We belong to God by reason of creation; we also now belong to God by reason of redemption. In effect, we are "twice God’s," for we can claim nothing of our own. The implications are clear: We do not have the right to say, “This is my body, I can do what I want with it.” I have no more a right to do what I want with my own body than I have the right to do what I want with the money loaned to me by a friend who is expecting a return on his investment. …
Approaching the Word of God can be daunting. Some are immediately discouraged by the size, complexity, or vocabulary. Take heart! The Word of God is not difficult with the presence of the Holy Spirit. The guidance of your church leadership and other believers can prove helpful, too.
Here are a few tips that have assisted us in our personal walk with God:
Find a helpful translation. Some translations can be a little rigid to the original languages, which can prove helpful for longer studies on particular verses and words. Other translations are a little more fluid. They can be much …
Historically, Christians have proven contentious and confrontational concerning depicting Jesus in any form. Even since the flashpoints of iconoclasm (image/symbol breaking) during the early Middle Ages and the Reformation, the issue has never been completely without debate. We must approach this with an open mind and a respectable degree of tolerance.
Let’s begin by discussing the nature of idolatry in the Scriptures, and why it was consistently condemned. Let us examine Exodus 20:3-5.
You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the …
Does The Moody Church believe in the virgin birth?
The Scriptures teach it. Jesus, preexistent and coeternal with the Father, left His position of glory, and took on flesh through the virgin birth (John 1:1, 14). The incarnation of Christ serves as the gateway for redemption by Christ unifying Himself with the plight of humanity and undeservingly bearing the weight of our sin. The virgin birth, surrounded by debate due to its incomprehensibility, is plainly taught in the Scriptures, but the text in no way implies any Roman Catholic doctrine concerning Mary’s perpetual virginity (Matthew 1:17-25). In fact, Scripture records …
God’s attributes are numerous, inlcuding omnipotence, omnipresence, omniscience and many others (1 John 4:16; 1 Peter 1:16; Psalm 146:7). While we do not adamantly hold to a particular attribute as God’s greatest attribute, we do acknowledge that the acts and decrees of God always revolve around His glory, primarily cultivated through His loving relationship with the elect who have been chosen to participate in the plan of redemption (Isaiah 42:8). Properly understood, His essential nature is one of holiness and impeccable love and justice, and as such, He always acts for the highest good, which is His own glory.
The biblical canon (meaning rule or standard) is the revealed Word of God—the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments. As Protestants, we believe that the canon of the early church was comprised of 39 books in the Old Testament and eventually 27 in the New Testament. While books from the Apocrypha might be of limited benefit for Christian reading, they are not God’s Word, and the Jewish people and the early Christian community never considered them as having the same weight as the accepted Scriptures.
Revelation is the free act of God by which He graciously condescends to display and reveal His character, nature, and will to mankind. God has revealed Himself by what we categorize as general and special revelation. General revelation is broad in scope, available to mankind as a whole, but its composition is inherently non-redemptive. For instance, this is evidenced by creation in its various forms, which displays God’s glory but lacks the salvation message (Romans 1:20). Also, the human conscience is an indication of God’s general revelation and is an imperfect reflection of God’s law.
God’s holiness is unmatched. He responds to sin not only with grace, but also with holy judgment. When we observe the nature of sin and punishment in the Old Testament, the prophets record that God treats sin harshly. Sin affects more than merely the perpetrator, it spills over into the community, especially the family. Thus, God speaks of visiting and punishing sins to the third and fourth generation (Exodus 20:5, Numbers 14:18, Lamentations 5:7). Achan and his family’s punishment is one extraordinary example of God’s tenacity for purity, but it should not be considered as a normal response (Joshua 7). …
Baptism is one of the central events of a believer’s Christian life. Foreshadowed by the ritual cleansings performed by the Jewish community and the baptism of repentance administered by John the Baptist, Christian baptism is commanded for every believer. The Scripture institutes this act as an important ordinance in our life of obedient testimony (Matthew 28:19, Mark 16:16, Romans 6:4).
What should the mode be? Sprinkling, pouring, and immersing are used, but biblically, baptism by immersion is preferable, although sickness and immobility may require another method. Baptism is usually performed by someone of spiritual authority within the local church leadership. …
The Bible actually has very little to say about the origin, duration, location, and subsistence of the soul. As this is not an essential issue to the Christian faith, diversity on this theological point is understandable.
Generally speaking, three viewpoints have been put forward.
Preexistence: Popularized by the controversial church father Origen; this idea states that God, in the beginning, created every soul. He then waits till their designated time and place in order to unite them with their body. This view is entirely based on speculation and claims no scriptural support.
Creationism: Defended by John Calvin; creationism maintains that …
