I have a retraction to declare. This retraction is a very difficult retraction to make since it affects my entire theological outlook of the church. First and foremost I am a Reformed Baptist and remain Baptistic. I hold dearly to the 1689 Confession of Faith minus one chapter now. My theology has changed some in the past year. I have come to No instruments in the worship and singing only psalms. I have even come to accept the Holy Spirit working in the Old testament in the same way has the New testament. The indwelling of the Spirit of God, the law written on the heart of old testament saints..

What now follows is my retraction of the Independant Church Government. I now hold to a Presbyterial church government, and view the independant system as only as a reactionary against the state churches and romanism. And independancy is a sin of individualism and lone rangerism and is contrary to the Word of God.

I have always been told that Acts 15 was for the apostles era which has always made me leary since I could not find anything in the New Testament that said that would cease like the gift signs does. Now that deny that answer with my utmost. Luke 22:66 calls the Old testament Sanedrin a Presbytery in the Greek and if the Old testament Sanedrin is a Presbytery it starts to show a continuing Office from the Old Testament. Now factor in that Timothy is told to ordain elders in every city with the laying on of hands by the Presbytery (Oh there is that word again) we see that it is suppose to continue throughout the New Testament era and just apostles times. Now view Acts 15 in the mix and it completes the picture of a continuing function of a Presbytery. I might also add that Acts 15 is a binding counsel NOT a nonbinding counsel. So I see a number of scriptures decribing the function of the Presbytery. Ordaination in Timothy, Faith and Practice in Acts 15, Church discipline in Matthew after local church, and for erroring Pastors.

What does this mean for me... I guess it means I am a hybrid.. A Presbyterial Reformed Baptist.

Now that's a Hard one...
Michael

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Michael Daniels
Reformed, RPCNA
Denton, Maryland

[i][b]As For Me And My House, We Will Serve The Lord[/i][/b]

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