What is a Reformed Baptist..

Okay, so good evening everyone and welcome to our Wednesday Bible study. This evening we are going to continue with a topic that we started last week. And I'm going to get you please to go to the same passage that we read last week, which is found in Colossians 2. So if you go to Colossians 2, chapter 2, we're going to be reading verses 16 and 17 again. Colossians chapter 2, verse 16 and 17.

This is the Apostle Paul. And it says, Chapter two, verse 16, Therefore, let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come. But the substance belongs to Christ. Amen.

The word of God. Beloved, we said about this passage last week that the apostle here is mentioning a number of things. And what he's doing is that he's showing us the continuation or the continuity of these things, which are Old Testament realities into the New Testament. The apostle is listing different things from the Old Testament. And he's saying that these are shadows of things or Christ, who is the substance in the New Testament.

Last week, we addressed particularly the topic of covenant theology, and we said, beloved, that this is a system of interpretation of the Bible that helps us to define the continuity of the Old Testament into the New Testament. a system of interpretation, a system of interpretation of the text that theologians and pastors and people of the Bible apply in order to come up with conclusions from the Old Testament into the New Testament. And we spoke that the way that theologians or pastors produce theology or practices is by dividing theology into at least four sections. The foundational section, we call it a system of interpretation or exegetical theology, that people come and interpret the text. This is the foundation for everything that we do.

We move from the text into doctrines that we formulate. Doctrines that are derived from the text. and then we move to a higher level, which is comparing those doctrines that we come up with from the text into history, and we see how these doctrines can be tracked back into history. And this is when we, after those three levels of the text and doctrines and history of historical theology, we move into practical theology or pastoral theology. This is how the text moves into practice, beloved, and we said that Covenant theology is a system of interpretation that helps us to define those practices of the church.

And this is a distinctive of a reformed Baptist church because many of the practices of a reformed Baptist church, such as baptism or church government or the way that pastors lead the church, is derived from this system of interpretation that we call covenant theology. And one of the things that we did last week, beloved, is that we tried or I tried to present to you different systems of interpretation. And if you remember, we tried to compare what systems of interpretation speak more of the continuity of things from the Old Testament into the New Testament. Remember that what the Apostle Paul says here in Colossians 2 is that things of the Old Testament, such as Sabbaths and new moons and food and drink, things of the Old Testament have a certain level of continuity into the New Testament. And we said then from that point we spoke about different systems of interpretation and we spoke for instance about dispensationalism.

and we said that dispensationalism is a system of interpretation that our brother John MacArthur holds to, and it's a system of interpretation that rather is towards the side of discontinuity. Or then we spoke about the system of interpretation of Presbyterian covenant theology, and we said that this Presbyterian covenant theology is a system of interpretation that is rather more towards the side of continuity. And the last one, or one of the last ones that we presented, was also Baptist covenant theology. And we said that this is a system that is more in the middle, in a balance between the discontinuity of dispensationalism and the continuity of paedo-baptism, or Presbyterian covenant theology. Now, beloved, I know that this is a It's a difficult topic, and more than a Bible study, it seems like a theology class, but it's very important, as I said last week to you all, and please just know me too, but the words that I'm saying, that every time that we come to the book, the book is the rule of our faith and the rule of our obedience for everything that we do, everything that we have in our mind and everything that we have in our hearts, everything is derived from the book.

So as Christians, we have a responsibility with the book and interpreting the book. So we want to make sure that the systems of interpretation that we have of the book corresponds to that which the Bible speaks about. So that will at least help us to guarantee that our interpretations are closer to that which scripture says. So interpreting the Bible is a very important task of the believer. It's a very important task.

The text rules. everything in our faith and in our practice how we do things is the text is what is contained in the in the bible now beloved what i what i want us to do this evening is going to be again a little bit dry and it's going to be again probably a little bit not so much in the word as we usually go through different bible studies but it's going to be a little bit more of theology but again if you can bear with my words and if you can bear with the explanations that i'm going to be giving you and as i said last week also to the resources that we have providentially that you can come and then review the things that we've said and if you have any questions then you can just freely ask. I require much of your attention because this evening I'm going to try to present in a very simple way, in a very simple way, we're going to compare Baptist covenant theology with Presbyterian covenant theology. And why are we choosing these two? It is because, as I said last week, from the Reformed camp, Presbyterians or Baptists are the ones that are the strongest, are the ones that have more dominance.

