Talk of JESUS .com

Category: Doctrine

About Roger – TalkofJESUS.com Doctrine & teaching

What do Christians believe?

Doctrine = Teaching

What do you know about Biblical teaching and preaching?

WHAT DOCTRINES DO YOU BELIVE?

WHAT DOCTRINES DOES YOUR PASTOR PREACH (or avoid)?

DOCTRINE – WHO SAYS?
GOD IS One and FIRST

Is God’s TRUTH not found in SCRIPTURE?

“How long will you waver between two opinions?
If the LORD is God, follow him.
1 Kings 18:21b CSB – the question of the Prophet Elijah to the sons of Israel and false prophets at Mount Carmel

It’s a great QUESTION Elijah asks of men ‘limping between two opinions’ [LSB].

Wouldn’t it logically follow to ASK the same QUESTION of TRUTH?

IF Yᵊhōvâ IS ĕlōhîm come to HIM — the Way, the Truth and the Life.
Roger@TalkofJesus.com

GOD is first in my life. Do YOU have a problem with that?
Roger @ Talk of JESUS .com

God’s TRUTH

As a matter of fact,
- MOST people do have a problem with putting GOD and Jesus Christ FIRST and before all else.
- Many refuse to study TRUTH of what GOD has revealed for human creatures to consider.
Why Study GOD ?
- I have already provided an initial reason AND DEFINITIONS related to doctrine in a brief introductory apologetic.
a Brief Apologetic for Doctrine

“Have centuries of history defined by the word of Almighty GOD fallen into a bottomless black hole of godless futility?” – RH
- In my previous look at The LORD God I intentionally offered only QUESTIONS for YOUR consideration without reference quoting the Bible.
Theology always Begins with GOD

“Acceptable Doctrines of the Common Era include a PAN-THEON poised in aTheist theory, pagan myth and stone-cold idols of every egregious god and any false prophet. – RH
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SO NOW WHAT? (Do YOU have answers?)
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the QUESTIONS of doctrine-based Theology

What is God? – Q4 Westminster Shorter Catechism
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In case you haven't done your homework, I'll provide an introductory ANSWER HERE, although You'll have to READ the (9) Scriptural answers on your own [referenced in the link above] from which this DOCTRINE is rooted.
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Quest. 4. What is God?
Ans. 4. God is a Spirit,(1) infinite,(2) eternal,(3) and unchangeable,(4) in his being,(5) wisdom,(6) power,(7) holiness,(8) justice, goodness, and truth(9)
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WHY STUDY GOD?

IF God is all of this (and more), why would we NOT study more about the Almighty, Eternal and Good LORD, WHO IS the Creator of all things and initiator and sustainer of our own life?

Certainly YOU have more QUESTIONS about GOD
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Perhaps you have questions similar to those I suggested last time from DOCTRINE taught through the Baltimore Catechism, which was formerly and formally endorsed by the Roman Catholic Church *before this Common Era).
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* officially replaced by the United States Catholic Catechism for Adults in 2004 C.E.
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Who is God?

Why did God make you?
1. Q. Is there but one God?
  A. Yes; there is but one God.
2. Q. Why can there be but one God?
  A. There can be but one God, because God, being supreme and infinite, cannot have an equal.
3. Q. How many Persons are there in God?
  A. In God there are three Divine Persons, really distinct, and equal in all things-the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.
Source: https://sacred-texts.com/chr/balt/balt1.htm *

DISCLAIMER About Sacred-Texts – This site is .. about religion, mythology, legends and folklore, and occult and esoteric topics.

[*note this aTheist approach]
‘This site has no particular agenda other than promoting religious tolerance and scholarship.’
the Baseless questions of philosophers and scholars

Scholarship, teaching and atheistic claims as an ‘unbiased‘ or ‘scientific approach” to theological and anthropological QUESTIONS frequently lack the logic and truth they claim.
Roger@TalkofJesus.com

There is ONE GOD and one TRUTH.

