Talk of JESUS .com

Tag: corinthians

  • Does YOUR church preach Christ Jesus?

    Does YOUR church preach Christ Jesus?

    .. but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block, and to Gentiles foolishness..

    1 Corinthians 1:23
    Times of Difficulty – 5
    Times of Difficulty – from 9/11/2017

    Remembering the souls of the victims of 9/11/2001.

    church building

    An unbeliever walks into your church and what do they seek?

    • Good teaching for their kids?
    • Perhaps a trendy King opening heaven’s wide gate?

    Does your Shepherd preach Christ Jesus?

    The Apostles did!

    They preached the Lord Jesus Christ faithfully, even though the first century church faced some of the same challenges we do.

    Peter – Preaching Christ to believers in Sodom

    Simeon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ:

    To those who have received a faith equal to ours through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ.

    2 Peter 1:1 CSB

    Simon Peter, who had denied Christ three times during the Lord’s trial but was then restored by Jesus after the resurrection, introduces himself as a servant [bond-servant] and Apostle of Jesus Christ. He speaks of Jesus in the present tense, for Christ has shown Himself to many alive and risen from death!

    Peter is a bond-servant of the Living God in the Person of Christ Jesus. And the Apostle writes not to all, but to those chosen by God to receive ‘the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ.’

    2 May grace and peace be multiplied to you through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.

    Peter builds up believers in their faith, assuring them:

    18 We ourselves heard this voice when it came from heaven while we were with him on the holy mountain.

    THE JUDGMENT OF FALSE TEACHERS

    The Apostle then cautions the church of false teaching.

    YES, even from the first days of Christ’s Church, built on a foundation of His Apostles, some sought to destroy the Good News of the Lord’s resurrection and restoration of sinners by distorting the way, the truth and the life of Christ Jesus our Lord.

    Peter warns:

    There were indeed false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you.

    They will bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, and will bring swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their depraved ways, and the way of truth will be maligned because of them.

    2 Peter 2:1-2 CSB

    The King James Version then pointedly follows Peter’s warning translated thusly:

    And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.

    2 Peter 2:3 KJV

    Thou Shalt Not Covet. Do you remember the Commandment?

    • greedy desire to have more, covetousness, avarice

    These false teachers with insincere words make merchandise of those who would believe Christ Jesus.

    Then the Apostle Peter uses the strongest language of their inevitable demise:

    and their damnation slumbereth not.

    The Lord Jesus had said (using the same Greek word for damnation):

    Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, G684 and many there be which go in thereat:

    Matthew 7:13 KJV – Strong’s G684 (damnation)

    Christ then concluded this caution by stating:

    Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

    Matthew 7:14 KJV

    FEW find the strait gate and the narrow way leading to eternal life. FALSE teachers WILL NOT teach that, though our Lord Christ Jesus preached this challenging truth.

    Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

    Matthew 7:15

    Returning to Peter’s analogy of Sodom

    The Apostle acknowledges the challenges of believers living in a world of sin and disbelief.

    Peter preaches that God cast angels down to hell and did not spare ANY in a sinful world, except Noah and his family.

    For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of darkness, held for judgment; and did not spare the ancient world, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when He brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; and if He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction by reducing them to ashes, having made them an example of what is coming for the ungodly..

    2 Peter 2:4-6 NASB Bolded emphasis mine. – RH

    The Apostle of the Lord Jesus then encourages the church to be faithful, as were Noah and Lot.

    So what is the Apostle’s encouragement to believers who persevere in their own difficult challenges of the first century? (Or, I might add, equally applied for the believer of this 21st century?)

    .. and if He rescued righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the perverted conduct of unscrupulous people..

    .. then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from a trial, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment, and especially those who indulge the flesh in its corrupt passion, and despise authority.

    2 Peter 2:7, 9a NASB20 Bolded emphasis mine. – RH

    A (parenthetical) pain of the righteous

    We are righteous in Christ Jesus, beloved believer, (though we were condemned as sinners).

    • Did you notice my omission of verse (8) above from Peter’s encouragement?

    Here the Apostle shows our empathy for Lot as he lived in Sodom.

