Posts Tagged ‘tHE GOSPEL’
A HANDBOOK OF CHRISTIAN TRUTH: 4. THE STUDY OF THE BIBLE
The Study of the Bible
The Christian life is lives out by men of flesh and blood. Just as nourishment is required for the continuance of physical life, so it is needed for the development of spiritual life. Food, exercise, and rest are required for physical health. For spiritual health the exercise is service; the renewal of expended energies is through prayer; but the food supply is the Word of God. The question arises: “How can people who love God and want to be used of God make the Bible their own personal possession?” The answer is clear: By studying the Word.
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STUDY BY VERSE: GENESIS 1:1 / JOHN 1:1-2
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Let’s look and compare two passages in GOD’s Word that speak about a ‘beginning, Genesis 1:1 and John 1:1-2. This can serve as a starting point for a detailed word study about the beginnings of the Creation and the Deity of Our LORD…………..
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The Jehovah’s Witnesses and Jesus Christ: A Biblical and Theological Appraisal – By Bruce M. Metzger
While conducting research for an article regarding the New Living Translation of the Bible, I came across a rather insightful article by Bruce M. Metzger. It was posted on a site called Bible Research, By Michael Marlowe. It appears to have a creative commons license, so I am posting it here as well. In it, he give a brief, albeit concise summary of the cult/sect. Featured is the view Jehovah’s Witnesses have and espouse concerning Our LORD and Saviour JESUS CHRIST, and aberrent view I might add. We as Christians must always be prepared to give a response for the hope that is within us 1 Pet 3:15-16.
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WEEKLY BAPTIST CONFESSION OF FAITH EXCERPT: CHAPTER 5 OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE
BAPTIST CONFESSION OF FAITH 1689 SPURGEON EDITION
CHAPTER 5 OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE
Paragraph 1. God the good Creator of all things, in His infinite power and wisdom does uphold, direct, dispose, and govern all creatures and things,1 from the greatest even to the least,2 by His most wise and holy providence, to the end for the which they were created, according unto His infallible foreknowledge, and the free and immutable counsel of His own will; to the praise of the glory of His wisdom, power, justice, infinite goodness, and mercy.3
1 Heb. 1:3; Job 38:11; Isa. 46:10,11; Ps. 135:6
2 Matt. 10:29-31
3 Eph. 1;11
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A HANDBOOK OF CHRISTIAN TRUTH: 3. WHY BELIEVE IN THE BIBLE?
Why Believe the Bible?
The pivotal question of Christianity centers around the Bible itself. If this book is only a record of the religious quest of the Hebrew peoples, and if it deals only with their hopes, aspirations, and accomplishments in their upward search for God from polytheism to monotheism, then it cannot be the Word of God as we use that term here.
We believe that the Bible is God’s word to man. We hold that from cover to cover, from Genesis to Revelation, the book is God’s whole counsel to man and that it is without error in whole and in part.
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A HANDBOOK OF CHRISTIAN TRUTH: 2. THE INSPIRATION OF THE BIBLE
The Inspiration of the Bible
The Author of the Bible is the Holy Spirit of God. Its pages are an authoritative revelation, in written form, of the divine nature and purposes.
A. The Crucial Nature of Inspiration.
The most divisive, Biblical theme is the inspiration of the Scriptures. In the first centuries after Christ the issue which absorbed the interest of the church concerned the persons of the Trinity; in the sixteenth century the vexing problem was whether ultimate authority rested in the Word of God or in the papacy; in the twentieth century the inspiration of the Bible is the focal, determinative point of conflict.
The view of inspiration which the church has always held has been widely abandoned today. In its place men have substituted a pale, emasculate, sinewless view that the Bible merely contains the Word of God. We believe that the Scriptures not only contain the Word of God, but that in their entirety they are the Word of God.
