Book Review: "William the Baptist" by James M. Chaney

Last week I purchased a copy of William the Baptist by James M. Chaney after having it heartily recommended to me as a must read to better understand the subject of baptism. The book was first published in 1877 and following an update to the language by Ronald Evans was once again published in 2011 by P&R Publishing Company.

The book is about a young man nicknamed "William the Baptist" who is an ardent defender of the Baptist's view of believer's baptism and baptism by immersion. "William the Baptist" marries a girl who is Presbyterian and believes in infant baptism and the mode of baptism of the sprinkling of water. Shortly after getting married "William the Baptist" begins a journey to understand and reconsider the Bible's true position on baptism. There are two main characters in the book: "William the Baptist" and a Presbyterian Pastor named "Pastor Cowan." The writing style of the book is conversational and is laid out as a dialogue between these two characters. In the story "Pastor Cowan" agrees to meet with "William the Baptist" over a series of evenings where he sets out to show that the Bible is clearly in support of infant baptism and the mode of sprinkling. The dialogue is saturated with scripture and the character "Pastor Cowan" presents a very convincing case for why the Presbyterian view is indeed biblical. At the end of the book the character "William the Baptist" ends up subscribing to the Presbyterian view.

I mentioned in a previous post that I am in the middle of rethinking my views on baptism and in many ways I found myself able to relate to the character of "William the Baptist." For those who seek to better understand the biblical meaning of baptism and its significance I strongly recommend reading this book. It is just under 150 pages in length and is an easy read. This was a fantastic book!

Thoughts on Baptism...Paedo vs. Credo

Over the past year as I have studied the Bible more and more I have found myself rethinking my position on several things I have come to believe over the years. One such position I have come to rethink is on the topic of baptism and whether the Bible better supports the case for infant baptism (paedobaptism) or believer's baptism (credobaptism). I have spent the majority of my Christian life in southern baptist churches that strongly affirm believer's baptism. However, as the father of a 3 year old daughter and in about a week  the father of a son (Lord willing) I have found myself thinking through the role/position of children in the church and studying Covenant Theology with greater interest. As such I have grown interested more in understanding the biblical reasoning behind infant baptism in light of God's covenant with believers.

This past Lord's Day I visited a local Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC) with my family and took home a copy of the below booklet to read over. This is a well organized little booklet that lays out a five-step explanation for infant baptism. In the booklet each step below is explained with supportive scripture passages and really presents a compelling case for infant baptism - though those who hold a dispensational view of scripture will perhaps automatically disagree.

1. The church of the O.T. and the church of the N.T. are, in essence, the same church
2. God regards the children of believers as members of this church
3. In the O.T. era, the children of believers were given the covenant sign of circumcision
4. In the N.T. era, God has taken the sign of circumcision and changed it to baptism
5. Therefore in the N.T. era, the children of believers are to be given the sign of baptism 

This booklet did a good job of piquing my interest in reading more about the biblical basis for infant baptism and I placed an order over at Reformation Heritage Books for the items below.

• Christian Baptism by John Murray
• The Case for Covenantal Infant Baptism by P&R Publishing
• Infant Baptism: Scriptural and Reasonable by Samuel Miller

As I slug my way through these books perhaps I'll post a succinct review to my blog. Until then...

Bible Review - LCBP Mid Size Note Takers - 400 Series (KJV)

Up for review today is the executive mid size note takers Bible (400 Series) published by Local Church Bible Publishers (LCBP).  If you have not heard of LCBP, they are a ministry of Parker Memorial Baptist Church in Lansing, MI and they produce high quality KJV Bibles and sell them at the cost of production. I received this Bible back in March 2012 as a birthday gift from my wife and daughter. This Bible is the executive version and features red one-piece calfskin leather with red thread and sells for $57.00.

Here are some other specifications of this Bible:

• Quality Sewn Binding
• Two Ribbon Markers (Red)
• Black Letter Edition
• Standard Text with No References
• Page Size - 9.9" x 6.75" x 1.75"
• Contains "The Translators to the Reader"
• Contains a Concordance
• Model #: 400E1R

 The leather on this Bible is nothing short of amazing! It is extremely soft, smooth, and very supple. This Bible will lay open flat whether you are reading Genesis, Revelation, or somewhere in the middle. The outer edge of the Bible is stitched with red thread and the inside is black leather lined. This is the first red Bible I have ever owned and at first I was a bit skeptical about whether I would like the color or not, but upon first glance I fell in love with it. The red leather is a rich bright red, more like fire engine red than a cherry or burgundy red.