    (for by what he saw and heard that righteous man, while living among them, felt his righteous soul tormented day after day by their lawless deeds)

    2 Peter 2:8 NASB20 – speaking of Lot living in Sodom before its destruction by the LORD
    • Is the city of your church a Sodom of sorts?
    • (Of course it is.) Here we feel the same compassion for Lot which Peter points out.

    Further Description of False Teachers

    For your own instruction you may want to read some characteristics of false teachers who will not preach Christ Jesus crucified and risen. READ the rest of the Apostle Peter’s second letter {below}.

    2 Peter 2-3

    Then consider if YOUR church, your Bible study, your ‘church group,’ and the children’s ministry of YOUR church all preach Christ Jesus.

    The Lord Jesus’ Apostle, Simon Peter closes his letter to the church with this:

    17 Therefore, dear friends, since you know this in advance, be on your guard, so that you are not led away by the error of lawless people and fall from your own stable position.

    But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

    To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity.

    Second Letter of the Apostle Peter to the Church 3:18 CSB

    Paul – Peaching Christ to Believers in Sodom

    Paul, Apostle to the gentiles, though a rabbinically trained Jew of high learning, Paulos of Tarseus {his Greek name}, after encountering Christ Jesus personally on a road to Damascus, also wrote to the Church with encouragement and cautions against false teachers.

    In an intellectual environment of Athens where Paul could well have debated hours on end with its idolatrous and worldly philosophers and political leaders, this Apostle to the gentiles chose to defend Jesus Christ our risen Lord as ‘the unknown god.’

    • IS CHRIST JESUS the unknown god in YOUR city?
    • Who do you preach in your church?
    • Do you preach Christ OR some unknown ‘Jesus‘?

    We glance back at scenes of the Son of Man, Christ Jesus, walking with Peter and the Twelve throughout all of Galilee, Samaria, Judea and other places – bringing the Good News to all who would believe.

    Many of us who grew up in the instruction of a faithful church heard stories of evangelists like John Wesley and others riding further distances into unknown towns on horseback, preaching Christ Jesus and planting churches. These faithful preachers of Christ followed a model of the Apostle Paul of the first century Church.

    Some even sailed into new lands as did Paul.

    So whether in Athens, Corinth, Rome, London, New York, Washington DC — even Cincinnati or the ‘sin city’ where you reside:

    We see Sodom in the mirror of our neighborhood, don’t we?

    Dubai buildings lit at night

    Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates known for luxury shopping, ultramodern architecture and a lively nightlife scene. Burj Khalifa, an 830m-tall tower, dominates the skyscraper-filled skyline.

    Source: Google Maps – Photo – Pexels.com

    Acts 17:

    16 Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry.

    .. The God who made the world and everything in it —he is Lord of heaven and earth—does not live in shrines made by hands. Neither is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives everyone life and breath and all things..

    So having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now proclaiming to mankind that all people everywhere are to repent, because He has set a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all people by raising Him from the dead.”

    Acts 17:30-31 NASB

    The Apostle preaches to the idolaters of their ignorance of the Living God! Paul then preaches God’s mercy in overlooking their past sins. And the Apostle to the gentiles warns:

    God is now proclaiming to mankind that all people everywhere are to repent, because He has set a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all people by raising Him from the dead.”

    This ‘unknown god’ to those on Mars Hill who sought Paul’s teachings is the Lord Jesus Christ.

    Does your church preach THAT?

    So we hear Paul preach Christ crucified and risen from city to city.

    Those young saints of the first century Church did repent and believe in the Lord. They often suffered and frequently died for their faith — a true faith — in the One God and risen Lord Jesus Christ — NOT an idolatrous faith in a god of war (Mars), a temple prostitute priestess, or a false prophet promising sinful bliss.

    Paul – Writing to the saints in Sodom

    Again, I direct our look back at Scripture to understand the heart of those preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

    (Oh, how our Lord was so grieved over an unrepentant Jerusalem and all the other cities which witnessed the many proofs (signs and miracles) of the Son of Man, the Messiah Jesus.)

    As the Apostle to the gentiles sustains the saints of The Way, Paul writes to believers in cities such as Corinth.

