Saturday, May 13, 2006
The Arraignment of error by Samuel Bolton
It may stand with God's merciful ends to the good to those brought in, and to those in His purposeto call.
To those brought in, God allows errors to shift and try his own people. These times are shifting times. As there are times of calamity, when misery abbounds, so there are times of division, when errors abound.They are times of shifting, times wherin God will try what mettle you are made of, whether corn or chaff, wheterh dross or gold, whether wheat or tares. He said in Amos 9:9 to sift the nations: "I will sift the house of Israel, as corn sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth." There is your confort: not a grain shall be lost. Whoever is true grain, whoever is sound and sincere, shall never be lost, God will preserve them; none shall be lost. Every man has his hour of sifting in one way or another; he has his hour of temptations and "blessed are they that endure temptation," who hold out during trials (James 1:12). A soldier's valor and courage are not so well known in the garrison as in the field. There he is revealed. So, a Christian is not known till an hour of temptation comes, and then he is revealed.
p 8-9
Today with such groups as the Jesus seminar and other liberal groups that teach heresy. The Christian needs to depend on God's word to guide him in truth.
God is testing the church to see if it will stay with His word or will it lean on the teachings of the liberals.
Continue reading!
To those brought in, God allows errors to shift and try his own people. These times are shifting times. As there are times of calamity, when misery abbounds, so there are times of division, when errors abound.They are times of shifting, times wherin God will try what mettle you are made of, whether corn or chaff, wheterh dross or gold, whether wheat or tares. He said in Amos 9:9 to sift the nations: "I will sift the house of Israel, as corn sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth." There is your confort: not a grain shall be lost. Whoever is true grain, whoever is sound and sincere, shall never be lost, God will preserve them; none shall be lost. Every man has his hour of sifting in one way or another; he has his hour of temptations and "blessed are they that endure temptation," who hold out during trials (James 1:12). A soldier's valor and courage are not so well known in the garrison as in the field. There he is revealed. So, a Christian is not known till an hour of temptation comes, and then he is revealed.
p 8-9
Today with such groups as the Jesus seminar and other liberal groups that teach heresy. The Christian needs to depend on God's word to guide him in truth.
God is testing the church to see if it will stay with His word or will it lean on the teachings of the liberals.
Continue reading!
Friday, May 12, 2006
Sermons to the Spirtiual Man by William G. T. Shedd
This book was the companion to the book of sermons titled sermons to the natural man. This selection comes from The law is light.
In the first place, the moral light reveals like sunlight. It makes the sin which still remains in the Christian a visable thing. The apostl Paul notices this point of similarity, when he remarks: "All things that are reproved are made manifest by the light, forr whatsover doth make manifast is light."And our Lord implies the same resemblance, when he says: "This is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be manifast that they are wrought in God."
Shedd goes on to show how christians should take their heart to the scriptures to exam their deeds. The Word of God shows us where we fall short of what God wants us to do. It also shows us there is forgivness in Jesus.
Continue reading!
In the first place, the moral light reveals like sunlight. It makes the sin which still remains in the Christian a visable thing. The apostl Paul notices this point of similarity, when he remarks: "All things that are reproved are made manifest by the light, forr whatsover doth make manifast is light."And our Lord implies the same resemblance, when he says: "This is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be manifast that they are wrought in God."
Shedd goes on to show how christians should take their heart to the scriptures to exam their deeds. The Word of God shows us where we fall short of what God wants us to do. It also shows us there is forgivness in Jesus.
Continue reading!
Thursday, May 11, 2006
Belgic Confession article 7
Article 7 - The Sufficiency of Holy Scripture
We believe that this Holy Scripture fully contains the will of God and that all that man must believe in order to be saved is sufficiently taught therein.1 The whole manner of worship which God requires of us is written in it at length. It is therefore unlawful for any one, even for an apostle, to teach otherwise than we are now taught in Holy Scripture:2 yes, even if it be an angel from heaven, as the apostle Paul says (Gal 1:8). Since it is forbidden to add to or take away anything from the Word of God (Dt 12:32),3 it is evident that the doctrine thereof is most perfect and complete in all respects.4
We may not consider any writings of men, however holy these men may have been, of equal value with the divine Scriptures; nor ought we to consider custom, or the great multitude, or antiquity, or succession of times and persons, or councils, decrees or statutes, as of equal value with the truth of God, since the truth is above all;5 for all men are of themselves liars, and lighter than a breath (Ps 62:9). We therefore reject with all our heart whatever does not agree with this infallible rule,6 as the apostles have taught us: Test the spirits to see whether they are of God (1 Jn 4:1). Likewise: If any one comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting (2 Jn 1:10).