They're the ones that have, you know, more churches. But from these two, I would say that the Presbyterians are the ones that have more power, more tradition, and more history. So we're going to compare the Baptist covenant theology system of interpretation of Scripture against that which is also Reformed, but it's called Presbyterian Covenant Theology. And I'm going to try to do it, as I said, in a very simple way, and I want to show you what the differences are. So then next week, you know, by the grace of God, our brother comes and explains to us baptism, that way we will understand why baptism is applied in the way that we apply it, and why we have the different view of baptism that our brothers Presbyterians have.

So please, again, I require much of your attention, and please bear with my words and with my explanation. So we have these two systems. We have these two systems of interpretation of the Bible, and the two systems, they attempt to define the continuity of things from the Old Testament into the New Testament, or the discontinuity of those two. And something that we said last week is, going back to the whiteboard, something that I did to explain the... I don't know if you can see the...

Something that I said last week, beloved, is that if we have the line of time here, if you remember, we said that here we have creation, right, as a very important point in the development of the history of redemption. We have history, we have the creation here, and in the middle we have the cross of Jesus Christ. This is another very important point in the history or in the story of redemption. And then here we have the second comment. And then I don't know if you remember, but we mentioned a very important point after the creation.

Remember, what is that point? After creation, what happens after everything is created? That is very important in the history of redemption. The fall. Very good.

So we said that here we have the fall. The fall basically divides the story and redemption into basically two, before the fall and after the fall. And based on this line of continuity, beloved, I try to explain to you the different systems of interpretation. So what I'm going to do now is that I'm going to present again to you the system that our brothers, the Presbyterians, hold to. So our brothers Presbyterians, our brothers and sisters Presbyterians, they divide basically the history of the story of redemption into two different categories or two different sections.

And that is defined by that which happens here in Genesis 3.15. So Genesis 3.15, the passage that we read last week, that speaks of the promise of the offspring of the woman that is going to crush the head of the offspring of the serpent. We remember this is the first gospel that is given, the Proto-Evangelion.

This divides, according to Presbyterian covenant theology, the history of redemption basically in two main categories, or in two main dispensations, or in two main portions of time. Now, what is the particular and the interesting thing about Presbyterian Covenant Theology? Beloved, the particular thing is that they will say that after Genesis 3.15 everything becomes grace. Everything is grace.

That before Genesis 3.15 we had obedience. If you eat of the fruit of the garden, of the fruit of the tree, you will die. This is a commandment of obedience. So Adam was required to obey that commandment of not eating of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

And upon eating of it, death will come. And that's what actually happened. So there's obedience before that. And then our brothers Presbyterians will say that in Genesis 3.15 everything that happens after that, it becomes grace.

That everything is grace. Now why is this very important beloved? Because what we're going to be doing tonight, and this is the only basically thing that I hope that by the grace of God that you might get from this, is that we are going to compare here the covenant people of the Old Testament against the covenant people of the New Testament. Because the main difference that we have with our brothers is the nature of the covenant people or the nature of the church. So what I want us to do is compare the nature of the covenant people in the Old Testament before the cross.

This is Old Testament here and New Testament here. nature of the covenant people in the Old Testament and the nature of the covenant people in the New Testament. This is vital and this is very important. Now, beloved, because Presbyterians say that after the fall, everything is grace. So they see a very strong continuation between the nature of the old covenant people and the nature of the new covenant people.

What our brothers are basically going to say, and I'm going to try to keep it as simple as possible, is that all covenant people were divided into two categories. That all covenant people were divided into two categories. And because grace is the substance that takes the membership of the Old Covenant into the New Covenant, because this is the substance, then New Covenant people are also divided into two different categories. Because grace is the substance that rules over the Old Testament and the New Testament, The Old Covenant is an administration of this grace and the New Testament is an administration of that grace. And therefore, the nature of Old Covenant people membership is the same that the nature of the New Covenant people or the New Covenant membership.

Now, beloved, stay with me. Old Covenant is the people of Israel. And before the people of Israel, before Mount Sinai came, we have a study also through Abraham and through the book of Genesis that a promise was given. So our brothers will say that the Old Covenant people is divided into two categories. The substance of the covenant is of faith, while the outward part of this is of obedience.

