8.07.16 ~ Christian Doctrine of Theology

Preacher: Pastor Mike Hale | Series: Basic Christianity

Today, as we begin our study, Christian doctrine of theology. I think it isimportant that we define some of the key words before we get started:
Christian – an adherent of Christ i.e., a believer & follower of Christ, who lives in, belongs to, and exemplifies Jesus Christ .
Doctrine – the incontrovertible beliefs, teachings, commands, precepts, and principles that one acknowledges and adheres to.
Christian Doctrine – the body of instruction that Christians ought to believe, revealed in the Bible.
The Bible – God’s revelation to man, given by God, contained in the 39 Old Testament and 27 New Testament Books. It is our primary source for God’s instruction and intent, it provides our understanding of God, from God.
Faith – (Hebrews 11:1), “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen,” i.e., faith is trusting and believing in something that you cannot explicitly prove.
Christian Faith – Believing in the finished work of Christ for everything we need to know God in this life and to live with Him in heaven.
Theology – formed from two Greek words: Theos = God, and ology = study or science of, i.e., theology is the study of God’s nature and character; His purpose, plan, provision and destiny for all that He has created.As we study the teachings [doctrine] of the Bible, we are able to form a Christian Theology that equips and encourages us to actively apply our Christian faith to our daily life where others see us, leading to opportunities for us to serve as witnesses of Christ (see 1Peter 2:11-12; 3:15-16; 4:7-11).

We must understand and acknowledge that God reveals Himself to us, and apart from Him initiating the relationship, we could not know Him (see John 1:1-4, 14, 18; 1John 2:6; 5:11-13).

Let’s consider the two main ways God reveals Himself to us, known as Natural Revelation and Special Revelation.

Natural Revelation, also called General Revelation, speaks of how God reveals Himself in both creation and conscience.

Creation (see Psalm 19:1-4; Romans 1:18-20)

What does creation reveal about God? His invisible attributes, His eternal power, and His divine nature.

Conscience (see Romans 2:12-16)

What does our conscience reveal about God? Con = with; science = knowledge, God placed knowledge of His law in our hearts that we might know good and evil (Genesis 3:22-23), “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil… So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken.”

The problem is no one does good, no one keeps the law; all sin, all deserve death (see Romans 3:10-12; 19-20, 3:23; 6:23).

Think about it — creation declares that God exists and He is sovereign. Our conscience tells us what is right , yet we do wrong; both creation and conscience cause us to seek a fuller revelation of God, to know how we can be saved from our sin.

Special Revelation allows us to know God more fully and personally.

Theophanies are appearances of God to man in a form that can be seen (Greek Theos – God, phainein – to appear or to show). God appeared to Abraham (Genesis 17:1; 18:1), to Isaac (Genesis 26:2), to Jacob (Genesis 32:30), and to Moses (Exodus 3:2-6; 33:18-23).

Miracles and Signs is another means through which God expresses Himself, as through the Flood (Genesis 7), the Burning Bush (Exodus 3), the Egyptian Plagues (Exodus 7-13), the Parting of the Red Sea (Exodus 14).

God’s Word is the living, eternal, spoken and written revelation from God to man, about God and man (John 1:1-4; see Hebrews 1:1-2). Long ago God spoke through the prophets (Old Testament). In these last days He has spoken through His Son (New Testament).

See 2Timothy 3:14-17…

Paul writes to Timothy (vv. 14-15), who could only have had available the Old Testament, as a child, as the New Testament had not yet been written.

But, ALL Scripture (vv. 16-17, OT/NT) is God-breathed, authored by and originating from God, as God’s sovereign instruction (see 2Peter 1:16-21).

Genuine Christianity holds up the Bible alone as the revealed Word of God, and although it was written by men, God Almighty is the author.

God-breathed means that the origin of Scripture is God, not man! (2Peter 1:21), “For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”

The human speakers/writers were moved by God to proclaim God’s revelation. God did not use robots, androids or puppets to write the Bible; He used men with individual personalities and idiosyncrasies to accomplish His will, yet God’s control was always on them, resulting in the Bible–the Word of God in the words of men.

God authored the Bible, and because He is perfect, eternal, omniscient, omnipresent and omnipotent, the result is inerrant, infallible, authoritative.

The Bible was written over a period of about 1600 years by about 40 different human authors, e.g. Joshua (a military general), Daniel (a prime minister), David (a shepherd King), Nehemiah (a cup bearer), Luke (a physician), Paul (a tent maker), Peter (a fisherman), Matthew (a tax collector).

The authors of the 66 books wrote from a variety of places: Moses, from the desert wilderness; Paul, from a Roman prison; John, from the island of Patmos.

They also wrote from three different continents (Africa, Asia, Europe), in three different languages (Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek).

The Bible is all about Jesus Christ, God’s Son (Isaiah 7:14; 9:6; 53). From beginning to end, the Bible is the unfolding inerrant, infallible, sovereign story of God’s love for mankind, through the birth, life, death, and resurrection of God’s Only Son, Jesus the Christ.

John 11:25-26, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in Me will never die.”
John 14:6, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No
one comes to the Father except through Me.”

The Bible is a complete harmony that cannot be explained by coincidence or collusion, its unity is a strong argument in favor of its divine inspiration. There are other good reasons that also support the Bible’s claim to be the
divine and complete Word of God:

The testimony of the early church
The witness of history and archaeology
The evidence of changed lives throughout the ages The indwelling of the Holy Spirit in one’s life

This sovereign and supernatural book is quite unique; for it speaks with authority of that which is known and that which is unknowable, of that which is delightful and that which is damning, of man’s successes and his failures, of eternity past, present, and future! No other book has such credentials, and although it has been attacked relentlessly, its opposers have been silenced.

You can trust the Bible. More on that next week.

Today we celebrate Communion [the Lord’s Supper] here at First Baptist Church, as we do the first Sunday of every month.

The Bible tells us that Jesus Christ, as God’s Son, is both Lord and Savior, Creator and Sustainer, and the Ultimate Judge over all, as He punishes and praises. He is the Living and Eternal Word of God, the fullest expression of God in human

form; and as the Lamb of God, He has taken our punishment for sin, so that we might not be condemned to an eternal torment in hell, but instead live joyfully in heaven with God forever, no more death or crying or mourning or pain.

Colossians 1:15-17 tells us that Jesus is the image of the invisible God, and that all things were created by Him and through Him and for Him. He is before all things and in Him all things hold together.

God has made peace and reconciled all things to Himself through the shed blood of Jesus Christ, whether things on earth or things in heaven.

That is the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Have you repented of your sins? Do you believe in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, confessing Him as Lord and trusting Him as Savior?

If not, why not? We are all sinners, get over it! But realize that although the penalty for sin is death, God offers the free gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ to all who call upon Him, and He turns no one away!

The Lord’s Supper remembers the sovereign sacrifice and supernatural resurrection of Jesus Christ: crucified, resurrected, and coming again.

1Corinthians 11:23-26, “when Christ had given thanks, He broke the bread and said, ‘This is my body, which is for you, do this in remembrance of me’ and they each one took of it and ate it. After supper Jesus took the cup and passed
it …saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood shed for you; do this, in remembrance of Me.’ And they each one drank it. Whenever we eat the bread and drink the cup, we proclaim the Lord’s death until He returns to take us to our eternal home; let each of us continue to obediently serve Him with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, as He enables us – until that day arrives.

And all God’s people said? Amen!

Pastor Mike <‘(((><