“How long will you be limping between two opinions?
1 Kings 18:21b LSB

All of us have become like something unclean…

“Now I know this: that you are a man of God and that the word of Yahweh in your mouth is truth.”
1 Kings 17:24 LSB – witness of a widow in Zarephath of Elijah after the Prophet raised her son from the dead

Answers of TRUTH through Scripture

All Scripture
is God-breathed
and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness
2 Timothy 3:15 LSB – θεόπνευστος [inspired by God]

This is NOT to say that the BIBLE contains ALL TRUTH, but that those things revealed by the Lord God through Scripture are TRUE and reliable.

IF any man should claim some additional ‘truth,’ NOT found in the Bible, THEN this humankind creature made in God’s image imagines the unprovable (even IF its human claim is ‘science‘).

Are ALL truths EQUAL?

OF COURSE NOT!

What claim of man can stand against GOD?

The heavens declare the glory of God,

and the expanse proclaims the work of his hands.

The instruction of the LORD is perfect..

the testimony of the LORD is trustworthy..

The precepts of the LORD are right..

the command of the LORD is radiant..

The fear of the LORD is pure,

enduring forever;

the ordinances of the LORD are reliable

and altogether righteous.
Psalm 19:1,7a,c,8a,c,9 CSB

The LORD Speaks!

בָרִים (Deuteronomy) 4:1 וְעַתָּה יִשְׂרָאֵל שְׁמַע אֶל־הַחֻקִּים וְאֶל־הַמִּשְׁפָּטִים אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי מְלַמֵּד אֶתְכֶם לַעֲשׂוֹת לְמַעַן תִּחְיוּ וּבָאתֶם וִירִשְׁתֶּם אֶת־הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵי אֲבֹתֵיכֶם נֹתֵן לָכֶם׃

“Then the LORD spoke to you from the fire. You kept hearing the sound of the words, but didn’t see a form; there was only a voice. – Deuteronomy 4:12

“The LORD spoke to you face to face from the fire on the mountain. Deuteronomy 5:4

“The LORD spoke these commands in a loud voice to your entire assembly from the fire, cloud, and total darkness on the mountain; he added nothing more.

He wrote them on two stone tablets and gave them to me.

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS

Deuteronomy 5:22

Inerrancy of the Bible

inerrant /ĭn-ĕr′ənt/

adjective
1. Incapable of erring; infallible.
2. Containing no errors. Of or pertaining to inerrancy.
3. Without error, particularly used in reference to the Bible.
  - The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition •
“.. the Bible says that God’s words are the ultimate standard of truth.

If the entire Scripture contains the communication of God to humanity,

then it can be logically inferred that its contents will reflect the perfect nature of God.

The logical result of these truths is that God’s Word is without error in everything that it says.

Therefore, it is proper to call the Bible inerrant, infallible or a number of other terms that Christians use to describe its nature.
Source: Don Stewart :: Does the Bible Testify to Its Own Inerrancy?

True Witnesses of God’s Word

This was the appearance of the likeness of the LORD’s glory. When I saw it, I fell facedown and heard a voice speaking. He said to me,

“Son of man, stand up on your feet and I will speak with you.”

As he spoke to me, the Spirit entered me and set me on my feet, and I listened to the one who was speaking to me.
Ezekiel 1:28b-2:2 CSB

Then I heard a holy one speaking, and another holy one said to the speaker, “How long will the events of this vision last — .. While I, Daniel, was watching the vision and trying to understand it, there stood before me someone who appeared to be a man. I heard a human voice calling from the middle of the Ulai:

“Gabriel, explain the vision to this man.”

So he approached where I was standing; when he came near, I was terrified and fell facedown.

“Son of man,” he said to me, “understand that the vision refers to the time of the end.”
Daniel 8:13a, 15-17 CSB

a Voice from the cloud

After six days Jesus took Peter, James, and his brother John and led them up on a high mountain by themselves. Suddenly,

Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with him.

He was transfigured in front of them, and his face shone like the sun; his clothes became as white as the light…

While he [Peter] was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said,

“This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased. Listen to him! ”
Gospel of Matthew 17:5b [vs.1-3,5]

Why study God through the Word of Scripture?

God-willing, we will study this question further NEXT in our look at Doctrines of the Common Era.

Our point today is that Truth comes from God and not from mankind (humankind, scientists and philosophers).

The Source of Truth is exclusive to God and what the Lord chooses to reveal to some or all of his mortal human creatures.