The inward part of the covenant people of the Old Testament is faith, while the outward part, it will be obedience. Now, you might remember from the book of Genesis when the promise, beloved, when the promise is given to Abraham, I promise is given to Abraham that he that God will make from Abraham a great nation and that all nations of the year will be blessed in him. After that promise is given to him, which is by faith, a commandment is given to him, and that is circumcision. So a level was promised and then another level of obedience was added, a level of circumcision, which is obedience. So our brothers would say that in order for a person to belong into the old covenant, that person will be inserted into that covenant by circumcision.

By circumcision or by the keeping of the law, that person will be inserted into the covenant. So this is by circumcision. But people in the Old Testament, because the substance was grace, that by faith they will be inserted into the substance of the covenant. So it was not only circumcision that was needed, but you also needed to have faith. And we agree with that.

We Baptists, we agree with that. That for you to be a part of the Mosaic Covenant, or the Abrahamic Covenant, circumcision was needed this is what is said in genesis chapter 17 remember the circumcision that is given to abraham so by circumcision you entered into the covenant of obedience but for you to truly be saved it was always by faith in god by faith in the promise that was given in genesis 3 15 now they see this is a whole covenant now Because we have these two levels of faith and obedience, and because grace is a substance that takes the Old Testament into the New Testament, then the New Covenant membership, or the New Covenant people belong, or they have the similar structure as in the Old Testament. I'm having a lot of trouble today trying to make these things easier, even in my mind. But let's hope that by the grace of God, we can explain this clearly. Beloved, the nature of these which we have in the Old Testament moving into the New Testament is exactly the same.

So our brothers will say that in order to belong to the substance now of the new covenant, you require faith. But in order to enter into the covenant membership of the covenant of grace, you need that which you needed into the Old Testament, or the equivalent of what you needed into the Old Testament. In the Old Testament, you needed circumcision. By being circumcised, you entered into the obedience part of the covenant. Into the new covenant, or into the covenant of grace, then you need baptism.

So by being baptized, a person becomes a covenant member. So just as kids were circumcised, or just as infants were circumcised in the old covenant when they were born, male children were circumcised after days, eight days, and they were inserted into the Old Covenant. In the same way, because grace is the substance that takes us into the New Testament, that which is represented or that which is foreshadowed in the New Testament but in the Old Testament by circumcision is what makes the children of covenant members enter into the covenant. So beloved, under the Old Testament, when a family under the old covenant or an Israelite family will have a children or will have a child, that child will be circumcised and they will enter into the covenant people of God. So our brothers Presbyterians will say that under the new covenant, when a parent or a father and a mother who are Christians and they have a children because they are already covenant members, Children are also covenant members by applying baptism.

Baptism is that which gives them entrance or makes them covenant children or covenant members. Now, beloved, under the Presbyterian system, entering into this level of the covenant does not necessarily require faith. faith is something that can happen afterwards. So faith is something that the child can develop when the person or when the child has the ability to reason and the ability to think and the ability to receive the gospel and to respond in faith. So under the Presbyterian model, baptism gives you entrance into the covenant, but faith is what saves you.

faith here is what really saves you. Now, when you see it from that point of view, beloved, it looks like a very neat model and it looks like you're taking exactly what it was into the Old Testament and carrying it into the New Testament. So faith corresponds at the same level to faith into the New Testament and obedience corresponding to the same level. Now, particular Baptists or Reformed Baptists in the 17th century, in the 1630s and in the 1640s, when they started to see a scripture and they started to see the relationship of the old covenant with the new covenant, they started to see a problem with this. They started to acknowledge and to see that there was a problem.

Now, let me just present to you what, um, Reformed Baptist covenant theology will say comparing to Presbyterian covenant theology and pay attention to this one because here we will see how different this is. Now we will say again that there is a promise in Genesis 3 15 that divides history basically in two that we have obedience here and then we have the cross here and then we have here we have grace. Now when Jesus Christ comes he is the one that establishes by his blood the covenant of grace that the covenant of grace is not established in genesis 3 15 with adam but rather the covenant of grace is established with the blood of the lord jesus christ that grace comes here the grace or the substance of grace it is there i'm reformed baptist would say that obedience continues into the old covenant But what he was given in Genesis 3.15 was a promise of the Messiah that was to come. So there is a promise that in Genesis 3.

