In my last entry I talked about the significance of family reunions. In mid-June our whole family, including my wife and I, our five children and their spouses, and our sixteen grandchildren, gathered in a rented picnic pavilion at Steele Creek Park in Bristol. The last time the siblings had all been together was before more than half of the grandchildren were alive. The picnic pavilion was adjacent to a playground and immediately above the little train and paddle boat dock. I brought my canoe and took seven different grandchildren and two children over the course of three trips out onto the lake. Two families went over the hill to the splash pad. There was abundant good food and conversation. As I said to all, it did my heart and my wife’s good to see them all there together and talk to them. I have a few pictures of the event at “Together.”
Posted in Family, General, Grandchildren, Outdoors | Tagged Children, Family, Family Gathering, Family Reunion, Grandchildren | Leave a Comment »
A family reunion is meant to be a longstanding celebration of family ties in history of shared people and events. But time rolls along and the people who attend change by choice and peril. This year’s reunion for my wife’s family was smaller in number than any that I remember possibly ever in the 43 years, most of which I have attended. If I count correctly, there were twenty-two people there. Five of the siblings and three of their spouses were there. Two of the siblings not in attendance were for health reasons. Check out some of the interactions at “More Intimate Group.”
Posted in Family, General | Tagged Family, Family Reunion | Leave a Comment »
A bit over two years ago my hiking partner and I went across the Pond Mountain Wilderness at Pond Mountain Peak from Watauga Lake to the Appalachian Trail (see “Bushwhacking Pond“). This day, several Saturday ago now, we were headed back to the wilderness to explore up a mountain creek that looked interesting to my partner. Now, I thought, ‘Bushwhacking up a mountain creek involves rhododendron/laurel thickets’, which gets a bit wearisome without a goal and set amount of time. But hey, I’m up for most anything, so in we plunged in, this time with an Initiate. After perhaps a half of an hour, I suggested that we add a goal and possibly a way out of the thicket. This holler is at the base of Pond Mtn. So, straight up slope we went. The thickets thinned and thickened but really didn’t subside all the way to the ridge. When you get on the side of the ridge in trees and particularly thicket, you cannot see the top. We did fairly well though, peaking the ridge less than an eighth of a mile from the peak and benchmark. None of us wanted to retrace that route back down, so we decided to follow the ridge along the heretofore low maintained trail back to the lake. Well, that was two years ago before Hurrican Helene. Except for short stints of reasonable trail, there were piles of down trees of every size to go around and through. When we finally got back to the road and the lake, we had done approximately six miles. Problem was, we estimated that we were two and a half miles by road from the car. So, I left my pack and ran/walked to the car. As I progressed up the holler, the road kept getting steeper. If you really like bushwhacking, I’ve got a “Bushwhacker’s Special” just for you. Click on it to see a few pictures.
Posted in Exploring, General, Hike, Nature, Outdoors, Wildflowers | Tagged Herbaceous varieties, Hike, Lichens, Nature, Outdoors, Pond Mountain Wilderness, Wildflowers | Leave a Comment »
I rejoice that the transcendent, all powerful, sovereign, Creator of all things condescended to pour out His free grace upon an undeserving, rebellious sinner like me (1). I rejoice that his free grace (2) gifted me with eternal life (3), every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places while here on earth (4), all that I need for life and godliness (5), a growing knowledge of Him (6), and the ongoing sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit to completion (7).
Grace was free but not cheap. That sounds like a contradiction, but to clarify, grace was free to the recipients but very costly for “…Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (8) Not only did He leave the throne of God to die on a cross, our Redeemer “became flesh, and dwelt among us.” (9) His condescension included permanently taking on the nature of a man and temporarily taking on flesh, for “much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many.” (10) “For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” (11)
Question 24: Did God leave all mankind to perish in the condition of sin and misery?
Answer: God, out of his mere good pleasure, from all eternity, having chosen a people to everlasting life, did enter into a covenant of grace, to deliver them out of the condition of sin and misery, and to bring them into a condition of salvation, by a Redeemer.
