed Baptist movement started to have preeminence. Not preeminence in the life of the church, but it started to emerge initially with Anabaptists, and then more particular Baptists.

Then later in 1644, and then in 1650, and then in 1660, and then in 1689, the Reformed Baptist camp started just to have a framework that was more structured. Of course, we as Reformed Baptists see this as a development, as a process of Semper Reformanda. you know, our brothers reformed, like they are more Presbyterian and more Dutch, they will see that the Reformation reached its high point in the early 17th century. But we see that this development actually took the highest point with the Reformed Baptist doctrine or theology resurgence in 1644. with the first confession of faith, the first London Baptist confession of faith, then that was reviewed and that was given in 1689, which is the confession of faith that we hold.

So that's how, you know, these four levels from evangelical, Calvinistic, Reformed, and then Reformed Baptist kind of like happened through history. And that is very important to have because at this moment now we're addressing this evangelical level and we're addressing the five solace of the Reformation, that which is common for Calvinist for Reformed and for Reformed Baptist churches. This is common for all of us. And as I said last week, we addressed sola fide. Sola fide was the task that we were given eight days ago, the time that we came together.

We were addressing from this same passage here in Romans. And then when I put that on the table for you to understand the controversy, I said to you that if there was one question that addressed the heart of the sola fide controversy in the 16th century, that was the question of what is the instrument by which the righteousness of God is imputed to the believer. What is the instrument? What is the means? And then we said that the Catholic Church, the answer that the Catholic Church gave to that question, it was that it was faith plus works, that they see in baptism the sacrament of faith or the sacrament of justification, that for a person to be a believer, for a person to be a Christian, is not only that initial faith, but on top of that, or consequent to that, there is an obedience, and upon that obedience, justification is applied.

That's what they say in the catechism. This is their doctrine of justification. Something that I wanted you to have in your mind is that the nature of that faith is a faith that not only knows in the mind, but it's also a faith that approves, understands the message. Not only knows, but also approves that message. And more importantly, it's a faith that apprehends with the heart.

We saw that from Romans 10. How are they going to call upon the name of the Lord if they have not believed? And how are they going to believe if they have not heard the message of the gospel that needs to be preached? That's how faith comes, through or by the hearing of the word of Jesus Christ. That is the nature of faith.

And two very important things that I said last time that we came together is that it was not only about the nature of that faith that knows, accepts, or approves and comprehends, but it's also about what that faith produces. That faith produces initially our justification, Romans 5 verse 1, having been justified by faith. It is faith that justifies us. but more importantly and more beautifully, it is that this faith unites us to Jesus Christ, a union that has been predestined or predetermined from eternity past. It is in the moment that the believer has faith that we are vitally united to Jesus Christ, and we are not only justified, but we receive the life of Jesus Christ.

So then our good works are not the result of our legal standing, but is the result of the life that we have in Jesus Christ. It is not only the label of innocent or forgiven that produces our good works, it is the Spirit of Christ dwelling in us. It is not us living anymore, but Christ living in us, the one that produces the good works in us. This is very important to understand for doctrine. But now we reach another controversy.

And the other controversy is the role of Jesus Christ. That's the fourth Sola. It is Christ alone. And in the same way that I gave to you the controversy of Sola Fide in one question, that is, what is the instrument by which the righteousness of Christ is given or imputed to the believer, in the same way that I gave you the controversy in one question, I want to give you the controversy of the dilemma, of the problem, of the debate of the role of Christ in one question. That question is, the righteousness of Christ sufficient for the salvation of the believer?

That is the question that created the problem between those in the Reformation and the Catholic Church. Is the righteousness of Jesus Christ, and this is the important word, sufficient? Is it enough for the person who believes to be saved. And the apostle here in Romans 4 is going to give us at least two of the elements that will help us understand the answer of the reformers and then also see the flip side of that, the position of the Catholic Church. And we find that in verse five and six.

Here, the apostle now is quoting Psalm 32. quoting David, and speaking of this blessing of justification. And then he's going to say here, verse six, just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God's counts righteousness apart from works. And this is a blessing and pay attention to this. Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven and whose sins are covered.

Blessed is the man, verse eight, whom the Lord will not count his sin. Now, how are those two, three verses, six, seven, and eight, answering the question of the sufficiency of the righteousness of Christ once it is imputed to the believer? How are these three verses answering that particular question? And in order for us to understand how the Apostle addresses this issue, we have to break the issue in two different parts. This is present justification and future justification.