15 that is given that this starts to be given progressively until the cross arrives. There is a promise, beloved. There is not a covenant that is established, but rather there is a promise that is given of the Messiah that is to come. So why is this very important? Why is this very important?

Because the covenant of Moses that is given here is not to be understood as an administration of the grace that was established in Genesis 315, but rather, beloved, as a covenant of obedience that contained in and of itself a promise of the Messiah that was going to be saved. It was a covenant of obedience that contained a promise of the Messiah that was going to be saved. So, beloved, Reformed Baptists will come to this conclusion. Covenant membership, and this is very important, covenant membership under the old covenant. covenant membership or the nature of the covenant under the Old Covenant, it was exactly the same as what the Presbyterian says.

It has faith and it has obedience. It has faith and it has obedience. But what was inside this faith is what defines the nature of the membership of the new covenant because obedience was pointing to Jesus Christ. This obedience was pointing to Jesus Christ beloved and if you see the new testament actually let's see with your eyes if you go to Romans 10 if you go to Romans 10 If you go to Romans 10, the apostle is going to say something very important about Jesus Christ, beloved, in verse 4. It says, For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

Now, please, I know that what I have just said is rather boring and it's just It doesn't make a lot of sense. But if you can pay some attention to what I'm going to say, please do, because this is very important. It says that Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. So the apostle is saying that Jesus Christ, when he comes and when he dies upon the cross, when the anointed Messiah comes, that he is the end of the law for righteousness for those who believe. So the obedience requirements of the Old Testament are completely filled by the person of Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ imputes to us a covenantal righteousness. When I say a covenantal righteousness is that Jesus Christ comes, he comes under the Old Testament and he obeys all the requirements of the Old Covenant. And then this is a covenantal righteousness that by faith is imputed to New Testament believers. So New Testament believers belong to a covenant that it is not of the same nature of the old covenant, because in the old covenant, people could break the covenant. That's why God says upon obedience, you will be blessed.

And if you disobey, you will be cursed because this was a covenant of obedience that they could obey or could disobey. This covenant will not give them eternal life. This was a covenant of preservation of Israel in the land. The promise that was given to Abraham of I will make you a great nation and I will make kings out of you. This promise which is tracking to Genesis 3.

15, that's the promise that could give salvation and eternal life. Why? Because that promise was rooted in Jesus Christ and the Messiah that was to come, beloved. So the Baptists in the 17th century, they had a lot of trouble and a lot of complications with the model that the Presbyterians will have. Why?

Because, beloved, the Bible is very clear in comparing this to covenant and in saying that the new covenant in Jesus Christ is a better covenant. That is a much better covenant than the covenant of Moses. And when the author of Hebrews says that the new covenant is a better covenant, he points to disobedience. So if you go to Hebrews, we can read this together. If you go to Hebrews 8, Hebrews 8.

If you go to Hebrews 8, beloved, the author of Hebrews here is going to compare precisely the old covenant with the new covenant, the new covenant of Christ compared with the old covenant of Moses. And he's going to tell us that the new covenant of Christ is a better covenant. And he's going to give us the reason why it's a better covenant. So if you read from from verse one, it says, Now, the point in what we are saying is this. We have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the majesty in heaven, administered in the holy places in the true tent, that the Lord set up not men.

For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices, thus it is necessary for this priest also to have something to offer. Now, if he were on earth, he would not be a priest at all, since there are priests who offer gifts according to the law. They serve a copy and a shadow of the heavenly things. So here, the author of Hebrews is speaking of the priests of the Old Testament. And then he says, They serve a copy and a shadow of the heavenly things.

For when Moses... This is the Old Covenant. For when Moses was about to erect the tent, he was instructed by God, saying, see that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown you on the mountain. But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better since it is enacted on better promises. So here the author comparing Moses and comparing the priest of the Old Testament comparing with the high priest Jesus Christ and the new covenant he's saying that this covenant in Christ is a better covenant because it is enacted or rooted or based or founded on better promises.

Then he continues For if that first covenant, speaking of the old covenant, had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second. For he finds fault with them when he says, now pay attention to what he's going to quote here. Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will establish a new covenant. Baptist said the new covenant is established with the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. The covenant of grace is established with the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt." Now he's going to say something very important. for they did not continue in my covenant." So they did not obey the requirements of the covenant. And so I show no concern for them, declares the Lord.

