Category: Doctrine

Church doctrine a line in the sand. - How will a leader or council of leaders choose what the Church will teach?
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)?

  • Doctrines of TRUTH in a Common Era of Lies

    Doctrines of TRUTH in a Common Era of Lies

    Introduction to the Common Era

    WHEN did the Common Era Begin?

    Was there an unexpected BIG BANG that exploded TRUTH into truths?

    Did centuries of HISTORY defined by the word of Almighty GOD suddenly fall into a bottomless black hole of godless futility?

    AND IF, in 2023 C.E. humankind could look back toward 2023 B.C.E.

    Would the blurred timeline of History not continue to point toward Christ Jesus born into this common world of sin?

    The Common Era (C.E.) continues to count from the year of our Lord (Anno Domini) even as the world of the Common Era continues to use the birth of Jesus Christ as a blurred line Before the Common Era (B.C.E.) of speculative scientific history.

    Roger@TalkofJesus.com

    Doctrines of a Common Era christian

    Anyone who has read any of my doctrines previously proclaimed here on TalkofJESUS.com will realize the orthodoxy of my foundational teaching of ONE Truth from the HOLY BIBLE.

    I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it, and because no lie is of the truth.

    1st letter of the Apostle John 2:21, Legacy Standard Bible

    Do you really believe that? Can you affirm that ONLY Scripture Sola Scriptura is the inspired word of the Lord God? {a recall of a church strayed from Scripture - What doctrine do you preach?)

    Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ?

    This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son.

    1 John 2:22 LSB


    YOU know the TRUTH.

    Do some blur the LINE of God’s WRITTEN WORD preaching a redefined Jesus

    into an acceptable vocabulary of teaching

    in a COMMON ERA of corporate inclusiveness?

    You know that WE do! For WE preach a King Jesus rarely mentioning Christ or the Cross. 
    
    Certainly we lead with grace and subtle mention of sin. For our one-time only repentance of our past brings US privileges of the present AND a heaven of OUR creation. 
    chalkboard - written Sola Scriptura! Only Scripture

    Most pulpits NEVER mention the Prophets.

    Certainly we FAIL TO WARN of likely persecution of Christ followers and ESPECIALLY the REJECTION of the Church BY YOUR neighbors, friends and biological family into which you were born in this COMMON ERA.

    THEREFORE WE build our local church for the worldly of the Common Era

    — WE seek multitudes of post-Christian era believers who would be easily led.

    So WE the church invite them all into an enticing free love by a rebranded Jesus who saved every one of you simply by bringing you to church one Sunday.


    What is Truth?

    τί ἐστιν ἀλήθεια  
    ~A.D. 30 - WHAT IS TRUTH is the dismissive hand-washing question of Pilate at the trial of Christ Jesus, the SON OF GOD who he found NOT guilty YET sentenced to death ON A CROSS for our sins.

    From the sin of Adam in a distant century Before Christ until the dark day Pilate and the unrepentant sinful elect killed the sinless Son of Man on a Roman Cross —

    GOD IS!


    From the year of our Lord 30 until today in 2023 of the Common Era

    TRUTH is continually redefined by those who know that WE ARE SINNERS, yet deny the Sacrifice of Christ for our sins and REFUSE TO REPENT.

    Roger@TalkofJesus.com

    God is truth and anti-Christ’s will always question God-given TRUTH.

    Let the faithful follower of JESUS beware — for the CHURCH of the COMMON ERA has intentionally re-branded JESUS by answering questions of the tempter with an acceptable Gospel of what JESUS did NOT really say.


    The ‘EVILution’ of the post-Christian church

    Several years back I listened to a renowned English theologian preach against the most unlikely pseudo-science of atheist philosophers tirelessly chipping away at the lexicon of God’s long-accepted truth with Darwinist theory continually tweaking and altering the evolution of man and origin of the cosmos.

    Rather than using our Americanized pronunciation this British scholar appropriately pronounced the slow progressive rebellion of their humanist-god origin from sudden nothing into a severely-slow shaping of reality from amoebas and apes as “EVILUTION.”

    What could be more evil than turning from God and denying the glory of God within our sight and grasp — even for the briefest of mortal times until the inevitable DEATH of our flesh and JUDGMENT of our soul?

    One might think that 21st c. Christians of this pseudo-scientific Common Era need not be concerned with such things.

    Yet the NOT SO GOOD gospel of these last days suggests that the pulpits and teaching of many ‘christian‘ churches have embraced the ‘EVILution’ of the Common Era, forsaking mention of Christ and fleeing the refining fire of TRUTH given succinctly through Scripture.


    In these Last Days of the Common Era

    THEREFORE, my fellow follower of the Lord Jesus Christ,

    LET US take up THE BOOK once more as we ascend the crumbling wall of christian witness

    Recognizing the enemy at our gate

    and hearing the DOCTRINES of the enemy within

    urging US to open the gates of peace when there is no peace,

    PREACHING tolerance in the casual jeans

    of the COMMON ERA deception and rejection

    of JESUS CHRIST our ONLY Lord and Savior.


    a SERIES to weigh and measure God’s Truth

    COMMENT BELOW & TELL ME

    WHAT DOCTRINAL BLURRING OF THE LINE

    FROM the A.D. 1st-20th centuries

    TO this 21st century of the COMMON ERA

    WOULD YOU LIKE TO DEFINE?