    (Of course Athens and Rome were NOT the only sin cities of Paul’s missionary journeys.) The manifest sin of these cities tormented Paul’s heart as such unrighteous men had troubled Noah and Lot and in the Apostles’ time, Christ Jesus.

    The city of Corinth was prominent in the first century. It is located in Greece on an isthmus between the Aegean and Ionian Seas, which guaranteed its importance both militarily and commercially. Corinth was the capital of the Roman province Achaia. It was a prosperous city but also known for its immorality. Because of Corinth’s sordid reputation, a new Greek word was coined, korinthiazomai, which meant “to live immorally like a Corinthian.”

    https://www.gotquestions.org/church-in-Corinth.html

    Paulos, To the ekklēsia theos (church of God) at Korinthos,

    • to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus,
    • saints by calling,
    • with all who in every place
    • call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours:

    Do you have ANY question to whom Paul writes?

    TO the saints of the church of God, separated TO GOD in Christ Jesus — those brothers and sisters of the Church who Name (also as He IS for us) Jesus Christ Lord.

    • (It is not an earthly name; i.e. Caesar, King, Governor, Prefect, Premier, President, Emperor, Iman or Pope.)

    χάρις ὑμῖν καὶ εἰρήνη ἀπὸ θεοῦ πατρὸς ἡμῶν καὶ κυρίου Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ

    Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

    1 Corinthians 1:3
    • The Apostle Paul speaks of Jesus by Name forty-three [43] times in his two letters to the Corinthians.
    • He calls our Savior Jesus Christ (meaning Yeshua the Messiah to Jews) seventeen [17] times AND
      • Christ Jesus an additional nine [9] times,
      • once adding ‘the Son of God, Christ Jesus, who was preached among you by us..’
    • Paul’s frequent reference to our Master (and his, as a ‘bond-servant’) is Lord Jesus Christ [49 times in 15 verses] & specifically eight times in 1 Corinthians, as well as four times in 2 Corinthians.
    • The Apostle further makes some of his most pointed arguments for our Lord Jesus using His Messianic title in Greek: Christ.
    • The Church will always hear Paul preach Christ Jesus. The Apostle always serves our Lord Jesus testifying to the truth of His Gospel.

    1 Corinthians 15:

    NASB; KJV; CSB; ΠΡΟΣ ΚΟΡΙΝΘΙΟΥΣ Α΄ 15
SBL Greek New Testament

    12 Now if Christ is preached, that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?

    Paul frequently warns of the false teachers who preach this heresy boldly or in the guise of interpreting ‘God’s word.’

    .. no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised; 14 and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain, your faith also is in vain.

    “IF,’ Paul preaches — IF these things are true, THEN the Gospel of Jesus Christ is false. YET some false ‘christian’ denominations preach and teach this heresy.

    Paul says in effect, “You may as well go home and stop calling your self a ‘christian’ or a ‘believer.’

    .. 16 For if the dead are not raised, then not even Christ has been raised; 17 and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins.

    You know what some preach? No resurrection to the judgment or condemnation to hell. Sounds nice, doesn’t it?

    But IF God is good and just, how can He just save all to heaven (if indeed life beyond the grave is even possible)?

    Many are the heresies which have crept into ‘christian’ thinking over the millennia of these last days.

    What about all those funerals?

    18 Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 

    19 If we have hoped in Christ only in this life, we are of all people most to be pitied.

    Are we celebrating (a last time) the lives of the dead? OR

    Do our final days and death proclaim Christ?

    But the fact is, Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep..

    1 Corinthians 15:20 NASB

    Do YOU preach Christ?

    & Does your church teach Christ Jesus?

    Paul has much more to say about the Lord Jesus Christ, as do all the Apostles.

    IF you are not fully convinced, dear brother or sister in Christ, READ more of the letters to the Corinthians.

    OR even HEAR 1 Corinthians 15 read from Paul’s letter.

    2 Corinthians 4:

    Aerial view of New York City, in which the World Trade Center Twin Towers is prominent.

    And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing,

    in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they will not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

    For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

    2 Corinthians 4:6 NASB20

    .. for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal. For we know that if our earthly tent which is our house is torn down,

    we have a building from God, a house not made by hands, eternal in the heavens.

