I'm a Reformed Baptist - can I be in this group?

[Elizabeth Daniels Jn316]

Hi! I just joined. I'm new and am trying to navigate my way around this forum. I'm not familiar with all the different groups, but I saw "Reformed" and Semper Reformanda for your group. Though I'm a Reformed Baptist, would it be ok to participate in this group? I'm a 5 pointer Calvinist, I hold to the 5 Solas, I agree with most of the Westminster Confession of Faith, I attend a PCA church, and my favorite pastors/teachers are Calvinists: John MacArthur, Steve Lawson, Paul Washer, R.C. Sproul, J.C. Ryle, Spurgeon, and the Puritans. And I love Ligonier Ministries. Thanks.

 

[Maria Billingsley]

Hi! I just joined. I'm new and am trying to navigate my way around this forum. I'm not familiar with all the different groups, but I saw "Reformed" and Semper Reformanda for your group. Though I'm a Reformed Baptist, would it be ok to participate in this group? I'm a 5 pointer Calvinist, I hold to the 5 Solas, I agree with most of the Westminster Confession of Faith, I attend a PCA church, and my favorite pastors/teachers are Calvinists: John MacArthur, Steve Lawson, Paul Washer, R.C. Sproul, J.C. Ryle, Spurgeon, and the Puritans. And I love Ligonier Ministries. Thanks.

Welcome to CF!

 

[atpollard]

Here is what it says is required to be HERE:

Semper Reformanda - Reformed:
A forum for all Reformed, Calvinist, Presbyterian and similar Christians to discuss and fellowship together.

A few things to know about us:

• We hold to the 5 solas: Sola Scriptura, Sola Fide, Sola Gratia, Solo Christo and Soli Deo Gloria.
• We hold to the 5 points of Calvinism: Total depravity, Unconditional election, Limited atonement ; Irresistible grace and Perseverance of the Saints.
• We recognize the sovereign grace of God, and that it is God who changes the hearts of the rebellious to willing obedience.

So, from what you posted, you appear to meet the criteria for “Semper Reformanda”.

 

[Elizabeth Daniels Jn316]

Here is what it says is required to be HERE:

Semper Reformanda - Reformed:
A forum for all Reformed, Calvinist, Presbyterian and similar Christians to discuss and fellowship together.

A few things to know about us:

• We hold to the 5 solas: Sola Scriptura, Sola Fide, Sola Gratia, Solo Christo and Soli Deo Gloria.
• We hold to the 5 points of Calvinism: Total depravity, Unconditional election, Limited atonement ; Irresistible grace and Perseverance of the Saints.
• We recognize the sovereign grace of God, and that it is God who changes the hearts of the rebellious to willing obedience.

So, from what you posted, you appear to meet the criteria for “Semper Reformanda”.

Thank you.

 

[St_Worm2]

Hello @Elizabeth Daniels Jn316, WELCOME TO CF (and to Semper Reformanda too) We are glad that you found us and joined in the discussions with us BTW, I am a big fan of all of the theologians and pastors you named in your OP too

One last thing, while you said that you are Reformed Baptist, you actually attend a PCA church? That isn't a problem in any way, I'm just interested

Thanks

God bless you!!

--David

1 Thessalonians 5
23 May the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body
be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
24 Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.
.​

 

[Hammster]

Hello @Elizabeth Daniels Jn316, WELCOME TO CF (and to Semper Reformanda too) We are glad that you found us and joined in the discussions with us BTW, I am a big fan of all of the theologians and pastors you named in your OP too

One last thing, while you said that you are Reformed Baptist, you actually attend a PCA church? That isn't a problem in any way, I'm just interested

Thanks

God bless you!!

--David

1 Thessalonians 5
23 May the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body
be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
24 Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.
.​

My best friend is a baptist in a PCA church.

 

[Elizabeth Daniels Jn316]

Hello @Elizabeth Daniels Jn316, WELCOME TO CF (and to Semper Reformanda too) We are glad that you found us and joined in the discussions with us BTW, I am a big fan of all of the theologians and pastors you named in your OP too

One last thing, while you said that you are Reformed Baptist, you actually attend a PCA church? That isn't a problem in any way, I'm just interested

Thanks

God bless you!!

