Viewpoint Brief Bible Study #003 |
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JESUS calls US to be members of His church |
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The Christian religion is the worship and service of Jesus Christ. It’s not Mary we worship, but her Son. We worship neither saints, angels, a law code, nor even God’s Spirit. It’s JESUS who is to be honored. The Bible is our guide. |
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On the Sovereignty of God by Lloyd Pelfrey,
edited by Ray Downen
Solomon was right in saying there really is "nothing new under the sun" (Ecclesiastes 1:9). The mighty acts of God as recorded in the biblical record have adequate testimony by eyewitnesses so as to be credible to any honest seeker. John Clayton asks, "Does God Exist?" Sure He does! Sovereignly.In RESTORATION HERALD for July 1997 is an article about God. It includes reminders we would do well to think deeply on. Condensed by Ray Downen -- Sovereign God -- Living Despite Doubters
Sovereignty means as supreme ruler over all. This word is perhaps the best ONE word to sum up our God. He is supreme ruler over all. Why do some not realize this true fact?
The triumph of pristine, primitive Christianity during the first three centuries A.D. intrigues historians. It's baffling that an underfinanced, disorganized rabble overcame every obstacle and shortly, by kindness and honest faith "conquered" the world's hearts and minds.
Older, sophisticated religions lacked knowledge of and
dependence on the true, living, sovereign God of the universe. Newer, "wiser"
religions think there WAS a God but He's now dead. Still, Christians must
rely on the sovereign God about whom we now write.
Bible books, God's propositional revelation to man, are so arranged that the first verse of the first book establishes as an act of GOD the creation of "the heavens and the earth." God, by His bountiful goodness, made us and everything on and around this sphere on which we live.
Throughout the Bible, inspired men testify to God's Sovereignty. The final such reference is by John in Revelation 14:7 (or, by implication, in Rev.21:1). Science continues to learn that the mysteries of the universe are hidden by the hand of One greater than any human, One whose mind grasps many ideas at once and each one greater than the human mind normally can conceive of.
God, from the beginning, knew the answers to those questions
we're beginning only now to ask!
Many in our generation reject absolutes, thinking that whatever each person chooses is equally good morally with what his/her neighbor chooses. Some imagine that one religion is as good as the next, that all are alike. It's thought that so long as a moral act is not endangering or damaging others, surely it's all right to do whatever a person wants to do.
God allows man to worship Him or to worship false gods.
Men may worship or blaspheme the Sovereign God. But our acts carry consequences.
He will not save from the consequences of sin those who do not love and obey
Him! See the College Press book by Jack Cottrell, "What the Bible Says About
God the Ruler," and its excellent chapter on God, The Sovereign.
A covenant is an agreement between parties who may be unequal in strengths and weaknesses. God has worked through covenants through the ages of life on earth. God proposes. He does not impose His will on men, but gives us freedom of choice. Our choices determine our future both here and hereafter.
We're brought into covenant with God by hearing and believing
the terms of His covenant. Those who believe are then baptized into Christ,
into His body on earth which is the Lord's CHURCH. Those outside the church
are not in covenant with God. All who are "in Christ" reached that relationship
by being born again, by being made new through repentance and baptism.
All parts of God's covenant are outside the reach of human bargaining. God dictates the terms. We either accept or reject. The covenant won't be changed to agree with our particular desires and ideas.
Some of us today who are in covenant with God believe that the only way to serve Him acceptably is to study the Bible carefully and shape our lives individually and congregationally according to exactly what Sovereign God has instructed. If any reader of this study is not lined up with God, now's the time to fall in line. God is supreme. We should do things His way as best we can possibly understand His Word.
Or you can subscribe by writing to them at 7133 Central Parke Blvd, Mason OH 45040 (telephone 877.229.8100). They'll bill you if you subscribe, so you can send them the money by U.S. mail or whatever alternative you prefer. Editor of Restoration Herald is H.Lee Mason.