    2 Corinthians 4:18b-5:1 NASB20

    Second Coming of CHRIST Foretold

    The Gospel of Jesus Christ recorded by Luke

    “And just as it happened in the days of Noah, so will it also be in the days of the Son of Man..

    “It was the same as happened in the days of Lot..

    but on the day that Lot left Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone [burning sulfur] from heaven and destroyed them all.

    “It will be just the same on the day that the Son of Man is revealed [apokalyptō].

    Luke 17:29 NASB20 – Jesus answering as to when the kingdom of God was coming

    He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

    from the Apocalypses [Revelation] of Jesus Christ to the Apostle John 22:20 KJV

  • Creeds, Catechism, Confessions & Christ – What does your church teach?

    Creeds, Catechism, Confessions & Christ – What does your church teach?

    Credo, meaning, “I believe.” 

    Catechism – Teaching Church Doctrine summarized by Questions & Answers, formal teaching of Doctrines to members of a Church utilizing verbal recitation of questions and answers.

    Do you really believe that? doctrine - a line in the sand [picture of Jesus kneeling down to draw a line with his finger

    Creed – I believe this.. Confession of Faith – We (the church) believe this.. & Catechism – Our church teaches these Doctrines: 1.. 2.. 3.. etc.

    Last week in our series on Doctrine I defined and shared a brief look at Creeds. We discovered that a Creed is simply a brief statement of what you (supposedly) believe. And while some churches ritually repeat these as part of worship, every church has an underlying defined set of beliefs preached to the masses and taught to the uninitiated.

    Creeds, Catechisms, Confessions & Christ – What do you believe?
    Confession that Jesus is κύριος – Lord would have been a first Creed of the Way (Christians).

    What does your church believe?

    After glancing at a few Creeds and Confessions of faith do you now know more about what you believe and what your church believes and preaches?

    New believers and children are far more likely to have heard the catechism of your church than a casual weekly ‘worshiper’ gathering for its music and preaching. YES, every church has a catechism (whether veiled, indoctrinated or responsibly taught to its members).

    You likely have a few questions of your own (& please do not hesitate to share your question via a comment to this post).

    Christian Catechism 100

    Allow me to ask you just a few questions you might have heard and can answer from a catechism of your church.

    Some will recognize that a 100 series in teaching addresses pre-requisite knowledge; therefore your answers may come more readily to these selective catechism questions than from a 'Catechism 803'theology course. 

Note that your children may be taught more than these in their second or third year of 'Sunday School' or a Christian Academy you have chosen for them in lieu of a 'public' school indoctrinating ALL with world-class 'education.'

    Do YOU know the answers to your children’s’ catechism questions?

    1. What is the Trinity?
    2. Who is the Holy Spirit?
    3. What is the Law of God and what does it require?
    4. What is sin?
    5. What is idolatry?
    6. What happens when we die?
    7. Will all be saved to eternal life?
    8. Who is Christ?
    9. What is the resurrection?
    10. How does Christ redeem me from sin?

    Bonus Question: What makes the Bible Holy?

    BIBLE DOCTRINE BRING THEOLOGY TO LIFE

    What do YOU believe?

    Catechism? You get the idea from these sample questions above.

    Proverbs 22:6

    Catechism is teaching.

    Even when he grows older he will not abandon it.

    Preaching and Teaching

    Christians hold to and teach a reasoned faith.

    Through our study of the Holy Bible, Christians Creeds and Confessions of Faith we grow in our confidence in the Lord God and Jesus Christ, and by the Holy Spirit we continue in the confidence of our salvation God has predestined for those faithful followers of Christ Jesus.

    But before we look at Catechisms, let’s briefly define preaching and teaching, comparing their distinct yet parallel roles in the lives of the Church.

