tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-201640352024-03-13T12:41:59.178-04:00Light and HeatM. Jay Bennetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14196144533530725736noreply@blogger.comBlogger38125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20164035.post-5965640257749534052018-04-11T11:19:00.002-04:002019-03-29T09:50:12.357-04:00Why I Believe in Household Baptism
I grew up Southern Baptist and was convinced of the “believers only” view of baptism. In seminary, when I realized almost all my theological heroes viewed baptism (and the church) differently, I began studying the doctrines of the church, the covenants, and the sacraments. Here are eleven things I learned that persuaded me to believe in household baptism (sometimes called paedobaptism).
1. M. Jay Bennetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14196144533530725736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20164035.post-57704260084346300502018-04-11T11:11:00.004-04:002019-03-29T09:36:03.434-04:00The Apostles' Creed: Jesus Christ, His Only Begotten Son, Our Lord
In this lesson we transition from a focus upon the Father and the works more properly associated with him to a focus upon the Son and the works more properly associated with him. We transition from the works of creation and providence generally speaking to the work of redemption.
This section of The Apostles’ Creed does not begin with the Son’s eternal being but with his special revelation in M. Jay Bennetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14196144533530725736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20164035.post-34758335089526491362018-03-21T12:45:00.000-04:002018-03-21T13:40:36.891-04:00New Podcast: The Geneva Mountain Boys
Rev. Hank Belfield, Minister at Providence OPC in Chilhowie, VA, Mr. Corey Paige, member of Neon Reformed and student at Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, and I began a new podcast last November called the Geneva Mountain Boys. Our goal is to reach out to Applachia and beyond with the historic Christian, Protestant, and Reformed faith. We began with a series on the five solas of the M. Jay Bennetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14196144533530725736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20164035.post-4405261644955475532018-03-21T12:06:00.002-04:002018-03-21T12:16:35.598-04:00The Apostles' Creed: Maker of Heaven and Earth
Last time we began to examine the Creed’s description of the object of our faith, viz. the triune
God. The first part of that description concerned “God the Father.” Thus we learned that the God
in whom we believe is a personal (or relational) God. He is the Father eternally, in his being
(i.e. his operations ad intra), in relation to his begetting of the Son. He is also the adoptive Father
M. Jay Bennetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14196144533530725736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20164035.post-39624314730823841102017-09-21T11:58:00.001-04:002017-09-21T12:05:11.641-04:00The Apostles' Creed: God the Father Almighty
The Apostles’ Creed is a confession of faith. As such it not only speaks about the act of faith (i.e. “I believe”) but also its object. In what do Christians believe? Answer: God, but not just the concept of god. We believe in the one true and living God, the God who is and who has revealed himself generally in his works of creation and providence and specially in the the Holy Scriptures and theM. Jay Bennetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14196144533530725736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20164035.post-12976945058489950352017-08-30T12:06:00.002-04:002017-08-30T12:06:33.250-04:00The Apostles' Creed: I Believe
The Creed does not open with the declaration, “I know,” “I feel,” or “I think.” It opens with the declaration, “I believe” (Pisteuo, Credo). This is significant. Hebrews 11:6 says, “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” Faith is the context in which we attain a saving M. Jay Bennetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14196144533530725736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20164035.post-47132740165557668042017-08-30T12:04:00.000-04:002018-03-21T14:04:44.679-04:00The Apostles' Creed: Overview
The Textus Receptus (i.e. received text) of The Apostles’
Creed dates to 710-24 AD. It was adopted by Rome and became a common creed
of the Western Church. It states:
I believe in God the Father Almighty,
Maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our
Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit and
born of the virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was M. Jay Bennetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14196144533530725736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20164035.post-50266495382478019772017-07-20T11:38:00.002-04:002017-08-03T13:48:49.024-04:00The Apostles' Creed: The Origin and Use of the Apostles' Creed
The Origin of the Creed
The Apostles’ Creed gets its name from its supposed authorship. Legend says that the Apostles composed it ten days after the ascension of Christ when the Holy Spirit was poured out from heaven. The Roman Catholic Church has even claimed to know which Apostle wrote each part of the creed. But while Apostolic authorship has been summarily disproven, the creed is still M. Jay Bennetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14196144533530725736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20164035.post-45512050280578993882017-06-29T12:33:00.025-04:002017-08-03T13:59:32.219-04:00The Apostles' Creed: The Origin and Use of Creeds in the Church
What is a creed?