Ephesians 1:3-4; 2 Thessalonians 2:13; Romans 5:21; 8:29-30; 9:11-12; 11:5-7; Acts 13:48; Jeremiah 31:33.
Question 25: Who is the Redeemer of God’s elect?
Answer: The only Redeemer of God’s elect is the Lord Jesus Christ, who, being the eternal Son of God, became man, and so was and continues to be God and man, in two distinct natures and one person, forever.
Galatians 3:13; 1 Timothy 2:5; 3:16; John 1:14; Romans 9:5; Colossians 2:9.
- Isaiah 55:8-9, Romans 11:33; Job 42:2, Numbers 11:23; Psalm 115:3; John 1:14, Psalm 103:7; Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 3:23, Jeremiah 17:9, Nehemiah 9:26
- Ephesians 2:8-9, John 4:10
- Romans 6:23
- Ephesians 1:3
- 2 Peter 1:3
- 2 Peter 3:17-18
- Philippians 1:6, 1 Corinthians 6:11
- Hebrews 12:2
- John 1:14
- Romans 5:15
- 1 Timothy 2:5
Posted in Baptist Catechism, Blessing, Faith, General, Gospel, Grace, Joy, Person of Jesus, Salvation, Sanctification, Work of Jesus | Tagged bible, christianity, Condescension, Faith, Free Grace, God, God-man, Grace, Jesus, Rejoicing, Salvation | Leave a Comment »
The last questions that we covered of the catechism (“Federal Headship“) explained how and what happened to man because of the Fall. “All mankind…sinned in him [Adam]”, verifying federal headship, and they were “brought…into a condition of sin and misery.” The questions that we consider today explain and enumerate what those sins and miseries are. In question #22 are given three degradations of man’s nature and one of his resulting conduct.
Guilt is a judicial problem before God, not a feeling. The feeling that results from guilt is shame which compelled Adam and Eve to sew fig leaves. Unregenerate sinners, and all too often believers, ide in many ways, frequently by denying sin. Secondly, “the lack of original righteousness” renders us impotent to please God or earn His approval. The third, is “corruption of the whole nature (…original sin”) or total depravity represents such corruption as excludes that person from the ability to do right. And finally, these degradations of nature result in “actual transgressions”, thereby placing the punishable crime clearly upon the sinner without excuse.
Question #23 the misery results from what was lost and gained before God. But even in this dire pronouncement there is a glimmer of hope. The word “liable” means “subject to” or “likely to”, not required of necessity, thus preparing us for the good news of salvation in the subsequent questions.
Question 22: What is the sinfulness of that condition into which all mankind has fallen?
Answer: The sinfulness of the condition into which all mankind fell is the guilt of Adam’s first sin, the lack of original righteousness, and the corruption of our whole nature (which is commonly called original sin), together with all actual transgressions which come from this nature. Romans 5:19; 3:10; Ephesians 2:1; Isaiah 53:6; Psalm 51:5; Matthew 15:19.
Question 23: What is the misery into which all mankind fell through Adam’s first sin?
Answer: All mankind, by their fall, lost communion with God, are under his wrath and curse, and so made liable to all the miseries of this life, to death itself, and to the pains of hell forever.
Genesis 3:8, 24; Ephesians 2:3; Galatians 3:10; Romans 6:23; Matthew 25:41-46; Psalm 9:17.
Posted in Baptist Catechism, Consequences, General, Judgment | Tagged Consequences of Sin, Depravity, Guilt, Liability, Original Sin, Sin Nature, Total Depravity | Leave a Comment »
“In Adam all die,” (1), the Scripture says. It is a matter of federal headship, one representing many, and in this case all. It doesn’t seem fair that I should die for someone else’s sin, but I don’t want fair, because then we would all be in a world of hurt (2). I want grace. Therefore, I am thankful for federal headship, because you and I, brothers and sisters in Christ, are counted alive spiritually and will one day be glorified because of the salvific work of one man, our federal head, Christ Jesus. And that goes for anyone who believes in the Lord Jesus (3), “for whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (4)
Besides all of this accusation of the unfairness of God in applying Adam’s federal headship, it matters little for judgment ultimately, since each and every one of us has committed very own multiple sins, except the perfect God-man, Jesus, the Anointed One (Christ, Messiah) of God. Each of us is guilty in his own right and accountable before God.