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WEEKLY BAPTIST CONFESSION OF FAITH EXCERPT: CHAPTER 4 OF CREATION
BAPTIST CONFESSION OF FAITH 1689 SPURGEON EDITION
CHAPTER 4 OF CREATION
Paragraph 1. In the beginning it pleased God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,1 for the manifestation of the glory of His eternal power,2 wisdom, and goodness, to create or make the world, and all things therein, whether visible or invisible, in the space of six days, and all very good.3
1 John 1:2,3; Heb. 1:2; Job 26:13
2 Rom. 1:20
3 Col. 1:16; Gen. 1:31
Paragraph 2. After God had made all other creatures, He created man, male and female,4 with reasonable and immortal souls,5 rendering them fit unto that life to God for which they were created; being made after the image of God, in knowledge, righteousness, and true holiness;6 having the law of God written in their hearts,7 and power to fulfill it, and yet under a possibility of transgressing, being left to the liberty of their own will, which was subject to change.8
4 Gen. 1:27
5 Gen. 2:7
6 Eccles. 7:29; Gen. 1;26
7 Rom. 2:14,15
8 Gen. 3:6
Paragraph 3. Besides the law written in their hearts, they received a command not to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil,9 which while they kept, they were happy in their communion with God, and had dominion over the creatures.10
9 Gen. 2:17
10 Gen. 1:26,28
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WEEKLY BAPTIST CONFESSION OF FAITH EXCERPT: CHAPTER 3 OF GOD’S DECREE
BAPTIST CONFESSION OF FAITH 1689 SPURGEON EDITION
CHAPTER 3: OF GOD’S DECREE
Paragraph 1. God hath decreed in himself, from all eternity, by the most wise and holy counsel of His own will, freely and unchangeably, all things, whatsoever comes to pass;1 yet so as thereby is God neither the author of sin nor hath fellowship with any therein;2 nor is violence offered to the will of the creature, nor yet is the liberty or contingency of second causes taken away, but rather established;3 in which appears His wisdom in disposing all things, and power and faithfulness in accomplishing His decree.4
1 Isa. 46:10; Eph. 1:11; Heb. 6:17; Rom. 9:15,18
2 James 1:13; 1 John 1:5
3 Acts 4:27,28; John 19:11
4 Num. 23:19; Eph. 1:3-5
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WEEKLY BAPTIST CONFESSION OF FAITH EXCERPT: Chapter 2 OF GOD AND OF THE HOLY TRINITY
BAPTIST CONFESSION OF FAITH 1689 SPURGEON EDITION
CHAPTER 2: OF GOD AND OF THE HOLY TRINITY
Paragraph 1. The Lord our God is but one only living and true God;1 whose subsistence is in and of Himself,2 infinite in being and perfection; whose essence cannot be comprehended by any but Himself;3 a most pure spirit,4 invisible, without body, parts, or passions, who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto;5 who is immutable,6 immense,7 eternal,8 incomprehensible, almighty,9 every way infinite, most holy,10 most wise, most free, most absolute; working all things according to the counsel of His own immutable and most righteous will,11 for His own glory;12 most loving, gracious, merciful, long-suffering, abundant in goodness and truth, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin; the rewarder of them that diligently seek Him,13 and withal most just and terrible in His judgments,14 hating all sin,15 and who will by no means clear the guilty.16
1 1 Cor. 8:4,6; Deut. 6:4
2 Jer. 10:10; Isa. 48:12
3 Exod. 3:14
4 John 4:24
5 1 Tim. 1:17; Deut. 4:15,16
6 Mal. 3:6
7 1 Kings 8:27; Jer. 23:23
8 Ps. 90:2
9 Gen. 17:1
10 Isa. 6:3
11 Ps. 115:3; Isa. 46:10
12 Prov. 16:4; Rom. 11:36
13 Exod. 34:6,7; Heb. 11:6
14 Neh. 9:32,33
15 Ps. 5:5,6
16 Exod. 34:7; Nahum 1:2,3
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STUDY BY VERSE: ‘REVELATION 2:2-3
2) “I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:
(3) And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name’s sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted.”
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WEEKLY BAPTIST CONFESSION OF FAITH EXCERPT: Chapter 1 Of The Holy Scriptures – Paragraph 2
BAPTIST CONFESSION OF FAITH 1689 SPURGEON EDITION
CHAPTER 1: OF THE HOLY SCRIPTURES
Paragraph 2. Under the name of Holy Scripture, or the Word of God written, are now contained all the books of the Old and New Testaments, which are these:
OF THE OLD TESTAMENT:
| Genesis Exodus Leviticus Numbers Deuteronomy Joshua Judges Ruth 1 Samuel 2 Samuel |
1 Kings 2 Kings 1 Chronicles 2 Chronicles Ezra Nehemiah Ester Job Psalms Proverbs |
Ecclesiastes The Song of Solomon Isaiah Jeremiah Lamentations Ezekiel Daniel Hosea Joel |
Amos Obadiah Jonah Micah Nahum Habakkuk Zephaniah Haggai Zechariah Malachi |
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STUDY BY VERSE: ‘ROMANS 10:13
For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
ForG1063 whosoeverG3956 G3739 G302 shall call uponG1941 theG3588 nameG3686 of the LordG2962 shall be saved.G4982
SHALL CALL UPON G1941 ἐπικαλέομαι epikaleomai ep-ee-kal-eh’-om-ahee Middle voice from G1909 and G2564; to entitle; by implication to invoke (for aid, worship, testimony, decision, etc.): – appeal (unto), call (on, upon), surname. Thayer Definition: 1) to put a name upon, to surname: to permit one’s self to be surnamed 2) to be named after someone 3) to call something to one: to cry out upon or against one, to charge something to one as a crime or reproach, to summon one on any charge, prosecute one for a crime, to blame one for, accuse one of 4) to invoke: to call upon for one’s self, in one’s behalf: any one as a helper, as my witness, as my judge, to appeal unto 5) to call upon by pronouncing the name of Jehovah: an expression finding its explanation in the fact that prayers addressed to God ordinarily began with an invocation of the divine name
Part of Speech: verb
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Deception in The Body of CHRIST: Contemplative / Centering Prayer (CCP) Part 2
Part 2
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GNOSTICISM: WHAT WAS OLD, IS NOTHING NEW
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What is Gnosticism?