Because the Catholic Church says this, that the person who is a believer, pay attention to this beloved, the catholic church would say that in order for a person to be justified there needs to be cooperation between God and men. That there is a work that is made or is performed by the two of them. That God simply just gives an initial grace and this is what the catechism of the catholic church says in paragraph 2027. that no one can merit the initial grace that happens and then they say in the beginning of conversion this is very important they say no one can merit the initial grace pay attention to this please beloved no one can merit the initial grace that it is given in the beginning of conversion After this initial grace, man can merit for himself and for others graces and blessings unto eternal life. Now, what the Catholic Church teaches is that the person is simply pushed, he just helped a little bit, and then upon the application of the sacrament of faith, which is baptism, justification is completely given.

But after that, this is a present justification. For future justification, the person has to merit or the person has to preserve that present justification that he was given. This was the controversy. The controversy was about the sufficiency of the righteousness of Christ for present justification, and if you want to call it ongoing or future justification unto glory. The Catholic Church will say, yes, the person receives, through faith and through the application of baptism, that person is justified.

But in order for that person to remain in the state of justification they need to perform works. And those are not only works, but also the church created different sacraments and means by which the grace of God will be infused And this is a very important word because they call the infusing of righteousness upon the believer. The protestant will say an imputation of righteousness or a giving totally of righteousness given to that person. Now the catholic church will say then that upon faith and baptism that person is justified but throughout their life they need to do penance You know, when they committed sins, they will come to the priest and they will confess their sins. And they see this, not only as the confession of sins that we have one way or another, they say, brother, I've sinned.

And then we confess that to one another, but they will do that in a legal way. Because the penance of, or the confession of sins before the priest has a legal understanding for the church. There is an atoning of sins that happened there. And they see that because in their mind the church of Christ has been given the power to forgive sins, these ongoing sins. Now it's very important to understand that this present justification and this future or ongoing and Justification they will have penance and then you have indulgence indulgences now why because in this section of paragraph 2027 they say that as I said to you that this initial grace Not no one can merit this initial grace in the beginning of conversion, but from the beginning of conversion men can merit blessings and graces not only for themselves, but also for others and That's when our brother explained to us the indulgences, that they will just pay a certain amount of money as means to atone in a particular way, sins, to get people to be forgiven with their means.

This was completely denied by the Reformers. And the way that the Apostle Paul addresses that here, it is by giving us a view or insight into the present and into the future of our justification. Because the Apostle, quoting here through the Spirit in verse seven says, blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven. Forgiven, it is the past, tense of being forgiven. Forgiveness is the noun.

And whose sins are covered. Then he says, blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin. The person who is given or imputed the righteousness of Jesus Christ by the only means of faith is not only covered and it is not only forgiven, but it's also given the promise that the Lord will not hold against him or herself future sins. He says, blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin. Now, beloved, of course, the answer that we give to that particular question is that, yes, the righteousness of Jesus Christ is sufficient, not only for present justification, but also for ongoing justification.

And this is vital. It's not only for us to distinguish, you know, like the Evangelical Church from the Catholic Church, because we see them as non-Orthodox in this particular point of salvation, but it's also for us to understand the impact, the influence and the effects of the righteousness of Christ being imputed to us. Now, we have to prove then from the Bible why we say that the righteousness of Jesus Christ is sufficient. Now, there are many, many points that can be made about why that is the case. But the first one, it is because who Jesus Christ is.

It is in the person of Jesus Christ that we find the first answer of why his righteousness is sufficient. And we are going to agree on this point with the Catholic Church. We agree they have a very similar Christology than the Evangelical or the Reformed Church has. We agree that Jesus Christ is not only man, but he's also God. Only God, or God the man, could atone for the sins of men.

He needed to be man in order to pay for our sins, but He also needed to be God, so the fullness of the judgment and the wrath of God could be poured entirely on Him. This is what our brother explained when he was addressing John 1. Why is this very important? It's important because it's not only about the amount of sins that are atoned for or paid for on the cross or at the cross, but it's also about the righteousness of God that it is broken. It's about the holiness of God that is broken.

So it is not only about the sins of the church as a whole that are paid for, but it's also the satisfaction of the holiness and the righteousness of God upon the cross. And that holiness or that righteousness is infinite. So therefore, the one that was going to receive The judgment of God needed to be meant to represent men, and he also needed to be God to be able to receive all the righteous judgment of God, and not only that, but to triumph over them. It is because who Jesus Christ is. But more than that, beloved, the Bible is very clear that there is no other mediator between God and men.

1 Timothy 2 verse 5 says that there is only one God. And there is only one mediator between God and men. And that mediator between God and men is who? Jesus Christ, the man. Jesus Christ, the man, is the only mediator between God and men.

