Tom Hicks

Pastor at First Baptist Church of Clinton, Louisiana, Professor at CBTS and IRBS.

[Tom Hicks @TomHicks2LCF]

@jryandavidson Cool. Are you in Scotland?

[Covenant Baptist Theological Seminary @CBTSeminary]

"The purest biblical presentation of the gospel glides upon the waters of
the doctrines of grace."

Tom Nettles

https://t.co/QTiApKi1qW

[Covenant Baptist Theological Seminary @CBTSeminary]

Please pray for us as we plan to launch our new PhD program in 2027!

With the Lord's help and blessing, our Doctor of Philosophy program will provide students with the advanced knowledge and skills needed to research, write, teach, and make a scholarly contribution to the fields of Historical Theology or Systematic Theology.

Learn more here: https://t.co/F0nOFsZEYZ

[Drew Sparks @andrewbdsparks]

It was great to record this podcast on friendship with my good friend @1689Dogmatician. I am thankful for his friendship over the years as well as the other men mentioned. Good friends are a gift from God.

https://t.co/HSq4nE74j2

[Tom Hicks @TomHicks2LCF]

@Modern1689 🤔

[Tom Hicks @TomHicks2LCF]

Does the covenant of grace threaten believers with hell? See link below.

[Tom Hicks @TomHicks2LCF]

@chadaknudson 👊🏻

[Tom Hicks @TomHicks2LCF]

Ten Wrong Uses of the Law

First, it is wrong to make obedience to God's law the way to be justified before God (Rom 3:20). Christ's obedience to the law alone justifies us before God, when we receive Him by faith alone.

Second, it is wrong to think that our obedience to the law of God produces sanctification before God. That is backwards. Rather, sanctification produces our obedience to God's law. Romans 6:14 says, “For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.”

Third, it is wrong to make guilt and slavish fear motives to obey the law. While legal fear and guilt are motives to go to Christ by faith, they are not faithful motives for those who are in Christ. Justification by faith alone completely removes guilt before God and the threat of condemnation to the believer (Rom 8:1).

Fourth, it is wrong to relax God's law to make it possible to obey perfectly. Hypocrites, legalists, and antinomians relax God's law to make it into something they can actually and completely obey so they can feel righteous in their works (Matt 5:19).

Fifth, it is wrong to take away the law on the basis of the gospel. Antinomians believe that the gospel virtually replaces the law. They may preach the law but always in a muted way that minimizes the law while maximizing the gospel (Jude 4; 2 Pet 3:16-17).

Sixth, it is wrong to make so much of the law that the gospel seems unnecessary for the believer. Some wrongly assume that since believers have already trusted Christ in the gospel for their salvation, they do not need to hear the gospel again and again, but what they really need is instruction about how to obey the law. But believers need the gospel (1 Cor 15:1-2; Rom 16:25).

Seventh, it is wrong to teach that obedience to God's law will always lead to outward or temporal blessing. Teachers sometimes claim that when Christians obey the law of God, they will always receive temporal blessings. But the Bible says that many faithful people suffer greatly (Heb 11:35-38).

Eighth, it is wrong to teach that our obedience to God's law never leads to outward blessing. The Bible is packed with statements that teach that obedience to God's law often leads to temporal blessings in this life (Prov 19:23; 22:4, etc.).

Ninth, it is wrong to use God law to break the bruised reed or to extinguish the smoldering flax. A bruised reed or a smoldering flax is someone who is at the end of himself for his own righteousness. This person does not need the law of God preached to him because he already understands it (Matt 12:20).

Tenth, it is wrong to refuse to use God's law as part of His means of breaking proud and hard-hearted sinners. Proud sinners need to hear the law of God preached to them (Rom 7:7-13; Matt 5-7). Only those who are under conviction of the law of God by the Holy Spirit will actually receive the gospel.

[Tom Hicks @TomHicks2LCF]

@randellmclendon @DrJordanBCooper 🤔

[Tom Hicks @TomHicks2LCF]

There are few exegetical/theological questions I have gone back and forth on so much. Are the Nephilim of Genesis 6 supernatural beings? See link below from @DrJordanBCooper for an argument that they are not. Here's the AI summary.

