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GOOD NEWS FROM THE REDEEMER
December 9, 2000 RADIO MESSAGE #349
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Redeemer Baptist Church commences each weekly radio broadcast with the following introduction: "We are a congregation of disciples of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We embrace and preach the glorious doctrine of the absolute sovereignty of God and His Christ, and the glorious gospel of God's free and sovereign grace in Jesus Christ."
I. "We are a congregation of disciples of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." A disciple is a pupil of some teacher, especially one who accepts in mind and life the views and practices of his teacher (e.g., of John the Baptist in Matthew 9:14, of Moses in John 9:28, of the Pharisees in Matthew 22:16). Disciples of Jesus Christ have forsaken the views and practices of the world for those of the Son of God (Luke 14:26-33). They are therefore called Christians (Acts 11:26).
We therefore are not a denominational, confessional, or creedal church. That is to say that man-made organizations or standards do not dictate our spiritual convictions or manner of life. While we appreciate the manner in which some such creeds and confessions express certain aspects of our faith and practice, we pledge our allegiance to Christ alone. Therefore, when asked concerning our faith or practice, we reply with "Thus says the LORD ... " (e.g. Isaiah 44:2, 6, 24) and "It is written in the Scriptures ..." (e.g. Matthew 4:4, 6, 7, 10).
II. "We embrace and preach the glorious doctrine of the absolute sovereignty of God and His Christ." The absolute sovereignty of God is set forth throughout His Scriptures. For example, King Nebuchadnezzar of ancient Babylon, the mightiest earthly monarch of his day, rightly declared of God: "His dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom is from generation to generation. All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; He does according to His will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth. No one can restrain His hand or say to Him, 'What have you done?'" (Daniel 4:34f). This Sovereign of the universe is therefore identified in Scriptures as "King of kings", "Lord of lords", and "God of gods" (Deuteronomy 10:17; Psalm 136:3).
The absolute sovereignty of God's Christ is evidenced by the fact that He and His Father are of one undivided essence (John 10:30). The Son of God is therefore co-equal and co-eternal with God the Father (John 1:1f). Consequently, what is true of the Father is true also of the Son with regard to His deity (John 5:23). The afore-cited confession of King Nebuchadnezzar is therefore as applicable to the Son as to the Father. Christ is, like His Father, identified in Scriptures as "King of kings", "Lord of lords", and "God of gods" (1 Timothy 6:15; Revelation 17:14; 19:16).
III. "We embrace and preach ... the glorious gospel of God's free and sovereign grace in Jesus Christ." The gospel may be defined as "the good news of God's gracious saving work in Jesus Christ on behalf of sinners." We call it the "gospel of God's free and sovereign grace" because it declares that sinners are saved freely and graciously by God, totally apart from their own works - and that even the faith with which they believe unto salvation is "the gift of God" (Ephesians 2:8-10).
We therefore whole-heartedly embrace what are commonly called the Doctrines of Grace identified by the acronym TULIP:
We not only embrace these glorious truths, but we also preach them. We are not of those who confess to believe these truths privately, but do not want them expressed publicly. Rather, we rejoice to publicly confess with our mouths what we embrace in our hearts. We consider the truth regarding God and His Christ to be glorious, and therefore ever desire to preach and to hear it. And we desire you to believe it.