TheosGuy

Here are some things we will do in heaven.

• Worship God
• Please God
• Be happy and content
• Have sinless FUN!
• Rest – not “doing nothing” but doing all that God has for us without growing weary
• Serve God
• Reign with God
• Enjoy our heavenly inheritance
• Receive at least one praise reward from God. . .”Well done, good and faithful servant.” And we will know that it is only because of Him that we did anything good.

Here’s a list of some of the things we won’t do in heaven!

• Confess our sin, because we cannot sin.
• Say we are sorry, because we will not offend anyone.
• Have to admit we are wrong.
• Ask for directions.
• Go to the dentist!
• Call Tech Support.
• Worry about calories!
• Find clothes that make us look thinner!
• Struggle with our flesh (literally or metaphorically)
• Feel guilty
• Repair something
• Be late!
• Cry, be sad, be lonely
• Defend ourselves against unrighteousness
• Be cured . . . since we’ll never be sick
• Miss earthly pleasures
• Be God. . . for there is only ONE God, and we are not Him

Following is the dogmatic Christological definition from the Council of Chalcedon, which was held from 8 October to 1 November, 451 AD.

Therefore, following the holy fathers, we all with one accord teach men to acknowledge one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, at once complete in Godhead and complete in manhood, truly God and truly man, consisting also of a reasonable soul and body; of one substance with the Father as regards his Godhead, and at the same time of one substance with us as regards his manhood; like us in all respects, apart from sin; as regards his Godhead, begotten of the Father before the ages, but yet as regards his manhood begotten, for us men and for our salvation, of Mary the Virgin, the God-bearer; one and the same Christ, Son, Lord, Only-begotten, recognized in two natures, without confusion, without change, without division, without separation; the distinction of natures being in no way annulled by the union, but rather the characteristics of each nature being preserved and coming together to form one person and subsistence, not as parted or separated into two persons, but one and the same Son and Only-begotten God the Word, Lord Jesus Christ; even as the prophets from earliest times spoke of him, and our Lord Jesus Christ himself taught us, and the creed of the fathers has handed down to us.

Following are some Scriptural evidences of the Son’s submission to the Father.¹ Please note that this submission does not in any way imply subordination of Divine essence on the part of God the Son.

• The Son submitted to the Father before creation (Rom 8:29–30; Eph 1:3–6, 8–12; 3:11; 2 Tim 1:9).
• The Son submitted to the Father in the act of creation (Heb 1:2; John 1:3; 1 Cor 8:6; Col 1:16).
• The Son submitted to the Father before his earthly ministry (John 3:16–17; 8:42; Gal 4:4; 1 John 4:9–10).
• The Son submitted to the Father during his earthly ministry (John 8:28–29; 4:34; 5:19, 30; 6:38; 10:18; 12:49; 15: 10; 17:4).
• The Son has been submitting to the Father since he ascended into heaven.
• The Son intercedes to the Father on behalf of his people (Rom 8:34; Heb 7:25; 9:24).
• The Son did not pour out the Holy Spirit until the Father gave the Holy Spirit to the Son (Acts 2:33).
• The Father gave the Son what the Son revealed to John in the book of Revelation (Rev 1:1).
• The Son sits at the Father’s right hand (Ps 110:1; Mark 14:62; Luke 22:69; Acts 2:33–34; Rom 8:34; Eph 1:20; Col 3:1; Heb 1:3; Heb 8:1; 10:12; 12:2; 1 Pet 3:22).
• The Son will submit to the Father after the final judgment in order to glorify the Father (1 Cor 15:24–28; Phil 2:9–11).

1. The outline is excerpted from materials developed by Andy Naselli, which relies heavily on Wayne Grudem and Bruce Ware’s opening statement in a 2.5-hour debate versus Tom McCall and Keith Yandell on the question, “Do relations of authority and submission exist eternally among the Persons of the Godhead?” (Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Deerfield, IL, October 9, 2008). See this blog entry for more information on the debate.

“The Five Articles of Remonstrance” refers to the document written by the followers of the recently deceased Jacobus Arminius (1560-1609). The articles, issued in 1610, were written to explain the Remonstrants disagreement with the the Calvinist doctrine of predestination.  The articles are alos known by the name,”The Five Articles of Arminianism.”

The Calvinists responded to the Remonstrance, with a document explaining the Calvinistic position.   The later document is commonly called “The Five Points of Calvinism” or by it’s acrostic, TULIP.