Believe in God and Know the Truth

You believe in God; believe also in me.
Gospel of John 14:1b NET

Jesus replied,
“I am the way, and the truth, and the life.
No one comes to the Father
except through me.
Gospel of John 14:6 NET

Talk of JESUS .com

Comment on Scripture + Share the Gospel
May 25, 2024
Survey 3 key questions for 2024 of the Common Era
Would you answer just 3 questions about the Bible teaching you believe?

The following brief SURVEY is taken from a more extensive examination of doctrines Learn more: Chicago Statement on Bible Inerrancy [1986]
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COMMENT please on YOUR 2024 CE answers to our Summer 2021 questions about BIBLE teaching in your church.
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From a 2021 SERIES on Doctrine: 
Do you believe THAT? 
A Scripture Teaching Survey.
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About Roger – TalkofJESUS.com Doctrine & teaching

(Does your Pastor preach THAT?) (Have you read that in your Bible?)

YES

no

(Your email questions and comments are always welcome.)

{click YES or NO button for each question below}

1. Is all Scripture the word of God?

YES

NO

2. Is Scripture the ONLY Authority of God’s word?

YES

NO

3. Is every word of the Bible TRUE?

YES

NO

Please tell us WHY you answered YES or NO to questions 1, 2 &/or 3 in YOUR COMMENT below.
The YES & NO pages both contain MORE info about Doctrine. - RH
Pages: 1 2 3
April 30, 2024
Theology always Begins with GOD
Truly, theology always begins and ends with God.
Roger@TalkofJesus.com

Theology

EVERYONE studies God, whether they admit it or not.

Even the avowed atheist must create an anti–theos atheology AGAINST God – θεός (theos).

So what do YOU think about YOUR relationship to GOD?
- Has mortal man evolved a doctrine from dust and ashes theorizing a theology tolerant of common evil tailored for a Common Era?
IS GOD not immutable and Truth unchanging?

YES, of course; even IF humankind has evolved by definition and theory.

Yet some commonly deny both God and Truth.

CLICK HERE for a PREVIOUS page on TalkofJESUS.com

“WHAT IS DOCTRINE?”

Doctrine of God – θεός
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FACT: #God appears as a tag in 300+ posts on TalkofJESUS.com
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Who does God instruct to teach others about God?
- IF YOU teach others anything about God, then you might also like to reexamine the QUESTIONS of other ‘theologians‘ about our relationship with God.
- Our theology will most likely remain ‘on course’ and true by consideration of God by others.
A true doctrine of God will lead the humble created to the One truth revealed to living souls, mere mortal men blazing brief narrow paths from dust to the eternal.
Roger@TalkofJesus.com

Basic Questions About God

One of the most time-tested ways to approach theology is for the teacher to ASK a question of students (disciples, followers..) and have the class (family, church, etc.) memorize STANDARD doctrinally sound ANSWERS.

TODAY in this Common Era characterized by brevity of thinking and attention span, let’s look ONLY at QUESTIONS of GOD.
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I'll do my best to link to original sources for further study from previous doctrinal posts on TalkofJESUS.com - RH
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Creeds, Catechisms, Confessions & Christ – What do you believe?

Doctrines A.D. – definitions
- A Creed – Your stated faith, basically brief enough to reaffirm in a worship service (whether weekly or occasionally)
- Confession of Faith – A longer extension of a creed more suited for the study of the Doctrines behind our foundational Christian beliefs stated in a creed.
- So what is a Catechism?
  - Think of it as a class (really, classes – like going to school) covering what we ought to know about our beliefs.
    
    Source: What do you believe?
    
    Further study in church doctrine
*Baltimore Catechism

Who is God?

Why did God make you?

What is God?

Had God a beginning?

Where is God?

Does God see us?

Does God know all things?

Can God do all things?

Is God just, holy, and merciful?

Is there but one God?

Why can there be but one God?

How many Persons are there in God?
* source: Baltimore Catechism – link to site with ANSWERS
*READ disclaimer below.
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* Source: Wikipedia - A Catechism of Christian Doctrine.. or simply the Baltimore Catechism, was the national Catholic catechism for children in the United States, based on Robert Bellarmine's 1614 Small Catechism.. it was the standard Catholic school text in the country from [A.D.] 1885 to the late 1960s..
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* officially replaced by the United States Catholic Catechism for Adults in 2004 C.E.
- DISCLAIMER About Sacred-Texts
This site is .. about religion, mythology, legends and folklore, and occult and esoteric topics. [*note this aTheist approach] ‘This site has no particular agenda other than promoting religious tolerance and scholarship.’