1 2 Tim 3:16-17; 1 Pt 1:10-12 2 1 Cor 15:2; 1 Tim 1:3 3 Dt 4:2; Prov 30:6; Acts 26:22; 1 Cor 4:6; Rev 22:18-19 4 Ps 19:7; Jn 15:15; Acts 18:28, 20:27; Rom 15:4 5 Mk 7:7-9; Acts 4:19; Col 2:8; 1 Jn 2:19 6 Dt 4:5-6; Is 8:20; 1 Cor 3:11; Eph 4:4-6; 2 Thes 2:2; 2 Tim 3:14-15
Sola scriptura is one of the main teachings of the Protestant movement. The problem comes when they mess up this teaching and go to the idea of solo scriptura. The two is not the same.
As the belgic confession states we only reject the teachings of others when it goes agaisnt what the Bible teaches.
Creeds do not replace the Bible. Churches get together and form creeds to explain what and why the believe what they believe. When they agree with the Word of God it is good for the church.
Continue reading!
We believe that this Holy Scripture fully contains the will of God and that all that man must believe in order to be saved is sufficiently taught therein.1 The whole manner of worship which God requires of us is written in it at length. It is therefore unlawful for any one, even for an apostle, to teach otherwise than we are now taught in Holy Scripture:2 yes, even if it be an angel from heaven, as the apostle Paul says (Gal 1:8). Since it is forbidden to add to or take away anything from the Word of God (Dt 12:32),3 it is evident that the doctrine thereof is most perfect and complete in all respects.4
We may not consider any writings of men, however holy these men may have been, of equal value with the divine Scriptures; nor ought we to consider custom, or the great multitude, or antiquity, or succession of times and persons, or councils, decrees or statutes, as of equal value with the truth of God, since the truth is above all;5 for all men are of themselves liars, and lighter than a breath (Ps 62:9). We therefore reject with all our heart whatever does not agree with this infallible rule,6 as the apostles have taught us: Test the spirits to see whether they are of God (1 Jn 4:1). Likewise: If any one comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting (2 Jn 1:10).
1 2 Tim 3:16-17; 1 Pt 1:10-12 2 1 Cor 15:2; 1 Tim 1:3 3 Dt 4:2; Prov 30:6; Acts 26:22; 1 Cor 4:6; Rev 22:18-19 4 Ps 19:7; Jn 15:15; Acts 18:28, 20:27; Rom 15:4 5 Mk 7:7-9; Acts 4:19; Col 2:8; 1 Jn 2:19 6 Dt 4:5-6; Is 8:20; 1 Cor 3:11; Eph 4:4-6; 2 Thes 2:2; 2 Tim 3:14-15
Sola scriptura is one of the main teachings of the Protestant movement. The problem comes when they mess up this teaching and go to the idea of solo scriptura. The two is not the same.
As the belgic confession states we only reject the teachings of others when it goes agaisnt what the Bible teaches.
Creeds do not replace the Bible. Churches get together and form creeds to explain what and why the believe what they believe. When they agree with the Word of God it is good for the church.
Continue reading!
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
The Institutes of the Christian Religion book 1 chapter 29 by John Calvin
I decided to post one more Protestant writer on the subject of the trinity.
29. All acknowledged doctors of the church confirm the doctrine of the Trinity
Assuredly, whosoever will compare the writings of the ancient fathers with each other, will not find any thing in Irenaeus different from what is taught by those who come after him. Justin is one of the most ancient, and he agrees with us out and out. Let them object that, by him and others, the Father of Christ is called the one God. The same thing is taught by Hilary, who uses the still harsher expression, that Eternity is in the Father. Is it that he may withhold divine essence from the Son? His whole work is a defence of the doctrine which we maintain; and yet these men are not ashamed to produce some kind of mutilated excerpts for the purpose of persuading us that Hilary is a patron of their heresy.