“The Five Articles of Remonstrance“

Article 1
That God, by an eternal and unchangeable purpose in Jesus Christ his Son, before the foundation of the world, hath determined, out of the fallen, sinful race of men, to save in Christ, for Christ’s sake, and through Christ, those who, through the grace of the Holy Ghost, shall believe on this his son Jesus, and shall persevere in this faith and obedience of faith, through this grace, even to the end; and, on the other hand, to leave the incorrigible and unbelieving in sin and under wrath, and to condemn them as alienate from Christ, according to the word of the Gospel in John 3:36: “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him,” and according to other passages of Scripture also.

Article 2
That agreeably thereunto, Jesus Christ the Savior of the world, died for all men and for every man, so that he has obtained for them all, by his death on the cross, redemption and the forgiveness of sins; yet that no one actually enjoys this forgiveness of sins except the believer, according to the word of the Gospel of John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” And in the First Epistle of 1 John 2:2: “And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.”

Article 3
That man has not saving grace of himself, nor of the energy of his free will, inasmuch as he, in the state of apostasy and sin, can of and by himself neither think, will, nor do any thing that is truly good (such as saving faith eminently is); but that it is needful that he be born again of God in Christ, through his Holy Spirit, and renewed in understanding, inclination, or will, and all his powers, in order that he may rightly understand, think, will, and effect what is truly good, according to the Word of Christ, John 15:5, “Without me ye can do nothing.”

Article 4
That this grace of God is the beginning, continuance, and accomplishment of all good, even to this extent, that the regenerate man himself, without prevenient or assisting, awakening, following and cooperative grace, can nei­ther think, will, nor do good, nor withstand any temptations to evil; so that all good deeds or movements, that can be conceived, must be ascribed to the grace of God in Christ. but respects the mode of the operation of this grace, it is not irresistible; inas­much as it is written con­cerning many, that they have resisted the Holy Ghost. Acts 7, and else­where in many places.

Article 5
That those who are in­corporated into Christ by true faith, and have thereby become partakers of his life-giving Spirit, have thereby full power to strive against Satan, sin, the world, and their own flesh, and to win the victory; it being well un­derstood that it is ever through the assisting grace of the Holy Ghost; and that Jesus Christ assists them through his Spirit in all temptations, extends to them his hand, and if only they are ready for the conflict, and desire his help, and are not inactive, keeps them from falling, so that they, by no craft or power of Satan, can be misled nor plucked out of Christ’s hands, according to the Word of Christ, John 10:28: “Neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.” But whether they are capable, through negligence, of forsaking again the first beginning of their life in Christ, of again returning to this present evil world, of turning away from the holy doctrine which was deliv­ered them, of losing a good conscience, of be­coming devoid of grace, that must be more particularly determined out of the Holy Scripture, be­fore we ourselves can teach it with the full persuasion of our mind.

Horatius Bonar wrote this nice little piece on why we as Christians are not to love the world.  It was originally published in The Christian Treasury.

1. Because the gain of it is the loss of the soul.—Matthew 16:25.
2. Because its friendship is enmity to God.—James 4:4.
3. Because it did not know Christ.—John 1:10; 17:25.
4. Because it hates Christ.—John 7:7; 15:18.
5. Because the Holy Spirit has forbidden us.—1 John 2:15.
6. Because Christ did not pray for it.—John 17:9.
7. Because Christ’s people do not belong to it.—John 17:16.
8. Because it will not receive the Spirit.—John 14:27.
9. Because its Prince is Satan.—John 13:31; 16:11.
10. Because Christ’s kingdom is not of it.—John 18:36.
11. Because its wisdom is foolishness.—1 Corinthians 1:20.
12. Because its wisdom is ignorance.—1 Corinthians 1:21.
13. Because Christ does not belong to it.—John 8:23.
14. Because it is condemned.—1 Corinthians 11:32.
15. Because the fashion of it passeth away.—1 Corinthians 7:31.
16. Because it slew Christ.—James 5:6; Matthew 21:39.
17. Because it is crucified to us.—Galatians 6:14.
18. Because we are crucified to it.—Galatians 6:14.
19. Because it is the seat of wickedness.—2 Peter 1:4; 1 John 5:19.
20. Because its God is the evil one.—2 Corinthians 4:4.

‘Love not the world! It cannot be your home,
Thy fatherland must be the world to come;
There lay up treasures for eternity;
And where thy treasure is thy heart shall be.’
—H.B.

