Conclusion

Reformed Baptist theology is an effort to understand the teaching of the whole Bible. All of the Bible’s doctrines, understood in a unified way, serve to uphold the central truth of our faith, especially the truth about Jesus Christ and His gospel of grace. For Reformed Baptists, the truths in this book are not mere items of polemical debate, or distinctive teachings that hang in the air theoretically; rather, they are about life in Jesus.

As we have seen, Reformed Baptist theology is rooted in the historical theology of the church. It is one part of the stream of the broader Reformed confessional tradition, especially the Second London Confession of Faith. Along with the rest of classical Reformed theology, Reformed Baptists find great delight and comfort in the sovereignty of God. The good God of the Bible has all authority and power to rule over all His creation, and no creature has any right to object to His rule. God’s sovereignty even extends to the sphere of the salvation of man. Adam’s sin in the covenant of works led to a curse upon all mankind so that no sinner will ever trust in Christ or choose Christ on his own. Therefore, God graciously chose to save some sinners according to His sovereign will and pleasure. He sends His Spirit to conquer the hearts of His elect, in love, by uniting them to Christ in the covenant of grace so that they come to Him freely and willingly for eternal salvation. These great teachings of divine sovereignty and election, properly understood, lead to humility, gratitude and worship. They also mean believers really can trust God because He is good and He really is in control of everything.

Reformed Baptists also have a high view of God’s moral law, summarized in the Ten Commandments, which is a transcript of God’s good character. God’s moral law teaches human beings what it means to be truly human so that they can glorify God and enjoy Him forever. Reformed Baptists are convinced that unless Christians have a clear understanding of God’s law, they will not have a clear understanding of the gospel. The law of God teaches that God requires perfect obedience for justification and eternal life. But there is no way to be justified and obtain eternal life through the law because all have sinned. So God graciously proclaims in the gospel that Jesus kept the law perfectly to accomplish justification and eternal life for His chosen people. God justifies His people by faith in Christ through the gospel, and then the law of God serves as the rule, or standard, of conduct in sanctification. The law of God teaches His people how to express their love for the God who saved them, and it teaches them how to love others in His name.

This law/gospel theology is found in the Bible’s overarching covenants, expressed in Reformed covenant theology that is also shared by Reformed Baptists. The covenant of works in the garden of Eden with Adam said, “Do this law and live.” Sadly, Adam sinned against the law and died. But in the covenant of redemption, the Lord Jesus Christ perfectly obeyed the law in His earthly life, both by keeping the commandments to earn the blessing of life and by dying on the cross to pay the penalty of death. Based on what Christ accomplished in the covenant of redemption, God pronounces the implications of the gospel in the covenant of grace: Receive justification and life by free grace alone through faith alone because Christ kept the law for you, and now, with a thankful heart, you can and will learn to keep that same law, more and more, for your own good, to commune with Christ and to glorify His name.

Reformed Baptists believe that this great theology of the Bible is the very life of local churches. When the whole counsel of God—law and gospel, centered on Jesus Christ—is preached to churches consistently, the Holy Spirit edifies, assures, and strengthens God’s people to persevere to the end, under grace. The regulative principle of worship teaches the church to worship God according to what He commands in Scripture, not according to any human devices or innovations. The doctrine of Christian liberty teaches the church how to be unified in essentials and to agree to disagree on non-essentials, even while continuing to love one another. When churches diligently practice Christian liberty, consciences are freed from the doctrines and commandments of men, and the people are helped to grow in wisdom as they seek to honor Christ in everything they do.

It is my prayer that God will raise up more people who want to build Reformed Baptist churches, by grace. I pray that more and more men will take up the mantle of pastoral leadership to preach the law and the gospel, centered on Jesus Christ crucified and risen for sinners. May God put it on the hearts of fathers and mothers to teach these ancient biblical Reformed truths to their children and to pass on the faith to the next generation. I pray that more Christians will know the sweet consolation of full assurance that comes from believing these great doctrines, as well as the clarity that comes from understanding what God requires of us. May God send missionaries to plant robustly biblical churches that have this rich theology of the whole Bible for all of life and for the advancement of Christ’s kingdom among all nations. Above all, may the light of God’s Word shine forth to the glory God in the face of Jesus Christ.