With regard to what they pretend as to Ignatius, if they would have it to be of the least importance, let them prove that the apostles enacted laws concerning Lent, and other corruptions. Nothing can be more nauseating, than the absurdities which have been published under the name of Ignatius; and therefore, the conduct of those who provide themselves with such masks for deception is the less entitled to toleration. Moreover, the consent of the ancient fathers clearly appears from this, that in the Council of Nicaea, no attempt was made by Arius to cloak his heresy by the authority of any approved author; and no Greek or Latin writer apologises as dissenting from his predecessors. It cannot be necessary to observe how carefully Augustine, to whom all these miscreants are most violently opposed, examined all ancient writings, and how reverently he embraced the doctrine taught by them, (August. lib. de Trinit. &c.) He is most scrupulous in stating the grounds on which he is forced to differ from them, even in the minutest point. On this subject, too, if he finds any thing ambiguous or obscure in other writers, he does not disguise it. And he assumes it as an acknowledged fact, that the doctrine opposed by the Arians was received without dispute from the earliest antiquity. At the same time, he was not ignorant of what some others had previously taught. This is obvious from a single expression. When he says (De Doct. Christ. lib. 1.) that "unity is in the Father," will they pretend that he then forgot himself? In another passage, he clears away every such charge, when he calls the Father the beginning of the Godhead, as being from none - thus wisely inferring that the name of God is specially ascribed to the Father, because, unless the beginning were from him, the simple unity of essence could not be maintained.
I hope the pious reader will admit that I have now disposed of all the calumnies by which Satan has hitherto attempted to pervert or obscure the pure doctrine of faith. The whole substance of the doctrine has, I trust, been faithfully expounded, if my readers will set bounds to their curiosity, and not long more eagerly than they ought for perplexing disputation. I did not undertake to satisfy those who delight in speculate views, but I have not designedly omitted any thing which I thought adverse to me. At the same time, studying the edification of the Church, I have thought it better not to touch on various topics, which could have yielded little profit, while they must have needlessly burdened and fatigued the reader. For instance, what avails it to discuss, as Lombard does at length, (lib. 1 dist. 9,)Whether or not the Father always generates? This idea of continual generation becomes an absurd fiction from the moment it is seen, that from eternity there were three persons in one God.
Calvin shows that even before the Council of Nicaea. There were men of God who taught the trinity.
Continue reading!
29. All acknowledged doctors of the church confirm the doctrine of the Trinity
Assuredly, whosoever will compare the writings of the ancient fathers with each other, will not find any thing in Irenaeus different from what is taught by those who come after him. Justin is one of the most ancient, and he agrees with us out and out. Let them object that, by him and others, the Father of Christ is called the one God. The same thing is taught by Hilary, who uses the still harsher expression, that Eternity is in the Father. Is it that he may withhold divine essence from the Son? His whole work is a defence of the doctrine which we maintain; and yet these men are not ashamed to produce some kind of mutilated excerpts for the purpose of persuading us that Hilary is a patron of their heresy.
With regard to what they pretend as to Ignatius, if they would have it to be of the least importance, let them prove that the apostles enacted laws concerning Lent, and other corruptions. Nothing can be more nauseating, than the absurdities which have been published under the name of Ignatius; and therefore, the conduct of those who provide themselves with such masks for deception is the less entitled to toleration. Moreover, the consent of the ancient fathers clearly appears from this, that in the Council of Nicaea, no attempt was made by Arius to cloak his heresy by the authority of any approved author; and no Greek or Latin writer apologises as dissenting from his predecessors. It cannot be necessary to observe how carefully Augustine, to whom all these miscreants are most violently opposed, examined all ancient writings, and how reverently he embraced the doctrine taught by them, (August. lib. de Trinit. &c.) He is most scrupulous in stating the grounds on which he is forced to differ from them, even in the minutest point. On this subject, too, if he finds any thing ambiguous or obscure in other writers, he does not disguise it. And he assumes it as an acknowledged fact, that the doctrine opposed by the Arians was received without dispute from the earliest antiquity. At the same time, he was not ignorant of what some others had previously taught. This is obvious from a single expression. When he says (De Doct. Christ. lib. 1.) that "unity is in the Father," will they pretend that he then forgot himself? In another passage, he clears away every such charge, when he calls the Father the beginning of the Godhead, as being from none - thus wisely inferring that the name of God is specially ascribed to the Father, because, unless the beginning were from him, the simple unity of essence could not be maintained.
