Teaching Outline: 1689 LBCF Chapters 8 & 9

Introduction (5 minutes)

• Welcome and Opening:

o Welcome everyone to the class.

o Briefly state the goal: To understand what Chapters 8 and 9 of the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith teach about Christ's role and human will.

• What is the 1689 LBCF?

o Explain its historical context: A significant theological document for Reformed Baptists, articulating core beliefs based on Scripture.

o Mention its purpose: To provide a clear statement of faith and foster unity.

• Preview of Today's Focus:

o Chapter 8: "Of Christ the Mediator" – The person and work of Jesus Christ.

o Chapter 9: "Of Free Will" – The state of humanity's will in different conditions.

o Highlight how these two chapters are deeply interconnected in understanding salvation.

Chapter 8: Of Christ the Mediator (15 minutes)

• Core Idea: Jesus Christ is the essential bridge between a holy God and sinful humanity.

• Key Teachings:

1. The Person of Christ: Fully God and Fully Man

 Explain the two distinct natures (divine and human) united in one person, without confusion or separation.

 Why is this crucial? Only a fully divine Christ could bear the infinite wrath of God, and only a fully human Christ could represent humanity and die in our place.

2. The Eternal Covenant of Redemption

 Before creation, God the Father and God the Son entered into an agreement for salvation.

 Christ's role as Mediator was not a Plan B, but God's eternal design.

3. Christ's Threefold Office:

 Prophet: He reveals God's truth and will to us (e.g., John 1:18).

 Priest: He offered himself as a perfect sacrifice for our sins and continually intercedes for us before God (e.g., Hebrews 7:25).

 King: He rules over his church and the universe, and will return as judge (e.g., Matthew 28:18).

4. The Efficacy of His Atoning Work:

 Through his perfect obedience to the law and his suffering on the cross, Christ fully satisfied God's justice.

 He achieved reconciliation with God and secured an "everlasting inheritance" for all those the Father gave him.

 Emphasize that the benefits of his work were applied to believers throughout history, even before his incarnation, through faith in the promises of God.

• Discussion Prompt (2-3 minutes):

o "How does understanding Christ as our Prophet, Priest, and King deepen your appreciation for his work, or impact your worship and daily walk?"

Chapter 9: Of Free Will (15 minutes)

• Core Idea: The LBCF defines human "free will" in relation to different spiritual states, emphasizing humanity's inability in sin and God's grace in salvation.

• Key Teachings:

1. The Will in Innocence (Adam before the Fall):

 Adam possessed "natural liberty and power of acting upon choice."

 He had the ability to choose good and please God, but his will was "unstable" and capable of falling.

2. The Will in Sin (Fallen Humanity):

 After the Fall, humanity "hath wholly lost all ability of will to any spiritual good accompanying salvation."

 A natural person is "altogether averse from that good, and dead in sin."

 Crucial point: This is not about coercion (we still make choices), but about inclination and spiritual inability. We freely choose what our fallen nature desires, which is not spiritual good. We cannot "convert himself, or to prepare himself thereunto" by our own strength.

3. The Will in Grace (The Believer):

 When God converts a sinner, he "frees him from his natural bondage under sin."

 By God's grace alone, the believer is "enabled freely to will and to do that which is spiritually good."

 However, due to "remaining corruptions," the believer's will is not yet perfect; they still struggle with sin and do not perfectly will only good.

4. The Will in Glory (The Redeemed in Heaven):

 In the state of glory (heaven), the human will will be "perfectly and immutably free to good alone."

 There will be no remaining corruption, and believers will perfectly and consistently choose what is good and pleasing to God.

• Discussion Prompt (2-3 minutes):

o "How does the LBCF's teaching on the will in sin (our inability) differ from common ideas of 'free will' today? Why is this distinction important for understanding how salvation happens?"

Conclusion & Q&A (10 minutes)

• Recap:

o Briefly summarize the main takeaways: Christ's complete and sufficient work as Mediator, and the human will's state of inability in sin, requiring God's gracious intervention.

o Emphasize the profound grace of God in salvation, where Christ accomplishes all that is necessary, and God enables the will to respond.

• Open for Questions:

o "What questions do you have about these chapters or the concepts we discussed?"

o Allow time for questions and facilitate a brief discussion.

• Further Study:

o Encourage participants to read Chapters 8 and 9 of the 1689 LBCF in full, perhaps with a commentary.

o Suggest reflecting on how these truths impact their personal faith and understanding of God's sovereignty and grace.