    NEXT:
    
    Due to LABOR DAY in this 'one nation under God' once having been a STARTING line for POLITICIANS running for office,  
    I suppose that WE THE PEOPLE of Jesus and the US might want to begin there on MONDAY, God-willing.
    
    AND Following that, an INTRODUCTORY POST of this SERIES.
    
    Roger

  • What is the Chief End of Man? – Our #1 question

    What is the Chief End of Man? – Our #1 question

    Perhaps you know this first QUESTION (What is the chief end of man?) of the Westminster Divines, actually a shortened version of the original.

    1. What is the chief and highest end of man?

    I could ask the first question of the Westminster Catechism (teaching) a different way.

    What is the Highest Goal of Mankind?

    Mankind, of course, includes womankind, just as Scripture frequently includes women while referring to or instructing men.

    What is YOUR big GOAL?

    OR may I ask the chief question of every man or woman:

    WHY am I here?

    (You do have a purpose to your mortal life, don’t you?)

    If you don't know the ANSWER or have never considered the #1 Question of life, NOW might be the best time to carefully create your own answer to man's compelling question of purpose.

    Who do you live your life for?

    IF our chief end in life relates to a person, then we must ask:

    WHO is this VIP for whom WE live our lives, the one who truly deserves to be the principle person receiving the chief end of our goals of this brief mortal life?

    • Our Husband or Wife?
    • Our Father or Mother?
    • A Son or a Daughter (perhaps all of our Children)?
    • A beloved Friend or possibly a Mentor and Teacher worthy of our highest regard?
    • Someone from the past or an idol of these present times?

    WHO is the MOST important Person worthy of the chief end of your time?


    Answer to question #1

    Before I reveal the answer (if you don’t already know it) let me ask you this:

    Are YOU the ONLY important person in your life OR is someone else the MOST important person in your life?

    Didn’t God create you to relate to someone other than yourself?

    So then shouldn’t your goals in life — especially your ‘chief end’ — relate to the PERSON of highest importance to the most important outcome or final end of your mortal life?

    Consider one additional Person, an overlooked highest One most deserving to become the chief end of our earthly attention, love, praise — and yes, even worship.


    It is written from the Gospel:

    Now before the Feast of the Passover, Jesus knowing that His hour had come that He would depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.

    Gospel of John 13:1 Legacy Standard Bible

    Almost everyone knows the gospel of the One worthy of the chief end of mankind’s earthly purpose?

    “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

    Gospel of John 3:16 Legacy Standard Bible

    Jesus answered, “If I glorify Myself, My glory is nothing; it is My Father who glorifies Me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God’

    Gospel of John 8:54 LSB

    10:30 ἐγὼ καὶ ὁ πατὴρ ἕν ἐσμεν

    “I and the Father are one.”

    Good News of John 10:30 – testimony of JESUS that he the Son is of one essence with the One God our Father

    Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but through Me.

    Gospel of John 14:6 LSB

    .. He showed them both His hands and His side. The disciples then rejoiced when they saw the Lord. – John 20:20b

    .. He breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. – John 20:22b

    Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever.

    Answer: Question #1 of The Westminster Shorter Catechism
    ANSWER to Westminster Catechism QUESTION #1Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever.
    Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever.

    Does GOD deserve to be #1 on your VIP list?

    Whoever else you named as #1 on your personal VIP list, this most beloved person you view as your chief end of a purposeful life – they are NOT worthy of your worship.


    HOWEVER:

    IF you recognize the Eternal Person of God the Father —

    IF you recognize the Eternal Person of God the Son —

    IF you recognize the Eternal mysterious third Person of the TRINITY, God the Holy Spirit —

    THEN you have chosen the right PERSONS of GOD to glorify.


    Congratulations! You have won ETERNAL LIFE.

    Recognize that the Lord God is a PERSONAL God to those He has chosen.

    IF we will choose to place Him at the TOP of our VIP list, we secure His loving RELATIONSHIP for an ETERNAL LIFETIME!


    God is not a man like us, yet the Lord God IS One God of THREE PERSONS, a true teaching of the Bible called Trinity.

    I cannot address the deeper doctrine of the Trinity as part of this #1 answer to the teaching of a Biblical Christian Church, however you may read more about it here:

    What Is the Doctrine of the Trinity?

    .. only one God exists; there are three distinct Persons in the New Testament – the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; each of these three distinct Persons is called God. Therefore the three distinct Persons must be the one God.

    Don Stewart :: What Is the Doctrine of the Trinity?

    What IF you have the wrong ANSWER to Question #1?

    This may be a time to rethink the #1 priorities and goals of your daily and mortal life.