I hope the pious reader will admit that I have now disposed of all the calumnies by which Satan has hitherto attempted to pervert or obscure the pure doctrine of faith. The whole substance of the doctrine has, I trust, been faithfully expounded, if my readers will set bounds to their curiosity, and not long more eagerly than they ought for perplexing disputation. I did not undertake to satisfy those who delight in speculate views, but I have not designedly omitted any thing which I thought adverse to me. At the same time, studying the edification of the Church, I have thought it better not to touch on various topics, which could have yielded little profit, while they must have needlessly burdened and fatigued the reader. For instance, what avails it to discuss, as Lombard does at length, (lib. 1 dist. 9,)Whether or not the Father always generates? This idea of continual generation becomes an absurd fiction from the moment it is seen, that from eternity there were three persons in one God.
Calvin shows that even before the Council of Nicaea. There were men of God who taught the trinity.
Continue reading!
Sermon: The necessity of Divine influences by William G. T. Shedd
This sermon is in Sermons to the natural man.
But here again, as in reference to the eternal state, there is no realizing sense. Conviction of sin is not a charactertistic of mankind at large. Men generally will acknowledge in words that they are sinners, but they will wait for some far-distant day to come, when they shall be pricked in the heart, and feel the truth of what they say. Men generally are not concscious of the dreadful reality of sin, any more than they are of the solemn reality of eternity. A deep insensibility, in this respect also, precludes a practical knowledge of that guilt in the soul, which if unpardoned and unremoved, will just as surely ruin it as God lives and the soul i immortal. Since, then, if man be left to his own inclination, he will never will be convinced of sin, it is plain that some Agent who has the power must overcome his aversion to the self-knowledge, and bring him to consciousness upon this unwelcome subject.
If any one of us, for the remainder of our days, should be given over to that ordinary indifference towards sin with which we walk the streets, and transact business, and enjoy life; if God's truth should never again in this world stab the conscience, and God's Spirit should never again make us anxious; is it not infallibly certain that the future would be past, and that we should go through this "accepted time and day of salvation" unconvicted and therefore unconverted?
p. 133-134
This was part of a great sermon by Shedd. Man will never come to the truth without God showing him the truth of sin. Man is dead in his sins and does not care for the things of God.
Continue reading!
But here again, as in reference to the eternal state, there is no realizing sense. Conviction of sin is not a charactertistic of mankind at large. Men generally will acknowledge in words that they are sinners, but they will wait for some far-distant day to come, when they shall be pricked in the heart, and feel the truth of what they say. Men generally are not concscious of the dreadful reality of sin, any more than they are of the solemn reality of eternity. A deep insensibility, in this respect also, precludes a practical knowledge of that guilt in the soul, which if unpardoned and unremoved, will just as surely ruin it as God lives and the soul i immortal. Since, then, if man be left to his own inclination, he will never will be convinced of sin, it is plain that some Agent who has the power must overcome his aversion to the self-knowledge, and bring him to consciousness upon this unwelcome subject.
If any one of us, for the remainder of our days, should be given over to that ordinary indifference towards sin with which we walk the streets, and transact business, and enjoy life; if God's truth should never again in this world stab the conscience, and God's Spirit should never again make us anxious; is it not infallibly certain that the future would be past, and that we should go through this "accepted time and day of salvation" unconvicted and therefore unconverted?
p. 133-134
This was part of a great sermon by Shedd. Man will never come to the truth without God showing him the truth of sin. Man is dead in his sins and does not care for the things of God.
Continue reading!
Christian Carnival
My post An ark for all God's Noahs by Thomas Brooks was listed at Something Epic at
Something Epic
There are other good posts there.
Continue reading!
There are other good posts there.
Continue reading!
The Belgic Confession (1561)
Article 8 – God is One in Essence, yet Distinguished in Three Persons
According to this truth and this Word of God, we believe in one only God,1 who is one single essence, in which are three persons, really, truly, and eternally distinct according to their incommunicable properties; namely, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.2 The Father is the cause, origin, and beginning of all things visible and invisible.3 The Son is the Word, the wisdom, and the image of the Father.4 The Holy Spirit is the eternal power and might who proceeds from the Father and the Son.5 Nevertheless, God is not by this distinction divided into three, since the Holy Scriptures teach us that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit each has His personal existence, distinguished by Their properties; but in such a way that these three persons are but one only God.