Question 20: Did all mankind fall in Adam’s first sin?
Answer: All mankind, descending from Adam by ordinary generation, sinned in him, and fell with him in his first sin.
1 Corinthians 15:21-22; Romans 5:12, 18-19.
Question 21: Into what condition did the fall bring mankind?
Answer: The fall brought mankind into a condition of sin and misery.
Psalm 51:5; Romans 5:18-19; 7:18; Isaiah 53:6; 64:6; John 3:6-7; Ephesians 2:1-3; 1 Corinthians 2:14.
- 1 Corinthians 15:22
- Hell
- Acts 16:31
- Romans 10:13
Posted in Baptist Catechism, Consequences, Faith, Forgiveness, General, Grace, Judgment, Salvation, theology, Work of Jesus | Tagged Baptist Catechism, Catechism, Fall, Federal Headship, Salvation, Sin Nature, theology | 1 Comment »
I have so meant to put up more blog entries about catechism questions and progress on my workshop, but life has gotten so busy that I may not even continue with this blog for the foreseeable future. I’ve said that before and have taken some months off now and then, but I have always come back to it since I first started in 2007.
One reason I come back is that I enjoy sharing the joys of getting out in the woods and spending time with family and friends. After too long of a time, I persuaded 5 young people to go on a little hike with me. The day was beautiful, the wildflowers were abundant, and the conversation was encouraging.
Check out a few of the things we saw and did at Little Stony Falls.
Posted in General, Hike, Nature, Outdoors | Tagged Hike, Little Stony Falls, Nature, Outdoors, Waterfall | Leave a Comment »
Our questions (#1-16 of the 1692 Baptist Catechism, Collins) thus far have focused on the glories of God and His Word. Now we turn a hard corner to talk about the Fall and its consequences. Many people seem to want to ask Adam, “Dude, what were you thinking? Look at all of the pain it caused.” I don’t have that question. I understand rebellion and its consequences in my life. My question for Adam would be, “What did you think and feel like the next morning when you woke up and realized that you would not be walking in the garden that evening with God, discussing the day?” From intimacy to estrangement, what a harsh turn self-inflicted. Question #18 defines sin as transgression. For most of us that is not helpful as a definition. “Trans” means across. “Gress” means step. So, transgression means to step across or go over the line. God had clearly defined the line: “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.” (Genesis 2:16-17) But Adam’s reply came at his wife’s urging, and his full and willful rebellion: “…she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.” (Genesis 3:6)
Thus, the beginning was ended, and the end began. Earthly bliss was only a concept in the minds of Adam’s offspring, while heartache and loneliness and longing for God are the norm. But for all that, the pronouncement of the sentence included an intimation of better days and a better life: “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel.” (Genesis 3:15) Satan, possessing the serpent, would receive a fatal headshot for his troubles, the poison extracted, ironically through the serpent bruising our Savior’s heel.
Question 17: Did our first parents continue in the glad obedience for which they were created?
Answer: No, but desiring to be like God, our first parents forsook the obedience of faith, ate of the forbidden tree, sinned against God, and fell from the innocence in which they were created.
Genesis 3:1-7; Ecclesiastes 7:29; Romans 5:12.
Question 18: What is sin?
Answer: Sin is transgression of the revealed will of God which teaches that we are to act in perfect holiness from a heart of faith to the glory of God.
1 John 3:4; Romans 5:13; 14:23; 1 Peter 1:16; Matt, 5:48; 1 Cor. 10:31.
Question 19: What was the sin whereby our first parents fell from the estate wherein they were created?
Answer: The sin whereby our first parents fell from the estate wherein they were created, was their eating the forbidden fruit.
Genesis 3:6, 12, 13.
