A few notes on my theological distinctives before I give you the list. Over the last few years, my theology has changed drastically in a number of places. All of which have come through a study of the Bible, and the present list presents my convictions thereof. Plenty of Godly people disagree with several of these points, yet I consider them dear brothers and sisters of the faith. I know I do not have a theology that is 100% correct, but the problem is I don’t know where I’m wrong. As such I affirm all of the below until I am convinced through scripture that I am wrong.
Theology Proper
- I affirm that there is one God, and that God being one in being exists as three persons
- I affirm that these three persons are the Father, the Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit
- I affirm that they are distinct in person, co-eternal, co-existing, perfect in love, and of the same substance
Creation
- I affirm that God created all things, sustains all things, and will bring all things to it’s intended purpose and close
- I affirm that creation was indeed ‘good’ by God’s own declaration, and has fallen under the curse of sin
- I affirm that upon Adam’s sin, we have all sinned via our representative, and as such, we are born into sin, totally inable to wrought spiritual good of ourselves, unable and unwilling to seek God
Soteriology
- I affirm the historic five points of Calvinism, Total Inability/Depravity, Unconditional Election, Particular Atonement, Irresistable Grace, and the Perseverance of the saints
- I affirm that Justification comes through faith alone by grace alone
- I affirm that justification is by double-imputation, that of our sins to Christ and His righteousness to us
- I affirm that Christ’s death was a substituationary death and a propitiation for sin
- I affirm that true saving faith exhibits itself in continued faith and obediance
Christology
- I affirm that Jesus is the second person of the trinity, co-equal and co-eternal with The Father and Holy Spirit
- I affirm that Jesus Christ was prophesied to come by the Law, Writings, and Prophets of the Old Testament
- I affirm that Jesus was born of a virgin, Mary, and He lived a sinless life in obediance to God’s commands
- I affirm that Jesus suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, and rose again the third day with the same body
- I affirm that Jesus, after His resurrection, ascended into visibly and bodily heaven to recieve dominion, glory, and His Kingdom
- I affirm that He will come back to Judge all peoples in like manner as His ascension
- I affirm the hypo-static union, wherein Jesus is 100% God and 100% man, two natures in the same person
Pneumatology
- I affirm that regeneration is a monergistic work of the spirit in the elect, thus effectually calling sinners to salvation through the preaching of the Gospel
- I affirm that the Holy Spirit indwells every true believer
- I affirm the cessation of the miraculous gifts but also affirm that God continues to still work miracles
The Bible
- I affirm that the Bible is inspired by God, and is absolutely true in all that it affirms, and as such is the utmost authority
- I affirm that the original autographs were without error
- I affirm that the Bible is to be the utmost authority
- I affirm that revelation has ceased, and as such our canon is closed
- I affirm that the Bible consists of the 66 books of the Protestant Bible
Eschatology
- I affirm the future, visible, bodily second advent of our Lord
- I affirm the resurrection of the dead at the second advent of our Lord
- I affirm the judgment of all people at the resurrection, the righteous to eternal life and communion with God and the unrighteous to God’s just eternal wrath in Hell
- I affirm the amillennial view of the millennial kingdom
- I affirm historic/partial preterism
Ecclesiology
- I affirm covenant theology
- I affirm that the church should be goverened by a plurality of elders that meet the requirements provided by Scripture
- I affirm credo-baptism (see note below)
- I affirm the complimentarian view of gender roles
- I affirm the regulative principle, though somewhat liberally compared to some
A note on confessions and creeds: I greatly enjoy and cherish the various reformed creeds, and have linked them for your access here on my blog. With that being said, however, I believe that the Bible is the ultimate authority on doctrinal truth (see above), and will only affirm the parts of the creed as I see being biblically true. Anything that is taught in the creeds and confessions is true only in as much as they are taught in the Bible. That being said these creeds and confessions are a great resource and serve as an excellent summary of Biblical teaching.
A note on covenant theology from a Reformed Baptist perspective: Some people consider being covenantal and Baptist as antithetical concepts. It is not my intention to defend the two, but to explain what I mean when I say that I am covenantal as a Baptist. I affirm the covenant of Redemption (the intramural covenant between the trinity of the Father electing, the Son accomplishing redemption, and the Holy Spirit applying redemption), The Edenic Covenant or Covenant of Works (between God and Adam in the Garden), and the Covenant of Grace which spans time and contains both the administration of the Old and New Covenant. I also affirm that Christ was the fulfillment of both the covenant of works and grace, wherein justification comes through double imputation (see above, again). In these I am thoroughly covenantal. The difference between myself and my Presbyterian brethren is in the understanding of the covenantal sign and it’s application. The Presbyterian belief is that the covenantal sign is baptism and that it should be applied to infants of believing parents as covenant children, whereas Reformed Baptist see that regeneration is the New Covenant fulfillment of circumcision, and as such serves as the entrance into the New Covenant, to which Baptism is the external sign applied to show the internal regeneration.
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