Tom Hicks

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@RPSeawright @TBush1689 @bartbarber Of course. Islam isn’t a denomination or ecclesial group.

@TBush1689 @TomHicks2LCF @bartbarber BF&M: "no ecclesiastical group or denomination should be favored by the state more than others."

Bart, Baptist polity requires that government should not legally incentivize church membership or determine what is settled orthodoxy or church polity. Thus, the government should not have a formal establishment. But our polity does not require that government should not preference any "religion." Genesis 9:6 requires that the government recognize that man is made in the image of the God of the Bible. Romans 13:4 says the government must minister to our "good." Surely context requires that the Bible's definition of good is good. How can the government see human beings as God's image or promote the good unless it acknowledges our God as the true God and thus the Christian religion as the true religion?

@brianonstead 💯

Declaring a full gospel of both justification and sanctification is *not* to imply that justification is God's work but sanctification is our work. The good news is that sanctification is God's work and that work enables us to more and more put off sin and put on righteousness.

@RPSeawright @bartbarber Opinion and practices are different things.

@TomHicks2LCF @bartbarber BF&M: "The state has no right to impose penalties for religious opinions of any kind."

The state and church are distinct and separate institutions. The state should never rule over or determine the church's worship. Neither should local churches or pastors have formal authority over the state. But these two institutions are both "under God" and accountable to Him. For the USA, to be under God means retrieving the Christian legal tradition, which is rooted in the Word of God, especially lex talionis. It also means imposing legal restrictions on any religious expressions that bring temporal harm to society, such as CRT, Islam, etc., while recognizing and protecting the church's duty to worship the one true God.

@TomHicks2LCF @bartbarber What do you think that means?

@RPSeawright @bartbarber Yes but not God and state.

@TomHicks2LCF Article XV must be read in light of Article XVII. Because American Baptists were persecuted by the Puritans, they wisely insisted that "Church and state should be separate." @bartbarber is spot-on.

@brianonstead 💯

If we don't confuse law and gospel, then the truths of sanctification are just as comforting as the truths of justification (1 Thess. 5:23-24; Phil. 1:6, 2:12-13; Heb. 2:11).

@DarrenColwell @pastorgrumbles Starts at 1:45 and goes to 2:45-3ish. We do not take the Lords Supper. One Les hymn. Everything else is basically the same.

@TomHicks2LCF @pastorgrumbles Is the afternoon service a full service or do you shorten it in certain ways? What does an afternoon service look like for you?

*Every* Sunday we take the Lord’s Supper after the sermon. Then we sing a hymn and go out to have a “love feast” where we all eat and fellowship together. It’s a potluck meal.

@pastorgrumbles Yes, we do. It’s wonderful.

@TomHicks2LCF Do you do afternoon service? That's what we do.

@BrandonRhea9 Amen brother! That has been our experience.

@TomHicks2LCF We have lunch together at my church too. It is amazing how sharing one meal together bonds us together in deeper fellowship.

“Whoever is too eagerly intent upon his own advantage, is wanting in humanity toward others.” —John Calvin

@brianonstead @MitchellSheten1 Yep and vice versa. 👊🏻

You always have to be an antinomian in order to be a legalist.

@ColtonYarbro Nice

It was bring your pipe to work day 🤷🏻‍♂️

@thekrak3n Good point.

@TomHicks2LCF Her reasoning would suggest that she should wear a head covering while she preaches, but for some reason I bet she does not.

People like this, men or women, are disqualified to preach because they cannot read.

@NathanielRMart I’m so thankful it was helpful brother. Every blessing to you!

Wonderful book. The chapter on the Law of God changed my mind and I've been reckoning with the consequences since.

@Danderson1689 @lukestamps It’s very good. I don’t know of anything clearer on the Trinity than that book.

@TomHicks2LCF @lukestamps Working through this based on Tom’s recommendation.

I got @TomHicks2LCF's book What Is A Reformed Baptist? this week and I'm devouring it. I don't agree on every point, but it is very well done. A substantive but accessible introduction. amazon.com/What-Reformed-…