The Apostle Paul says that when Christ Jesus came or the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ is the end of the law that was given under the old covenant for righteousness. That obedience was now not necessary anymore for righteousness. Why? Because Christ obeyed entirely the law under the old covenant and beloved. Covenantal righteousness is imputed to those who have faith in him.

Now, why is this very important, beloved? Because covenant membership in the New Testament, it is intrinsically attached to the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Covenant membership, it is intrinsically attached to the blood and the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. So those who are covenant members under the new covenant are recipients of the benefits that the blood of Jesus Christ accomplishes. The new covenant, it is always attached to the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Go to Matthew. Let's just go in Matthew. And if you remember, they are the verses that always we read when we are celebrating the Lord's Supper. Matthew 26, sorry, Matthew 26, verse 27. It says, verse 27 and 28, it says, and he took a cup, this is the Lord Jesus Christ, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, that is to the disciples, saying, drink of it, all of you, For this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

So, beloved, the blood of Jesus Christ is that which accomplishes or establishes the new covenant. And this new covenant is for the forgiveness of sins. So those who are in the new covenant, which is accomplished by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, their sins are forgiven. being a member of the new covenant is equivalent to have their sins forgiven because the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, by faith, obtains the forgiveness of sins. Go to Romans.

This is what the apostle will say in Romans chapter three. If you go to Romans chapter three, in verse 23, the famous section that speaks of the sacrifice, of the atoning sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ, The apostle will say something very important. He says, for all have seen Romans chapter three and verse twenty three to twenty seven, for all have seen and fall short of the glory of God. Then verse twenty four and are justified by grace as a gift through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. so we are justified by his grace as a gift and this is through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus whom God this is Christ God put Christ as put forward as a propitiation by his blood and this propitiation by his blood is to be received by faith So forgiveness of sins or the propitiatory or the expiation of the Lord Jesus Christ with his sacrifice and the benefits of it is to be received under the new covenant by faith.

And then he says there. This was to show God's righteousness because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time so that he might be just and the justified of the one who has faith in Jesus. Beloved, go to Romans chapter 5. Go to Romans chapter 5.

This benefit of the new covenant that was established by the blood of Jesus Christ belongs to all covenant members. And then the apostle will say in Romans chapter five, verse nine, that since therefore we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. Beloved, the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, the blood that he says in Matthew and in Luke, that is the blood that establishes the new covenant, is the blood that gives to those who have faith the forgiveness of sin and justification. So that means that those who are into the new covenant of Jesus Christ By their membership, they necessarily receive those two things, forgiveness of sins and also justification. So the Baptist.

So this is a huge problem, beloved, because the Presbyterians can say that there might be someone in the new covenant who has been baptized, but not necessarily have in faith. So there could be a covenant member of the covenant of grace of Christ. who is in the covenant that was obtained by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, who has received the sign of the covenant, which is baptism, but not necessarily received justification or the forgiveness of sins. So Baptists, so this is a huge problem and a huge issue because in their mind, covenant membership which is accomplished by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ is equivalent to forgiveness of sins. It's equivalent to being justified by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Now, beloved, we have to understand that historically Paedo-baptism, that is, baptizing infants, was preeminent in the Church from early Church history or from the early stages of the Church into the Reformation. There are many Baptists that they can track Baptists back into the early Church, but we have to accept that at least what is known of the Western Church, Paedo-baptism or the baptism of infants was a practice that was preeminent And as my brother will conclude in a book that he wrote, he says that more than likely, the environment, the historical environment pressed, had a lot of pressure, not only in paedo-baptism or in Presbyterians, but also in Baptists. Because as I said last week, being a Baptist in the 17th century was not a good thing. People will be killed for baptizing believers. Why?

Because based on this, Baptists said, You belong to the new covenant only by grace through faith and baptism. Baptism is not something that brings you into the covenant, but it's a result of your covenant membership. It is a seal of a covenant reality. You are baptized. As a result of the faith that you already have, because the works of obedience have already fulfilled by Jesus Christ.

