Thursday, October 11, 2012
Trust in the LORD
"Blessed is the man who makes
the LORD his trust, who does
not look to the proud, to those
who turn aside to false gods."
Psalm 40:4
Those who truly trust in God will never be disappointed in Him. Those who
trust in other things will never be satisfied.
**********
"Taste and see that the LORD is good;
blessed is the man who takes reguge
in Him."
Psalm 34:8
God is always faithful. Any time His people come to Him for help, He will
take care of them.
**********
"O LORD Almighty,
blessed is the man who trusts in you."
Psalm 84:12
God blesses those who have faith in Him.
**********
"Know that the LORD has set apart the
godly for Himself; the LORD will hear
when I call to Him."
Psalm 4:3
The LORD hears His people when they call on Him.
**********
"The LORD detests all the proud of heart.
Be sure of this: They will not go unpunished."
Proverbs 16:5
"God opposes the proud but gives grace
to the humble. Humble yourselves, therefore,
under God's mighty hand, that He may lift you
up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on Him
because He cares for you."
1 Peter 5:5b-7
God hates the proud, but loves those who humble themselves before Him.
**********
"Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him, and
He will make your paths straight."
Proverbs 3:5-6
As Christians, we won't have a trouble free life, but God will be there to guide us
through the difficult times, as we depend on Him and His mercy, and His love for us.
Trust in the LORD!!
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
The Trinity and the 1689 LBCF
1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith
Chapter 2: Of God and the Holy Trinity
1. The Lord our God is but one living and true God; whose subsistence is in
and of himself, infinite in being and perfection; whose essence cannot be com-
prehended by any but himself; a most pure spirit, invisible, without body, parts,
or passions, who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can
approach unto; who is immutable, immense, eternal, incomprehensible, almighty,
every way infinite, most holy, most wise, most free, most absolute; working all
things according to the counsel of his own immutable and most righteous will
for his own glory; most loving, gracious, merciful, long-suffering, abundant in
goodness and truth, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin; the rewarder of
them that diligently seek him, and withal most just and terrible in his judgments,
hating all sin, and who will by no means clear the guilty.
(1 Corinthians 8:4,6; Psalm 115:3; Isaiah 46:10; Proverbs 16:4; Romans 11:36;
Hebrews 11:6)
2. God, having all life, glory, goodness, blessedness, in and of himself, is alone
in and unto himself all-sufficient, not standing in need of any creature which he
hath made, nor deriving any glory from them, but only manifesting his own glory
in, by, unto, and upon them; he is the alone fountain of all being, of whom, through
whom, and to whom are all things, and he hath most sovereign dominion over all
creatures, to do by them, for them, or upon them, whatsoever himself pleaseth; in
his sight all things are open and manifest, his knowledge is infinite, infallible, and
independent upon the creature, so as nothing is to him contingent or uncertain; he
is most holy in all his counsels, in all his works, and in all his commmands; to him
is due from angels and men, whatsoever worship, service, or obedience, as creatures
they owe unto the Creator, and whatever he is further pleased to require of them.
(John 5:26; Psalm 119:68; Psalm 145:17)
3. In this divine and infinite Being there are three subsistences, the Father, the
Word or Son, and Holy Spirit, of one substance, power, and eternity, each having
the whole divine essence, yet the essence undivided; the Father is of none, neither
begotten nor proceeding; the Son is eternally begotten of the Father; the Holy Spirit
proceeding from the Father and the Son; all infinite, without beginning, therefore but
one God, who is not to be divided in nature and being. but distinguished by several
peculiar relative properties and personal relations; which doctrine of the Trinity is the
foundation of all our communion with God, and comfortable dependence on him.
(Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14; John 14:11; 1 Corinthians 8:6; John 1:14,18;
John 15:26; Galatians 4:6)
Friday, October 5, 2012
Are We All Children of the Same God?
I am a conservative Christian and Republican, and I will be voting for Mitt
Romney in the presidential election. He represents my political and moral views
much better than our current president.
However, Mr. Romney said something during the debate on Wednesday with
which I totally disagree. He said, "We're a nation that believes that we're all child-
ren of the same God."
All of us? Christians, Mormons, Muslims, Jews, Hindus, etc. all worship the
same god? I seem to recall George Bush made a similar statement once. Is this
biblical?
The answer is no.
In fact, the Bible tells us that God gives only those who receive Jesus Christ as
Savior the right to be called His children.
"Yet to all who received him, to those who believed
in his name, he gave the right to become children of
God -- children born not of natural descent, nor of
human decision, or a husband's will, but born
of God."
John 1:12-13
Becoming a member of God's family is totally by grace alone, which is a gift
of God. It is not based on anything a person achieves on his own.