--David

1 Thessalonians 5
23 May the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body
be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
24 Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.
.​

Hi.

Thanks for the very warm welcome! Yes, I couldn't find a conservative Reformed Baptist church in my area that I felt shared the same beliefs and practices; so, I decided to try out PCA, since I love R.C. Sproul's teaching and that of others at Ligonier. I had attended and visited Presbyterian churches before and was familiar with the litany, confessions, etc. Attending a PCA church has worked out so far. There are some other Reformed Baptists in our church, too. They love and accept us, despite our differences in what I consider "secondary" issues relating to baptism and eschatology. Personally, I don't think the ecclesiology difference is a problem. Does that answer your question? May I ask what denomination you are a member of?

By the way, I'm only familiar with Facebook and Twitter. Is everything we write/post public? How would one message or communicate with another member in this forum privately, if needed?

Thanks,

Elizabeth

 

[St_Worm2]

Hi.

Thanks for the very warm welcome! Yes, I couldn't find a conservative Reformed Baptist church in my area that I felt shared the same beliefs and practices; so, I decided to try out PCA, since I love R.C. Sproul's teaching and that of others at Ligonier. I had attended and visited Presbyterian churches before and was familiar with the litany, confessions, etc. Attending a PCA church has worked out so far. There are some other Reformed Baptists in our church, too. They love and accept us, despite our differences in what I consider "secondary" issues relating to baptism and eschatology. Personally, I don't think the ecclesiology difference is a problem. Does that answer your question? May I ask what denomination you are a member of?

By the way, I'm only familiar with Facebook and Twitter. Is everything we write/post public? How would one message or communicate with another member in this forum privately, if needed?

Thanks,

Elizabeth

Hello again Elizabeth, you need 25 posts and 5 Likes to start a private "Conversation" with another member or members (but you can be included in a PM now, if someone else starts it .. I will send you one). To do so (after you make another 12 posts), just left click on their avatar and then click on "Start a Conversation".

I am formerly Presbyterian, but I am now part of the Evangelical Free Church of America (a denomination that, interestingly, holds a neutral position on Arminianism/Calvinism). However, whenever I take a test (that reveals which denomination I should be attending according to what I believe), PCA/OPC always come out on top, followed immediately by Reformed Baptist, just FYI.

Thanks for answering my question about your PCA attendance. I certainly understand why you chose to go there

God bless you!!

--David

 

[Elizabeth Daniels Jn316]

Hello again Elizabeth, you need 25 posts and 5 Likes to start a private "Conversation" with another member or members (but you can be included in a PM now, if someone else starts it .. I will send you one). To do so (after you make another 12 posts), just left click on their avatar and then click on "Start a Conversation".

I am formerly Presbyterian, but I am now part of the Evangelical Free Church of America (a denomination that, interestingly, holds a neutral position on Arminianism/Calvinism). However, whenever I take a test (that reveals which denomination I should be attending according to what I believe), PCA/OPC always come out on top, followed immediately by Reformed Baptist, just FYI.

Thanks for answering my question about your PCA attendance. I certainly understand why you chose to go there

God bless you!!

--David

Thanks for answering my question about private conversations. Just disregard my reply to your PM earlier. So, I'm curious. Why is it called "Evangelical Free"? What does the "free" part mean? And may I ask why you changed denominations, if that's o.k.?

 

[St_Worm2]

Thanks for answering my question about private conversations. Just disregard my reply to your PM earlier. So, I'm curious. Why is it called "Evangelical Free"? What does the "free" part mean? And may I ask why you changed denominations, if that's o.k.?

Hello again Elizabeth, I'm sure that you are referring to the "Free" part of the title, and that simply means that we don't require any tithes/giving.

KIDDING

Here's a little bit about all of it (including the now dual meaning of "Free"), mostly from our friends at GotQuestions.org.

