Flood Theology

UndeniablyGod on Wretched TV

Todd Friel on Wretched TV speaks about "If our president were a Christian" from my post on this blog site (click here to read).

All the glory goes to our gracious and merciful God.

Happy viewing!

Theological Terminology

I came across The Resolved Church website and found a list of terms with their definitions that I think we all as Christians should familiarize ourselves with. Thanks to Dan Calvert for allowing me to use this on my blog!

Here ya go:

annhilationists – those who believe all humans not believing in Jesus, will cease to exist at death.

Arians – those who believe Jesus became God.

Arminians – those who believe saved humans are not predetermined by God.

cessationists – those who believe supernatural gifts and miracles ceased when the apostles died.

demythologists – those who believe the Bible is a combination of myth and history.

diabolic ransomists – those who believe Jesus death payed a debt to the devil.

dispensationalists – those who believe God saves people in different ways at different times.

ecumenicists – those who believe all churches ought to set aside their differnences for the sake of unity and become one big church.

egalitarians – those who believe men are women are the same in every way and therefore either gender may equally occupy any role in life or leadership.

eschatological nationalists or theonimists – those who believe that in the end Christians will take over human governments and institute God’s law.

humanists – those who believe humans are the highest beings and can save themselves.

hyper-Calvinists – those who believe God does not use means in saving humans and believe evangelism is not needed.

individualists – those who believe our individual selves are our chief and primary concern.

isolationists – those who believe Christianity is best lived out in seperation from other people(s).

libertarians – those who believe humans have a will which is free to make uncaused decisions.

monarchians – those who believe Jesus was not fully human.

mono-episcopists – those who believe there should only be one pastor of a local church.

moral fundamentalists – those who believe Christians ought to refrain from practices that could be abused and lead one into sin.

moralists – those who believe doing good deeds earns one salvation.

naturalists – those who those who believe reality is purely sensual (see, feel, hear, taste & touch).

new perspectivists – those who believe Jesus death was not a legal transaction before God satisfying the just demands of God’s wrath which is imputed to believers and instead was merely a demonstration of God’s faithfulness to his covenant.

nihilists – those who believe in nothing.

open theists – those who believe God is changing and/or evolving with the open future.

pantheists – those who believe everything is god.

papists – those who believe the pope is the final and ultimate spiritual authority.

Pelagians – those who believe humans are essentially good and can earn their salvation.

Pentecostals – those who believe all Christians need to have their own experience of Pentecost where they begin speaking in tongues.

perfectionists – those who believe humans can become perfect before death or Jesus’ return.

pluralists – those who believe all ways or religions lead to the same god.

polytheists – those who believe there are many gods.

relativists – those who believe truth is relative to the person, place, or situation.

revisionists who merely follow Jesus as a good teacher – those who believe the only accounts of Jesus we should accept as history are ones not presenting him as deity.

sacramentalists – those who believe partaking of the sacraments saves a person.

theological postmodernists – those who believe there is no objective truth because we are in a post-modern and supposed post-truth era.

universalists – those who believe all humans will be saved in the end.

Theology pic courtesy The Gospel Matters.

No Condemnation In Christ

Romans 8 is one of my favorite chapters of the Bible. I find myself reading it over and over. I suspect that the reason for this attraction to this portion of the inspired word of God is the fact that it tells me something that draws from me a sigh of relief, in that while I am a sinner, I am still promised by the grand maker of this universe that the sacrifice that his (God's) son, Jesus, made 2000 years ago is still at work today. It's at work for those who repent and put their trust in him, and follow him.

I should have been up there on that cross going through the horror that surpasses anything Stephen King would have thought up in his creepy little check under my bed before I go to sleep and leave the light on till the morning mind of his, only afterwards to be thrown into a fiery hell forever. Stephen King did in fact tell me that, by the way. No, really. He did. Straight through the TV during an interview. Forgot what late night show that was. I'm sure you can find it as you waste your time away on YouTube here in a minute. Made ya check, huh?