"For it is by grace you have been saved,
through faith -- and this not from your-
selves, it is the gift of God -- not by
works, so that no one can boast."
Ephesians 2:8-9
Those in the world who are not given this gift of grace through faith are not
God's children. They don't know him.
"How great is the love the Father has lavished
on us (his children through faith), that we
should be called children of God. And that is
what we are! The reason the world does not
know us is that it did not know him."
1 John 3:1
**********
Charles Spurgeon wrote about the Fatherhood of God:
"Believe the doctrine of the Fatherhood of God to his people.
Abhor the doctrine of the universal Fatherhood of God, for
it is a lie and a deep deception.
"It stabs at the heart, first, of the doctrine of adoption, which
is taught in Scripture, for how can God adopt men if they
are his children already?"
(' ... we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan
inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the
redemption of our bodies' Romans 8:23).
Spurgeon continues:
"In the second place, it stabs at the heart of regeneration,
which is certainly taught in the Word of God. Now it is
by regeneration and faith that we have become the child-
ren of God, but how can that be if we are the children of
of God already?"
('According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again
to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from
the dead ...' 1 Peter 1:3b).
Spurgeon's final comments on the Fatherhood of God:
"How can God give to men the power to become his
sons if they have it already?
Believe not that lie of the devil, but believe this
truth of God, and all who are by living faith in Christ
may rejoice in the Fatherhood of God."
The Bible teaches that there is only one God. The God of Scripture.
"I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like
me."
Isaiah 46:9b
"For who is God besides the LORD?"
Psalm 18:31a
There is only one God, and only those who have been regenerated by
God's Holy Spirit, and received Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, are given
the right to be called children of God.
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
The Spiritual Man and the Natural Man
The Bible tells us of two different kinds of people -- those who have the
Spirit of God, and those who are children of the devil (natural man).
Those who have the Holy Spirit are no longer condemned, but have been
set free from sin and death.
"Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those
who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ
Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from
the law of sin and death."
Romans 8:1-2
God gives His Spirit to His children as a deposit guaranteeing their salvation
and eternity in heaven with Him.
"Now it is God who makes both us and you
stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set His
seal of ownership on us, and put His Spirit
in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what
is to come."
2 Corinthians 1:21-22
The Bible makes it clear who are God's children and who are children of the
devil.
"By this it is evident who are the children of God,
and who are the children of the devil: whoever
does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor
is the one who does not love his brother."
1 John 3:10
The natural man is controlled by his sinful nature and is unable to do anything
to please God, while the spiritual man has his mind set on what the Spirit desires.
"Those who live according to the sinful nature
have their minds set on what that nature desires;
but those who live in accordance with the Spirit
have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.
The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind
controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the
sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit
to God's law, nor can it do so. Those controlled
by the sinful nature cannot please God."
Romans 8:5-8
The naural man belongs to the devil and is unable to hear from God.
"Jesus said to them (Jews who wanted to kill Him),
'If God were your Father, you would love me, for
I came from God and now am here. I have not come
on my own; but He sent me.
Why is my language not clear to you? You belong
to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out
your father's desire. ... He who belongs to God hears
what God says. The reason you do not hear is that
you do not belong to God."
John 8:42-44a, 47
The natural man is unable to believe in Jesus (without the Spirit enabling
him), while the spiritual man is able to listen and believe.
(Jesus said to the unbelievers), "The miracles I do in
my Father's name speak for me, but you do not be-
lieve because you are not my sheep. My sheep listen
to my voice; I know them, and they follow me."
John 10:25b-27
Jesus did not say, "you are not my sheep because you don't believe, but
you don't believe because you are not my sheep." Only Jesus' sheep will
believe in Him.
**********
The spiritual man's life is fruitful.
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness, and self-control." ... Those who
belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the
sinful nature with its passions and desires."
Galatians 5:22-23a, 24
God is sovereign in everything, including salvation.
He gives His Holy Spirit to His children, but not to those who are not
His children. Those who have the Spirit become co-heirs with Christ.
" ... those who are led by the Spirit of God are
sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit
that makes you a slave again to fear, but you
received the Spirit of sonship. And by Him we
cry, 'Abba, Father.'
The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit, that
we are God's children. Now if we are children,
then we are heirs -- heirs of God and co-heirs
with Christ, if indeed we share in His sufferings
in order that we may also share in His glory."
Romans 8:14-17
If you have received God's gifts of repentance and faith in Jesus as Savior,
thank God for saving you and changing you from the natural man to the
spiritual man.
"The salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord;
He is their stronghold in time of trouble. The LORD
helps them and delivers them; He delivers them from
the wicked and saves them, because they take refuge
in Him."
