Reform-Shire: Reform-Shire: Reform-Shire: Make Your Calling and Election Sure
If you mean by supplement: something that completes or makes an addition. I think the Beatitudes is what answers this question. I mentioned only part of it in the sermon I did about the 3 Gs.
I'll post the beatitudes again and add some commentaries to those verses.
You have some very good questions, and that in and of itself is a great relief to find somebody asking tough questions.
I don't think our acceptance is a proof of our election. But, loving one another, desiring to do God's will, and enduring the trials of persecution and the battles against sin. Also, the parable of the soils tell us that when we make it through those battles or trials and remain in the faith, this is an evidence of our election and we will continue to praise God. (Job did).
Reform-Shire - Restore the Heart of the Church - Romans 1:16 - For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.
Did Not Our Hearts Burn Within Us?
Church - Return To Being Gospel Centered
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Reform-Shire: Reform-Shire: Make Your Calling and Election Sure
Reform-Shire: Reform-Shire: Make Your Calling and Election Sure
I SEE THE QUESTION I ASKED SUNDAY WAS TAKEN TO HEART. THANKS FOR THE SCRIPTURE REFERENCE. HOW ABOUT BEFORE OUR FAITH IS SUPPLEMENTED. JUST OUR FAITH ALONE? IF WE HAVE A CHOICE IS IT TO ACCEPT CHRIST'S SOMPLETED WORK ON THE CROSS FOR US? DOES THIS, IN OUR ACCEPTANCE, PROVE OUR ELECTION OR FULLFILL OUR GOD GIVEN DESTINY?
I SEE THE QUESTION I ASKED SUNDAY WAS TAKEN TO HEART. THANKS FOR THE SCRIPTURE REFERENCE. HOW ABOUT BEFORE OUR FAITH IS SUPPLEMENTED. JUST OUR FAITH ALONE? IF WE HAVE A CHOICE IS IT TO ACCEPT CHRIST'S SOMPLETED WORK ON THE CROSS FOR US? DOES THIS, IN OUR ACCEPTANCE, PROVE OUR ELECTION OR FULLFILL OUR GOD GIVEN DESTINY?
Monday, January 30, 2006
Make Your Calling and Election Sure
2 Peter 1
Greeting
1Simeon[a] Peter, a servant[b] and apostle of Jesus Christ,
To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ:
2May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.
Make Your Calling and Election Sure
3His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to[c] his own glory and excellence,[d] 4by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. 5For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue,[e] and virtue with knowledge, 6and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, 7and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. 8For if these qualities[f] are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. 10Therefore, brothers,[g] be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. 11For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. <>12Therefore I intend always to remind you of these qualities, though you know them and are established in the truth that you have. 13I think it right, as long as I am in this body,[h] to stir you up by way of reminder, 14since I know that the putting off of my body will be soon, as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me. 15And I will make every effort so that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things.
Matthew 5
The Beatitudes
2And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:<>3
9
11
Salt and Light
1314
Thursday, January 26, 2006
Beth Moore's Believing God
These are the things that I had observed from a distance since this is a favorite study at our church in the Women's ministry. I've been searching for someone who may have done a review on Beth Moore and now I've finally found one, and from one of my favorite Resources... Modern Reformation Magazine.
http://www.modernreformation.org/sd05moore.htm
In Believing God, popular Bible teacher and author Beth Moore explains her personal journey toward obedience in the area of faith. Not content with the unbelief and defeatism of Christians around her, she decides to buck the trend and find a Christianity that works. Her premise in the book is that the “primary reason God left us on earth after our salvation was for our Christianity to ‘succeed’ right here on this turf.” The turf she’s referring to is an earthly Promised Land where God’s “personalized promises over your life become a living reality rather than a theological theory.” The ticket to the Promised Land is pleasing God by exercising faith and having faith credited to you as righteousness. According to Moore, all Christians could experience their own Promised Land during their lifetime if only they would make faith an “action verb” and kick it up a notch. With Christianity like that, no one can say that it doesn’t work.