    Preaching

    The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim H7121 liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;

    To proclaim H7121 the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;

    KJV Strong’s H7121 matches the Hebrew קָרָא (qārā’). “preach*” AND “H7121“ Yeshaiya (Isaiah) 61:1-2 [WLC link]

    Hebrew definition – to call, call out, recite, read, cry out, proclaim;

    • preach, (make) proclaim(-ation), pronounce, publish, read, renowned, say.
    • from קָרָא qârâʼ, kaw-raw’; a primitive root (rather identical with H7122 through the idea of accosting a person (metaphor); to call out to 

    but we preach G2784 Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block, and to Gentiles foolishness,

    Strong’s G2784 – κηρύσσω kērýssō, kay-roos’-so; of uncertain affinity; to herald (as a public crier), especially divine truth (the gospel):—preacher(-er), proclaim, publish. – 1 Corinthians 1:20 NASB20
    • Greek definition used of the public proclamation of the gospel and matters pertaining to it, made by John the Baptist, by Jesus, by the apostles and other Christian teachers

    Teaching

    Now note from this New Testament letter of Paul to Timothy (written in Greek) some particular similarities and differences between preachers and teachers. (We will not dig into the many doctrines covered in these few verses.)

    2 Timothy

    .. For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline. Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me His prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God, who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was granted to us in Christ Jesus from all eternity, but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel,

    for which I was appointed a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher.

    2 Timothy 1:11 NASB20
    • κῆρυξ – a preacher – a herald, i.e. of divine truth (especially of the gospel):—preacher.
    • ἀπόστολος – an apostle – a delegate, messenger, one sent forth with orders
    • διδάσκαλος – a teacher – in the NT one who teaches concerning the things of God, and the duties of man
      • From διδάσκω (G1321) – .. to hold discourse with others in order to instruct them, to impart instruction,
        • instill doctrine into one.. to explain or expound a thing, to teach one something

    Catechism & Teaching Doctrine

    The Creeds, Catechisms and Confessions are useful study tools to assist in understanding the Scriptures and in teaching Bible studies to others. These documents help to reaffirm the tenants of the traditional, historic Christian faith.

    BlueLetterBible.org – source for most definitions of this post – RH

    Why Catechisms MUST reflect Biblical Authority ABOVE all Church authority

    The following article and resource originally ran on July 8, 2018. A few weeks later, Pope Francis announced a redaction of the 1992 Catechism of the Catholic Church..

    RESOURCE: Traditional Catholic Catechisms [Updated]

    Catechisms included here reflect the doctrines and teachings of traditional Christian Protestant Denominations. – RH

    Luther’s Small Catechism of 1529

    Luther wrote his little catechism for parents to instruct their children in the faith just as he wrote his larger catechism as remedial instruction for pastors. Catechism in its Latin form means “book of instruction.”

    From its Greek roots, catechism means literally “sounding down in the ears” or, more pointedly, “indoctrination” in the Christian faith.

    source: St Matthew’s Evangelical Lutheran Church

    For Martin Luther, basic catechesis (doctrinal instruction) in the Christian faith refers to teaching children (and their parents!) the Ten Commandments, the Apostles’ Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, and the biblical basis for Baptism, Eucharist, and Confession.

    Although the complete Catechisms may be read on secure links, ONLY a few EXAMPLES of KEY DOCTRINAL TEACHING can be included in this brief post. - RH

    Heidelberg Catechism of 1563

    • 128 questions & answers; later,129 questions and answers were divided into 52 “Lord’s Days” with a view to the Catechism’s being explained in one of the services on the Lord’s Day.

    Here is the typical Q & A format with Scriptural references supporting the Authority of each answer:

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

    PAUSE: IF you yourself have never heard this or considered this life and death question, 
NOW might be a good time to pray for an answer (prior to reading the Scripturally supported ANSWER below). - RH
    Answer:

    That I with body and soul, both in life and death,a am not my own,b but belong unto my faithful Saviour Jesus Christ;c who, with his precious blood, has fully satisfied for all my sins,d and delivered me from all the power of the devil;e and so preserves mef that without the will of my heavenly Father, not a hair can fall from my head;g yea, that all things must be subservient to my salvation,h and therefore, by his Holy Spirit, He also assures me of eternal life,i and makes me sincerely willing and ready, henceforth, to live unto him.j

    Answer to Question 1 of the Heidelberg Catechism – a-j notes to Scriptural references
    Scripture References:

    (a) Rom 14:7-8 (b) 1Co 6:19 (c) 1Co 3:23; Tts 2:14 (d) 1Pe 1:18-19; 1Jo 1:7; 1Jo 2:2; 1Jo 2:12 (e) Hbr 2:14; 1Jo 3:8; Jhn 8:34-36 (f) Jhn 6:39; Jhn 10:28; 2Th 3:3; 1Pe 1:5 (g) Mat 10:29-31; Luk 21:18 (h) Rom 8:28 (i) 2Co 1:20-22; 2Co 5:5; Eph 1:13-14; Rom 8:16; 1Jo 3:3 (j) Rom 8:14; 1Jo 3:3

    Heidelberg Catechism of 1563: The First Part – Of the Misery of Man

    Here is ANSWER to my combined QUESTION #3 above from Questions 3 & 4.