In 1950, the Evangelical Free Church of America (Swedish) and the Norwegian-Danish Evangelical Free Church Association combined to form the Evangelical Free Church of America. Churches often shorten their affiliation to “EvFree” or “E-Free.”​

The “evangelical” of Evangelical Free reflects the assertions that the scriptures are the inerrant word of God, people are born into a sinful condition, and salvation comes through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, as well as a commitment to spreading these beliefs. They also believe in the glorious return of Christ, the bodily resurrection of the dead, and the celebration of water baptism and the Lord’s Supper.​

Today, the “free” means that EFCA churches are congregational in governance. Each church is governed and financially supported by its own members. This is as opposed to being ruled by a presbyter, or board of elders, or an episcopate, which is a central leader over several churches. Although EFCA churches typically have a senior pastor and a board of elders, the pastors and elders receive their authority by the vote of the congregation.

Historically, we followed in the footsteps of The Swiss Brethren, who were among the first to break from Zwingli’s conviction that there be no separation between Church and State. Their convictions gave birth to the free church movement.

They conceived that each church congregation ought to be independent and free from State Church tithes and taxes. Additionally, they sought church congregations free to govern themselves, in which each member was given equal rights, and the pastor was given no special position. The ideals of the Anabaptists’ “pure church,” and those of the Congregationalists’ “gathered church” would prove to be highly influential to the congregations that would give birth to the EFCA. These two ideals combined to form the distinctives that describe many Evangelical Free churches today.​

Local churches may be involved in regional ministries with churches of other denominations. The EFCA also supports the reconciliation program Samaritan Way, and the national and international missions programs ReachNational and ReachGlobal. Chuck Swindoll (no doubt our best known pastor) was ordained as an Evangelical Free pastor, and his ministry Insight for Living began as a radio broadcast of his messages at the First Evangelical Free Church in Fullerton, California.​

The EFCA only ordains men to be pastors. Baptism is generally not required for communion or membership into the church. Although the EFCA supports many ministries, they do not emphasize secular political involvement. Personal responsibility and holiness are stressed over adherence to strict behavioral guidelines. The church is inclusive; that is, salvation is through faith in Christ alone, and church membership is not dependent on acceptance of minor issues. The association takes no stance on Calvinism vs. Arminianism, worship style, or spiritual gifts (or on any of the many controversial issues within the pale of orthodox Protestantism that have ample support from the Scriptures). Music styles vary from full choir and orchestra to guitar-based worship teams. Preaching varies from verse-by-verse exegesis to topical messages with illustrations—sometimes in the same church.​

In the face of downward trends in church attendance, the EFCA has held its own. The number of congregations has nearly doubled in the last thirty years (to 1,480), and attendance has more than tripled (to 350,000). In the last decade, both congregation numbers and members have seen modest increases. The headquarters of the EFCA is in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The association is divided into eighteen districts. Although most E-Free churches are concentrated in the Midwest, California has the greatest number.

Finally, our seminary is TEDS (Trinity Evangelical Divinity School), and our national headquarters and denominational descriptions/distinctives, can be found here (though there is much more specific distinctives if you'd care to view them sometime).
​

Finally, I had been part of the then United Presbyterian Church, now PCUSA, from about a week old until my conversion to actual/true believer at age 30 (a little over 35 years ago). One of my employees (and one of the two people who finally led me to the Lord) was training as a Free Church missionary while she was working for me, so I followed her there (to the Evangelical Free Church), that is.

The free church that I was a member of was VERY small, and it eventually closed its doors, so I decided to return to the denomination of my youth. I picked a better, FAR more conservative/Bible-centric mega-PCUSA church to attend (a church that Dr. Sproul used to be in as one of our pastors, just FYI), but the liberal INSANITY at the denominational level became too much for me to withstand back in the 90's, so I left the PCUSA, once and for all, and returned to the Evangelical Free Church (at the behest of one of my friends who was a member at the time), loved it and stayed.

God bless you!!

~David

 

[Elizabeth Daniels Jn316]

Thanks, David. I learned a lot of new things. I never knew all that. I, of course, knew about Chuck Swindoll, because I used to hear his messages years ago (I'm 55), but I didn't know all that other stuff. Very interesting. So, you never tried out the PCA? So, is the EV free church pretty conservative? I mean in terms of who can be a pastor, abortion, homosexuality, etc.? And are there many Reformed believers there? How did you become a Calvinist?

I grew up attending various denominations, including Charismatic (not my choice - my dad's), Plymouth Brethren, and Southern Baptist. Though I grew up in church, I didn't truly get saved until I was around 30, too. John MacArthur was instrumental in my conversion. Later, I learned about Calvinism through Spurgeon and then Sproul. Since that time, I have attended Reformed non-denominational, Reformed Baptist, and PCA churches.