Psalm 37:39-40
If you have never trusted in Christ, then repent and believe in Him as Lord
and Savior today.
" ... if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,"
and believe in your heart that God raised Him from
the dead, you will be saved."
Romans 10:9
" ... no one can say, 'Jesus is Lord', (confess He is Lord)
except by the Holy Spirit."
1 Corinthians 12:3b
Friday, September 28, 2012
The Process of Salvation
For the Christian, salvation is a process that begins before he is born.
In fact, it began before the creation of the world.
1. God the Father chose us in Him (Jesus) from the beginning for salva-
tion. He chose us before we chose Him.
" ... from the beginning God chose you to be saved
through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and
through belief in the truth."
2 Thessalonians 2:13b
He chose us in Him before the creation of the world.
"For He chose us in Him before the creation of the
world to be holy and blameless in His sight."
Ephesians 1:4
God the Father gives us to Jesus and Jesus accepts us as a love gift from
Him.
"All that the Father gives me will come to me,
and whoever comes to me I will never drive away."
John 6:37
2. God calls us to Himself.
" ... in all things God works for the good of those who
love Him, who have been called according to His
purpose."
Romans 8:28
God draws us to Jesus through hearing the gospel.
(Jesus said), "No one can come to me unless the Father
who sent me draws him, and I will raise
him up at the last day."
John 6:44
(Jesus said), " ... whoever hears my word and believes Him
who sent me has eternal life and will not be
condemned."
John 5:24
3. Because we are dead in our sins before conversion, God changes our heart
of stone into a heart of flesh so that we will be receptive to Him. We are born
again to new life in Christ.
" ... you were dead in your transgressions and sins."
Ephesians 2:1a
"I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you;
I will remove from you your heart of stone and give
you a heart of flesh."
Ezekiel 36:26
"According to his great mercy, He has caused us to be
born again to a living hope, throught the resurrection
of Jesus Christ from the dead."
1 Peter 1:3
4. We are converted.
God makes us willing and able to understand how to know Him.
"And we know that the Son of God has come and
has given us understanding, so that we may know
Him who is true."
1 John 5:20a
God grants us repentance and faith.
" ... in the hope that God will grant them repentance
leading them to a knowledge of the truth."
2 Timothy 2:25b
" ... For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ
not only to believe on Him, but also to suffer for Him."
Philippians 1:29
" ... by grace you have been saved through faith ...
it is the gift of God."
Ephesians 2:8
We repent and trust in Jesus.
"Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation..."
2 Corinthians 7:10a
We receive Him as Lord and Savior.
"Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in
His name, He gave the right to become children of God --
children born not of natural descent, nor of human de-
cision, or a husband's will, but born of God."
John 1:12-13
" That if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,'
and believe in your heart that God raised Him from
the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart
that you believe and are justified, and it is with your
mouth that you confess and are saved."
John 10:9-10
Thursday, September 27, 2012
The Holy Scriptures - 1689 LBCF
The 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith is an important document that
outlined the differences between General and Particular brands of Baptist belief.
General Baptists believed a Christian's salvation was contingent upon his own
choice, while Particular Baptists asserted that a Christian's salvation was ultimate-
ly dependent upon God and His sovereign choice. The document was written by
and for Particular (Reformed) Baptist leaders.
The document begins:
"We the Ministers and Messengers of and concerned for upwards of
100 baptized congregations in England and Wales (denying Arminianism), being
met together in London, from the third of the seventh month to the eleventh of the
same, 1689, to consider of some things that might be for the glory of God, and the
good of these congregations, have thought meet to recommend to their perusal the
confession of our faith, which confession we own, as containing the doctrine of our
faith and practice, and do desire that the members of our churches respectively do
furnish themselves, therewith,"
signed by
(37 Ministers)
Major highlights from Chapter one - Of the Holy Scriptures
* "The Holy Scripture is the only sufficient, certain, and infallible rule of all sav-
ing knowledge, faith, and obedience, although the light of nature and the works of
creation and providence do so far manifest the goodness, wisdom, and power of God,
as to leave men inexcusable; yet are they not sufficient to give that knowledge of
God and his will which is necessary unto salvation.
"Therefore it pleased the Lord at sundry times and in divers manners to reveal
himself, and to declare that his will unto his church; and afterward for the better
preserving and propagating of the truth, and for the more sure establishment and com-
fort of the church against the corruption of the flesh, and the malice of Satan, and of
the world, to commit the same wholly unto writing; which maketh the Holy Scriptures
to be most necessary, those former ways of God's revealing his will unto his people
being now ceased."
