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DOCTRINE

Scripture

I believe the Bible to be the written revelation of God, complete and sufficient in all respects. I believe the Scriptures to be “God-breathed” and therefore fully authoritative in and of themselves; they rely for their authority upon no church, council, or creed, but are authoritative simply because they are the Word of God. The Scriptures, as they embody the very speaking of God, partake of His authority and His power.

God’s Sovereignty

I believe in one true and eternal God, unchanging, unchangeable. I believe God is the Creator of all that exists in heaven and in earth. The God who is described in the Bible is unique; He is unlike anyone or anything else in the entire universe. God has all power, all knowledge, all wisdom, and is due all glory, honor and praise. All that comes to pass does so at the decree of God. All things will, in the end, result in the glory of God.

God’s Deity

I believe the Bible teaches that there is but one being of God, yet there are three Persons who share this one being of God: the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. Each Person is fully and completely God, each is described in Scripture as possessing the attributes of God. The Father, Son, and Spirit have eternally existed in the relationship described by the term “Trinity.”

God’s Plan of Redemption

I believe that man was created in the image of God. Man rebelled against His Creator, and fell into sin. As a result, man became spiritually dead, totally unwilling and indeed incapable of seeking after God. God, from eternity past, having foreordained all things, joined a certain people to Christ Jesus, so that He might redeem them from their sin and in so doing bring glory to Himself. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, died in the place of this elect people, providing full and complete forgiveness of sins by His death upon the cross of Calvary. No other work can provide for forgiveness of sins, and no addition can be made to the completed and finished work of Christ.

Salvation

 I believe that God, in His sovereign grace and mercy, regenerates sinful men by the power of the Holy Spirit, not by any action of their own, bringing them to new life. God grants to them the gifts of faith and repentance, which they then exercise by believing in Christ and turning from their sins in love for God. As a result of this faith, based upon the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ, God justifies or makes righteous the one who believes. God’s gift of faith, and the continuing work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of the elect, will result in good works. These good works flow from true, saving faith; they are a necessary result of faith, but are not to be considered necessary to the gaining of justification, which is by God’s grace through faith alone, so that no man can boast.

The Church

I believe Jesus Christ established His Church, which is made up of all the elect of God. His Church, as an obedient bride, listens to His Word as found in the Bible. All who believe in Christ are placed in His body, the Church. The local expressions of the Church are very important, and each believer should be actively involved in such a fellowship.

The Return of Christ

I believe that Christ is coming again to judge the living and the dead. This promise is found throughout the inspired Scriptures. Until His return, believers are to live lives that bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. The Church is to be busy doing the work of evangelism and discipleship, proclaiming the pure, uncompromised Gospel of Christ by teaching the Word of God.

#christianity #bible quote #bible #bible verse #bible scripture #bible study #christian faith #god #jesus christ #jesus #christ #lord #salvation #reformed #reformation #reformed theology

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When God is gone and the devil takes hold who will have mercy on your soul?

#reformed #reformed theology #reformation #bible reading #bibletruth #christian bible #bible quote #bible study #bible scripture #bible verse

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Blameless Before the Judge

John 18:10–11

[10] Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant and cut off his right ear. (The servant’s name was Malchus.) [11] So Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword into its sheath; shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?” (ESV)

Luke 22:49–51

[49] And when those who were around him saw what would follow, they said, “Lord, shall we strike with the sword?” [50] And one of them struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his right ear. [51] But Jesus said, “No more of this!” And he touched his ear and healed him. (ESV)

Jesus in all of his love, grace, and mercy healed him.

Why?

To be a nice guy? Sure! But I believe it goes even deeper.

As you read earlier Malchus was a servant of the high priest. It was a capital crime to harm a servant of the high priest in any form! Let alone lobbing an ear off. Peter would have been executed by law. However, when Jesus restored his ear he erased all evidence that Peter had ever transgressed. So if Malchus would have went before the council and accused Peter of the crime there was absolutely no evidence that Peter ever committed the crime.

That's what Jesus did for us. Ultimately we chose to sin against Him, to rebel against Him, to disobey Him, to in a sense substitute ourselves as god, attempting the de-goding of God, living our life by our own standards, and bringing ourselves glory instead of Him. Because we've done that, we've willingly separated ourselves from God, not wanting to relate to God, but to be god ourselves. In doing that, we've put ourselves under the judgment of God instead of the grace and mercy of God.

Even though we've done all of this, that God lovingly came into human history as the man Jesus Christ, fully God and fully man. He was born of a virgin, without the affects of generational sin, and lived a life without sin, even though he was tempted in every way you and I are. Even though Jesus lived a sinless life, he willingly went to the cross to die a sinners death, and in doing so substituted Himself for us, the sinless One for the sinful ones. Our first parents in the garden substituted themselves for God, just as we would have, and do, and at the cross Jesus reversed that substitution and substituted Himself for sinners. So when Jesus went to the cross He willingly took upon Him the sin of those who would come to trust in Him. That means that Jesus Christ, God who was a man, died in our place for our sins, satisfying the justice of God toward sin and securing the grace and mercy of God for those who believe in Him. Jesus dead body was then put in a tomb, and for three days he was buried. But on the third day Jesus rose from the grave, proving his authority over sin, death, hell, Satan and demons. When we believe and are reborn in Jesus Christ we are washed clean by his blood. Jesus sacrifice takes away all evidence that we ever transgressed. And it doesn't matter who accuses or what evidence they say they have. When we stand before a holy judge who's a holy God and he looks at us he will see Jesus whose blood we have been cleansed by.