Moore offers her readers the ticket to the Promised Land that will turn passive faith into “action verb” faith. It is five-point pledge of faith that is memorized and spoken out loud daily: God is who he says he is; God can do what he says he can do; I am who God says I am; I can do all things through Christ; God’s Word is alive and active in me. The pledge is designed to overcome doubts about God’s power and goodness, to bolster faith in miracles, to claim one’s adoption into God’s family through Christ, and to open the Christian to receiving personalized messages from God both through the Bible and through daily interventions.In the ensuing chapters, she discusses the five points, drawing out a few strands of theological truth in relationship to each one. In addition, she takes on topics such as emotional wounds, satanic strongholds, psychological problems, feelings of failure, and generational sin to show how the five-point pledge of faith can tackle each one. Her personal stories are in every chapter, demonstrating her determination and efforts to combat the spiritual malaise that she says characterizes the church. She energetically admonishes defeated Christians to lay claim to faith like Joshua’s and prove for themselves that God is who he says he is (and the other four points of her system). In fact, Moore’s teaching ministry is called “Living Proof Ministries.” She holds herself out as a woman who was once beset by failure and who is now living proof that “action-verb” faith brings victory and success to the Christian’s life.
Moore has written other books, including character study books on Jesus, King David, and the disciple John. Her Bible study book, Breaking Free: Making Liberty in Christ a Reality in Life, continues to be a best seller. The fill-in-the-blank format allows readers to examine the ways they are captive to sin and the enemy’s lies. Then Moore takes them through a study of Bible verses and passages where she explains how Christ can set them free. She teaches that Christians can be burdened again by a yoke of slavery (Gal. 5:1). The way out of slavery is for Christians to grasp their God-given purpose, which is expressed in another five points: to know and believe God, to glorify him, to find satisfaction in him, to experience his peace, and to enjoy his presence.
Moore is a pragmatist. When she reads the Bible she expects it to speak to her about her life in practical ways. She uses the people and stories in the Bible as allegories of the Christian life to explain how Christians can be defeated or victorious. Their destiny depends on how they respond to God. The equation is simple, according to Moore; the more faith they exercise, the better their reward in this life. Her books, Bible studies, videos, and speaking ministry follow a similar pattern of self-disclosure, plucky faith that is determined to overcome, and confirmation from the Bible that Christians can and do experience victory over sin, deliverance from bondage, and successful Christianity.
In addition to Bible study, she encourages readers to join her in recording what she calls God’s daily interventions. In Believing God they are given a name: “Godstops,” an acronym for “Savoring the Observable Presence.” She teaches that God reveals himself and his purposes in many ways, including signs, miracles, emotions, and mystical experiences. According to Moore, Christians who aren’t attuned to this exhilarating experience of God are missing a normal and powerful way that God relates to his people and blesses them with his presence. Although she wants to be theological and Christ-centered, too much of Moore’s material is about her take on her experience with God. Her writing tends to be undisciplined and shallow. She is far too willing to gloss over uncomfortable theological implications in favor of feel-good stories and quick explanations. Knowing God comes through experience; most sin is the result of failing to believe and be delivered; repentance is rarely mentioned. Her bent toward mysticism permits her to circumvent traditional theological interpretations and indulge in explanations of her own design that are more reasonable and satisfying to her sensibilities.
Basically she says, don’t let theology and doctrine confuse you when you can figure it out with God for yourself in a way that works for you. Unfortunately, people who use her materials can’t help but absorb some of that reasoning. Even more troubling is that they think they’re doing Bible study when they are really getting a heavy dose of mysticism, storytelling, psychology, and prosperity gospel. In the introduction to Believing God, Moore shows her true, but mistaken, agenda when she says, “I know I’m going to make it to heaven because I’ve trusted Christ as my Savior, but I want to make it to my Canaan on the way. I want to finish my race in the Promised Land, not in the wilderness. You too? Then we have to cash in our fear and complacency and spend all we have on the only ticket out: BELIEF.”
There are many worthy goals of Bible study, but securing heaven on earth is not one of them, at least for Reformed Christians. And the surest way to get off track is to add human effort to what God has already done in the cross of Christ, even when it’s called believing God or faith. Faith in Jesus Christ is a saving grace, whereby we receive and rest upon him alone for salvation. Everything else is of grace in the Christian experience, too, thanks be to God.
