Understanding Christianity

What happens when you begin to doubt your salvation? Or when your conscience accuses you that you’re a miserable failure beyond recovery. What happens when you have a restless, guilty, anxious heart that wonders if you’re doing enough to keep yourself in God’s good graces? We find the answer in 1 John 3:19-24. What is the antidote to a restless, anxious, guilty heart? Look to the...

In his book "Saved by Grace: The Holy Spirit's Work of Calling and Regeneration," Herman Bavinck interacts with what he calls the semi-Pelagian error of the Arminians. The error is that a sinner can believe in Christ simply by the outward call of the gospel. Interestingly, this is precisely what Provisionism teaches. Dr. Sean Cole shows how the arguments Bavinck made against the Arminians of his d...

What is the church? Who is the head of the church? Where does the authority reside in the church? Who are the officers in the church? Should a church exercise discipline at times? How should members interact together as the church? Dr. Sean Cole addresses these issues and more as he continues this study in the 1689 Second London Baptist Confession in Chapter 26 on the Church and Chapter 27 On the...

Dr. Sean Cole continues the series through the 1689 Second London Baptist Confession in the chapter on Marriage. How does the Bible define marriage? What is a healthy marriage? Listen and find out! You can purchase Sean’s two books here:   40 Days in Philippians: Finding Joy in Jesus:   https://g3min.org/shop/books/g3press/40-days-in-philippians-finding-joy-in-jesus-sean-cole/...

In 1 John chapter 3, he introduces us to essential theological truths: the doctrines of adoption and regeneration. God has caused us to be born again and adopted us His children. How then should we live? A born-again, adopted child of God is obligated to love others in Christ-like ways. We should love voluntarily, sacrificially, and practically. How can we love like this successfully? Listen and f...

1 John 2:18-27 contains three confusing theological issues: The antichrist, the issue of apostasy, and the anointing. Dr. Sean Cole asks four questions in this text: (1) How do I understand the antichrist? (2) What does it mean to "fall away" or commit apostasy? (3) What was the heresy these false converts believed? (4) How can I make sure I don't fall into heresy and fall away? You can purchase S...

Dr. Sean Cole continues teaching through the 1689 Second London Baptist Confession. He addresses these questions in Chapter 24 on the Civil Government . How should we relate to the governing authorities? How should our leaders govern? Is there ever a time when we should practice civil disobedience? Sean provides a study of Romans 13 as the foundation for understanding this topic. You can purchase...

Dr. Sean Cole continues this teaching series through the 1689 Second London Baptist Confession. Chapter 22 on Worship and the Lord's Day addresses four main teachings: The Regulative Principle of Worship : With Christian freedom, can we worship however we want, or does God alone determine HOW we worship? Prayer: What is prayer? How should we pray? For whom should we pray? Ordinary Means of Grace i...

Dr. Sean Cole interacts with a YouTube short clip from Leighton Flowers at Soteriology 101 on Ephesians 2:8-9. Is faith an irresistible, effectual gift given only to the elect? Or is faith a gift that can be accepted or rejected based on libertarian free will and is given to everyone? Provisionism denies unconditional election, total depravity, and effectual calling. Listen as Sean explains Ephesi...

In 1 John 2:12-17, we see how our gospel identity in Christ motivates us not to love the world. The first part is verses 12-14, which focus on gospel truths about our identity in Christ. John uses these to bring confidence and assurance of our identity in Christ. These gospel truths cannot be taken away from us. They don’t depend on our feelings. They are genuine, bona fide gospel blessings...

Chapter 21 in the 1689 2nd London Baptist Confession addresses the issues of Christian freedom, legalism, license, and not violating the conscience on secondary matters or gray areas not explicitly taught in Scripture. How should Christians who have differing convictions on secondary matters interact? What is the role of the conscience in areas of Christian freedom? Can you abuse this freedom and...

This passage is structured around 3 statements that begin with “Whoever says..”   Verse 4: Whoever says I know Him   Verse 6: Whoever says I abide in Him   Verse 9: Whoever says I am in the light These are all synonyms for what it means to be a Christian. A Christian knows Christ, abides in Christ, and walks in the light of Christ.   If you claim these three descrip...