The binding is real tight on this Bible and it feels extremely well made. The paper quality is also of extremely high quality, which is paramount after all since this Bible was designed for those who do a whole lot of writing in their Bibles. I have taken notes in this Bible using my pigma micron pens and none of the colors I have used (purple, blue, green, red, brown) have bled through the paper at all. For those who like taking notes in their Bibles it gets no better than this! There is a ton of real estate in the margins for note taking!

I have owned this Bible now for a little over six months and I have nothing bad to say about it. Of all the wide margin Bibles that are on the market this one by LCBP has to rank among the very best. It costs a third of the price of other top of the line Bibles out there (think Cambridge and R.L. Allan) and I believe the quality is just as good. One thing that does need to be considered; however, is that this Bible is pretty heavy. LCBP considers this one of their "mid size" Bibles, but in my opinion it is a little too big and bulky to lug around to church on Sundays, but it is perfect for reading and taking notes at home in my office. This is a wonderful Bible and I encourage you to head over to LCBP's website and purchase one. If red is not your thing there are other colors and styles to choose from.

The Great Blessing of Affliction

At first glance the title of this post would seem to be a bit of an oxymoron. An antonym for affliction is blessing, so how could affliction possibly be characterized as that which is its opposite? To many the thought of being afflicted; as in living in a state of pain, distress, misery, or grief is a horrible thing to consider and is a cup that few, if any, would voluntarily drink from. However, there are a thousand benefits that come to God's children through their pains and griefs.

The Bible verses that this blog post is centered around is Psalm 119 verses 67, 71, and 75. These three verses have been among the most precious to me over the past year as I have been trying to deal with a serious health issue I've been afflicted with.

Psalm 119:67 Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now have I kept thy word.

Psalm 119:71 It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes.

Psalm 119:75 I know, O Lord, that thy judgments are right, and that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me.

We read here that at some point the psalmist went astray and that following this wandering away from God he was afflicted. By affliction God separated the sin which he hated from the soul which he loved and it can only be the fool that frowns upon afflictions that are for his/her own profit. In Job 5:17 it says happy is the man whom God corrects and if you have ever come under affliction I hope this can be the description said of you. There is a quote by the puritan Arthur Dent originally from The Plain Man's Pathway to Heaven that explains this blessing most beautifully:

"God's children are no losers by their afflictions, but gainers. It is better for them to have them than to be without them; they are very good for them...For to them the cross is mercy and loss is gain. Afflictions are their schooling, and adversity their best university."

I also like the commentary provided by Albert Barnes who says: 

Among those things for which good men have most occasion for thankfulness are afflictions; and when we lie down on the bed of death, and look over life and the divine dealings with us through life, as the glories of heaven are about to open upon us, we shall feel that among the chiefest mercies of God are those dealings of his holy hand, trying at the time, which kept us from going astray, or which recalled us when we had wandered from him - and that in our life, now closing, there has not been one trial too much."

This past year I have had the opportunity to be reminded daily of the affliction the Lord has dealt me. Before I was afflicted I also went astray, but God who knows every heart and the best way to reach any heart has dealt with me wisely and has corrected me. Perhaps you have been afflicted at some point recently and can relate to the great blessing of affliction. 

For a good read on sanctified affliction I recommend the sermon by John Angell James found here on Grace Gems!

They cried unto the Lord...were saved from their troubles...and praised Him

Last night I resumed my reading of the Psalms and picked back up at Psalm 107. With pen in hand I read slowly over the Psalm and as I was underlining some of the verses a noticeable pattern emerged. No fewer than four times we see God's people crying out in trouble and being delivered (verses 6, 13, 19, 28) and then a verse or two later we see God's people being urged to praise the Lord for his goodness and wonderful works (verses 8, 15, 21, 31). Below are the verses described...  

Psalm 107:6 Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses

Psalm 107:8 Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!

 

Psalm 107:13 Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and he saved them out of their distresses

Psalm 107:15 Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!

Psalm 107:19 Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and he saveth them out of their distresses 

Psalm 107:21 Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!

Psalm 107:28 Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses 

Psalm 107:31 Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!

As I read over the entire Psalm a few times I found myself feeling encouraged, comforted, and convicted...I felt encouraged by the example of God's people crying to the Lord in prayer when troubled and afflicted. God's people are a praying people and we need to cry out to the Lord in times of need. I was also comforted by seeing that after God's people cried out to him he saved them out of their troubles. God hears the prayers of his children and we can take comfort in knowing that he will deliver us from our afflictions in due time. Lastly, I also felt convicted in my conscience when reading this Psalm, specifically by the verses calling God's people to praise the Lord for his goodness and wonderful works. Praise to God should be overflowing out of our lips at all times. He has been oh so good to us and too often we take for granted the many blessings he has showered upon us.