(2 Timothy 3:15-17; Romans 1:19-20; Romans 15:4; 2 Peter 1:19-20)
* "The authority of the Holy Scripture, for which it ought to be believed, dependeth
not upon the testimony of any man or church, but wholly upon God who is truth it-
self, the author thereof; therefore it is to be received because it is the Word of God."
(2 Thessalonians 2:13; 1 John 5:9)
* "The whole counsel of God concerning all things necessary for his own glory,
man's salvation, faith and life, is either expressly set down or necessarily contained in
the Holy Scripture; unto which nothing at any time is to be added, whether by new
revelation of the Spirit, or traditions of men.
"Nevertheless, we acknowldege the inward illumination of the Spirit of God to be
necessary for the saving understanding of such things as are revealed in the Word, and
that there are some circumstances concerning the worship of God, and government of
the church, common to human actions and societies, which are to be ordered by the
light of nature and Christian prudence, according to the general rules of the Word,
which are always to be observed."
(Galatians 1:8-9; John 6:45)
* "All things in Scripture are not alike, plain in themselves, nor alike clear unto all;
yet those things which are necessary to be known, believed, and observed for salvation,
are so clearly propounded and opened in some place of Scripture or other, that not only
the learned, but the unlearned, in a due use of ordinary means, may attain to a sufficient
understanding of them."
(Psalm 19:7; Psalm 119:130)
* "The infallible rule of interpretation of Scripture is the Scripture itself; and therefore
when there is a question about the true and full sense of any Scripture which is not mani-
fold, but one, it must be searched by other places that speak more clearly."
(2 Peter 1:20-21; Acts 15:15-16)
* "The supreme judge, by which all controversies of religion are to be determined, and
all decrees of councils, opinions of ancient writers, doctrines of men, and private spirits,
are to be examined, and in whose sentence we are to rest, can be no other but the Holy
Scripture delivered by the Spirit, into which Scripture so delivered, our faith is finally
resolved."
(Matthew 22:29,31,32; Ephesians 2:20)
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
The World is Full of Normaphobes
"You really do kid yourselves if you think you can be
an orthodox Christian, and be cool, at the same time
cool enough and hip enough to cut it in the wider
world.
"Frankly, in a couple of years it will not matter how
much urban ink you sport, how much fair trade coffee
you drink, how many craft brews you can name, how
much urban gibberish you spout, how many art house
movies you can find that redeemer figure in, and how
much money you divert from gospel preaching to
social justice: maintaining biblical sexual ethics will
be the equivalent in our culture of being a white su-
premacist."
Carl Trueman
Reformation 21 Blog
Have you noticed that almost everything that used to be "normal" is now
considered to be wrong by the world, and almost everything that used to be
"abnormal" is now considered to be right.
God has a warning for people who oppose His word.
"Woe to those who call evil good
and good evil, who put darkness
for light and light for darkness,
who put bitter for sweet and
sweet for bitter.
"Woe to those who are wise in their
own eyes and clever in their own
sight."
Isaiah 5:20-21
If you oppose abortion then the world says you oppose women's "reproductive
rights" and are engaging in a "war on women."
If you support traditional marriage and believe that homosexual behavior is
sinful, then the world calls you an "intolerant, bigoted homophobe."
Carl Trueman calls these worldly people "normaphobes" because they oppose
anything that is godly, and replace God's word with their own worldly, unbiblical
views.
He writes (with a strong hint of sarcasm), "The sooner normaphobes are cate-
gorized as hate criminals, the better it will be for those of us who belong to the
despised minority of the once but clearly no longer normal."
**********
If you're like me, you are tired of being called a bigot because you believe in
traditional, biblical principles, but that's what Bible believing Christians face in
today's world.
The world hates us because our beliefs remind them that there is a God and there
is right and wrong.
The Bible tells us that the world hated Jesus and will hate his people. Jesus even
predicted that the world would hate His people.
"Do not be surprised, my brothers, if the
world hates you."
1 John 3:13
"If the world hates you, keep in mind
that it hated me first. If you belonged
to the world, it would love you as its
own. As it is, you do not belong to the
world, but I have chosen you out of the
world. That is why the world hates you."
John 15:18-19
"I have given them your (God's) word and
the world has hated them, for they are
not of the world, any more than I am of
the world."
John 17:14
The word "world" here refers to the human system that opposes God's purpose.
Christians are no longer of this world, but belong to the kingdom of God.
"The believer's essential being, his new life, comes
specially from God, and therefore he is not the same
as those who oppose God."
NIV Commentary
The world hates God, His word, and His people, but those who are faithful
to Him will overcome the world.
" ... everyone born of God overcomes the world.
This is the victory that has overcome the world,
even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world?
Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God."
1 John 5:4-5
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