I have changed my view on these doctrines:

I wouldn't have had it any other way. :thumbs:

Well, actually, the best testimony would be to have been raised and taught Baptist Reformed, but, alas for my sinful heart . . .

 

As I have journeyed (aged) in my walk as a believer. I have learned to be less confident in all the things "I KNEW" in my younger years. Today I stand even more confident though in the "essentials"

1. One and only one God of all creation.
2. The sinfulness and wicked nature of man.
3. One and only one mediator, Jesus the Christ
4. The virgin birth of our Messiah, His life, death, burial and resurrection.
5. The possibility of man being reconciled to God through grace and faith.

Now to the less confident things, items that stay at times in a state of intellectual flux for me.

1. Don't know for certain theologically how I could be classified, however, I am pretty confident that I am not in the "reformed" calvinist camp.

2. My view on "how" God brought about creation and the universe has changed over the years, and is a point of constant prayerful thought and study. I know longer have an aversion intellectually or spiritually to God using "evolution" as the means of creation.

3. Really don't know where I stand with regards to eschatology. Although, in my younger years I would have ardently pre-trib, probably today lean more toward some aspect of preterism and amil. Perhaps, I am simply "panmil"

4. Being reared as SBC, I am still more comfortable with the office of Deacon rather than Elder. I am a little uneasy with how often Deacon's "control" the church, IMHO they should be primarily servants and then spiritual leaders.

5. Have recently began worshiping at a Contemporary church, big change for me, but have come to enjoy it greatly, however I do miss a more traditional SS class vs. the Small Group philosophy.

 

Alright, here is my personal "shifts"...

#1 From a Calvinist hating, 4 point Arminian, to a 5 point Calvinist.

#2 From a Pretrib Dispensationalist, to Historic Premil (post trib, Covenant theology), to a modified Mid Trib, progressive Covenant theology.

#3 From Congregation led church, to pastor led, and now elder led. I have come to the conclusion, while studying at Liberty (bet they didn't expect this!) that the Bible teachers an elder led, but congregationally elected church government.

#4 From Hard Cessationism, to Soft Cessationism.

#5 From Evolutionist, to Theistic Evolutionist, to Old Earth Creationist, to Young Earth (Biblical) creationist.

#6 From "Friendship evangelism" to a Biblical model of telling every person I encounter, when I encounter them, about Christ.

#7 From "sinner's prayer" evangelism to Law/Cross evangelism that relies on the power of the Holy Spirit, rather than "decisions."

Bout all I can think of right now..

 

Fantastic! I like all of that except for the young earth part.

You shifted so well in all those other areas!:thumbs:

 

It's called "Consistent hermeneutics." Even Sproul repented of his Old Earth views. But that's for another thread.

 

Indeed...

Perhaps we should start one, just for fun, but insist on bringing some true apologetics to the debate instead of just "he said," "she said" stuff. :tonofbricks:

 

I'm game. Let's do that and be determined to exclude from the conversation personal attacks such as "You are arrogant, abrasive, ignorant, etc..."

And let's focus on the arguments. Lets show the arguments themselves no mercy, but be generous to the arguers.

What say you guys?

 

From OT tithing to NT free will giving
from today's false gift of tongues to the real biblical gift
from losing salvation to eternal security

 

Election - no to yes to no to yes to no....
Male headship - yes to no
Female leadership - no to yes
Eschatology - pre-trib to post-trib

This is just the beginning.

 

Soteriology: From Whosoever-Freewillism to Soveriegnty of God (as in 1 Cor. 1:30-31)

Presbyterian to Baptist

 

Did they really say that.....boy, how far removed can you get. John 3:36 & 5:24

So sorry for that Heresy imposed upon you!

 

Wow. I could have written the above.

I'd also add:

1. Definition of repentance is not "feeling sorry for your sins" or "turning from your sins". Instead it is a change of mind about Christ.

2. Literal six day, literal 24 hour days creation to something I haven't quite determined yet, but am still open to 6/24 idea if there were a viable way of explaining appearance of age.

3. No death before the fall to animal death (only) before the fall.

4. Am open to the idea that the coats of skin worn by Adam and Eve could have been created from nothingness rather than God killing an animal as a blood sacrifice.

5. No drums, guitars etc. in worship service to allowing them, so long as the worship service doesn't take on the tone of a rock concert.