It is therefore evident that the Father is not the Son, nor the Son the Father, and likewise the Holy Spirit is neither the Father nor the Son. Nevertheless, these persons thus distinguished are not divided, nor intermixed; for the Father has not assumed our flesh and blood, neither has the Holy Spirit, but the Son only. The Father has never been without His Son,6 or without His Holy Spirit. For these three, in one and the same essence, are equal in eternity. There is neither first nor last; for They are all three one, in truth, in power, in goodness, and in mercy.
1 1 Cor 8:4-6 2 Mt 3:16-17; Mt 28:19 3 Eph 3:14-15 4 Prov 8:22-31; Jn 1:14, 5:17-26; 1 Cor 1:24; Col 1:15-20; Heb 1:3; Rev 19:13 5 Jn 15:26 6 Mic 5:2; Jn 1:1-2
Article 9 – Scripture Proof of This Doctrine
All this we know both from the testimonies of Holy Scripture1 and from the respective works of the three Persons, and especially those we perceive in ourselves. The testimonies of Scripture which lead us to believe this Holy Trinity are written in many places of the Old Testament. It is not necessary to mention them all; it is sufficient to select some with discretion.
In the book of Genesis God says, “Let Us make man in our image after our likeness…So God created man in His own image…; male and female He created them” (Gen 1:26-27). Also: “Behold, the man has become like one of Us” (Gen 3:22). From God’s saying, “Let Us make man in Our image,” it appears that there are more divine persons than one; and when He says, “God created,” He indicates that there is one God. It is true, He does not say how many persons there are, but what seems to be somewhat obscure in the Old Testament is very plain in the New Testament. For when our Lord was baptized in the river Jordan, the voice of the Father was heard, who said, “This is My beloved Son” (Mt 3:17); the Son was seen in the water, and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form as a dove.2 For the baptism of all believers Christ prescribed this formula: “Baptize all nations into the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” (Mt 28:19). In the gospel according to Luke the angel Gabriel thus addressed Mary, the mother of our Lord: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God” (Lk 1:35). Likewise: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all” (2 Cor 13:14). In all these places we are fully taught that there are three persons in one only divine essence.
Although this doctrine far surpasses all human understanding, nevertheless in this life we believe it on the ground of the Word of God, and we expect to enjoy its perfect knowledge and fruit hereafter in heaven.
Moreover, we must observe the distinct offices and works of these three Persons towards us. The Father is called our Creator by His power; the Son is our Saviour and Redeemer by His blood; the Holy Spirit is our Sanctifier by His dwelling in our hearts. The doctrine of the Holy Trinity has always been maintained and preserved in the true church since the time of the apostles to this very day, over against Jews, Muslims, and against false Christians and heretics such as Marcion, Mani, Praxeas, Sabellius, Paul of Samosata, Arius, and such like, who have been justly condemned by the orthodox fathers. In this doctrine, therefore, we willingly receive the three creeds, of the Apostles, of Nicea, and of Athanasius; likewise that which in accordance with them is agreed upon by the early fathers.
1 Jn 14:16, 15:26; Acts 2:32-33; Rom 8:9; Gal 4:6; Tit 3:4-6; 1 Pt 1:2; 1 Jn 4:13-14; 1 Jn 5:1-12; Jude 20-21; Rev 1:4-5 2 Mt 3:16
This creed also backs the teaching of the trinty. Shows how the Father is creator, the Son is our Saviour and the Holy Spirit is our Sanctifier.
Continue reading!
According to this truth and this Word of God, we believe in one only God,1 who is one single essence, in which are three persons, really, truly, and eternally distinct according to their incommunicable properties; namely, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.2 The Father is the cause, origin, and beginning of all things visible and invisible.3 The Son is the Word, the wisdom, and the image of the Father.4 The Holy Spirit is the eternal power and might who proceeds from the Father and the Son.5 Nevertheless, God is not by this distinction divided into three, since the Holy Scriptures teach us that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit each has His personal existence, distinguished by Their properties; but in such a way that these three persons are but one only God.
It is therefore evident that the Father is not the Son, nor the Son the Father, and likewise the Holy Spirit is neither the Father nor the Son. Nevertheless, these persons thus distinguished are not divided, nor intermixed; for the Father has not assumed our flesh and blood, neither has the Holy Spirit, but the Son only. The Father has never been without His Son,6 or without His Holy Spirit. For these three, in one and the same essence, are equal in eternity. There is neither first nor last; for They are all three one, in truth, in power, in goodness, and in mercy.