Thanks again!

 

[St_Worm2]

So, you never tried out the PCA?

I did, but not in my hometown. My family, on my dad's side (in the D.C./Maryland/Virginia area) are PCA, so I attend when I am there, but only as a guest (and it has been a LONG time since my last visit, sadly).

There was only one PCA church nearby when I was leaving the PCUSA, but it was still way on the other side of town (there are several close by now), so I accepted my friend's invitation to check out his Free Church and I fell in love with it and its members, and I have stayed there ever since.

I considered an OPC church (that is VERY close to home actually), but I loved my friends, the fellowship and the teaching at my present E-Free so much that I decided to continue on there (this was a difficult decision because the preaching/teaching/fellowship was also VERY good at the OPC church .. they have an evening service that I am able to attend .. AND, theirs is a far more traditional worship service than my Free Church's is (particularly in regard to the music, with choir/organ and even an orchestra at times, such that there is an emphasis on the great hymns of the faith, etc., ... and on the creeds, catechisms and confessions too, which are recognized as being VERY important, unlike the Free Church, which only has a Statement of Faith, sadly).

So, is the EV free church pretty conservative? I mean in terms of who can be a pastor, abortion, homosexuality, etc.? And are there many Reformed believers there?

Yes, to all of that I would have never remained if it was not.

The biggest controversy that we've faced is that of Open Theism, principally due to one of our seminary professors, Dr. Clark Pinnock (who jumped off the Calvinist ship that he was on and boarded the one bound for the turbulent waters of Open Theism ). It was a HUGE deal for a few months at the denominational level (with all kinds of intense meetings and news releases, etc.), but it is now officially considered to be that which it has always been, heresy.

I still can't believe that Clark Pinnock was not only involved with Open Theism but ended up being one of its principal proponents (because Calvinist to Open Theist is QUITE a jump ). Dr. Pinnock died about 10 years ago of Alzheimer's Disease, so he would have come down with the disease at the same time that he was beginning to consider Open Theism (the thought that Alzheimer's Disease was behind all of it is just conjecture on my part, just to be clear).

How did you become a Calvinist?

When I began taking a deeper look into Arminianism, I didn't like some of the things I saw (as more and more things just didn't seem to add up for me), so I was looking for something else. When we moved to the PCUSA church, they had a bookstore, which included many of Dr. Sproul's books, and it was there that I found his little purple book called, Chosen By God. It was that book that, far and away, began my walk down the road toward Calvinism, because I found many/most of the answers that I was looking for in it, the answers that Arminianism was not able to answer for me.

I grew up attending various denominations, including Charismatic (not my choice - my dad's), Plymouth Brethren, and Southern Baptist. Though I grew up in church, I didn't truly get saved until I was around 30, too. John MacArthur was instrumental in my conversion. Later, I learned about Calvinism through Spurgeon and then Sproul. Since that time, I have attended Reformed non-denominational, Reformed Baptist, and PCA churches.

It sounds like you have had a very interesting spiritual upbringing and life as well I am VERY glad that the first ingredient in agape is "patience" .. 1 Corinthians 13:4, because I would have never been saved had the Lord been anything else but that with me

Talk to you soon, I hope

--David

 

[The Righterzpen]

Hi! I just joined. I'm new and am trying to navigate my way around this forum. I'm not familiar with all the different groups, but I saw "Reformed" and Semper Reformanda for your group. Though I'm a Reformed Baptist, would it be ok to participate in this group? I'm a 5 pointer Calvinist, I hold to the 5 Solas, I agree with most of the Westminster Confession of Faith, I attend a PCA church, and my favorite pastors/teachers are Calvinists: John MacArthur, Steve Lawson, Paul Washer, R.C. Sproul, J.C. Ryle, Spurgeon, and the Puritans. And I love Ligonier Ministries. Thanks.

Welcome!. I'm also of "reformed baptist leanings".

 

[Blade]

"can I be in this group". No offense but.. praise God if it was only that easy.

 

[Elizabeth Daniels Jn316]

Welcome!. I'm also of "reformed baptist leanings".

Hi. Nice to meet you.