0. Cover & Contents

A
PRUNING
OF
SEVEN
DEFORMED
BRANCHES

By Sing F Lau

A
PRUNING
OF
SEVEN
DEFORMED
BRANCHES
* * *
A Brief Examination
Of Seven
Theological Statements
Issued by Some
‘Standard Reformed’
Men and Their Churches
* * *

By

Sing F. Lau
(A Minister of the Gospel of Christ)

CONTENTS - Page
An Explanation of the Title 6
Preface 8
The Reformed Baptist Fraternal Has Drawn the Line 12
A Summary of the Seven Theological Points Disputed 14

I. Introduction
- An Engagement to Study the 1689 Confession of Faith 16
- A Meeting Behind Closed Doors 16
- A Parting of Ways Hinted 17
- An Official Meeting of the Reformed Baptist Fraternal 17
- An Official Letter With Seven Theological Statements 19
- The Fussing about the Official Letter 22
- The Official Letter of Complaints Acknowledged and Explained 26
- The Order of Salvation As Summarized in the 1689 CoF 26
- A Reply to Correct Some Insinuations in the Official Letter 33
- Let there be Freedom and Liberty to Inquire and Buy the Truth 34
- A Reply from SDC to the Seven Churches 37

II. A Formal Theological Paper by The RBF
- A Carefully Considered Theological Confessional Document 39
- The RBF’s Summary of Pastor Lau’s view 40
- What is the Order of Salvation 42
- What is Effectual Calling 42
- What is Regeneration 42
- What is Justification 43
- By what Instrument 43

III. A Cordial Examination of the Theological Paper
- Introduction 45
- What I Believes About Salvation by Grace 47
- God Justifies the Ungodly by Free Grace Alone 49
- Effectual Call Embraces Justification, Regeneration & Adoption 51
- Effectual Call is Immediate & Without Gospel or Human Means 53
- Effectual Call to Life Must Precede the Gospel Call to Faith 57
- RBF Rejects the 1689 CoF’s Order of Salvation 58
- Basic Confusion on Effectual Call to Life and Gospel Call to Faith 59
- A Simple Summary Comparing the Two Different Views 63
- An Anti-Confessional Definition of Effectual Call 65
- There is More Honour to Disagree than to Misrepresent 66
- All Muddled about Justification 69
- There is More Honour to Disagree than to Make False Claims 74

IV. The 1st Theological Statement Briefly Examined
- The Effectual Calling 78
- Some principles to Guide us in Interpretation 80
- The meaning of ‘His ‘Word’ in 1689.10.1 81
- Christ is the Word of God 83
- Christ is the Life-giving Word of God 84
- Christ Gives Life Directly to His Elect 86
- The Divinely Ordained Duty of Gospel Preaching 87
- The Confession on the Ministry of the Word 89
- Conclusion 91
- Appendix 1: A ‘Standard Reformed’ View of John 3:16 92
- Appendix 2: A Non Conformist’s View of John 3:16 96
- Appendix 3: A Classic ‘Standard Reformed Position’ Reviewed 97

V. The 2nd Theological Statement Briefly Examined 108
- Repentance and Faith in Gospel Preaching 109
- The Necessity of Repentance and Faith as Evidence 110
- Eternal Life Bestowed to Enable the Exercise of Faith 112
- Repentance and Faith are Saving Graces 114
- Some Common Misreading of Scriptures 115
- “Whoever Believes Has Everlasting Life” 116
- The Salvation Secured by Your Faith 118
- The View of a Respected Baptist Greek Scholar 121
- Conclusion 121

VI. The 3rd & 4th Theological Statement Briefly Examined
- What is the Gospel? 123
- To Whom is the Gospel to be Preached? 127
- Who are Able to Believe in Christ Alone for Salvation? 128
- Are such Persons Already Saved in some Sense? 129
- How is a Sinner Saved from his Eternal Condemnation? 133
- How Shall a Sinner’s Faith Alone for Salvation Save Him? 134
- What is the divinely Ordained Purpose of the Gospel Preaching? 137
- To Whom is the Gospel Good News? 140
- To whom is the Gospel Foolishness? 141

VII. The 5th Theological Statement Briefly Examined
- The Meaning of the Theological Statement 143
- The Confession’s Summary on the Teaching on Justification 145
- When does God Justify a Sinner – Does it Matter Anyway? 146
- “God Justifies the Ungodly” 148
- A Common Confusion with a Classic Case 149
- “When We were Enemies we were Reconciled” 153
- “The Just shall Live by Faith” 154
- The 1689 LCoF on when God Justifies His People 156
- Faith is the Sole Instrument of Justification 158
- Faith is not Alone in the Person Justified 160
- Faith the Outward Means of Revealing Christ and Saving Grace 162
- Justification is a Dazzling Multi-faceted Jewel! 163
- Conclusion 172
- Appendix 1: What Kiffin said about Faith and Justification 172
- Appendix 2: What Richardson said about faith and justification 174
- Appendix 3: Jonathan Crosby on The Five Phases of Salvation 175
- Appendix 4: Dr Joel Beeke on the Five-fold justification 178

VIII. The 6th Theological Statement Briefly Examined
- The Irresistible Grace in the Effectual Call 181
- The Confession’s Summary on Irresistible Grace 182
- Grace at Effectual Call and Gospel Call are Distinct 183
- The Scriptures Do Not Teach Irresistible Grace in Conversion 184
- Careless Believers Making Shipwreck of their Faith 187
- Will All the Elect Believe and Obey the Gospel? 189
- ‘Redeemed out of Every Tribe and Tongue and People and Nation’ 194
- What Some No Less ‘Reformed’ Theologians Say 197

IX. The 7th Theological Statement Briefly Examined
- The View of a Respected Reformed theologian on Perseverance 198
- The Confession’s Summary on the Perseverance of the Saints 201
- The Scriptures’ Testimony on the Perseverance of the Saints 203
- Our Covenant faithful God Perseveres to Preserve His People 205
- The Saints Commanded to Walk Godly 206
- The Sorrow and Misery of the Redeemed not Walking Godly 209
- All the Elect Are Preserved in the State of Grace 211

X. Cordial Exchanges with a ‘Standard Reformed’ Brother - 214

XI. Conclusion: Scriptures and ‘Standard Reformed’ Position Compared - 229

XII. Chapters 10-14 & 20 of the 1689 LBCoF - 246

* * * * * * * * * * * *

This work is dedicated to:

The beloved Berean minded believers of Sungai Dua Church,
and the brethren in other places that I have been blessed with
to search and study the Scriptures together these few years.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Acknowledgement:

Thanks are due to the brethren and leaders of the churches named in this work. They are instrumental in raising the issues discussed in this work. I appreciate the time they spent together with me in searching and studying the Scriptures, and examining what the Particular Baptists have summarized in the 1689 CoF. I appreciate these brethren’s zeal to defend their ‘standard reformed’ view. Thanks are also due to the kind brethren who have rendered invaluable help to proofread the manuscript and offered helpful suggestions.

However, I am solely responsible for the personal views expressed, even though none of it is original. Neither do I intend to set up my views as the standard. There is nothing new under the sun! I have learned these old fashioned truth – albeit very ‘new’ to some - from the Particular Baptists who summarized the teaching of Scriptures in the First (1644) and the Second (1689) London Baptist Confession of Faith.

“In essentials there must be unity,
In non-essentials there must be liberty
and on all things there must be charity.”
Augustine