Posted in Baptist Catechism, Consequences, General, Judgment, Sin | Tagged Adam, bible, Faith, genesis, God, Proto-Gospel, Rebellion, Sin, The Fall, Transgression | Leave a Comment »
Somewhere recently in my blogging, I described some of the process for my writing of poetry. Not evidently being so well organized as I would have liked, I cannot find it. Oh well, I can focus on the one thought I had pertaining to this present poem. The structure of the poem is sometimes intentional and other times comes about in the writing of it. This poem represents the latter. Once the structure is revealed, I make every effort to stick to it and rhyme to boot. The structure of the poem ended up being chiastic in form and meaning. I urge you to utilize the three middle verses in order to meditate on the “far more of them”.
One yet three
How can this be?
One in His essence
Three person presence
Language and logic cannot avail
To understand or explain or tell
Father God reigning
Creator, sustaining
Son Divine Savior
Purchased God’s favor
Spirit indwelling
Righteous enabling
Far more of them does the Bible tell
Its truth over falsehoods will prevail
In concert they act
Not from three detract
Believe and see
One yet three
Posted in General, God Thoughts, Poem | Tagged Bible truth, God Thoughts, Three Persons of the Godhead, Trinity | Leave a Comment »
Providence is God’s control of and care for His Creation (1). Because He is good, His providence is good, and life is good. When bad things happen, we may benefit by trusting Him more or by coming to know Him. By faith and through peace and joy in our hearts, we will come to understand that even the hard things He allows are ultimately for our good.
Concerning providence, Hebrews 1:3 says,”[He] upholds all things by the word of His power. A few translations say “powerful word”, but this is a poor translation and an interpretation. “Word of His power” is an unusual phrase in English. It could be rendered wordful power or word’s power. The emphasis is on power, pointing to His being rather than what He does, like speak. This idea agrees with Colossians 1:17 which says, “in Him all things hold together.” His very person holds the universe together, which He brings about by His Word (“For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.” Psalm 33:9).
As to His acts by which He cares for and controls, they are “holy, wise, and powerful”. Holy works are totally separate, above, and righteous, and therefore inscrutable compared to our acts and reasonings. His acts are wise in that they apply His infinite knowledge in ways that are always to His glory and the benefit of His people. These acts are all powerful, and therefore never diminished or thwarted. Everyone says they want to be on the winning team. The perfection and excellence of His acts means that He always wins and anyone under His protection, even when the short-term pitfalls seem to say otherwise.
In question #16, I like how the answer twice points to how faith is involved in obedience. Adam and Eve could not fully understand death since they had never seen it. They had to trust God that it was bad and that eating would bring a bad result. Secondly, “the child-like dependence on God for all things” is a trust that God knows best and will provides for all of our needs. Salvation has always been by grace through faith. Jesus adds the payment for sins and power to overcome sin that Adam and Eve or anyone else could not provide. That Adam and Eve could not be perfect demonstrates that we all need God in Jesus to save our souls. I am glad He saved mine.
Q15: What are God’s works of providence?
A: God’s works of providence are the holy, wise, and powerful acts by which he preserves and governs all his creatures, and all their actions.
Q16: What special act of providence did God exercise towards man when he was first created?
A: When God had created man, he made a covenant with him that he should live and enjoy all the benefits of creation, but that he would die if he forsook the obedience that comes from faith. God commanded him not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and thus forsake his child-like dependence upon God for all things.
- “preserves and governs”, as the catechism answer says
Posted in Assurance, Baptist Catechism, Providence | Tagged bible, christianity, Faith, God, God's Providence, Jesus, Providence, Trust, Works of Providence | Leave a Comment »
The digging all done (see “A Most Challenging Beginning“), it was time to start building up. Starting from a concrete floor requires forms. Check out the process and results at “Taking Forms.”
Posted in Capentry, General, Project | Tagged Carpentry, Concrete Forms, Project, Workshop | Leave a Comment »
Out of nothing?
