Chapter 1 · 2024
Of the Holy Scriptures
Chapter 1 of the Confessing the Faith conference series — an exposition of the doctrine of Holy Scripture as confessed in the Second London Baptist Confession of 1677/89.
Speakers
Dr. James Renihan
President, International Reformed Baptist Seminary
Dr. James M. Renihan serves as the President of the International Reformed Baptist Seminary (IRBS) in Mansfield, Texas. He began his ministry with church planting in central Massachusetts before moving to Escondido, California, in 1998 to serve as Dean of the newly formed Institute of Reformed Baptist Studies.
In 2018, when the institute became IRBS Theological Seminary, he was appointed its first president. Dr. Renihan has also served as a pastor in churches across Massachusetts, New York, and California.
Dr. Richard Barcellos
Pastor, Grace Reformed Baptist Church; Assoc. Professor, IRBS
Dr. Richard C. Barcellos is the pastor of Grace Reformed Baptist Church in Palmdale, California, and serves as Associate Professor of Exegetical Theology at the International Reformed Baptist Seminary (IRBS). He holds a B.S. from California State University, Fresno; an M.Div. from The Master’s Seminary; and both a Th.M. and Ph.D. from Whitefield Theological Seminary.
Dr. Barcellos is the author of several works, including Trinity & Creation, The Covenant of Works, and Getting the Garden Right.
Sessions
Overview of the Second London Confession
Dr. James Renihan
Dr. James Renihan provided a helpful overview of the Second London Confession of 1677/89, giving the historical context in which our theological forefathers produced this lasting and most orthodox statement of the Christian faith.
“The Scope of the Whole”
Dr. Richard Barcellos
Dr. Richard Barcellos treated the words “the scope of the whole” found in chapter 1, paragraph 5 of the Confession, surveying relevant historical theology to show that older divines understood this as a reference to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Confessions as Articulations of Scripture
Dr. James Renihan
Dr. James Renihan demonstrated that confessions of faith are not additions to the authority of Holy Scripture but are articulations of its teaching — the church has always sought to summarize the faith to aid God's people in understanding Scripture.
The Confession in the Stream of Creedal Theology
Dr. James Renihan
Dr. James Renihan showed that the Second London Confession of 1677/89 does not exist in a vacuum but is the Baptist contribution to the stream of creedal and confessional theology throughout the entirety of the church.
Sessions #5–6: The Interpretation of Holy Scripture
Chapter 1, paragraph 9 of the Confession deals with the interpretation of Holy Scripture. Our forebears utilized principles of interpretation that predated them and the Reformers.
Resources
- 2024 Workbook — Of the Holy Scriptures workbook
- 2024 Conference Recordings video