Doctrines C.E.

Many Creeds, Confessions and catechisms clarifying the faith of Christians for centuries have succumbed to pluralities of culture, exchanging worship of God in Truth for multi-philosophic theory.

our secularly-redefined COMMON ERA

Acceptable Doctrines of the Common Era include a PAN-THEON poised in aTheist theory, pagan myth and stone-cold idols of every egregious god and any false prophet.
Roger@TalkofJesus.com

from What does your church teach? – Catechism

Heidelberg Catechism of 1563

Question 1. ‘What is thy only comfort in life and death?‘

Now BEFORE you answer (even if you happen to have some form of it memorized), THINK about it. AND

– Where does GOD fit into YOUR answer?

The teaching of this early Protestant Catechism contains a LONG and thought-provoking ANSWER.
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Do Christians of the Common Era ever take time for an important thought-provoking answer to ANY theological question?
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Here it is (in part). (Complete answer linked in post above.)

That I with body and soul, both in life and death am not my own.. that without the will of my heavenly Father, not a hair can fall from my head..

He also assures me of eternal life and makes me sincerely willing and ready, henceforth, to live unto him.
abridged answer to Question #1 of the Heidelberg Catechism
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As Christian doctrine ought, this teaching points first to Christ [God the Son]
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Westminster Shorter Catechism – A.D. 1647

Quest. 1. What is the chief end of man?

Quest. 2. What rule hath God given to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him?

Quest. 4. What is God?
The Westminster Shorter Catechism

Book of Common Prayer A.D. 1662
* The 1662 Book of Common Prayer (still the official Prayer Book of the Church of England).. including many updates (A.D. 1928)
and 2019 of the Common Era.
- W H A T is your Name?
- Who gave you this Name?
- Answer: My Godfathers and Godmothers in my Baptism; wherein I was made a member of Christ, the child of God, and an inheritor of the kingdom of heaven.
- What did your Godfathers and Godmothers then for you?
ANSWER
- They did promise and vow three things in my Name.
  - First, that I should renounce the devil and all his works, the pomps [ostentatious] and vanity of this wicked world, and all the sinful lusts of the flesh:
  - Secondly, that I should believe all the articles of the Christian faith:
  - And thirdly, that I should keep God’s holy Will and Commandments, and walk in the same all the days of my life.
- Dost thou not think that thou art bound to believe, and to do, as they have promised for thee?
- Yes verily; and by God’s help So I will. And I heartily thank our heavenly Father, that he hath called me to this state of salvation, through Jesus Christ our Saviour. And I pray unto God to give me his grace, that I may continue in the same unto my life’s end.
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Common Era READERS must note the seriousness of these VOWS made by baptized Christians and their continuing public confession and confirmation of same. - RH
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New City Catechism – 2012 C.E.
- “Almost every denomination and tradition in church history has used some form of catechesis for the religious education of Christian children and adults:
- In 2012, The Gospel Coalition and Redeemer Presbyterian Church released the New City Catechism.
Source: TGC – 9 Things You Should Know About Catechisms
What is God?

How Many Persons Are There in God?

How and Why Did God Create Us?

What Else Did God Create?

How Can We Glorify God?
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ANSWERS TO THESE AND MANY MORE QUESTIONS ABOUT GOD AND JESUS CHRIST in The New City Catechism {see link}
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PART 1 God, Creation, The Fall, Law

2024 of the COMMON ERA DOCTRINE

DOCTRINE of the LORD GOD? or aTheology in the Common Error of humankind?

Although a remnant of Christ-followers and minority of churches continue in True Biblical Doctrine, the enemy of this world has divided and conquered (for now) an indecisive church, non-committal ‘christians‘ and sometime worshippers indifferent to Truth.

WHERE DO YOU STAND?

What do you believe AND what must you do?

ONLY Scripture – Sola Scriptura
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NEXT: DOCTRINE - WHO SAYS?
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Comment on Scripture + Share the Gospel
April 12, 2024