That means that not even man can atone or pay for his own sins. It is only in the person of Jesus Christ. If man is not able to pay for his own sins or to mediate for himself and on his behalf before God, we need Christ. Nobody else can do it. If it's not only men, imagine then a church or a sacrament.

Less. So there is only one mediator between God and men. This is the sufficiency of the righteousness of the person of Jesus Christ, interceding between God and men. And then the Catholic Church, they came with different levels of mediation. You will know that they have the mediation of Mary.

Mary is a means of mediation between man and God. And you have to understand this, you know, because the picture that people had in the 16th or the 15th, 16th century, probably a little bit earlier, the 14th and the 15th century of Jesus Christ was the picture that the Catholic Church was given of who Jesus Christ was. And this was a warrior, you know, with a sword coming from his mouth that was going to bring judgment to the living and to the dead. So people were afraid of this Jesus Christ. And then Mary was more accessible because she was like us.

Not only that, but she was a woman. And then because the Catholic Church had given a preeminent role to Mary, then Mary took a place of mediation between God and men. The Bible is very clear that there is no mediator between God and men. But not only the person of Mary, also these penance, or these indulgences, or these things that people could do in order to atone for their sins. This is what the Apostle Paul says to the church in Galatia.

Let's go to Galatians. Galatians chapter 3. The Apostle here speaks of this role of the faith that is the means by which the righteousness of Christ is fully imputed to us and the only means by which we are made perfect. Everything that is a part of faith, it becomes of works that is attached to the law. And this is what he's saying in chapter 3 in verse 1.

It says, O foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. Let me ask you only this. Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law? or by hearing with faith?

That's a rhetorical question. Of course, they receive that by hearing by faith. And then he says, are you so foolish? Having begun by the spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? is speaking of the ongoing and continuous process of the Christian.

Now, here is where we have to understand something, beloved, and I know that this could be not very nice or a little bit difficult to comprehend, but if I can get your attention on this, because this is very important, there is a sense in which our justification is present, and there is another sense in which our justification is also future. We are fully justified by the faith that we have in the person of Jesus Christ. But there is going to be a day in which judgment will come and this justification that we have in Christ will be clearly manifested. We are going to come before God in His throne and we're going to be judged then. Once we are judged, we're going to be judged because we are in Jesus Christ according to the works of Jesus Christ.

And this is the sense in which justification is future. But for the Catholic Church, justification or the feeling and the completeness of justification is a process that starts upon faith. And he's then like a glass of water that is being filled with the initial grace that is given by the Spirit, with the initial faith that we have in Jesus Christ, with the application of baptism, and then with our good works, with our confessions. He's a glass that is being filled with righteousness, with righteousness, with righteousness. And then when we commit a sin, a mortal sin, the water of this glass, it is poured.

and then we have to feel it back again so that we go and confess our sins and we do penance and then this righteousness is reapplied to us and we feel that with righteousness, that with righteousness, and that with righteousness. Actually, one of the big controversies that the Catholic Church has is that they don't know how to answer the question of what happens to a professing Christian who has lived his life in a righteous way but then at a particular point they commit a mortal sin and then they died before repenting or confessing that sin with a priest? They don't know how to answer that question because under their theology the righteousness that the person had has been now removed because of the sin that they had committed and they did not have time to actually come and confess. They are being made perfected by the works of the law. We are being made perfected by faith.

But now, pay attention to this, because now we have to understand the work of the Spirit, and if you can pay attention to this. When we are saved, there are two things that happen. One is our justification, and the other one is our regeneration, or that which is given life to us. These two things are different. The one justification is something that happens outside of us.

It's like a, what do you call it? A judgment, right? A judgment on a court. The judge comes and says guilty or innocent. This is justification and this happens outside of us.

This happens in the divine courts. Then God says, because you have faith in Christ, you are now innocent. This happens outside of us. This is present justification, which is complete. But the Bible does speak of a coming to perfection in this present life, and this is attached to our regeneration or becoming like Jesus Christ.

We, as evangelical, as Calvinistic, as Reformed, and as Reformed Baptists, we distinguish between these two things. One thing is that we are completely justified before God because of our faith, and a different thing is that we are being conformed to the image of Jesus Christ because of the new heart that was given to us upon believing. In this sense, we are being perfected. But the Catholic Church, they put in one single category the legal aspect and the renovated aspect of justification and sanctification. So that means that when you commit a sin, your justification is gone and then you are perfected unto justification.