We create in the sense of making something not previously thought of or produced by man or else improving on previous creations. But we absolutely do not, nor can we, nor should we ever claim to create something out of nothing. And since we cannot even conceive of how that happens, many skeptics, even, if not especially educated ones, deny that it is possible and deny the creation of all things by God, even though Creation screams it. Logic also attests to its necessity since anything which has a beginning must have been created by something totally outside of itself, with sufficient power and intelligence to pull it off. Our God, as revealed in Scripture, is an infinite, immaterial spirit, all powerful, uncaused First Cause. Our ability to create in the sense of using existing materials to make something new is a testimony to our being made in the image of God (Zechariah 12:1), but we simply don’t speak to the emptiness, bringing about loveliness, order, information, and persistence of the material world.
The debate has too long raged over how many genders there be. God declares that he made them male and female (Genesis 1:27), end of discussion. If we don’t stand on the Word of God, we don’t stand at all, nor long will we stand. And consider the privileges of being created in His image. Dominion over the creatures and all of creation come first and most tangibly to our minds, but knowledge of self, God, and the world, and righteousness before God which was at first given and still available through His Son, are better and bigger.
All glory be to our Creator!
Question 13: What is the work of creation?
Answer: The work of creation is God’s making all things [out] of nothing, by the word of his power and all very good.
Genesis 1:1, 31; Hebrews 11:3; Exodus 20:11; Romans 4:17.
Question 14: How did God create man?
Answer: God created man male and female, after his own image, in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness, with dominion over the creatures.
Genesis 1:27-28; Colossians 3:10; Ephesians 4:24.
Posted in Baptist Catechism, Creating, Faith, General, God Thoughts, God's Word | Leave a Comment »
Toward the end of last year, I declared that I would reveal why my blog frequency had dropped off. This entry is the beginning of fulfilling that promise. After moving to East Tennessee in August of 2022, I was busy cleaning up the yard and arranging the house. I had it in my mind to build a workshop, perhaps a bit larger than the 12 x 20 shed I had constructed at the last permanent residence wherein we dwelled for 21 years (1). The most obvious place to put it for access and non-obstructiveness/obtrusiveness, was the back corner of the lot. However, there suspiciously resided there a rectangular area of brush. When I began to clear the vines and shrubbery, it revealed construction debris. I began to sort it for recycle, reuse (as filler), and reduction of payment for the landfill for acceptance (2). To see what I was up to for the initial months of this project, check out “Much Rubbish” (3).
- Obviously, permanent is more of a functional word than accurate word here.
- I had never lived in a locality where the public could not take their trash, even debris to the dump without a significant fee.
- Nehemiah 4:10
Posted in General, Project, Work | Tagged Clearing, Digging, Project, Recycling, Workshop | 1 Comment »
Our two catechism questions for today are like two sides of the same coin. What God decrees, He accomplishes; nothing accomplished is outside of His decree; both proceed from His will. Because of this connection, His decree and accomplishment through creation and providential care are so inseparable that they are hard to talk about separately. Consider Psalm 115:3: “But our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases.” What He “does” is create and providentially guide, and what He “pleases” is His decree proceeding forth from His will, which cannot be overcome or questioned (1).
It is good to mention the Christian definition of providence. Rather than being an impersonal hand of an absentee manager as the Agnostics (notably Deists) and nominal Christians fancy it, providence is the care, control, and rule of an involved, benevolent Father God. Being a giver of good gifts (James 1:17) and “righteous in all His ways” (Psalm 145:17), He is not fickle, changeable, vindictive, or trifling. He is good. Foreordain is a word meaning simply to “appoint or decree beforehand.” (2) Certainly, He is an omnipotent and omniscient God to be able to pull off what He decrees (3). All glory be to Him.
Question 11: What are the decrees of God?
Answer: The decrees of God are his eternal purpose, according to the counsel of his will, whereby for his own glory, he has foreordained whatsoever comes to pass.
Ephesians 1:11; Romans 11:36; Daniel 4:35; Isaiah 46:10; Psalm 115:3; Amos 3:6.
Question 12: How does God execute his decrees?
Answer: God executes his decrees in the works of creation and providence.