The word “creed” comes from the Latin word credo, which is the first word in the Apostles’ Creed. It means “I believe.” Sometimes called a rule or symbol, a creed is a confession of the content of one’s faith. Confessions of faith can be any length, long like The Westminster Confession of Faith or short like the creeds. A creed is a short confession of faith which can be more M. Jay Bennetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14196144533530725736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20164035.post-46693634545005159042017-06-29T11:54:00.001-04:002017-06-29T14:04:31.986-04:00Apostles' Creed: Schedule
I recently taught a Sunday School series at Neon Reformed Presbyterian Church on the Apostles' Creed. I plan to post the lessons here over the next few weeks. The class schedule is as follows:
The Origin and Use of Creeds in the Church
The Origin and Use of the Apostles’ Creed
Overview of the Apostles’ Creed
I Believe
God the Father Almighty
Maker of Heaven M. Jay Bennetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14196144533530725736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20164035.post-9760348042163810742017-06-12T14:06:00.013-04:002021-08-27T12:42:37.011-04:00Do You Hate Me?
Thus far in our series Engaging the Homosexual Movement we have looked at arguments/objections from nature, morality and authority that might be raised in the interest of normalizing the practice of homosexuality. And we have offered Christian answers to each objection. Last time we began addressing another argument/objection that differs from the first three while simultaneously touching upon M. Jay Bennetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14196144533530725736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20164035.post-31409719396888949492017-05-04T11:38:00.023-04:002021-08-27T12:20:45.459-04:00Does Your God Hate Me?
Thus far in our series Engaging the Homosexual Movement we have looked at arguments/objections from nature, morality, and authority that might be raised in favor of the normalization of the practice of homosexuality. And we have offered Christian answers to each objection. In this lesson we will address another argument/objection that touches on each of the previous three. It is not so much an M. Jay Bennetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14196144533530725736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20164035.post-75728794168706071692017-03-23T15:36:00.001-04:002017-06-16T12:02:15.442-04:00Judge Not Lest Ye Be Judged
Thus far in our series Engaging the Homosexual Movement we have looked at arguments/objections from nature and morality that are raised in favor of the normalization of the practice of homosexuality. The argument from nature might be phrased in terms of “This is just who I am” or, as we phrased it, “God made me this way.” We’ve learned that such an argument is fundamentally an appeal to the M. Jay Bennetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14196144533530725736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20164035.post-90232870452835764272017-02-02T16:40:00.005-05:002017-03-23T22:59:47.140-04:00Jesus Never Condemned It!
Thus far in our series "Engaging the Homosexual Movement" we have looked at the argument from nature or identity. This argument might be phrased in terms of “This is just who I am” or, as we phrased it, “God made me this way.” We learned that such an argument is fundamentally an appeal to the doctrine of creation, so we went back to Genesis 1 and 2 as well as other biblical texts and arrived at M. Jay Bennetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14196144533530725736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20164035.post-59673641994497013042017-01-12T13:02:00.025-05:002017-02-05T08:49:34.367-05:00God Made Me This Way! (Part 2)
Last time we considered this objection from the perspective of God’s original created design under two headings: (1) “Man’s Creation Male and Female” and (2) “The Image of God and the One Flesh Union.” Under the first heading we concluded that the Bible’s answer to the objection “God made me this way!” is to say, “No, that’s not true. In God’s finished good creation there was no homosexuality. M. Jay Bennetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14196144533530725736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20164035.post-53359633793762694562017-01-10T16:55:00.015-05:002017-02-02T16:56:59.488-05:00God Made Me This Way! (Part 1)
The Creation of
Man and Woman
One of the most
common beliefs put forward in the interest of the normalization of
homosexuality has to do with nature or identity. We see this belief expressed whenever a
proponent within the homosexual movement says, “This is just who I am!" How
should Christians evaluate and answer such a belief?
First we
need to understand that human identity is rooted M. Jay Bennetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14196144533530725736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20164035.post-62747478398467600772017-01-10T14:55:00.000-05:002017-01-10T14:56:34.363-05:00Engaging the Homosexual Movement
Last Summer I taught a six-part Sunday school series at Neon Reformed entitled Engaging the Homosexual Movement. The class schedule was as follows:
God Made Me This Way! (Part 1)
God Made Me This Way! (Part 2)
Jesus Never Condemned It!
Judge Not Lest Ye Be Judged!
Does Your God Hate Me?
Do You Hate Me?