Susan DisstonChristian Education Consultant,Presbyterian Church in America
© 2005, Modern Reformation Magazine. Click Here to Subscribe
http://www.modernreformation.org/sd05moore.htm
In Believing God, popular Bible teacher and author Beth Moore explains her personal journey toward obedience in the area of faith. Not content with the unbelief and defeatism of Christians around her, she decides to buck the trend and find a Christianity that works. Her premise in the book is that the “primary reason God left us on earth after our salvation was for our Christianity to ‘succeed’ right here on this turf.” The turf she’s referring to is an earthly Promised Land where God’s “personalized promises over your life become a living reality rather than a theological theory.” The ticket to the Promised Land is pleasing God by exercising faith and having faith credited to you as righteousness. According to Moore, all Christians could experience their own Promised Land during their lifetime if only they would make faith an “action verb” and kick it up a notch. With Christianity like that, no one can say that it doesn’t work.
Moore offers her readers the ticket to the Promised Land that will turn passive faith into “action verb” faith. It is five-point pledge of faith that is memorized and spoken out loud daily: God is who he says he is; God can do what he says he can do; I am who God says I am; I can do all things through Christ; God’s Word is alive and active in me. The pledge is designed to overcome doubts about God’s power and goodness, to bolster faith in miracles, to claim one’s adoption into God’s family through Christ, and to open the Christian to receiving personalized messages from God both through the Bible and through daily interventions.In the ensuing chapters, she discusses the five points, drawing out a few strands of theological truth in relationship to each one. In addition, she takes on topics such as emotional wounds, satanic strongholds, psychological problems, feelings of failure, and generational sin to show how the five-point pledge of faith can tackle each one. Her personal stories are in every chapter, demonstrating her determination and efforts to combat the spiritual malaise that she says characterizes the church. She energetically admonishes defeated Christians to lay claim to faith like Joshua’s and prove for themselves that God is who he says he is (and the other four points of her system). In fact, Moore’s teaching ministry is called “Living Proof Ministries.” She holds herself out as a woman who was once beset by failure and who is now living proof that “action-verb” faith brings victory and success to the Christian’s life.
Moore has written other books, including character study books on Jesus, King David, and the disciple John. Her Bible study book, Breaking Free: Making Liberty in Christ a Reality in Life, continues to be a best seller. The fill-in-the-blank format allows readers to examine the ways they are captive to sin and the enemy’s lies. Then Moore takes them through a study of Bible verses and passages where she explains how Christ can set them free. She teaches that Christians can be burdened again by a yoke of slavery (Gal. 5:1). The way out of slavery is for Christians to grasp their God-given purpose, which is expressed in another five points: to know and believe God, to glorify him, to find satisfaction in him, to experience his peace, and to enjoy his presence.
Moore is a pragmatist. When she reads the Bible she expects it to speak to her about her life in practical ways. She uses the people and stories in the Bible as allegories of the Christian life to explain how Christians can be defeated or victorious. Their destiny depends on how they respond to God. The equation is simple, according to Moore; the more faith they exercise, the better their reward in this life. Her books, Bible studies, videos, and speaking ministry follow a similar pattern of self-disclosure, plucky faith that is determined to overcome, and confirmation from the Bible that Christians can and do experience victory over sin, deliverance from bondage, and successful Christianity.
In addition to Bible study, she encourages readers to join her in recording what she calls God’s daily interventions. In Believing God they are given a name: “Godstops,” an acronym for “Savoring the Observable Presence.” She teaches that God reveals himself and his purposes in many ways, including signs, miracles, emotions, and mystical experiences. According to Moore, Christians who aren’t attuned to this exhilarating experience of God are missing a normal and powerful way that God relates to his people and blesses them with his presence. Although she wants to be theological and Christ-centered, too much of Moore’s material is about her take on her experience with God. Her writing tends to be undisciplined and shallow. She is far too willing to gloss over uncomfortable theological implications in favor of feel-good stories and quick explanations. Knowing God comes through experience; most sin is the result of failing to believe and be delivered; repentance is rarely mentioned. Her bent toward mysticism permits her to circumvent traditional theological interpretations and indulge in explanations of her own design that are more reasonable and satisfying to her sensibilities.
