Saw a book on a table and picked it up to read...Titled The Wisdom That Founded The Earth...
A good read of sound theology
by Alan Catchpole
Ultimate Reality
1) Man Lives in God's World
God can only be known by man if He chooses to reveal Himself. He is beyond the reach of human research. Therefore, man's philosophy and science with all its undoubted genius will never be able to prove or disprove God's existence or make any definitive statement about His character. We must turn to the Bible if we would know Him.
Were God's purposes not eternal and immutable there would be no certainty about anything at all! Biblical prophecy for example, would be at best only a prediction of probability. And what would happen to God's guarantee of final salvation for His people if He were not in complete control of His creation?
2) Man and His Problem
It is worth repeating that eternal death is the price man must pay for intellectual and moral independence! We were created to live obediently, trusting completely in our Creator. The tragic significance of the temptation in the Garden of Eden is that man was tricked into thinking that he is a self-sufficient being who can be as wise as God is.
All this sheds much light on the biblical assertion that "there is none that understands...that seeks after God.. that does good, not so much as one" (Romans 3:10-12). Even we as Christians "deceive ourselves" when "we say that we have no sin" or "that we have not sinned" (I John 1:8,10). Understanding this, we are even more thankful that Jesus has become for us "the surety of a better covenant" (Hebrews 7:22)
3)History's Most Significant Moment
Paul encourages us to be imitators of him, "even as." he wrote, "I also am of Christ" (Corinthians 11:1). Jesus is to be our exemplar! We must humbly admit that we are hindered in living by our fallen condition. Nevertheless, through the grace of God, we should seek to overcome this problem and grow more like Him. However, we must also realise that because He is the God-Man it is impossible for us to do all that He did.
Christian salvation depends upon the mediatorial work of Jesus Christ. This in turn depends upon both His humanity and His deity. To protect the gospel from those who would lessen or destroy it, we must make it clear as we can that our Lord is both perfect man and perfect God.
4)Faith
Both our salvation in the first place and our perseverance until the end are rooted in the fact that we are given by the Father to the Son. How thankful we ought to be!
The righteous life and sacrificial death of Christ are the essential prerequisites upon which God established an eternal and saving agreement with His people. This is all the gift of His grace. Christian salvation must be understood in these terms.
It is this free justification, secured by Christ on behalf of His people and graciously given to them, that makes the Christian gospel absolutely unique. It requires nothing on man's part- neither good works, sacrifice or religious observances- and once received can never be taken away or lost. Therefore, our faith offers men and women in this world a salvation that anyone can receive and that guarantees them eternal security. There is nothing like it in any other religion!
6) Power and Progress
As we believe in God as both Creator and Redeemer, we must distinguish between His creative and His redemptive power. Being reconciled to Him by the life and death of His Son, Christians are guaranteed all the blessings that come from the latter. We ought, then, to "walk in newness of life" (Romans 6:4). The effects of redemption should become evident in our extraordinary, moral behaviour. But this does not mean that we will be able to do extraordinary things in the creative order- and work miracles!
We believe it is impossible to overemphasise how important it is for Christians to know the Bible. it is God's word and to know His word is to know God! It is the scriptures which are able to make us "wise unto salvation" and "equipped for every good work" (Timothy 3:15-17). To be careless in this matter is to impoverish our souls, misdirect our lives and retard our Christian growth.
People in this world "do those things which are not fitting, being filled with all unrighteousness," because "God gave them up to a worthless mind" (Roman 1:28-29) in His judgement against them. This being so, it cannot be expected that behaviour will improve unless something is done about fallen man;s distorted mind. To give them "power" or "gifts" without restoring them to knowledge and wisdom would only exacerbate the human condition! For this reason the grace that provides us with "redemption through His blood" also "abounds towards us in all wisdom and prudence" (Ephesians 1:6-8). In other words, forgiveness through the Cross and the restoration of the right use of the mind are two aspects of the one work of salvation.
We believe it is important to emphasise that every true Christian has received the Holy Spirit and has been indwelt by Him from the very moment he was justified and reconciled to God. This is from the beginning the source of his understanding, newness of life, sanctification and ability to serve God effectively. There is no secondary "receiving" or "empowering" that follows this in Christian experience. It is part and parcel of being "complete" or "made full" in Christ (Colossians 2:10). Everything God's saving grace has to give is received by faith in Christ. If it were not so, we would have to abnadon the notion of "salvation by faith alone" and adopt some system of "salvation by works".