In the interest of dusting off this old blog, I thought I might publish this and M. Jay Bennetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14196144533530725736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20164035.post-64392585243897495952016-02-20T16:10:00.002-05:002017-01-17T15:06:23.470-05:00Pentecost in Four Geographical Stages
Lately I've been studying Luke and Acts. In Acts 1:3-5 the risen Jesus teaches his disciples about two things: (1) the kingdom of God and (2) the coming baptism of the Holy Spirit. Then we read in Acts 1:6, "So when they had come together, they asked him, 'Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?'" They view the kingdom as Jewish dominion in the Promised Land. Jesus responds byM. Jay Bennetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14196144533530725736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20164035.post-57871370516318865662014-06-17T14:14:00.003-04:002015-11-16T15:00:04.008-05:00The Ten Commandments: God's DNA
This Sunday we began a new morning series at Neon Reformed Presbyterian Church entitled The Ten Commandments: God's DNA. Having spent the Spring in Paul's letter to the Galatians, which emphasizes the moral law's pedagogical use (i.e. its use with respect to our justification), I thought it would serve us well to examine the law with a particular focus on its didactic use (i.e. its use with M. Jay Bennetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14196144533530725736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20164035.post-43710395819340723512013-12-17T18:44:00.000-05:002013-12-17T18:44:32.996-05:00Talking about the Federal Vision Controversy on the Heidelcast (Part 2)
The second part of my conversation with Dr. R. Scott Clark on the Heidelcast is now up. Here's the blurb from the Heidelblog:
For those who are outside the Reformed churches, the so-called (and self-named) Federal Vision movement probably seems like a tempest in a teapot. For those of us, however, who worship in Reformed churches, the FV is no theoretical discussion. There have been actual M. Jay Bennetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14196144533530725736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20164035.post-48385228935790512482013-12-07T18:42:00.000-05:002013-12-17T18:38:58.812-05:00Talking about the Federal Vision Controversy on the Heidelcast (Part 1)
This week I had the privilege of discussing the Federal Vision controversy with Dr. R. Scott Clark on the Heidelcast. Here's the blurb from the Heidelblog:
The self-described and so-called Federal Vision movement has been troubling the confessional (NAPARC) Reformed and Presbyterian denominations since before it had a cool name. It presents itself as Reformed theology but is M. Jay Bennetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14196144533530725736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20164035.post-55915686674689090752013-11-07T12:54:00.001-05:002017-02-02T16:47:53.582-05:00When Church Courts Err
Westminster Confession of Faith 31.3 states: "All synods or councils, since the Apostles' times, whether general or particular, may err; and many have erred. Therefore they are not to be made the rule of faith, or practice; but to be used as a help in both." I believe I recently witnessed this first hand. Let me explain.
On Jan. 20, 2009 after successfully completing my ordination exams, I M. Jay Bennetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14196144533530725736noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20164035.post-73060096647539599282013-02-20T17:04:00.002-05:002013-02-27T15:44:28.859-05:00How Has God Revealed Himself? (Part 4)
In Part 3 we looked at the teaching of the Westminster Standards on the supernatural revelation of God (1) broadly considered and (2) narrowly considered in the doctrine of Holy Scripture. Today we will take a look at the doctrine of the canon as it is presented in WCF 1.2-3, LC 3, and SC 2.
WCF 1.2-3 reads:
Under the name of Holy Scripture, or the Word of God written, are now contained M. Jay Bennetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14196144533530725736noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20164035.post-11377657159883655882013-02-20T15:41:00.001-05:002014-06-13T13:18:35.391-04:00But by Some Voluntary Condescension
This week we began a new Sunday School series at Neon Reformed Presbyterian Church. For the next few weeks we will be studying Westminster Confession of Faith (WCF) Chapter 7 "Of God's Covenant with Man." WCF 7.1 reads,
The distance between God and the creature is so great, that although reasonable creatures do owe obedience unto him as their Creator, yet they could never have any fruition ofM. Jay Bennetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14196144533530725736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20164035.post-80389350807302913072012-10-31T15:30:00.002-04:002015-01-19T18:41:19.892-05:00How Has God Revealed Himself? (Part 3)
In Part 2 we looked at the Westminster Standards' teaching on the natural revelation of God, which is primarily given in WCF 1.1a and LC 2a. God gives natural revelation in two distinct but unified ways: (1) within humanity and (2) without humanity. That which resides within humanity is called the "light of nature." That which resides without is called "the works of GodM. Jay Bennetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14196144533530725736noreply@blogger.com0