1 1 Cor 8:4-6 2 Mt 3:16-17; Mt 28:19 3 Eph 3:14-15 4 Prov 8:22-31; Jn 1:14, 5:17-26; 1 Cor 1:24; Col 1:15-20; Heb 1:3; Rev 19:13 5 Jn 15:26 6 Mic 5:2; Jn 1:1-2
Article 9 – Scripture Proof of This Doctrine
All this we know both from the testimonies of Holy Scripture1 and from the respective works of the three Persons, and especially those we perceive in ourselves. The testimonies of Scripture which lead us to believe this Holy Trinity are written in many places of the Old Testament. It is not necessary to mention them all; it is sufficient to select some with discretion.
In the book of Genesis God says, “Let Us make man in our image after our likeness…So God created man in His own image…; male and female He created them” (Gen 1:26-27). Also: “Behold, the man has become like one of Us” (Gen 3:22). From God’s saying, “Let Us make man in Our image,” it appears that there are more divine persons than one; and when He says, “God created,” He indicates that there is one God. It is true, He does not say how many persons there are, but what seems to be somewhat obscure in the Old Testament is very plain in the New Testament. For when our Lord was baptized in the river Jordan, the voice of the Father was heard, who said, “This is My beloved Son” (Mt 3:17); the Son was seen in the water, and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form as a dove.2 For the baptism of all believers Christ prescribed this formula: “Baptize all nations into the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” (Mt 28:19). In the gospel according to Luke the angel Gabriel thus addressed Mary, the mother of our Lord: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God” (Lk 1:35). Likewise: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all” (2 Cor 13:14). In all these places we are fully taught that there are three persons in one only divine essence.
Although this doctrine far surpasses all human understanding, nevertheless in this life we believe it on the ground of the Word of God, and we expect to enjoy its perfect knowledge and fruit hereafter in heaven.
Moreover, we must observe the distinct offices and works of these three Persons towards us. The Father is called our Creator by His power; the Son is our Saviour and Redeemer by His blood; the Holy Spirit is our Sanctifier by His dwelling in our hearts. The doctrine of the Holy Trinity has always been maintained and preserved in the true church since the time of the apostles to this very day, over against Jews, Muslims, and against false Christians and heretics such as Marcion, Mani, Praxeas, Sabellius, Paul of Samosata, Arius, and such like, who have been justly condemned by the orthodox fathers. In this doctrine, therefore, we willingly receive the three creeds, of the Apostles, of Nicea, and of Athanasius; likewise that which in accordance with them is agreed upon by the early fathers.
1 Jn 14:16, 15:26; Acts 2:32-33; Rom 8:9; Gal 4:6; Tit 3:4-6; 1 Pt 1:2; 1 Jn 4:13-14; 1 Jn 5:1-12; Jude 20-21; Rev 1:4-5 2 Mt 3:16
This creed also backs the teaching of the trinty. Shows how the Father is creator, the Son is our Saviour and the Holy Spirit is our Sanctifier.
Continue reading!
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
The Augsburg Confession
Article I: Of God.
Our Churches, with common consent, do teach that the decree of the Council of Nicaea concerning the Unity of the Divine Essence and concerning the Three Persons, is true and to be believed without any doubting; that is to say, there is one Divine Essence which is called and which is God: eternal, without body, without parts, of infinite power, wisdom, and goodness, the Maker and Preserver of all things, visible and invisible; and yet there are three Persons, of the same essence and power, who also are coeternal, the Father the Son, and the Holy Ghost. And the term "person" they use as the Fathers have used it, to signify, not a part or quality in another, but that which subsists of itself.
They condemn all heresies which have sprung up against this article, as the Manichaeans, who assumed two principles, one Good and the other Evil- also the Valentinians, Arians, Eunomians, Mohammedans, and all such. They condemn also the Samosatenes, old and new, who, contending that there is but one Person, sophistically and impiously argue that the Word and the Holy Ghost are not distinct Persons, but that "Word" signifies a spoken word, and "Spirit" signifies motion created in things.
Here is one of the first protestant confessions. They state that the agree with the Council of Nicaea.
