Category: Doctrinal Instruction

About the Trinity and God the Father (Christian Beliefs)

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The Apostles’ Creed

I believe in God the Father almighty, Maker of heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ his only begotten Son, our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; the third day he rose from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sits on the right hand of God the Father almighty; from where he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit; the holy catholic Church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the dead and in everlasting life. Amen

  1. Are there more Gods than One?

There is only one true and living God, who exists in three Persons; the Father, Son and Holy Spirit; and these three are one God, sharing the same substance, equal in power and glory.   Continue reading “About the Trinity and God the Father (Christian Beliefs)” →

About the Son of God (Christian Beliefs)

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  1. Who is the Redeemer of God’s chosen people?

The only Redeemer of God’s chosen people is the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal and living Word of God, who became man and who continues to be God and man in two distinct natures and one Person forever; He is the Son of God.

Continue reading “About the Son of God (Christian Beliefs)” →

About the Spirit of God (Christian Beliefs)

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  1. What does the Holy Spirit do in those who repent and believe?

The Holy Spirit indwells all those who through enabling grace repent of their sins and trust in Christ, and by so doing transforms them into new creatures, giving them a firm desire to love and obey God. Continue reading “About the Spirit of God (Christian Beliefs)” →

About the Church and Salvation (Christian Beliefs)

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  1. Who is God’s holy and chosen people?

The Church of Jesus Christ is God’s chosen people; the Church is made up of all true Christians. Continue reading “About the Church and Salvation (Christian Beliefs)” →

Church Membership (New Convert’s Series – Lesson 3)

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Link to Lesson 1

  1. The Local Church:

God’s chosen people, the Church, is made up of all true Christians everywhere, but is manifested in local churches. Until we are in fellowship with a local church we are not truly in fellowship with the universal Church.

We are disciples of Christ. But since Christ went back to heaven He disciples us by His Holy Spirit through His Body the Church. We cannot receive this discipleship without connection to a local church. So local church membership is vital to our walk with Christ. Continue reading “Church Membership (New Convert’s Series – Lesson 3)” →

Elementary Doctrinal Instruction (Ages 5-12)

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In the Great Commission we are commanded to make disciples by baptizing people in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and then teaching them to obey all that Christ commanded (Mat. 28:18-20). This gives us what seems to be our curriculum for making disciples. First we must indoctrinate them into the Christian faith, summed up in the Trinitarian formula, “Father, Son and Holy Spirit.” Throughout the centuries this has been done by teaching children and those who desire to be baptized the content of the Early Church’s “Rule of Faith.” One of the later versions of this Rule has come down to us in the Apostles’ Creed. After Baptism our curriculum becomes the commands of Jesus Christ. We are called not to just make Christian believers, but obedient Christian disciples. We must teach people to obey all that Jesus commanded. Continue reading “Elementary Doctrinal Instruction (Ages 5-12)” →

Understanding Sin (Sanctification Series #1)

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Understanding Sin

Matthew 1:21

She will give birth to a son, and you are to name Him Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.

In these lessons we want to discuss the process of sanctification by which believers are transformed day by day into the image of God’s Son. We will discuss the theological understanding of sanctification and the practical outworking of sanctification in the life of the disciple. And in closing we will discuss how to lead others as they “walk out their salvation.” Our goal is to understand the process by which God transforms a life so that we can be effective co-laborers with Him in this process. Continue reading “Understanding Sin (Sanctification Series #1)” →

Understanding Sanctification (Sanctification Series #2)

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Sanctification or Sanctification

In one sense justification is sanctification. When Christ pardons our sins we are set apart for him. As it says in Hebrews 10:10, “We have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once and for all.” In justification we are positionally sanctified; that is, we are set apart for God. But there is another sense in which sanctification is used in the New Testament. In other passages we note that sanctification is a process of change that is experienced in the life of the believer. We see this experiential sanctification in passages like Romans 6:22, “But now, since you have been liberated from sin and have become enslaved to God, you have your fruit, which results in sanctification — and the end is eternal life!” Continue reading “Understanding Sanctification (Sanctification Series #2)” →

Understanding Transformation (Sanctification Series #3)

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Romans 6:19-23

I am using a human analogy because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you offered the parts of yourselves as slaves to moral impurity, and to greater and greater lawlessness, so now offer them as slaves to righteousness, which results in sanctification. For when you were slaves of sin, you were free from allegiance to righteousness. So what fruit was produced then from the things you are now ashamed of? For the end of those things is death. But now, since you have been liberated from sin and have become enslaved to God, you have your fruit, which results in sanctification — and the end is eternal life! For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

 

Active Transformation

The wonderful fact is, that not only are we forgiven for our sins, but we are also freed from the power of our sins. Though our nature was corrupted as it lived “according to the course of this world” (Eph 2:1-3), it can also be transformed as we walk according to the Spirit of God. Before we were “conformed” from without, now we can be “transformed” from within (Rom 12:1-2). This transformation is not merely outside like those that followed the law of Moses, for Jesus told us that Christian righteousness must “exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees” who followed the letter of the law, but didn’t “walk according to the Spirit” (Matt. 5:20, Rom. 8:3-4, 2 Cor. 3:6-9). We don’t merely clean the outside of the cup, like the Pharisees, but we are cleansed from within by the Spirit of God. When God comes to live in us, He begins the process of reforming and restoring our nature as He intended it to be in the beginning. As we submit to this process, he begins to transform not only our actions, but He begins writing the “righteous requirements of the law” on “our hearts” (Rom 8:4, Rom 2:15). He works in us to “will and to work for His good pleasure“ (Phil 2:13). After forgiving us through the sacrifice of Christ, He begins to conform us to the image of Christ. Continue reading “Understanding Transformation (Sanctification Series #3)” →