May 30, 2008
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Things To Look for in a Church, 2: A People Rooted in Right Doctrine
About this post...
As I mentioned in my post introducing this series, I found it a struggle to include supporting doctrinal passages in many of these posts, and I do realize particularly in this post I am only scratching the surface here. I have difficulty keeping in mind detail and specifics (and more so as the years go by), so I found it a challenge to include all that I ought to include to rightly and accurately represent God's character and God's plan of salvation here. I pray that Holy Spirit would protect from error and misinterpretation and lead us into all His truth and He would use my efforts to bring forth fruit for His Kingdom and to help us more and more appreciate and marvel at God's work on our behalf and give the Lamb the glory due His Name.
Even though we as believers have been given the mind of Christ and the gift of His Holy Spirit to lead us into all truth including the truth about God, as I was reviewing this post I began to see how inadequate it is. How limited my view of the depth of my own sin is (how I keep finding ways to excuse it away, justify it, hide it, or run from it)–not seeing it as an abomination in the sight of God, not seeing it as a lover competing for my attention and devotion away from the Lover of my soul. Also how small a glimmer I have of the vastness of the great God of the universe and how limited our words can be to describe a God who is both transcendent and immanent, a God who dwells in the heavens but also became flesh, a God who continues to love us and bear with us for Christ's sake. A God who says He cannot give us up. Yet by God's grace, I do have that glimmer, so I pray He would continue to open the eyes of my heart. (I feel I am just like the man who only saw men as trees walking–I can relate more and more to Paul's words that at the present time we see through a glass darkly...). I pray Jesus would put His hands on my eyes (and the eyes of His Church) so we might see everything clearly. In the meantime along with Paul I desire to know Him better...Philippians 3:7-21, and look forward to that day we will see Him face to face!
I realize I am not doing justice here as I attempt to use words to describe "the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God"...but my prayer is to give Him all "honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen."
With the man born blind, I can say, "...one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see."
Or, along with David Crowder, "When our depravity meets His divinity it is a beautiful collision."
I say with Job, "Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer thee? I will lay mine hand upon my mouth," and, "For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me."
And with Paul, "This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief."
Amen and all glory, honor and praise to the holy and merciful God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who sent His Son down into the pit of death, darkness and damnation alongside us lift us up and out into His marvelous life, light and salvation. Hallelujah! What a Savior! What a Mighty God We Serve! Wondrous amazing sovereign Grace who saves wretches like you and me!
~Karen
A People Rooted in Right Doctrine about Man and the Trinitarian God.About Man: That man is born in sin and lost and dead in sins and transgressions, blinded by the God of this age with no ability to seek God or to reform our nature or save ourselves, and we are under guilt and condemnation and without hope apart from the saving power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. (See Ps. 51:5; Jer. 17:9; Mark 7:20-23; Eph. 2:1-3; 4:18; Rom. 1:21-32; 3:9b-20, 23; Rom. 5:12-14; Rom. 6:23a; II Cor. 4:4; John 3:18; James 2:10; Gal. 3:10).
About God: A balanced Biblical view of the Trinitarian God:
1) A holy and exalted, almighty, righteous God who is above all other gods. The most High God, the King of kings and Lord of lords. The Creator and sustainer of all things. A God will not share His glory with any other; that all things are created by Him, for Him, through Him and to Him, including the Church herself. He is the only God worthy to receive all glory, honor and power. (See Exodus 6:2-8; 15:11; Psalms 47 and 113; Psalm 71:19; Isaiah 6:3; 42:8; 43:15; Heb. 11:3; Romans 11:36; Col. 1:16-18; Rev. 4-5.)
2) A holy and perfect God, the just Judge, a God of truth, righteousness and justice who cannot tolerate sin and will not allow sin to go unpunished; a God who is a jealous God and will not let His people linger and languish in sin; He does not give His grace so it will be received in vain. (See Exodus 20:5; 34:13; Rom. 1:18-2:20; Rom. 5:12-14, 18; Rom. 8:8; II Cor. 5; Rom. 3:23; Gal. 3:10-14; Heb. 12:3-11; II Cor. 6:1-9:1; I Peter 1:15-16; 4:17; Rev. 3:19.)
3) A gracious, kind, merciful, longsuffering, loving Father who loved the world so much that He sent His only begotten Son into the world that through Him the world might be saved; a God who is both Just and the Justifier of those who have faith in Jesus. The Son willingly chose to leave His heavenly home to become flesh through the virgin birth, lived a perfect life and then was crucified on the cross and died a sinner's death in our place. God provided the blood sacrifice needed for the remission of sin and He Himself is the sufficient sacrifice for our sin--God the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God–He took the punishment we deserved by becoming sin for us, that our guilt might be removed and we might be called the righteousness of God. That salvation is the free gift of God by grace through faith and all who receive Him become children of God. Man can only come to the Father through Christ for there is no other name under heaven by which we can be saved and there is one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus. Christ offered one sacrifice for sin once for all because where there is remission of sins there are no more offerings for sin. God us that He no longer remembers our sins and iniquities. so that God no longer remembers Christ was raised from the dead, ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. (See Rom. 2:4; Titus 2:11; Rom. 1:16-17; Rom. 6:23b; Is. 52:12-53:12; John 1:12-13; 3:16; 6:44; 14:6; Acts 4:12; 10:43; I Tim. 2:5-6 ; Col. 1:13-23; Rom. 3:21-26; Rom. 5:6-11, 15-21; II Cor. 5:18-21; Gal. 3:13-14; Eph. 2:8-9; Phil. 2:4-11; the entire book of Hebrews {I could attempt to list various passages, but there would be way too many!}; I Peter 2:14, 3:18; Psalm 103.)
4) A powerful, mighty God who conquered sin and death by rising from the grave. A God who not only birthed us into His Kingdom by His Holy Spirit but also continues to conform us into the image of Christ by graciously giving us all things necessary for godliness, by regenerating and renewing us by His resurrection power through the indwelling Holy Spirit so we might live holy and blameless lives before Him and be witnesses for Him. And the ascended Christ continues to intercede for us at the Father's right hand so we might be saved to the uttermost. (See John 1:12-13, 3:5-8; Ezek. 36:16-37; Jer. 31:31-34; Heb. 8:7-13; Rom. 5:6-8:32; Rom. 8:12-30; Col. 2:6-10; I Cor. 15:1-19; 50-58; II Cor. 5:14-17; Heb. 7:1-8:2; 8:10; 9:14; 10:14; II Peter 1:2-4; Eph. 3:20; Gal. 5:16-26; Col. 1:11; John 14:16; 16:7; 5; Acts 1:8.)
5) A God who will come again to judge the living and the dead and set up His everlasting Kingdom, at which time those in Christ will be raised to eternal glory but those outside Christ will be sent to eternal damnation, to dwell forever away from the presence of God. (Gen. 18:25; II Tim. 4:1, 8; I Thes. 1:9-10; Matt. 10:28; II John 3:18-21; Rom. 1:18-32; 8:30; I Peter 1:3-13; Heb. 9:27-28, 10:37-39; Rev. 14:10b-12; Rev. 20:10-15; I Cor. 15:20-58.)
You can read my entire list of "Things To Look for in a Church" here.
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