This caused a lot of difficulties and a lot of trouble for Baptists. They saw that sign of baptism as a sign of a covenant reality and not necessarily as the means by which a person enters into that covenant. Now, beloved, I want you to see how this presupposition of our brothers that grace is the substance that defines the Old Testament into the New Testament, takes them to say that the nature of Old Testament church or Old Testament people, let's say it that way, defines the nature of the Old Testament Church. Now let me read to you from the Heidelberg, Heidelberg you pronounce? Heidelberg Catechism, which is a very important instrument of doctrine for our brothers Paedobaptists.

And in question 47, they have this question, should infants also be baptized? Our brother is going to address baptism from the Baptist point of view, but pay attention to what they say. Should infants also be baptized? And the answer that they gave that they give is yes. But listen to this.

Infants, as well as adults, are included in God's covenant and in God's people. And they, no less than adults, are promised deliverance from sin through Christ's blood and the Holy Spirit who produces faith. And I'll pay attention to this. Therefore, by baptism, the sign of the covenant, they should be, therefore, by baptism, the sign of the covenant, they too should be incorporated into the church. So they are saying that by baptism of infants, they become God's people or they are included into God's covenant.

Beloved, what is the problem with that? that many of the infants that can be inserted into the new covenant that Christ accomplished by his blood, they might not end up having faith and they might not end up being actually saved by grace. So that means that if they are condemned and judgment comes and they are condemned according to their works, they never had faith, A covenant member of the covenant of grace of Jesus Christ will pay for their his or her sins in hell. A covenant member of the covenant that was accomplished by the Lord Jesus Christ and his blood can end in hell because that person had no faith. Why?

Because Baptism is a reflection of circumcision, which was the means by which people were inserted into the old covenant. So for our brothers Presbyterians, baptism of infants is that which makes them covenant members of the new covenants. Now, the Apostle Paul gave a very important answer to this problem, because Baptists will say that the substance of grace has been the same from the old into the new. And the apostle Paul puts it in his own words. If you go to Romans chapter two, if you go to Romans chapter two, pay attention to what apostle, how the apostle answers the question of covenant membership to our brothers, Presbyterians in chapter two from verse 17.

Now, We do not... Now, beloved, just pay attention to these couple of statements. We do not deny that there were people of God in the Old Covenant. They were people of God by faith. and the apostle knew this and he's going to say in verse 17, but if you call yourself a Jew and rely on the law and boast in God and know his will and approve that what is excellent because you are instructed from the law and if you are sure that you yourself are a guide to the blind a light to those who are in darkness an instructor of the foolish a teacher of children having in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth.

You then who teach others, do you not teach yourself? When you preach against stealing, do you steal? You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? Now the puzzle is using here commandments of the law, of this mosaic law.

Verse 14, for as it is written, the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you. Now, pay attention to what he says. For circumcision indeed is of value if you obey the law, but if you break the law, your circumcision becomes uncircumcision. So if a man who is uncircumcised keeps the precepts of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? Then he who is physically uncircumcised but keeps the law will condemn you who have the written code of the circumcision but break the law.

For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical, but a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart by the spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from men, but from God." Beloved, this is important. This is very important. We have a word in Spanish that speaks of something very important as being very important.

that I don't know how to say in English, but this is very important because the Apostle Paul, beloved, is saying that the true Jew is not the one who was circumcised in the flesh, but the one that was circumcised in the heart by the spirit. The substance of the old covenant people is carried into the new and salvation is always by grace. through faith and faith is that which inserts you faith is that which inserts you into the covenant of God and it's not of works now if you can just stay with me for the last five minutes because I really want to address this beloved Presbyterians place or our brothers Presbyterians, they place many challenges to reform Baptist theology and actually had like a few of them. But I'm just going to address one or probably two, depending on how it goes. One or two of these challenges that they place.

The first one is the nature of apostasy. Apostasy, you've heard this word, right? Apostasy, the nature of apostasy. When someone departs from the faith, the nature of apostasy when someone departs from the faith. Actually, our brothers, they have a very good explanation of what apostasy is.

Stay with me, beloved. Apostasy, that which is walking away from the faith. our brothers Presbyterians, they have a very good explanation. These are people who are within the administration of the New Covenant, but they were never of the substance of the New Covenant. So those who were, yes, they were baptized, they were members of the New Covenant, they were members of the administration of the Covenant, but they never had faith, and then they walk out of the covenant, and then this is when they apostate from the faith.