    Trinity and True Faith

    Let’s cut to the chase (so to speak). Scripture WARNS of false preaching and false teachers in the last days.

    Again, from 2 Timothy 3:1-5 NLT

    You should know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times. For people will love only themselves and their money.

    • They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful.
    • They will consider nothing sacred.
    • They will be unloving and unforgiving;
    • they will slander others and have no self-control.
    • They will be cruel and hate what is good.
    • They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God.
    • They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly.

    Stay away from people like that!

    Heidelberg Catechism of 1563: The Second Part – Of Man’s Deliverance

    Trinity and the true faith of Scripture as expressed in Creeds caution the church (or the saints {small ‘s’} in these life and death matters. For these are matters concerning ETERNAL LIFE with the Lord or the God-given punishment of Hell and Death deserved by ALL.

    • Question 12: Answer: God will have his justice satisfied: and therefore we must make this full satisfaction, either by ourselves, or by another.
    • Question 16. Why must he be very man, and also perfectly righteous?
    • Question 17. Why must he in one person be also very God?

    Here (among other doctrines) is where false teachers DENY TRINITY & refuse to teach the Very Truth of Scripture.

    If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.”

    Gospel of John 10: Question of the Jews as Jesus was walking in the temple area, in the portico of Solomon.

    “I and the Father are one.”

    The Word of Jesus Christ from the Gospel of John
    • Question 22. What is then necessary for a christian to believe?
    • Answer: All things promised us in the gospel,a which the articles of our catholic undoubted christian faith briefly teach us.
    • References: (a) Jhn 20:31; Mat 28:19; Mar 1:15

    What follows as the answer to Question 23 is THE APOSTLES CREED.

    1. I believe in God the Father, Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth:
    2. And in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord:
    3. Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary:

    TRINITY, from the beginning – Father, begotten Son and Holy Ghost [or Holy Spirit].

    • Question 25. Since there is but one only divine essence,(a) why speakest thou of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost?
    • Answer: Because God has so revealed himself in his word,(b) that these three distinct persons are the one only true and eternal God.
    • References:
      • (a) Deu 6:4; Eph 4:6; Isa 44:6; Isa 45:5; 1Co 8:4; 1Co 8:6
      • (b) Isa 61:1; Luk 4:18; Gen 1:2; Gen 1:3; Psa 33:6; Isa 48:16; Psa 110:1; Mat 3:16; Mat 3:17; Mat 28:19; 1Jo 5:7; Isa 6:1; Isa 6:3; Jhn 14:26; John 15:26; 2Co 13:13; Gal 4:6; Eph 2:18; Tts 3:5; Tts 3:6

    Heidelberg Catechism of 1563: The Second Part – Of God the Son

    Question 29. Why is the Son of God called “Jesus”, that is a Saviour?

    Answer: Because he saveth us, and delivereth us from our sins;(a) and likewise, because we ought not to seek, neither can find salvation in any other.(b)

    References: (a) Mat 1:21; Hbr 7:24-25 (b) Act 4:12; Jhn 15:4-5; 1Ti 2:5; Isa 43:11; 1Jo 5:11

    Now the birth of Jesus the [From Gr Christos, which means Messiah (Heb for Anointed One)] Messiah was as follows: .. an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph.. that which has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. “She will give birth to a Son; and you shall name Him Jesus, for He himself will save His people from their sins.”

