Monthly Archives:: December 2009

We come finally to the confusing and perplexing subject of the Doctrine of Last Things?  What are the events associated with the 2nd Coming of Jesus Christ?  When will the rapture take place? When does the millennium take place?  In these notes the strengths and weaknesses of 4 major millennial views are given. We hope these notes bring clarity of thought and help to you as you seek to understand the Last Things more clearly.           

What is the Church? When was it formed?  Why does it exist?  How is it to govern itself?  What are its ordinances?  What is the mean of baptism and the Lord’s Supper?  How is the church to discipline erring members?         

What is the “calling” of God? Does the Bible use that term in more than one sense?  Can this calling be resisted?   What are elements of true conversion?  What does it mean to be justified? Adopted? Sanctified?  Will true saints persevere to the end?  What is the meaning of glorification?       

Who or what is the Holy Spirit?  Is He a force, or power, or an actual person?  Is He equal with God, or merely another way of talking about God’s power?   What about the Baptism of the Holy Spirit? Is that something that a believer receives subsequent to salvation, or at the moment of salvation?  How does the Spirit sanctify believers?      

What did Christ accomplish in His death?  Was He dying merely as a martyr or an example?  For whom did Christ die, so as to secure their redemption?  Did Jesus really rise from the dead?  If so, why is it important?     

Who really is Jesus Christ?  Did He exist before being born into this world? What is the incarnation all about?  Is Jesus really the God who made all things?  Did He ever sin?  What offices does He function in?   

Who makes the choice as to who will be in heaven — God or the sinner?  In these notes we tackle the difficult doctrine of Predestination. This one is sure to make some sparks fly!  

These notes delve into the relationship between Adam’s transgression, and how it affects the human race (if at all).  Are we really held responsible for Adam’s transgression?  If so, what are the consequences of our guilt? 

Who is the God of the Bible?  What is He like?  This is a huge question, and we only begin to scratch the surface in these theology notes on the Doctrine of God.   

How do we know we can trust the Bible?  Why do Catholics accept writings that Protestants reject?  What does it mean when we say the Bible is inspired of God?  These notes were prepared to answer questions like these. 

The following notes were written to train up new leaders in the basics of sound biblical and systematic theology. I pray they might be a source of spiritual knowledge and growth in your life. Prepare yourself though– there is a lot here! But if you take the time to study through this material, you’ll have a wealth of good, sound theology. You can also find this material in smaller articles under Resource Center, Articles.  There it has been broken down to a single doctrine (e.g. The Doctrine of Scripture).  I gleaned material for these notes from many different sources, and due to a faulty memory, have not been able to footnote them in these notes. Please excuse me. 

To be enabled to form a clear, consistent, and comprehensive judgment of the truths revealed in the Scripture, is a great privilege; but they who possess it are exposed to the temptation of thinking too highly of themselves, and too meanly of others, especially of those who not only refuse to adopt their sentiments, but venture to oppose them.

A Puritan Catechism also known as “Spurgeon’s Catechism” compiled by Charles Haddon Spurgeon, “Heir of the Puritans”, “Prince of Preachers”

Though written about 200 years after the Puritan era, the work of Charles Spurgeon which we commonly refer to as “Spurgeon’s Catechism” was originally given the title by him of “A Puritan Catechism.” This was due to his great love of the Puritans and their writings and the fact that study of their catechisms and statements of faith were part of his inspiration in compiling his own catechism which was published in late 1855, when Spurgeon was only 21 years old. On October 14^th of that year, Spurgeon preached “Sermon No. 46” to several thousand who gathered to hear him at New Park Street Chapel. The text that morning was, “Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations” (Ps. 90:1). When the sermon was published it contained an announcement of this catechism.

The Decision of the Synod of Dort on the Five Main Points of Doctrine in Dispute in the Netherlands is popularly known as the Canons of Dort. It consists of statements of doctrine adopted by the great Synod of Dort which met in the city ofDordrecht in 1618-19. Although this was a national synod of the Reformed churches of the Netherlands, it had an internationalcharacter, since it was composed not only of Dutch delegates but also of twenty-six delegates from eight foreign countries.

This past summer (1998) I celebrated my 20^th year as a Christian. For nearly the first ten years of my Christian life, I belonged to a charismatic church. As a young believer, I eagerly devoured the teaching I received. However, as I matured in my faith and my knowledge of Scripture increased, I found myself rethinking many of the doctrines I embraced so readily in my youth. In this article I want to describe three such doctrines, and how I came to believe differently through a careful study of God’s Word.