And then they say to Baptists, Baptists do not have a clear explanation for that, because we are reformed and we believe that salvation cannot be lost, right? Salvation cannot be lost. Once we have been united to Jesus Christ, there is nothing that can separate us from Christ. So how do we Baptists explain the nature of Apostasy. How do we explain that someone walks away from the faith?

They will say, you cannot say that a person was inside of the covenant by faith and then that person walked away because that means that a person can lose their salvation. And we're saying that covenant membership is equal to the application of all the benefits that the sacrifice of Jesus Christ accomplishes for believers. But we don't have problems with that, beloved, because we do distinguish between the church as a divine covenant people, which is this, and we distinguish between that and the church as an institution. We understand that the institution of the church is a human institution established in time before the Lord Jesus Christ comes that is comprised by people. So we distinguish between that which we call the invisible church and the visible church.

Invisible church are the ones who, by grace through faith, have been united by Jesus Christ, and we cannot see that with our eyes. They are invisible to us by charity and out of love. When a brother says, I have faith and I've been born again, we believe those things. But we don't have the ability to see into their hearts and then to see if they have been justified or not. This is the invisible church.

But there's also another level of the church that which is visible, and this is the people that we see, the people that are in the building, the people that are in the church. These people enter into the institution of the church, not by faith, but by profession of faith. We receive people into the church by their profession of faith. And how do we test the profession of faith of people? The Bible says you shall know them by their fruits.

This is the only thing that we can do. This is what the Bible calls us to do. You shall know them by their fruits. And then out of charity, as the Puritans will say, or out of a judgment of love, we assess those fruits and then we believe or we might say or we might question it or we might believe the profession of faith of a person. So an apostate, An apostate under the Baptist model is a person who was within the context of the New Covenant or a person who was within the institution of the New Covenant Church, but never belonged to the New Covenant to which you belong by grace through faith.

This person was within the context and then being within the context, it brings some blessings. Just as when a child is born in a Christian family, that child has benefits compared to children from families that are not Christian families. There are some particular benefits, but that does not guarantee that the child is going to have true faith at a particular point in time. That does not guarantee. The church is not comprised for those who are seated in the church.

The church is comprised for those who have, by grace, through faith, have been saved. These are the covenant people of God. Our brothers Presbyterians will say, you Baptists, you have an over-realized eschatology, because this is real, but this will happen in the end of times. The church will be, all will be saved in the end of times. And we say no, because the new covenant has been already established by the Lord Jesus Christ.

And the benefits that the blood of Christ accomplishes are received by covenant members by faith. So the new covenant, beloved, is a better covenant because it doesn't matter what we do. It is not about our performance. In the old covenant, they had to obey the requirements of the law, and they had fear that when they disobeyed, the curses of the covenant will come, or that upon disobedience, a curse will come or something will happen. But under the new covenant, because it's by union with Jesus Christ, we have absolute certainty that nothing can remove a person who by grace through faith has been inserted into the new covenant of Christ.

that there is nothing that can remove us because it's Jesus Christ, the one that brings the end of the law for righteousness. Christ Jesus is our righteousness. He fulfilled the covenant requirements of the old covenant. And by grace, through faith, we receive this covenant to righteousness. And in the eyes of God, we are covenant keepers, even though we were covenant breakers.

And as covenant keepers of obedience, now we become members of a better covenant that gives us better blessings than the old covenant had and offered. The old covenant never offered salvation. It was a covenant for the people of Israel, pointing towards the person of Jesus Christ. The covenant that is in Jesus Christ offers not only to preserve the land to a particular people, but offers to preserve our soul into eternity. So we have absolute certainty that once a person has faith That person is united to Jesus Christ, and nothing can separate that person.

And out of the union that we have with Christ, obedience comes. So then the apostle will say, circumcision and uncircumcision avails for nothing. What matters is faith working through love, a faith, beloved. This is Galatians 5, 6. Faith working through love.

A faith whose substance is love to Christ and whose result is obedience. A faith that produces and changes the person, that transforms the person, because that person is now a covenant member and it is that person is united to Jesus Christ. So that's why then baptism is not applied to infants, but it's applied to believers. So we are different to paedo-baptist, which means infant baptism, but we are credo-baptist, that means believer's baptism. Baptism is applied to those who have believed in Christ and by believing become covenant members of the new covenant.

I hope that that was a little bit clear. May the Lord bless us. Amen.