    The Gospel of Matthew excerpt from 1:18a,20b,d,v.21

    This section of the Heidelberg Catechism of the 16th century asks students of true faith a question still relevant to you, to me and to every 21st century Christian:

    (I'll paraphrase question 32 to update the translation from German into the King's English used in the KJV.)
[Time to PAUSE & think through your reasoned Christian faith before you answer the KEY QUESTION below.]
    • Do YOU, my 21st century brother (or sister) in Christ have an answer of your Christian witness?
    • Is the Doctrine (teaching or catechism) from which you learned your answer based on Holy Scripture?

    Why are you called a Christian?

    References: (a) Act 11:26

    Because I am a member of Christ by faith;

    References: (b) 1Co 6:15

    therefore I share in His anointing

    References: (c) 1Jo 2:27; Act 2:17

    so that I may confess Jesus’ name

    References: (d) Mat 10:32; Rom 10:10; Mar 8:38

    and offer myself a living sacrifice of thankfulness to him.

    References: (e) Rom 12:1; 1Pe 2:5; 1Pe 2:9; Rev 5:8; Rev 5:10; Rev 1:6

    As a Christian with a free and good conscience I may fight against sin and Satan in this life;

    References: (f) 1Pe 2:11 Rom 6:12-13; Gal 5:16-17; Eph 6:11; 1Ti 1:18-19

    and after this mortal life, Christ may choose me to reign with him eternally, over all creatures.

    References: (g) 2Ti 2:12; Mat 24:34

*Complete Scripture will open in BlueLetterBible.org as you read each Question, Answer & Reference. I recommend it for your further prayer and study. RH

    The statement is trustworthy:
    For if we died with Him, we will also live with Him;

    If we endure, we will also reign with Him;
    If we will deny Him, He will also deny us;

    2 Timothy 2:11-12 NASB20
    child reading Holy Bible - God's Personal Love

    Are you a Christian?

    Do you believe the teaching of the Holy Bible and the Word of God?

    Let the one who does wrong still do wrong, and the one who is filthy still be filthy;

    and let the one who is righteous still practice righteousness, and the one who is holy still keep himself holy.”

    “Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to reward each one as his work deserves.

    I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”

    The Revelation of Jesus Christ to the Apostle John 22:11-13 NASB

    “It is written in the Prophets: ‘AND THEY SHALL ALL BE TAUGHT OF GOD.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father, comes to Me.

    John 6:45 NASB – The Words and Good News of Jesus Christ
    Doctrine - a line in the sand Creeds, Catechisms, Confessions & Christ – What do you believe?
    What does your church teach?

    “Truly, truly, I say to you, the one who believes has eternal life.

    John 6:47 – The Word of the Lord
    AFFIRM this DOCTRINE
    DENY this DOCTRINE
  • Blessed are those who may enter by the gates

    Blessed are those who may enter by the gates

    photo sunset over calm purple waters -" To the one who conquers, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.

    Blessed are those who wash their robes,

    so that they will have the right to the tree of life, and may enter the city by the gates.

    [For] Outside are the dogs, the sorcerers, the sexually immoral persons, the murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying..

    Revelation of Jesus Christ to John 22:14-15 NASB20

    Doxology – Blessed are YOU, LORD God!

    blessed

    Beatitude, we think; ‘Blessed are you when..’

    and Jesus personally embraces the crowds in His sermon on the mount. Doxology, however, is when we bless God.

    Praise God from whom all blessing flow.

    In Christ Jesus doxology becomes the sweet water of God’s love flowing towards us from our Father in heaven and the tree of eternal life.

    Throughout the Bible faithful men praise the LORD, ‘Blessed are you, O Lord’ and the LORD also blessed them of His chosen ones.

    Scriptures

    I will not quote all Books from both the Old and New Testaments. So here I will mention just a few favorite quotes. Perhaps my favorite is the warm personal greeting of Paul and Timothy to Corinth and their praise of God.

    2 Samuel 6:18

    Psalm 34:8

    Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good!
    Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!

    2 Corinthians 1

    Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Timothy, To the church of God which is at Corinth with all the saints who are throughout Achaia:

    2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

    Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

    Original talkofJESUS.com Post

    Blessed be God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ
    From November 27, 2013 – Topic: Doxology
    Summer Reruns! with picture of sun wearing sunglasses
    Summer 2021 AD {Scriptural} Reruns
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