6. Zero tolerance to the idea that the Nephilim were the offspring of fallen angels and women to being open to the idea.

If I think of more, I'll edit my post.

 

Wow. Looks like you sort of went a little unorthodox in #3 and #4. Where did you get this idea?

 

As to #3: Why were animals created as carnivores before the fall? Why do lions have fangs and claws? To eat plants? Why do raptors have claws and beaks? What did sharks eat with their jagged teeth prior to the fall?

When God said, "but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die", how would Adam know about the concept of death if there was no death before the fall?

Furthermore, in Gen. 9:3 God allow humans to eat meat. Where is the companion verses saying that animals had this restriction lifted? Could it be because there never was a restriction?

I'm not dogmatic on this, however a lot of Christians are dogmatic about no animal death before the fall even though scripture is not crystal clear about it.

As to #4: A plain reading of the scripture:

21Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.

God MADE coats of skin. Where does it say He killed an animal? Why would God need to make a sacrifice to Himself? God had just finished the creation process it would be consistent to the narrative if He simply created the coats.

 

The reason is because the bible says that through one man sin entered the world and death by sin. The whole earth was cursed.

This comes from the fact that without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin. How do you think Adam learned that he had to offer a living sacrifice to God?

 

I grew up a very liberal Anglican insofar as I had any religious views at all.
The only Bible version I knew was the AV (KJV) and the only hymns I knew were old ones. I was saved at age 39 and started attending a 'broad' evangelical church.

At that time I thought the NIV was the greatest and I loved modern hymns like 'Shine, Jesus, shine!'

Now I prefer a more accurate Bible translation and am convinced of he superiority of the Byzantine Text. I have also come to appreciate the older hymns.

I started out as an Arminian more or less by default because I knew nothing else, but for a long time now I have believed in the Doctrines of Grace.

Until the last 4 or 5 years I struggled with the place of the Moral Law in the life of the believer. I disliked that part of the 1689 Confession where it says, 'The moral law doth forever bind all, as well justified persons as others to the obedience thereof.' It seemed to me that if we were bound to the law, we were still in bondage, and Christ came to set us free. But more recently I have come to understand better the Third Use of the Law and I am now a full-on 1689 man.

Steve

 

Futurism to preterism
Free will to Calvinism

Decided to quit relying on what others say and start studying and searching for myself.

 

Over the years, I have changed my beliefs on these issues, influenced by the local Baptist Church I serve in, and on some issues, Tom Butler was a great influence on my outlook of Scripture.
Free will to God's sovereignty, Tom Butler had a great influence on this one
Pre trib rapture to unsure, no real Scripture to define any postion really well
Old earth theory to young earth theory
Since leaving the Presbyterian church 33 years ago, I am 100% for local church autonomy, congregational government, and deacons being servants, not elders.

In practice, I firmly believe the Baptist faith to be the closest thing to what the Lord intended in a New Testement Church. I believe churches similiar to ours today preserved the church before the Reformation, and that it had nothing to do with the Roman Catholic or Greek Orthodox Church.

I am thankful for the pastor the Lord has given us, and each and every member. Our church does have disagreements about doctrine at times, but an outsider would never know it, as the love of Christ is an amazing bond among our members.

 

From Primitive Baptist hyper-Calvinism to Reformed Baptist Calvinism to Biblical Calvinism, if you can call it Calvinism. While I still strongly hold to the Doctrines of Grace and preach them without compromise or apology I preach them now not as doctrines to believe but as they are in Christ.

From preaching no Gospel to preaching the 5 points as Gospel to preaching Christ.

From not caring about law to the Reformed view of the law as binding on the believer to the law as our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ and is both fulfilled and ended in Christ.

From the Reformed view of sanctification as a process by which we become more holy to the Biblical view of Christ in us as our sanctification. Not a process by which we make ourselves more holy but a new creation which is holy.

From not understanding anything logically to judging everything by logic to just taking God at His word whether it fits my logic or not.

From no knowledge of the Greek to a study of the Greek to seeing the Greek as a tool and only a tool. From thinking the Greek would answer all my questions to finding that the Greek is as much a matter of interpretation as the English.

From reading " theologians" to reading the Bible.

From being proud of my knowledge of theology and doctrine to the simplicity that is in Christ.

From having Christ as a name I used because I had to to preach to having Him revealed in me and now the center and focus of all I preach.