What? You think I'm hard on myself? You betcha. Because I deserve that fiery pit. No, I'm not very proud of it, either. And here's another thing - so do you. Oops! Did I offend somebody? Not the intention here, but I do need you to understand the importance of Jesus' sacrifice. It's not just some nice thing that some Jew did for us long ago. It's the way to heaven. God is love, but he is also wrathful. "How?", you ask. He has several attributes. He is love and he shows wrath to those that go against him and his rules. Y'all know the 10 commandments and what they mean already, so I won't go there today. I have an earlier post on that called If You Died Tonight...

Back to Romans 8. I think my mostest bestest verse in the whole Bible has got to be Romans 8:1, which says, "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." Whew! This is a verse that continues to remind me that I am saved and am not going to hell. Not because of anything that I did, mind you, but because of what my wonderful God did for me, and for you, if you'll believe that. We turn from our wicked ways and follow him, trusting him like we would an elevator or a parachute (I know, gotta throw some Ray Comfort and Todd Friel in there, don't I?)

Verses 1 through 9 in context say:

8 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. 3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. 6 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. 8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

9 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. 10 But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. (Taken from the ESV)

God bless.

Photo above courtesy of http://www.theresolved.com.

God Finished His Work

Courtesy http://www.justforloveblog.com   

God Finished His Work

The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me. (Psalm 138:8)

He who has begun will carry on the work which is being wrought within my soul. The Lord is concerned about everything that concerns me. All that is now good, but not perfect, the Lord will watch over, preserve, and carry out to completion. This is a great comfort. I could not perfect the work of grace myself. Of that I am quite sure, for I fail every day and have only held on so long as I have because the Lord has helped me. If the Lord were to leave me, all my past experience would go for nothing, and I should perish from the way. But the Lord will continue to bless me. He will perfect my faith, my love, my character, my lifework. He will do this because He has begun a work in me. He gave me the concern I feel, and, in a measure, He has fulfilled my gracious aspirations, He never leaves a work unfinished; this would not be for His glory, nor would it be like Him. He knows how to accomplish His gracious design, and though my own evil nature and the world and the devil all conspire to hinder Him, I do not doubt His promise. He will perfect that which concerneth me, and I will praise Him forever. Lord, let Thy gracious work make some advance this day!

-Charles H. Spurgeon

~Courtesy of http://www.spurgeon.org (Thank you Phil Johnson!)

1 - In The Beginning

Year: 1977. I must have been about 6 or 7 years old. My parents didn't go to church anymore as they did years ago as teenagers. Church was something we didn't talk about much at home. My sister, Bonita, who is three years older than me, somehow developed an interest in God and in church. She began to visit the Church of Christ, which was, I believe, a modalist fundamental church that was located only about a block away from our home. Sis seemed to be having fun when she went, but more than that, I saw a strong desire in her eyes. Perhaps it was more of a curiosity to find out more about God. She began to talk a lot about him. She relayed to me bits of important spiritual information that I just could not comprehend with my young mind, which was mostly occupied by Darth Vader, The Muppets and my new bicycle. I remember her inviting me church and me tagging along with her. I was very shy when I was little, and was scared to death to be around people I didn't know, but my need to find out what the big deal was proved even stronger that my timidity. I remember going to the kids' meetings and taking part in projects like hobby craft - pasting noodles to a paper plate, spelling out "Jesus loves you" or something. We continued to attend now and again and I remember as a highlight receive some kind of patch for completed some project in the children's class. I was really excited, and couldn't wait to get home and tell my parents. When I got home, my dad was still at work, of course. My mom stood in the kitchen cooking something up. She listened to me and just said, "That's nice, mijo". I could feel that something bothered her about us kids going to church...

Who can understand me?

Perché Dio ha tanto amato il mondo, che ha dato il suo unigenito Figlio, affinché chiunque crede in lui non perisca, ma abbia vita eterna. -Giovanni 3:16


(NR2006)


No matter what language you speak, God knows it. He can understand all languages in the world. Have you ever felt that he cannot understand what you are asking him? Don't fear, he understands everything. Even you, and your feelings, your grief, your joy, your needs, your desires...everything.