Faith (Page 16)
Why Rock Bottom Is Good
Have you ever felt hopeless, to the point where no one can help you? You ask yourself, “can this get any worse”? You try to fix your problems, but nothing seems to work. You feel like you can’t do anything right. You officially hit rock bottom, but the good news is that there is hope. “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish…
God Loved Us So We Can Love Him Back
We were all born in sin and shaped in iniquity. Because of this, we’re by default enemies of God. Even though we are very flawed creatures, God still gave us a chance to repent and follow Him. Jesus died not because we were good people but because we were terrible people who deserved Hell. The only way we could be worthy of Him is through Christ taken on our punishment by dying on the cross and rising again. It’s tempting…
Baptist Faith and Message of the Southern Baptist Convention
The Baptist Faith and Message (BF&M) is the statement of faith of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). The original statement was ratified in 1925, with revisions and amendments made in 1963, 1998, and 2000. Baptist Faith and Message of the Southern Baptist Convention I. The Scriptures The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is God’s revelation of Himself to man. It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. It has God for its author, salvation for its end,…
The Rock That Is Higher Than I
“From the end of the earth I call to You when my heart is faint; Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” – Psalms 61:3 [NASB] God Never Promised Us a Rose Garden When people come to faith in Christ, we tell them that they will experience love, joy, and peace, which is so very true. But we fail to mention that these byproducts of the Christian faith are often couched between hardship, suffering, and struggle. God…
New Hampshire Baptist Confession of 1833
This is the New Hampshire Baptist Confession. According to BibleHub.com, this Confession was drawn up by the Rev. John Newton Brown, D.D., of New Hampshire (1803-1868), about 1833, and has been adopted by the New Hampshire Convention, and widely accepted by Baptists, especially in the Northern and Western States, as a clear and concise statement of their faith, in harmony with the doctrines of older confessions, but expressed in a milder form. New Hampshire Baptist Confession of 1833 Declaration of…
Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy
This is the Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy (1978). In October of 1978, over 200 evangelical pastors, theologians, and leaders of many different denominational backgrounds came together to make a unified statement for the infallibility and inerrancy of the Bible to safeguard against liberal attacks and beliefs. Not only are there affirmation statements (“We affirm…”) but denial statements as well (“We deny…”) to counter contrary positions. The Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy Preface The authority of Scripture is a key…
Don’t Worry About Tomorrow
When things in our life don’t go as planned, or if something we want doesn’t happen in our time schedule, we get easily worried. Worrying about our problems doesn’t solve our problems; in a lot of cases, it makes our problems worst. It’s natural for us to have concerns about life, but there’s a difference between concern and worry. Concern is when you’re cautious about something and carefully planned ahead, whereas worry is when you’re playing the “what-if” game in…
Trust God Even When It Doesn’t Make Sense
It’s easy to trust God when it’s convenient, but trusting God is oftentimes not convenient. It’s tempting to play it safe and do what everyone else says “works.” I’ve done that, and it hasn’t gotten me anywhere. Trusting God and going against conventual wisdom is what got me the big breaks in my life. I’m not against seeking wise counsel, but I make sure God has the final say-so in my decision-making process. Like many of you, I have struggled…
The Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion
These are the Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion of the Church of England, which began with the Ten Articles in 1536, and finalized with the full Thirty-nine articles in 1571. The Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion THE ARTICLES OF RELIGION Agreed upon by the Archbishops, Bishops, and the whole clergy of the Provinces of Canterbury and York, London, 1562. I. Of Faith in the Holy Trinity There is but one living and true God, everlasting, without body, parts, or passions; of infinite…
The Athanasian Creed
This is the Athanasian Creed, which is one of the four authoritative creeds of the Roman Catholic Church/Early Christian Church. Sometimes known as Quicunque Vult or Quicumque Vult (for the opening two words of it in Latin). This creed is named after Athanasius (AD 293-373), the champion of orthodoxy against Arian attacks on the doctrine of the Trinity. It was developed in the Fifth Century AD. The Athanasian Creed 1. WHOSOEVER would be saved / needeth before all things to…
What Godly Peace Looks Like
About five months ago, I released a devotional titled “Peace Beyond Understanding.” I created it in response to the countless blogs I’ve posted about centering your life around Christ over the past month. I don’t write blog posts as if my life is perfect; it’s quite the opposite since I’m dead broke while encouraging you all to trust in Jesus. I’m able to continue to write these blogs daily because of the peace I’ve experienced in my life despite having…
1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith
This is the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith. Also known as the Second London Baptist Confession or just The Confession of Faith, this was written by an English Reformed/Calvinistic group of Baptists called the Particular Baptists and first published in 1677, and later republished in 1688 and 1689. The following is a Modern English rendition of the original Old English text, translated by Michael Cheng of Grace Family Baptist Church in Houston, Texas. Visit his translation page here. 1689 London…
Resting On God’s Promises
I have been talking extensively about the peace of God because I know how life can bring us down. When we go through adversity, we tend to question God’s character. We wonder if God is who He says He is, or we feel like we’ve failed God, so He doesn’t want to bless us anymore. In the past two months, I’ve learned God is faithful even when I haven’t always been faithful to him. “If we are unfaithful, he remains…
The Chalcedonian Creed
This is the Chalcedonian Creed (sometimes referred to as the Chalcedonian Definition or the Definition of Chalcedon) and agreed upon in AD 451. The Chalcedonian Creed We, then, following the holy Fathers, all with one consent, teach men to confess one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, the same perfect in Godhead and also perfect in manhood; truly God and truly man, of a reasonable soul and body; consubstantial with the Father according to the Godhead, and consubstantial…
Grace For Each Other
“Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.” – Ephesians 4:29 [ESV] What’s one of the opposites of gratitude? It’s complaining! We are to build each other up! If someone cut you off in traffic, we out resort to fear and complain and say things, “They must be have been on the phone!” “Where was their focus?”…
The Nicene Creed
This is the Nicene Creed (AD 325; Revised at Constantinople in AD 381): The Nicene Creed I believe in one God the Father Almighty; Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father; by whom all things were…
Danger Of Self-Ambition
Selfish ambition is when you desire to purely elevate yourself only. The opposite of love is selfishness. Self-ambition is a trap that so many people fall into, and even Christians can get ensnared as well. Our flesh continually craves satisfaction, and it will do anything to get what it wants, even if it involves doing the vilest and evil thing imaginable. David, who is considered a man after God’s own heart, fell into selfish ambition when he looked at Bathsheba…
Survival Mode Versus Serving Mode
As Christians, we are called to serve God and serve others. God tells us to work to eat, but why we work is essential. We don’t work to be rich (by rich, I mean having many earthly possessions), but we work as a service to God. We live in a hustle-driven society where we get so consumed by our work we lose focus on God. Millions of Americans live paycheck to paycheck and fear losing their job despite hating their…
Westminster Confession of Faith
To read other Christian creeds and confessions, go here. Westminster Confession of Faith This is the Westminster Confession of Faith (1643–46) [Text of the American Version]. This creed was created from 1643 through 1646 by the Westminster Assembly as part of the Westminster Standards to be used as a confession of the Church of England. For the Church of Scotland, it became and remains the “subordinate standard” of doctrine, and it continues to be influential within Presbyterian churches all around…
Our Storms Can Help Others
I was reading the story of Ruth, and I thought about Naomi. Naomi was a widowed woman who was too old to bear children, and there was a famine in the land. Ruth had the option to return to Moab and worship the pagan gods she had left behind, but she decided to stay with Naomi even though Oprah (Ruth’s sister) had already left. Naomi felt like God has forgotten her, but little did she know that God would bless…