A Rejoinder to Reformed Presbyterians and Reformed Baptists

Saints, for 20 years I’ve had only Presbyterians giving me hate, denigrating me, belittling me, ridiculing me, mocking me, being dismissive and haughty and insisting I am not Reformed. I finally got so sick of the abuse. I reached a breaking point, and that was the catalyst for my recent blog article on being Reformed.

When I shared my article, “A Response to Reformed Presbyterians: Semper Reformanda”, which you can view below at the link, on my Facebook timeline. It created a firestorm of controversy. I was mocked, insulted, belittled, my sanity was questioned, and my arguments were totally dismissed without being addressed. I’d say 95% of those Christians who responded failed to grasp the nuance of my arguments, and it went totally over their heads.

A Response to Reformed Presbyterians: Semper Reformanda

Despite literally dozens of people asserting that my article was garbage and that I was not Reformed, not a single one of them refuted a single argument I made. One person referenced the article, and was in error in what they said the article asserted.

I honestly believe the vast majority of people on Facebook who commented never read my article. Is it so much to ask for 20 minutes of their time to read it?

This blog post represents my final rejoinder to my critics and adversaries.

I’m getting tired of repeating myself, but I affirm a Reformed confession – the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith. I affirm 95% of it, I differ only on eschatology and covenant theology. I AM REFORMED! In fact, not only am I truly Reformed, but I’m more Reformed than Presbyterians because I adhere 100% to Sola Scriptura and I have a reformed eschatology (premillennialism), a truly reformed hermeneutic (a dispensational hermeneutic – historical-grammatic contextual literalism), and I agree with Scripture on the Church-Israel distinction. Also because I reject the unbiblical practice of infant baptism.

I had many people on Facebook assert I don’t hold to the 1689 LBCF when in fact I do, I just differ on eschatology and covenant theology. So it seems ridiculous and intellectually dishonest to assert I must have 100% conformance to the confession when I agree with virtually all of it (95%). It seems some people are so bigoted they must deny me what is my rightful and proper designation to describe my theological beliefs. How sad and pathetic.

By the way, I’m chided for holding to dispensational views (I’m actually a leaky dispensationalist like Dr. John MacArthur), yet covenant theology is less than a hundred years older than dispensationalism (in it’s fully realized and codified state – major tenets of dispensationalism date back to the Early Church period). In fact, not a single Magisterial Reformer, such as Luther or Calvin, held to covenant theology! Yet Presbyterians and some Reformed Baptists act as if covenant theology is the sine qua non of Reformed theology. It isn’t.

We should keep in mind that the Reformed Confessions, as useful as they may be, like the 1689 LBCF, or the Westminster Confession, are in fact secondary documents subordinate to Scripture. They are not perfect. They are not God-breathed. Secondary documents, like confessions, theological books, sermons, and commentaries, are profitable tools that we can utilize in understanding the Scriptures, as well as honing in on what we believe and sharpening our doctrine, but only to the extent that they accurately and faithfully represent the Scriptures. We must always be Sola Scriptura Bereans in our study of Scripture and in our formulation of doctrine whether it be confessions or creeds.

As I briefly mentioned earlier in this post, asserting that I must have 100% conformance with the 1689 confession in order to affirm it ,when in fact I do affirm 95% of it and differ only on eschatology and covenant theology, is akin to saying if I eat 95% of an apple I didn’t really eat an apple! If you assume one must have 100% conformity to a confession that is just stupid. I will repeat myself ONE MORE TIME: I AFFIRM 95% OF THE LBCF! If you keep insisting that I am not Reformed or that I don’t affirm the LBCF I will have nothing further to say to you. I’m not going to spend hours arguing in circles with any of you anymore. Life is too short. If you reject all my arguments in my blog article on being Reformed that’s your right, but my article is my fullest and final exposition on my reasoning and my position!!!!

I am FULLY and truly Reformed and FULLY and truly a Reformed Baptist. If you disagree, that’s your problem. Nothing you can say or do will convince me otherwise. The truth is on my side!

In conclusion, let me say that despite the massive amount of hate I’ve received, I forgive them and do not hate them. I pray the Lord would open their eyes and show them how they’ve wronged me – a faithful brother in Christ. I pray they would keep reforming and come fully into line with biblical truth.

Semper Reformanda!