Genesis 1:1; Revelation 4:11; Matthew 5:45; 6:26; Acts 14:17: Proverbs 16:9, 33; 19:21; 20:24; 21:1, 31
- Job 42:2
- https://www.bing.com/search?q=define+foreordain&FORM=DCTSRC
- all powerful and all knowing
Posted in Baptist Catechism, God Thoughts, theology | Tagged bible, Decrees of God, Faith, Glory of God, God, Jesus, Providence, psalms, Purposes of God, Theoloy | Leave a Comment »
While reading an article on the need for lineman to build, maintain, and repair our electrical grid infrastructure, I did a double take at a quote from a lineman for a need for confidence and humility while being a lineman. All sorts of questions arose in my mind.
Is it possible to have both confidence and humility? If so, is it desirable or useful? Why do we think them antithetical?
Oxford Languages:
Confidence- the feeling or belief that one can rely on someone or something, firm trust; the state of feeling certain about the truth of something; a feeling of self-assurance arising from one’s appreciation of one’s own abilities or qualities
Humility- a modest or low view of one’s own importance; humbleness
If you are paying attention, you immediately see the assumed antithesis between these two concepts. On the one hand, “a feeling of self-assurance…”, while on the other hand, “a modest or low view of one’s own importance.” It seems that we have our answer: These concepts are mutually exclusive.
Not so fast! There is another contradiction, or at least variance, that must be reckoned with. In dictionary definitions, there are different entries (1,2,3… and so forth) representing different uses and connotations of the word. I have clumped the three main entries for confidence into one definition, separated by semi-colons (2). In all three entries for confidence, there is “someone”, “something”, or “self” trusted or believed. If that someone trusted is self, then it is hard to be simultaneously humble. Though the two words aim for different goals, namely “abilities or qualities” as opposed to “one’s own importance”, a high view of abilities and qualities does not particularly co-exist with a low view of one’s own importance.
However, if the something or someone being relied upon, trusted or believed, is outside of oneself, confidence and humility may co-exist and thrive. The best, most reliable object of trust is God the Creator and Savior.
Paul, in comparing believers with false teachers, contrasts the two by saying that believers “put no confidence in the flesh” (Philippians 3:3). Or least ways we should not, because when we do it means we are trusting self rather than God. By denying God, we are denying that “Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.” (James 1:17) We should be humble, “so that no one of you will become arrogant in behalf of one against the other. For who regards you as superior? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?” (1 Corinthians 4:6b-7) Our abilities and qualities are all gifts from God. There is no place for us to be self-confident. However, we may be confident in God’s gifting and enabling while being humble since none of it comes from us.
In fact, our confidence in our God-given abilities is an acknowledgement of the greatness of the Giver. Acknowledgement of His gifts may also be a demonstration of humility, as we continually point to His gracious gifting and enabling. From the lineman’s point of view, the humility can keep us safe, while the confidence can enable us to complete our tasks well. Before God, that is how I want to live my life and fulfill my purpose.
- https://www.bing.com/search?q=confidence+definition&form=ANNTH1&refig=08ac3596b2d0443f8e9270eb877d7249&pc=HCTS&pqlth=10&assgl=21&sgcn=confidence+definition&smvpcn=0&swbcn=10&cvid=08ac3596b2d0443f8e9270eb877d7249&kpratsg=1&hsmssg=0
- The words are quoted accurately but not in the exact framework of numbered bulleting.
Posted in Connotations, Dependence, General, Reflection | Tagged Confidence, Humility, self-assurance | Leave a Comment »
3 in 1 Multipurpose Oil (1) was as much an assumed part of a household when I was growing up as toast for breakfast. Its ability to “clean, lubricate, and protect” (1b) was as multi-purposed as Jell-O and Duct Tape (2). But all of these examples are uses rather than essentials of existence.
Deuteronomy 6:4, called the Shema (“to hear”) in Hebrew, says, “Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one!” It does not merely say that there is one God, but it also communicates that God is a unity, one in essence. However, 2 Corinthians 13:14 says, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all,” and all are declared to be God in various places. How can there be one God who has three parts?
In reality, He doesn’t have three parts which is heresy (3). Instead, God is three persons, one in essence. Language and logic cannot fully explain or grasp triune God, three in one. It is true, the Bible teaches both the trinity and unity (4) of God in both the Old and New Testaments, and therefore, we believe it and declare it.