Gnosticism, was/is (‘was’, in the sense of its origins, and ‘is’, in the sense of what it still is today) set of heretical views set against Orthodox Christianity which began in the late 1st, early 2nd centuries. Gnosticism comes from the Greek word ‘gnosis which means “to know.” During the early years of Christianity form the late 1st to the 2nd Century, people began to form their own views of who JESUS was, and the message HIM and the Apostles taught. These views were heretical, to outright full blown apostacy. Like cancer, it spead which eventually paved the way for the Canon of Scripture.
Gnostic’s, as they were called, claim to possess a higher knowledge of the truth about GOD and Our LORD. They claim that Our LORD JESUS’ word contained secret knowledge, only known to the initiated. They even wrote what they claim to be ’inspired’ scripture supporting this supposed higher knowledge (see explanation of Gnostic gospels). What they wrote in no way resembles any biblical treatise on atonement, salvation, justification, etc…
@ it’s very basic level, salvation for the Gnostics was this: being able to decipher what JESUS said in the gnostic documents, in order to escape the cycle of endly ignorance from this existance upon the death of the individual in which what it really amounts to, is reincarnation. They attribute to HIM esoteric sayings, that if one was to figure out what they meant, or gnosisthen that individual could enter into the pleroma(more details on pleroma) upon death. This knowledge was acquired on some mystical higher plain of existence, by being able to decipher what JESUS really meant. So Gnostic’s see themselves as a privileged class elevated above everybody else by their higher, deeper, mystical knowledge of God, and foregoing Scripture entirely for this knowledge…….
Deception in The Body of CHRIST: Spiritual Formation Part 2
Part 2
So, let’s fully understand what’s happening here. Primarily, all definitions regarding Spiritual Formation center around this one theme: the steps one takes to develop oneself spiritually, usually initiated by the individual seeking this ’oneness’ with GOD, and ignoring what has 
already been established by GOD, probably due to a suggestion coming from within their church, promoted by someone designated in the “role” of Spiritual Formation Pastor or Director. Possibly, they have friends or family who are involved in a formation program, or may have heard or read about. In any event herein lies the problem, the ‘steps we take’.
Many notable leaders in the Evangelical, Emergent, communities have come out and have highly endorsed this teaching. They have preached, written books and articles, developed websites, and held training seminars, all geared toward one primary purpose, to inundate Evangelical Christianity with a non-biblical practice they believe all self-professing Christians need. And along the way citing Scripture, taken out of context in order to support these beliefs.
Question, why would they do this? Answer, there are several reasons including they themselves are being deceived, or they are ignorant of the Scriptures 1 Tim 1:7, they pull practices from a former religion, or they are not submitting to the leading of The HOLY SPIRIT Gal 5:17. Then I would have to question whether or not they are indeed Christian because the advocate to disobey GOD. Someone who is your brother or sister in The LORD, is not going to lead you to danger, on the contrary away from it!
cOMMENTARY – JOHN 14:28
from Albert Barnes Notes on the Bible
For my Father is greater than I – The object of Jesus here is not to compare his nature with that of the Father, but his condition. Ye would rejoice that I am to leave this state of suffering and humiliation, and resume that glory which I had with the Father before the world was. You ought to rejoice at my exaltation to bliss and glory with the Father (Professor Stuart). The object of this expression is to console the disciples in view of his absence. This he does by saying that if he goes away, the Holy Spirit will descend, and great success will attend the preaching of the gospel, John16:7-10.
cOMMENTARY – Albert Barnes – Notes On The Bible: Acts 17:10-12
And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews. These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. Therefore many of them believed; also of honourable women which were Greeks, and of men, not a few. Act 17:10-12
A HANDBOOK OF CHRISTIAN TRUTH: 1. WHAT IS THE BIBLE?
What Is the Bible?
The Bible is the source Book of Our knowledge of God. It is the text-Book of divine truth, the guide-Book to everlasting life. The word “Bible” is derived from the Greek “biblos,” “a book.” The volume has several other titles, e.g. “the scriptures” (1 Cor. 15:3,4, i.e. “the writings”); or “the word of God” (as in Heb. 4:12).
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