In principle, then, this "crucifying of the flesh" is a completed and past event as far as the Christian is concerned. If he has not done this, then he does not belong to Christ! However, it is only as, and to the extent that a man remains true to the principle involved in it and to which he has committed himself at his conversion that he will grow and progress in his Christian life. Even as a man once and for all commits himself to be faithful to his wife at their wedding, their relationship will only be the enriching thing that it was intended to be as he remains true to the principle of his commitment. We might suggest that the depth of our resolve to crucify the flesh and its lusts will determine the rate and extent of our growth in godliness.
Remember...
Faith without Works is Dead
It is worth repeating that eternal death is the price man must pay for intellectual and moral independence! We were created to live obediently, trusting completely in our Creator. The tragic significance of the temptation in the Garden of Eden is that man was tricked into thinking that he is a self-sufficient being who can be as wise as God is.
All this sheds much light on the biblical assertion that "there is none that understands...that seeks after God.. that does good, not so much as one" (Romans 3:10-12). Even we as Christians "deceive ourselves" when "we say that we have no sin" or "that we have not sinned" (I John 1:8,10). Understanding this, we are even more thankful that Jesus has become for us "the surety of a better covenant" (Hebrews 7:22)
3)History's Most Significant Moment
Paul encourages us to be imitators of him, "even as." he wrote, "I also am of Christ" (Corinthians 11:1). Jesus is to be our exemplar! We must humbly admit that we are hindered in living by our fallen condition. Nevertheless, through the grace of God, we should seek to overcome this problem and grow more like Him. However, we must also realise that because He is the God-Man it is impossible for us to do all that He did.
Christian salvation depends upon the mediatorial work of Jesus Christ. This in turn depends upon both His humanity and His deity. To protect the gospel from those who would lessen or destroy it, we must make it clear as we can that our Lord is both perfect man and perfect God.
4)Faith
Both our salvation in the first place and our perseverance until the end are rooted in the fact that we are given by the Father to the Son. How thankful we ought to be!
The righteous life and sacrificial death of Christ are the essential prerequisites upon which God established an eternal and saving agreement with His people. This is all the gift of His grace. Christian salvation must be understood in these terms.
It is this free justification, secured by Christ on behalf of His people and graciously given to them, that makes the Christian gospel absolutely unique. It requires nothing on man's part- neither good works, sacrifice or religious observances- and once received can never be taken away or lost. Therefore, our faith offers men and women in this world a salvation that anyone can receive and that guarantees them eternal security. There is nothing like it in any other religion!
6) Power and Progress
As we believe in God as both Creator and Redeemer, we must distinguish between His creative and His redemptive power. Being reconciled to Him by the life and death of His Son, Christians are guaranteed all the blessings that come from the latter. We ought, then, to "walk in newness of life" (Romans 6:4). The effects of redemption should become evident in our extraordinary, moral behaviour. But this does not mean that we will be able to do extraordinary things in the creative order- and work miracles!
We believe it is impossible to overemphasise how important it is for Christians to know the Bible. it is God's word and to know His word is to know God! It is the scriptures which are able to make us "wise unto salvation" and "equipped for every good work" (Timothy 3:15-17). To be careless in this matter is to impoverish our souls, misdirect our lives and retard our Christian growth.
People in this world "do those things which are not fitting, being filled with all unrighteousness," because "God gave them up to a worthless mind" (Roman 1:28-29) in His judgement against them. This being so, it cannot be expected that behaviour will improve unless something is done about fallen man;s distorted mind. To give them "power" or "gifts" without restoring them to knowledge and wisdom would only exacerbate the human condition! For this reason the grace that provides us with "redemption through His blood" also "abounds towards us in all wisdom and prudence" (Ephesians 1:6-8). In other words, forgiveness through the Cross and the restoration of the right use of the mind are two aspects of the one work of salvation.
We believe it is important to emphasise that every true Christian has received the Holy Spirit and has been indwelt by Him from the very moment he was justified and reconciled to God. This is from the beginning the source of his understanding, newness of life, sanctification and ability to serve God effectively. There is no secondary "receiving" or "empowering" that follows this in Christian experience. It is part and parcel of being "complete" or "made full" in Christ (Colossians 2:10). Everything God's saving grace has to give is received by faith in Christ. If it were not so, we would have to abnadon the notion of "salvation by faith alone" and adopt some system of "salvation by works".
In principle, then, this "crucifying of the flesh" is a completed and past event as far as the Christian is concerned. If he has not done this, then he does not belong to Christ! However, it is only as, and to the extent that a man remains true to the principle involved in it and to which he has committed himself at his conversion that he will grow and progress in his Christian life. Even as a man once and for all commits himself to be faithful to his wife at their wedding, their relationship will only be the enriching thing that it was intended to be as he remains true to the principle of his commitment. We might suggest that the depth of our resolve to crucify the flesh and its lusts will determine the rate and extent of our growth in godliness.
Remember...
Faith without Works is Dead
What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. (James 2:14-18 ESV)
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