Jesus lived a life we could not live (a sinless life), He died a death we should have died (a sinner's death), He rose to give us a life we could never have otherwise (resurrected life), and He alone is the way, the truth and the life – the only way to God.

John 8:10–11

[10] Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” [11] She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”]] (ESV)

#christianity #bible scripture #bible study #bible verse #god #jesus #jesus christ #faith in jesus #reformation #reformed #reformed theology #bible #faith #christian #bible quote

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I Never Knew You

"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.' (Matthew 7:21-23,)

"I never knew you."

I've studied these passages for some time and have come to a couple conclusions.

First, notice those being turned away are relying on what THEY have done to get them into heaven. 'Did we not do this? Did we not do that?'. They bring their works to the gate hoping to gain safe passage. If you come to the gates of heaven with hopes of anything besides Jesus getting you in you will be sadly mistaken. We tend to rely too much on ourselves and not enough on God even in our daily lives.

"I never knew you."

Second, he says he never knew them. This is very important. Because many people go about their lives claiming to know Jesus. But does he know them? What does it take to know anyone? What did it take for you to know your best friend? You spent time with them, talked to them, shared your thoughts, feelings and fears. Most importantly you learned from them, listen to them, spent time with them. Jesus doesn't just want you to know about him like you know about a celebrity. He wants to know you. He wants to have a relationship with you. Like you have with your best friend.

And this brings me to my next most important point. READ YOUR BIBLE!

People, Christians, go about their lives reading their Bible at the minimum they can. Oh they will pray everyday sure. They want God to hear all about their lives and problems. Don't get me wrong he wants to hear. But when are you people going to give him a chance to reply? Praying is you talking to God. Reading your Bible is God talking to you.

God has so much for you if you'd just take the time to get to know him. Truly know him.

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I Have Hidden Your Word in My Heart

The very fact that God has inspired His Word and preserved it through the centuries implies that He desires for it to be read. Why would He write a book if He did not care whether or not people read it?

Sin begins in the heart, and that’s where God looks (1 Samuel 16:7; Jeremiah 17:10; Romans 8:27). If we are not reading the Bible because we aren’t interested in what God has said, we are guilty of apathy. If we are not reading the Bible because we think we don’t need to, we are guilty of pride. If we are not reading the Bible because we can’t find the time or we don’t consider it important, we are guilty of having wrong priorities. Jesus said, “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness” (Matthew 6:33, ESV). Jesus also said, “To whom much is given, much is required” (Luke 12:48). God expects us to invest our time, resources, passions, and service in that which has eternal value. Those who have God’s Word at their fingertips will answer to Him for what they did with that high privilege.

In Psalm 119, which is all about God’s Word, the psalmist “learns,” “considers,” “keeps,” “proclaims,” and “meditates on” the Word of God (Psalm 119:6–8, 13, 15). All of these actions presume a reading of the Bible. Not just a reading, but a deep desire to know God’s Word, apply it to life, and share it with others.

“I have hidden your word in my heart that I not sin against you” (Psalm 119:11). Reading the Bible contributes to spiritual growth (1 Peter 2:2).

“The word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). We all need the scrutiny God’s Word brings to our lives. We need to be reading the Bible.

Christians have a responsibility to know the Word of God so that they can rightly explain it to the world. First Peter 3:15 commands us to always be ready to give an answer about the hope we have in Christ. Unbelievers have questions. When they encounter a Christian who does not know his or her Bible, it can appear that there are no answers, and this is a disservice to those with questions.

#christianity #reformation #reformed theology #bible #bible scripture #bible study #jesus christ #jesus #bible verse

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I Never Knew You

"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.' (Matthew 7:21-23,)

"I never knew you."

I've studied these passages for some time and have come to a couple conclusions.

First, notice those being turned away are relying on what THEY have done to get them into heaven. 'Did we not do this? Did we not do that?'. They bring their works to the gate hoping to gain safe passage. If you come to the gates of heaven with hopes of anything besides Jesus getting you in you will be sadly mistaken. We tend to rely too much on ourselves and not enough on God even in our daily lives.

"I never knew you."

Second, he says he never knew them. This is very important. Because many people go about their lives claiming to know Jesus. But does he know them? What does it take to know anyone? What did it take for you to know your best friend? You spent time with them, talked to them, shared your thoughts, feelings and fears. Most importantly you learned from them, listen to them, spent time with them. Jesus doesn't just want you to know about him like you know about a celebrity. He wants to know you. He wants to have a relationship with you. Like you have with your best friend.

And this brings me to my next most important point. READ YOUR BIBLE!

People, Christians, go about their lives reading their Bible at the minimum they can. Oh they will pray everyday sure. They want God to hear all about their lives and problems. Don't get me wrong he wants to hear. But when are you people going to give him a chance to reply? Praying is you talking to God. Reading your Bible is God talking to you.

God has so much for you if you'd just take the time to get to know him. Truly know him.

#christianity #god #bible verse #bible study #bible scripture #jesus christ #christian faith #jesus #reformation #reformed #reformed theology