One of my favorite verses in the Bible is Psalm 34:6 which reads "This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles." If you are reading this now and feel as if life's troubles are an army laying siege against you I urge you to fall on your face and cry out to God. God will save you from all your troubles, that is a promise, and when he does you need to fall back on your face...this time singing praise to God and thanking him for his goodness and enduring mercy!

Using Pigma Micron Pens for Bible Study

A few months ago I was turned on to Pigma micron pens as a great resource for underlining and taking notes in ones Bible. These pens contain archival quality ink that is chemical resistant, fade resistant, bleed free, and ph neutral. One of the advantages of using archival pens such as these is you do not have to worry about your notes and underlining disappearing over time and I particularly like the idea of using pens that have a very minimal amount of bleed through from page to page as I write in my Bible.

I purchased a couple packs of the above off of Amazon and found the 005 tipped pens to suit my tastes best (005 is equivalent to a 0.20 mm line width). The Pigma micron packs I purchased contained pens in the colors black, blue, purple, green, red, and brown.

Prior to learning about Pigma micron pens I had always used pencil when underlining or taking notes in my Bibles. Now that I have used the micron pens for this purpose I will likely never go back to using anything else. These pens are great! The different colors give you some flexibility with how you want to go about writing in your Bible. I personally like alternating between colors as I underline important verses; however, you could do something like a color coding schema based on topics in the Bible or whatever else your heart desires.

I used to be one of those guys who refused to write in my Bibles. Not sure why; however, I just didn't like the idea of messing up the pages with my crooked lines and chicken scratch. My thoughts in this area have certainly evolved and I really enjoy using these pens as a resource to help me study the Bible.

If you are looking for a resource to use to write in your Bible look no further. Do yourself a favor and pick up a pack or two. You will not regret it! If perhaps you are reading this and are one who seldom picks up the Bible I encourage you to commit a portion of your day to the daily reading of God's word and pray that the Lord will give you a deep hunger to feast upon his word and apply it to your life.

The one whom God hears...

John 9:31b ...if any man be a worshipper of God, and does his will, him he hears.

Yesterday I was cleaning up some paperwork on my desk at home and I came across a piece of paper where I had written in the corner John 9:31. I do not recall the original circumstances that had made me write this verse down; however, I opened up the Bible to this verse and upon reading and thinking about it some more I felt compelled to write some thoughts down...

I think the meaning of this scripture becomes clearer when asking yourself the question "whose prayers does God listen and respond to?" The answer here clearly states that God listens and responds to the one who worships God and who does the will of God. We see in Psalm 34:15 that "the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their cry" and in Proverbs 15:29 it is written "the Lord is far from the wicked but he hears the prayer of the rightous."

A consistent theme in the Bible is God's refusal to hear the prayers/cries of the unbeliever who is unrepentant and living in habitual sin against God (see Isaiah 59:1-2; Psalm 66:18; Isaiah 1:15; Jeremiah 11:11; Ezekiel 8:18; Amos 5:23; 1 Peter 3:12). However, God does hear the prayers/cries of any man who by the grace of God fears, loves, and adores him sincerely and who does his will.

So there is no confusion, this verse is not suggesting that God does not listen to the cries of the sinner for salvation. It does however suggest that the promises of God to his children (the elect) are not reserved for unbelievers who deny Jesus Christ. While this is probably accepted by most, it is unfortunately not all that uncommon to hear Christians giving advice to non-Christians that they should pray to God when faced with tough life circumstances. While the intention of the Christian, though misguided as it is, may be good, the Bible is clear that God will not hear the prayers of those who do not worship and obey him. The first piece of advice we need give to those who are not Christians is that they turn from their sin and accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

Man, by the grace of God, must hear and respond to God's word before God is going to hear and respond to Man's word!

The Lord is God...he is creator of all...we are his people

Psalm 100:3 Know that the Lord is God: it is he that has made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

I was reading the Psalms yesterday afternoon and this verse stood out to me as I was meditating upon Psalm 100. If one was looking for a single verse of scripture that called out for the universal adoration of the Lord this would certainly be a worthy contender to consider. This is an amazing verse to spend some time thinking about.

Know that the Lord is God and he is creator of the heavens and the earth. As such he has made us...each and every one of us. It is not we who created ourselves. We see in Colossians 1:15-16 and in Proverbs 16:4 that God made all for himself. We are his people and he is our shepherd. As sheep we are to look up to him for all things for he is the true and living God. The shepherd cares for his sheep and will not stand to lose a single one. We are wonderfully made and can take comfort in knowing we were known of God before he formed us in our mother's womb...we belong to him.

As you give praise to God and rejoice in him today read Psalm 100 out loud. The Lord is God, he is creator of all, and we are his people...so praise and rejoice in him today for this is the day that the Lord has made.