Basically she says, don’t let theology and doctrine confuse you when you can figure it out with God for yourself in a way that works for you. Unfortunately, people who use her materials can’t help but absorb some of that reasoning. Even more troubling is that they think they’re doing Bible study when they are really getting a heavy dose of mysticism, storytelling, psychology, and prosperity gospel. In the introduction to Believing God, Moore shows her true, but mistaken, agenda when she says, “I know I’m going to make it to heaven because I’ve trusted Christ as my Savior, but I want to make it to my Canaan on the way. I want to finish my race in the Promised Land, not in the wilderness. You too? Then we have to cash in our fear and complacency and spend all we have on the only ticket out: BELIEF.”
There are many worthy goals of Bible study, but securing heaven on earth is not one of them, at least for Reformed Christians. And the surest way to get off track is to add human effort to what God has already done in the cross of Christ, even when it’s called believing God or faith. Faith in Jesus Christ is a saving grace, whereby we receive and rest upon him alone for salvation. Everything else is of grace in the Christian experience, too, thanks be to God.
Susan DisstonChristian Education Consultant,Presbyterian Church in America
© 2005, Modern Reformation Magazine. Click Here to Subscribe
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
Receiving Spiritual Enlightenment
Receiving Spiritual Enlightenment
"I pray that . . . you may know what is the hope of [God's] calling" (Eph. 1:18).
In Ephesians 1:3-14 Paul proclaims the blessings of our salvation. In verse 18 he prays that we will comprehend those great truths, which he summarizes in the phrase "the hope of His calling." "Calling" here refers to God's effectual calling--the calling that redeems the soul. Scripture speaks of two kinds of calling: the gospel or general call and the effectual or specific call. The gospel call is given by men and is a universal call to repent and trust Christ for salvation (e.g., Matt. 28:19; Acts 17:30-31). It goes out to all sinners but not all who hear it respond in faith.
The effectual call is given by God only to the elect. By it He speaks to the soul, grants saving faith, and ushers elect sinners into salvation (John 6:37-44, 65; Acts 2:39). All who receive it respond in faith.
The hope that your effectual calling instills is grounded in God's promises and Christ's accomplishments (1 Pet. 1:3), and is characterized by confidently expecting yet patiently waiting for those promises to be fulfilled. It is your hope of final glorification and of sharing God's glory when Christ returns (Col. 3:4). It is a source of strength and stability amid the trials of life (1 Pet. 3:14-15). Consequently it should fill you with joy (Rom. 5:2) and motivate you to godly living (1 John 3:3).
As you face this new day, do so with the confidence that you are one of God's elect. He called you to Himself and will hold you there no matter what circumstances you face. Nothing can separate you from His love (Rom. 8:38- 39)!
Suggestions for Prayer:
- Thank God for the security of your salvation.
- Ask Him to impress on your heart the blessings and responsibilities of your calling.
- Live today in anticipation of Christ's imminent return.
For Further Study:
Joshua's call to lead Israel was not a call to salvation,but it illustrates some important principles for spiritual leadership. You might not see yourself as a spiritual leader, but you are important to those who look to you as an example of Christian character. Read Joshua 1:1-9 then answer these questions: 1. What were the circumstances of Joshua's call (vv. 1-2)? 2. What promises did God make to him (vv. 3-6)? 3. What did God require of him (vv. 7-9)?
Monday, January 23, 2006
Coram Deo
Coram Deo
Coram Deo literally means "before the face of God". It carries the notion of our living in the presence of God, under the authority of God and to the honor and glory of God. It is what each person was designed for by their Creator. Living "coram Deo" has been best expressed perhaps by the Reformation tradition of the Church. The Reformers recaptured and championed the great "solas" - sola scriptura (Scripture alone), sola fide (faith alone), sola gratia (grace alone), soli Christo (Christ alone) - soli Deo gloria! (to God alone be glory).This classical theology (and its historic creeds and confessions) of Augustine, Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Knox, John Owen, Jonathan Edwards, George Whitefield, Charles Spurgeon, Charles Hodge, B. B. Warfield, Francis Schaeffer, John Gertsner, J. I. Packer, James Montgomery Boice, R. C. Sproul, John Piper, Michael Horton and so many others is what the Church today must reaffirm under the conviction and by the power of the Holy Spirit. Our joy, our satisfaction, our delight and our very lives are to be in God and for Him alone. Augustine put it this way,"He loves Thee too little, who loves anything together with Thee, which he loves not for Thy sake."
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