    Maybe God has NOT chosen you for eternal life

    and regrettably you accept the END of your mortal life

    — you are dust and to dust you will return — .. AND then the judgment!

    This is all supported by God’s written word of the Bible; but in addition to Scripture you could RETHINK your chief end through further study in the link provided earlier or by reading more about the DOCTRINES of God.


    • SELF is ALWAYS the wrong answer (as frequently WE see in others)
    • THINGS (like money or work or entertainment or vacations or clothes or cars or houses or politics or social clubs or sports or.. ANY other IDOL) will eventually prove to be WRONG ANSWERS.
    • Your mom or your dad (present in your life, but not far distant or long passed from this mortal life), MAY be your #1 living person worthy of #1 on your human list; BUT not in the place of God.
      • Most of us know the Biblical Commandment of God concerning the HONOR of Parents, yet honor of our father or mother is less than our chief end of giving glory to the God who created us all.
    • Your husband is not worthy of glory above God, though wives are commanded to RESPECT your husband.
      • And husbands, your wife is not worthy of glory above God since He commands you to LOVE her as Christ loves the Church.
      • These are God-ordained personal relationships between one man and one woman like no other, which God glorifies uniquely as ‘two become one,’ not unrelated to the Oneness of God and Christ with the Church.
    • Should ANY child, infant to adult, become the chief end of purpose in the life of a parent (especially a mom)?
      • ALL biological fathers and biological mothers ought to cherish the special bond of the conception and birth of their child which God has given into your care, nurture and instruction, but NO CHILD should receive your #1 glory above God. (There are no ‘single moms,’ or at least their wouldn’t be if in the lives of both lovers God we chief end of their relationship.)
      • Adopted children with parents having chosen them by a new relationship are also equal to our biological children in our love. Like the children of our birth parents, chosen children inherit God’s love through parents who have chosen them but not in the place of glorifying God first.
    • How about a FRIEND?
      • Do you value one friend above another? Are both of you not dependent on the God who knitted together the strong cord of all of your heart-held friendships? Glorify God with your friends and thank Him for each.
      • As for relationships of our past: have some become idols weighing our heart down to the darkness of the dust? You know God’s Commandment about idols, not all which are chiseled from wood or stone.

    Perhaps YOU CHOSE more than one of the PERSONS you glorify for the top of your list. (None deserve #1)


    ERASE your former WRONG answer[s] & REPENT.

    Glorify God

    Man’s chief and highest end is to glorify God, and fully to enjoy Him forever.

    Answer: Question #1 of The Westminster Larger Catechism

    Go ahead — repent and erase your former wrong answer.

    Glorify the Lord God – the only One who deserves our highest worship.

    The chief end of YOUR mortal life is to finish God’s work for His Glory.

    The chief end for those who love God, mere morals made in God’s image — men, women and children who’s chief relationship is the with Jesus Christ, Son of God — by His grace is eternal life.


    By the mercy of God the Father, foreordaining His Only Son to die for our sins — the end of a mortal Son of man, Jesus sacrificed for our sin on the Cross ERASES our mortal end.

    Christ’s resurrection of the body to eternal life assures us of God’s mercy, grace and love of those who love Him — those of us for whom He died.


    YOU and I have a #1 chief end:

    In heart and in deed WE must Glorify the One Person who has saved us to eternal life;

    consequently through Christ, our highest end will be with GOD to enjoy Him forever.

    Glorify the Lord God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, forever and ever. Amen.

    +

  • OMG! – What ‘god’ are they talking about?

    OMG! – What ‘god’ are they talking about?

    omg!

    What do you mean when you say God? Why do you say ‘oh my god?’ (OMG?)


    NOTE: OMG! This series has ended..

    BUT — YOU can ask ANY question in a COMMENT at the end of any post on Doctrine

    OR any other post on TalkofJESUS.com


    52 Topics for One-Sentence Questions"OMG" I don't know that answer.

    JANUARY 27, 2023 AD

    Today’s 1-Sentence

    QUESTION

    comes from Twitter

    My problem is, what is God? Define.

    posted Twitter: Jan 16 #questions

    Define God that’s the challenge.

    Make certain to CLICK LINK ABOVE for the ANSWER to Today's One-Sentence Question.

    Answer from Scriptures

    For they speak against thee wickedly,

    and thine enemies take thy name in vain.

    Psalm 139:20 KJV

    Hebrews 1, Genesis 1, Matthew 7

    Gospel of John

    Jesus said, “I and the Father are one.”

    “.. No one comes to the Father except through me.

    John 10:30, John 14:6b

    Answer [below] from Original talkofJESUS.com post

    from September 22, 2014 – Topic: God or god?
    Summer Reruns! with picture of sun wearing sunglasses
    Summer 2021 AD {Scriptural} Reruns
    • CLICK “…Continue reading ” above,
    • THEN Ask a question or comment at the end of this post
    • OR email Roger@talkofJesus.com with your reaction, questions & comments.

    Stay tuned from more Summer of 2021 Reruns from talkofJESUS.com

    (ditto: Summer 2022 – more to come)