Being prideful men (and women) we do not like to be reproved by our fellow brethern. But let us take a brief look at a short Biblical survey of the matter.

Let the righteous strike me; It shall be a kindness. And let him rebuke me; It shall be as excellent oil; Let my head not refuse it. For still my prayer is against the deeds of the wicked. (Psalms 141:5 NKJV)

Do not correct a scoffer, lest he hate you; Rebuke a wise man, and he will love you. (Proverbs 9:8 NKJV)

He who keeps instruction is in the way of life, But he who refuses correction goes astray. (Proverbs 10:17 NKJV)

Whoever loves instruction loves knowledge, But he who hates correction is stupid. (Proverbs 12:1 NKJV)

By pride comes nothing but strife, But with the well-advised is wisdom. (Proverbs 13:10 NKJV)

The ear that hears the rebukes of life Will abide among the wise. He who disdains instruction despises his own soul, But he who heeds rebuke gets understanding. (Proverbs 15:31-32 NKJV)

Rebuke is more effective for a wise man Than a hundred blows on a fool. (Proverbs 17:10 NKJV)

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, (2 Timothy 3:16 NKJV)

Tags: Bible, Christian Living

Here are a couple of quotes from C.S. Lewis on writing and the importance of clarity in our communication.

The way for a person to develop a style is (a) to know exactly what he wants to say, and (b) to be sure he is saying exactly that.

The reader, we must remember, does not start by knowing what we mean. If our words are ambiguous, our meaning will escape him.

I sometimes think that writing is like driving sheep down a road. If there is any gate open to the left or the right the reader will most certainly go into it.

(“Cross-Examination,” in C.S. Lewis: Essay Collection and Other Short Pieces, ed. Lesley Walmsley, p. 555)

1. Always try to use the language so as to make quite clear what you mean and make sure your sentence couldn’t mean anything else.

2. Always prefer the plain direct word to the long, vague one. Don’t implement promises, but keep them.

3. Never use abstract nouns when concrete ones will do. If you mean “More people died” don’t say “Mortality rose.”

4. In writing. Don’t use adjectives which merely tell us how you want us to feel about the things you are describing. I mean, instead of telling us the thing is “terrible,” describe it so that we’ll be terrified. Don’t say it was “delightful”; make us say “delightful” when we’ve read the description. You see, all those words (horrifying, wonderful, hideous, exquisite) are only like saying to your readers “Please, will you do my job for me.”

5. Don’t use words too big for the subject. Don’t say “infinitely” when you mean “very”; otherwise you’ll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite.

(C.S. Lewis, Letters to Children, p. 64.)

Tags: C. S. Lewis, Quotes, Writing

The following outline was inspired and adapted from an outline of the same name in the book, Twelve Baskets Full of Original Bible Outlines.¹

1. “He Is Able—We Are Able,” Twelve Baskets Full of Original Bible Outlines, Pickering Hy. (Editor). London: Pickering & Inglis, 1918. p. 21.

Tags: HyP

Following is a short study on prayer.  It is not exhaustive by any means.

WHY PRAY?

• The prayer of a righteous man avails much—James 5:16
• Lest we enter into temptation—Matthew 26:41
• Jesus commanded us to pray—Luke 18:1

WHEN TO PRAY?

• The Lord prayed all night—Luke 6:12
• Evening, morning and at noon—Psalm 55:17
• Continually—Acts 6:4
• Without ceasing—1 Thessalonians 5:17
• In affliction—James 5:13
• In sickness—James 5:16

HOW TO PRAY?

• In the Spirit—Ephesians 6:18
• Fervently—Colossians 4:12
• With understanding—1 Corinthians 14:14-15
• Lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting—1 Timothy 2:8
• In faith, with no doubting-James 1:6

WHAT TO PRAY FOR?

• To send out laborers for the harvest—Matthew 9:37-38
• For all in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life—1 Timothy 2:1-2
• To be filled with the knowledge of God’s will—Colossians 1:9
• To walk worthy of the Lord and to please Him—Colossians 1:10
• For those who spitefully use you and persecute you— Matthew 5:44
• For all of our needs—Philippians 4:6
  

The above outline was inspired and adapted from an outline of the same name in the book, Twelve Baskets Full of Original Bible Outlines.¹

1. “Prayer—A Bible Study,” Twelve Baskets Full of Original Bible Outlines, Pickering Hy. (Editor). London: Pickering & Inglis, 1918. p. 17.

Tags: HyP, Prayer