Now the Bible speaks of us being perfected. This is what James says. Count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect or complete work. And then he says that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

So then James says that our tribulations are with the purpose of testing our faith. The testing of our faith gives us patience, and this patience helps us to grow in completeness or in perfection. We are being filled with Christ likeness. And in that sense, we are being perfected. But in the legal sense, beloved, Christ alone is sufficient.

The Reformers would say it is only in Christ. Christ Jesus is sufficient for your justification. The Catholic Church will say initially Christ is sufficient, but then you need to work your justification. You need to do good works and you can do good works for others. Let's go to Romans 8.

Distinguishing, beloved, distinguishing between the legal aspect of our salvation and the renovative aspect. Renovative is a word? And the renovative aspect of our salvation is very important. If we mix those things, then we're going to have problems with the assurance of our justification. Pay attention to what he says in Romans 8 verse 1.

This is Paul speaking now in legal terms. And I want you to see here how, from a legal point of view, the righteousness of Jesus Christ is sufficient, is enough. He says, verse 1, There is therefore now no condemnation. And pay attention to the legal language. There is therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law weakened by the flesh could not do, by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin he condemns him in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be what? Fulfilled in us. That the requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us. And then he's given here the legal aspect of who we are in Jesus Christ.

And then in the next sentence, he speaks of the renovated aspects. And then he says, who will not according to the flesh. So by being in Jesus Christ, we're given this life that not only justifies us by imputing the fullness and completeness of the righteousness of Christ, but also we are a new creature that lives unto practical righteousness. Distinguishing between these two, our justification and our regeneration, and then the process of sanctification unto glory, is very important. We cannot mix those two.

Justification happens outside of us in the divine court, and then regeneration happens inside of us, a new heart, heart of stone to heart of flesh, and then because of this heart that is now living in Jesus Christ, We live unto good deeds, not because of the legal status that we have in heaven, but because of the life that we have in Jesus Christ. For that reason, then, the Apostle can say here in Romans 8 verse 31, What then shall we say to these things? Romans 8 verse 31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his son's son, but gave him up for us all, here you see the present aspect, the future aspect, sorry.

How will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died, more than that, who was raised.

who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. We shall separate us from the love of Christ, shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger, sword? Those are rhetorical questions because the answer to that is no. Beloved, our justification because of the fullness of the righteousness of Jesus Christ It is perfected and it is complete in the moment that we believe. As we've said this in a previous occasion that we came together, you are, if you're in Christ, you are as justified today as you will be 1,000 million years into eternity in glory.

Your legal status will not change in eternity future as it is right now. This is because Jesus Christ is God. He's the only mediator between God and men. And His righteousness is eternal and it's a God-like righteousness that is being imputed to us. All the demands of the law have been completely fulfilled in Jesus Christ.

That's what the Reformers said, that is, Christ alone. That is, on the basis of Scripture, we believe that salvation is by grace, through faith, as the only instrument by which the righteousness of Christ is imputed to men, and this righteousness is sufficient and it is complete. So then we know and we can be assured that there is nothing that we can do or should do in order to contribute to that righteousness. There is nothing that the person can contribute. This is what Paul says in Romans 10, verse 4.

He says that Jesus Christ is the end of the law for righteousness. We are united to Jesus Christ, so therefore we receive his life, and in him the law is finished for righteousness. There's nothing that we can do with the law in order to receive or contribute to our righteousness. The law has come to an end in Jesus Christ for the purpose of righteousness. This, beloved, should give us endless peace, that it is not about our performance, it's not about the things that we know, the things that we say, but this righteousness of Christ has been fully imputed to us.

And then we are partakers of this blessing that David communicated, that we are blessed because our sins are forgiven, that our sins are covered, and that the Lord, we know that the Lord will not hold, will not hold our sins against us. He will not do so. We are forgiven in Him. Now, this for the heart of the believer should be of peace and joy. Now, if you see this as something, as the means for you to sin more, then I would be very concerned with your heart.

I would be very concerned with your soul. If you see that the righteousness, that the infinite righteousness of Christ, it is a permission for you to continue on sinning. Because this is what Apostle Paul addresses in Romans 6. You know, the abundance of this great we're going to sin by no means. Because if we are dead to our sins in Jesus Christ, if we have been baptized in Jesus Christ and He is dead, how can we then live to our sin?

We are called to, in this power of this period, to put our sin to death, not judicially or legally because of our justification, but in a renovated aspects. because in our Christ-likeness we are called to contribute and to be like Christ, to be holy, and he is holy. Very important for us to comprehend that this is the doctrine of Christ alone. He is sufficient for righteousness. Amen?