The Five Reasons

1. Context and Intent of the Author (Moses): Genesis was written for Israel preparing to enter the Promised Land, warning against specific temptations like intermarriage with pagans (a repeated OT theme that corrupts worship). A supernatural angelic-human hybrid story has little relevance to Israel's struggles, whereas human faithful vs. ungodly lines directly parallels warnings against marrying pagan wives.

2. Genesis as a Book of Human Genealogies and the "Two Lines/Seeds" Theme: The book emphasizes rival human lines from early on (Genesis 3: seed of the woman vs. serpent; Cain's wicked line vs. Seth's righteous line, with parallel names and contrasts like Enoch and Lamech). Genesis 6 continues this pattern of intermarriage corrupting the righteous line, leading to wickedness—not introducing a sudden supernatural hybrid event.

3. Scripture's Teaching on Angels/Spirits: Angels do not procreate (Jesus notes no marriage in the resurrection, "like the angels"; they were created instantaneously and are not embodied like humans). The supernatural view requires angelic procreation and demon-human hybrids, which lacks support elsewhere in Scripture and introduces ideas foreign to biblical angelology.

4. Dependence on Second Temple/Pseudepigraphal Literature: Many supernatural defenses rely heavily on texts like the Book of Enoch (wild, non-canonical stories). Jude quotes Enoch, but this doesn't grant it revelatory status or endorse all its interpretations—it's likely using a popular cultural reference rhetorically. Cooper rejects making extra-biblical Jewish traditions determinative for Christian exegesis.

5. Not the Majority Historical View in the Church: Early writers sometimes held supernatural views, but by Augustine (late 4th century) and onward, the human view became dominant in both East and West. Recent popularity (influenced by Enochic revival) is a modern shift, not the historic consensus. Departing from this requires strong evidence.

[Tom Hicks @TomHicks2LCF]

@NathanielRMart 👊

[Tom Hicks @TomHicks2LCF]

https://t.co/89CdzsGa4J

[Tom Hicks @TomHicks2LCF]

https://t.co/oCrbwKyB8H

[Tom Hicks @TomHicks2LCF]

@ScottC1517 Bottom left does not belong. 😂

[Tom Hicks @TomHicks2LCF]

I don't believe we are allowed to make images of God, either the Father, the Son, or the Holy Spirit. Christ according to His human nature is still the divine person of the Son. It's not just that we might worship it, but that there may be no images of God. That's my position.

WLC Q. 109. What are the sins forbidden in the second commandment?
A. The sins forbidden in the second commandment are ... the making any representation of God, of all, or of any of the three Persons, either inwardly in our mind...

[Tom Hicks @TomHicks2LCF]

I believe it’s healthy for Christians, especially pastors and theologians, to admit when we’ve been wrong. Here are five areas where I have been wrong and my theology has changed over the years:

1. God and Time
I once believed God exists ontologically both inside and outside of time. That view unintentionally divided God. I now see that God exists eternally outside of time, while He sovereignly acts within it.

2. The Trinity
In seminary, I was taught that God has three centers of self-consciousness. I no longer believe that’s accurate. Instead, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are three distinct ways the one God exists: three subsistences, one undivided divine essence.

3. Images of Christ
I used to think it was acceptable to make images of Christ in His humanity. I’ve come to understand this is mistaken. Because Christ is one eternal divine Person, the Second Commandment forbids making any image of Him.

4. Redeeming Creation
I once thought that our works of faith could serve to “redeem” creation and buy it out of bondage. I was wrong. Only Christ can and will redeem creation at His return. Our faithful work can stabilize, cultivate, and develop the creation in meaningful ways, but we cannot redeem it because it remains under the curse.

5. The Angelic and Spiritual Realm
I used to affirm the existence of angels in theory but rarely gave it serious thought. The Bible, however, is saturated with the spiritual realm. We really are engaged in a spiritual war, and we must fight it on God’s terms with vigilance, the Word of God and prayer.

[Tom Hicks @TomHicks2LCF]

@HCYA21 I think a nativity scene is fine without a baby in the manger.

[Tom Hicks @TomHicks2LCF]

@DrRTFM Maybe both?

[Tom Hicks @TomHicks2LCF]

@NathanielRMart 👊🏻

[Tom Hicks @TomHicks2LCF]

@chadaknudson 💯

[Tom Hicks @TomHicks2LCF]

@SteveMeisterVDM 💯👊🏻