Thus, the catechism asks…
Question 9: Are there more Gods than one?
Answer: There is only one living and true God.
Deuteronomy 6:4, Jeremiah 10:10, Psalm 96:4-5.
Question 10: How many persons are there in the Godhead?
Answer: There are three persons in the Godhead: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one God, the same in essence, equal in power and glory.
1 Corinthians 2:11, 8:6; John 1:1, 10:30, 14:9, 20:28; Acts 5:3-4, Matthew 28:19, 2 Corinthians 13:14, Colossians 2:9, Hebrews 1:3,8.
- a) https://www.fohbc.org/PDF_Files/3-In-One_Oil_CMunsey.pdf and b) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3-in-One_Oil
- a) https://www.kraftheinz.com/jell-o/recipes and b) https://allusesof.com/electricity/19-uses-of-duct-tape/#:~:text=19%20uses%20of%20duct%20tape%201%201.%20Remove,Squeeze%20Toothpaste%20in%20their%20tube.%20…%20More%20items
- Either polytheism or modalism
- Though some skeptic will immediately point out that the words trinity and unity appear nowhere in the Scriptures, being labels for concepts clearly taught.
Posted in Baptist Catechism, Faith, God Thoughts, theology | Tagged 1-corinthians, bible, Catechism, christianity, God, Jesus, Trinity, Triune God, Unity | Leave a Comment »
First Advent Celebration is a better moniker for the day that most people called Christmas. It more precisely indicates what we are celebrating, the first coming of the Savior, in the flesh. So, I am developing the habit of remarking Blessed First Advent Celebration to you or Blessed Advent Celebration. The word “First” is included, of course, because God says there will be a second advent: “so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.” (Hebrews 9:28) This is also the reason that Advent Celebration is adequate (1), since any proper consideration of and thanksgiving for His first advent will lead to consideration and anticipation of His second.
Besides consideration of His coming and the result of rescue from sin based on the death of the God-man, we remember His many ancillary benefits: family, material provision, friends. My wife and I enjoyed the consideration of eight of our grandchildren at our eldest son’s house. If you would like to participate, click on meet and greet of these “Developing Youngsters.”
- …and easier to say and be understood,
Posted in Advent, Day of the Lord, Family, General, Grandchildren, Person of Jesus | Tagged Advent, Christmas, Faith, Family, Grandchildren, Hope, Jesus | Leave a Comment »
Shouldn’t it be “Who is God?” That is a simpler question to answer. The God revealed in the Bible is the only true God, and there is no other (1).
But how do you describe the substance of something so utterly different than anything we understand? It seems like an unreachable goal. And yet, God has condescended to reveal much about Himself to His creatures in the Word of God so that we may know Him and glorify Him. The latter part of this statement brings up another question: Do you delight in God for His benefits, or do you delight in Him for who He is? Delighting in Him for His benefits is great and encouraged by such passages as Psalm 103, but delighting in Him for who He is, is a more glory-ascribing, higher calling.
I was reading Psalm 119 recently. In the psalmist’s ecstasy over God’s statutes, I can only claim that perspective and desire as a far-off ambition of which I have made the smallest, little progress. But herein may be found the danger of loving Him only for His benefits over His essence. We have a tendency, as many among “god-believing” people in our society do, of making God in our own image as a doddering grandpa, an impotent, weak, fair god who makes us feel good. When we are confronted with the true God of the Scriptures who is so utterly different from us, we are at best afraid and at worst repulsed. We do share the characteristic of having a spirit, but we live in a tactile, concrete existence far removed from His timeless, noncorporal experience. We are woefully finite, only eternal from this day forward by His Spirit’s enabling, and as changeable as the waves and tides. God doesn’t just feel awesome and transcendent, He is.
In the catechism question for today, all of His attributes fall under the superlatives of eternal, infinite, and unchanging, with no dilution of one character trait by another (2). Furthermore, the list of attributes given covers all of the categories, but it does not begin to plumb the scope or depth of them. For example, what about goodness? His goodness is expressed in kindness, mercy, compassion, provision, salvation, common grace, pleasures, purpose, and more.