Continue reading!
Our Churches, with common consent, do teach that the decree of the Council of Nicaea concerning the Unity of the Divine Essence and concerning the Three Persons, is true and to be believed without any doubting; that is to say, there is one Divine Essence which is called and which is God: eternal, without body, without parts, of infinite power, wisdom, and goodness, the Maker and Preserver of all things, visible and invisible; and yet there are three Persons, of the same essence and power, who also are coeternal, the Father the Son, and the Holy Ghost. And the term "person" they use as the Fathers have used it, to signify, not a part or quality in another, but that which subsists of itself.
They condemn all heresies which have sprung up against this article, as the Manichaeans, who assumed two principles, one Good and the other Evil- also the Valentinians, Arians, Eunomians, Mohammedans, and all such. They condemn also the Samosatenes, old and new, who, contending that there is but one Person, sophistically and impiously argue that the Word and the Holy Ghost are not distinct Persons, but that "Word" signifies a spoken word, and "Spirit" signifies motion created in things.
Here is one of the first protestant confessions. They state that the agree with the Council of Nicaea.
Continue reading!
The shorter catechism explained from scripture by Thomas Vincent
VI. Quest. How many persons are there in the Godhead?
ans. There are three person in the Godhead, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; and these three are one God, the same in substance, equal in power and glory.
Q. 1 What is meant by the Godhead?
A. By the Godhead is meant the divine nature or essence.
Q. 2 Are there three divine natures or essences, or are there three Gods?
A. No; for though ther are three persons be God, the Father God, the Son God, and the Holy Ghost God. yet there are not three Gods, but one God. The essence of God is the same in all three persons. "There are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, [that is, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; and these three are one" I John 5:7.
Here Thomas Vincent covers the Westminster Shorter Catechism. This shows they believed in the trinity.
Continue reading!
ans. There are three person in the Godhead, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; and these three are one God, the same in substance, equal in power and glory.
Q. 1 What is meant by the Godhead?
A. By the Godhead is meant the divine nature or essence.
Q. 2 Are there three divine natures or essences, or are there three Gods?
A. No; for though ther are three persons be God, the Father God, the Son God, and the Holy Ghost God. yet there are not three Gods, but one God. The essence of God is the same in all three persons. "There are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, [that is, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; and these three are one" I John 5:7.
Here Thomas Vincent covers the Westminster Shorter Catechism. This shows they believed in the trinity.
Continue reading!
Sunday, May 07, 2006
Creeds
I have added links to several important creeds of the church. These creeds do not replace the Bible. They were written to show what the church belived.
Continue reading!
Continue reading!
All things for good by Thomas Watson
This sense of sin works for good, as it is an occasion of putting the soul upon six especial duties:
(1) It puts the soul upon self-searching. A child of God being conscious of sin, takes the candle and latern of the Word, and searches his heart. He desires to know the worst of himself; as a man who is diseased in body desires to know the worst of his disease. Though our joy lies in the knowledge of our graces, yet there is some benefit in the knowledge of our corruptions. Therefore Job prays, "Make me to know my transgressions" (Job 13:23). It is good to know our sins, that we may not flatter ourselves, or take our condition to be better than it is. It is good to find out our sins, lest they find us out. p 49
Watson wrote all things for good in 1663 then it was titled a divine cordial. This was one year after over 2,000 preachers were forced out of the british church one of which was Watson. They were not supposed to preach and if they did they could have been sent to jail.
As a christian we need to read the Word of God to find our sins and confess them to God.
Continue reading!
(1) It puts the soul upon self-searching. A child of God being conscious of sin, takes the candle and latern of the Word, and searches his heart. He desires to know the worst of himself; as a man who is diseased in body desires to know the worst of his disease. Though our joy lies in the knowledge of our graces, yet there is some benefit in the knowledge of our corruptions. Therefore Job prays, "Make me to know my transgressions" (Job 13:23). It is good to know our sins, that we may not flatter ourselves, or take our condition to be better than it is. It is good to find out our sins, lest they find us out. p 49
Watson wrote all things for good in 1663 then it was titled a divine cordial. This was one year after over 2,000 preachers were forced out of the british church one of which was Watson. They were not supposed to preach and if they did they could have been sent to jail.
As a christian we need to read the Word of God to find our sins and confess them to God.
Continue reading!