Dr. Sean Cole continues the teaching series through the 1689 Second London Baptist Confession. This chapter addresses the question: Is God sovereign not only over those who are saved but also over HOW, WHEN, and WHERE they are saved? Is God sovereign over the worldwide preaching of the gospel? What is the eternal destiny of those who have never heard the gospel or exercised conscious faith in Chri...

Where do God's intense hatred over our sin and His incredible love for sinners meet? In the cross of Christ? What is propitiation? What is the wrath of God? Does God personally and justifiably hate our sin? How does Jesus satisfy that wrath in His death? Listen as Pastor Sean Cole preaches 1 John 2:1-2. You can purchase Sean’s two books here:   40 Days in Philippians: Finding Joy in Jes...

What is the distinction between law and gospel? How are the civil and ceremonial laws different from the moral law as revealed in the Ten Commandments? What are the three uses of the law? What role does the law play in the life of a regenerate believer? Dr. Sean Cole addresses these questions as he continues this teaching series on the 1689 Second London Baptist Confession. This episode focuses on...

Dr. Sean Cole continues the sermon series in 1 John. The main point of 1:5-10 is that true believers cannot remain in habitual, unrepentant sin. Can someone who merely professes to be a Christian be spiritually self-deceived? Is there a difference between a profession of faith and possession of genuine faith? Can those who think they are saved actually lie to themselves and have faulty thinking an...

Dr. Sean Cole begins a new sermon series in the epistle of 1 John, which addresses our assurance of salvation. How do you know you have life in Christ? John gives three tests: (1) Do you have the correct doctrine? (2) Do you have a holy lifestyle? (3) Do you have a sacrificial love for others? He preaches from 1:1-4 where John lays both a theological and relational foundation for the letter. You c...

Dr. Sean Cole continues teaching through the 1689 Second London Baptist Confession. In Chapter 18, the focus is on assurance of salvation. How do we KNOW we are saved? What is the foundation for our assurance? How can we lose the joy of our salvation? How can we regain our assurance if we have lost it? Sean answers these questions from the Scriptures to give us that hope that we should not despair...

In Chapter 18 of the 1689 London Baptist Confession, the opening sentence states, "Temporary believers and other unregenerate people may deceive themselves in vain with false hopes and fleshly presumptions that they have God’s favor and salvation, but their hope will perish." What are "temporary believers?" Does the Bible teach a category of a person who professes faith for a time, but falls...

Often in Baptist churches, we hear the terminology “once saved, always saved,” which is theologically accurate. Nevertheless, the application of this “mantra” has been abused or distorted to mean that everyone who makes a profession of faith has genuine possession of saving faith. There is a difference between those who “PROFESS” faith in Christ and those who tr...

How do you grow intentionally? Dr. Sean Cole preaches 2 Peter 1:3-8 which gives 7 qualities of a growing Christian. This is the second part of the sermon series on the Discipleship Pathway process at Emmanuel Baptist Church. A follower of Jesus grows intentionally and serves generously. How do you serve generously? A follower of Jesus uses his or her spiritual gifts to serve others. A disciple is...

Good works flow from a changed heart where a sinner has repented and trusted in Jesus. Good works are the fruit of our salvation, not the root. Good works do not save us; we are saved for good works. What exactly are good works? How do we avoid legalism? Can we perform good works in and of ourselves, or do we need power from the Holy Spirit? How does God view our good works? Dr. Sean Cole answers...

Does Acts 13:48 teach that faith is the result of predestination? Or does it teach that those saved were "predisposed" to believe in Jesus? Provisionists and Arminians argue that this passage teaches that sinners were "predisposed" to accept the gospel because they were contrite or had a soft heart prior to regeneration. Sinners placed themselves in a position to accept the gospel because they had...

As Emmanuel Baptist Church continues to see new people visiting every Sunday, Pastor Sean and the elders are reintroducing the Discipleship Pathway as the primary strategy for disciple-making. In this sermon, Sean focuses on the first two steps of the pathway: (1) Worship Biblically and (2) Connect Relationally. Worship Biblically: We desire disciples to WORSHIP Biblically together on Sundays for...

The Protestant Reformation started when Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses on the door of the Wittenberg church in Germany. Listen to the first sentence: “Our Lord and Master Jesus Christ, in saying ‘Repent and believe the gospel’ meant that the whole life of the believer to be an act of repentance.” What is repentance? How is repentance distinct from saving faith? Is repen...