So then, what is God?
Question 8? What is God?
Answer: God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable, in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth.
John 4:24; Psalm 89:14, 90:2, 147:5; James 1:17; Revelation 4:8; Exodus 34:6-7; 1 Timothy 1:17; Numbers 23:19
- Deuteronomy 4:35
- Love does not lessen justice, for example, nor vice versa.
Posted in Delights, General, Glory, God Thoughts | Tagged Attributes, attributes of god, Catechism, Essence of God, God, Spirit | Leave a Comment »
Times, they are a changin’. My extended family has had a Thanksgiving tradition that has built up over 35+ years. We gather at my oldest brother’s house, eat lunch together, play flag football, watch a football game, go for a hike the next day, and meet back at my brother’s house for “haystacks” (1). Other parts to this tradition, like night-before soup supper have come and gone. Number of attendees at this gathering have varied from somewhere in the teens to over 60. Visits to in-laws, children, sickness, friends and classmates have caused a constant flux in the numbers. This year there were 24 souls in attendance, greatly reduced from just a few years ago. That did not dampen our joy at sharing the thankfulness for all that God has provided, family being high on the list. My generation, the four siblings were there, however, I am the only one from that generation who still plays in the flag football game. The group agreed that the next morning, which was supposed to have temperatures in the teens, was not a good time to hike for young and old. I convinced my older brother to go out on a hike anyway. Though I have hiked many places over many years, I had never been in Frozen Head State Park. He said that there was a 3-mile hike to a waterfall. It was far better than not going at all, and the prospect of just two of us meant that we could converse more deeply and catch up.
Present pursuits have limited my hiking and blogging. It explains why three days before our First Advent Celebration (2), I am just now blogging about a Thanksgiving hike. Pictures and commentary at “Two Frozen Head Waterfalls.”
- “Haystacks”, as my sister-in-law labeled them, is an individual’s mixture of salad parts topped with meat (turkey most usually or ground beef), cheese, salsa, beans, and whatever else is available and lacking whatever the individual does not prefer.
- It doesn’t slip off the tongue quite so easily as Merry Christmas, nor does it meet traditional muster, but it is more accurate.
Posted in General, Hike, Nature, Outdoors, Thanksgiving, Waterfall | Tagged Frozen Head State Park, Hike, Outdoors, Waterfall | Leave a Comment »
What does the Bible teach and who is it written for?
These questions are covered in questions 6 and 7 of the Baptist Catechism:
Question 6: May all men make use of the Scriptures?
Answer: All men are not only permitted, but commanded and exhorted, to read, hear, and understand the Scriptures.
Question 7: What do the Scriptures mainly teach?
Answer: The Scriptures mainly teach what man is to believe about God and what duty God requires of man.
It is at moments like these that I have to remind myself that the catechism is a concise question and answer format. That format has its significant advantages, making the main things the main things, but it does leave some holes that are hard to not comment on. The one detail I feel compelled to add about question 6 is “believe”. All men are commanded and exhorted to read, hear, understand, and believe the Scriptures. Examples include the command to the Philippian jailer to “believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31), “there is salvation in no one else” (Acts 4:12), “Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies” (John 11:25), and “unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.” (John 8:24)
The succinct answer to question 7 is spot on. It is very God-centered rather than emphasizing what the sinner will get out of trusting God. The Scripture does list many benefits to trusting and obeying God, but these point also to His goodness and justice. I only feel compelled to clarify that our “duty God requires of man” is as follows: “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.” (John 6:29) since “by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight.” (Romans 3:20)
Take note of the fact that the Bible does not look to any external source of authority or truth. Truly, Scripture alone properly understood by the guidance of the Holy Spirit is our source of truth and practice. We plead with all men to submit to it as such, because it brings life and godliness, peace and joy, purpose and direction.
Posted in Baptist Catechism, Faith, God Thoughts, Grace, Obedience | Tagged Baptist Catechism, bible, Catechism, christianity, Faith, God, God Thoughts, Jesus, Scriptures | Leave a Comment »
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