Legalism :: Fundamentally Reformed

Clarifying My Thoughts on Music

Posted by Bob Hayton on

May 3rd, 2013

My most recent post on music has a provocative title: “Superior Affections Yet a Christ-less Conception of Worship.” And someone over at Sharper Iron sought clarification (in the comment thread here) as to whether I was really implying that a traditional stance on music is inherently legalistic. I wanted to…

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Superior Affections Yet a Christ-less Conception of Worship

Posted by Bob Hayton on

April 25th, 2013

There are a variety of reasons for the “worship wars,” as they are called. And for fundamentalist Christians, most of the arguments center on the worldliness or immorality of the very musical instrumentation itself — the contemporary, beat-driven sound that makes up CCM. Growing up, I was trained to recognize…

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R.W. Glenn on Reducing the Christian Faith to a Lifestyle

Posted by Bob Hayton on

April 12th, 2013

R.W. Glenn packs his small book on the Beatitudes full of grace-filled, gospel-centered wisdom. I posted my brief review of Crucifying Morality: The Gospel of the Beatitudes (Shepherd Press, 2013) earlier this week. Today I want to provide an excerpt where Glenn confronts a problem that is prevalent among conservative…

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Accidental Pharisees: Avoiding Pride, Exclusivity, and the Other Dangers of Overzealous Faith by Larry Osborne

Posted by Bob Hayton on

December 7th, 2012

Accidental Pharisees: Avoiding Pride, Exclusivity, and the Other Dangers of Overzealous Faith by Larry Osborne

Book Details: • Author: Larry Osborne • Category: Christian Living • Publisher: Zondervan (2012) • Format: softcover • Page Count: 208 • ISBN#: 9780310494447 • List Price: $14.99 • Rating: Recommended Review:Books on the Pharisees make many people nervous or defensive. No one wants to be labeled a Pharisee, and we’re all sure that whatever they were, they…

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Particular Pitfalls of Independent Baptists: Powerless Preaching

Posted by Bob Hayton on

September 20th, 2012

This series of posts focuses on several pitfalls that especially plague Independent Fundamental Baptist (IFB) churches. These pitfalls are wide enough to catch people of a variety of stripes, but fundamentalist Christians tend to be especially prone to these errors. Having disentangled myself from some of these very errors, I…

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Matt Olson and “What Matters Most” with Separation

Posted by Bob Hayton on

September 5th, 2012

Matt Olson, the president of Northland Baptist Bible College (now called Northland International University), has been writing a blog recently and saying some really important, and risky things. He’s taking a stand against institutional legalsim and is making his constituents a little uneasy. Recently he started a multi-part series on…

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Particular Pitfalls of Independent Baptists: Performance-Based Sanctification

Posted by Bob Hayton on

August 7th, 2012

Particular Pitfalls of Independent Baptists: Legalism

Posted by Bob Hayton on

August 3rd, 2012

Jack Schaap is not the first high profile pastor or church leader to fall into sin. I remember blogging about the fall of Ted Haggard, former president of the National Association of Evangelicals, back in 2006. Roman Catholics have their fair share of priest-turned-pedophiles, and no church group has the…

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Giving in to “Weaker Brothers”

Posted by Bob Hayton on

May 3rd, 2012

I came across an interesting post that raises a good question. Is it really okay to modify your actions based on the weaker consciences of some? Here’s the post: In 1857 a few white members of the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa asked permission to celebrate the Lord’s Supper…

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Quotes to Note 32: John Piper on Godliness

Posted by Bob Hayton on

January 20th, 2012

I came across this quote in reading through Bloodlines: Race, Cross, and the Christian, John Piper’s most recent book (Crossway, 2011). You can tell that Piper has thought about this more than just this little quote says. This resonates with me due to my experience in hard-nosed fundamentalism. But it’s…

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